#so water came into my house lol literal puddles

[caramello-styles]

I spent approx. 2.5 hours cleaning the house nonstop

[fluffyomorashii]

I live across from a bar grill type restaurant so decided to walk over to have some drinks and bar food since I would be alone and something to do! It’s raining slightly but I just put on a hoodie and black leggings and jog across the street. No big deal! (|||⇁_⇁)

A little over an hour and a half passes and I’m two alcoholic drinks in (and they weren’t afraid to pack these drinks with Hella alcohol!!) I was well tipsy now and had to pee 30 mins ago, but seeing that home was literally a minute walk away I decided I’d like to pee in the comfort in my own home lol.

I pay and leave exiting the door and stop.. it’s not raining anymore it’s more like the fucking sea was falling from the sky, the wind was making it worse and so cold.. immediately all the water and the sudden cold temperature aggressively reminded me I really really had to pee.. I braced myself and put my hands in my hoodie pocket so stuff in between my legs, waiting for intense wave to pass

Once I had control I put my hood on and immediately started running across the parking lot running up to the sidewalk and immediately I’m soakedddd the rain was coming down HARD I could barely even see!! I had to stop at the sidewalk to wait for the cars to stop and it felt like my bladder was spiking filling up times 10.. I was I was shifting side to side my thighs pressed together, when finally, the red light came on, and the cars stopped.

I fucking flew across that road and passed the first house, and then there was my house right there!! Ignoring going the long way up the driveway I cut through the yard mud and water splashing everywhereee. I ran up the stairs to the small little square porch we have at our front door that thankfully had a small square roof over it. I took only a second to breathe then went right to action-

Scrambled to take off my muddy soaked shoes as I quickly reached into my pocket to yank out my keys- yanking my phone out accidentally and it fell to the ground bouncing, almost falling off the porch. I quickly cursed and crouched down to grab it, when I found myself awkwardly crossing my legs as I crouched pushing the heel of my foot into my crotch as I felt an intense pressure in my bladder.. (¬////¬)

I could tell I peed a tiny bit because I felt warm while the rest of me was cold, and that feeling didn’t help.. all the being drunk, rain splashing around me, being soaked, the cold giving me intense bladder warnings I couldn’t deal-.. I realized ..oh my God I can’t…I’m-..I’m gonna pee….

I shot back up and immediately a sudden fast pee stream noisily released, splattering quickly between my legs, mixing with the rain sound.. I was panicked by how fast the emergency to accident happened but also let out a shaky sigh as the intense bladder warnings slowly faded as my legs became warmer and warmer.

I looked up, and even though the rain was so thick I’m sure no one could see anything, I nervously turned away to face the door, and looked down watching the rapidly growing puddle slide off the porch and down the stairs.. when I was just left with a few trickles down my legs I slowly reached for my keys and unlock the door. Thankful I had black leggings and thankful the rain was so intense the Wet spot was too hard to see anyway! (っ- ‸ - ς)

[potscenarios]

Omg! So excited! May I please request how Sanada, Shiraishi, Atobe, Niou, and Kite would confess to their long time crush? Thank you and best of luck with the blog! ♥️ Love PoT so much, I miss the fandom :(

My very first request yay! I knew there are still people around!! Thank you so much for sending in something, sweetie! I hope to see you around ♥️

(Also I'm so sorry this turned out so long lol)

Sanada

Let’s face it, Yukimura and Yanagi are probably the ones who first noticed how different Sanada is whenever he’s around you, his crush. And since they judged that their friend’s crush has been going on long enough, they’re probably the ones who tries to get the ball rolling and hints at Sanada to just confess already.

Confessing is a big thing for this man, because he will only do so when he’s 99.99% sure that he wants to have a serious relationship with the other person.

Knowing his family background and his personality, of course he would get all traditional about the whole process (i.e. if you have an older brother, he would probably have tried to get his permission to 'court' you first before he actually does he's so precious omg)

He starts by inviting you out along with your friends and some of the tennis club members, so you won't feel awkward with him alone. It's also a good chance for him to get to know your friends more, which he will need to do when he becomes your boyfriend anyway. Sanada also knows he's not too good at talking so he wants you to get more comfortable around him in general. When your response is positive, then he starts to invite you out on real dates - just the two of you.

Throughout this whole process, only when he has verbally heard from you directly that you do enjoy having him around, he finally finds his courage and is convinced to take the next step. On the actual d-day itself, he's oddly out of it and you're probably going to misunderstand his silence as boredom or something like that, but when he finally, finally finds the opportunity to confess, it'll blow you away because of how unusually soft and sincere he looks.

"We have known each other for quite some time. This might sound unexpected to you, but I have found myself thinking of our future together on several occasions. I realize that all these time, I have been longing to stand by your side, not just as a friend, but as a partner. If you will... would you honor me with the title of your boyfriend?"

Shiraishi

Literally plans out everything for over a week down to a t. And by everything I mean everything.

Researches the best date spots (How far are they from your house? How busy will they be at the d-day? If it rains, are there any other alternative spots nearby?), the best restaurants to dine in (Are the food healthy? Will they adhere to your preferences? How many stars does the restaurant have? What's the best time to eat there?), the best possible place to confess (How atmospheric is it? Are there any risks of being interrupted? Is there any way he can reserve the place or something along the line?), the weather on that day (Sunny? Windy? Rain? Snow? Humid?), etc. Everything has to be perfect.

Shiraishi takes you to your most favorite places, opens the door for you and makes sure you're seated on your chair before going to sit on his own, politely rejects girls who swoons over him (which seems to always happen when you go out - one time you tell him he needs to stop looking like he just came out from a fashion magazine and he just laughs), and escorts you like the perfect textbook definition of a gentleman for the whole day.

Despite his research though, things can't always be a hundred percent perfect, so there are actually some parts / events of the date where Shiraishi isn't completely satisfied with, but you honestly don't notice because he had been so kind and accommodating, so of course a few mishaps here and there are tolerable (and they're probably mostly not his fault anyway)

He's composed when he finally confesses, but inwardly he's frantically freaking out and he's constantly trying to gauge your reactions because he will pull back as soon as you look uncomfortable - at the very least, if he’s rejected, he doesn't want to destroy your friendship.

"Hey, [Last_Name]. Do you think I'll make a good boyfriend? .... I'm glad that you think I would. Then... Do you think we'll make a good couple? I personally think we would. And honestly, I want to make that reality... What do you think?"

Atobe

He has the confidence and the means to make the most extravagant confession on Earth, so why should he hold back, right?

Due to being around him for quite long, though, you're most likely already used to his eccentrics, so you wouldn't think too much about it when he actually asks you to go somewhere with him, thinking that he just doing his usual 'this-ore-sama-will-show-you-his-prowess' antics.

He takes you to a newly built indoor 'garden', where a wide variety of plants are grown and cared for. Actually, ‘garden’ is an understatement. There are several 'greenhouses' that hosts different kinds of plants, apparently imported in from all over the world. Strange trees and flowers grows everywhere, the air is cooling and fresh because of all the plantations, and as you walk down the path surrounded by lush greens, you're very much awed and fascinated by everything.

But that's all nothing compared to the man-made waterfall he takes you to as your last destination. You can only stare in wonder as you watch the rushing water, not realizing that it's especially cold in this 'greenhouse' until Atobe gentlemanly drapes a shawl he prepared beforehand around you. He then takes you around the small forest around the waterfall and you both walk up the stairs to find that there's a modern looking restaurant that looks more like a villa, situated just at the right height and distance to have the perfect view of the waterfall and its surrounding area.

You'll find yourself sitting at the comfiest dining chair in your life, sipping the freshest orange juice, row upon row of your favorite foods coming out one after another. And just when you're finishing your dessert, all smiles and relaxed, and you thank him for the fun outing, that's when he confidently drops the question.

"Let me make this clear. Ore-sama doesn't just treat anyone this way. You're special. You're the only one who is good enough to stand equally beside me. Don't you agree? Of course, I'm only accepting nothing but 'Yes' as an answer."

It's only way later into your relationship when you realize that the place he took you to is owned and constructed by Atobe himself. When you ask your boyfriend about this fact, he finally admits (with a very proud smirk) that he built the whole thing just to confess to you lol

Niou

I personally think his confession wouldn't exactly be 'planned', in a sense.

He just has to tease you, his adorable crush, every chance he has. Just because he likes to see focus your attention to him and he thinks the angry / troubled look on your face is the cutest. But after a while it comes to the point that his pranks and teasing remarks are getting more and more frequent, and it’s getting too much to your liking. He doesn’t exactly take your verbal protest seriously, so you end up giving him the silent treatment, just to let him know that enough is enough.

Niou, who is already used to have you around and has taken your presence for granted, is suddenly left to his own thoughts because you're either running away from him upon seeing him, or isn't showing any reaction when he manages to catch up to you. Honestly you probably just want him to lessen his teasing, but the impact of your action is bigger than you think.

In the end, after a long lecture from Yagyuu (the lecture itself was boring but he was forced to sit seiza for a whole hour and his legs hurt like hell) and Yukimura's simple but straight-to-the-point comment ("Hm? Is [Last_Name] avoiding you lately, Niou? It's because you've been borderline mean to them, you know?"), he realizes that he has to make things right.

He's surprisingly gentle and serious when he asks you to have lunch with him one day, and you feel a little bad for making him feel so guilty, so you accept. It's already shocking that he hasn't done or said anything that's remotely playful all the while you're walking to the place you're supposed to have lunch in, but he's treating you so gentlemanly you almost suspect he switched places with Yagyuu.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you hate me, and I didn't think I would annoy you that much. I've reflected. I should have treated the person I love more preciously. I promise I'll be better! So don't hate me, yeah?"

“.... Niou? Did you just say..... ‘the person I love'?”

"Huh? .... Puri. I guess the cat's out of the bag, huh? ... That's right. I really like you. I find your teary face really adorable, but I still like it best when you smile. So will you go out with me? I promise I'll never let you cry from sadness."

Kite 

This scheming and calculating man!! Kite will only confess if he has already studied up your behavior and has determined that you do harbour interest in him as a love interest. From there, it’s a strategic battle for him to bring you two even closer.

He would subconsciously condition you to be more dependent or just overall be closer to him. I can actually see him create certain situations where you would have no choice but to accept his help, or for you to offer your help, being the kind soul that you are.

Like the time where he invites you to watch the tennis club practice, and it just so conveniently rains, and it just so happens that you lost your umbrella, and so when he offers you to walk you home, what can you do except comply? And if on your way he purposefully timed your walking pace so that the car on the street drives by a rather big puddle, resulting in him 'shielding' you and getting his uniform all wet, how could you not invite him into your abode so he can dry off first? If he doesn’t have the opportunity to be alone with you, trust me, he will create one.

It's not that he's doing all those things with ill intent in mind though, and he's definitely not trying to hurt you. His goal is to make you feel like you need him. It's just his way of getting you to fall in love with him lol

Surprisingly though, I think his actual confession would be pretty 'normal'. Okinawa generally has nice beaches, so he would take you to a nice and relaxing beach walk, finishing off with dinner on an outdoorsy type restaurant overlooking the sea, where you both can watch the sun set against the horizon with soft live music in the background. Overall, when the atmosphere is nice and solemn just shortly after the sun finally sets, that's when he finally speaks.

"[Last_Name]-san. You are a wonderful and intriguing person. To be honest, I didn't think you would still be sticking around after all this time, but as with many other times, you continue to surprise me. At first, I was merely curious about you, but soon enough you flawlessly turned my curiosity into attraction. This is troubling. I will have you take responsibility by going out with me."

[firemblem-fics]

Running With the Wolves [3]

<< | >>

-> Pairing: Yuri Leclarc x Fem!Reader

-> Modern!Au | Gang!Au | Enemies to Friends to Lovers

-> Word Count: ~2.4k

-> Warnings: Violence, Blood, Intense Scenes, Alcohol Mention, Someone legit gets shot, Other things I probably forgot about

-> Summary: You were just a normal college student, trying to find her way in a new place. You didn't mean to get caught up in the wrong crowd. You just wanted coffee, but now you're running with the wolves.

-> A/N: hi i’m back hello this took me a little bit to do because after the action scene i simply lost motivation but it’s back i know what i want to do and i WILL do it. also, just an fyi, i, as a writer, do not condone anything that my character, Hiram Chapelle, says or does. Hiram is meant to be an ass and for gods sake he’s quite literally a psychopath. That’s how he’s written. I’m just saying for future reference because Hiram is a shitty person and I plan on keeping him that way LOL

send an ask if you’d like to be on the taglist!

If someone had told you, months ago, that when you moved to Fodlan, you’d be accidentally caught up in gang activity, you’d laugh in their faces.

What a silly notion, You’d nearly cry out of laughter, Fodlan is safe. Nothing happens there.

What a fool you were. Everything was too easy. Life was too simple for there not to be a catch. That’s the funny thing about the universe and her strange ways. There’s always a catch.

Your mother had said that God always tests you. That you’d know in hard times, He was just challenging you. The only thing you knew at this moment was that if God really was real, you’d like to have a few choice words with him.

Your test was only getting more difficult with each step you took. Each limp, actually. The frigid night air numbed nearly every part of your body, except for your ankle. Instead, it burned with a fiery intensity. Your shoe was tight enough to prevent a bit of the swelling, but you needed medical attention soon.

You laughed bitterly- you’d been saying that you needed help for a while now. Your arm, your ankle, and now probably a therapist. Physical and mental help were on your to-do list.

Biting back another shiver, you fumbled with your phone. The screen was black, only showing a little red battery in the middle of it. Dead.

The window you’d jumped through was in the back of the house, facing a patch of woods. In your rush, you didn’t think to run another way to get out, only pushing forward until you had no clue where you’d come from and where to go. Everything was forest. Everything was dark.

Until it wasn’t.

A flash of light shined from behind you and you gasped, running to your left and trying to hide behind a larger tree. The flashlights came closer and you held your breath.

“What doesn’t she fucking understand about you can’t leave?”

“Well, boss, you were a little rude about it-“

“She’s in danger! And she doesn’t even realize it- the seriousness of this situation. I don’t care if I’m rude or not, she’s risking her own life being this stupid.”

You resisted the urge to scoff. Yuri was definitely a rude individual from what you’ve interacted with, but of course he didn’t care.

The lights were getting even closer now. You stepped back and started to run again, ignoring the pain. You’d get help when you were safe. You tried to stay light on your feet, but couldn’t help but crush the fallen leaves under your feet as you ran.

“I hear something that way!” Constance shouted and every light flashed in your direction before the group began chasing after you.

Your heart caught in your throat as you willed your legs to work faster and faster. You’d be okay- you’ll get help when you’re safe. Lungs burning, you surged forwards still and tried to take different turns to make them lose your trail. It didn’t work.

“Y/N, stop!” Hapi yelled out.

You didn’t answer, still running. Suddenly, you were airborne. Your feet flew off the ground and you landed two feet in front of a tree root, sticking up from the ground. You were hyperventilating- they had caught up with you.

Before they could reach you, Yuri also stumbled over the root. His flashlight and handgun both flew out of his hands, skidding to a stop in a puddle of mud in front of you. You lurched forward, grabbing the gun and pointing it at the group. It was just Balthus, Hapi, Constance, and Yuri, but you still felt helpless. They could easily overpower you, but you weren’t giving up without a fight.

“Stay back!” You cried, your finger sitting shakily on the trigger, “Don’t come any closer!”

Hapi put her hands up. “We don’t want to hurt you- we want to keep you safe!”

“Keep me safe? By making me some bad guy in a gang that I never even asked to be a part of?”

Yuri scoffed and tried to step closer, but you quickly aimed the gun at him. “You think we did?”

“No more. Don’t come close, I’m warning you.” You could only utter a few words.

The leader of the Wolves ignored this, putting his hands out in front of him, “Drop the gun and this will be okay-“

“STAY AWAY!” You were screaming at this point. Everyone tried to shush you, but you couldn’t stop. Hysteria did such cruel things.

“Y/N-“

“NO!”

You closed your eyes and pulled the trigger, your arm injury hurting slightly from the recoil. Constance yelled out, grabbing onto Yuri, who seemed to fall in slow motion. Your head was spinning. Stars seemed to twinkle in the trees and bushes in front of you instead of staying in the sky like they should.

You swayed for a moment, watching the three try to help their leader. Blood seeped out of the right side of his abdomen. You tried to stay awake, but soon the gun fell out of your hand and you went limp beside it.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

Your mind was awake before your body. You could feel the velvet sheets beneath your fingertips and smell the comforting french vanilla aroma that wafted through the Wolves’s house. It was warm- almost too warm for your comfort. Or maybe it was the fever you were running from stress.

You tried to smack your lips together, cringing when the inside of your mouth resembled that of a desert. You needed water.

Peeling your eyes open, you groaned. The lamp beside the bed was too bright, contrasting greatly against the still-dark sky. How long were you out?

You sat up on the bed, feeling sore, but brushed it off and trudged towards the door. You opened it and headed towards the stairs when you heard voices in a room across from you, two doors down.

“She’s already caused too much harm. I say we let her go and let natural selection take its course.”

You scoffed. Typical Hiram- rude ass.

“No- no. We brought her into this, the universe has basically ordered us to keep her safe. If any Eagles see her on the street, she’s done for.” Hapi reasoned.

“That might be a good thing-“

“Hiram-“

“She shot Yuri! He’s not waking up because of her!”

The silence that followed his outburst made your heart clench. You didn’t mean to actually hit him- you just meant it as a warning shot. Hell, you didn’t even know your aim was that good.

“He’s going to be fine. In the meantime, we need to contact Claude or Dimitri and see what’s happening.”

Claude? Claude, the boy at the pizza shop? You rolled your eyes. Of course he’d be a part of this- whatever this is.

“What if they’re siding with her?” Constance asked worriedly.

“Trust me, if it’s anything that Claude’s against, it’s an imbalance of power. As for Dimitri, I’m not sure.”

Your hands began to shake again and you blinked rapidly, trying to push away the looming realization that no, this wasn’t a joke, and yes, these college kids are in a fucking gang. You supposed a part of you didn’t want to believe it until now, but it crashed onto you like a bag of bricks.

These people have hurt others. Killed them. You hurt someone too- you shot a man. A man who apparently is trying to keep you safe.

Continuing to blink, this time biting back tears, you walked down the stairs into the kitchen. Grabbing a glass from the counter, you filled it up in the sink and began chugging.

One glass.

Two.

Maybe if it was alcohol, you’d feel a little better. But it wasn’t. And you didn’t.

More footsteps resounded from the stairs, making their way through the living room and into the kitchen. Hapi entered first, followed by the other four. She gave you a tight smile, choosing to mess with some papers that still rested on the kitchen table.

The papers were frenzied and unorganized- they must have really rushed out once they realized that you’d left.

Hiram walked past and bumped your shoulder rather harshly, making you spill your third glass of water down the front of your shirt. You hissed, wanting nothing more than to yank out those snowy locks of his, but he was definitely armed and no doubt dangerous. You valued your life a little too much to mess with the little man.

Eventually, the group sat down at the table and Hapi patted her hand on the wood, pointing to the empty chair across from her. “Please, Y/N, sit.”

You did so, awkwardly, clasping your hands and putting them in your lap. You didn’t want to look up, already feeling the five intense stares burn into your form.

“It seems our first little talk wasn’t as… effective as it needed to be.” The redheaded girl began. “You were seen with us in the cafe when Edelgard attacked. You let your mouth run, disrespecting her. And I can assure you right now, that the Eagles have all the details on you. Especially since one of their own seemed to recognize you. Like it or not, you’re in this now.”

Hiram snorted, leaning back on his chair and nonchalantly checking his nails. “You’re stuck with this, toots. If you didn’t want to be, you should’ve stuck behind everyone like a good little coward and let the big dogs fight over the bone. You could’ve easily been seen as a citizen and an innocent bystander, but no. Something in you said ‘hey, let’s be a bitch to these people who suddenly barged in here with guns’. If I didn’t know any better, it would seem to me like you were practically,” He leaned forward, his icy eyes boring into your own, “asking for it.”

You furrowed your eyebrows, but still kept shut. He wasn’t necessarily wrong, you could’ve easily decided to let the obviously-more-experienced people deal with it, but in your defense, you didn’t know at the time! You didn’t even think your 5 second long conversation with this Edelgard chick was as negative as they made it out to be.

Crossing your arms, you willed your face to remain stoic. “I just don’t see why she’d have it out for me. I didn’t even do anything that bad.”

“Look, look at my face.” Hiram pointed to the bridge of his nose, where a deep, pale pink scar contrasted against his skin. “Rhys and I used to be… involved with them. Her little lap dog- Ferdinand- did this. Because I made some ill-timed joke.”

You couldn’t help but glance over at Rhys, whose eyes had darkened at the mention of his past. The mention of Ferdinand’s name and his affiliation with the Eagles made you wonder about everyone’s past- how exactly did all of these people get involved with such a deadly life? You didn’t have much time to dwell on it before Balthus spoke up.

“Listen, little one, just stay here and chill out until we can a hundred percent confirm that the Eagles aren’t associating you with us. If they’re not, you’re free to go.”

“And if I am?”

“We’ll burn that bridge when we get to it.”

Everyone at the table gasped and turned around to the kitchen entrance, where the strained voice had come from. Yuri was leaned up against the door frame, holding onto his side still. His torso was bare, but the skin was covered by bandages and gauze.

The Wolves shot up out of their seats, rushing over to their leader.

“Yuri!”

“Why are you up?”

“You need rest.”

Yuri just chuckled at them, hiding a wince as his stomach contracted with the laugh. “I’m fine, I’m fine, everything’s cool. Not the first time.”

You still sat at the table, watching as they helped him sit in his place at the head before going back to their own seats. The Wolves really seemed to care about each other, you noticed, and felt a small pang of guilt for causing them so many problems already.

“So, Yuri-Bird, I was explaining to everyone earlier that our best choice of action is to contact Dimitri and Claude and see what’s happening in their little sectors of the world.” Hapi folded her hands on the table, “I know with about a 90% certainty that Claude will be against whatever Edelgard’s doing. Dimitri, I’m not so sure.”

Yuri nodded, taking in the information. “We need stronger people going to Dimitri, then, just in case he sided with her.”

“Which is why I decided that it would be best for all of us to go together. Dimitri has that one assassin with him- the Black Cat or whatever his alias is.”

“It’s Felix. I wouldn't forget the name of such a hunk of a man.” Hiram practically swooned.

Hapi rolled her eyes. “...Right. So, we start with Claude and then move on to Dimitri.”

Rhys raised his hand for a moment, making Hiram shush everyone. He said nothing, only jutting a thumb at you as if asking ‘what do we do about this chick?’ The room was quiet for a moment, then Constance clapped her hands together.

“She can stay and take care of Yuri!”

“What?” You and the previously mentioned man cried out.

He turned and glared at you. “You lot are going to entrust my healing to the same bitch that shot me? No. I’m coming with you all.”

Balthus shook his head. “She’s right, Boss. You could barely walk down here. You need to rest before you get back in the game.”

“Yeah,” Hiram began to laugh, “I’m sure Miss Girl will fix you right up. Maybe she’s better at caretaking than she is running away.”

You returned Yuri’s glare, but quickly switched it to Hiram. He lost his smile and quirked up an eyebrow, as if challenging you to say something. You didn’t.

“We leave tomorrow morning at 8 o’clock. Yuri, you sleep in. Y/N, be up early to change his bandages.”

Hapi stood and stretched, letting out a large yawn before walking out of the kitchen.

The rest of the group followed, Yuri lagging behind as Balthus helped him walk. His lavender eyes pierced into you, obviously extremely angry at you. You shuddered. You absolutely did not want to be alone with him tomorrow.

Dreading morning, you went to your room and tucked yourself back under the velvet sheets, watching the hall light turn off and listening to Hiram’s annoying voice echo throughout the walls.

“Goodnight y’all! Sweet dreams- except for the Princess, of course.”

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taglist: @fairyblue-alchemist @emperor-pizza @flavoredmilktea @sadies-stories-n-things @blviddyd @laurexlance @atomicchocolatecookie @mapesandoval @local-goth-lilz 

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[blazinbeautywrites]

Varsity Blues

Note: Due to the rampant uprising of plagiarism on this site  and others I am stating once and once only that this is my ORIGINAL  work. If I find out that you have stolen/taken any part of my work I  will handle you and the situation the way I see fit.

None of the pics of gifs I use belong to me so full credit goes to the originators of said gifs and pics.

Summary: Zoie gets dragged to frat party by her best friends Maddie and Rae where she meets Zabdiel and they hit it off, in more ways than one.

A/N: This waaayy longer than I wanted it to be and I’m not even sure I even like it but imma post it anyways cuz I’ve had it for almost 2 weeks lol.

Length: 2,169 words

Genre: Smut

Zoie hated football, especially college football. Yet here she was in the stands as her two best friends Maddie and Rae cheered on their school’s team. Apparently they just scored a touchdown but Zoie didn’t care at all. She noticed the guys behind them were exceptionally loud too, specifically whenever they spotted the quarterback on the field. She recognized one of the guys, Erick. He was a freshman but he took her Psychology class. Zoie was relieved when she saw they were in the last quarter of the game. All she wanted to do was go back to her apartment and finish her research paper and sleep.

“Ya know you can at least pretend you’re interested in the game.” Maddie said as she and Rae finally sat down.

“Yall know damn well I don’t like football but yall dragged me to this game anyways.” Zoie said. 

“Girl whatever. Oh wait I see somebody I know at the concession stand. Yall want anything?” Maddie asked.

“Yeah I’ll take a hotdog and bring miss grumpy here a coffee.” Rae said. Maddie leaves and returns no more than 5 minutes later with a handsome guy along with Rae’s food and Zoie’s coffee.

“Guys this is Joel. He’s one of the sophomores I’m tutoring. He’s also in a frat and he invited us to their party after the game.” Maddie said.

“Ummm I’ll pass. I have a paper due Monday so that’s what I’m spending my weekend doing.” Zoie said.

“So you rather stay at home and do homework than take a night off and enjoy yourself? You sound like my boy Erick here.” Joel said as he nodded towards Erick. Zoie turned around and looked at Erick, along with a guy with red hair, and another with shaggy hair. 

“Anyways let’s just watch the game.” Zoie said as everyone settled back in their seats, Joel taking a seat right between her and Maddie. The game went on and on and when it was finally over, their school’s team had won the game.

“YES! What an amazing game! Zabdiel was so fucking good tonight.” Rae said.

“Yeah woohoo, can we go now?” Zoie asks in the most unenthusiastic way.

“Wait, aren’t you coming to the party?” Erick asked.

“Nope. I have a paper due, ya know the same exact paper you have due.” Zoie said.

“We have ppl for that. And I’m not taking no for an answer. Joel said.

“Plus you look way too good to go straight home.” The redhead said as he checked her out. She was wearing a form fitting yellow plaid skirt with a white halter with a butterfly on it, a pair of black platform boots and she topped off her look with a black leather jacket.

“I’m sorry and you are….?” Rae asked.

“Richard. And this is Christopher. We’re the ones who plan all our frat’s events, including tonight’s festivities.” He said.

“Okay fine if I say yes will you shut up and stop eye fucking me?” Zoie asked.

“I make no promises but yes I’ll stop so can we please go? I had one of the pledges order me a special pizza and I’m starving.” Richard said. Everyone made their way out of the stadium and towards the parking lot. The girls made their way to Zoie’s car and once they were inside, Joel texted Maddie their address and they were on their way.

                                             ________________

The party was in full swing when the girls pulled up. Joel, Erick, Chris, and Richard were just walking into the house when Zoie parked. She sighed then got out of the car. As they walked up the path to the front door Zoie noticed a guy passed out on the lawn and shook her head.

“The party literally just started.” Zoie mumbled. Once they made it to the front door a burly guy in the most obnoxious, stereotypical frat attire stopped them at the door.

“Password?” He said, as he let out a long, loud burp.

“Oh my fucking god he’s a caveman. I’m going home.” Zoie said as she turned to leave, but Rae and Maddie grabbed her.

“Password? Hmm let’s see. How about move or I’ll rip your fucking dick off!” Rae yelled, catching the attention of many bystanders.

“Rory, dude they’re with me and the boys. I told you, you don’t have to guard the door all night.” Joel said as he came to the rescue. He ushered the girls inside and they’re immediately hit with the smell of barbeque and alcohol.

“How are there so many people already? This shit JUST started.” Maddie asked.

“Oh we’ve been spreading the word since Monday so everyone knew where to be after the game. Can I get you all something to drink?” Joel asked.

“I’ll take some Hennesy, straight and Rae likes Patron. And…..Zo?” Maddie asked, looking at Zoie.

“Well I’m driving so I’ll take a coke.” Zoie said. Joel led them to the drinks table where they saw all the guys mixing their own drinks. However a new person joined. The school’s quarterback Zabdiel de Jesus.

“Ladies this Zabdiel, our star quarterback but yall already knew that. Zab this is Rae, Maddie, and Zoie.” Joel spoke as he introduced the girls.

“Zoie? Wait, you’re in Erick’s class right? He talks about you alot.” Zabdiel said.

“Bro what the fuck?” Erick said as he looked wide eyed at Zoie?.

“What? I mean you definitely didn’t lie, she’s absolutely gorgeous.” Zabdiel said. He and Zoie made eye contact and Zoie felt a little tingle and quickly averted her eyes. Fuck, she thought to herself.

                                             ________________

It was well into the night and everyone was TRASHED. Zoie, on her 3rd coke of the night, was posted up on a nearby wall watching her friends with the guys.  Maddie was dancing and making out with Joel while Rae was sandwiched between Richard and Chris. Erick was off in the corner with a petite blonde in his lap. Lost in her own little world of people watching, Zoie didn’t notice Zabdiel sidle up to her and when she finally did she nearly bumped into him.

“FUUUCK ME! Bruh what the hell?!” She yelled, shocked.

“I mean I usually don’t fuck when I first meet a girl but for you, I’ll make an exception for you.” Zabdiel said. He gave her a little smirk, almost making her fall to her knees but she kept it together. She looked at him and laughed.

“Does this whole sensible giant thing you got going on ever work for you?” Zoie asked as she chugged the rest of her drink.

“You tell me. Is it working on you?” He asked. He took a sip of his drink and eyed her intensely.

“N-No. Ummmm where’s the bathroom?” She asked.

“Through the kitchen to the left.” He replied as he chuckled at her nervousness. Once Zabdiel told her where to go she hauled ass but when she arrived the door was locked and she heard moans coming from the other side.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” She said to herself. She searched around and still couldn’t find a bathroom. She decided to check upstairs and was delighted when she finally found a bathroom. It was communal and she was slightly disgusted but she put that aside as she looked at herself in the mirror. She took off her jacket and examined herself in the mirror. She looked tired so she splashed some water on her face to refresh herself. As she’s drying her face she hears the door open. She looks up and sees Zabdiel and smiles.

“Erick said he saw you run up here. You good?” Zabdiel asked as he leaned against the sink.

“Yeah just needed some fresh air. We should get back to the party though.” Zoie moved to leave but he gently grabbed her hand and pulled her towards him. He backed her into the sink and got as close to her face as he could without touching her.

“What if I said I wanted you? You think I didn’t notice the effect I have on you.” Zabdiel ran a finger along the side of her neck. Zoie tried to fight it but couldn’t deny the way she was feeling or the puddle slowly forming in her underwear. She closed her eyes and let her head fall back. Zabdiel kissed the exposed part of her neck, causing her to let out a soft moan. She pulled his head back and kissed him. The kiss became intense and Zabdiel let out a low grunt as Zoie pulled on his hair. He grabbed her by the waist and lifted her onto the sink. Zoie opened her legs and pulled him closer to her. She deepened the kiss as she slipped her tongue in his mouth and grinded against him. He gifted her skirt so it bunched around her hips. He used his index finger to trace along her clothed slit. He felt the wetness through her underwear and laughed. “God your so fucking wet.” He said as he moved her underwear to the side. He used his finger to spread her wetness over her clit. He heard her moan and moved his finger in short circles over her. “Tell me what you want.” He said as he continued his assault on her sensitive bud.

“I w-want your fingers inside of me.” Zoie sighed. Zabdiel was more than happy to oblige and slid his index finger inside of her. Zoie was taken aback as his long finger massaged her walls.

“You feel so fucking good. Think you can take another one?” Zabdiel asked. Zoie nodded and moaned as he slid another finger inside of her. He was moving at a slow pace and it drove her crazy.

“Can you move faster? You’re killing me.” She managed to say. Without a word he moved his finger faster and Zoie matched his pace as she grinded on his fingers. Zabdiel used his thumb to rub her clit and Zoie all but lost it. She was a whimpering mess as he pleasured her. He kissed her again and they made out as his fingers moved at an incredible pace inside of her. Zoie felt some of her juices drip onto the sink.

“You’re making a mess. Now let’s see if I can make that pretty little pussy squirt.” Zabdiel whispered against her lips. He continued to finger fuck her as Zoie struggled to stay on the sink. She gripped his arm to steady herself as she saw stars. The feeling was overwhelming and he felt like she was about to pass out.

“Shit! I’mcomingI’mcomingI’mcoming…..SHIIIIIIIIITTTTTT.” Zoie screamed. She felt like the life was sucked out of her as she arched into Zabdiel. He felt her wetness gushing out of her and smirked as her wetness soaked the sink, floor, and the bottom of his shirt.

“Hmmm. You look so fucking hot right now.” He said as he planted another deep kiss on her lips. He could still feel her body shaking when he withdrew his fingers from her.

“That was…..fuck that was amazing.” Zoie slumped against the mirror and eyed Zabdiel. He motioned for her to come to him and then tapped his cum soaked fingers against her lips. She immediately obeyed and took his fingers into her mouth and sucked them clean. Tasting herself somehow aroused her even more and she removed his fingers with a loud, wet pop. She looked him dead in the eyes the entire time, making him hard.

“You are incredible, you know that? Now let’s go before our friends wonder where we are.” He said. He helped her clean up then they headed back downstairs where the party was still raging. Zoie saw Rae and Maddie outside stuffing their faces with burgers. She and Zabdiel made their way outside and saw the rest of the boys also scarfing down various foods.

“Where the hell did you two disappear to? We’ve been looking everywhere for yall.” Rae said as she finished off a beer.

“We….ummmm-”

“I was fingering her upstairs in the bathroom. She made a mess so we had to clean up.” Zabdiel said in a nonchalant manner as he took a seat neck to Richard.

“OH MY FUCKING GOD.” Zoie squealed. She was so embarrassed and sat down next to Maddie who was laughing her ass off.

“Awww babe don’t be embarrassed. Joel only lasted 5 minutes and I didn’t even cum so...” Maddie said.

“Hold the fuck up, not my fault. It’s the alcohol.” Joel pleaded.

“Yeah okay, blame the liquor.” Richard laughed. The rest of the night was a hot ass mess but they all had fun and enjoyed themselves until most of them passed out. Zoie was still wide awake and as she got up to leave she felt that same gentle tug on her hand.

“Can you stay a bit longer?” Zabdiel asked. She smiled at him then took a seat next to him. She snuggled up against him then felt herself drift off to sleep.

[surveys-at-your-service]

Survey #452

“what i’ve felt, what i’ve known, never shined doing what i’ve shown  /  never free, never me, so i dub thee unforgiven”

Are you a part of the LGBTQ+ community? I am. Do you have Tiktok? Are you addicted? I don't. Do you enjoy being outside? IF it's cool outside, yes. Do you like being around kids? No, not really. Have you ever gotten Covid-19? No. What's your ethnicity? Caucasian. If you were president, what's the first change you would make? I'd probably put in place free healthcare first. What is an animal that you'd like to have as a pet but it's not allowed? If an animal shouldn't be a pet, there's a reason. So none. What was your favorite meal as as kid? Has it changed now? It was spaghetti. I still love it, but it's not my favorite now. Which doctor is your least favorite? Primary, eye, dentist, gynecologist, etc. Potential TMI answer follows. So, the VERY easy answer is gynecologist. Like, I've never even BEEN to one because I'm too scared. Not because I think they'll find anything wrong, but because I'm just very self-conscious about stuff like that and I do fucking not want some random stranger laying a goddamn finger on me like that. My doctor is really pushing me to go by now though as a safety precaution, but I just really, really don't want to. Do you feel that you'd be any good at solving a murder? No. I'm so clueless. You own a dragon, but it doesn't breathe fire; what comes out instead? Water, I guess? That could be beneficial in a lot of ways. Have you ever been sprayed by a giant rain puddle when a car passed by? No. Do you remember the last movie you saw while on a date? Yeah, IT with Girt. What color is your iPod? Hot pink. Do you think baby clothes are adorable? Ha ha yeah, I just tend to like miniature things in general, and babies are just... miniature humans lmao. Whose house did you last sleep over at? Sara's. If you could adopt 3 unique pets, what would you get? A plains hognose morph (probably a lavender, or snow?), a Brazilian black tarantula, andddd... an African fat-tailed gecko morph. What grade are you in, if you’re still in school? I'm not in school. Do you get a lot of tourists in the area where you live? Hell no, there's not shit here. Do you enjoy watching vlogs? Only occasionally by certain people I like. What was the last new video game you were excited about? It really sucks I don't have the appropriate console to play it myself, but I was SUPER stoked for Resident Evil 8: Village to be released and literally watched like four different playthroughs at the same time, ha ha. Have you ever talked about your period with a guy? Were they okay with it, or grossed out? In a three-and-a-half years intimate relationship, it obviously came up before. He didn't care, because he wasn't 12. Have you ever been to small church/bible group/study? Forced to or wanted to? I was forced to go to Sunday school, as well as church. Have you ever been to an Asian (any type) market? If so, what is the closest one to you? I've never seen one here, even. How would you feel if your significant other had tattoos? That'd be a bonus to how physically attracted I was to them, probably, lol. I just love tattoos. Where was the last place on your body that you felt physical pain? My uterus is screaming. :') What are you listening to right now? I am fucking unhealthily obsessed with Violet Orlandi & Skar's cover of "The Unforgiven" by Metallica lkasdjkflawjerwr like I will not stop listening to it lol. Last person you texted? My mom. Have you ever gone out of your way to make someone happy? Yes. Is there a certain person that makes you feel safe? My mom. Have you ever used a chainsaw? Nooo, and I don't want to. Do you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, or Kwanzaa? crihmuh Ever been so stunned, no words came out? Oh yes. Ever written that you were going to end your life? I have. I was fucking stupid and made a suicide note on Facebook. I genuinely wanted everyone on there to know what they meant to me, so like it seriously wasn't for attention, which I still worry people think that. Ever put fake bugs around your house to scare someone? Not to scare people, no. I have two faux tarantulas in my room as decor, though. Is there a reason you have the name you do? Not particularly. My parents just liked it, ig. Choose: the best song by Green Day? Aw, that's way too hard! I love Green Day. I guess if I absolutely had to pick, maybe "21 Guns." It's just a truly beautiful song. Have you ever tried to “save”, or “fix” someone, before? No. I don't believe that works and only damages you. Were ethics discovered or invented? That's a good question. I really can't say I know. Do you put effort into getting tan during the summer? Nah. Are you a fairly self-motivated person? NO. I need external motivation pretty badly. Be honest, does the person you like actually deserve you? Or are they actually not worthy of your affections? I don't deserve him. List 5 things that have been on your mind most recently. 1.) wtf I feel about Girt and wtf to do about it; 2.) my weight; 3.) what job I'm going to search for once I make progress at the gym; 4.) whether or not to quit photography and focus my efforts elsewhere; and 5.), as always, Jason. What is better, history or science? Science is way more interesting. Do you flinch at the sight of blood? No. Do you enjoy swimming? Yeah. When you swear, is it usually in general or directed at someone? In general. I don't generally swear at people. Are any of your friends hoping to be famous one day? Yeah; I've got a couple of musician friends. Who would you kiss right now if you could kiss anyone? GO AWAY Ever slapped a guy in the face? No. I don't hit people. Do you think you’re a good friend? I sure try to be. Have you ever thrown your cell phone in anger? When? I have on only one occasion when I Jason and I were texting and he pissed me off. I don't remember what we were even talking about now. My phone was fine btw, ha ha, I didn't like, chuck it. What color of hair do you find the sexiest on the opposite gender? Out of the natural hair colors, black. But I really like hair that's dyed exotic colors on like... anyone. Have you slept over at a member of the opposite sex’s house in their bed? Yeah. When you lost your virginity, were you sober? Yeah. Have you ever given your phone number to somebody you met online? Quite a few people, actually. Most of my friendships are online. On average, how much does gas cost where you live? When I was out today, it was $2.99. Why are you happy? Who said I was? I'm not happy. What is in your pocket? Nothing. What was the worst feeling you last felt? Severe indecision. Worthlessness. Yesterday had some grim periods. What would you name your future son? I always answer with the first name, "Damien," so let's see about a middle name... uhhhh... maybe Damien James? I'm not really sure about a middle name, but that sounds nice. What are you waiting for? Girt to message me back. He barely touches Facebook, so I can't blame him, but I wanna plan a day for him to visit and we can hang and I can decide what the fuck it is I feel towards him. What takes your breath away? Big waterfalls, to name a major one. What fact of life would you rather not know about? That the world doesn't give a fuck about you. It sounds super pessimistic, I know, but it doesn't. There is no sentience to it, no will to keep you safe and happy, it just... exists, and we're thrown onto it to figure it out. Unfair things happen. That's life. ... Damn, this answer was dark lol. What’re a few things that automatically make you go, “Awww?” Meerkat pups doing so much as blinking, guys being really cute with kids, seeing elderly couples holding hands and just generally being precious, proposals (especially gay ones just because of how hard that was fought for), seeing literally any picture in existence of Mark and Amy together, veterans coming home and their dogs freaking out... Man, a lot of things. This question brightened my mood to think about. :') Are you easily scared by horror movies? Nah. You just got a free plane ticket to anywhere. You have to depart right now. Where are you gonna go? Illinois to visit Sara. :') I really wanna hang. Do you know anyone with the same birthday as you? No, but a former best friend had her bday a day before mine. Are you wearing a ring? I always wear two. Do you hate to hug people? No, I love hugs. How many rooms does your house consist of? Seven. If you could be on any TV show, which would it be and why? Can I be a Pokemon trainer, pls???? What would you want to be famous for? Most ideally, a great wildlife photographer. The kind photography students would see and be inspired by. Do you sleep with a stuffed animal? No, I sleep with a real animal, ha ha. What is your favorite brand of hairspray? I don’t have one. What is in your backyard? Not very much... I'm barely ever even out there, so I barely know. There's one shed, a small tree, and uh... idk. Who is/was your favorite teacher? I have a few. Mrs. Whitley, Mr. Proctor, Coach Collie, and Miss Tobey are some. What’s your favorite non-sexual thing to do with a girl/boy? Play video games together. Do you cheer for the bad guy? Ha, I have a tendency to do that... Would you rather start a new career or a new relationship? Career. I want one so very badly. Something on the human body that grossest you out the most: So even though I am sexually attracted to any gender, nevertheless, genitalia gross me the fuck out. Either kind. Penises especially though like what the fuck- Do you think it’s easier to raise a boy a girl? Why? From most parents, I've heard boys are much easier because girls (supposedly) tend to have more of an attitude. What is your favorite strawberry flavored food? Strawberry is generally my favorite flavor for like, everything, so this is just about impossible. Maybe uhhh slushies? What is the oldest video game system you’ve played? An Atari.

[kpopisthereasonihavenolife]

Kitsune | ii. winter

Jung Hoseok/Reader [F]

Genre: Demon Hunter AU, Action, Romance, Enemies to Lovers, Japanese Feudal Era

Warning(s): Contains Violence & Blood (Semi to Graphic Depictions)

Words: 11.7k

Summary: Demons: man-eating, murderous monsters who would kill anyone for the blood of humans: be it man, woman or child.  They have no need for comrades. Known cannibalize and kill other demons if they so choose. Demon Hunters are tasked with eliminating any and all demons without question, but what would come to pass if they were told that a demon saved a human life? Views, values and relations become altered and absolutely nothing seemed human anymore.  Never sharpen a blade too much, lest you become the wounded. 

Series Index | i. demon 

a/n: you would not believe how long it took me to edit this (and I'm sure there’s still errors RIP) Kudos to my gf who were on discord the entire time while I complained about proofreading LOL.  However! Here is the second installment of Kitsune! I’m pretty happy with how it turned out and please please please tell me how you felt about this chapter!!! Feedback is key folks *clicks tongue*

t.list: @kathrynwynterbourne @tiredjedi @kaekae-93 @multycoloredtaco @sunshinechim-98 @baojinnie @perpetually-single @lexi-tries-art​ @fallingjungwoo​ 

It’s been a year since Hoseok had brought you- a demon- back to the home of his superior Lord Fuuta.  In that year he has also not once come back to that manor.  He never knew what became of you, or of that old man who was on his deathbed; in fact, he pushed you both so far back into his mind he had forgotten after so long.  He wasn’t aware of Taehyung’s actions or assignments.  The only words he exchanged with his lord were short messages of demons that plagued areas that came to him on the talons of crows acting as messengers. 

It was the dead of winter once again in Japan.  Hoseok had hardly changed when it came to his mindset and his all-around opinions. Physically, his hair had grown enough for his dark bangs to brush annoyingly in front of his eyes.  With traveling and battling being his day-to-day occurrences, he began to grow more fit as time passed.  Still wearing his keikogi and crimson haori.  His eyes also withstood the trial of time; remaining as cold as they did for as long as others could remember.

He was currently sat at a small stand selling fresh dango and tea.  Pulling one of the three dumplings off the wooden skewer, he ate silently at the bar on a wooden stool.  A clay, green painted mug of steaming tea sat to the right of his small saucer- the warmth of the beverage chasing away the winter cold.  

The stand itself was a small one- hardly the capacity for the treats to be made behind the countertop and just big enough to squeeze in four stools- making a successful business a hardship. It was located in the middle of a busy city street.  The city he was located in was far busier than any he had come across in the region alone.  

Buildings that varied from small to large with at least four stories to them. All strung with lanterns and candle lights every which direction to light up the bustling, frozen, dirt roads. Travelers trotting through the city on horseback.  Women in loose yukatas- despite the freezing weather- to tempt men and women alike into the brothel in which they were employed. Shops and stands of all sorts; from foods to antiques that were filled with items that were more than obviously fake; sellers only looking for a pretty penny for worthless trash. 

Scamming was a whole trade in itself these days it seemed. 

Fabric shops, sit down places for dining, tea houses, smiths and weapon trades, even sexual desire personified existed in the city- if you look for the right part of the city that is. The city was filled with any one person’s wants and needs if you knew just the right places to look for them. 

Hoseok hated cities.  

He hated how his senses dulled because of the constant noise and movement around him.  He had to always be on edge because even big ‘safe’ cities like this one were exactly the place where all the right things start going wrong. Population does not equate to safety; a fact that most people ignore like fools. 

If he had it his way, he would already be long gone.  However, Fuuta had contacted him via his ever-familiar crow and requested Hoseok to come to this city in the first place as well as a stay until further notice. Fuuta even prepared Hoseok room and board in an inn that was acquainted with the lord. 

Fuuta never explained why Hoseok was to come here and sit on his rear end in a waiting game with no visible end in sight.  He angrily bit and pull off his second dumpling off the skewer at the idea that this could have been an ‘order’ for Hoseok to relax from fighting.  Hoseok wasn’t one to care for himself- pushing himself over and over with injury or illness.  Some might say he was devoted to his work, others- more specifically Fuuta and Taehyung- called him a reckless idiot for never knowing when to stop.  

Taehyung used to often reprimand him for pushing his limits constantly.  Beating him to a bloody pulp in training and literally trying to beat into his head some sense.  It never worked, however.  Hoseok wasn’t always so stubborn, but after an event that sent him reeling inwards in trauma, he’s changed drastically. 

Finishing the third dumpling of his last skewer, he sipped down the rest of his tea.  Standing and ruffling out his haori to let it lay on his back with ease as he placed down yen coins as payment for the small snack os sweets.  Slightly raising the short Noren hanging on the low ceiling of the stand with the back of his hand, he left the stand behind him and headed out into the busy streets. 

It was frosty out, but no snow was coated on the ground nor was it fluttering down from the sky.  Breath chilled in clouds and the frozen dirt crunched under the straw waraji of Hoseok’s.  Ice formed in puddles of discarded water that was thrown out from shops and merchants- begging for a child to run in a playful frenzy and fall on the trackless trap. This winter wasn’t nearly as harsh as the previous had been with nearly constantly snowfall.  However, that could always change. 

Hoseok walked, weaving pass and through the tresses of people.  Holding his swords at his hip, pulling the hilts of them up towards his stomach to straighten how they sat on his side- allowing the tail ends of the scabbards to avoid unnecessarily whacking into anyone.  Any accidental confrontation with humans didn’t interest him; picking fights with people just wasn’t his thing. 

Finding his way and walking into the aged inn he had been staying, he strode through the entrance and down the halls, up to the set of wooden stairs to the second floor.  The only other floor beside the ground level the inn had. Heading down the hall he recognized the room he was provided with days prior.  Pulling the key to the room from his neck that he kept looped on a chain and slotting it into the door, he entered.  

Shutting himself inside, he was met with his room and an open window that most definitely wasn’t open when he left.  Someone, or something, must be in the space with him hiding in the shadows and doing a damn good job of it.  

Keeping his back straight as he walked further into the room with slow steps, he stopped in the center.  Keeping his movements calm, he moved his arm across his torso to grip the hilt of the one sword he always drew.  Holding the top of the scabbard with the opposite hand, he extended his thumb to click the blade out only an inch. He slowed his breathing- now stuck in a game of patience.  The air buzzing in silence as he strained to hear something- anything to alert him. 

Springing from the dark shadow of his room directly below the window, someone charged at him.  Hoseok gasped, hissing through his teeth lightly at the speed of the attack.  He wasn’t even able to draw his sword, the perpetrator’s hand clamping down over his own- pushing the blade back into its scabbard. Grabbing Hoseok’s keikogi at the shoulder with one hand, the other keeping his sword sheathed they began to overpower the hunter. 

Overwhelming Hoseok as they took steps forward, they backed him into a corner.  The mystery figure was cloaked in dark all around and a mask hid their face. Their hair was as dark as their clothes.  Only their eyes remained visible as the dim light that leaked inside reflected off them.  Hoseok’s back was pushed against the wall, the attacker’s leg hiking to push the ball of his foot into the tail ends of the scabbards and closing the distance between the two to avoid any chance of Hoseok drawing.  

Moving the hand that once held Hoseok’s shoulder, they moved to grip his shoulder and quickly stepped back and knelt a fraction.  Twisting around, they pulled on Hoseok’s collar so his chest slammed into the attacker’s shoulder before Hoseok was being flipped over their body and his back slamming into the room floor.  Hoseok sputtering in gasps as the attacker then climbed onto his chest and pressed a knife above the hunter’s eyes.  

A knife Hoseok recognized.  

He let out a breath somewhere between the lines of a gasp and a choke when his body relaxed. He coughed lightly when the attacker also began to relax.  Lifting their knife away from Hoseok’s face and moved to squat above his chest rather than pinning him down.  Twirling the weapon before sheathing it in its small sheath on their back. They chuckled above him, pulling their mask down, letting the black fabric rest around their neck. 

“You really are a pain in my ass,” Hoseok grumbled, finally gaining back his voice after the previous assault upon him.  “What the hell was that for, Taehyung?” 

The light outside shone off of Taehyung’s face.  His hair had grown far longer than the year of last, resting between his shoulder blades, twisted in a braid that threatened to unravel. Face squaring out into a more mature one of a young man.  His birthday running around in the winter season, much like he always seemed to be when the two meet. 

The younger man stood before stepped over and off Hoseok completely, leaving him to finally sit up and rotated around his shoulder and rub at his chest where Taehyung’s shoulder slammed into him.  He winced in slight pain and major annoyance.  Taehyung had moved to light the lantern hanging in the middle of the ceiling before sitting himself down in a cross-legged fashion.  

It was odd to see Taehyung in his gear, but no armor.  His completely black yoroi hitatare gear and extremely fine waraji looked empty without the cover of his armor. From a sarashi belt to his yugake gloves- all was there as he sat like he didn’t completely jump his lower-ranked ally only a few moments ago. 

“Lord Fuuta will be holding a meeting with the main leaders of each branch soon,” Taehyung started out of nowhere.  “He wishes to hold it in this city and asks that you attend.” 

Hoseok looked at Taehyung with wide, incredulous eyes.  He slightly shook his head, running the samurai’s words over and over in his head to make sure he was completely taking in and understanding the meaning of each word he said.  Taehyung’s friendly look in his eyes faded as they steeled into that of Hoseok’s superior- a line he can cross between with ease. 

“The meeting will be held in three days, allowing the remaining leaders to find their way to the meeting location. In that time, I shall have a messenger sent for you to lead you there as well.” Taehyung closed his eyes, lifting his lips in a minute quirk.  “However, the choice in which you want to follow that messenger is all yours.  Fuuta requests you there, but it is no order.” 

Hoseok was skeptical about the situation purposed towards him.  “If there is no order, why the personal confrontation about the matter.”  It wasn’t a question he spoke towards his comrade. More of a stern accusation of something that may be laying under the surface of his words. 

Taehyung just chuckled inwardly to himself.  Pushing himself up off the floor to stand, he looked down the line of his nose at Hoseok still sat in front of him.  He walked to the wooden door opening it a fraction before looking back over his shoulder to the hunter.  

“Isn’t it better to have news spread face to face with whom it may concern? Especially since we’re already in the same vicinity to begin with.” He opened the door to leave but briefly paused on the threshold.  “Oh, plus,” he started again. Voice jumping in a care-free manner with any tone of superiority vanishing.  “It will always be entertaining to tease you,” he snidely finishes.  Ducking out of the room before Hoseok could react- likely in a violent manner.  Left in his solitude, Hoseok sighed. 

His brows furrowed in thought.  He wondered if he should really attend the meeting if that’s truly what Fuuta requested.  Or if he should just leave the city and deny the audience of leaders his presence. 

“What reason would they have to summon me in the first place?” He spits in what is best described as curiosity cloaked in anxiety.  Coming off in a cold, nearly spiteful sounding, tone. 

It was the dawn of the third day since Taehyung had come to Hoseok.  The meeting gnawing at the back of his mind like an itching wound. He fought back and forth on if he should truly attend or not. 

On one hand, Fuuta did request Hoseok to attend and he was curious about who the current leaders were- aside form Taehyung of course.  On the other, he had no purpose there as a lower-ranked hunter among them.  It’s not as if he is bound by the order to go- Taehyung said so himself.  The choice was up to Hoseok, no other.  Both options fought like rams stuck in horn lock. 

Hoseok lay restless in his futon in the same room that has been that of a cell to him recently.  His distaste for cities didn’t warrant him any desire to leave the inn unless necessary.  Dressed in a kimono provided from the inn staff, a white and grey striped piece with a grey sash, he lay utterly bored.  Staring up at the ceiling and unlit lantern hanging above him. One arm behind his head, the other placed on his chest.  Futon covers pushed down to his stomach. The first dim signs of daylight began painting the winter sky orange. 

It seemed to look like another day of cold breezes and yet still no snow.  Winter was always a bland season, even covered in white everywhere one looked.  However, the lack of snow made the cold stripped environment seem worthless.  Snow brought a sense of beauty to the naked, dead-natured world at least.  It was just another ugly dystopia without a blanket of white to cover it all. 

His attention was ripped away when his window- that was closed- began to lightly rattle.  Ignoring it, he only figured it was the morning wind washing over the city in its cold breaths.  His patience was always at a low in the mornings.  The constant window-rattling that seemed to only increase in noise also seemed to rattle away at the already scarce patience he did possess. Sitting up in his futon, he looked at the offending window.  

Looking past the glass, he contorted his face in a look of private confusion.  The bare limbs he could see outside didn’t sway at all, indicating the lack of any wind whatsoever.  It wasn’t blowing. Was something else doing it, or was he simply hallucination from being inside this tiny room day after day with his push and pull thoughts.  

Pulling his legs from the futon covers, he slid out of its warmth and knelt to his knee to lift his sights higher.  He could see nothing outside his window, yet the shaking glass was constant.  He began walking cautiously towards it. 

Hoseok could see the glass shake in the frame when close enough to observe it.  Lightly touching it, the cold glass rattled against his fingertips. His brow furrowed deeper trying to think of why it would be shaking so violently.  Looking around outside the trim on the small ledge, perhaps a critter hand been knocking into it.  However, no animal was seen. 

Grabbing the frame, he began to slide it open.  Pulling the window slowly to his left inching it along.  Moving slowly as to not startle what may- or may not- be at his window. The cold sailed in like a smooth brushstroke, seeping into the warm room by the vacuum of the window opening- cold eating away at warm. The chill traveled throughout Hoseok’s exposed chest snaking down his skin like a winter wind snake. Silence and cold were all that sat beyond his window outside. 

No breeze.  No early morning mutter.  No animals chirping.  Just silence.  Eerie to the human ear and unsettling peaceful to the hunter’s mind. 

The window was fully open now and with the window being open, the rattling ceased.  He let out a breath at the silence.  Standing fully upon his feet, he dropped his guard at the halt of annoyance from the glass. 

Just as his shoulders slacked down, something lept over the outside of his window railing.  Coming out of nowhere it lept inside, landing on Hoseok’s chest with four paws planting on his skin.  Pushing into him with enough force to knock him off his feet, he stumbled onto his rear before hitting the floor with his back.  With a heavy thud, he momentarily felt apologetic to whoever may be beneath his room.  

Laying breathless half on his futon, the four paws on his chest jumped off of him with more force he didn’t exactly welcome.  Wincing, he pushed himself to twist at the waist to sit up on his left side.  Supporting himself upon his left forearm and elbow digging into the floor, he held his chest with his opposite hand, lightly gasping back the breath stolen from him. 

Looking at what just pounced at him unnecessarily his eyes widened seeing a fox in his room with him.  It wasn't a regular fox either.  

Two twin tails swayed at its backside.  The pure white coat of fur with red decorating its forehead and tail tips in nearly flawless spirals.  Its paws licked with minuscule flames of blue that did not spread or did the flames burn Hoseok’s skin when it touched him only moments ago.  Eyes of gold piercing- nearly glaring- at him.  The fox was no bigger than the average work dog.  Hitting Hoseok at least at his knees in height.  

Despite its size, the intimidating aura buzzing off the demon fox would make anyone be on their toes in anticipation of an attack or any sort of quick, uncalled for action. 

Of course, his weapons lay behind the fox.  Leant up against the wall, cut off from his reach.  Hoseok cursed under his breath.  If this fox were to pounce again, Hoseok would have to depend on brute strength and quick thinking maneuvering to claim his swords. 

However, the fox did not move into any further advancing positions.  Instead, it just sat down.  Ears twitching and tails swaying, it simply sat and observed Hoseok.  Hoseok also observed back, not daring to move yet.  Caught in a deadlock of eye contact, no party moved a muscle until the fox got back up onto its paws and trotted to the wall were his haori hung.  Turning it’s back to the wall to once again face Hoseok, it sat below the haori. 

Hoseok’s brow rose in an inquiry.  The fox only continued to stare once again.  The way its tails whipped seemed like a gesture of invitation for Hoseok to change into it.  

“My haori,” he started speaking in a whisper.  Watching the foxes ears twitch.  “Put it on?” To his utmost shock, the fox bowed its head in a single nod at his question to which he was not expecting an answer to.  Though it wasn’t so unusual as the fox was demonic- it wasn’t like a normal wild animal. “Okay,” he breathed out in a long, low syllable.  

Slowly maneuvering around his room, he began to change.  Discarding his kimono and changing into his keikogi, pulling his haori of crimson over his shoulders.  Tying his obi sash around his waist, he pulled his waraji over his tabi socks and slipped his swords onto his hips.  Dressed just as any other day that has passed or that may be yet to come. 

The fox had moved from where the crimson haori once hung back to the open window.  Tails still waving past one another and gaze almost hypnotic when Hoseok resumed eye contact.  Hoseok turned to look at the fox with narrow eyes.  He never thought he’d be unintentionally following the orders of a demon fox.  He scoffed lowly at himself.  Stopping close to the fox in the window, it soon turned and jumped back outside.  

Looking out, Hoseok saw it sitting on a wall of stone just below the window ledge- only a leap width away.  Looking back at him in a silent way of instructing him to follow behind.  He had no reason to oblige this fox; however, had no reason to deny it either.  

Hopping from his window to the same wall the fox adorned, Hoseok followed. 

Climbing walls, rushing through alleys and hardly seeing a soul in the extremely early hour, Hoseok scowled.  He half-believed this demon fox was just leading him around for a lark- as foxes are more than a bit mischievous in bare nature.  Not to mention each time it looked back at him over its fur-coated shoulder, Hoseok swore it sent glares directed at him instead of confirmation he was still trailing on its tail.  

This fox was nagging on his nerves; that he was certain of. 

He wasn’t sure why he didn’t just get rid of the fox in the first place.  It was a demon after all, but just the thought of killing it put a bad taste in his mouth.  The line between what is animal and what is demon blurred- which has never happened to Hoseok before. He knew what he followed was without a doubt demon and it irritated him. 

Following blindly, Hoseok wasn’t even paying attention to his surroundings anymore.  Reacting purely on instinct and reflex as he kept his eyes on the foxes back. Soon, it stopped running before halting and jumping directly upward.  It’s back in front of his eyes before he halted as well.  Looking up, the fox now sat up on top of a tree limb.  Stretching and dragging its claws on the bark just barely before relaxing again and looking down to the annoyed hunter and his furrowed brow.  

The air change around him seemed to finally alert Hoseok that he just moved to a whole new location.  Gasping inwardly he averted his sights down and his eyes widened.  It was like he was in a whole new place out of the city; even the scenery wasn’t that of the winter season.  The weather was warmer too.  He looked around.  

Trees of wisteria surrounded the compound he was brought to.  The compound was elevated above the ground of stone and lush greenery like winter hadn’t touched it in a long, long time.  Much like that of the home of his lord with summer chimes ringing lightly with the breeze that wafted over the estate.  The smell of wisteria flowers that bloomed in purple surrounded everything.  

Moving his attention back to the fox, he saw it glaring down at him.  

“Where did you take me you damned fox?!” Glaring down at him further, the fox got up from it’s sitting position and hissed at him.  Ready to jump down from its tree limb to pounce on his chest again after accomplishing its task of bringing Hoseok to this location.  Its body stopped it’s future violent charge when it sensed someone walk onto the wooden railing porch of the compound. 

“That is enough, girl,” a familiar voice spoke.  “Come on back here now.”  The fox stopped it’s glaring at Hoseok, turned towards the compound and jumped from the tree.  Bounding the distance from the limb to the wooden railing, it landed with grace as a hand reached out to pet at its head.  Relishing under the touch.  

Hoseok looked at the person who spoke and shook his head in small swivels before pushing the ball of his hand against his forehead.  Looking at Taehyung call, command and even show affection to a demon fox flabbergasting him to an extreme.  Taehyung just laughed at him as the fox looked back at Hoseok, no longer glaring- but examining. 

“What is that face?  I told you I’d send a messenger in three days.” 

“You didn’t tell me the ‘messenger’ was going to be a demon!” Hoseok countered with a spiked fury, stunned Taehyung was loitering around a demon in the first place.  The fox’s ears bent back in agitation before they folded back in relaxation again when Taehyung placed his hand back on its head.  

“I didn’t need to.  Besides, what does it matter?  You followed her regardless of her demonic nature instead of attacking her.  I knew if she returned alone, you wouldn’t attend.” 

“I could’ve killed that fox, you realize that right,” Hoseok deadpanned.  Taehyung scoffed, patting the fox once more before folding his arms inside the kimono he spared.  His hair unbraided and resting on his shoulders and back.  

“She’s nimble and crafty.  The most you could’ve done to her is graze her fur.  She would’ve been fine if you lashed out violently. I have the utmost faith in her.”  Hoseok gapped at the confidence Taehyung boasted towards the small fox in front of them.  Taehyung looked down to said fox.  “Go head on inside.  We’ll call for you later, alright?”  The fox looked at him and nodded one low bow before jumping off the railing and running behind the samurai inside the estate.  

Hoseok shook off his shock before he sighed.  “Where did that thing bring me, Taehyung?”  Hoseok still not sure exactly where he was.  Too much happening far too early and too quickly for his brain to catch up completely.  

Taehyung smiled before he started to head back inside, only stopping to invite Hoseok inside with him.  Hoseok followed behind him, both men silent despite having tons of topics to talk about.  Hoseok only kept a cautious eye on his long-time friend as Taehyung kept a small smile on his face the entire time he weaved through the compound.  

“This is like Lord Fuuta’s home,” Hoseok spoke to himself.  

“It isn’t wrong to think that,” Taehyung replied to him.  “It is one of his private locations.  It’s hidden by a barrier, keeping it warm like spring.  He comes here often when his health warrants it.”  

A barrier.  Hoseok nodded.  It made sense- it would explain why it was so warm here and why the flowers and greenery blossomed so excellently.  Stuck in the bloom of spring- it was a nice time of year to stop the flow of time.  Hoseok’s eyes widened, becoming aware of something.  

“Taehyung, is Lord Fuuta here?”  Taehyung just stopped in front of a shoji door, constant chattering behind it.  “Taehyung?” 

Taehyung just slid open the door and walked inside, Hoseok following at his shoulder.  Inside was a group of six people.  Among them, Fuuta sat in his ever-constant glory.  He smiled warmly when his eyes set on Hoseok.  

“Hoseok, I’m delighted you decided to come.”  Hoseok just raised his brow, narrowing his eyes in confusion.  Fuuta just shook his head slightly with a small smile.  “Taehyung, you neglected to inform him, didn’t you.”  

“I can’t help it, my Lord.  It’s far too fun to tease him,” Taehyung sung cheerily.  If not in the presence of his lord, Hoseok would’ve clobbered Taehyung over his head for the comment.  Taehyung turned to his friend he had continued to string along- although he wasn’t fully to blame.  “Hoseok follows me without question anyhow.  It makes it easy,” he teased.  Hoseok was glad he learned self-restraint years ago.  

Taehyung left his friend’s side, moving to take his place at a table sat in the middle of the room.  Sliding into a zaitsu chair among the other six; however, there was still one open chair left.  

Fuuta moved to stand, the other’s coming to a stand with their lord in respect.  

“Welcome to the leader meeting of Demon Hunters, Hoseok.  Please, take a seat next to Taehyung if you would.”  

Hoseok stood dumbly still among the meeting.  Fuuta and Taehyung being the only two faces he recognized.  The other five were completely new to him.  He froze being put into an environment with so many strangers with gazes focused solely on him- the outsider. 

“Are you deaf, boy?!” Hoseok jumped when out of the stagnant silence a gruff voice boomed at him.  Yelling in a belittling tone towards the hunter.  The tacted on ‘boy’ referring to himself made his brow tick down in a pulse of annoyance.  Looking, it was a monk who was now glaring at Hoseok who had raised his voice. 

Even when sat down in his chair, the man was a massive specimen.  Broad shoulders with excessively muscular definitions that pushed along his body and made the kimono covering him look pathetic in its own threaded fabric patterns; his kashaya over his shoulder a golden shade.  The monk was bald with eyebrows condensed to the point there were only two small ovals above the inner corners of his eyes.  Carrying a staff with him- it being tucked under his elbow as he sat- it was iron made with a jewel fused onto the circular top. 

Hoseok suspected this particular monk happened to be nastier than a man among men who people would seek openly. 

“Well?!” He shouted again.  Hoseok caught a few other leaders rolling their eyes.  “Are you ignoring our Lord, or will you do as your told and sit, boy?!” 

“You’ll scare him away yelling like a mad man, Bunji,” the only female attendee spoke in a diversely calm tone. Her voice leagues below the loud echo of the monk- addressed now as Bunji.  Hoseok wondered if he spelled his name with the kanji characters meaning child or govern, seeing as he wasn’t anything childlike- the chance of irony almost made his lips quirk. 

The woman who addressed the monk was shot a warning look by him. She sat calmly, eyes closed and posture straight as Bunji’s staff.  Dressed in armor much like Taehyung’s, only fitting more to her feminine body.  Armor fitting and curving her breast as she sat on the left side of Taehyung. She was obviously the female counterpart to the male samurai sat next to her across the table from the monk. 

Bunji slammed his large, rock palm on the tables wooden surface in a fit.  Absolutely no reaction came from anyone aside from Hoseok who still stood at the door.  Rowdy and obnoxious behavior must be the normal- odd to see coming from a monk.  So much for spiritual ease and relaxation such as meditation.  

“If an outsider is frightened off, so be it!  Such a low-ranked soldier should not be present!” 

“He is here under Lord Fuuta’s request,” snapped the small, nimble man dressed fully in black beside Bunji.  Jet black hair, sitting with his arms and legs crossed.  “Do not object to our Lord’s wishes.” 

Bunji seethed as another gentleman in simple kimono garbs spoke towards Taehyung down the table.  

“Shouldn’t you speak up?” 

“I won’t,” Taehyung replied.  “Anything I say will sound like favoritism since I know Hoseok personally.  I’ll abstain from any comments regarding him.” 

“That is a very wise and mature decision, Master Taehyung!” Bunji shot off in a tone completely new. His condemning demeanor vanishing and being replaced with one of pure agreement when shot at Taehyung.  The switch of his attitude nearly giving Hoseok major whiplash. 

Hoseok spun in confusion- hypothetically speaking of course. 

A few claps from the head of the table and Fuuta calmed all present bodies.  Lowering his arms back down to the table, he smiled his normal, calm smile he seemed to always have painted on his face. 

“Please do not allow Hoseok’s presence to hinder the tasked meeting at hand.  Proceed just as usual if you would.” All were quiet as they silently agreed, no one disagreeing with their Lord. The once chaotically charged room simmered down as Hoseok finally made his way to Taehyung’s right.  Sitting in front of the black-clad, small fellow and now missing the condescending look shot at him from the monk diagonally across from him. 

In a few moments of silence, attention was shifted and gathered as the meeting finally began. Hoseok was clearly out of the loop, not comprehending most topics covered.  From field reports to medical updates and deceased count.  He winced when he heard how many of his fellow Demon Hunters have died since the last meeting held- whenever that may have been. 

Once all regulated discussions were ruled out, Fuuta dismissed the meeting- only temporarily, however.  He asked that the group of 6- Hoseok included- come to the small, miniature shrine and torii he had erected at the rear of the compound.  Claiming he had something to show and discuss with them all.  

Taehyung seemed to be the only body without a puzzled expression as to why and Hoseok could tell from the minuscule smirk he bit back that he knew what would be waiting there- what the thing is Fuuta wants to discuss is. His attitude did seem altered, even a few days ago when he snuck up on Hoseok- something hid under his task of ‘just inviting’ him. 

Once dismissed with Fuuta leaving first, Bunji was quick to catch Taehyung before he left as well.  Hoseok at his back as per usual.  

“Master Taehyung, might I speak with you?!” Yet more loud respect drawing out of the burly man's mouth directed only at Taehyung.  

“Perhaps later, Bunji.  I have other matters to attend to now.”  Taehyung shot him down without a breath of hesitation.  However, the massive monk was not at all pressed by the blatant rejection.  

“Of course!  Excuse me then!” As quickly as he flocked to Taehyung’s side, he left. Hoseok moved to stand beside his friend now.  

“What is with all the ‘Master’ titling?” Hoseok bit in attitude. 

Taehyung shrugged.  “I haven’t a clue, but he’s called me that since he met me.  Perhaps it’s because I’m ranked above him in terms of skill. Or, maybe he simply knows how to respect a man as handsome as myself.” 

“Oh, please.  Could you be any more humble?” Hoseok rolled his eyes as Taehyung chuckled to himself, leaving the meeting room and remaining leaders behind.  Hoseok took the time to finally ask who each leader was and what they command.  Taehyung hushed his curiosities until the two had moved to the private silence of his quarters- a fresh cup of warm tea in Taehyung’s palm. 

“Curious about the others?  You have every reason to be I suppose,” Taehyung chuckled.  “Then, listen carefully, Hoseok.”  Hoseok nodded, sitting with Taehyung on the cushions he had placed on the floor- finally beginning to introduce each leader.  

First, was the monk Bunji- leading in spiritual expertise. An expert when it came to exceedingly advanced and potent mantras for demon extermination.  Skilled with his jeweled staff for exorcisms and many sutras kept in the chest of his kimono as his weapons for battle.  Though his stature is intimidating and larger- when pushed into physical combat, be it with a demon or otherwise, he was not so skilled.  Out of the five leaders, he was ranked the fourth; as well as the newest leader welcomed into the fold- the previous priest dying overseas. 

Next, was the only female member among the mass of men.  The onna-musha, or female warrior, called Kaori.  Descending from nobility, she fights alongside men and has clawed her path up by annihilating any competition that stood in her way; beating men who snubbed or doubted her strength into submission to secure a path of future loyalty. A fierce, nimble and talent-flexible woman, she was a force to be reckoned with.  Respecting Taehyung as her senior and male counterpart, she self-proclaimed she will one day surpass him and be the top swordmaster; not just second best.  Ranked third among the other five. 

Then, there was the bluntly rude and cold shoulder of the ninja leader.  Almost always seen covered head to toe in his official garbs of pitch-black combat, he believed his work never halts and was prepared for any outcome that may lurch his way. Constantly on guard and doesn’t seem to have a joking bone in his body.  His calm and analyzing demeanor deemed him a practical genius in the field.  He often clashed with Bunji and his boisterous attitude.  His name was Takaki.  Ranked first and head of his comrades.  The best candidate for the overall leader after Fuuta;  however, he’s expressed adamantly he does not wish for the responsibility and declined the position offered. 

Ranked the fifth of the leaders for his lack of physical strength and combat skills was Tsutsui.  An expert on anything medicine and poison.  He was responsible for treatment locations as well as keeping the tally of those that have fallen. An entire mass unit of medically trained men and women is what he oversaw as he kept the conditions of any and all hunters filed away- even Hoseok’s.  His role among his peers was absolutely vital and without him, more hunters would lose their lives.  However weak he may seem, if pushed into a corner- his extensive knowledge of potent toxins and poison he creates could gain him an upper hand in battle as well as an opening to escape. 

Finally, was Taehyung himself.  The top samurai and swordmaster among them and ranked second of five.  With Takaki’s refusal of Fuuta’s position as the head leader later in life, Taehyung was to be his new successor.  When Hoseok learned that he was shocked.  He knew Taehyung was strong, but not so strong he was Fuuta’s protégé.  It made the gap between them feel wider than the mouth of the greatest canyon Hoseok knew of. 

Taehyung took the last sip of his tea, concluding the leaders’ introductions to Hoseok. “Does that answer any questions you may have had about their identities?” 

“I… suppose.  I still do not admire that monk, However.” 

Taehyung laughed.  “Yes, well, Bunji leaves that impression on nearly any new face he comes across.  You do not need to be friends, but he is technically one of your superiors.  Grit your teeth and at least try and co-exist with him.” Hoseok scoffed as Taehyung set his clay mug aside, moving to stand and pat down his wrinkled kimono.  “Speaking of co-existing, let us take to the back shrine.  Lord Fuuta is waiting.” Hoseok only nodded unsurely, standing and striding in time to Taehyung’s steps.  

His mind buzzing at what could be waiting for him- and the other leaders- at the shrine at the rear of the compound. 

When Taehyung and Hoseok arrived, only Takaki and Kaori were present.  Kaori offering a prayer at the miniature shrine as the two men arrived under the small torii gate.  Soon after, the remaining two leaders appeared- Bunji being apologetic in the loudest way possible only towards Taehyung for arriving late; or rather, arriving later than Taehyung did.  Hoseok still inwardly curling at his obnoxiously loud boasting. 

Then, their lord arrived- his wife by his side.  Shiro carried with her a folded parasol clearly designed and crafted from the continent.  Brilliant red with flowers painted on the bamboo arms and handle.  Those present lowered their heads to the two of them.  Some drawn speechless at Shiro’s presence such as Bunji who had never properly met her before and only heard of her from Fuuta. 

Taehyung was the first to lift his head and move towards the two, walking to stand at Shiro’s opposite side and taking the parasol from her, opening it to shield her head from the sun. Unknown to the others, Taehyung had been with the couple a vast majority of the last year.  Growing close to both as he trained and prepared with Fuuta more each day to one day succeed him.  All was still as they stood among the wisteria- until the breeze shifted.  

With a shifting wind, a blue fire ignited along the ground; circling the group of leaders- excluding Taehyung- and Hoseok. The trio of Fuuta, Shiro, and Taehyung standing calm and safely outside the flames as they had absolutely no reaction to its appearance as opposed to the initial panic from those inside.  The flames rose high, licking at the tree limbs in height and keeping everyone inside; trapped in a fiery cage. 

Instinct drove everyone as they immediately took to their weapons.  Staff ready, stances rigid, swords and knives were drawn from scabbards and sheaths.  Multiple eyes scanned the fire surrounding them before something sprung from the flames. A human-shaped demon leaping straight from the aqua flames, those same flames coating its entire body like armor.  It’s heels connecting harshly with the largest target’s chest- Bunji’s.  

The force making the monk stumble backward, the demon came to a near kneel on his chest before pushing off of him, flinging themselves back into the area of the rest. Kaori was the first to act- deciding that since the demon was small in stature, she would be the best physical match.  

With each strike Kaori offered the demon evaded.  Bending back and ducking below horizontal slashes and rolling out of the way of vertical strikes.  Rolling around to Kaori’s back, the demon took to the ground like an animal before harshly slamming their palm into her ankle- kicking it harshly out from under her.  Stuck between a fall to the ground and a step to save her fall, the demon shoved Kaori under her shoulder blades and pushed her out and through the flames. 

Covered in a shroud of its own fire, the demon turned back to the remaining men inside its fiery trap.  Bunji, still holding his chest from the demon’s initial action of spring-boarding off him, acting next in a fit of hurt pride. 

Moving his hand from rest on his chest, he slipped it into his kashaya.  Throwing sutra charms at the demon he drew from his wardrobe, the demon moved to burn them before they could touch its body.  Manipulating the flames around its body like flexible armor. Getting nowhere with his charms, and throwing his lack of expertise when challenging someone much more nimble than he aside, he charged and began swinging with his jeweled staff.  Just as with Kaori, the demon evaded- in fact with Bunji’s slower time the chance to evade and strike was fruitful.  Taking each evasion and adding a tap to his body and moving around him, he soon found himself immobilized.  

Frozen like a statue as he staggered to his knees- body paralyzed from the taps to his pressure points.  Pushing their chest to the ground, a tail of flame pushed under Bunji’s chest and lifted him up and over the wall of flames, throwing him cleanly out. 

Sadly, Tsutsui was absolutely no help in a short-handed, up-close fight with nothing he could use on his person as a defense.  The demon was easily able to rid him of the battle circle by simply taking hold of his arm, levering it over its shoulder and tossing him outside with enough force to knock him into Bunji’s still immobilized body outside.  

The demon screeched when something pierced through its flame-like armor and punctured its shoulder. The fire around its body seemed to diminish just enough as the sai that was sticking out of its shoulder burned in the flames.  The demon seethed as it turned to Takaki, standing with one of his two sai’s in hand- the other lodged in the demon's shoulder. 

Charging at the ninja, the two moved as if engaged in a dance.  Flames swirling around the two as Takaki evades just as well as the demon did.  Missed strikes, tumbles, and rolls, jumping and leaping to and away from the fire of azure.  It was a standstill until Takaki managed to get behind the demon and take hold of his lost sai, ripping it out of the demon’s shoulder.  Another ear-piercing scream before it’s attention was forced off of Takaki and onto Hoseok.  

Sprinting away from its previous opponent, it shoved it’s shoulder into Hoseok’s chest, knocking his sword out of his hand, the second one of his being ripped from his side and tossed across the ground away from the action- still held in its sheath. Hoseok eyed his own blade’s metal laying above his head as he was shoved to the ground.  The second one was no use- even if he was closer to it, he would not draw it into battle.  

The demon pinned him as Hoseok held its wrists.  Hovering claws of fire singed his hair as the heat pulsed into his nostrils and burned his lungs as he breathed.  The demon was stronger than most men he sparred with.  The fire of the demon's armor rippled and something akin to familiarization shot through Hoseok.  Clenching his teeth, he pulled his legs up between the two, wrapped them around the demon's midsection- burning his keikogi in the process- and twisted his hips to push the demon sideways into a downwards roll.  Allowing Hoseok to control the momentum to turn the tables and effectively pen the demon down in his previous place.  The flames becoming diminished by the dirt below, Hoseok looked at the face of the demon recognizing it.  

“You are-” 

“That’s more than enough,” Fuuta’s calm voice sounded behind Hoseok.  When Hoseok turned his head, the fire was gone and it was peaceful at the shrine once again.  As if the circle of fire was never there to begin with. Looking around, Bunji was being treated by Tsutsui to get him moving again and Kaori was dusting herself off and rotating her ankle that was harshly palmed earlier on.  Takaki was sheathing his sais as Taehyung stood at his side- assuring him danger wasn’t around anymore.  Fuuta and Shiro stood directly behind Hoseok who still pinned the demon- much less on fire- down. 

Looking down, Hoseok saw the face of the demon who had been on the attack.  The flame armor vanished, and beneath it all sat a simple, almost human-looking demon.  Small red tattoos run to a point along the curve of her cheeks and she was dressed just like Shiro- only her kosode of white was paired with a Hakan of royal blue as opposed to Shiro’s red Hakan. Hair a mess beneath her pinned state as Hoseok glared at her fox golden eyes.

“You’re that demon from a year ago,” he muttered more to himself than to you. Hoseok was soon shoved off of you, as you brought your leg up and slammed your heel into his gut, extending your leg to throw him clear off you, landing in a puff of dirt dust.  Groaning he moved to sit, rubbing his head as Taehyung was soon beside him, offering him a hand up and both of his swords back to him. 

The group watched as Shiro knelt to your side, sitting you up and pulling your Hakan loose just enough to inspect the damage inflicted on your shoulder from Takaki’s sai earlier.  The wound seeped steam and small rolls of blood that stained your kosode.  Fuuta- pulling a cloth from his kimono- handed it to Shiro to press along your shoulder.  You hissed when her cloth-covered palm pushed into your flesh. 

“It is nothing serious,” Shiro told you softly.  You only kept quiet and sat still. 

“My Lord,” Fuuta turned when called by Takaki and his harsh voice.  “I’d like to know the situation, if I may be so bold to ask.”  The edge in the ninja’s voice certainly wasn’t one of inquiry, but sharp agitation instead. 

“Of course,” the lord smiled with a small breath.  “I was not planning to keep this a secret from you all.”  Fuuta turned to Shiro.  “Take her inside for a change of clothing.  She’s covered in blood, dear.”  Shiro nodded as she took your arm, gently lifting you to your feet.  Some leaders still stood rigid at you on your feet.  

Shiro began leading you inside as Bunji finally managing to speak- his voice previously locked with his body.  “Should we allow Lady Shiro to be alone with that demon?!” His voice rough in his attempt to gather his previously lost breath. 

“Do not be ridiculous, Bunji,” Taehyung started.  “That demon is practically harmless,” he spoke calmly, his arms tucked into his sleeves.  Hoseok stood beside his smirking friend as Fuuta agreed with his protege. 

“It is true.  Y/n poses no threat to Shiro, nor I or Taehyung.  In fact, she isn’t a threat to anyone here, so rest assured.” 

“That cannot be so.  She just attacked us, My Lord.  She is plenty harmful,” countered Takaki- still enraged from the single demon ambush. 

“She acted purely on my instruction.  She was told not to permanently harm and did as she was told, she did not.” 

“You offered more harm than anyone else did, Takaki,” Taehyung countered. 

“I only did as I’ve been trained to do.” 

“Do not get swept up in an argument,” Fuuta warned.  “Allow me to explain further.  Come, children. Let’s return inside.” Fuuta headed back to the compound, the rest following with a breath of hesitation.  Hoseok stood frozen in pure confusion as Taehyung tapped at his shoulder.  Ushering the hunter to follow- any questions he had would be answered. 

Fuuta had once again gathered his leaders and Hoseok in the meeting room. Everyone sat in tension- aside form Fuuta and Taehyung that is. 

“As you all witnessed, Y/n is a demon. A year ago, it was Taehyung and Hoseok who brought her to me upon request.  Since then, Shiro and I have trained her as a weapon to defend humans and fight back against other demons.” A mumble of simultaneous shock filtered through the room. 

“That’s impossible!” Interrupted Bunji. “Forgive me, but I cannot believe a demon is fighting on the human side of this war!” Bunji quickly kept the remainder of his objection to himself when Taehyung shot him a look of silencing. 

“When she was first brought to me, Shiro and I placed a certain type of spell on her.  A specific obedience charm.  Now, she is as human as a demon could possibly be.  That being said, she is absolutely unable to kill any innocent or defenseless human who offers her no harm.” 

Kaori slowly raised her hand to summon attention to herself.  “You say innocent, defenseless humans.  Does that mean anyone guilty of a crime can, in fact, be slane by her?” 

“Correct.  Say, for instance, she crossed paths with a band of thugs looking to rob, assault, or even kill her.  She would have free action to defend herself and if killing them means sparing her life- so be it.” 

The room was silent again.  The tension was nearly tangible.  Fuuta continued when it seemed no one else had a qualm to speak of. 

“Y/n is a fox demon and between the three of us- myself, Shiro and Taehyung- she seems to favor and obey Taehyung the most.” Eyes shifted to the samurai.  Hoseok remembered the small fox that brought him to the compound that Taehyung has claimed to ‘send’ as a messenger. 

“Is she the same fox that I followed here?” Hoseok asked Taehyung.  The samurai nodded one deep chin touch to his chest with a smile.  

“She is.  I asked her to bring you.” 

“Another example of her loyalty to humans,” Fuuta added.  “She left and willfully returned when she had the prime chance to flee from us all together since she was without supervision.  Over the last year with Y/n, we have grown to trust her.” Fuuta sighed at his leaders' stoic faces. “I do not expect anyone to accept her fully; however, all I ask is not to antagonize her.  Shiro and I consider her a daughter we were unable to bare now.” 

With his final regards, Fuuta dismissed himself, leaving the rest to ponder.  

“Can we really trust a demon?” Kaori spoke softly- a whisper like a flower petal. 

“Of course not!” Objected Bunji, quite the opposite in loudness. 

“If it's what Lord Fuuta wants, I don’t see the harm in accepting her.  He did acknowledge her and showed he was able to speak commands and have her listen and obey them at the shrine.  When he said enough, that was it- all was over and she stepped down almost immediately.”  Tsutsui spoke as he stood himself up.  “I’m willing to give her the benefit of the doubt out of respect for our Lord.  As fellow leaders- you should all consider it as well.”  He excused himself as Takaki left in silence- not adding his opinion on the topic of you personally on his way out. 

One by one, the room was cleared out- each person leaving with uneasy emotions until only Hoseok and Taehyung was left. Sat in silence, Taehyung heard the rattling of Hoseok’s sword shaking in its scabbard as he held it so tightly his knuckles whitened ghostlily. 

Taehyung knew so many who hated demons, but he doubted no one's fury ran as deep as Hoseok’s.  Knowing he was part of why you were here when he and Taehyung captured you a year ago, it no doubt crawled under his skin.  After what Hoseok has lost to demons, he’s justified to feel the way he does- complete and utter contempt towards your existence. 

Taehyung only reached out and pressed his fingertips into Hoseok’s neck- almost instantly settling him back down.  

“Do not dwell and calm down, Hoseok.” 

“How can I?” He bit. 

“Blame me for working with Y/n if you want, but try and understand Fuuta’s decision.  Y/n is not the enemy, Hoseok.  I promise.” He left soon after his small discussion with his long-time friend. 

Hoseok shook his head to himself.  No matter how he wished he could- he could not blame Taehyung.  He could not hate his best friend and he couldn’t put the burden of his feelings onto Taheyung’s shoulders either.  

Clenching his jaw, he cursed himself as he sat in his own deafening solitude- his constantly sheathed second sword tight in his palm. 

A week went by and slowly each leader left the compound- one way or another coming to terms that a demon was considered a comrade at this point in time.  However, all agreed that if they see you as a threat at all or at any point- they would not hesitate to lop off your head. 

Hoseok still remained in the compound, Fuuta explaining that he needed to calm his distress before going back out onto the field.  Hoseok respected his wishes and stayed put as told.  If he so much as caught a glimpse of you, he’d stop and recede back in the opposite direction.  He’d instantly be put into a sour mood- so he avoided you at any cost. 

He currently sat in his room on the second story of the compound, boredly sitting at his window- staring out at nothing but frozen in time wisteria blooms.  His attention shifted when voices below his room on the second floor were heard. 

“You’re awfully moody.  What’s wrong with you?” Taehyung spoke as Hoseok heard.  His head lifted at his friend’s voice.  

“It’s nothing,” A woman.  One voice Hoseok didn’t recognize well.  

“Do not lie to me, Y/n.” Hoseok rolled his eyes as his head lowered back down.  Boredom engulfed with immediate annoyance. 

“I want that human out of here.” 

“Be more specific. Everyone in the compound is human besides you, you know that.” 

“That stupid hunter,” you bit.  Hoseok furrowed his brow knowing you had the audacity to want him gone.  

“Hoseok?” Taehyung questioned as you only scoffed at his name.  “Listen, he’s here because Fuuta asked him to be here.  You know that.” 

“Excuse me for not wanting to be in the same vicinity as the man who put me into this situation.” 

“Y/n,” Taehyung’s voice hardened.  “Disliking Hoseok for bringing you to Fuuta is wrong.  I was the one who knocked you unconscious, carried you back and delivered you.  Hate me if you are still dwelling on the past.” Hoseok flinched at the cut in Taheyung’s voice.  Scolding you for bringing up that night last winter. 

“That isn’t fair,” you fought back. 

“Why isn’t it, then?” 

“You don’t treat me like a-!” The conversation halted into silence.  Hoseok sighed, his eavesdropping seemingly finished.  

In a flash, a hand grabbed his open window ledge before you vaulted into view. Hoseok knelt on his knee as you threw yourself into his room.  Laying flay on his back, he ducked under your body that jumped into his room- originally wanting to tackle him down.  Rolling into his room, he was thankful to finally have his sword nearby.  Drawing it, he flipped it around so the dull edge faced you.  

Lunging at him, he whacked away your open claws aimed at him with the dull of his sword, allowing him to side-step behind you.  Reaching out, he grabbed a fistful of your hair, yanking you backward and pulling you down to the ground.  Yelping, you were soon back first on the tatami as Hoseok pushed his knee into your gut, hand releasing your hair to push his palm over your throat and the other holding the tip of his sword above your eyes. 

You both glared at each other.  You kicked, trying to buck free.  The pressure on your throat increased due to your struggle, Hoseok’s way to keep you pinned.  

“Stay. Down.” Hoseok hissed.  

You bore your fangs at him.  Grabbing at his blade, your palm cutting open as you moved the blade to the side forcefully out of your face.  Your other hand grabbing the wrist of the hand of Hoseok’s on your throat, lifting it with enough force to allow you enough air to speak again. 

“Get off me, human,” you growled. 

“Give me one good reason why I should.” The blood dripping from your enclosed hand around his blade gathered in small droplet puddles beside your head, bleeding and staining the tatami.  Hoseok was momentarily astonished that your blood was red- just like his. 

You both were locked in a deadly tangle, neither letting up.  Hoseok kept you pinned down and exerted more pressure anytime a single one of your muscles twitch- you just itching to move.  You continued to growl at him as he nearly growled back out of sheer spite. 

There was a murmur of commotion outside his door and down the hall.  Both of you drowning it out to favor the ringing of rage in your own headspaces.  The shoji door slammed open as Taehyung froze for but a moment seeing you both at each other’s throats- literally. 

“Hoseok! Y/n!”  His voice hit new levels of baritone as he ran into the room and forcefully picked Hoseok off you.  Getting behind him to lift his arms under Hoseok’s, he pulled him up and took steps backward- backing the both of them away from you.  You- finally having the freedom to move- quickly sprung off your back and crouched low to the floor.  

Ready to aim low just like a wild predator would.  Taehyung saw how you hadn’t calmed down yet, so slipping loose the waraji sandals he didn’t have the time to take off in his rush inside, he kicked it off towards you.  Taehyung could even make a simple, straw sandal a weapon as it rotated with an illogical amount of speed in the air before it hit you square in the face. 

Yelping from the sudden sting, you dropped down defenseless as you held your nose and forehead, the waraji falling to the floor at your side.  Taehyung sighed seeing your shoulders slacken. 

Taehyung twisted the upper half of Hoseok’s body just enough so he could step in front of him and slam his knee into his friend’s stomach.  Hoseok- erupting into a stuttering fit of coughs- took to his knees as Taehyung released him and Hoseok held over his sore stomach.  Taehyung picked up and sheathed Hoseok’s sword, placing it away from him as he walked over to retrieve his waraji, taking off his other because only hooligans wear their shoes inside. 

It wasn’t too much longer before servants of the compound caught wind of the futile scrap and came rushing into the room.  Ready to see a violent fight between the hunter and demon ally, they were only met with both of them on their knees with Taehyung vehemently standing over the two.  He glared at the servants' late arrival. 

“By the time any of you got here, someone could’ve been seriously injured,” he scolded the staff as they flinched down.  Taehyung sighed, knowing that they weren’t truly at fault.  He directed his sights back to you and Hoseok who now both sat recovered and completely faced away from each other.  “An explanation please,” he demanded. 

“He should know,” you scoffed.  “He started it.” 

“I- what?!” Hoseok shrieked. “Listen, Fox, I did not do anything!” 

“You did! You eavesdropped on our conversation! Ever heard of privacy or manners before, human?!” 

“Y/n,” Taehyung warned.  You immediately silenced any further argument and rose to your feet, palm still dripping small drops of crimson.  Heading towards the servants and open doorway, you stopped when Taehyung called at your back.  “Where are you going off to now.” 

“Anywhere as long as I am away from him,” you announced before walking passed and away from the servants and Hoseok’s room. 

“Hoseok,” Taehyung called, looking back at the slouched down, agitation hunter. 

“Do not bother.  I don’t want to hear it.” 

Taehyung only sighed as he left the room, shooing away the servants and shutting the shoji to his room at his back- going to return his waraji back to the entrance landing.  Hoseok looked at the blood droplets stained onto his floor before scoffing and returning to stare out his window.  Far less relaxed now than before. 

You slid open your room door with enough fury to fling it out of its groves- metaphorically speaking of course.  Stepping inside and slamming it shut behind you with just as much fury.  You immediately began pulling your kosode loose and stepping out of your Hakan.  Stepping behind the byobu screen you kept in your room, you practically ripped off your clothes. 

You couldn’t stand to have the smell of that human- Hoseok on you.  The scent bled right through your clothes and you’d rather bare your breasts to the winter chill than smell like him.  As you threw your kosode over the byobu, someone entered your room without announcement. You- of course- knew who it was.  Pulling a spare kimono littered in red spider lilies from the wire on your wall, you began to change into it.  

“Go away,” you said sternly. 

“Request denied,” spoke back Taehyung. 

“I was not asking.” 

“Well, I am still not listening.” 

“Taehyung-” 

“You know attacking Hoseok was wrong, don’t you?” You were silent.  “I have no doubt your back feels like it’s on fire by now.” He was correct.  The burned talisman on your back would begin to abuse your body when you attacked anyone out of reason.  You could feel your skin pulsing under the searing pain of your back.  “You know that I need to tell Fuuta about the incident, correct?” 

“Yes,” you whispered as you fastened your obi. 

“I’ll vouch that Hoseok became offensive and you weren’t completely at fault, but you need to learn to control your temper around him.” 

“I know.” 

Taehyung left after that, leaving you with a scorching back as you collapsed to your knees in your spider lily kimono, baring the punishment of your uncalled for brawl with Hoseok on your own. 

Hoseok was called to speak with Fuuta early one morning unexpectedly.  He thought it was strange that it was Shiro who called for him, standing in front of Hoseok's door and asking for him to follow her back to her beloved husband.  Something about the air around her seemed tense as Hoseok got up and began following at her back.  Stepping lightly behind her, she spared no time to even look around the halls she leads him down.  She only kept her eyes down, just enough to see the toes of her tabi-covered feet with each step forward.

Coming to a stop at Fuuta's personal room door, she announced herself before opening the door and stepped aside in the hall, allowing Hoseok passage inside.  She herself stayed out in the hall, bowing lightly and shutting the shoji at Hoseok's back slowly before he could hear her feet padding off back up the hall. 

Hoseok saw his lord sat at his desk that was built directly from the wall.  A calligraphy brush in hand as he painted pitch black words onto an open, flattened and unwrinkled scroll.  Dressed in a kimono much different than his normal elegant ones, his hair completely free of any ties or restraints.  He turned to look at his hunter and let a small smile grace his lips. 

"Please, take a seat," Fuuta gestured to the empty cushion to his left.  Hoseok bowed a fraction before obeying him and folding his knees under himself sitting down.  His palms sat on his thighs as Fuuta resumed with his brush strokes. "I have a favor to ask of you.  Of course, I would like to ask Taehyung of the same favor, but I thought it best to run it by you first, Hoseok." 

"How come, my Lord?  Taehyung is your successor, is he not?  Why would you address any issue with me first?" Hoseok pondered as Fuuta lightly chuckled.

"True. Taehyung is like a son to me now.  He's invaluable, and he is also exceedingly loyal.  He'd do anything I ask even if he thought it ridiculous." He held his kimono sleeve with his opposite hand as he reached his arm over his table and dipped his brush in more ink.  A lock of his black hair falling over his shoulder.  "However, you are different.  You're a man of many rules and strict do’s and don'ts.  With that said, you're free to refuse my words if you so choose."

Hoseok furrowed his brows as his open palms began to curl.  "If I may, is this perchance going to involve that demon fox?"

"It is."  Hoseok bit his tongue to keep a rude scoff and eye roll at bay.  He was in front of his lord.  He cannot be rude nor can he be rash. "I know you and Y/n do not mix well, as are both of your natures.  Y/n has hated humans for a long time and you feel the same towards demons.  You both see no reason to side with each other and that isn't wrong considering both of your situations." 

"That demon's situation is no concern of mine," he said with a tone as cold as the winter air. 

"Yes, I know you feel that way.  However, this request of mine is something of importance.  I fear something tragic will take place soon."

"Something tragic?  What do you mean?" Hoseok's back shot straight as a rod.  Fuuta only shook his head.  "Lord Fuuta, what's going to happen?"

"It is not something for you to be directly involved with.  Shiro and I have been expecting this for a long time." Fuuta stopped his brush strokes and placed his brush down, setting the painted bristles over the ink jar.  He then turned towards Hoseok, looking him in the eyes.  "We wish that you and Taehyung take Y/n out of the compound."  Hoseok nearly flinched as Fuuta directed his eyes downward, back to his desk and a smile pulled his lips in the most saddening way Hoseok had ever seen.  "I've said before that Y/n is like a daughter to us both.  Taehyung considers her a young sibling and she herself has long since felt the bond and warmth that a family can bring.  You do not know it, but even that child is capable of smiling."

Fuuta stood and walked to his window, cracking it open as the sky that was covered in grey clouds would soon be spilling individual flakes from above in the afternoon. The birds of winter singing far too chipperly in the freezing weather. 

"For what's to come, I cannot honestly say." 

"Taking her off the compound is only half of the mission, isn't it Lord Fuuta?"

"I only expect you and Taehyung to have her experience more locations. She is a demon fighting for humans, she shouldn't be kept inside her entire life where the battle cannot come.  Anything after that is solely up to Taehyung."

"Taehyung? Why him specifically?" Fuuta only shook his head, turning to look down at Hoseok and placed a single finger over his curled lips. 

"That is a secret, little hunter of mine."  He gestured for Hoseok to stand and offer out his hand. Doing as instructed, Fuuta pulled something from his kimono and placed it into Hoseok's palm.  A glass flower- a crimson spider lily.  "Your final task is to take care of that small flower. Can you do that for me, Hoseok?"

Hoseok nodded even when his head was fogged with confusion. When Fuuta dismissed him, he was passed by Taehyung in the hall.  Taehyung seemed to completely ignore Hoseok's presence, rushing past him and down the hall.  Hoseok ran into Shiro again and this time instead of just bowing at him like she normally would, she stopped him. 

Silently grabbing his wrists, she placed his hands together between her own and closed her eyes.  Opening them again, she looked up at Hoseok. 

"Please, look after my girl."

Hoseok blinked down at her and before a response could form on his tongue, she dropped his hands and continued on her way.  He looked at the glass flower still sat diligently in his palm.  Just the sight of the flower made his throat constrict- like he was on the verge of tears. 

Just what was going to happen that Fuuta and Shiro were worried about?  What were his leaders and best friend hiding from him?

[ahmeddocuments-blog]

Day 1, (Cairo/Amman/Paris), 25-9-2019

Written by Ahmed Hassan, edited and corrected by Aya Ashraf

Well, this is finally it. The moment I've always procrastinated to do. I'm finally documenting my biggest trip to Europe to date!

The trip started from September, 2019 from France passing by Italy, Vatican, Austria, Prague and ending in Germany. The trip raised my travel achievements from 5 cities, 4 countries to 15 cities, 8 countries in a total of 13 months, with a total number of 33 traveling days.

When I'm documenting my trip, I'm documenting personal experience, personal observations and opinions. it also might reflect my passion for Architecture, Art and beauty of how I see things, and how it reflects from my perspective. And to be honest, I've thought a lot about ideas of how I can show my trip well, and blogging somehow was a winner. Blogging sounds like a classic idea of how things should be documented, and I'm someone who's always nostalgic and feels classic about the present and the future.

Well, Where do I start. it's 9:00 PM on a Tuesday, On 24th of September 2019. i just had a haircut and heading home after one of the strangest days of my life. it's the day i had an emotional roller coaster; I'm getting ready to travel a the biggest planned trip ever, just a few hours after knowing I've took a hit in my career. Or at least that’s what i thought at the time. but after a few hours of Anxiety, I've decided to let all of such thoughts stop, I'm going to travel! I'm literally a few hours away from doing my most favorite thing in the whole world! I started double checking my belongings; Passport and tickets, Cash money, devices and luggage.

My plane takes off at 6:45 AM. I made sure i had arrived earlier for documentation. I finished everything around 3 hours before the flight and I'm sitting there at the airport bored and bored waiting for the time to pass, still having glimpses of anxiety from time to time.

The moment has come, I hear the call for my flight. Unlike the past year, that wasn't a direct gate to the plane, but it's a shuttle bus taking us directly to the plane near the runway. It’s my first time on Royal Jordanian airlines, I gotta say the plane looks decently vintage from outside, I liked the color pattern of the fleet because you don’t see darker planes every day. as below, the plane appeared mostly black with mixed colors of blood red and gold yellow.

i picked royal Jordanian because of two factors; their cheap economy tickets (Cairo/Amman/Paris and Berlin/Amman/Cairo for 6900 L.E), their luggage policy  (two 23 Kg pieces + the carry on). But I gotta say, you get what you pay for. As someone who’s been on Air France's Joon last year, all I could do is compare the seats’ quality, friendliness level of the staff and the quality of food. The three weren’t that bad at all on the RJ planes, but yeah, that was something to mention.

So the plane is prepared to take off, flight attendants are giving us instructions about safety and emergency, then we’re taxiing the runway. When people usually describe their point of life when they feel absolutely free of any restrictions, I always think about the moment when the plane is on the runway accelerating, leaving anything behind -even if temporary- and rising above the clouds, above anything that previously caused any kind of insecurity. It’s me feeling superior and feeling good about myself.

That was my first time passing over Sinai by plane, I’ve seen a lot of beautiful scenery, like the gulf of Suez and the Suez canal and its ships lining up one after the other.

Also scenes of Sinai mountains, that looks small but great from above as well

I’m now entering the airspace of Jordan. And I got to see the river of Jordan and glimpses of the dead sea.

Just a few minutes after capturing the above picture, we were approaching Queen Aliaa International Airport in Amman for my transit. The plane was landing, and that was my first time to set foot in another Arab country. My transit was almost two hours long so it wasn’t that big of a deal, the airport was extremely clean with very fast free WiFi service, I didn’t feel bothered at all by the waiting time cause I kept exploring the airport. I wanted to buy a snack or a small meal but it was weird because of my zero understanding about the Jordanian currency in terms of what's reasonable and what's expensive. Minutes passed fast and I boarded the plane for a longer flight to Paris.

Passing over the occupied lands of Palestine gave me a special scene I won't forget, a glimpse of the dome rock mosque and the Aqsa mosque. It’s that glowing gold item in the middle of the below picture.

The flight to Paris lasted about 6 hours, passing over the Mediterranean, central Europe and then finally entering the French air field. It was a matter of time before hearing the announcement that we’re reaching Charles de Gaulle Airport, I’m landing again in my favorite city in the world, one year after saying goodbye back in 2018. Took my luggage and stayed in the airport for a few hours till Islem, the Algerian friend I’m staying with, finishes his work at 6 PM, so that left me in the airport for about 4 full hours.

First things first, I had to top up my French mobile line package so that I can communicate during my trip, then had a McDonalds sandwich at the airport. Also had time for a drink till I received a call from Islem to move to Aulnay-sous-Bois. Meeting Islem became one of Paris’s landmarks for me now, he’s a very nice Algerian, 2 years younger and shows a great hospitality each time I request to stay over. After my arrival at the platform, I found him right there. He guided me to the house, which was like 1 minute walking distance from the station which is a GREAT plus for a tourist. The neighborhood was actually built around the 1940s, and it's all about classic villas and buildings. My building is a great example of how the neighborhood looked.

I was actually staying on the fifth - and last - floor. Anyway it was almost 7.30 and I put my stuff at Islem’s, we're going to have an outing together. Islem suggested I should have like a metro pass to all the 5 Paris districts, which came in really handy for my whole stay, and it included Versailles and Disney which were planned items.

We decided to go over the downtown and launched that plan from Châtelet, stepped out of the station to Rue de Rivoli, passed by Tour Saint Jaques.

Then we passed by Paris's official city center, Hôtel de Ville. The place looked amazing as that was my first time to see it at night all lit

Also had my first look at the seine by crossing Pomt d'Arcole and its beautiful scenery over the river.

I also wanted to check on Notre Dame, as I was really devastated when the fire took place in April 2019, but it looked better than expected. But still it's a great loss to France and Europe.

For those who don't know, Notre Dame was my favorite place to visit in Paris, and it was the place that I've seen first in Paris during my first visit in 2018. I will never forget that feeling of seeing this building in person. Now it is in a really bad condition, only hoping for it to restore its previous glory soon.

I made sure to check the building as much as possible, passed by it from almost all sides. A very important funny part though: it was raining before my arrival and I didn’t notice a small water puddle behind Notre Dame, which resulted my socks and shoes all soaked with water, making me walk like i’m walking on hot rocks for a while till it started to dry out. We later reached Saint Michelle Fountain.

Had the opportunity to see one of the best seine river scenes in Paris, with Notre Dame looking so fine like it was untouched.

We Also passed by Pont Neuf, Paris’s oldest bridge with a construction date back to 1578. The term “Pont Neuf” means the new bridge, because of all the modernity that it embodied in the Middle Ages back then. The building, which spans the Seine at Ile de la Cité, was built during the reign of Henry III but was inaugurated in the early 17th century.  At that time, it was the very first stone bridge in Paris and also the first in the capital to have sidewalks to protect pedestrians from the mud projected by horses and carts.

After crossing Pont Neuf to the other bank of the seine, we’re right in front of the back side of the Louvre museum. Islem thankfully made me enter the Louvre from the back entrance, allowing me to see the famous modern pyramid centering the 18th century old Château from a new angle.

And now with the main stream angle, which I really love by the way because there’s no enough of how beautiful this place looks! I was actually surprised to see that much of people still hanging out there, later i realized the place is open till 9:45 PM on Wednesdays, and it was just 9:15 PM the moment I took the picture.

We were really starving afterwards, and we couldn’t pick a place to have our dinner. So we decided to eat in the first affordable thing we see in our way. We walked down Avenue de l'Opéra heading to the Palais Garnier (Paris’s grand opera house). and as much as it always looked fantastic with its golden statues, it never looked as beautiful as I saw it that night.

We were right in front of the opera when Islem suggested we go for pizza hut since it’s just around the corner, there was no space for me to say no as the last meal I had was almost 8-9 hours earlier. We went inside and we picked a chicken pizza that we shared with a drink and appetizers. and I gotta say there was no much of a difference comparing to the pizza hut we have in Egypt, only cleaner place and more expensive lol.

We were finally full and we decided that I should welcome Paris in the best cliché way possible: watching the Eiffel tower at night. We moved via metro from  Opéra to Trocadéro. For those of you who don’t know, Trocadéro is the best place in Paris where you can actually view the landmark and remain absolutely speechless till you realize you spent a lot of time there and should leave.

It was the most crowded place I visited that night. Needless to say how worthy it was, I’ll just let the below pictures speak for themselves.

After spending some time there, we decided to go home and rest, as Islem is working the next day, and I have to visit Chateau Versailles which I’m really excited about. Using both Metro and RER, we reached home and I was getting ready to sleep before it started raining outside.

I was sleeping right under a roof window which allowed me to see the sky and the rain hitting that window and I instantly started thinking about how lucky I am that:

- It started raining right after I’m back home and right before I arrived, I really felt welcomed :)

- I’m visiting the city I love the most twice in one year! Spending so much time there while having a very good trip planned ahead.

To the next day tomorrow, I’m visiting Chateau Versailles ,La Defance and Arc de Triumph. can’t wait to start going into details about that.

Bonne nuit!

[carry-on-my-pretty-weeper]

Nothing To Do With Lover Boy

Author: carry-on-my-pretty-weeper

Character(s): Montgomery de la Cruz, Reader

Word Count: 1.8k+

Warnings: mentions of blood, being trapped, crying, and breaking up

Request: Anon- Hiii❣️❣️ I’m just obsessed with your writing it’s amazing! I especially loved your recent “Xoxo Gossip Girls” Monty one he’s my fave.. would u be willing to do one for me?? reader x Monty, Maybe along the break-up & make-up type of scenario like they have a fight but then realize that there’s nobody else they’d rather be with so they get back together (honestly I don’t care if u don’t use that I just need a make up sex thing lol😉) pretty pls?

Author’s Note: fair warning I don’t really write smut because it’s not something I’m comfortable writing, not that there’s anything wrong with it. power out to those who do write it but for me I don’t so there’ll be heavy affection but no smut sorry. but I’m so glad to be back, I missed you guys!!

“Are you being serious Monty? You couldn’t tell she was flirting with you?” you asked in utter disbelief. You had just come back from one of Monty’s baseball games and this bitch was all over him. But your boyfriend did nothing to stop it.

“Y/n you’re just overreacting,” he huffed rolling his eyes. He didn’t. He didn’t just say those infuriating words to you. Unfortunately, for him, he did.

“Oh you think I’m overreacting? I’ll show you overreacting,” you said as you grabbed your jacket.

His face turned from annoyed to confused. “Where are you going?” he questioned standing up from his couch.

“I’m leaving. We’re done Montgomery. If you aren’t going to take me seriously or even listen to me, we’re over,” you stated as you felt a lump start to form in your throat. No, not here. Not in front of him.

“Y/n wait-” but before he can finish his sentence you slammed the door behind you. Stomping the entire way home you fall on your bed and scream into your pillow. Why was he so fucking dumb? Couldn’t he see she was literally all over him? Why did you break up with him? Your phone screen lit up distracting you from your internal screaming, it was a text from Alex. He asked if you were going to the party. Seeing that you no longer had plans you said yes. You were going to stay in with your boyfriend ex boyfriend but seeing that you just broke up all you wanted to do right now was get drunk and party with friends. Leafing through your closet you grabbed a red dress that came up to your mid thigh and put on a lacy black choker. Quickly applying some makeup you marched out the door.

You arrived at the party and made a beeline to the kitchen where you found the alcohol. Vodka sounded like a good option. Pouring it in a red solo cup you scanned the room. You saw the ever famous good boy Atkins, Sherri, and...Clay. Interesting he didn’t go to many parties. Walking over to him you struck up a conversation. He seemed a bit nervous; most guys were when they talked to you. Montgomery made sure of that. But you weren’t his anymore. So you could do whatever you wanted. Although there wasn’t much you wanted to do. Alex found you and joined the conversation as Clay wandered off. Probably looking for Hannah. “So where’s Monty? I thought you two were joined at the hip or somewhere a lot less appropriate,” he said cheekily. Normally you would’ve laughed but right now was a bit different.

“We actually broke up like an hour ago,” you replied as you downed your vodka. His smirk quickly turned into a frown.

“What?”

“You heard me, we broke up,” you repeated wishing you had more alcohol in your system.

“I thought tha-” But before he can finish his sentence you hear a round of cheers. Turning around you see Montgomery enter the house. His teammates clapped him on his back as they talked about the game. He nodded absentmindedly before he caught eyes with you. Tearing your eyes away you travel back to the kitchen. Instead of filling up your cup you drank the alcohol straight from the bottle. The warm liquid burned your throat but you didn’t care.

“Woah there tiger,” a voice said weakly, “You might want to slow down.” Turning to face Montgomery you glared daggers into his soul.

“You aren’t my boyfriend anymore, you can’t tell me what to do.” His face falls before looking up at you again.

“I couldn’t tell you what to do when we, uh, were together,” he chuckled sadly as he put his hands in his pockets. “Y/n, c-can we please talk?”

“You want to talk? Sorry I don’t think it’s a good idea, I might overreact again,” you spit like venom. Tilting the bottle up you take another swig of vodka. “I’ve got to go Montgomery.” Leaving the kitchen you looked around for Alex until you found him talking to Justin. As soon as you reached them all conversation died. Looking from an awkward Justin to an uncomfortable Alex you sighed. “You told him?”

“Y/n I think you need to talk to him. I’m sure whatever he did he didn’t mean, you know how he-” Interrupting Justin’s speech with a hand you pinch the bridge of your nose in annoyance with the other.

“I know you want to defend Montgomery because he’s your friend but right now is not the time Justin.”

“But Y/n-”

“It’s not the time!” you snapped with tears beginning to well up in your eyes. “Fuck.” You turned away from them to collect yourself. Taking a deep breath you face them again. “Monty and I...we-we had a good run. But everything ends.”

“Okay,” he said shifting his weight.

“Where’s your bathroom?” you asked wanting a moment to yourself.

“Upstairs the second door on the right,” he said obviously biting back more words.

“Thanks.” Brushing past them you walk up the stairs and entered a master bedroom. You walked into the bathroom and looked at yourself in the mirror. Get yourself together, nothing lasts forever. You need to get over Montgomery. Just as you were finishing your pep talk you heard the door open.

“Where did you say the beers were?” You heard an unmistakable voice. Pushing open the door you saw Montgomery and listened to the door slam shut behind him. “Y/n?” he questioned confused but you ignored him and pounded on the door.

“Hey! What’s the big idea?” you shouted through the door.

“We aren’t lettin’ you guys out until you solve your issues!” Justin shouted back at you.

“Justin Foley! I swear to god if you don’t open this fucking door I’ll fucking castrate you in your goddamn sleep!” you yelled with a voice filled with promise.

“Y/n maybe you shoul-” Montgomery tried to reason.

“Did you plan this?” You spun around suddenly giving him a look viciousness.

“Lover boy had nothing to do with it,” Zach piped in. Fucking jocks. Letting out a huff of anger from your nostrils Montgomery looked at you with an apologetic face.

“Zach, Justin may not have common sense but I bet you do right? Let me out and I won’t have to make your head into a basket.” You could feel his uneasiness from the other side of the door.

“Sorry Y/n, not this time,” he stated trying to overconfidently hide his fear. Hitting the door with your hand you immediately regret your decision.

“Ah, fuck!” you exclaimed grasping your hand gingerly. Crimson trickled from your knuckle that happened to catch a nail.

“Y/n are you okay?” Montgomery asked getting closer as concern crossed his face. He reached out to inspect your hand but you stopped him quickly.

“I’m okay,” you assured him unconvincingly. Mostly due to the fact that your face pinched up in pain when you were talking.

“Y/n are you serious? You’re bleeding!” he argued as he gave you puppy dog eyes. The ones that make you melt into a puddle everytime. “Let me help you Y/n/n.”

“Montgomery...”

“Look you hit your right hand, right? You’ll be using your weak hand to do everything and-”

“Fine. Fine! You can help me,” you said as you let him lead you back into the bathroom. He held your hand under warm water and dabbed it gently with a cloth. He was treating you so tenderly like you were a frightened animal.

When you winced he stopped immediately as concern crossed his face. “Does it hurt? Do you want me to stop?” he asked as you sheepishly shook your head no.

“I’m okay,” you responded as you scrunched up your nose. It was an embarrassing habit that you had which showed that you were flustered. He knew this. You knew he knew this. He knew that you knew that he knew this. But were either one of you going to address it? It certainly wasn’t going to be you. So the two of you sat in silence until Monty finished caring for you. When you looked down you saw your hand dry and bandaged.

“There...all fixed,” Monty replied with an awkward smile. He reluctantly pulled away from your hand as you inspected it.

“Thanks Monty,” you stated as silence once again washed over the both of you. He looked up at you hopefully as you glanced away. “What?”

“It’s just, uh, that’s the first time you’ve called me Monty since we broke up.” Thinking about it he was right. You called him Montgomery whenever you were mad at him. Monty was too lovey for you when you were angry so Montgomery it was.

“Oh.”

“Y/n/n can we please, please talk about it?” he begged as he gave you those goddamn puppy dog eyes again. You finally caved and nodded your head.

“...Okay,” you said as you threaded your fingers through your hair.

“I don’t think that we should break up. When that girl was talking to me I didn’t care because I was so focused on you that everything around me melted away. You were the only one I cared about in that moment so when that girl was talking to me I-I don’t know... I know I was being a bad boyfriend when I didn’t listen to you but that’s cause it’s impossible for me to have eyes for someone else. But I know I suck and-”

“Monty shut up.”

“What?” he asked confused as he looked at you with panic in his red rimmed eyes.

“I said shut up,” you replied as tears flooded your vision, “You weren’t being a bad boyfriend I was being jealous. I just, I don’t know seeing a girl all over you I saw red an-and-and,” you ranted as you started hyperventilating.

“Hey, hey, hey,” he mumbled as he pulled you into his arms, you could feel tears of his own wet your shirt. Your breathing evened out and you relaxed in his arms. He wiped your tears away as you sniffled. “I’ll forgive you if you forgive me? Even though I’m the bigger douc-”

“Just shut up and kiss me,” you laughed through the tears. Cupping your face in his hands he gives you a gentle kiss as if you were a piece of the glass that he was trying not to break. Deepening it with an urgency you didn’t know you felt he held your waist as he tried to steady you on your tippy toes. Pulling away he looked down at you with adoration in his eyes.

“God I know it had only been a couple of hours but fuck I missed you,” he breathed out as he stroked your cheek. He rested his forehead on yours as you let out another laugh.

“I missed you too Monty,” you confessed before bringing him down for another heated kiss. His left hand came up to thread itself in your hair. You let out an involuntary sound but before you were satisfied the door opened interrupting the two of you.

“They’re all good! Just fucking!” Justin yelled with a shit eating grin on his face. Turning to him with a smile as sharp as knives you stepped toward him.

“Just because me and Monty made up doesn’t mean I’m finished with you Foley,” you articulated as he took a visible gulp and bolted. You ran after him as Monty chuckled now alone in the bathroom. That’s his girl.

[kizurai]

Rain World Planning Process

This is for my fic spotlight, but I’m going to write out (or copy and paste) the stuff I did for my fic Rain World. Warning, MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD:

This is the summary I had for the artists to choose my fic. Thankfully I made something better on my actual fic, but this was what enticed my wonderful artist powerfulmagics so I must have done something right lol:

[Post Apocalyptic AU] A large portion of the population has died and Regina has found herself trying to survive day by day, scouring for food and water, protecting herself from other survivors, and fighting against nature. The 'Rain' would burn and kill and destroy everything in its path and there was nothing she could do about it. Until she met Emma, and the both of them go on a journey to survive, to find a better life for them. They both have baggage that they confess to each other under the cover of the night, in the silent darkness, and they grow closer day by day, month by month, until maybe, just maybe, they're a family.

This is what I had for planning. It’s a bit of a mess but I have it structured this way so I can build the world better? I suppose? Also, again, I didn’t use like half of this HAHAHA

Beginning setting Regina is… looting a small convenience store for food thinking about how her life became this way and how she wouldn't ever ingest all these carbs. But without electricity it'd be hard to cook with fire. Hmm Or she can go to a home Depot and just get a gas stove. I guess that works. None of the food are good though. Most are rotten from the lack of refrigeration.

World building Probably not too many flashbacks if any. Lamenting on the past? Maybe the reader will know what happened when other characters learn about them. Most things will be vaguely alluded to and the readers will fill in the blanks.

What is the end goal? It might end with everyone happily living on a cliff somewhere.

What is Rain World Post apocalyptic. Ish. The rain hurts. Governments in all countries built a limited supply of shelter/bunkers around the world so the rich tried to build their own. Most weren't successful. Regina was lucky enough to be waiting in one when the flood happened and Emma stole her way into one.

Characters Emma is an orphan bailbondsperson with a thief background. So really, not much change. She found her way into a shelter because her friend Neal, snuck her in. Neal died in a fight for resources and Emma had to leave the group fearing for her life.

Regina came from a rich family and married Robin due to her mother's insistence. Her husband however, is an abusive ass. Ever since their underground shelter was built, she would stay in there every time Robin beats her. She was lucky enough to be in there again after hiding from her husband's angry rampage. She listened as Robin swore at her and screamed profanities as the rain chipped away at his skin. She felt relief more than anything when she found him dead outside the shelter.

Henry is 5. He's immune to the rain for some reason. Emma and Regina found him hidden somewhere, running from someone/something.

Possible Reason For Henry's Immunity? - his body secretes a base chemical that negates the acidity of the rain - his parents were scientists that experimented on him - magic! (I'm kidding) - maybe he was just born that way, I don't know

Type of Enemies (sounding an awful lot like an RPG) - Other survivors - A small group of soldiers and scientists - monsters (yeah, you read right)

Last Comments It's a little Last of Us -ish where Emma and Regina are really just trying to get Henry somewhere safe. Logically, the only way to survive a post apocalyptic world is to find a way to live comfortably. That means end goal would have them in a place with shelter, food and safety. A cliff sounds good (lol). Henry might be a byproduct of scientists parents experimenting on their own kid since they weren't funded for human experiments. A small government group that managed to survive knows about Henry or has an idea of his parents working on a way to counter the rain and the want Henry to reverse engineer whatever his parents did and do it for everyone else.

It could also mean Henry doesn't survive and he's 5, seriously, Regina does not want this 5 year old subjected to any more experiments that he's probably had to endure all his life. Eventually, Emma and Regina become his mothers and they love and care for Henry who's smart and quiet but doesn't understand the concept staying put because he's curious.

Actually, you know what, I don't know why I'm trying to make this all science-y when there's MONSTERS. But anyway, these monsters are gloopy and grotesque, like animals but half melted by acid. They grew from the flood and hide in the rain, they can rise from a simple puddle if they were hiding there. A lot of survivors from the flood immediately died from the overrun of Rain Monsters and one bite from them can melt anything. They're blind and have a bad sense of smell but they can sense vibrations and in the rain, they are virtually invincible. The only way to kill it is starve it out. They feed from the rain like a recharge and blocking them from the rain causes it's body to eat itself.

BIRTHDAYS Emma - Oct 23 - Scorpio - Passionate, stubborn, resourceful and brave Regina - Feb 1 - Aquarius (LOL so many plans) - Deep, imaginative, original and uncompromising Henry - Aug 15 - Leo - Dramatic, outgoing, fiery and self-assured

I’m very sad I never got around to using the birthdays, I found it really amusing that Regina was a “water bearer”.

I also have a random scene in a file I literally call “Scrap” which I kinda half used? but it was heavily changed:

"Wait, this is a personalized shelter. You're one of those rich bitches aren't you?"

And she almost scoffed and was immediately offended by that comment but she knows how she looks from an outsiders perspective so she just kept quiet. There's no point in arguing about it now.

"Then that was your house across the street? Don't you have a garage? With probably a really nice car? You can get the hell away from here!"

"And where exactly will I go hmm?" And this time she does scoff, "I'm not exactly running from people, I'm running from the goddamn rain! The *elements* have forsaken us, there's no where *to* run!"

"But we can't stay here, those guys are dangerous. You wouldn't happen to own a gun would you?" No, she thinks bitterly, else I would've shot my ex husband a long time ago.

It’s kinda funny how much the tone changed.

Next I have a bunch of concept art.

Floor Plan of the Basement Lab:

Some concept of what the Lab was originally supposed to look like, the Lake, and the Machine (which I ended up never describing LOL):

Rain Monster concepts:

[huangfilms]

Florist!Renjun

summary: i need cash because it’s summer and my parents don’t give me allowance so i applied for this job and on the first day someone ran into me and now i have coffee all over me and wow you’re pretty cute but i gtg and when i first check in for my shift i see you there,,, with my boss,,, who’s your grandma-- oh im working with you

(A/N) ok kids i am back with another renjun bulleted fic!!!! because i have nothing else to do!!! I honestly don’t know how this is going to go but I hope u like whatever i made, feedback is appreciated! also i suck at summaries so let’s Just Pretend that i have a decent summary up there

i mean I Love Flowers ya know

renjun is a flower himself but u dont know that yet

so it’s summer break and you want to make that ca$h money because ur parents don’t give u allowance during the summer,, that Blows.

okay well you decide to apply for some job in places that interest you

like the cafe around the corner of your family’s apartment complex

or the photography studio, or the arts studio

maybe even the animal shelter because!!! animals!!!

but none of those really caught your attention

sure u liked smelling coffee at like,, 5 am, and u liked taking nice pictures and drawing, and you loved!!! animals!!!

but the thing you loved the most

u guessed it!! flowers!!!

so there was a really cute flower shop that was just across your home

and you applied ofc

step one: done

all u need to do is to w a i t 

but you’ve checked out the place, and its literally the cutest place ever!!! 

you Really Want The Job Now

so you get a cute little envelope in the mail saying that you could start full time in like 2 days!

u get super psyched because it’s your first job

so fast forward two days, and u wake up bright and early because you’re really excited!!! 

when you walk in, you see the cutest old lady just watering the plants 

the door jingles since there’s a bell, and she turns around and just looks at you for like,, 5 seconds

and then she gives you THE MOST PRECIOUS SMILE EVER

so she goes in to tell you what you should do today, and says that her grandson will be working with you for summer as well

and you’re like??? oh 

because you don’t

you’ve never interacted,,

with,,, boys.

you get SHY my dude but it’s all good because he arrives tomorrow from where ever he came from

SO anyway, you water the plants, tend to the customers, and all that jazz

you go home and you start to think about her grandson,, like

what does he look like? is he nice or what??? how old,,, is he???

so you think about ur job and then you have anxiety because wow new people who might be ur age

that doesn’t mix well with you

(unless you’re a social butterfly but a bitch can’t relate)

so you wake up and you’re feeling a little nervous to meet this kid

you leave the house really early because you’re just gonna walk around to the cafe before your shift started

but then on the way, you bump into this Pure Soul

and he spills coffee all over you

and it’s ho t like that boy?? facts

who drinks hot coffee in summer

ANYWAY you jump in shock and let out a yelp from how hot it is, and then you look up about to POP OFF but then u take a look at him

and he’s a mess, he looks so flustered, he’s r e d, and he’s stuttering out apologies

and then he dabs your t-shirt with the s i n g l e napkin that he has, wasn’t going to help but hey, A for Effort

and u gotta admit, it’s kinda cute

but anyway you say that it’s fine, it was an honest mistake, and it was kind of, both of your faults.

so he apologizes once more and then offers up his light jacket, but then u refuse because your apartment isn’t even that far away.

so you leave hastily before u could get the Cute Boy’s Name

and u literally run to change into like a sweater or something, and then Blast to the flower shop

and u see that boy again with the cute old lady 

and then u connect th e dots

it’s the grandson

oh god

and your heart??? speedy fast, like,,, sonic Wishes

so you say a greeting to his gma, and then u speed walk to check in and then start your shift

idk u felt lowkey embarrassed cause!! cute boy!! u ran!! now hes h ere!!

it isnt until the pot is overflowing to know that youre overthinking a lot, and there’s like,,, a huge puddle,, at your feet,,,

so you almost drop the stupid watering can and then fuck your life over because that boy??

across from u

in the next isle

looking at u

and he

He Smiles That Smile

I think he was trying not to laugh because he puts his hand over his mouth

i mean,,,,, u embarrassed urself once more

big OOF

but anyway you turn ur self to look away from him becaus e You Just Cant look at him

But life goes on,,,

Fast forward like idk, maybe 2 hours??? you get your first break of the day so u tell ur boss that you are just going to get a snack back at that cafe that u didn’t get to go into yet cause of That Boy 

she tells u to be careful and that you could take like 30 minutes to an hour since you were working so hard

i mean, you were just watering plants but ok,, thanks gma

ur getting off topic sis

and then d cute boy decides he’s gonna take his break too

wow life must be Crazy to have you blessed with his presence

So you see him just like jogging to catch up to you and you hear his little ‘Wait!!’

then you feel all giddy inside because he??? wants to go??? with  you???? wha t

anyway you slow your step a little so he can catch up and then he

he puts his hand on your shoulder WOW PHYSICAL CONTACT

and your heart skipped a beat more like all of them

and then he like,,, he kept his hand on your back while you guys were walking

a whole?? gentleman???

you guys didn’t really talk on the way to the cafe but u really wish u did

because u get in there, you order a snacc, and then u guys sit

in awkward

silence

and its so cringeworthy 

is this embarrassment installment number 3?? why must life Play You Like This

when you’re about to Finally say something, your guys’ orders were called up and he offered to get them

so he went with a small smile and left u with your Stupid Thoughts

but he left for like 5 seconds LMAO

so anyway

he comes back, and you both go to talk at the same time--

‘Oh no u should go first’ and then he laughs

wtf that sounded beautiful

but u don’t even remember what you were going to say

yeah, staring at his face is THAT powerful

‘oh um its ok i kinda forgot haha’

and then its awkward again

embarrassment installment number 4???

of course though you guys introduce yourselves

“My name’s Renjun”

so he just smiles and tries small talk, like why u decided to get a job, or if you’re still in school, your hobbies

all the great stuff ya feel

and by the end of the break you guys are getting closer

i mean you guys arent in any awkward silences anymore

you guys are walking back to your shifts and for the rest of the time

its just you guys messing around

like you guys Got Close hm who knew also this is getting long oops

but it’s the end of your shift,,, and then u go to check out and leav e

and it isnt until you get home that you didnt even

get his number

ayo ma can i get yo numba

so youre just in bed.

questioning life

but hey!! you made a new friend!!

life goes the same for the next few weeks or so,,, and you and renjun become Really Really Close

So close that youre actually leaving your house!! Voluntarily!!

and one day you go in to your kitchen

to see flowers on the table

and a card right next to it lol its in your moms hand 

and you just go up to it cause you see your name on the card 

you McSnatch the card away bc your moms all like ‘you have a secret admirer’ and she gives you the Mom Look

so you just Blush and read the stupid card

‘Please come to work, i miss seeing your pretty face.’ and you go !!!! what !!! 

and so you throw on some pants and the closest t-shirt near you

and then you yell that you’re going to work

so you step into the flower shop and there are wa y more flowers than you remember there to be

like theres,,, one spot that has Just Flowers

and you walk up to it and then 

Renjun comes to scare you what a little shit

and then you yelp!! once more!! 

and then he!! hugs !! you!!

but not before he gives you all of these flowers!!!!

and then he!!! says!! he made the arrangement!! just!! for!!! you!!!

so on the inside you are yelling!! wtfkdfjlsdjg

and you are just wondering w hat did you ever do to deserve this precious

and the he!! says!!

‘Will you be my girlfriend?’ and then he just!! smiles so big!

because you say of course!!! 

He is a whole Catch, he’s caring, knows how to joke around, AND he’s cute!!!

okay but boyfriend renjun who is also your co-worker would be so cute! 

because you would be watering the plants, and then you would see some flowers around with small notes tied with ribbons

with the CUTEST messages on them

and you keep every single one of them in a jar on your desk

by now you have 3 jars filled

thanks for making me the Softest Stan Renjun

and so you would always find cute arrangements in you home!!

and his gma would b watching in the back with That Look

she would think ‘i made a good decision’

BECAUSE SHE DID

his gma: god tier

but anyway florist!renjun who is also your bf!! would be so!! cute!! wtf!!

my heart: melting

honestly my heart cannot handle

SO you guys would just b so happy with each other, life is good,,,

and everytime someone asks how you guys got together,,, youwould always say

lol his grandma like u would Not Believe

but you would always say that the flower shop you both work in, has brought you guys together.

Masterlist

[stumbled-and-found]

Silas’ Birth Story

I really didn’t expect to go into labour early. You hear pretty often that first time moms typically deliver at 40 weeks or later. So even at 37 weeks, I was fully expecting to have at least 3 weeks left of pregnancy. 

Sunday was a pretty normal day. I felt the same as always, maybe even had a bit more energy and less discomfort. Silas had been head down and really low for weeks, so any discomfort that I did have wasn’t new at all. 

I woke up at 8am on Monday morning with a cramp and having to pee. Let’s spare the details, but this was the first time that morning that I was convinced I was peeing little puddles all over the apartment and trying to figure out why. Then I noticed that the cramp was coming and going, and wrapped around my lower belly and back. I started timing them on an app, and very quickly within the hour, the app started alerting me to go to the hospital as I was in labour. I was in denial until about 11am and my contractions were already 5 minutes apart. 

I still didn’t think I was in labour for real so I took my time showering, doing my makeup and hair. While being on maternity leave and while Matt is working from home, I was in the habit of making us eggs every morning. Matt texted me asking about breakfast since I hadn’t told him that I was contracting and possibly in labour yet. I figured even if I was, we might as well still start the day with eggs lol. I made eggs and the contractions got more intense and closer together, so when I brought Matt breakfast I told him to eat and then that we were going to go to the hospital. 

He packed up the car and off we went. By the time we got there and I got checked, I was already in active labour and was admitted right away. My water had been slowly breaking all morning, so I was relieved to know that I wasn’t peeing all over the house... LOL 

I was more anxious about arriving and being told that I wasn’t in labour or not being far enough along to be admitted. Thankfully, when they checked me they confirmed that my water had been breaking all morning—not peeing on the floor—and I was already in active labour. 

During contractions, I really couldn’t sit or lay down. I had to be standing, couldn’t be touched or talked to. I’m proud to report that I only “yelled” once... when I had a contraction and Matt asked me where something was. The doctor came and asked for my birth plan, to which I responded, “Epidural, and get him out safely.” 

At about 9 hours into labour, I got my glorious epidural. Raj was the anesthesiologist and I literally told Matt that we’re changing this baby’s name... however, Matt didn’t find that to be very culturally appropriate. Now, I was actually enjoying the experience. Our room had a really beautiful view and the nurses were incredible. There was only one other mother in labour & delivery and wasn’t as far along as I was, so we got lots of attention. 

The view from our delivery room

At about 11pm, I was fully dilated and ready to push. The doctor had left and was coming back from Niagara Falls, and suggested waiting an hour to push so that baby could descend on his own. I started to feel tons of pressure for that hour. At that point, I was ready to push but anxious. For some reason, as soon as you get pregnant, everyone and their mother wants to tell you their traumatic birth story. 

Here’s where things get interesting. I’d been pushing for almost two hours, with little to no progress. Every time we would make progress, he would get pulled back. Out of nowhere, my contractions went from being 1-2 minutes apart to being 8 minutes apart, despite being on Pitocin + decreasing the numbing of the epidural... but having 3 layered contractions one on top of the other without a break for the baby. These layered contractions were very intense and caused Silas’ heart rate to dip. At this point, I had been labouring for 18 hours and he was beginning to not respond well to the layered contractions. Since my epidural was decreased significantly and the Pitocin was maxed, I could feel my contractions clearly. Something happened with the monitor where there was such a delay in my contraction actually happening and it showing up on the monitor that the doctor wouldn’t let me push at the proper times. 

The OB on call was suggesting a vacuum or c section, but didn’t explain the risks of doing one over the other or doing no interventions. I wasn’t a fan of this doctor based on a previous experience, and was hoping to have my own OB deliver. 

A third OB just so happened to be walking past my room and noticed the odd contraction pattern and heart rate on the monitor. She was on lunch break, but decided to come in and help. She was fantastic. She listened to me over the machine, let me push with my actual contractions, let me switch positions, and was was calm and positive as she explained the options and took over the delivery completely from the previous doctor. She asked me what I wanted to do at this point (18+ hours in) and I told her that I trusted her opinion to get him out as safely as possible. She was confident that the vacuum would be the best option, so that’s what we did! Within one contraction and the help of the vacuum, Silas was born. 

When he came out, she smiled and asked me, “has he been an active baby in utero?” I said that yes, he absolutely was. She said that she had never seen a cord so tangled around a baby’s neck and it must be because of how active he had been. On top of the cord being wrapped very tightly twice, it was a shortened cord to begin with and baby had his hand by his face during the whole delivery. Every time we would make progress, the cord would pull him back. Thankfully, the OB who was just walking by my room and ended up delivering my baby was super quick to unwrap him, he cried right away and was perfectly healthy. 

He was born 6 pounds, 6 ounces at 38 weeks and 4 days. He’s the sweetest boy, so content and snuggly... plus those dimples... We’re obsessed. 

Since before he was even born, God’s hand was on him and guided the right doctors to make the right decisions at the right time. We couldn’t be more thankful.

“Life is a gift and the Giver is good.”

[gotgifsandmusings]

GoT 7x06 Musings

My initial reaction to “Beyond the Wall”

Apparently this is the episode that is pulling the wool off of everyone’s eyes. Not the one where Sansa married Ramsay for revenge and got raped. Not the one where Shireen was burned alive because of flurries preventing Stannis from marching 20 feet. Not the one where Marg was arrested for perjury and threatened to be paraded naked except that was a fake-out and the king (unbeknownst to the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard) had formed an alliance with the Faith that didn’t already totally exist and therefore the largest army in the land was rendered useless or unwilling to free the heir of Highgarden…

You know I can keep going. I’ll take it, and yes, the teleportation was its most egregious because we KNOW how much time passed in-verse while the raven and dragons were traveling. But still, this isn’t a new level of bad, no more than Barbaro and Jessica Henwick teleporting onto a ship to murder their cousin—for justice!

Though on the other hand, there was almost nothing I could see as even being objectively enjoyable about this episode, other than one moment of some decent CGI. The battle itself was surprisingly short, and so obviously contrived that we couldn’t pretend it was a “stunning war theater” like we could last year, even if last year the context also made no goddamn sense.

Alright, time to stop delaying and actually talk about this, though of course I’ll point you to Jess’s fabulous review first if you haven’t already read it.

Winterhell

Jess breaks down the horror of Arya’s stupid Ned-slow-clapping-at-her-landing-a-bullseye story better than I can. Arya didn’t do what was required of girls growing up, and that was a source of frustration

But no, here she’s some third-wave feminist who realizes how bad the system is.

Speaking of that bad system, way to sew you dumb asshole, Sansa. What, do you think people need CLOTHES or something?

No seriously, I can’t take the toxically masculine assumptions about empowerment anymore. This entire thing is such a sexist premise, Arya shaming Sansa for navigating in a socially acceptable way

WHICH IS THE WHOLE POINT OF SANSA’S ARC. SHE FIGURES OUT HOW TO WEAPONIZE THE SYSTEM TO HER BENEFIT AND DOES IT WITHOUT AROUSING THE SLIGHTEST SUSPICION

The letter thing is ridiculous too. Not even mentioning how Winterhell burned down so that’d probably be destroyed, this should not be that much of a conflict, nor should it have the potential to undo Sansa.

As Jess pointed out, Ned played along with the Lannisters too, because THAT’S WHAT YOU DO. Is he a traitor?

Then Sansa runs to Littlefinger even though we know she doesn’t trust him.

This is where the “they’re playing LF” honeypot stems from I think, but there’s no indication that Arya and Sansa aren’t reacting to each other alone, earnestly. Do they think Littlefinger planted some kind of audio bug on Sansa or something?

LF then brings up Brienne, which is followed by the scene of Sansa ordering Brienne to Cheryl’s Landing on her behalf for the already-scheduled meeting (even though Operation Bag-A-Wight is still going on), and being an asshole about it

The only sense I can make of this is that LF wants Brienne dead, or Arya dead, and is trying to urge a fight between them since we know they enjoy that? Which I guess would just help narrow down the field of non-LF allies to Sansa

Then *maybe* Sansa is sending Brienne away for her own protection, a la through rocks in Nymeria’s face??

Except there’s NO INDICATION OF THIS. Sansa’s rationale for why she’s sending a proxy to Cheryl’s Landing checks out, especially given Jon being MIA for the North (lol)

To cap off the game of “let’s hate each other to fuck with LF in private” Sansa then finds Arya’s messenger bag of Halloween masks

and no, sorry, Sansa’s terror is played as genuine, and thank the gods she gets yet another abuser, this time a member of her family! Yay!!

SPOILER (if anyone cares) I’m starting to wonder if Sansa orders Arya to execute LF next week just to buy herself a little trust from her horrible sister, and not because they actually figure anything out

Just all around bad bad bad. Fuck sisterly affection. They were different and hated each other growing up, so therefore they’ll be antagonistic towards each other after reuniting, trauma and shared grief be damned

That said, I feel like Sansa listens to UBS. Yes! She is the reason they have the North! She shouldn’t march her face into Cheryl’s Landing! She should have her interests represented! Correct!

Bo had the above take. This killed me. I want the Bunny Hood next week.

Dragonstone

They’re playing a weird game of having to deal with all of Tyrion’s plans turning to shit, and yet also having to keep him the golden boy. It’s not really working

Is Deadpan supposed to be getting paranoid like Aerys now? But then she’s later portrayed as a straight-up Good Guy Hero later, so I have confusion

This conversation goes literally nowhere, and frankly…yeah, why bother dealing with the line of succession now? She holds Dragonstone and no one even wanted it. And Daario’s probably doing fine in Meereen

This could have been a good exploration into her sorrow over being the last Targ…sorta? Like, her just not wanting to deal with it. But the show has never dealt with it before, so it doesn’t really come across as anything rooted in characterization

Me too, Deadpan.

Beyond the Wall

My brain was unable to focus on half these conversations, so I’m going to go back and rewatch before podcasting. Like. It was all walking and talking.

Not even in the good way. In the fic-ask-prompt kind of way. “Jon and Beric in a coffee shop, go!”

To highlight I guess

Jon & Jorah: Jon offers Jorah Longclaw because being an exiled slaver was hard on him. Glad this never came up with Lyanna, the actual heir of the house

Tormond makes a bawdy joke about raping Gendry because sex is a good way to keep warm. Male victimization is a hoot

Gendry gets mad at the Brotherhood without Banners for literally selling him and almost killing him, but Sandor tells him to stop “winging” because his complaints about being sexually assaulted by Mel “could be worse”

The Hound & Tormond chat about nicknames for penises before Tormond #nohomos and talks about how hot Brienne is

Jon & Beric have both been dead, what’s up with that? Also Jon quotes his Night’s Watch vows that he broke to gain inspiration from then, and Beric says he doesn’t look like Ned. Uh…

Jorah thinks Thoros was AWESOME for the Pyke battle

Then a bear attacks and I’m put out of my misery. A wight bear. Whatever

Who the fuck are these red shirts?

Thoros almost dies, but doesn’t die, but then he dies overnight, so…okay.

The wights walk in an orderly single file.

We learn a new contrivance: wights all fall if the white walker that personally res’d them is killed. There’s so many ways this doesn’t work with what we’ve seen, not the least of which that there was ONE WIGHT who was still squirming around

A whole lot of effort for convincing Cheryl, btw, who has essentially no army at this point

Then the other wights hear this wight’s struggle? And Jon tells Gendry who has never seen snow before that he’s the fastest runner (how does he know this) and has to go send a bird to Deadpan to help them out

this is baldly ridiculous. Their only shot is if they all try to book it

Then they run across cracking ice to a little rock, and then are shielded from wights because of…cracked ice

DEAD THINGS IN THE WATER

Also, dead things go through the water later in the episode

In-verse time: Gendry runs towards Eastwatch as the sun is setting and gets there around dusk. Jon & Co. wait out one night and the attack begins when the sun is still shining. I’m putting this at about 22 hours passing. A low-ball could be 14.

Raven gets to Dragonstone, Dany flies beyond the Wall and bails them out

The battle itself was underwhelming, I thought. Just smashing random skeletons who now die with any weapon (what about FIRE like we learned in Season 1?)

Viserion’s death looked cool, and the sinking into the puddle reminded me of King Dodongo. Dunno if that’s a good thing or not, but there you have it.

However, why did Shogun aim for the far away flying dragon and not Drogon who was RIGHT THERE and full of the people trying to get away?

He literally had his buddy ready his javelin for him

Jon falling into a puddle was…what? Why did this happen? Was this for closure for Uncle Benjen? Was this so we could have a dramatic moment of Deadpan thinking he died? Was this just to have a reason for a shirtless Jon on the boat so she could see his stab wounds? What did this add??

Then the res’d Viserion was kind of cooler in concept than seeing it happen. Oh wow, let’s focus on his eye I WONDER WHAT WILL HAPPEN

Lol at the metal working wights with their big ass chains. Can they make mini-Needle necklaces for everyone too?

Also very not reading into any of this being from the books. I could see this happening in a way, I guess? But this context, especially with a javelin-throwing Night’s King can’t be the case.

I don’t even… At least the critical reviews are pouring in. This deserved it. So did the past three years’ worth of episodes, but still.

Top 3 Nitpicks (not glaring, gaping errors)

The invitation to a meeting in KL that couldn’t have been arranged yet

The clothing! No one was wearing a hood? Deadpan was traveling faster than a jet without ear warmers?

Jon not being dead of hypothermia (or his managing to climb out at all with his sodden furs and heavy boots)

[theolivechickken]

Game of Turons

May or may not be missing Filipino food at this point..

April 1

Quick day-trip to Mostar. It’s so beautiful here! We had a fresh little taste-tour of homemade and local cheeses paired with bread, paprika spread, and salami. We had the chance to try a bitter cherry drink (I thought it was pretty sweet and tasty) and also this syrupy cookie. Basically a lunch. We weren’t entirely hungry afterwards, so we grabbed a cone of gelato and sat out on the ruins of the original bridge (Stari Most) and watched as bridge jumpers collected money from tourists and took the plunge. Sugar mama Craven also needed to spend those marks, so she treated everyone to some fine souvenirs. We all got matching bracelets (yay friendship) and also got some matching copper earrings (sorry pat). I could finally see the appeal of shopping since I just had money to throw around and get rid of.

Holy hell it is hot out. A toasty 80-ish degrees. How am I going to survive when I come back home to So-Cal and Phoenix?? I used to think anything below 90 degrees was cold and now I’m perfectly warm and comfortable in 45-50 degree weather. We had an afternoon tour to learn about the history of Mostar and visit a mosque and Kajtaz house. We were also able to climb the museum tower next to Stari Most and talk to a local who had been living in Mostar at the time of the wars and helped to rebuild the new bridge despite the fact that he was held captive in the war, used as a human shield, and lost some mobility in his left arm. He was very friendly and open about his experiences.

Uno ruins friendships. We played an almost endless 2 hour game on the bus ride to Dubrovnik and the only reason we stopped (besides the fact that we were already over the game) was because the sun was going down and we couldn’t tell yellow from green anymore.

April 2

Game of thrones who?? Yeah so I still have yet to finish the show. Please no spoilers and I’m sorry that I might not be able to fully understand the settings here that were used in the show. BUT I WILL SOMEDAY.

I’m in love with Dubrovnik. I love the ocean and the sea. Basically any body of natural water. I love the fresh air and the warm sun and the salty breeze. I love the orange rooftops and the FREAKING castle in the middle of town. I love the cliffsides that are inviting us to dive into the freezing cold water.

I got wet. We went down to the rocky cliffs and I wanted to get close enough to dip my toes into the water. Welp, I did. But then the waves were excited to see me too and just whipped my legs, soaking my pants from the knees down. No worries though. There’s still enough time in the day to lie out on the rocks and let them air dry. And that’s what I did.

Please sir let me go kayaking. We still had time to kill and figured why not? It was such a challenge to figure out how to get down from the castle and streets level to the pebble beach area. We finally got down and the guy was like please don’t, I’m trying to close up shop for the day. It was 3:30pm. There’s still plenty of “day” but I guess he’s the boss of his own hours. We sat on the little pier overlooking the water and watched as the last few kayakers paddled back to shore and turned in their gear. We also saw Patrick at the top of the tower across the water! He came down to meet us at our spot. We also saw a youngish teenage boy rowing this girl to shore. Hi can I steal your boat? It was super tiny and could barely fit the two of them in it, but I tried imagining how to fit all four of us into it. We observed as he spent the next 10 minutes helping the girl out of the boat and then rowing to his parking spot, securing his boat to the ropes, and then nimbly climbing out to the pier deck. He made everything look so easy and we enjoyed playing with the idea that we’d all fall in the water or get stranded 5 minutes into rowing.

We took the world’s slowest taxi back up to the hotel, but at least he was a safe (unless driving too slow is dangerous?) driver. We changed into our swimsuits, excited to spend time in the pool at the hotel. I think it was old people hour though? I hope we didn’t disturb them too much. Our plan was to hang out in the hot tub but the water was lukewarm?? We sat in somewhat cool water and had jets attacking our limbs from every angle. Not really a grand time but definitely an interesting one. At one point, we gathered hands and prayed to the jacuzzi gods for the 2 seconds of warmth that would happen when the jets would first start up. 100% worth it for those two seconds.

April 3

I like the long bus rides- they are comfortable and prime time for introspection (#feeling inspired). Today’s extended pitstop is in Zadar. Home of the beautiful sunsets, Monument to the Sun, and Sea Organ. In the early afternoon, Patrick, Raine, Aubree, and I walked to the grocery store to pick up supplies for nutella and banana sandwiches (since there was no jelly). We also met up with Kaya and Sara and joined them at McDonald’s for lunch (fun fact: their cola weirdly tasted like bubblegum??)

We had Sara’s sparknotes cool-aunt version of a tour, which ended with us soaking up the sun, watching the rough waves roll and crash, and listening to the wondrous and unique song of the sea organ. We took a snack break to bring back pizza to eat while watching the red-dot sun set behind the voluptuous blue-purple clouds. The sun honestly seemed to slip away so quickly. Live it in the moment, folks. Sometimes it’s not worth it for the instagram. It’s worth it to be present.

We’re addicted to crazy 8 at this point and itching to head back to the hotel to connect to the wifi and destroy friendships. But first, gelato. Since it was late in the evening, our guy piled scoops into our cones.

April 4

Took a lovely nature stroll through Plitvice Lakes National Park! So many waterfalls gracefully cascading down. Such a pretty sight and I could never get tired of it. I just took my time walking through the paths, and at one point Sara encouraged us to spend 10 minutes sitting by ourselves in the sounds of nature. Blissful.

We had lunch outside and tried to not get dust blown into our food or get blown away from the strong winds. We let our food digest as we took a ride on the world’s slowest boat. It didn’t even feel like we were moving- the ride was almost too smooth.

When we arrived at Hotel Park, SaVanna’s mom (and her mom’s best friend) came out and surprised her in the lobby. We all couldn’t help but feel a little butt-hurt because 1. we were all on our periods (maybe Patrick too) and just emotional wrecks in general and 2. we hadn’t seen any of our loved ones for MONTHS and she had received a lot of love via care packages and letters from friends/family, her boyfriend visited her for spring break, and now her mom was here to surprise her for the weekend. Super happy for her but salty that we got slapped in the face with it.

Anyways, hello Ljubljana! Weird full circle. It’s like a combination of everywhere that I’ve visited. It’s got hints of Salzburg/Vienna/Budapest with its architecture, Amsterdam (with its bikes), Berlin (with it’s energy). Feels hip and fun. Had beers, burgers, and bomb conversations for dinner. Such a great time hanging out with the squad along the river and laughing about some of our most embarrassing stories. Afterwards we went back to the hotel and passed ouuuuut (rip crazy 8, maybe we’ll catch ya next time).

April 5

Ljubljana walking tour with another lovely guide! He was such a warm and welcoming soul, and he was very excited to show us around even though it was a wet and stormy day. I had an umbrella, but I still managed to get wet. Nike? More like yikes. Tried to keep my shoes dry but then the puddles continued to rise and my feet were already wet so might as well just go all out and step in the puddles. At the end of the tour, we had a river cruise, which turned into a champagne (booze) cruise courtesy of Katharina showing up to surprise Sara on her birthday :)

Had the most amazing falafel wraps in my life. Went back to the hotel to rest for a bit. Raine took a nap, but I just relaxed in the comfort of my dry, warm bed and watched youtube videos for a few hours.

Later, we ventured back out for dinner (at the same place that we visited the night before) and ended up staying out with the rest of the crew since they were at the same restaurant as us :)

April 6

Goodbye Ljubljana! At least it’s not raining today. One last stop before we return home: Postojna Cave. This cave is HUGE. We had to ride a little tram into the walkable parts of the cave, and I swear it was a 15 minute ride in a little cart on train tracks. It was jerky and weirdly close to the walls and I felt like I was going to hit my head every 10 seconds. Also got carsick on the ride, so it wasn’t the best tour of my life. Still, the caves were pretty impressive. How can rocks look like paper sometimes?? Our tour guide also had fun surprising us and at one point she went to the generator and turned off the lights and it was PITCH black. I’ve been in darkness before, but nothing compares to those few seconds in complete blackness. Everyone was talking and trying to find each other (even as we were standing next to one another to begin with) and I still felt like I was the only one in the area and everyone else was so far away.

At the end of the tour, we walked into a little cave room area where our photographs were up for sale. So that’s what those people were doing when we entered the tram entrance! They were literally all up in our faces with their flash photography and I thought they were trying to capture some famous person behind me or trying to get a picture of my face to document every individual who enters in case there’s a tragic emergency and they need evidence of who went in and didn’t come out, but turns out they were just trying to catch us as off guard as possible for the worst photos in the world lol

Back on the road again = back in my sleepyhead dreamland

We said our final goodbyes to our lovely bus driver Benny (rip cause these goodbyes were so short too). I’m gonna miss that Mr. Bean soul.

Yay for being home before the sun goes down for once! And hello spring in Salzburg! So excited to be here while the weather gods kindly bless us.

[kristannafever]

lol

This is a semi-long story, but it was my day, and it was amusing to say the least (well to me anyway...)  And I’m laughing about it...

Woke up to slightly bigger puddle of water in the basement (started Friday) that seems to be seeping in from the foundation since it’s been raining a lot, and shook my head like... ok, I’ll keep an eye on this and make sure I don't have to somehow lug the shopvac downstairs by myself (hubs is away all weekend... OF COURSE).  It’s an undeveloped basement so water on concrete is no biggie, except we have a pool table down there and of course I don’t want the water to get to the wood legs of it, but right now it isn’t touching anything...  Anywhoo.....

Fast forward to after lunch.  I’m doing dishes and realize, hey!, we have no hot water.  Of course this happened the last time my husband was out of town, (luckily he was able to describe to me over the phone how to fix it, and I did), so I think, I got this.  Did the same thing as last time and, of course, it doesn’t work this time.  Try it again, and nothing.

So I call hubs not expecting an answer (and of course he didn’t), but lucky me he called back 10 min later.  So I head down there again and I ask him what to do, and he says to reset the boiler system so I try it, and it seems to be working, that is until the error code comes on again.  Try it three more times and get the same result.  F4 error.

Now here is the irony of the situation: Hubs is a plumber by trade, and I kid you not, this shit always seems to happen when he is out of town (happened in our old house and now seems to be continuing in the new one, because of course right?) So he’s trying to call his younger brothers (also both plumbers I should mention - and so is his dad but he doesn't live here... but I digress), and his bro’s are neck deep in their own shit-to-do this weekend, and they aren’t overly familiar with this particular system, so the one bro gets a guy he works with who knows boilers, to come out and look at this stupid system (and I’m surprised because he’s very YOUNG - I am literally wondering how someone at least 10 years my junior knows more about boilers than my ‘closer-in-age’ brother’s in law), and he goes downstairs.  This is now dinner-time, and all my plans to catch up on fic’s all afternoon because I am too tired to write, are dashed, because I am periodically trying things to fix it and talk to hubs.  So I am feeding the kids, while the young (very blond dude I might mention) is downstairs, and I hear water gushing and very faint swearing and I know that he fucked up somewhere...

So I text hubs and tell him this as I’m trying to feed the kids, and he’s like fuck!... but the young man came up about 10 min after said cussing, and said he fixed the issue, but he’s sorry he pulled a wrong valve, and of course he’s soaking wet, so of course I offered him a towel, but he’s like “nah, this isn’t the first time this happened to me today.  I was at a customers house earlier and when I was in my truck, they turned the main water shut off back on, and I didn’t know, and soaked myself.”  Then he preceded to tell me that his first call of the day was outside work, so he has basically been soaked all day.

I thank the young fellow many, many times and send him on his way and eventually head downstairs to check on that damn puddle again and HOLY SHIT!  It’s twice as big and touching the legs of the pool table now (and not from the valve mishap at all).  So I look over and there’s a shop vac.  So naturally I’m thinking... silly husband doesn’t know that it was down here already.  So I start vacuuming and BAM!  Stops a few minutes in.

So, I call Hubs and explain.  He say’s “the one in the garage is empty” (apparently the one in the basement was half-full of all the clean up junk when we moved in - and why we even have two?  I have no fucking idea - that man has tools and shit up the wazoo - one of them might have been someone else’s I have no idea because every dude in my life is in a trade).  ANYWAY, he says take out the filter (and my Dad was in construction so I sort of know my way around a shop vac), so I get the lid off and the filter is clogged solid with cat hair (they sleep on the stupid couch down there and, well, yeah).  So I strip off the filter and finally get at the puddle again, and the stupid thing stops about 10 min in because apparently there is THAT much water on the floor, and the vac is full.

Now I am at the point where this is all I can do.  I have a five-and-a-half-year old, and a one-and-a-half-year old year old, doing God knows what upstairs on their own, while I am trying to clean up the water as quick as I can, and there is still a big puddle.  So basically I reach the ‘Fuck-It’ stage.  I know there is another shop vac in the garage somewhere, but it's still raining like a motherfucker and I know it isn't going to help much.  My earlier attempt at least got the water away from the pool table and the rest is just in a bare spot on the floor so... *shrugs shoulders*

So here I am, watching the rain continue to fall relentlessly, getting the kids prepped for bed, and so excited to crack a beer when they are all tucked in and spend an hour or two watching the Jays play.  Fuckin A. 

[davidvsgoliath-blog1]

Nathan’s Voice

I want to preface everything I say in this blog are entirely true events as I remember them. Whether you believe me or not is entirely up to you. I think the people from his past that knew him best will back up my story. Nathan was and is loved by many. His early and untimely death had meaning all along. The problem is selfish greed gets in the way, essentially interrupting God’s real message for bringing him home so soon. 

Nathan was born April 2nd, 1979. He was born and raised in Aberdeen, SD. Nathan excelled at playing the guitar and singing. I remember being at church service where he would take over the entire service with his talent and grace. This kid had talent and a light that was unexplained. He had a glow that would brighten any room. I used to be so envious of Nathan. I thought of him as such a high standard to live up to within my adoptive family. Nothing was ever personal against him, but if you have followed me at all you know why this might cause jealousy for me. I also was jealous of how good he got along with my dad. My dad talked so highly of him. He told a story about when a car cut him off and he had Nathan as a little boy in the backseat. He said that he chased the man down and beat him down. This jealousy never stopped me from idolizing, looking up to, and wanting Nathan as my brother, however. In fact I needed Nathan. He was the ultimate buzz kill to a self righteous family. He didn’t give a shit about what the family thought of him. He seemed happy flipping the bird to hypocrites. What a beautiful rebel! He would come to grandma and grandpas with a Dead shirt on and long hair. He would bring friends over to hang out that my family would deem not up to their standards. How sick? Right? Self righteous ignorance to the fullest, with the only love being money and a new car or house. I loved getting picture cards every year all year of my family and their vacations. I was like my dad struggles to pay bills and you freaks rub our nose in it with your new vacations. Real Christian of you! 

I’ll never forget September 13, 1997 for as long as I breathe. It was the worst day of my life. My dad came into my room and said “Chris! Nathan is dead! Hes fucking dead and it’s my fault!” My dad went into the bathroom and i heard the shower come on. It was early in the morning, but I was in shock. I was 10 years old, and death wasn’t much of reality yet. I could hear my dad screaming and pleading why!? He would punch the wall and scream. It still didn’t sink in that he was truly gone. I thought well if anyone can beat death it’s Nathan. God would never take such a beautiful soul so early. He had just turned 18, and was only a few months removed from graduation. We immediately drove from Watertown Sd to Aberdeen sd that morning. My dad was familiar with the crash site because he grew up in Aberdeen and is familiar with the surroundings. That’s when we saw the skid marks. We saw the bridge had been damaged, and we put together theories of how the crash happened. The declaration among my righteous family is, he simply fell asleep. It was so early in the morning he must’ve been beyond tired. Right? Great story, but I have a different take on the actual events and what might have happened. I’m basing my findings on my own research, quotes from my mom and dad, and my PHD in addiction.

This is where it all started for me. My road to bring Nathan’s voice to life started the very night we went to see his body. I had never been to one of these places. To be honest the smell of the room made me feel uneasy. I saw people crying and weeping. I saw people holding each other and trying to comfort one another. I wasn’t interested in comfort. I could see the casket from a distance and knew it was becoming more real by the second. Out of nowhere my aunt Lee Anne came to take me to “see” Nathan dead up close and personal. I remember in the background there was a stereo playing Casey Jones by Grateful Dead. If you know the lyrics you would be like me, “why is this playing here of places?” So I get up to the casket trembling. I see Nathan lying there asleep. A deep sleep that looked very peaceful in that moment. He was dressed nicely with corduroy pants. a shirt unbuttoned so you could see his hemp necklaces. As I write this right now Touch of Grey has hit my headphones. If you knew Nathan you would understand how non coincidental that is. Anyway, back to Nathan’s casket. I was examining Nathan piece by piece , and trying to construct in my mind how I would sneak him to safety. However, my aunt Lee Anne had a great idea that should never be taught to a child. She says “ go ahead you can touch him”. I thought well to be honest I would like to shake him back to life or give him CPR. So I settled for just touching his forearm. I instantly felt the cold. I felt the corpse that once was Nathan. Nathan was not in this vessel, and it hit me like a freight train. I nearly dropped to my knees from what seemed like an electric shock. I instantly burst in to waterfalls of tears and ran into the other room where I felt I could hide and dry this rush of water from my eyes. I never believed he would die. He was too perfect. My life from that moment on was changed. Life on earth became reality, and reality became hell on earth.

The reason I’m telling this story isn’t to shame anyone. It isn’t to make anyone to blame for what happened to Nathan, but he(knowing his heart would want this told if it meant saving others would want this story across the world). Nathan, ironically had a beautiful singing voice. If he had lived on this earth longer you would be blessed by his voice. He played guitar and sang in a band called I believe Muddles Puddles. Sorry Nathan if I’m wrong. I would ask the family, but they hate me for speaking the truth. See at the beginning I mentioned how Nathan fell asleep and crashed his car and died. Well, that could be entirely true, however, there’s more to that thesis. Here’s what my family leaves out. His dad thought covering the fact he was addicted to heroin and possibly other drugs was ideal. You see what I’m getting at is this. In my family, and hundreds to thousands of families across the earth have a motto for addiction. Its deemed immoral and something that if known inside their “perfect” family they will disassociate themselves from your life as if you’re a virus. I know this first hand. I’m writing this because Nathan wasn’t perfect. Nathan felt unnecessary pressure, and most likely very similar mental disabilities I went and struggle through. He had to hide his problem, because to make it known would bring shame and disappointment to this “self righteous” family. This is a battle cry for all silenced sufferers. Silenced by the self righteous, ignorant, and hypocrites. See in my family my other aunt had sex with one of my best friends. She did it numerous times on numerous occasions. That’s a cool secret I no longer want to harbor. Sorry, but shaming me and isolating me wasn’t very nice family of mine. What you did to my dad and sister is disgusting. Nathan having to hide his true feelings is what lead him to self medicate and eventually die. Just my opinion though. No one knows the true story. I have audio of my mom telling me that the idea was to protect NATHAN’s legacy and so my grandparents wouldn’t know he was such a “loser”. Well, in doing so not only has his legacy been wrongfully portrayed, but you can’t find a damn thing on Google about him. Google Nathan Engelhart. I know he died in 1997, but he has VHS tapes of his concerts(I know I’ve watched them). I’m confused how my rich family cant figure out how to convert VHS to a file to post all over the internet. I used to brag to my friends about how his voice was like Kurt Cobain’s. What a shame those tapes are collecting dust or in some box somewhere. Sorry I didn’t commit suicide or die like you all wanted. Sorry I’ve defeated the obsession to kill myself over the opinions of selfish aholes.

 Nathan gave me something special that day I touched his refrigerated body. He gave me a sign it felt like. I even carried his obituary and senior picture in my wallet until they literally disintegrated many years later. My dad blamed himself for what happened to Nathan. I blamed God and asked why Nathan would be so tired. Well, since I was saved by God I can tell you I no longer believe in coincidence or bullshit stories. I only believe in truth and morality. The real problem is my family nearly pushed me to commit suicide because of my alcoholism. I was already adopted and had no other family and these pricks thought rubbing my nose in their greed was funny. Rubbing my dad’s nose in their greed to the point they turned him evil. I don’t even recognize him anymore. I will forgive him though. I love him, and although he failed me he doesn’t know what he was doing to me. You will all no longer hide. I will take an ad out in Aberdeen News for this for Nathan. I like how I now just find out my dad was repeatedly molested at 8 years old by a man. Where was his brothers and sisters? Mom? DAD? No wonder he suffered and felt like committing suicide when I was 16 might be a good idea. He left a note that my sister found. I’m still mad at my dad for being so vile to me, but I have a whole new outlook with the fact he was also silenced. I also just learned since we are on the topic of silence my mom was raped repeatedly by her sister Cassie’s boyfriend at the time when she was 14. My aunt beat my mom up daily until my mom attempted suicide, then she had compassion to stop. LOL This is another one of my self righteous aunts who’s obviously a hypocrite. If you hate me then it’s because you have things to hide or are immoral. If you hate what I say it’s because you are of this world and love only money and material. I on the other hand love the afflicted and bullied spirits. The persecuted and silenced, I’m the bullies bully. I have not one evil bone in my body. Discernment isn’t an issue for me anymore. Even killing spiders has even become a challenge for me. I used to make sure their kids kids felt my smashing. 

This is a story about what happens when people are silenced. My girlfriends mom lost her life to it. Even Bailey herself wanted to die daily. My mom has been a wrecking ball of pain and suicide. My dad made the plans and wrote the note. I myself tried repeatedly to do so through overdose or the threat of a shotgun blast. My main plan was just jumping in front of a semi so I wouldn't feel a thing. I was tired of pain, the last thing I wanted was a painful suicide. I want people to know that they aren’t alone. This cycle can end. They should feel the freedom that comes with unconditional love, complete forgiveness, and understanding. Just basic human compassion mixed with empathy. Treat others how you would want to be treated. Why does society accept silence and corruption? I have the answer and it’s blatant. It’s satan. This world is fallen, and without knowing Jesus personally I feel bad for you. I’m a soul on fire and a voice for the silenced. Especially the deceased who deserve just as much of a voice as any living being. Nathan would want people to be saved by his story. Nathan may not have even been classified an addict, but based on the fact my uncle went to Nathan’s (then wrecked) vehicle to grab a special coveted cd player, or to grab the large quantity of drugs hidden behind it. One might question? Who’s legacy is really being protected? Nathan’s(Considering he exists nowhere until now) Or the people who dropped the ball? You be the judge, but based on my own experience with this family dynamic I have no need to debate. Nathan I love you, and I hope I can get your footage of your concerts and pictures to show your talents to the world. You will never be dead to me! You are still an inspiration in my life, and I thank you dearly! I miss you!