#sorry that started as a very personal deep seated Beef but became General. you should boycott disney they are funding a genocide

[the-meme-monarch]

funny streamers i like have been 'playing' kingdom hearts union x and I haven't finished the vod yet but they're on some cinderella quests and i was overcome with Man I Should Watch Cinderella Again. i remember watching that movie all the time as a kid having such strong feelings about it (i am not paying for it as I watch it now)(I own the dvd)(am I watching it on the dvd? that's a secret I'll never tell) and I was having a good time before suddenly it ruined it bc I forgot and was reminded how they just made a cat evil for no reason. maybe the strong feelings were i hated it

[openbook-izel]

A Meal For One || Izel and Nora

The culmination of the scare bear plot.

In between the screaming harbringer of her own death, Reece turning into a wolf and trying to eat Zaskia, the incessant howling and banshee screams she'd heard recently? Izel was exhausted. Her sleep schedule was shot to hell, and even the short naps she'd managed to squeeze in were minimal and disappointing to say the least. Tonight would hopefully be better, and Reece was already wide asleep by the time she'd finished locking up. Then again, he hadn't seen that faceless ghost appear in the store, the one who was solid as day and had stood, staring at her as she'd stared back. It fet like no one else had noticed, but then, they hadn't been there long, that eery, lifeless person. It was just as bad as the few times she'd lost sight of her auras, not being able to read, a scream crawling up her throat the longer she'd looked. Izel swallowed and pushed the memory away, flicking off the downstairs lights. Just like the white eyed black monster, it hadn't really done anything, and there was enough weird going on without thinking ike that. And if it was a ghost, it wasn't coming into her room, that was for sure, the entire thing was lined with salt. Tonight, hopefully, she'd get peace.

Nora was beyond excited. After a busy weekend hearding werewolves away from people, tonight was the night she was going to prove bugbears were scarier than maras. A little fun to unwind herself after these stressful few days. Everything was set. She'd stopped by the store earlier, and sent the man in to watch Izel. Only for a little bit. Only long enough that she would get a good look at him. Now, in the night, she was breaking into Izel's place. She set herself up in the kitchen, listening for the sounds of anyone moving around. No one. Perfect. She started taking off her clothes, no need for them to get ruined when she'd be transforming into a bear soon. She folded the articles of clothing and placed them on the counter. Time to start. The illusions started in Izel's room. A faceless woman, skin dripping off her bones in mal-nurishment placed herself right over the prone body of Izel. "Wake up." It's voice was a wisp of a noise. Nora was aware that it didn't have a mouth to speak from, but that was just semantics she didn't think would ruin the scare. "He's coming." Her creature breathed laboriously. Every motion it made was a struggle. "You've got to run."

Even when she was asleep, ​Izel​ was quick to wake up. Her body was never fully still, and while they were generally milder during the night, she'd been woken up by herself once or twice before. It wasn't long before the laboured breathing and harsh whispers woke her from her light sleep. She blinked a couple times as her eyes adjusted, then as her eyes focused on the dark figure Izel squawked and rolled away, toppling off her bed in a tangle of blankets. "​​Getawayfromme!​​ she squeaked, scrabbling to her feet as she fumbled pulling off her bracelet and hurled it at the figure. It passed right through her, the woman, because that's what it was, a skeletal, paper skinned woman whose skin was slowly oozing down her body. Which ​wasn't​ possible. There were only two things that went untouchable and both would have been scalded by the thick iron of her bracelet. "What ​are​ you? Why are you here? Get away from me!" She wasn't sure she'd hear an answer over the pounding of her heart.

"We're here to help you." The illusion answered. We being the new illusions now materializing. Faceless figures lay in deformed messes on the floor. They crawled towards Izel, every action was a struggle. Hands reached out for her, never actually touching, but still there. Their fingernails were missing, replaced by dirty scabs. "He's coming." They all cried out in a faint chorus that flickered over each other's voice. "You've got to run, you've got to save yourself." The main one, the only one standing was shuddering visibility. "Please, save yourself. He'll turn you into one of us. He'll eat your face, and leave you damaged." Her voice was hard to hear over the anguished pleas of the other. "Run before it's to-" The lights flickered out. It became pitch black in Izel's room. Everything became silent.

They crawled like spiders, joints popping in and out of place as they crept closer. Izel slowly stepped backwards, backing away until her back hit the dresser and she startled as it rattled. Perhaps there were things in there too. "Get back. I said get back!" She didn't dare touch them, not as their skin crumbled on the carpet, the reddish stain s where their fingernails once had been. "Who, WHO??" Her voice was growing shriller by the moment and when the lights flickered she screamed. She was safe in here. Nothing could hurt her, in here. In her home, they couldn't, it wasn't possible. This thing, this whatver it was, it couldn't hurt her. But it didn't stop her feeling live a rabbit trapped in the corner of her bedroom, the only other way out a two storey drop. "This... this isn't real. This is a dream, this is a dream, this is-" Izel fled her bedroom and hurtled down the stairs. At least there were knives in the kitchen.

A mans laughter filled the darkness, following Izel to the kitchen. "Do not run from me, pet." It's voice filled the place of the now gone faceless masses. His own face was shrouded in darkness, his foot steps louder than any should have been. "Did your new friends not seem nice to you? Approachable to you? Don't you want to join them?" He laughed, a low throaty noise that escalated into high pitched cackling, as if he found himself the funniest man in the world. "I'm here, Izel. I'm here for you." Nora transformed as she heard Izel coming closer. Right to the kitchen, right into her trap where a bear now sat with hairy arms flung open and a giant bear grin on her face. As the poor victim of the prank entered Nora let out a giant bearish yodel. The illusioned man didn't disappear though, he darkened the doorstep, staying motionless in the doorway.

Izel hurtled faster as the voice started following her, and maybe she shouldn't have left the safety of the salt circle, but the kitchen was only eight steps away, five, two, and then suddenly she was in the kitchen, full of of bright blinding light, violets and greens a blues and turquoises, like lightning filling the whole room, lightly grilled steak and the taste of salt filling her mouth, but she didn't slow untill she crashed into a hard wall of fur. Understandably, she screamed.

Nora took a deep breath. This fear had been worth all the time she'd put into her little prank. It smelled good, like a water lily drifting alone on a lake mixed with tropical fruits. Delicious, she'd definitely have to scare Izel again. At Izel's scream, she let all the illusions she held drop. They were no longer necessary. She also allowed herself to transform back into a human. Small, naked and practically beaming - in Nora terms that just means her lips were turned up in the smallest of smiles - she opened her mouth and stated "Bugbears are scarier than maras."

Izel was panting as if she'd run a marathon, and upstairs she could hear someone scrabbling around themselves, but suddenly the head sized paws vanished into sleek hands as she realised what had happened. Bears didn't have auras, and ghosts weren't untouchable, and Izel was suddenly standing opposite a very naked pale woman. Something started bubbling deep in her belly as her brain short circuited trying to keep up, trying to process what had just happened, what had been happening for the last month, rising up and up until a giggle spilled out. A short, stilted one at first, then another, then they piled up as Izel sank to knees, laughing so hard she couldn't breath.

Izel was laughing! Nora​ was so pleased that Izel had found her prank just as funny as Nora had. "Yeah, that was a good scare right?" It was great to find someone who actually laughed at her pranks. Most the time people said things like 'That wasn't funny.' and 'I thought I was going to die.' Plus there was always the classic 'WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT? YOU THOUGHT THAT WAS FUNNY?' Nora didn't like to think too much about those times. But here there was finally someone with some sense. Someone who truly appreciated her joke. "Do you have any meat? I'm starving." It'd taken up a lot of energy to get that scare just right.

Just as her hysterical giggles started to die down, Nora spoke and she began laughing all over again, her bones still rattling with fear that dispelled a little with every hiccup. She tried to answer but all that came out was hideous gasps between laughs so she merely nodded and clutched her belly as her laughs shook through her. Meat? Oh. That was such a bugbear thing. Still hiccupping through the last if her giggles, Izel suddenly realised Reece was half way down the stairs, and she didn't need him having a heart attack. She pushed her self up and back against the door. "I'm fine!" She got out between chuckles. "I, uh, saw a mouse!" Reece was many things, but equipped to cope with naked women in the kitchen wasn't one of them, just like Reza. "I'm si sorry for waking you up tell Reza it's nothing sorry again, bye!" As he grudgingly stepped away, Izel chuckled again. "I'm guessing both notes were you? The scratching, the illusions? Oh god, I genuinely forgot how much faceless faces freaked me out, oh boy." She was still panting, and all the laughing had given her a stitch. "Nice one."

Nora was so pleased that Izel loved the joke. ‘We’re going to be good friends.’ Nora thought to herself as she went to Izel’s open fridge and started shifting the items inside around. She had a lot of veggies in here, some yogurt, uncooked beef, chicken. Chicken was good. Nora pulled out the cold chicken and started looking opening drawers until she found a fork. After that she took a seat and started eating cold chicken. It completely slipped her mind that she was still sitting naked in the kitchen of a woman who she’d spent a long while terrifying. “Yeah, both notes were me.” Nora could have considered acting like her scare was just the scare bear in the kitchen, nothing to do with the man following Izel, but Ashkent Creek generated enough fear. She didn’t need to keep a long standing victim going for a source of food. That was one of the many great things about this beautiful town. “I think it’d be interesting to not have a face, but a lot of people do get freaked out by it.” Humans were so silly. “So… Do you agree bugbears are scarier?”

Izel pressed her lips together, head rocking hard into her shoulder. It was a weight lifted, one that had terrified her for weeks. Even if she'd thought, because the notes were such a classical scare prank set up, the man with the face had given her a tasty pie of nightmares. "I'm really into that whole eyes are the windows to the soul philosophy, so it's just... scary. The face shows so much personality, it'd be terrifying not to see it." Just like not being able to see auras made her just as nervous. Realising she probably wasn't going to get much more sleep for a while, Izel turned on the kettle to start boiling herself some tea. "You want any?" There it was, the fateful question, and Izel couldn't help herself giggling again. "Hmmmm, see, like, here's the thing. Half my family are mara, I'm kinda duty bound to insist they're the scariest. That said, this was a solid, good, clean scare. Nice build up, nice finale. And when Mara go this hard it's as horrible as it is scary so I definitely appreciate this one more!" Definitely more than the last time a mara had gotten her, which had been her dad who wasn't.

“Yes please.” ​Nora​ wondered what it would be like if all her prank targets would be this hospitable. She’d get a lot more free meat that was for sure. When Izel started talking about her family being mara it made sense. “Oh. Are you a mara?” To Nora’s knowledge, she’d never scared a mara before. She’d smelt one before but Izel didn’t smell like that Mara. Then again, she’d only smelt one mara, and they all probably had different smells, like humans did. So that was really no way to make a judgement. “I guess I understand why you bat for the mara team then.” Nora finished the piece of chicken she’d been working on and started on another one. Scaring might fill up one of her appetites but it really left the other one craving. “Thank you, I’m glad you enjoyed the scare. I’ll be sure to send you another one sometime.” She paused, taking a huge bite of chicken. Once it’d been swallowed she continued. “When you don’t expect it, of course.”

Izel shook her head. "No.. You probably wouldn't have caught me out if I were, and I would have definitely turned invisible long ago. I'm human." It was strange to think that this woman had inspired so much terror in her, looking at her now. She wasn't expressive, and while her sharp cut jaw bones and dark hair did give an air of eeriness, and her auras was intense, she seemed so calm and chilled out that if Izel hadn't been able to see her aura, she would never have believed this person was a bear literally made of fear. "Maybe some time a little further along. I don't know how much sleep you need, but I appreciate a good scare once in a while, as long as I can get some rest in between," she teased.

Mara's can turn invisible. That was brand new information for ​Nora​. She quickly added that to her mental knowledge of supernatural. "Oh good to know." She continued eating cold chicken. She'd buy Izel a new one to make up for stealing her food. "I need six months of sleep in the winter." Nora joked. While that wasn't true, Nora often felt it would be better to sleep through winters. She got cold so easily. Perhaps it was time to start taking her winter walks in bear form. Her bear was truly warm after all. That also reminded her that she still wasn't wearing anything. Oops. Nora starting putting on her folded clothing. "Don't worry about it though, it'll be a long while before a scare from me comes a long." And it probably wouldn't be as long and drawn out as this one. Especially since Izel would be expecting it from her.

Izel looked at Nora for a moment, not sure if she was joking this time, before remembering it was January and chuckling. The kettle boiled, giving Izel the perfect excuse to turn as Nora started to get changed. She hadn't even noticed the pile of clothes, but even though Nora seemed not to mind, Izel kinda did. Minding the nudity more than the terror was ​probably​ the twisted way around. But it was fine. "I'm glad to hear it. Maybe I'll get you back, you never know."

"Get me back?" Nora let out one of her rare laughs. "I look forward to it. I'll warn you I'm hard to scare." Fear had nothing to fear. It was the motto she'd always lived by. Once she was fully dressed Nora started to stretch. "You have a lovely home. I came in through the front door, by the way. The lock's fine, but you might want to use a different alarm code. Alarm systems mean nothing when you use the default code." Default codes were easy to fine, and as someone who made a habit out of breaking into houses she knew most of them. "Just so nothing bad actually happens to you."

"I'm constantly trying to scare hard to scare people, so I'll be used to it if you're not easy to scare." ​Izel​ smiled, handing Nora her hot drink. "Won't stop me trying, though." She leant against the counter, head rocking hard into her shoulder. Mmm, coffee did not taste great with the lingering taste of salt on her lips. "Oh. Yeah. That's a really good point. I guess I rely way too much on the sanctorum spell. Forget it doesn't protect against anything." And honestly, in a town like this, a standard burglary wasn't something she worried about too much. "But thank you! Where do you live, when you're not being a bear in other people's kitchens." The end of her sentence was punctuated with a long yawn. It was really, seriously late.

Nora took a sip of the drink. It was exactly what she needed on this cold night. She watched Izel for a second, her kind host was starting to look tired. Perhaps she wasn’t a night person like herself. Maybe it had something to do with the amount of sleep she was not letting her get. “Oh. It’s late.” Nora said absently, as if she’d just realized it. “I would like to thank you for being such a great host. “So, good luck with your alarm system.” Nora put down her tea. “And thank you for this fun time. I look forward to seeing what scares you have for me in the future.” With that, Nora opened up a window, and crawled out. Shutting the window from the other side, she gave a small wave before walking off into the night.