#sweetish upload

[sweetish-original-story]

CH23 (tw comical use of strong language)

"-SO STRIKE A POSE!" Bobbin screamed at the top of her lungs, thankfully quieter by the primitive sound editing. "YES, ALWAYS! STRIKE A POSE JUST LIKE THAT AND YOU WILL SEE! NOTHING CAN CUT YOU DOWN! POWER AND GRACE COMES FROM YOUR HEART, SO BE COLURFUL AND FREE! HAIR...CLOTHES...THEY ARE JUST AN ACCESSORY! YOU ARE THE ART! THE TRUE HAIR PEICE-" she spun around in a circle on her blue ballet shoes, showing off her 2D sparkling cerulean tutu, before gracefully leaping in slow motion from the stage to the very end of the catwalk, spinning once again, spotlight shimmering against her bald and glittery head, before landing backwards with one leg in the air and making a heart with her fingres. "IS LOOOOOOOOOVE!"

And everyone started Vogueing.

"I don't get it." Dulce said flatly, putting down his wine glass. Sammy turned to him so fast her own hair could have sliced him in half. "WHAT." Sammy took a deep breath. "Don't. You. Get???? :)"

"I mean..." he continued, "What was the point of trying to find the scissor thingy-"

"OBSIDIAN FIRST SHEAR." Sammy corrected with all the venom she could muster.

"OBSIDEEN FOWRST SHEEW-" He mocked. "-If all they were going to do with it was give it give it back to them? They could have literally made any outfit, any material, they could have taken all that power and use it to make their lives perfect! Heck, half their freinds are dead, they should have gotten revenge! Tore the whole thing into fibers and made sure no one could ever use it again."

Samuella was exhausted at this point. "Uggghh nooo this is like the whole Ruffy and Megaprep fight from 12 seasons agoooo! They already proved to everyone that even though phonk can be used for evil, it SHOULD be used for good! Yin and yang! The people wont support the music industry if their music is souless and its the same thing here! They are beautiful BECAUSE they are willing to change their brand not in spite of it. Also-"

"Now hold on, what about the enslaved elves in the silk plantations? What do they just walk away like nothing happened? We just pretend that was okay?"

"I told you it was IMPLIED that they were going to go back in the FUTURE..." Sammy retorted "But you were busy making those meaty seed buns and trying to trick me into burning a hole through my gut." She held her stomach as if she would have another choking fit from breathing in her own firey burps again.

"Whats the point in spending thousands on spices if you arent going to eat em? Its good for you, makes you strong." He seemed very proud of being able to give his cousins advice to someone he cared for.

"Whats the point of ordering 12 pairs of HiHi Birdy print oven mitts if your hands are indestructible?" Sammy let a small smirk grow across her face as his smug grin sligshotted right back into eberrassment and false rage.

"THOSE ARE DIFFERENT." He growled hypocritically. "You HiHi Birdiy's name out of your SLIMY FILTHY mouth." He was standing now. "At least I'm not into SLAVERY. Bitch."

Sammy was taken aback by his full confidence in even being able to SAY that, let alone joke about it, especially considering what he went through.

"How very DARE you SIR. YOU are the one who wants to MAIM a literal child 'Mr. CALM and COLLECTED.'"

"A trillion year old EVIL child who eats the suffering of slaves which YOU like. Bitch." He repeated louder, so she can hear it

Now SHE was standing, with her hands on her knees in order to insult his height."You want to sleep with the monkey aliens of Waterplanet 3 from the Dairy cream galaxy so that makes you a child murderer and AND a zoophile." She made sure to look him straight in the eye for that last word.

"They're CUTE!" He whined "They are like little pink pig monkeys with tiny eyes and no hair-"

Sammy was losing control of her volume now. "THEY CAME FROME CHIMPS THATS DISCUSTING YOU KISS CHIMPS!"

So was Dulce. "NO. SILENC" He still couldn't get that word quite right. He can't even get THIS language down, and hed nearly lost most of his last one. "SHUT UP. RACIST BITSCH." Once more for good measure.

"Say bitch one more time." Oh she HEARD it alright. Dulce let out a maniacal smile at the invitation.

"Slut."

The next moment he was surrounded by a tornado of red, slowly being crushed to death with every heavy fabric and pillow in the mansion. He couldnt even scream for help. His bird-son was already fast asleep, and if the weight didnt get him, the heat would bake him like a marshmallow. As a final insult, when the tornado was over Samuella took a big heavy sit at the top of the pile. Her tactics were strong, but he was stronger.

It all went flying, including Samuella. She flipped around twice before her instincts let her land on the commonroom table, after which she grabbed a large scented terrycloth towel out of the air and whipped it against the air to make a loud and intimidating thunderclap as a warning.

"So it's like THAT huh? Chosen like a true OVERSEER." Dulce mocked. This time there was a drop of menace in his words. He picked up a pair of green pillows and stuffed them onto his hands. "I dont really need a weapon, but..." He cracked his neck before turning to her and preparing to use her own wreckless momentum against her. "-I don't wanna break you TOO quick tonight."

The proceeded to ruin the her entire side of the mansion. If fists and fabric weren't flying, then insults were, mixed in with the occasional "COME ON KEEP UP HOE!" or unusual "Oh I KNOW you can hit a little harder than THAT".

And somewhere in the southern quarters, a maid is getting a dreadful, sinking feeling in her gut.

[dradelcra]

HJ-7 analysis (Re-Upload)

-Start Day 2-

PART ONE

Hi-jinks continue below:

Okay, (I) watched some Youtube channels and we can get our red liquid by combining Chlorine water with Potassium Iodide (because the chlorine displaces iodine from its iodide solution)

But now we are back to square 1. Because Phosphorus refuses to not explode with Iodine.

Phosphoric acid (a weaker phosphorus) + Potassium Hydroxide also creates a red colour.

Potassium Hydroxide also does this:

But it’s okay, Dr. Jekyll knew what he was doing. He is also, not real.

Damn this red liquid! We might have to diverge from the original text to get our results.

OH SHIT

No, we have to bring back Carbon Disulfide because-

and

Correlate. This is due to the ether odour (maybe i can find another ether/pungent chemical that dissolves phosphorus?).

Alright, we don’t exactly have much going on for chemicals, so let’s go into symptoms/effects of HJ-7 as well.

“Blackened face” (likely due to blood vessels reacting with the chemical; The skin relies on blood for oxygenation to rejuvenate cell growth, promote division, yada yada, and tends to take up the colour of blood, e.g jaundice which is caused by high levels of bilirubin in blood.)

With HJ-7 running through his veins what causes black blood?

Now I don’t mean to be the bearer of bad blood but you know dried blood? Dead cells which have shrivelled and lost their ability to respire? Yeah.

HJ-7 likely increases his inner body heat to the point of cellular termination (hyperthermia, not hypo which is cold conditions preventing cell work). So meaning, in that moment all of his red blood cells literally die from the intense heat of his body. Likely the bodies effort to try and get rid of the dangerous chemical INCREASED BY HJ7 BECAUSE RB CELLS DIE AT 60°C (140°F).

Please also note that humans die from Hyperthermia of around >37.5°C or 99°F min.

And to put it into perspective the human bodies average temperature is 36.1-37.2°C (97°F-99°F).

“That’s pretty close, can’t be that bad, I feel outside temperatures like that all the time” you may be thinking. But guess what. That’s outside temperature, outside your body. Your blood is actively doing it’s best to regulate your inside temperature cause we lil bitches. Once that .5° is in your body, trust me, it be hitting different.

Weather temperature and Biological Temperature are two different banks. Be careful where that temperature dinero gets cashed in because the robber might work behind the desk.

Blood also blackens depending on how long it has been exposed to oxygen, so we can deduce that HJ7 either contains a chemical which causes intense heating or holds that missing part of Earth’s Ozone layer (has huge amounts of oxygen)

(also, turns ozone also has a pungent and ether smell; oh, ether means that it smells sweet. Ever been in a humid forest? take a whiff, smells sweetish? now you have a slight idea of what HJ-7 partially smells like. Please do not light a match.

Don’t have a forest? Nail polish remover, gasoline, or starter fluid also does the trick. Please do not light a match or inhale it with all the power of Zeus.)

Next,

Gasping with open mouth

Lack of oxygen. Can’t have oxygen transport if the cells which carry it are dead or overwhelmed.

Next,

Staggering

Lack of Oxygen, need I say more?

or maybe intense and overwhelming pain which causes intense bodily muscle convulsions. His face is melting and rearranging due to that phosphorus and other mysterious stuff. I wouldn’t put intense pain aside as being a bodily ‘JustDance 4’ instigator.

Next,

Remember that melting face bit? (also known as tissue necrosis, i.e being corrosive to human skin)

So alot of things melt faces, Hydrofluoric acid, Caro’s Acid (Pirahna acid), fluoroantimonic acid, the Ark of the Covenant, Knowledge induced by otherworldy beings, sulphuric acid.

But what could it be? Now that depends on what it reacts with in the body. Seeing as how it ’melts’ skin we can assume that HJ7’s chemical reacts with either: Carbon, Nitrogen, Hydrogen and Oxygen (the main elements of our skin chemistry).

I would like to try out Oxygen as the main contender since I’m assuming that the phosphorus in HJ7 is going absolutely buck wild in the oxygented environment (Humans are 60% water and Phosphorus doesn’t react in water soooo)

THAT’S WHERE THE BURNING MAN FESTIVAL COMES IN.

Jekyll’s body is evaporated of water, filled with something else and dead red blood cells and allows that phosphorus to go absolutely HAM in his body.

Now you may say:

No water, impossible! What the hell is he if not beef Jekyll??

Well, water is important because it’s a dissolvent of gases and elements important to your body. Nice moist skin is also great for protection and whatnot.

Now, it’s highly unlikely that all the water was removed but something likely did happen to it on account of its interaction with HJ7. Then when it was done doing its a thing, it gets replaced by regular blood, plasma and water again (assuming so, because Hyde isn’t mentioned to still have the bulging horror of dead cell filled veins; he just weird looking).

It’s probably some newly formed plasma (since that’s what blood is anyways) that was chemically souped in the body, allowing HJ-7 to Usain Bolt through his body.

Then, as swift as a coursing river, HJ7 made its way through blood vessels in a violent burst of Taco Bell and bad decisions, being replaced by the sudden mass production of new blood vessels from Jekyll’s photoshop edited bones.

Where’s it go though?

Now you could say it dissolved like some wimp ass chemicals in weak-ass dissolvent.

OR

OUT THE ORIFICES!!

(as depicted in @/arythusa webcomic ’The Glass Scientists’ entering stage left.)

It’s violent, it’s green, and the chemicals are MEAN!!! Bursting out of wherever the hell the nearest exit is! Ain’t got no time to dissolve! This is WRECK HAVOC HOURS BABEY!!!

ENTER, BREAK A FEW BONES, AND LAUNCH OUTTA THERE LIKE A NASA SPACE SHUTTLE!

GATORADE AND FREAKING GO!

Anyway, what does that?

The closest symptom thing I could possibly get to it is blood vessel bursting/rupture due to sudden extreme changes in pressure. Now, we may be pretty elastic, but we aren’t elastigirl, and frankly, neither is Dr Jekyll.

Unless?👀👀👀

Vessel inflammation is a foreshock of rupturing so, swelling of the face is checked here. Once those vessels popped, HJ-7 bled into his face and, well, you know the rest.

Inflammation, which is vessel constriction and clotting at its finest, trying to stop either bleeding or certain stuff from travelling through the body, ultimately could not stop the brute vibe check of HJ7. This in basic terms is an allergic reaction with important details missing.

But who cares, I’m not a teacher and this is fiction.

Tune in for a PT 3 where I continue to bs my basic knowledge and comprehension skills on a chemical concoction no more in quantity than a bottle of ‘Bic™’ white-out.

[kumoriyami-xiuzhen]

Hakuoki SSL Stella Benefits Voice Recording CD - Tracks 1-6 (Souji)

First post of the month, so I’ll start by asking you to please support me if you can either on ko-fi (https://ko-fi.com/V7V2W0HO) or through paypal (paypal.me/KumoriYami )…. also let me know if you have any hakuoki drama cds that you’d be willing to share that are on my looking for list since i don’t have the audio for those….. Also check out my patreon (https://www.patreon.com/KumoriYami) for early access to my stuff and blog translations (did 5 things for this month... also cleaned up my account) or just to support me.

Ended up doing these cuz I was feeling down due to the news (it was hard not to be) and well, i wanted something that was just sweetish and these are somewhat light-hearted.... as it’s not drama translation so I’m not tagging it as one.... I’ll probably just add a new playlist later to differentiate this on my youtube channel later when I also get to doing final edits for these.... but w/e.

There are 6 tracks per guy on this CD (18 tracks with 16:44 total length)....  I’m going to translate the entire thing this month. Final edits will be done when videos are made. 

videos for this post are now here: https://kumoriyami-xiuzhen.tumblr.com/post/611705234416435200/hakuoki-ssl-stella-beneits-vocal-cd-videos-track

enjoy....

Hakuoki SSL Stella Benefits Voice Recording CD - Souji Tracks

Translation by KumoriYami

Track 1

Souji: Ah, welcome back. Today was tough/It was a hard day. I've heard everyone saying, that today you were working very hard. Since you were so good, how about I  give you a reward. Come here, I'm going to pat/stroke/touch your head. Eh? You're saying that you're too shy and that I can't pat/stroke/touch you? 

No way. Even if you say that, I won't stop. Isn't it normal/natural to praise someone for doing something good? Of course, if you do something bad, I'll be firmly scolding you then.

[the translation of 狠 means: vicious, cruel; severely, extreme... and 狠狠 can mean resolutely/firmly/ferociously/ruthlessly.... so i went with firmly since I couldn’t think of anything at the moment.]

Track 2

Areh? You look so dispirited today, did something happen/what's wrong? Did you get a low test score? Have a fight with one of your friends? Or were you mistreated by Hijikata-sensei? Although I don't know what happened, seeing you with such an expression will cause me to be anxious. So, can you tell me what happened first?

Think about it, I often say, that as long as you express your innermost thoughts, it's possible to immediately cry tears of sorrow or happiness. Regardless if it's to encourage you or to make you laugh, I can't do anything if I don't know what's going on. Therefore, tell me about the sadness you're hiding in your heart.

Track 3

Ne, you seem to quite popular?Ah ha ha, why do you look so panicked? I don't think there's anything wrong with my statement [what I said]. Because aren't you the only girl at Hakuo Gakuen? Kazama-senpai is completely delusional, you can just ignore him, but you really have made a good impression on a lot of the guys. 

Ah, why are you showing such an expression? You don't believe you're popular/Could it be that you don't think that you're popular? Eh~ what should I do to convince you? I thought that, if there was a male student who appeared before you who had a good impression of you and wanted to pursue you, you'd believe this right? For example... someone like me.

Track 4

Nn? Is it raining now? You see, there are traces of raindrops dripping off the side of your face. Aahaah~ I want to go home when it rains/it's going to be raining when we head home. If it pours, it's going to be real problem/really troublesome. Even though that's the case, there's nothing to be done about it. It's necessary to go home before it pours. Do you bring an umbrella? Me? I...... That..... I seem to forgotten to bring my umbrella. You're asking me about the umbrella behind my back? Ahah, you're imagining it. Anyway, can you let me go under your umbrella? Let's share an umbrella and go home together [later?].

Track 5

Ah, home is in sight. I feel that when I'm with you heading home, time passes by quickly. You're asking me if I'm trying to confuse you by saying this? How mean, I'm not playing around with you. I just really love you. 

Ah, while we were talking, we've seemed to arrive at your house. Well then, let’s end it here today. 

See you tomorrow. Why are you showing such an expression[/What's with that expression/Why are you looking like that]? Could it be that you feel lonely leaving my side/Do you feel lonely to be separated from me?  You're saying, "I'm not lonely"? Ah~ but I'm feeling lonely. I really want to take you home like this, you know?

Track 6

(sleeping sounds)

mm....mm? Your lap pillow is very comfortable. Not only soft but warm, it can cause people to unwittingly fall asleep. Nn? You said "please get up and wake up because you're feeling very embarrassed/shy?" Even if you say that, I'm still sleeping, and must be talking in my sleep....... So, let me sleep here a while longer......

(turns over) Haha, even though you're sighing like that, you're still letting me sleep/rest on your lap, you're so honest. I like how you're like that.

--------

i originally had the souji tracks for this cd planned for later.... bumped this up because of that saitofest (also i confess that track 12 of this cd was the reason why i started translating all of these lol.... it’s one of saito’s obviously xD).

Anyway, I don’t have a lot planned for this month since I’m stockpiling for next month and to focus on ssl game translations (my b-day’s next month so im also using that as an excuse to do music and not do much in terms of translations.... tho i intend to get more videos finished for then).

Also I’ll be posting more of my scans this month.... though I feel that I really need to say that I seriously get annoyed when i try to straighten out images since I have difficulties in determining when something is at a straight right angle... so I will almost always have space surrounding the image itself in what I upload.

[fruittreat]

Top 7 Healthy Evening Snack Options during Home Quarantine

Home quarantine is not all that easy. It is a time when you may feel like snacking more and more and it is a time when it becomes challenging to maintain a healthy diet. Most of us are bound to hit the kitchen very often to grab something to munch on. These crisps can help us kill boredom and manage our appetite. But how do you manage to stay healthy when snacking on your favorite crisps?

Are you aware of low calorie, natural and healthier snacks that can really help you keep going? If you are looking for a healthy snack for the quarantine period then this write-up is just for you. Here you are introduced to about 7 different types of nutritious snacks that can be ordered online. Read on to find out more.

Kabuli Channa

Channa is the number one snack if you are looking for a fiber-rich snack. Kabuli Channa from Fruit Treat has flavourful yet doesn’t have added sugars or color.

Channa is known to have potassium and magnesium and is a source of proteins which are essential for our body.

Kabuli Channa is crunchy, delicious, makes you feel full as well as helps improve your health.

Kabuli chana snacks

Fruit Treat kabuli chana

Bendi Chips

Bendi or ladies finger as it is commonly known is one of the most nutritious vegetables.

 The Bendi Treat from Fruit Treat is exceptional in its taste and natural flavor.

It is fried using vacuum frying technology. Therefore, the oil absorbed by the vegetable is very low and the taste is very natural.

Bendi is a source of antioxidants, vitamins, and fibers. Vitamin C and Vitamin K are in good amounts in Bendi which are good for the immune system and the blood.

Bendi Chips

Fruit Treat- Bendi Chips

Papaya Chips

Papaya is one of the recommended fruits for daily consumption.

It is known to improve the immune system, lower BP, improve heart health, etc.

The fruit is a source of Potassium, Vitamin C and Magnesium. It is low in calories and very delicious.

 Papaya Treat from Fruit Treat is a delicious and crispy snack. It is prepared from an advanced frying machine hence the snack retains all the essential nutrients.

Papaya chips

Fruit Treat – Papaya Chips

Chickoo Chips

Chickoo is one of the favorite fruits in many parts of India. It is extremely sweet and delicious.

The fruit is a good source of fibers and antioxidants.

 It has antibacterial and antiviral properties.

The fruit is made into a crispy snack using a vacuum frying technique. There are no added sugars in Fruit’s Chickoo Treat.

Chikoo Chips

Fruit Treat- Chikoo Chips

Banana Chips

Banana is a rich source of carbs and fibers. It is an instant energy provider. Banana chips are very popular throughout the world.

The banana chips made by Fruit Treat are special because they are made from bananas that are naturally grown in the Western Ghats. The chips come with no added colors or sugars. They are natural and extremely delightful.

Banana Chips

Fruit Treat- Banana Chips

Jackfruit Chips

Jackfruit chips are another popular choice among many people in South India.

The fruit itself is a good source of carbohydrates with a considerable amount of Vitamin C and Magnesium.

The chips made from Jackfruit is a favorite among many because it is crispy and sweetish to taste. It is mostly liked by all family members.

Jackfruit Chips

Fruit Treat – Jackfruit Chips

Read More: 

[vapegurudubai]

RUTHLESS E-Juice (Tropic Thunda)

RUTHLESS E-Juice (Tropic Thunda)

RUTHLESS E-Juice (Tropic Thunda) is Take your mind into a tropical paradise with this tropic blast of guava and berries. Tropic Thunda is a simple yet invigorating vape juice to take your mind to a tropical paradise. The dense texture and mild sweetish taste from the guava masterfully mixed with a blast of berries is a true crowd-pleaser. Tropical Thunda is a satisfying thirst quencher for the…

[legourmettv]

All About Coriander Seed || Le Gourmet TV Recipes

All About Coriander Seed Coriandrum sativum L. Plant Family: Apiaceae Origin: Unknown We are talking here about the dried seed - not the fresh leaves. Two Varieties European and Indian European is smaller, round, and more potent -usually what we see in North America Indian variety is larger, oblong and has a more delicate flavour. -A herbaceous hardy annual, of the parsley family -Coriander grows wild over a wide area of Western Asia and southern Europe, so no-one really knows where it is actually native. -The name derives from the ancient Greek word for bed bug… because they thought it smelled bad. -The dried fruits have a lemony citrus flavour when crushed. -Ground coriander seed loses flavour quickly in storage and is best ground fresh. -Whole seeds keep almost indefinitely. -The seeds are warm, mild and sweetish. There is a citrus undertone similar to orange peel. -The seeds are used in mostly savoury dishes from pickles to sausages. -Used in brewing, mostly Belgian whits. -Large-fruited types are grown mainly by tropical and subtropical countries, e.g. Morocco, India, and Australia, and contain a low volatile oil content (0.1-0.4%). They are used extensively for grinding and blending purposes in the spice trade. Shop Amazon for the equipment we use in our kitchen: https://www.amazon.com/shop/legourmettv Le Gourmet TV is the #1 premium food and recipe channel on Youtube.  Le Gourmet TV gives you a fresh look at the culinary world, chefs,  kitchen trends, and tasty recipes. Each week we will upload 2 new everyday food videos where the recipes are tested, tested, and tested again. You can trust us when we say the recipe works. Check out our Recipes and Cooking Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/legourmettv Visit our Le Gourmet TV Recipes, Cooking, Food, and Drink Website: http://www.legourmet.tv/ Visit our Homebrew Beer channel: https://www.youtube.com/brewhouselego... Visit our Travel channel: https://www.youtube.com/touristatv

[saltyloverrebel]

Schwabe Alpha CC Tablets

Schwabe Alpha-CC Tablets is a homeopathic medicine for cough in influenza and chronic cough of irritative and spasmodic nature. These tablets are also useful in acute and chronic, dry irritative and spasmodic cough, catarrhal influenza dry cough stage as well as expectoration stage. Effective in irritative cough with vomiting.   Clinical indication of Schwabe Alpha CC Tablets Chronic Cough,…

[bloghiddenlifetreasures-blog]

Beef Paprika And Noodles

Beef Paprika And Noodles

“Mm-Mm-Mmm,” is this beef and noodle dish ever super good! It’s sweetish, hearty sauce with onions will get your taste buds watering for sure! Furthermore, everyone in the family will love it and even ask for seconds. I got this recipe from someone a long time ago and I have been making it for some 20 years. We at Hidden Life Treasures hope you all try it out for yourselves and enjoy! Beef…

[sweetish-original-story]

Chapter 22

The car ride home was heavy. The air was thick with anxiety and tension. So thick it was like if anyone made a noise, they'd immediately suffocate, like the smoke never left their souls.

On the drivers side, was a tall tailored muppet vibrating with anxiety and near to bursting with questions. She drove without thinking, looking forward towards nothing. Only her muscle memory was their saving grace. Her joints felt stiff as if she was made of plastic. She would have asked about what happened, she WANTED to, but mer mind would just layer each and everything she wanted to say in front of her that it all just melded into a blank.

What does she even DO about this? I mean clearly she needs to do something. Does she call the police? The military? The navy? What does she tell her boss? What would she tell her mom? She'd never been that close to danger. Her mother, her sponsors, her doctors and her professors made sure of THAT. She had a whole skin routine for if shed ever get something as tiny as a scratch from a dropped pencil to the ankle. You'd only ever know she EVER had a scar if you were her surgon or dermatologist. She was a perfect doll, and she had just seen the shadow of death nearly take her best... her only freind. She prayed to god that she would never have to deal with something as primitive as fire, as primitive as... whatever that was shed seen on the lawn. She prayed to keep her freind. To have one thing thats ACTUALLY hers, something real that stays.

On the passenger side, silence. On the passengers side, stillness. On the passengers side, stone. Ice. Cold indifference mixed with bitter acceptance. This has happened more than enough times. Its all just a law of the universe to him. His kind will always be hated, no matter how often his gods try to prove he's "the lucky one", that he should be swimming in blessings.

He wondered if it's always been this way. He wonders how long and how much money it will take to rebuild. He wonders why his freind looks like she's seen a ghost. He wonders if his gods abandoned him. He wonders how much fight and strength he'll have to deal with this when he's 80. He wondered how long it would take his freind and chauffeur to break and decide his life is too much before leaving.

In the lap of the stone statue lost in thought, was a sleeping, tired ball of fluff, with a hoarse voice. It dreamed of being big. It dreamed of eating bullies. It dreamed of mysterious cures and deep dark caves. It dreamed of fish and snakes and seeds and a pair of big eyes in the sky, reflecting off the ocean. It dreamed of seeing the future, of a ball of light, of people stealing that light. It dreamed of the light going home but in the wrong hands. It dreamed of a great big orange appearing in the sky. Or wait, a mushroom? It dreamed of growing, dying and growing again. It dreamed of hands coming out of the ground and that the forest was a cookie that had a big bite out of it. It dreamed of pooping on bad birds.

It decided it liked this dream.

[sweetish-original-story]

Chapter 21

(TW racism mention)

Lying in the bath again, Samuela wasted the night away on her phone, hopping between gaming applications back and forth, like an animal swinging their head around in an old fashioned zoo, slowly going mad as their disconnection with time withered them down to the bone. She reminisced on her school days when they first watched the documentary on that. She remembered crying, asking why the people of the past did such things entraping such majestic and powerful creatures in such small and caged environments. The grootslang was especially heartbreaking. Her teacher, in a rare moment of humanity, admitted to her, "Sometimes its easy to se something different and call it...slow. In the past we looked at these animals and thought they wouldn't even notice what we did to them."

Of course, as a teacher and a role model, she had to keep her composure. "And it took a long, long time-" she spouted, while wiping off her dress of some invisible dust. "-But now things have changed and we are better than our ancestors. No longer do we hold them in cages and force them to mate for pelts. Our country is better, stronger, and more blessed than it ever has been. The abuse is OVER. And we prosper because we put it the work. Just follow our leaders and trust our superiors, and all of your dreams WILL come true. Remember that."

Back then she looked so tall and elegant. Now she just seemed...rehearsed. How many times had she given that very same line to every class she taught. She was violently ripped out of this memory by the buzz of her phone, who could possibly be calling at...4 am?

"Hello?"

"Hey, it's me."

"Hey D. Its kinda late, why are you calling?"

"No reason I just, uh, I wanted to hear your voice."

His voice was wrong. It sounded shaken. Like he was in an oncoming earthquake. There was none of that stonelike strength she was so familiar with.

"Dulce, are you alright? I can come get you-"

"No, no that's not really necessary..."

"Come on, thats not fair, you get to help me but I can't help you when you need it?"

She stood up from the bath. "I saw on the reports where you live. Not to be a stalker or anything. "

"Please, isn't it your job do stalk me? Ha ha..."

"THERE'S the snark I remember."

Even his laugh seemed weak. She dried herself off quick and threw together whatever she could grab off the shelf. For fifteen minutes she openly described her routine, desperately trying to fill the near silence coming from the other side of the call. Her heart beat nearly out of her chest between the long waits between his "Uh huh"s and "That's crazy"s. She was dressed like a cheap lady of the night, hair in a more tham messy, greasy updo. She was wearing an old horror manga shirt, a pair of red leather pants, some chuncky black heels and her pink flamingo robe.

Flamingo. Grootslang. Lipstick. She needs Lipstick.

"Hey which one, blue or red?" Sammy tried to ask a question to snap him out of his trance.

"Huh?" He asked dumbly. He really had stopped listening a few minutes ago. She expanded the question. "Should I go with blue or red? I can wear whatever because its illegal for paparazzi to bother us at night."

"Oh uh..." he took a second to find the words, to remember the language. ANY language. "Either is fine."

In that moment Samuela felt foolish for even bringing up the question. She decided to forgo it altogether. She grabbed her keys in silence and hopped into her other car. This one drove badly, and it was ungodly flashy but the buses dont run at night.

During the ride she kept hopping back and forth between subjects. Anime trailers, manhua recommendations, paperwork. As she pulled into an old cul de sac, she felt something off. The buildings were old and broken down. She hadnt driven THAT far. They were made of cement and wood, nothing like the cozy steel and marble of home. Sure there are some traditional districts but she never thought they actually lived in them.

"Im about to pull up to your house now Dulce."

But she didn't. There was no house. There was only ashes. Ashes and paint and a little pile of shivering goo being wiped off with towels and fire trucks everywhere. That pile looked like Dulce, but it couldn't be him, because he looked small. Scared.

Sammy was already at his side before she could even process the fact that she got out of the car.

She couldn't hear anything over the alarms. He was delirious, but unscarred. Firemen explained what happened, but all noise and time was a blur. She was running back and forth demanding justice. Dulce on the other hand, kept his head low and his arms crossed. When Sammy came back to him and guided him to her car, his arms unfolded and revealed a little pink bird, too scared to make even a peep. She didnt know he had a bird. She wanted to speak, but her attention was caught by the message on the grass behind him. In large white letters she could clearly make out the words "GO HOME MUDS".

She nearly threw up.

[sweetish-original-story]

Chapter 20

Night. As the sky dyed itself darkser and darker shades of indigo there was a sound of rhythmic chopping that came from the forest, only periodically interrupted by the twitter of a teensy tiny bird with a big head, and a gruff, tired man responding to it.

"--_--_-?" Questions the the tiny pink dot, sitting on the branch of the very tree being cut down.

"I know I should call and talk to her, but I don't want to make her angry, you know?" Dulce sighs a long exasperated sigh. It's hard to work and talk at the same time. No doubt he would have had it done faster if his mind wasn't elsewhere. But it's alright. He's made time in his usual schedule for just this type of problem. Now, if this goes past midnight, THEN it would be a problem. Hed has to move his whole day around tomorrow, even close up shop if it gets bad.

"-_--_---!" Says the bird, frustrated and tired of this conversation.

"Yes, she WAS mad, you should have seen her face, it was like she saw a ghost! Im a little off sometimes when it comes to faces, but im not that dum-"

Bubo, the rude little thing, interrups with a "__---__--!" as if it were the funniest thing in the world before squealing and rocking its head back and forth at its own joke.

Dulce, at this, in a voicemore deadpan than usual, retorted. "Oh, ha ha ha ha ha ha WOW so original. A proper comedian. Ha. It's funny because I almost died. It's so hilarious that I could jump off a bridge."

One could almost hear the sound of him rolling his eyes over the chopping of the cinnamon bark.

"You'd better be glad you're too small to eat."

A loud crack, followed by another, interrupt the both of them this time. Dulce, as if on que, positioned himself at just the right angle under the tree, with one arm out. He'd been through this so many times that there was very little guesswork involved in where to stand. Of course, for most others, this would be extremely dangerous. Even with how small the tree was, one would be crushed before having even a moment to push against it. But Dulce's people were especially strong. They had to be. They lived in the middle of a forest that had been forbidden from outsiders for a reason. One could breathe in the wrong direction and summon a whole gaggle of very carnivorous creatures. He guessed that was part of why his family worshipped what are essentially magical glowing vegan fish.

If his family ever knew he had THAT thought, they would rip his jaw off and kick him in a way that would undo his surgery, if you know what I mean. But thats what most of them are! And it's a little less magical when you know how the "important" ones are made. Like going to a theme park and learning the haunted house has a real skeleton. Or finding out what hot dogs are made of. Or the day his village found out his cousin Rosa was getting married to a nobleman outside of the village.

A long creaaaaaaaak grew into a loud, wind spitting roar as the tree toppled over, heading straight for a sweaty yet stone-faced Dulce. Once again, time slowed down. Suddenly, he was smaller and softer. It was storming. And the tree was no longer little. It was huge, the size of a house, ripped out of the ground by the base. Lifting the base was his grandfather, looking like a pile of hair like kelp, and in front of the tree, ready to catch it, was his dad. In one swift move, he caught the gigantic thing just before it fell onto Dulce. When he went to lift it up so they could all walk home, the bark groaned as the thing nearly shattered under his dads muscles. Obviously, his father didn't notice it, which his grandfather loudly reprimanded him for. His father was still somewhat young and still wasn't fully used to being unable to feel his hands. They were both late bloomers, in a way, as his ritual burns came a lot later in life, according to his grandfather. Dulce wanted nothing more in his life than to be like them, but he was born weak, and he only ever trusted him to wash clothes and carry a basket for roots and berries. One day, he'd show them all how strong he could really be.

As time came back to him, the tree picked up speed again, and his memories flowed down from his head into his spine and finally settled within the veins in his wrists. His body steeled itself for impact and as if possessed, in one quick, silent move-

His body fought against the millisecond of disorientation as he realized a small branch had broken off mid fall and smacked him on the head. Well, you can't predict everything. But the tree was secured in his arm, and he was ready to go break this thing down for fresh bark and spice.

Dulce whistled to call his little buddy as a signal that it was time to tuck away in a safe spot and head home. A long "________..." called in response, as Bubo dramatically flew down from the tree, landing in the absolute most dead dying death pose Dulce has ever seen a bird do. His mouth was agape, his tongue sticking out he even had a little flower he held to his chest.

"Oh, NOOO little BABY! Guess im gonna have to go home and eat aaaalll the freezy flower pops all by myself. This is terrible!"

"----!!!!!" At hearing the words "freezy flower pop, "Bubo instantly popped up and chirped in desperation.

"Aye." Dulce said with a smug grin. "Nuh-uh. You can't do that. Dead things are supposed to stay dead, and they can't eat anything."

Bubo screeched in defiance, settling on a branch before throwing a full-blown tantrum at him, almost as if to say, "The HECK you mean NUH-UH???". Of course, to Dulce, this just sounded like a bunch of tweets from an especially feisty,food motivated bird.

"Okay, yeah, I did it, but that doesn't mean YOU can. You are dead. All the way dead. Dead bird. No come back."

As Dulce lifted the tree over his shoulder and walked in the direction of home, he tuned out the noise on the tree on his shoulder to watch as the stars shot across the sky. One in particular looked very...odd. Bright, so bright it almost lit up the night sky. Its light was golden and familiar, but he couldn't quite put his finger on why. It made him feel...scared. He stared at it for a while before confirming it was just a star and headed back into the cozy safety of the darkness.

"Okay. I'll call her."

[sweetish-original-story]

Chapter 19

Tap tap tap tap. Tap tap. Tap tap tap tap-

"Uuuuhhh GOD, PLEASE take me away from thiiiis..." Sammy groaned as she nearly slumped over her computer desk. Of course, she couldn't because she was fully hooked in, visor and all. The smelly old thing COULD have been upgraded months ago, but the new parts are made with so much lower quality that it would risk all 3,000 terabytes of work (and 17,000 terabytes of high quality anime, some being so rare and old the characters depicted still had functioning gills, scales, and PROFOUNDLY bigoted facial features). No, she couldn't risk getting it updated now. She would just have to wait for a full replacement and move the data from one to the other.

That day couldn't come faster.

She had to do the mind-numbing work of editing celebrity photos this week because of their current collaboration with DNA Wholefillers and their plus-size summer cataloge coming out soon. She absolutely HATED working with these people. They brag about having such a wide variety of fits for everyone, but everything is made so fast and so poorly that its just sad to watch people be willing to put such slop on themselves. None of their designs looked good. They weren't unique, and if you ever complained about the quality, they would just try to sell you something else instead of fixing the issue.

This dress looks distressed, even in the photos they sent her, and she had to go about trying to make it look somewhat presentable. She ordered an outfit from them once just to see if the rumors were true, and she could have sworn they just tried to cover up a blood stain with an extra pocket. Which is really bad to see on a pair of brand new underwear. She'd join the boycott against them, but her mother doesn't seem to care what she had to say about them.

Tap tap tap. Sliiiide tap tap. Tap taptap tap.

"It was probably a fluke in the production, hon. I don't know why you felt the need to buy such a thing anyway. You're better than, ew, this thing." her moms voice crept into her mind like a quiet whisper."Poor people can't afford Bandaids, sweetie, that's why go to these galas, thays why we do this! Now put on some perfume like a lady and let's go." Ugh. Gross. Thinking about that memory made her feel gross in a way she couldn't describe. It's not weird for some dyes to get mixed up in production. Its not weird for a teenager to want to wear what her freinds are wearing, even if the most expensive thing they have to offer costs half the amount of pocket change you tend to carry when you go for a drive. The poorest person she knew really DID have trouble affording band aids when they first met. What was it about that memory that felt icky?

"Okay, almost finished..." she carefully dragged her fingers over the hologram to raise the heavy burlap fabric she was working on to make it seem more flowy and soft. As if burlap sack could ever be as soft and airy as a chiffon chemise. Disgusting. She just wants to watch sone frickin cartoons.

Sliiide.

She kept from complaining, though, she WANTED this job, after all. Maybe she should treat herself after this. Maybe she should buy herself a new dress. One WORTH buying. She'll never wear it, of course, among all the others sitting in her closet, but she felt it was nice to see that side of herself from time to time. The more Sammy thought about the dress, the more unfocused she became. She started thinking about her belly. Her hips and thighs. They've grown, but she can't tell whether her mom had noticed her new size. She couldn't let her mom find out she'd been getting bigger, or else she'd immediately make her start drinking that horrible tea and rabbit food again. A small plate of plain uncooked vegetables should NOT count as a meal. Why do the maids let her get away with this?

Click.

Saved. Copied. Sent. Freedom. And it couldn't come any sooner. She lifted her visor and took a look outside. It was approaching noon. She leaned back in her chair and reached as high up to the ceiling as she could, releasing so much tention from her body that her whole being unintentionally quaked as if she was in an earthquake, before gently releasing all the pain and ache she had been feeling from her workout.

She then saved her work once more (for good mesure) and closed the window before opening her files and turning on Hair Piece to decompress. She has already watched this episode, but she was looking for details to make fun of alongside her many online friends.

[sweetish-original-story]

Chapter 18

Back in the cold, dusty halls of Sammy's home the echoes of faint panting bounced back and forth against the walls, the floor and the ceiling. The muffled, rhyming sound of perfectly aligned footsteps acted as a beat to the primal sound, and had it not been trapped in her ribcage, be accompanied by the procession of her heart. The Tiffany Arrows album had run out of songs to play, and Sammy didn't feel like pressing replay or thinking of something else to play. The treadmill she uses costs more than her rhinoplasty. Granted, her rhinoplasty was only a simple file down, to make her nose more sharp.

Somehow that thought distracted her from the beads of sweat rolling down her brow and the dryness in her lungs. That nose job was the first and most defining treatment she ever had, not counting the never ending diets, never ending vitamins, military level workouts and fully prepaid spa treatments. The way she looked before, while still considered more than beautiful by her peers, was too round and soft for the standard set in her circle. Her culture believed that outer beauty was one of the most defining factors in a person's life, and she's heard horror stories of people who were thown away as children in the past for looking too ungodly. For as much Sammy thought the whole thing was stupid, she couldn't help but admit that she herself had memories of being treated as less than when she first started making her own clothing. In that moment, a voice crossed her mind;

"What a horrible thing to think! Back home, people like that were seen as miracles, a gift from the depths of the ocean to cherish! How could your people leave your very own out to rot!" Dulce. Of course it was his voice that crossed her mind. Sammy decided to turn the treadmill down a bit to focus on this one amongst the sea of other thoughts scratching away in the back of her mind. She can't focus if she's breathing too loud.

Dulce always made being a good person seem so... effortless. How does someone do that, just to be a good person, a kind soul with no flaws whatsoever? Well of course there are the OBVIOUS ones, but if her country didn't have that stupid social standard they would ALL see it too. When she was younger she heard whispers about their race being uneducated thieves who live in caves because they were too ugly to be seen by The Serpent. How they would spend all day getting drunk and belligerent and all night cannabalizing anyone and anything that bothered them.

 Even as a child she thought they were horrible rumors, but to her shock, just a couple of weeks ago the dumbest one of all turned out to be true. Who would have guessed Murfolken were born with a golden tooth on their forehead? Why? What was it used for? And why does it fall off? At the time she was too embarrassed to ask anything further, but now, especially with the swarm of emails and fan letters asking about it during the last issue....

She turns the treadmill down again. A nice simple trot. Focus. 

Her own people were not as magical in her mind. Sirpentborne were just so... predictable. Easy. Too easy to categorize. She tries not to let her own biased inform her relationship with others, but each and every day, having to look at the same grey skin blue cheeks and the same beesting lips under the same sharpened nose under the same stoney brow over the slightly different shade of grey or blue or black or whatever eyes is maddening. And then having to perfect it all? Mass producing photo after photo, everything being clean and safe and the only difference being mole, a season, photoshopping out any leaf that's less than green and any flower that didn't bloom?She'd rather die right now, right in this moment, by being run over by a sentient gelato truck that reincarnated into a duck. An angry gelato truck. With wings.

Dulce never felt that way. He loved every bit of what she captured, the dust, the dirt, the picture she kept in her personal folder of him sitting on the floor of his shop after closing, absolutely demolishing a crunchy walnut burrito, doused in cheese and hot sauce. That was REAL joy. REAL life. He didn't need a wedding with irisis shipped in from the west or to have all of his kids wearing the exact same dress, tailored and clean pressed. She didn't need A jeweled arch or to wait 5 hours so the sun could be in the right spot. He didn't even notice what a shabby job she did when setting up the stand at the food fair. She didn't think he even realized the table fell over because of her recklessness. Of course, shed have done a better job of she wasn't late but he didn't even bring it up. He was just... grateful. For everything she did. 

The sound of her machine slowly gave way to the near imperceptble sound of heels, clicking away at marble, and the jingling of keys. It Sammy moved to her room now, her mother would take it as an invitation to have a "conversation with her. She had to stay calm. Quiet. Unnoticeable. A piece of background art in her own home. Like the echoes on the wall and the dust on the ivory. Complete invisibility.

The sound stopped for a moment, and so did Sammy's breath. The opening of a drawer. The low grumble in her mom's throat. More clicking. A door. A door? And then... silence. All was silent besides her feet and her machine. Her mother simply forgot her day clutch. She had been spared. 

In quiet relief, Sammy decided to turn the entire set up off. 

[sweetish-original-story]

Chapter 17

The sound of chopping and sizzling was almost as loud as the scent of the healthy, seedy breakfast Dulce was prepping for his baby birdy. He knew doing this every morning is spoiling the poor thing, but he just couldn't help but want to provide for the little thing. It certainly gave him some purpose the past few years, made him feel like he mattered to someone, at least. When he left home things were hard. He already looked different, and that already made things difficult. If not for the fact that one of his cousins already gifted him property to sell out of, and live in if need be, he'd have been in much worse circumstances than he had been.

The chopping grows louder and faster as he silently reminiscence on his circumstances. Bubo peeped at its mom in a concerned tone as it recognized the change in attitude. His mothers illness is affecting him again, and Bubo was prepping himself to fly onto his favorite perch, the safest place in the house, as to not get caught by the ricochet of his outburst.

Dulce was a good man. A hard worker. Detail oriented and strong. He had been shamed out of his home for not wanting to fulfill a role that was not meant for him, or for anyone with a brain. They tried to convince him it was for a greater purpose, tried to keep him I'll and dumb and small, so he would never grow curious. But he was curious. And clever. The chopping speeds up.

It wasn't fair. All those good souls he let crumble to dust. All that work, being fed lie after lie. He was told he was creating medicine for the war, to heal the scars their allies had created as a "necessary sacrifice" only to find out they were the ones helping create the very poison that doomed them.

And then, as a killing blow, he finds out his elders were praying for more. And yet it's HE who is punished?

There is a long silence as Bubo fluffs his feathers and prepares to take flight. The chopping resumes. All Dulce ever does is give love and light to the world like his Gods told him to and all his own people have ever done was use him and his family as tools for a purpose that was tainted by-

If Bubo hadn't dealt with this his whole life, he'd have been flattened by the hot frying pan that came flying out of nowhere. Beebirds are fast flyers after all, and nobody is quicker than him. He ziped up to the perch in the ceiling and healed his tiny little breath as his mom succumbed to his illness once again.

The walls shook with each hard blow to the concrete. The rock vaporized under Dulce's fist as he momentarily lost his sense of humanity, leaving piles of rock and dust and tiny treats that fell to the ground from the impact. From the outside, his neighbors patiently waited for his outburst to end. They all knew what he was going through, and though they didn't understand what went down, this oasis of angels knew the war was nothing but horror for his people, and it seems anyone in his region who survived the final day either went into hiding, dove into vices or turned into this.

Beasts. Beasts of burden, beasts of war, their very own undertakers. Howls and screams erupted from his home as the worst parts clawed deep into Dulce's mind. Into his skin. Into his lungs. He couldn't breathe. He couldn't move. He couldn't think. He was being attacked, but he couldn't find who was doing it to him. Shadows surrounded him in army uniforms. One particular shadow in the shape of his priestess slowly reached for his neck as the others held his feet and thighs in place. No. Not again. This is not happening again. He knows what to do.

Bubo closed his eyes as he watched his ill mother pick up the first attempt at breakfast, still burning in the flames, with his bare hands, allowing his arms to alight in a roaring flame. The fire has always protected him. If he had fire, he had power. He had strength. He had his family, his real family. Fire. Fire. Fire. Fire. Fire. Bubo had to stop this. Dulce lunged at the evil priestess, beating it into ashen pieces on the ground. Suddenly a loud screech filled his eardrums and knocked him out of his hallucination.

When Dulce came to, he noticed there were 17 new holes in his poor perfect kitchen, and

His brand new coat rack was in dismay. It would cost more to fix it than to get a new one. He can never have nice things. He also noticed he was on fire. He should probably handle that.

After dousing the flames in the sink and cleaning up his clumsy mess, he whistled to his baby boy to call him over. Bubo happily flew into his mom's hands as he was showered with apologies and kisses. When he was tiny it was scary, but luckily Bubo knows his mom would never EVER hurt him on purpose, and if he does, he gets to have berries and treats and fruit all day long until he gets fat and has to go to Doctor.

It's hard taking care of his big, bald, ugly mother, but he will find a cure no matter what. No matter what it takes. Bubo is the main character of this story, a hero, and even with the world on his shoulders he will never give up. He wasn't built for hardship but by Gods he will go the distance, and this nightmare will be nothing more than a memory.

Miles away, Sammy, a total side character who doesn't matter to the story in the least as much as Bubo, turns her treadmill onto maximum overdrive, while playing her favorite album from the platinum collection by Tiffany Arrows as loud as the speakers will play them. After five minutes, she also turns on the TV.

[sweetish-original-story]

Chapter 16

As the sunlights soft, honeyed rays gently drifted into the window pane of Dulce's damp and dull apartment. He had fallen asleep on the edge of his brand new bed. All but one of the blankets were new as well, with pillows to match. Simple cotton and hemp formed a near flat horizon. The corners were neatly tucked, only interrupted by the fraying of his oldest blanket peeking out from undwrneath it all.

He took a deep breath to get his bearings and savored the scent of sweet lemonade, no doubt coming from the fragrance sticks he had splurged on last week. He looked over to it, neatly placed on the pre installed drawer space that has come with the apartment. He had gotten those sticks for only 2 shells during an 80% off sale at the corner shop down the road. He has been eyeing them for a long time and he was filled to the brim with sweet satisfaction at his purchase.

It was only accompanied by an old photo of his family placed in a frame made of layered leaves and pine tar, and a particularly fun and kooky looking sugar crystal he had found years ago. The shape and color seemed to form a near skeletal head, and the impurities from its formation has given it a ring of orange flowers around its head and a slightly uneven, curly moustache. It would no doubt taste like an overripened banana if used, but it still brought him joy, so he decided to keep it.

He took another deep breath before deciding to stand. He had only needed 3 minutes before he was ready to rise and start his day. When he rose, he slowly reached his arms up to the hole in his ceiling, hearing several pops from his spine as the blood in his body started to rush though his veins in anticipation of his natural routine.

His own power felt electric, he let out a loud fiery roar from deep within his gut in satisfaction. The neighborhood strays heard this from outside, and slowly hobbled back to their comfy corners and cozy cardboard, as while for Dulce this was a wake up call, for the animals, it was the dinner bell.

His mind was clearing up as he walked over to his window and opened the blinds to let the soothing sun warm up his skin. While his elderly neighbor in the building next door was at first disturbed by the daily occurrence of seeing a shirtless, fat, war torn thug outside her window each morning, she had since set up the mirrors in her home to reflect his presence into to the one in her own bathroom where she could hide in a corner out of sight and watch. For the neighborhoods safety of course. Something she's been doing very diligently ever since her late husband moved on from this world.

A particularly pink beebird with bright red cheeks noticed the open window and started singing a joyous tune before fluttering down to land on Dulce's elbow. He looked down at the little thing and quietly spoke, as to not blow it away; "Well good morning Little Brother. How are you today?" He slowly lifted the tiny little thing up to his face to get a closer look. "I didn't see you around yesterday morning? Were you busy starting trouble?" The bird hopped around ant twittered a sassy response, before opening it's mouth wide, signalling that it was hungry.

He couldn't help but chuckle, as it reminded him of when he first found it. It was maybe the size of a pea when it was a baby, and he only found the poor thing when it was pushed out of its nest by its mother, straight into his lemonade. He raised it out of pity and sympathy, though he was extremely surprised when it made it past the first few days of life. Now it was the size of an apricot (give or take a few feathers) andgreedy to boot.

At this point, the bird started hopping in frustration, nibbling on the tip of his nose as if it were a treat. "Ow, okay okay I got it, you're starving! Mabye if you didn't bully the snakes all the time you wouldn'tcome home so hungry!" He turned around, deaf to his neighbors quickly muffled squeak as his festive holiday rubber duck boxers were on full display. "Let's go get some breakfast huh? You want that Bubo? Food? Hungry?You wanna eat-eat?"

At the recognition of the words 'Bubo', 'food', and 'eat-eat' the pink puffball whistled in delight and hoped up to his shoulder, eagerly awaiting it's luxurious meal of nuts, seeds, and the occasional berry. Luckily it can hunt snakes on its own, so the thing it was sitting on that was obviously its giant ugly bald mother, could eat its own snakes without sharing and being hungry all the time. Bubo knew this was the case as it's finally big and round and healthy like a good bird should be, unlike when Bubo was little. It still hasn't figured out how to stop his mama from picking out the feathers it tries to stick onto her, but he is certain that if he can fix the first thing, he can easily convince his mama to stop being a nudist at some point.

Bubo tucked into it's owners neck as they listened to the sounds of its mother, Dulce, humming his favorite tune, backed by the percussion of scoops and sizzles and the rythmic chops of a knife on the cutting board.

Bubo could tell he was putting almonds in it. Bubo hated almonds, but if he didn't eat them, he got no berries.

[sweetish-original-story]

Chapter 15

"Good morning, Samuela Mia Giovanni, of Hous Giovanni. It is 7:30 AM. The date is Freiday, 12 of Frust 7735. The weather will be 73°, with a 30% chance of-"

Sammy awoke to the sound of digital wind chimes and the smell of citrus misting through the air. It was a part of her morning routine, her mother ordered scented misters in her room when it was being built because she believed vitamin c had a "focusing essence". Sammy didn't exactly ask for this or give her permission to have even more construction on her part of the home, but she didn't exactly ask to be born either.

She lifted herself from the bath, only slightly wrinkled due to the time she spent in the miracle water, to find that her body suddenly felt weighed hundreds of pounds. She tried to stretch her arms out into the sky and they nearly buckled under her own stiffness. She ached and groaned until she slid out like a wet oyster onto the floor. Too exhausted to stand, she blindly crawled to the closet in the corner and dried herself off which the first bit of terrycloth that collapsed onto her from the overfilled thing.

She was bombarded with the feeling of ice against her skin. This place really does get cold at night. She scooted like a worm through dirt towards the laundry hamper her maids put out during their last work day, and pulled out the same old sleeveless slip she had been wearing since middle school. She certainly should let them wash it, considering the fact that shes worn it around the house for 2 weeks straight. Nevertheless, the only one who really cares has probably gone off to yet another gala to celebrate yet another one of her empty, stolen accomplishments.

She threw on the slip and sat for a moment, slowly running her fingers along the sides of the newly damp, stained dress. The colour of the thin silk was a bright blush pink when it was tailored, but over the years had stained and darkened into a muted mauve with uneven patches of grey and mustard.

The bright blue feathers that once adorned it's hemline we're now falling out in chunks, crunchy and dry and stained like road kill. The bits of loose thread where the rhinestones used to be had become bare craters, like memories of what once was. Even the elastic barely had a grip anymore from her constant weight gain and loss with every single new diet her mother suggested.

Though today, it seemed to stay on for whatever reason.

Her throat felt like it would close when she realized how noticable it was. She knew what would happen if she kept this up, and it made her gaunt hands tremble. Her head hurt. Her stomach felt sick. She felt like she was once again falling into a spiral of lust and pain and vertigo. She would have to eat breakfast at some point.

"Good morning, Samuela Mia Giovanni, of Hous Giovanni. It is 8:25 AM. The date is Freiday, 12 of Frust 7735. Your schedule for today is-"