#taz bang

[daikenkki]

X

[brainddeadd]

"I need him in a way that's concerning to feminism" and my physical well-being

[theanimationalley]

[quinoariver]

Thinking about her,

Image description: two inked sketches of Dani from The Adventure Zone from the shoulders uo, depicted as a chubby east asian woman with long hair in a wolf cut. In the first sketch she's facing the viewer, in the second she's seen in profile with her hair partially in a bun. In both drawings she's smiling slightly and wearing a sweater over a button up shirt. ID end.

[nillial]

call me barry bluejeans cause i . cause i love lup. is that anything

[bipherpol]

i said this before when they were announcing castings and i will say it again: there is some kind of witchcraft going on in that casting department what the hell

[carrollgd]

Made an Emerich Dreadway from TAZ Steeplechase, or at least my own interpretation of this waspy man.

Gonna see if I can bang out how i see the whole squad!

[morgansdeb]

Seeing the One Piece fanbase hyping up this 24-year-old white girl to play Robin because they're allergic to older and non-white women is so annoying to me (they're also allergic to fat women)*. The fact that she's super young when Robin is supposed to be visibly older and more mature than the East Blue Five, makes her an immediate NO for me. These weirdos will see a super young girl with black bangs and scream "Robin-chan~~!!!" because they can't consume media without their dicks in their hands. I mean, 19k likes? Seriously?

Iñaki Godoy is 20. Mackenyu is 27. Taz Skylar and Jacob Gibson are 28. Emily Rudd is 31. The ideal thing would be for Robin to be 40 (or AT LEAST 32, and not look like she just graduated high school. She needs to look older than Emily Rudd and the rest of the cast).

I can only imagine the amount of racist vitriol Robin's actress will get if she ends up being a WOC. And let's not even start with the comments about the size of her breasts. Emily Rudd is the most conventionally attractive white girl you could think of, and I still see comments saying she wasn't "right" for Nami because her boobs aren't "big enough."

"But Oda said that if Robin were real, she'd be Russian!!11!" And he also said Luffy would be Brazilian (Iñaki is Mexican), Nami would be Swedish (Emily is American), Sanji would be French (Taz is Spanish/English), and with Usopp... all he did was write Africa, which isn't a country. So let's be serious for a bit. Those answers weren't literal.

Y'all love to talk about how the creepy things that he says on the SBS are "jokes" (remember when he sexually harassed a fan who asked him if she could be a Jump Editor, or when he said he fantasized about Rebecca's top falling during battle? Because I do), so why are these answers the one thing you choose to take seriously?

But this fandom being filled with racist, misogynistic, fatphobic incels isn't surprising considering how terrible Oda is. All these issues are connected and lead back to the source material. It's nearly impossible to have productive conversations about One Piece when everyone wants to blame all the bad on OPLA or Toei, as if the creator himself wasn't the one who opened the door for every single problem.

Some of you act as if someone kicked your dog whenever someone dares to suggest that Oda isn't the Super Progressive Writer™ the fandom has deluded themselves into thinking he is. I don't even understand where the denial comes from, considering his misogyny is so blatant and his association with sex offenders is public information. I understand loving One Piece, but you don't need to kiss Oda's ass, you know? He's not a good person.

Being critical of the media you consume and its creator isn't being a "hater". I can consume One Piece while disliking its many, many issues. I didn't sign a contract that says I have to like every single thing about it.

I'll be upset if Robin ends up being played by some 20-something white actress, but I'm already upset by the fandom's attitude. *Don't think I haven't noticed the obsession some folks have with monitoring Ilia Isorelýs Paulino's social media activity to check if she's losing weight to be "manga/anime accurate Alvida", as if Alvida magically becoming thin is this super important plot point that needs to be adapted. The source material and the fandom's treatment of fat women is another topic I could rant about for days.

[junglemax]

joe and shibata check in on hook after dynamite.

[fic]

Joe practically slams the medical door open. “Where is he?”

Everyone looks up, alarmed and startled.

Shibata, who came in behind Joe, spots a closed off bed in the far corner where Hook’s boots poke out from behind the curtain, and taps Joe before motioning his head towards it.

They both get over there quickly, and throw the curtain out of the way.

Hook’s sitting up with his head down.

“Hook,” Joe says, putting a hand on his shoulder. “We saw what happened. Are you okay?”

Hook looks up. He’s got a bandage on his eye, and his bangs are a little singed. He doesn’t say anything, just glares half-heartedly.

“Shit,” Joe says, letting go of him. “Shit, Hook-“

“Do we need to call your dad?” Shibata types.

Hook shakes his head.

“Hook, this is serious. Someone should let him know,” Joe says. He turns to the medical staff. “Hey! Does anyone here know how to do their fucking job? Someone call Taz and tell him what happened, now.”

A few people scramble to find a phone.

Hook shakes his head harder, and makes a pained, angry sound.

“Don’t hurt yourself now.” Joe lightly pushes Hook down to lay.

Hook shoves him off, and Joe tightens his hold, keeping Hook on the bed.

Shibata waves a hand in front of Hook.

Hook looks up and stops struggling against Joe.

Shibata hands out his phone and taps the screen, which still shows google translate up.

Hook looks down at it, and slowly taps out a message. “I want to go home.”

Joe sighs. “Figures. The second you get cleared, we’ll take you home.”

Hook doesn’t type anymore.

Shibata gently takes the phone out of his hands and types his own message. “Why don’t you want to tell your father what happened?” He hands it back.

Hook takes a long few minutes to think. He types and retypes a few messages before finally settling on one. “I don’t want him to worry. He’ll convince me to not wrestle.”

“Hook, Jericho threw fire into your eyes. This isn’t something you can come back from like that,” Joe snaps his fingers. “This takes time.”

Hook types more frantically, angrily huffing out through his nose. “I’m this close to getting that title back. I can’t stop now.”

“Hook.”

Hook doesn’t look at either of them. His knuckles are white around Shibata’s phone.

Shibata holds out his hand. Hook slowly gives him the phone back.

“Your dad would be more disappointed in you hiding an injury and forcing yourself into a position you cannot handle than in you taking the time needed to heal. The belt isn’t going anywhere. Rest. We’ll stay with you if it makes you feel better.”

“Jesus, Shibata,” Joe mutters.

Hook looks up at Shibata, and they can see a lone tear line on his cheek. With a shaky hand he reaches back up for the phone, which Shibata gives him. “Can you stay at my place? And tell my dad he can come too?”

“Sure thing, champ,” Joe says. “We’ll keep watch so Jericho and his creep squad don’t try some shit.”

Someone jogs up to the three. “We left a message for Taz, and he finally called back. He’s still not allowed in the building, but-“

“Is he on the phone?”

The staff member nods.

“Bring it here.”

They bring the phone over, and Joe puts it on speaker. “Hey, Taz. Me and Shibata are with Hook.”

“Is he okay? I couldn’t get any reception on this damn phone-“

“He’s okay,” Joe assures. “Just shaken up. His eye got pretty messed up.”

“Shit,” Taz sighs. “I should’ve known that motherfucker was going to try some nonsense. If I hadn’t needed surgery, I would’ve hopped in there and slapped him myself.” Taz sighs again. “Can I speak to my son?”

“He’s uh, pretty non-verbal right now,” Joe admits. “It’s like pulling teeth just to get him to type on Shibata’s phone.”

“But he’s there?”

“Yeah.”

“Can I talk to him?”

“Sure.” Joe takes it off speaker and gives it to Hook.

Hook sniffles into the mic, and it must be enough for Taz to start talking. Joe nor Shibata can hear what he says, but whatever it is, Hook is agreeing to it, nodding along.

Finally, Hook clears his throat, and mumbles the first words he’s said all night. “Love you too, dad.” He hands the phone back to Joe, avoiding eye contact.

“You got to him?” Joe asks.

“Yeah, I told him what he needed to hear. I appreciate you guys being there for him.”

“Good. Hey, he wants me and Shibata to stay with him when he gets out, and wants you to stop by.”

“I can do that, yeah. Thanks for the heads up.”

“Of course, man.” He says his goodbyes and hangs up. “Alright, Hook. When the hell are you supposed to get out of here?”

Hook points to a staff member.

“Hey, you! Guy with the mustache.”

The mustache guy looks over. “Yes sir?”

“When can he go home?”

“Um, I’d have to check-“

“Let me rephrase that: you tell me right now whether or not he can go home.”

The man gulps. “Um- if you guys are okay with driving him, he can probably-“

“That’s all we need to know. Thank you.” Joe turns to Hook. “Come on, let’s go. We’ll even stop and get some chips on the way.”

Hook just steps off the bed. Joe puts an arm around his shoulders, and Shibata follows them out.

[orykorioart]

TAZ Sapphic Week Day 7: Game (Its a Pokemon Au bc of course it is 😔✌️)

Going out w a bang on the last day with something incredibly self-indulgent. +Short comic

+ Me talking about pokemon choices + some lore explanations as to why I chose that pokemon (for those who don’t know that much about pokemon) are under the cut

Killian is a mixed specialist with a love for fighting type pokemon.

Carey is a dragon specialist, specifically dragons that are fast and nimble, hence the Garchomp (who is one of the faster dragon-types, as well as having the Sand Veil ability which makes it easier for Garchomp to dodge attacks in sandstorm)

Killian has a shiny Kommo-o because in my mind, Carey gave her a little shiny Jangmo-o as a gift because it’s fighting and dragon type, but also because it’s got a pink heart on top of it’s head to symbolize their love!

On top of Killian’s head is the pokemon Applin, who is also dragon-type. In the region it debut in, gifting someone an Applin can be seen as a romantic gesture. It’s Killian’s gift to Carey that they ended up raising together :-)!

[jiminsbabexxx]

Meddle About

You were heading out to the ring for a speaking segment, walking through backstage. "Hey pretty girl, where are you going?" Renee asked, standing next to Mox. "Debut." You said, Renee gasping. "It's your debut?!" Renee yelled. "Hey proud of you kiddo, you'll do great remember I'm here if you need me." Mox said, pulling you into a hug. You Mox and Renee had gone back years, before you signed with AEW you had been in the backgrounds of WWE being known as John Cena's little sister. So Mox and tons of other wrestlers had basically raised and trained you, which is what made the decision to sign with AEW so easy you had family here. "You'll do amazing." Renee said. "Hey what's with you and Taz's son?" Mox asked. "Mox, nothing were just talking!" You said. "Uh huh, now remember if he hurts you just let me know." Mox said, tapping his taped wrists together. "Yeah yeah I know, I gotta go I'll talk to you later." You said, walking away. "Hey mama, where you going?" Hook asked. "Debut." You said. "What didn't want to tell me?" Hook asked. "You were busy." You said looking down at his title in his hand. "Never too busy for you." Hook said, putting his hand under your chin and lifting it. You and Hook had met a couple of weeks ago when Renee and Mox had invited you to a AEW show, while showing you around you had literally ran into Hook. "Y/N your on." A backstage person told you, you turning around to leave before Hook stopped you. "Hey wait, you'll do amazing." Hook said, kissing your forehead. You were standing there in shock before Hook pushed you off, you turning and walking through the entrance.

The pop you got when you walked out was insane, everyone had expected you to debut with WWE and not AEW but here you were. You walked into the ring, being handed a mic. "Hello everyone!" You said, the crowd cheering. "I know it has been a long time very long time, but here I am. And I am so excited to be able to entertain all of you, and that starts with my first opponent-" You started but got cut off.

"Woah woah woah Y/N, no one cares. I mean did you really think that after 6 years you can just show up here and think that everybody would accept you, we hate you. I mean the only reason why you got here is because your so close to the one the only John Cena. And the only way you got here is because your banging Hook. Oh Taz did you know that Y/N and your son are together?" Jack perry asked, you chuckling. "Now why don't you walk to the back and tell your boy toy that I'm coming for that title." Jack said, in your face. "Jack, with all due respect I'm not going to do that." You said. "And why not?" Jack asked. "Because you and I both know that it's a death wish." You said. "Fine I'll handle it myself." Jack said, dropping his mic and grabbing you to set you up into a suplex. "Oh Jack this is not a good idea." Taz said, on commentary.

Hook then walked down to the ring, Jack dropping you and Hook and Jack facing off between the ropes. You getting up, and hitting Jack with RedRum, Hook smiling. "Oh she's got it she's got Jack in RedRum!" Taz yelled, you feeling Jack tapping your arm. You letting go and standing up, Hook getting into the ring with you. Hook then grabbing your hand and lifting it with his FTW title, you then picking up a mic that was thrown. "Hey Jack you and Anna, me and Hook sunday." You said, throwing the mic. Hook standing next to you smiling at you. "Hey guys I wasn't sure about this to begin with but look at Hook look how happy he is. Sunday is going to be awesome!" Taz said.

[demon-blood-youths]

An Unlikely Truce Against Common Enemy || Drabble

Hi everyone! This is Deamon-mun writing a funny drabble for @the-silver-peahen-residence regarding the asks. So here is the cast.

----- Cast -------

The JJK cast ( Yuuji Itadori, Megumi Fushiguro, Noabra Kugasaki and Maki Zen'in. All are rped by Peahen mun )

Mineta from BHA and a OC named Bradely ( also rped by Peahen-mun)

Oda's Demons ( Hayato Itachi, Iku Gash, Moudo Namzu, Shukaku Shōtsū, Syuuta Masamune ) rped by me.

Taz Hellion and Kisho/Daichi rped by me.

----- Summary -----

Someone went to the campus of Jujutsu Tokyo High one night. Yuuji and the gang find out who was responsible as they found evidence and so they went to Nagoya. Where the famed Oda's Demons faction lives. How will this play out?

----

In Nagoya City, where the Oda clan ruled. Three middle-school delinquents are hanging out near the vending machine, vaping and talking about current events.

"Hey! Did you heard?" One delinquent said with messy bangs.

"What?" A second asked with a pompadour haircut.

"I heard some Oda demons went to Tokyo and got into a fight with some school, guys" He informs his two buddies.

"Huh?! How is that news, Jin?" Said the third who has bleached blue hair.

"Yeah! I bet the fraction already beat them up!"

"Yeah, but that's the thing...I heard one of the students there beat up Hayato the Wind Blade!" Said the man with the messy bangs named Jin talking to Seiya with the pompadour and Teru who has blue hair.

"Shit, for real? Whose is it?" Seiya asked.

"I don't know but there are rumors that it must be the Tiger of West High."

"Hah? Isn't the Tiger of West High from Sendai? The hell he's doing in Tokyo?" Teru asked.

"Maybe he must of move to Tokyo due to school or some shit." Said Seiya.

"I don't know, man. But I'm telling ya, it's a rumor. Don't know if it's real or not but I saw Hayato came back with a cast. So it's gotta be." Said Jin.

"You should keep quiet man, you can't let one of the Oda guys hear you, or else we get beat up. Besides! We're going to join them, remember?! We can't go in if we talk shit about their upper ranks!" Said Seiya.

"Yeah, yeah. Sorry!" Jin sighed.

"Hey, you three!" The three became startled as a voice calls them out. Shit! The three prepared themselves that it must be the Oda faction. But they were surprised to see something unexpected. A different group approached. A huge group. Three boys and three girls. What the? Jin narrows his eyes at this. Their uniforms. They seemed familiar but he couldn't pinpoint which.

"Yeah? Whaddya want?" Seiya said, looking at them with a scowl, didn't like to be spooked. But for some reason, Jin senses there's something is going on. The three boys and two girls look a bit pissed while one girl looks worried.

"Where can we find the Oda clan around her?" Said a brunette with her hands on her hips, frowning.

The three delinquents blinked at the group and looked confused. The tall dark one whose hair is spiky like a sea unchrin, crossed his arms, "Well? Do you?" He asked.

Then Teru goes, "You wanna know WHERE the Oda fraction is? You gotta be out of your damn mind!"

"Yeah! What business ya got with them?!" Seiya said. Is this another rival faction or what?!

"Something we need to talk about." Said black sea unchrin. The three look at the group like they're crazy. Because they know what a 'talk' means and it is anything but. Jin goes, "Man, if you wanna know. The Oda faction is in charge of pachikos, arcades, and some shitty loan sharks! You guys will be screwed-"

"It's fine." This time, Jin gulped and so did his friends. They see a guy with pink hair with an undercut. He has scars...under his eyes. That guy looks serious and had that look where you don't want to fuck with him. "So...where. are. they?" The pink-haired guy questioned.

"Er..well...they must be in one of the izakaya next to King Maō Parlor. That's their usual spot. Izakaya Bandai. You won't miss them." Said Jin with his two friends nodding in agreement. Then the pink-haired guy smiles, "Thank you." And so the group leaves with the foreigner girl saying a quiet thank you to them with a bow. The three delinquents look at each other, "Do you think?"

"Nah. Couldn't be it...." Then the three delinquents decided to go to iazkaya where the members of the Oda fraction hangs out.

----- Izakaya Bandai ----

Hayato and his teammates, Moudo, Iku, Shukaku, and Syuuta were hanging out. Hayato is eating his meal which is goyza. His favorite food along with some tomato juice and miso soup.

Iku is sulking. After his display at the Jujutsu High, he was punished and suspended from his usual activities for the time being He is drinking his coffee can. Shukaku is talking with Moudo and Syuuta about the meeting and Rioto.

"So..hold on. Rioto goes to a school for sorcerers. Jujutsu Sorcerers? The ones that beat Hayato?"

"Only one!" Hayato interjects. He will acknowledge Yuuji Itadori won fair and square so he needs to recover and train so it won't happen again. The other two don't count as much as he hates to admit.

Shukaku nods, "Yes. Only one and two gave Hayato some trouble." To which Hayato groans but keeps on eating, "Plus Iku..."

Iku clicks his tongue.

"Got defeated by a man named Sukuna, a demon inside Itadori Yuuji. He's seriously stronger than a normal demon! It got my tail between my legs." Shukaku smiles wryly. "But...Rioto went to the one in Kyoto and he told me that there are interesting humans there as well. One that manipulates blood, one that controls human-sized puppets. He called them cursed corpses, non-living objects." The boy continues, "Then there's one that can fly on a broomstick, and oh! There is one who claps his hands to switch objects and people's positions! He said it's disorienting. Almost like my ability!" Shukaku chuckles.

"What about the ones from Tokyo?" Syuuta said. Shukaku begins, "I saw three of them first hand and Rioto's intel proves to be correct. There is one named Fushguro which Rioto nicknames...Dark Lord who summons creatures from the darkness. Or rather....from my observation, he uses shadows as a medium to summon otherworldly creatures. So he isn't too far off." Shukaku chuckles.

"Guess Dark Lord fits, huh?" Syuuta laughed. Moudo speaks up, "And there's a girl who uses nails and hammers! She's really scary."

"Doesn't sound that scary! Nails and hammer?!" Syuuta hums. Shukaku chuckles, "Actually...she is. For some reason, her nails are imbued with cursed energy. Plus, I saw her carrying a straw doll. I was tailing the folks for a while...like a few hours and got a gist of their abilities. But the interesting one is Itadori, he is a fighter much like Hayato yet a human housing a cursed spirit like Sukuna. I wouldn't be surprised if this Sukuna is a demon. It makes me wonder why Sukuna hasn't Yuji signed a contract with him"

"Where is Rioto getting all this information from?"

"Most likely his idol, Daichi who doesn't mind telling him about it."

"You mean that cringed hero guy that Rioto watches every day?"

"That cringed hero guy bested Rioto in a duel. Rioto tells me that Daichi is as strong as his friends." Shukaku reminds him. "How long he's going to be there?" Moudo asked. Moudo likes Rioto. He's nice and helps him out with his mud-earth abilities. In a way, he looks up to Rioto as a fellow brother.

"Until he graduates..." Shukaku said. "But...it's not bad. He visits from time to time after he is followed for a moment. I made sure to erase any suspicion. Oh! I meet his friend, Kamo Noritoshi! He's pretty nice!" He said.

"Where's Rioto, anyway?" Hayato asked.

"With Oda as we speak." Shukaku smiles. The members of Oda were drinking and talking until they hear comottion from outside. Hayato stops eating and hears comottion. That smell.

Doors opened with two Oda followers thrown down onto the floor. Then several people came in. Hayato blinks while Iku is in disbelief before glaring, "Oh what the hell?"

"Eh?" Shukaku blinked and so did Moudo and Syuuta. Shukaku knows those faces. Speak of the devil...

"Where's Oda?!" Yuuji Itadori yelled.

"What the hell?" Hayato said, standing up. "What are you doing here?"

"Don't give us that! You came to our school, you creep!" Nobara shouted.

"Creep?!" Hayato growls, standing up now. "What the hell are you talking about?! We didn't do anything since the match!"

"You came to the girls' room and took their stuff!" Daichi yelled. Shukaku widen his eyes at this. But it isn't because his bangs are covering his eyes. "Wait what?' Moudo is shocked by this. Syuuta laughs, "Wow! Who are these punks?" He stands up. "Do you have any idea who we are?!"

"Um...Syuuta!" Moudo warns him. Syuuta laughs, not hearing Moudo as he walks over to the group. "You guys come here and accuse us of shit without proof. Who do you think are! Even if we, it's not girls like you! You ain't that pretty!"

"Um...Syuuta!" Shukaki goes to interject as Syuuta starts to manipulate water from his glass and starts to form at the top of his palm. Syuuta is wearing his beak mask and it opens, revealing sharp teeth. "Now how about you-"

BAM!

Several feet flying and Syuuta hits the wall. Syuuta with widen eyes made contact with the wall after Yuuji threw a punch to shut him up. Syuuta crashes onto the ground. "W-what?!" Syuuta asked stunned.

"Yeah.....sorry! Those are the guys we're talking about." Shukaku informs him.

"That's him?!" Syuuta yelled. Hayato grits his teeth, "I don't know where you get the idea like that but we didn't steal anything! Hell! I don't even come near your school!" Hayato said.

"Then explain this." Megumi shows Hayato a purple armband with the bright gold-yellow Oda crest on that. Shukaku raised a brow at this.

"I don't know anything about someone stealing and your girls' stuff!" Hayato said. "What kind of stuff did we steal anyway?!"

'You stole our panties and bras!" Noabra yelled. This silences the Oda faction as they look at them in disbelief.

"P-panties?' Moudo choked as Hayato's face turned red, "We didn't stole something like that! What the hell?!"

Iku scoffs, "Look at these stupid morons." Iku begins, getting most of Jujutsu High students to glare at Iku while Taz is worried. "Why in the hell do we have to go so much trouble to steal your underwear? That's the dumbest shit I ever heard. Do you hear yourself?"

"Then how do you explain the armband-"

"Maybe because you wanna find a fucking excuse to mess with us! Shit, we already apologize and now you come here with this?! Do you think we're the kind of people who do something like this?! If we're stealing something, it wouldn't be shit. It would be weapons and other important stuff."

"That's a good point." Megumi said coldly. "So you stole weapons?"

"Ha?! If we did, we will admit! But we didn't steal shit!" Iku points out, "if anything, it must be from your school and someone doesn't have the balls to fess up!"

"You bastard..." Yuuji is getting sick of tired of Iku's attitude. Iku stand his ground. He remember last time when he got hit. Not by this punk but that fucker named Sukuna. Of course, he is not in the mood to bring him out. But he did see one red eye under Yuji's eye as if daring him to say something to him.

"Okay then. Let me tell you this! First off, Moudo is too chickenshit to try that shit." Iku begins, so the other party can see some sense at least.

"HUH?!" Moudo blinked.

"Shukaku over here doesn't do that shit because he's not into that." Said Iku.

Shukaku nods, "Yep, yep! I wouldn't do that. I have standards!"

"Hayato is a skirt-chasing girl-obsessed dumbass."

"HEY!" Hayato yelled. But Iku continues, "But he won't cross a line of breaking into some girl's house and stealing someone's underwear. Hayato considered that some fucked-up shit!" The Oda members were surprised that Iku stood up for him. Yuuji widen his eyes slightly at him. The last time they met, Iku didn't want to apologize and blames Hayato entirely even if he had some part in it.

"AND! Syuuta over here just met you for the first time!" Iku jabs a finger at Yuuji's chest while jerking a thumb at a Syuuta who is being helped up by his squadron.

"As for me! That kinda thing is so fucking low, I don't do shit like that." Iku said. Shukaku adds, "And besides...wouldn't your school know who enters your school regarding that field spell?" He points out this with a question.

By field spell, they must mean the barrier that detects anyone passing through that has cursed energy. Demons carried cursed energy however...their other members either have low or no cursed energy.

Taz did tell her friend that the smell didn't come from any of the key members since the smell was new ever since the armband is discovered. So her friends suspect, it must be a non-demon member that Taz hasn't smelled before. But there is someone that can do this.

It couldn't be...right? She did say that Mineta was involved but when he did join the Oda clan? Maybe Mineta was hired to get panties. They need to get to the bottom of this.

"Hayato-sama!" A member of Hayato's squad barges in, "We got a problem!"

Oh now what...

"What is it?" Hayato asked.

"Someone is messing with our girls! Some guy tried hitting on one of them and kidnapped one! It's Tsuru! She got kidnapped!"

Kidnapped?! The jujutsu sorcerers thought.

"WHAT?!" Hayato shouted this time in anger, getting up from his seat. First the sorcerers, now this?! Today is not his day. Hayato goes to leave not before looking at Yuji and the others, "I will deal with this later but right now, I gotta save one of my own first! Also, I will track that fucker who went into your girls' rooms with my smell, deal?!"

Yuuji blinked but nods. "Okay....deal." He said,. Yuuji is a patient person and hearing that Hayato got mad that someone of their own got kidnapped, he can't get in between that. It's much bigger than stolen underwear. The two groups walked out and hoping Hayato keeps the end of his deal.

"You know...this reminds me of something..like a week ago" Shukaku begins to which Megumi looks over to him with a look. "What's that?" He asked before Shukaku went to explain the way there.

------ Somewhere -----

Inside a restaurant where they sell fried chicken. Two boys treat themselves on a job well-done One of them is Mineta, the infamous pervert known for stealing the panties of the opposite sex. He and Bradley are with two other boys who are of a similar mindset.

"I told you the plan worked didn't it?" He said. Mineta laughs as his new friend, Bradley is laughing. Both clink their glasses together while Bradley has his arm wrapped around a fair-skinned beautiful girl in a school uniform with brown short hair wearing a feather hairclip who is uncomfortable being here.

"Yeah...I couldn't believe it. I didn't think that planting an armband you took off from a gang like that would work. We haven't been caught yet!" Mineta said as he had the goods in his bag. The goods he nabbed from the Jujutsu High girls.

"Yeah! I told you it's a smart move! Nobody will know it's us. Once they find it, they're going to go down and fight them!" Said Bradley with a grin. "Instead of us!"

"Anyway! How do you know those Oda guys?"

"Everyone in Nagoya knows about them! I came here in search of beauties and they stopped me! A guy named Hayato always taking the girls and the girls around here loved him! It pisses me off"

"Hayato?"

"Yeah! One time, I was messing around in a host club and that damn bastard stepped in and throw my ass out of there!" Bradley said. "I saw him again when I was asking some high school girls to hang out with me. Got my ass kicked again! So I got mad and came across one of their group, beating them up. Some of their members are so weak. Nobody knows who though but me!" Bradley laughed.

"Wow! You're a genius!" Mineta said with two boys nodding their heads in agreement.

"Yeah! I got my revenge and you got your goods! Hayato is going to be pissed when accused of stealing panties! That is going ruin that bastard's reputation with the ladies, alright. Hayato wouldn't let that shit down and beat the shit out of those Jujutsu High guys. Ain't I great, sexy?" He asked. The girl narrows her eyes, "You're disgusting."

"Hey! If you get to know me then you would be all over me. I don't get why you see in that guy, Hayato!" Bradley goes on. Tsuru glares at them but then her eyes light up, starting to smile, and to which Mineta and two other pervert pales.

"Uh......"

"I mean! I'm the toughest and the smartest. Those Jujutsu guys have no idea what we did! Mineta said that they're the scariest but to me, they're so dumb that their so-called magic didn't realize that we entered their school last night. I mean...what do they do? Curse people? It's so lame. Yeah, the girls were so cute, I can't help but take pictures of them." Bradley laughs.

"Hey...Bradley..."

"And you managed to snag the goods! I mean...we both got we what wanted. I bet those Jujutsu students had no idea that they were tricked into believing it. Not only that, I took into the fact that those two groups fought each other once over some girls! So yeah! I did it!" He laughs.

"Bradley!" Mineta starts to tremble in fear as two angry people stand behind a sitting Bradley too invested in bragging about his so-called executed plan.

"Saying what?"

"What?! It's true! Hey! You know! We should see the fight and see who owns it. After that, maybe I should snag that raven-haired cutie from that school, or maybe that brunette with the short hair or oh! That cutie with orange markings on her cheek! Or that blondie. She looks super cute! I wanna grope her a-"

"BRADLEY! STOP!" Mineta screamed with tears in his eyes. Bradley blinks, "What! I'm just saying-"

Bradely's words were caught in his throat as he slowly turned over to his shoulder, seeing two pissed-off guys. Hayato and a guy wearing a Jujutsu High uniform as he has pink-haired hair with an undercut fashion. Hold on...he sees this guy somewhere.

"W-wait...you're that guy from New York." Bradely stammered. Yuji glares at him. "Yeah. I never thought you were the one behind it. But I can't be surprised."

"Oh well...."

"You fucking little shit, you got some guts framing us." Hayato growls.

"And break into our school and try to trick us with that plan of yours by having us fight against the Oda guys!" Yuji scowls. And they're not the only ones. There were people from the Jujutsu High and Oda faction pissed off. Looks like they heard it all straight from Bradley's mouth.

"Oh yeah! That's the guy that my squad talked about. He snatches one of our armbands from us." Shukaku said in a cheerful voice. Megumi cracks his knuckles, "You don't say?" He said, glaring at the creeps right now.

"Heh." Bradley grins nervously while Tsuru snakes out of Bradely's hold. "Hayato! You're here! This creep groped us and took me to this place!" Said Tsuru holding his arm and pointed at Bradely angrily.

"Did he now? Don't worry, I got this." Hayato said, patting Tsuru on the head, assuring her that everything was going to be fine while baring his teeth at Bradley.

Sweating bullets, Bradley laughs now, "Oh come on! I was joking! I didn't mean all that. It was a prank bro! I-" A resounding smack is heard as Yuji smacked the shit out of Bradley. Out of his chair and onto the floor. Mineta screams, telling his friends to run.

"MINETA! GET BACK HERE!" Yuji shouted, seeing him run or rather crawl under the tables of people sitting there, causing panic to escape to the outside.

"No way! I won't get caught again! Not again!' Mineta thought because he didn't want to bear the full brunt of Itadori's fury. Bradley can deal with that!

But he and his accomplices didn't get very far. His escape route is cut off when a giant skeletal hand blocks his path in the alleyway. Mineta and his friends cried out in terror seeing a huge skull with glowing red eyes looking down on them. Iku is standing in their way, glaring at them with a sneer. "Think you can outrun us in our turf?" Iku said.

Megumi grabs one creep and knocks him out with a punch. Another creep that is like a lizard tries to scale the walls but Nobara hits that one with her nails using her hammer, impaling the lizard creep's sleeves to the wall Iku helps out by taking the lizard off the wall and drops him between the two angry sorceresses.

"This is what you get for taking pictures!" Nobara yelled, hitting the creep with her toy hammer. Meanwhile, Daichi keeps firing at Mineta which the little pervert hero student keeps dodging. "HOLD STILL! YOU LITTLE-!" He yelled as Eito squawked angrily. Moudo helps out by trapping Mineta in mud. Mineta gasps, "NO!" He yells before he got blasted by a fireball.

Meanwhile, Bradley tries to fight Yuji and Hayato off.

"You bastards! I ain't afraid of you! You never stop me from getting sexy women! I am HIM!!" Bradley activates his quirk by turning his arms into metal and preparing to duke it out against the two.

But he was no match for the unlikely tag team beatdown that Yuji and Hayato delivered. It was straight-up jumping to which Tsuru and Taz saw justice being served. Tsuru is cheering for Hayato while Taz hopes her big brother will be alright and win this fight.

"You piece of shit! Who do you think you are?!" Hayato hits Bradley with a whirlwind punch, making the pervert spin in the air.

"Take this, you asshole! How dare you do that to my little sister and my friends!" Yuji punches him in the gut making Bradley bounced across the ground roughly.

Both boys were cursing Bradley out while beating the shit out of him in the process. Soon, the one-sided fight is over and Mineta, Bradley, and their accomplices are rounded up and tied up with rope in the middle of the street. Beaten and scared.

----

"Ugh! I can't believe I have to buy another set of panties!" Nobara groans, glaring at Mineta and Bradley. Taz is upset while Maki comforts her. Tsuru goes to the girls, "I can help you guys buy new ones! I can show you some stores that sell them affordable and of good quality." She tells them.

"Please do." Said Maki. With that, the girls left with Tsuru leading the way. Now it's the boys taking care of this mess.

"What should we do with them, Itadori?" Megumi asked. Daichi is frowning, "We should curse them! Gojo-sensei gave us permission to beat them up."

"Hmmmm...." Yuji thinks. Already, he can hear Sukuna suggesting punishments for him to enact. Very visual and a bit gory for his taste.

"Now..boys...can we..." Bradley starts to negotiate but nobody wants to hear it.

"SHUT UP!" Three boys shouted at Bradley angrily. Mineta is shaking and is ready to cry.

"If I may...." Shukaku said. "How about you lend these troublemakers to us?" He suggested to the three sorcerers. Hayato nods, "Yeah! We can put these little shits to work!" He tells Yuji and his friends.

"After all...these guys think they're so smart that they thought their plan can work. Trying to mess with us both." Iku added. Syuuta nods. Now thinking about it, Yuji makes his decision. He looks to Hayato, "If you want them, take them. These guys brought trouble to your town and took your friend so I'm not against that, to be honest."

"Good." Hayato nods. "Anyway...nice...uh...bitchslap you give this creep! That was good."

"Thanks!" Yuji grins, "Also that whirlwind knock the air out of him! And oh! Sorry about barging in and accusing you of something you didn't do." He apologies.

"Eh. It's fine. I would be pissed too if something happened to my friends who are girls." Hayato said. After that match, Hayato did a lot of reflection. "Like Tsuru for example." Tsuru wouldn't like it if she knew what he did back at Tokyo. Ugh. Seeing Bradley reminds him about the bad choices he made. It really hit him personally.

Iku snaps his fingers for the Oda members to take Mineta, Bradley, and their two accomplices away.

"Wait! Where are we going?!" Mineta cries, panicking.

"Yeah! You can't do this!" Bradley yells. Shukaku chuckles, "Don't worry! You're going to pay for your crimes with some community service!"

"Meaning you guys...especially you two going somewhere far away that nobody will save you. Not even the pro-heroes." Iku smirks so evilly. This got Mineta and Bradley scared shitless. Mineta looks to Yuji and his friends, "Hey...hey! Come on, Yuji! I'm sorry! I promise I won't do it again! Think about my classmates! What will they think if I go missing?!"

"Yeah! Mineta is a pro-hero! He has friends." Bradley nods.

Yuji stared blankly at the two before sighing, "I will let Midoriya know. But you know? You two need to think about what you did" He said it.

"Midoriya might agree with us that you need help so this is a better time than ever." Said Megumi sternly. Daichi nods in agreement.

"Take him away," Megumi said. Iku grins. Bradley and Mineta were crying and pleading with the Oda members but their words fell on deaf ears as they were being taken away. And so this leaves, Hayato, Moudo, and Shukaku with the Jujutsu High boys. There was this awkward silence...

"So!" Shukaku smiles, "You guys must come a long way! How about you and your group stay for the night? We will offer to pay for the hotel!" He smiles at the group. Yuji, Megumi, and Daichi look at each other.

"You know! I'm kinda tired." Daichi replied to which Megumi sighed, "Fine." He shrugs.

"Okay! Why not? We can tell Sensei about it." Yuji smiles.

"Great! Follow us!" Shukaku gestured for them to follow. Hayato follows them along with Moudo. And so, the relationship between the Oda faction and Jujtusu High is the start of getting on good terms with each other after dealing with a common enemy. Bringing a truce between them.

As for Mineta and Bradley, they are forced to do hard labor by the Oda faction with Iku watching over them. "You miss a spot!"

"This freakin sucks!" Mineta cries.

"Don't worry...we will find a way out of here," Bradley said. Mineta huffs, "Yeah right!" As they continue to clean.

To be continued??

[strangeharpy]

Fanfic Author Self-Rec!

Thank you @littleladymab for tagging me in this! (Her post, with recs for her good good fic, can be found here.)

Rules: When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. Let's spread the self-love

The first fic I'm going to rec should be no surprise to anyone who knows me. It is my love letter to Cassander TImaeus Berenice, my treatise on Cass/AuDy, and the longest thing I've written in any fandom: light up the way. If you ever wanted to know how I'd fix the end of C/W, this is the fic for you. I've been told that it's worth reading, even if you don't particularly ship it. I still periodically go back and re-read it because I still love it that much.

The second fic is actually a series (shhh, I'm not cheating, you're cheating): Merle Dies at the End. The first installment was the second fic in the John/Merle tag, IIRC, and despite being very, very, very smutty, I feel like it represents some of my best characterization of any fics I did in the TAZ fandom.

My third fic is my Treebark soulmate AU, To See and Be Seen, To Feel and Be Felt. I did it for the Hermitshipping Big Bang, and I'm still really happy with how it came out. If you like pining and devotion and Third Life SMP, give it a shot!

Fourth: i held your name inside my mouth, my Cass/AuDy political marriage AU. I still think it's really fun, and I'm extremely happy with the confession scene at the end. It's an Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies AU, so if those aren't your thing then you might want to give it a pass.

And finally, we have our writing on the wall was 'lorem ipsum' after all. It was the only thing I wrote for the Raven Cycle, and I still really like it. I always thought Noah and Blue should have kissed more than once, so I had to write some of my feelings about it.

Anyway, I do not know who to tag so if you see this and you want to do it, consider yourself tagged! If you participate, please tag me back so I can see what you're proud of. <3

[tea-and-finalfantasy]

In regards to the weird backlash over Benn Beckman's live action casting--I'm sorry you expected a character at 38-48 to look like anything else but a legit older man. I'm sorry they cast a 39 year old in the role of an older man, first seen at age 38

In terms of looks, the trivia section of the wiki mentions that Oda said that Benn looks like a mouse. The man doesn't even have eyebrows

Like we all think he's hot, I think he's hot, he knows he's hot with that playboy attitude apparently--but please take a second to look at this beloved older man with no eyebrows and undereye creases and come back to me. Tell me you think those are subjectively sexy features and that we're not all fixated on someone who's yeah, normal, but a little strange

Yes I think he's genuinely beautiful for those reasons (among other things) but he's just some guy and I'm glad we get to see him as just some guy. He's incredibly smart and sympathetic and protective but like most of Shanks' crew, they look like normal people. I'm sorry you wanted all supermodels for the crew who camps out on an island the majority of the time. Realistically he'd smell like tobacco and alcohol, even just from proximity, even if he's absolutely one of the crew that actually showers everyday. Yeah Yasopp and Shanks are banging and Lucky Roux too--although apparently a lot of you haven't matured to the point where you realize fat people are hot--but they're all normal people with Benn being the oldest by far. If we were dealing with post-timeskip Benn here, you mean to tell me you think a 50 year old man would look any other way? Them hiring a 39 year old is fucking kind if someone ten years away from 50 is this upsetting to you

Like the one thing I'd fix is the wig styling. That's it. I feel like it needs to fit just a smidge better but this isn't RuPaul's Drag Race--I don't expect the wigs of all things to be top tier. We saw the Wado Ichimonji bend (which I'm also not taking seriously/I think it's so fucking funny) and people are irritated that Taz Skylar is more muscular as Sanji than Mackenyu as Zoro--as if Zoro wasn't a fucking beanstalk of a man in part one?

I get wanting to be picky about things, especially your faves, but they are never going to adhere to everything everyone could possibly dream of for a fancast. Hell, they don't even draw the characters the same in the manga anymore, with certain things (skin tones) being more important than other, more preferential things (hair color, type--even if those changes irritate me too)

You don't have to like the casting but for fuck's sake do you want an apology from fat people? Older people? He's not even 40! Get over yourselves. I'm thrilled that so much of this cast just looks like themselves. That they look like regular fucking people and that we can designate the entire budget to Chuu and Arlong and Buggy instead.

Plus Mihawk is gorgeous all the time and I think this is accentuated by like. Yeah the cast is hot and cute and good looking but they're also normal people. He gets to be this otherworldly beauty amongst good looking people you'd see everyday because he's this striking, chilling, strict, and beautiful presence around just, everyone else.

But if you think for a fucking second I'm personally not singing my fucking praises when a character like Benn Beckman has a round stomach like that my God like I don't know what the rest of you are doing wasting your time wishing he had abs, for fuck's sake he's on the crew of borderline cirrhosis, I think ALL of them should have beer bellies. Thank fuck for Lucky Roux and Benn Beckman in the same scene bc that was a blessing, thank fuck for fat people

Do you know how hot it'd be if someone as big as Crocodile was fat? How strange it'd genuinely be if he isn't? He's fucking massive, what do you want him to weigh, 170lbs? He couldn't support the fat titties y'all give him with that low of a weight

Do you know how hot Alvida is with her round face and double chin? For Benn Beckman of all characters to have a stomach, for Lucky Roux to be fat and endearing and cute and able to be written as an actual character and not like, a beach ball of a man, is the closest thing we're gonna get to fat people being allowed to exist normally in One Piece

And the story isn't fucking about them! One Piece has over 1000 episodes and Netflix is going to cancel this inevitably as they do with every show to avoid paying their actors and writers--we literally do not have time to give Benn more than a background role anyways. What's it matter if you don't like how he looks in the two scenes they're gonna give him

Lastly look at his IMDB pic and tell me he's not handsome

The point isn't to only respect people if they're attractive but like. He's really good looking anyways! Y'all are letting your perfect perception of Benn Beckman to overwhelm the actual performance being done, and of a background character no less. You guys are letting a cheap wig poison you into calling a real life person ugly for daring to play the role of a background character as instructed

This fatphobia and ageism (of a fucking, 39 year old man like he's pushing 100) combo is literally the mirror image of every anime fan power-scaling on Twitter, the "this is how Kaido and Big Mom will win" dudes preoccupied with their own poorly written fantasies rather than seeing what a clearly-written, the-good-guys-will-prevail story is plainly saying to the audience

You are becoming no different than the pathetic dudes (who aren't strong, who aren't doing fight choreo, who may even have the same amount of fat but who think they're immune to the same hatred for it--who could be doing all these things but still are worthless pieces of shit because they're spiteful and have no personalities or interests beyond that) saying he's not tough enough, that he should be stronger and more fit--in a show where everyone's either fit or ugly, in a show that showed him to be average size--real skinny even in the manga, as with everyone else at that point! from luffy to zoro to sanji, they all were beanpoles--in a world where no one can be normal about other people of any weight they perceive to be "fat," regardless of if that's the case or not

This is supposed to be for fun and being so irrevocably rattled by the little things is detracting from your enjoyment of something intended to deviate from the source media and that in some ways (in regards to the variety of people being casted/in regards to Luffy being Brazilian in Oda's words) is closer to the source media than we think

You don't have to have Liebenberg as your Beckman choice. You don't have to like the trimmed down storyline, even in the face of needing to cut for time no matter what. It's fine to be the type of person who wants adaptations to be as close to the source media as possible and I've felt that way about certain media too! I dislike when what I fixate on isn't the main focus of a new creation! But directing any dissatisfaction towards this dude doing the job he was hired for because you think he's ugly is ridiculous

[hidden-redrum]

My AEW Revolution 2024 Predictions

I am so excited for this ppv and I have to much energy on myself so, deal with it

Tornado Tag Match Sting's Last Match - Darby Allin & Sting (AEW Tag Team Champions) VS Golf Trainers- oh sorry- AEW EVP'S Matthew & Nicholas Jackson

Let's start with the cherry on the top, I am so ready to cry on this match, even knowing that most likely Sting will appear again on AEW but not wrestling again

But for sure, 100% that the not Young Bucks anymore will win this match - I mean if its Sting's last match will Darby defend both belts alone?? I mean he is capable of it. but come on, one last match of this amazing tag team against the non Young Bucks is the perfect finish for this era

AEW WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP - Samoa Joe (C) VS Swerve Strickland VS Hangman Adam Page

Everyone is imagining that it will Swerve versus Hangman and Samoa Joe will be like third wheeling or something like that

this one will be pretty intense both men fighting for the gold and Samoa Joe defending it

I really want Swerve to win it but I think Samoa Joe will retain it, I mean it's the first ppv that he defends it

AEW WOMEN'S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP - "Timeless" Toni Storm (C) VS Deonna Purrazo

Besides the Zero Hour one with Kris and Willow versus Julia Hart and Skye Blue, this is the only women´s match on the ppv..........come on AEW, your women's division is so freaking powerful and you still don´t know how to properly promoted, and we are on the International Women's month, come on......

I think Deonna Purrazo will win it for sure, but if Toni retains it I am so excited to see how this feud will keep going, because this feud was so well played, I am more than seated for this match

AEW INTERNATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP - Orange Cassidy (C) VS Roderick Strong

It has to be Orange Cassidy, if it isn´t I will shave my eyebrows

Roderick Strong is being too annoying for Orange it has to be our denim and thumbs up man

AEW CONTINENTAL CROWN CHAMPIONSHIP - Eddie Kingston (C) VS Bryan Danielson

I am a bit uncertain with this one, but I think Eddie will retain it

and what an hell of a match this will be

Will Ospreay VS Konosuke Takeshita

another one that I am have no clue too who might win

but I guess Will Ospreay

TNT CHAMPIONSHIP - (Pro Pokemon Hunter) Christian Cage (C) VS Daniel Garcia

I am so excited for this one

But still for how much I would like to see Daniel with the gold, I am 100% sure that the Patriarchy will mess with this match

But its more than time for Daniel to be a champion (again)

FTR VS Jon Moxley & Claudio Castagnoli

I am also unsure about this one, just to be different

But I think Jon Moxley and Claudio Castagnoli will win it

ALL STAR 8-MAN SCRAMBLE - Dante Martin VS HOOK (FTW Champion) VS Brian Cage VS Magnus VS Chris Jericho VS Powerhouse Hobbs VS Brian Cage VS Wardlow

yes I am pretty HOOK biased but I dont think he will win this one, even tho I am an huge fan of this fighting big dudes agenda

also 2/5 of the Lads fighting each other

also 3/5 of Team Taz fighting each other

I think it will be more between Hobbs and Wardlow for sure, after yesterday's Collision

Zero Hour: Kris Statlander & Willow Nightingale VS Julia Hart (TBS Champion) & Skye Blue

I am so excited for this one!!!

I think it will be Kris and Willow, in my mind if it Julia and Skye Blue, I think Willow will possibly turn on Kris idk why

Zero Hour: 12 MAN TAG MATCH - Bang Bang Scissor Gang VS Jeff Jarrett, Jay Lethal, Satnam Singh, Private Party & Willie Mack

Come on it has to be Bang Bang Scissor Gang because they are Bang Bang Scissor Gang!!!!!!!!!

Anyway, what do you guys think?? Pls talk to me-

[ehlnofay]

Summerfest Day 1 - BEAST

Brelyna very seldom invites them into her room, and Efri can kind of see why.

She’s got a nice room. Well, it’s the same room as everyone else, of course, same desk and bed and wardrobe, but it’s decorated very nicely, with a purple bedspread and the nicest little knick-knacks all over, an inky emblem hanging over the worst of the scorch marks on the door. There’s even a rug on the floor so it isn’t freezing to walk on. And the thing is that Efri and Sissel aren’t always the best in nice places.

Tell a lie, actually; Efri isn’t always the best in nice places. Sissel’s as polite as anything – she’s sitting at the desk poring over Brelyna’s papers, while Efri marches in circles over the rug, wetting it with her snow-damp shoes and knocking her stick against the flagstones. It helps her think. It doesn’t help her not knock Brelyna’s nice things off her tables and shelves – which she hasn’t done, not yet, but it’s been a narrow thing.

She’s doing her best not to, but she can never seem to make herself sit still; if she’s moving around on purpose, she’s more aware of what she’s doing than if she’s moving around on accident.

It’s very nice of Brelyna to invite them into her room, when she does it so rarely. Of everyone they’ve made friends with Brelyna seems the least sure of what to make of them. Sometimes Sissel worries that she doesn’t like them, though Efri is pretty confident she does. And now Efri’s pretty sure she’s been proved right – Brelyna’s been spending more time with them lately, and she offered to teach Sissel an easy conjuration spell since she doesn’t know any, and that’s not the behaviour of someone who finds them annoying.

(Truthfully – though Efri doesn’t tell Sissel because she’d just be nervous about it – Efri thinks that Brelyna does find her a bit annoying, sometimes. When she’s loud or disruptive or barges in and interrupts things. But that’s okay; sometimes Brelyna gets tetchy and superior and then Efri gets annoyed at her. Everyone annoys everyone else a bit. And Brelyna never looks annoyed at Sissel, so there’s no reason to fuss.)

Sissel is sitting at the desk, looking over all the notes Brelyna wrote, diagrams and things, or whatever it is they look at to learn spells – Efri tried to look once but she just felt confused. Brelyna is leaning over her chair, pointing to certain bits and pieces and explaining them. (It’s nice of her. Efri knows Sissel learns quicker when she’s just shown the spell – too quick, apparently, the teachers always get surprised about it – but she knows, too, that Sissel likes it when people bother to explain the ins and outs anyway.) Efri is marching a groove into the woven rug, banging out an unsteady beat on the stone floor, half-watching, half-thinking.

(She’s thinking about swords, mostly. In a pretty abstract sense, but also the hypotheticals of learning swordplay from the books in the Arcaeneum. She’d need to learn to read first, of course, and locate a sword, but still, it could be fun. A goal for later down the line.)

(She could find the caravan again. Show Khasir and Taz and J’matha that she doesn’t need to borrow their stupid heavy weaponry anymore, she’s got her own.)

Brelyna finishes her explanation of some symbol or something – Efri wasn’t really listening, because she didn’t really understand it. Sissel nods gravely, then stays with her head bowed, hair parting neatly down the middle of her neck and falling to curtain either side of her face.

After a moment, she says, “Thanks for showing me all this.”

Brelyna stands up straighter, a hand going to pick at the skirt of her robe. “You’re welcome,” she replies, looking a bit self-conscious at the gratitude. “It’s no trouble. Since you said you didn’t know any spells from Conjuration…”

Sissel’s hair ripples, smooth as glacier sheets, as she nods again; she pauses, very suddenly still, as she seems to consider something. “They felt scary,” she admits. “They’re all – dead people and daedra and stuff. But this one is easier.”

Sissel can’t see it from where she sits with her head bent over the reading material on the desk, but Efri, watching them from across the rug, sees the face Brelyna makes at that, like she’s bitten into some sweet thing and found it bitter. It’s a lemon-rind face. Efri tries to catch her eye, but Brelyna is focused on the back of Sissel’s head.

“Sissel,” she says carefully – a half-smile that Efri can’t pinpoint as concerned or amused pulling at the side of her mouth – “you do know that conjured familiars are daedra?”

The fun thing about the College is that they learn something new every day.

“What?” Sissel says, in a very high-pitched almost-whisper, head jerking up. Whispering isn’t a good thing, so Efri crosses the rug in two very long steps to stand at her back.

“But they’re animals,” Efri points out. She doesn’t know very much about magic, but she’s certain she’s not wrong about that.

Brelyna’s still wearing that uncertain little almost-smile in the corners of her lips. “They’re in the forms of animals. But they are daedra.” When Sissel stays still and silent, she adds, “Most summoned things are, in a sense. Even bound weapons, arguably, though there isn’t a lot of academic consensus on what constitutes –”

“A weapon?” Efri asks. “But that’s a thing. It’s not alive.”

“Neither are daedra,” Brelyna says patiently, “at least not the same way that we are.”

Efri is looking up at her face – narrow features and blood-red eyes – so she doesn’t see Sissel move, is startled by the sound of the chair scraping against stone and the way Sissel stands so quickly that she almost headbutts her in the chin. “I don’t –” she starts, stops; voice tremulous, she mumbles, “I don’t want to do this anymore.”

“No,” Brelyna says, quick and sudden. She looks alarmed, a bit, and very concerned; her brow furrows so it meets in a mess of lines. Sissel’s hand fists in the wool of Efri’s sleeve.

Efri pats her sharp knuckles. “Woah. You’re going to learn to summon daedra,” she says appreciatively. “Like one of those mages from the stories. That’s so cool.”

She’s trying to be relaxed about it, make it fun, but it’s the wrong thing to say; the stories about mages are very rarely nice ones, and the stories about demon-summoners never. “I don’t want to,” Sissel repeats, higher-pitched, frantic. Her nails bite hard into Efri’s wrist through the fabric.

“I’m sorry,” Brelyna says. She looks very sorry. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

Efri prises Sissel’s hand away long enough to tangle their fingers together. (Her stick, which she forgot she was holding, clatters loudly to the floor, making all of them jump.) Sissel’s still looking afraid, her eyes blown wide and rimmed with red; Efri squeezes her hand and says, “You don’t have to if you don’t want to. No-one’s going to make you.”

Brelyna offers hasty assent. “Of course,” she says.

Sissel takes a breath. She squeezes Efri’s hand back. “I don’t want to,” she repeats, less desperate this time. “It’s – isn’t it dangerous?”

Brelyna pauses, seeming to seriously think it over. (Efri likes that about her, that she does that. That she actually thinks and tells them the truth instead of hurried platitudes and trite answers.) Efri takes the moment’s pause to pull Sissel back and sit them both on the bed, her free hand running over the silky purple counterpane.

“Only as much as any magic,” Brelyna answers eventually. Her eyes refocus and she looks at Sissel steadily. “I think I understand your fear. Summoning spells can go very wrong if you don’t know what you’re doing – if you bind it incorrectly or try to do something too advanced for your skill. But that’s a risk with everything. My cousin once miscast an Alteration spell and broke a family heirloom. There was – I knew someone, a while ago, who used fire magic without training and permanently injured her hands.” She’s picking at the uneven skin on her neck. “Magic is always a little dangerous. But as long as you’re clever and careful, you shouldn’t make any mistakes too big to fix.”

Sissel stares at the boot-damp rug. “But it’s daedra,” she says, and Brelyna blinks.

“They’re not –” she begins, trails off; stares distant-eyed at the wall behind them and shakes her head. “Hm. This is very strange for me.”

Efri doesn’t think it’s that strange. Sissel has gotten nervous about much lesser things than the prospect of conjuring extraplanar creatures bound to her will, and no-one’s batted an eye. “Is nobody scared about daedra where you come from?” she asks, because she knows Brelyna comes from a family with a lot of magic and weird things. It seems like a safe bet.

Brelyna’s lips tip up at the edges. “I grew up in Morrowind,” she says, like that’s answer enough. To Sissel, she says, “You don’t need to be afraid. I wouldn’t be trying to help you with this if I didn’t know you can handle it. And as the summoner, you have nothing to worry about, as long as you can do the spell correctly.” She thinks. “And as long as you’re respectful. That never hurts.”

Sissel’s bitten-down nails scrape against the back of Efri’s hand. “I still don’t want to.”

 “All right,” Brelyna says. “You don’t have to.”

But she’s looking at them both with her head canted, thoughtful.

Efri asks, “What?”

“I could show you,” Brelyna offers. Her hands are tucked behind her back. “A simple summoning. If you like.”

Sissel tenses. Efri nudges her with her shoulder. (She’s a bit interested in seeing a simple summoning.)

(She’s not sure what kind of summoning counts as simple. Brelyna did say that conjured weapons were kind of daedra – maybe she’ll magic up a carving knife. Even so, it would be cool to see; Efri doesn’t think she’s seen much conjuring spells before. They haven’t often gone to that class.)

The apprehension is writ clear across Sissel’s face – Brelyna presses her lips tight together. “I promise,” she says, “it will be completely safe. You can put up a ward, if you’d feel better that way. Or I could ward you.”

Efri’s stick is still laid out lonely on the rug; she sticks out her leg as far as it will go to try to slide it back over. “And I’d have my stick,” she adds. Brelyna nudges the stick over to her. “I could hit it away if it came close.”

The look Sissel gives her is plagued. She’s visibly struggling not to say that a stick won’t do anything for this, Efri! but Efri can tell that it’s made her feel a bit better even so. After a moment, the look passes and Sissel tilts her head. “You want to see it,” she says.

Efri shrugs. “We don’t have to.”

“No…” Sissel’s face scrunches. “No, we can. If, um,” and she looks back up at Brelyna, “if you can help me ward?”

When Brelyna smiles – a proper smile, with teeth – her gums look very pink. “Of course.”

She does. She steps back, too, to give them room; plenty of space to sit on the bed clutching each other’s hands so tight they’re probably mutually breaking each other’s bones. Sissel casts a shield spell with her free hand (it’s blue and glimmery and makes Efri’s finger fizz when she pokes it) and then Brelyna casts another one, fitting over Sissel’s like a second skin, and then Brelyna takes another step back and gets ready to cast her spell for real.

When Brelyna casts, she looks relaxed, graceful; her movements are tight and elegant and her face is more easy and even than carefully composed. Magic coils plum-purple and slithery around her fingers. Sissel holds Efri’s hand so tight she can feel the knuckles grinding against each other.

With a motion like a serpent darting to snatch something up in its jaws, she lets the spell go.

All of the air is sucked out of the room – no, not out, further in, inhaled to a bright, spiralling point just over the rug. It builds over itself, layer over layer over layer, friction and sparks, and then there’s a crackle and a flash and there’s one of the things – what are they called, Efri knows she’s heard of them, the conjurer’s ice and fire and thunder – roiling in the middle of the room, eddying around itself, made of wind and darkness and the spit of lightning between its joints. The vague shape of its head, turbulent and shadow-eyed, whips around the room and comes to rest on Brelyna, who bows slightly.

She bows to it.

Just slightly.

She rises, face still clear, not smiling, and says a couple quick, low words that Efri can’t make out – they might not be in a language she knows, but the thing is also just very loud. Then – Efri can hear the next bit – she says, “My friends – just here – have never met a daedroth.”

It turns, hollow-eyed and squalling, to face them, and Sissel turns so still she could be a mountain stone. Efri can’t breathe. She regrets, a bit, not taking more of her cues from Sissel’s obvious fear; even through the dim glister of the warding spells she feels so very strongly that this is something that is not safe.

(It is not safe. But being not safe and being dangerous are not entirely the same thing. And danger is good, sometimes; it makes her blood sing.) Brelyna’s summon, maw gaping, gives such an impassionedly beleaguered sigh that the force of it sends something tumbling off a shelf. Efri chokes on a wonderstruck laugh, and Sissel, so startled that her grip on Efri’s hand slackens, laughs too.