#they've been doing alright w/ her so far

[livesworthlivingau]

Behind the Vale Chapter 34

You know the drill, Spoilers for all of ISAT, etc. CW: Confused Pining? Sparring Scene/Consensual Violence. I SHOULD NOTE THAT THE PINING AND CONSENSUAL VIOLENCE ARE NOT RELATED!!!

"So, how was your little chat with Eclipse last night~?"

"It went well actually," [Blind it!] "how was sharing a tent with Nille for the first time~?" [STARS BLINDING CRAB!!! You immediately feel your face begin to burn.]

"You could at least humor me when I try to tease you, you know!"

"Hah! Not so fun on the other end, is it~?" [You cross your arms and pout. It wasn't fair how difficult they were to fluster now.]

"... Wait... what do you mean it went 'well'?"

"Well... I talked about what I was going to talk about back then... a-and uhh... they weren't... against it." [His face begins to darken instead. Hah! It's working!... Wait what is he talking about?]

"Against, what exactly?"

"Uhm... M-Maybe we shouldn't really talk about this! Th-That was a whole loop ago, it never really happened technically, j-just forget about it!"

"Hah~! I haven't seen you this flustered in a long time~. If I didn't know any better I'd think you were falling for me, Stardust~." [His face burns darker as he falls silent.] "... This is the part where you refute that, Stardust."

"... W-Well... the thing is... uhhh..." [Your own face grows just as dark.]

"... Truce to never speak of this again?"

"Y-Yup! Truce!" [You both stop acknowledging each other as you break off. Stardust heads off towards Eclipse and the Housemaiden, while you head towards Nille, Flare, and, ugh, the Researcher... Fantastic. Nille perks up at your approach.]

"Hey Vay, what were you and Sif talking about?"

"Absolutely nothing~! Next question~!"

"That bad, huh? Alright, I won't pry. Though speaking of, Dile here was hoping to get some info out of you." [Of course she is...]

"Yes, Petronille has informed me that you're a paper type now. I've never heard of someone changing their craft type before, but there's a lot of topics that would apply to in the last few months. I was hoping you might like to spar sometime." [Wonderful, here comes the interro-wait what did she just say?]

"You... want to spar with me?"

"Yes. In Ka Bue, it is believed that there's no better way to understand someone than by the way they Craft. I may not believe in all the sentimentality behind it, but watching someone Craft can make for quite an impression. Perhaps it could even answer some questions you have about yourself."

"... I don't think that would be for the best. I'd rather not hurt any of you."

"I don't doubt your time in the loops has given you an advantage when it comes to experience, but I'm sure I could hold my own long enough to get what I'd need. Besides, Mirabelle can help ensure nothing goes too far." [Your expression does very little to hide your hesitance about the idea.] "So you don't want to prove how different you are from Siffrin now?"

"What?"

"I've seen how Siffrin Crafts for months now, I'd be able to spot it in a moment. So why don't you show me just how different you are now?" [You know exactly what she's trying to do... yet her goading still succeeds in spite of that.]

"Fine, then spar we shall~."

"DILE'S GONNA KICK VALE'S CRABBING BUTT!" [Flare shouts as Nille chuckles with a shake of her head.]

"Can't say I'm not excited to see how this plays out."

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

[You stand at one end of a clearing, the Researcher at the opposite end. Everyone else eagerly gathered into a little group nearby to watch. You perk up as Nille calls out.]

"Go easy on them, Dile! They've only been in a fight or two since the Change!" [Excuse us?!]

"Thanks for the vote of confidence?!"

"Hah! Well it's true!"

"Vale seemed rather worried about hurting me earlier, so I don't intend to hold back. Besides, if they do then this whole research project would be null and void. I need to see you at your best, so don't pull any punches!" [The Researcher calls out in a demanding tone, one similar to a teacher encouraging a student. You're unsure why, but it starts to light a fire within you.]

"Alright." [You draw your whip and hold out a paper sign with your other hand.] "Ready when you are, Researcher!"

"Would you mind counting us down, Boniface?" [Flare jumps to their feet eagerly. A very excited grin across their face.]

"One!" [Wait...]

"Two!" [We just remembered...]

"Three!" [WE DON'T HAVE ANY CRAFT SKILLS OF OUR OWN!]

[You begin to panic as the Researcher starts to rush towards you. You see her hands move in a familiar way, and without thinking to go to copy it. You need every advantage you can get as you both SLOW IV each other with the exact same method. She raises a brow as she realized what happened.]

"Huh. No, no that would make sense. You must have seen me use that craft countless times, of course you'd learn how to emulate it. This still isn't exactly helping this experiment though, show me your craft, Vale!"

"I... don't really have any yet..."

"Then you best come up with something fast!" [She threatens and makes a scissors sign, slicing a streak of SCISSORS III towards you. You barely manage to dive out of the way thanks to that heavy feeling slowing you down, leaving you wide open for the next attack.]

[She swings her open palm down towards you just as a PAPER III blast slams down onto your back.] "GAH!" [It stings, but no where near as much as that earlier strike would have. You shake off the craft weighing you down and quickly get back to your feet. You notice she still has the SLOW on her, you have an opening!]

[You crack your whip a few times, sending waves of Paper Craft towards her. She only manages to block one, taking the full brunt of the other two. She slides back across the dirt and falls to a knee. Despite this, a grin crosses her face as she looks back up at you.]

"Now we're getting somewhere, keep it up Vale. Show me what you're capable of." [She commands yet again, getting back up and flashing another scissors sign. The Craft comes flying at you quickly, slamming into your stomach and causing you to fly back, slamming into a tree.]

"Ugh... Oh you'll pay for that one Researcher!" [You're injured now, but it only strengthens the fire within you. You focus your intent into the tip of your whip before lashing it out, sending an intense wave of pure Creative Craft towards her. Even as she blocks it, it manages to deal a good amount of damage. You don't let up, you snap your whip again and again, sending smaller blasts but trying to overwhelm her. She evades the first few only to stop in her tracks and SLOW IV you yet again, taking a couple hits to do so.]

"You're getting desperate, good! You're showing your true self now!" [You grumble as you feel that same weight again, like your whole body was moving through sludge. You can't take another big hit, you look around to find some sort of advantage... You crack your whip once more, and as she goes to defend, it swings upwards and blasts the tree behind her, sending an explosion of leaves to surround and distract her. You move as quick as you can in this addled state to hide behind a tree until it wears off.]

"Clever. You fight like a cornered animal, yet you still manage to find and use any advantage you can." [Why do we feel like a book being read right now?...] "I haven't had a good fight since Dormont, I appreciate you indulging me with this." [You take a few breaths to help shake the craft off of you.]

"My pleasure, I just can't wait to wipe that grin off of your face~!" [You call out, whip ready as you focus your craft into it again. Just as expected you feel a heavy blast of Craft slam against the tree you hid behind. You tuck and roll back out into the open and prepare to strike!... Wait, where did she go?]

WHACK [You're suddenly smacked upside the head with another PAPER III, knocking you over as you grip your head.] "OW! CHEAP SHOT!"

"You think you're the only one who can use tactics?" [She smirks, stepping out from behind a very different tree than you expected. She holds her free hand in a paper sign.] "Now time to finish this."

[You prepare to defend, you're weak but you could take another hit of PAPER III if you're ready for it... until you notice her hand moving different than usual. You glance over at her hand holding her book, which was hiding the Scissors sign she was actually using to power the craft! By the time you realize her trick, the piercing energy was already heading directly towards you.]

[You panic, without thinking you act, a wave of Craft flowing out of you and into your whip. LION TAMER! You lash out your whip, coiling around the attack itself. You guide it off course, and hold on tightly as it spins around your form, releasing it as it flies directly back at the Researcher. She was too surprised by what you did to even try blocking it, landing a direct hit with her own attack and leaving her K.O.ed across the grass... You blink a few times as you still aren't even sure what you just did.]

"M'dame!" [The Housemaiden quickly hops up and rushes over to her side, starting to pump healing craft into the downed Researcher. Flare is close behind with the pack of tonics in case it's needed. You look down at your hands and whip, still just lost in the shock and adrenaline of what you'd just done. You stumble as a heavy pat hits your back.]

"Holy crab! Where have you been hiding that one, Vay?!"

"I... I have no idea... Is... Is she okay?" [You look back over to her, Flare and the Housemaiden are helping her up to a sitting position. She looks spent but otherwise awake and aware. You hesitate before walking over.] "I-I'm sorry, I didn't realize I could even do that, are you-" [You're interrupted as she raises a hand to stop you.]

"That was exactly what I asked for, thank you for assisting me with this experiment. I think we've both learned a lot from it, Vale." [She has a satisfied smile painted across her face.]

"Yes, that was... certainly an experience, thank you for helping me find myself like this, Comet." [She raises a brow at the end of your statement.] "A nickname, if you don't mind me using it..." [She shares a look with you, understanding the importance you give to these silly nicknames. She smiles and nods.]

"Of course, now go enjoy your victory, I need to rest and gather my thoughts properly." [She says with a huff, trying to play off the feelings much like you do.]

"Of course, rest well~." [You head back to Nille as you hear Flare begin shouting behind you.]

"Diiiile! I can't believe you let Vale beat you! What the crab!"

Huge thank you to @itstheval for inspiring the fight scene and coming up with Craft Skills for Vale!! His fan chapters are wonderful and the skills he came up with are so goooood!

[hjparisian]

always yours-harry j potter x reader

p: harry j potter x fem! reader w: TW !!! toxic relationship, abuse, fluff ending, cussing, not proof read summary: harry and (y/n) come across each other a bit after the war and reconnect. a/n: another request from a lovely follower! so sorry this is so late. i haven't had motivation to write and couldn't figure out what to even write. if any of you guys are in an abusive relationship, please try to reach out to someone! i know it's better said than done but you all deserve the best.

The light breeze felt perfect to (Y/N). It was her day off of work from the Ministry today, so (Y/N) decided to use this day for herself to relax. Merlin knows that her work and her boyfriend has her feeling drained.

(Y/N) had just exited Flourish and Blotts, nose in one of the new books she bought. Her focus was disrupted when she bumped into a large figure, making her drop her book.

"Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry, I should've been looking where I was going," (Y/N) said to the person as she went to pick up her book but someone else grabbed it first.

"Oh it's alright, no worries," a familiar voice said to her.

(Y/N) looked up to the person handing her her book back.

"Wait, H-Harry?"

"(Y/N)?"

The girl was in shock. In front of her was her old friend and former crush, Harry Potter. The last time they've seen each other was at the Battle of Hogwarts. Though she had returned to Hogwarts for her eighth year, Harry did not.

"What are you doing here?" (Y/N) asked the man.

"I was just grabbing some stuff for school."

"School?"

"Yeah," Harry said. "I'm teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts."

"That's amazing Harry!" (Y/N) said to him. "I mean you were the best at the class. Plus you were such an amazing teacher when you taught Dumbledore's Army so it doesn't surprise me."

"Thanks, (Y/N). And what are you doing?"

"Oh, I just came from Flourish and Blotts. It's my day off from the Ministry and I was looking for new books."

"Well," Harry says. "What else do you have planned for today?"

"Honestly, nothing else."

"Do you want to come over to my place?" Harry asked her. "I mean, you don't have to if you don't want to. I was just hoping we could catch up maybe?"

"I would love to," (Y/N) said without a second thought.

Harry and (Y/N) exited the Leaky Cauldron and apparated to Harry's place. It was an apartment not too far from London. Harry unlocked the door and let (Y/N) enter.

It was a rather simple but clean apartment. There were a couple photos on the walls from Harry's years at Hogwarts. One that caught (Y/N)'s eye was a picture of Dumbledore's Army during their fifth year. Harry was in the middle of the photo and (Y/N) somehow had a spot right next to Harry.

"Bring back memories, huh?" Harry said as he stood behind her.

"Yeah. I still remember the first meeting." (Y/N) said. "I wanted to punch Zacharias in the face."

Harry laughed at your comment. "Me too, but he did come around."

Harry guided (Y/N) to the couch in his living room.

"Did you want anything to drink?" Harry asked her. "I got water, butterbeer, firewhiskey."

"Some butterbeer please."

Harry left to the kitchen and returned with two bottles of butter beer, handing one to (Y/N).

"So, how are Hermione and Ron?"

"They're good. They got engaged recently."

"Really?" (Y/N) said in awe. "That's wonderful! I remember talking with Hermione about Ron back in sixth year. Finally got her to admit her feelings for him."

Harry nodded his head, grinning at the memories. "They were both too stubborn to realize it."

(Y/N) nodded before taking a sip of the butterbeer. "What about you Harry? You were with Ginny last I heard."

"I was but not anymore." (Y/N) had a shocked look on her face. "We broke up a while back."

"Really? And Ron hasn't killed you?" (Y/N) asked.

Harry chuckled a bit. "It was actually Ginny who ended it. It was mutual so no bad blood between us."

"That's good then."

A question had been burning on the back of Harry's mind. Thankfully, they were on the topic of it.

"What about you? Are you with anyone?"

(Y/N) set down the bottle she was holding before she answered. "I am actually."

Harry felt his heart drop a bit. "Who is it?"

(Y/N) started messing with the hem of her top, feeling a bit nervous. "Do you remember Cormac McLaggen? He tried out for keeper our sixth year."

For some reason, Harry felt his heart crumble a bit. That bloke Cormac is with (Y/N)? Those two couldn't be anymore different. How could that troll earn her love?

"Harry?"

(Y/N)'s voice snapped him out of his thoughts.

"Are you alright Harry? You were zoning out a bit," (Y/N) pointed out.

"Oh, yeah I'm fine. I remember him, bit of a jerk from what I remember in sixth year." Harry said. "Is Cormac good to you?"

(Y/N) avoided eye contact and kept messing with her shirt. "Oh yeah. I mean we have a few arguments here and there, but he means well. Do you mind bringing another bottle of butterbeer please?"

Harry nodded before getting up to the kitchen again. He didn't necessarily believe (Y/N), but he wasn't going to prod on their relationship.

The two had been enjoying reconnecting. Harry told (Y/N) stories from his first year teaching at Hogwarts, one including how a third year girl sent him a singing card on Valentine's Day. (Y/N) also told Harry about her job at the Ministry and how her coworker spilt coffee on Kingsley Shacklebolt's robes.

(Y/N) looked at the clock on the nearby wall to see that it was a quarter past twelve am. She couldn't believe that she's been talking to Harry for this long. She had to get home.

"Hey Harry, I have to get going," (Y/N) told the man sitting next to her.

Harry looked at the clock to also see how late it was. "Oh, sorry. I didn't realize the time."

"It's quite alright Harry, I had a wonderful time with you anyways."

"Will you be apparating home?" Harry asks her. "Don't want you to head home by yourself if you aren't."

"Yes, I am. You don't need to worry," she said to him. "Besides, I know a few spells thanks to a certain Gryffindor."

Harry smiled a bit, knowing she was referring to him.

"I'll see you later Harry," (Y/N) said while handing him a paper.

The girl disapperated, returning to her home.

Harry unfolded the paper, which revealed some numbers. It was (Y/N)'s phone number. Right under it, she left a small message.

Call me! :)

The next morning, (Y/N) woke up to hearing noises coming from the kitchen. She put on a sweater and walked out to find her boyfriend Cormac cooking.

"Good morning," he said to her.

"Morning," she said.

"Thought I'd make us breakfast before you go to work," said Cormac. "Also where were you last night? You got home pretty late."

"I was catching up with an old friend."

Cormac hummed before asking her the dreaded question. "Who?"

"Oh it's no one special," she nervously said.

Cormac raised an eyebrow at her before asking again. "Who were you with, (Y/N)?"

(Y/N) cleared her throat before speaking. "Harry."

"Potter?"

"Yeah him."

(Y/N) looked at her boyfriend, seeing a look of resentment in his eyes.

"I never really liked that bloke." Cormac said while handing (Y/N) her plate. "Gave the keeper spot to Weasley just because that's his best friend."

(Y/N) just nodded, not wanting to say anything to make Cormac upset.

The two ate until (Y/N) had to go to work. While heading to work, (Y/N) felt her phone buzz. She saw it was a number she didn't recognize, but the back of her mind was hoping it was a certain boy.

(Y/N) took chance and answered it. "Hello?"

"Hello?" A familiar voice said. "Is this (Y/N)?"

(Y/N) laughed a bit before responding. "Yes it is."

"Oh good. It's Harry."

"I know," (Y/N) said, smiling. "I recognized your voice."

"Ah yeah," Harry said. "How are you?"

"Good. Just heading to work."

"Oh I'm sorry, I didn't realize. I can call later."

(Y/N) felt herself smiling more.

"No it's alright! I have time. Besides, it makes the travel to work less lonely."

And so began a new routine of Harry calling her on her way to work. Which then went into them calling each other after work. On nights Cormac was away, Harry and (Y/N) would call each other.

Harry and (Y/N) began seeing each other more in person too. He'd join her on trips to Diagon Alley for more books or to grab a bite after a long day of work.

This change did not go by unnoticed by Cormac, though. He noticed how distracted she became, how she smiled at her phone more, how she left for work earlier and came back later, how she'd go out more.

The boy had enough.

One day, when (Y/N) had returned from work late, Cormac was sitting in her living room, waiting for her arrival.

"Oh! Didn't know you were here Cormac, I thought you wouldn't get home 'til later," the girl said upon noticing her boyfriend on her couch.

"Where were you?" The boy asked her.

Cormac had gotten up and walked towards her, glaring at her.

(Y/N) had begun to feel a bit nervous, knowing Cormac wouldn't like the reason she had returned late.

"I-I was at work," (Y/N) stammered out.

"What about after work?" Cormac questioned her. "Where did you go?"

"Just went to grab a bite."

Cormac began pestering her. "With who? You had to have been with someone if you've taken this long."

(Y/N) felt herself starting to shake. She had never enjoyed when Cormac began to act like this, knowing he was getting angry and a bit emotional.

"I was just out with a friend," she meekly said.

"I wanna know who you were with (Y/N)."

"It was just a friend, Cormac."

"Don't bullshit me. Was it with Potter?"

(Y/N)'s hesitation was all Cormac needed to get his answer.

"It was with Potter, wasn't it."

(Y/N) couldn't lie to him, knowing he figured her out. She nodded.

"Yes, but he's just a friend."

Cormac laughed at her. "Oh really, (Y/N)? Doesn't look like it to me. All those days you came home late, were on the phone for hours. Probably all with fucking Potter. Wouldn't be surprised if you went and shagged him."

--TW description of physical abuse--

"Cormac, I didn't shag him! We were just reconnecting, that's all. Please let's just tal-"

A loud smack echoed through the room.

Cormac had hit her.

"Shut up you bitch!"

Tears welled up in (Y/N)'s face. Cormac took noticed of this and began laughing at her.

"You're crying?" The boy shoved her against the wall. "What if I give you something to actually cry about?"

"Cormac, stop!" (Y/N) sobbed.

He let go of her and let her drop to the ground. (Y/N) had begun sobbing loudly, hyperventilating.

"Get out (Y/N)! Go to your fucking boyfriend Potter for all I care." Cormac screamed at her.

--TW end--

(Y/N) had pushed herself up and got out the door before Cormac slammed it behind her. She decided to use her strength to apparate to the only person that could help her.

She knocked on the door and waited a second before it opened to reveal her former schoolmate.

Harry stared at her before bringing her inside and embracing her. She flinched, but began melting into his embrace after telling herself that it's just Harry.

"I just need to know," Harry began. "Did Cormac do this to you?"

(Y/N) just nodded, not wanting to speak.

Harry felt himself become angry. How could Cormac do this to her? She was an angel, unlike that asshole. He never deserved her. But did Harry himself deserved (Y/N)? He couldn't protect her, keep her safe. This could've been avoided if Harry was with (Y/N).

He couldn't think about that now when (Y/N) was in his arms needing care. He brought the girl to his bathroom, doing his best to try and tend the bruises that littered her skin. Harry drew a bath and brought a change of clothes for (Y/N).

"I'll be right outside, I promise." He told her. "I'll have to finish checking your bruises when your done."

Once (Y/N) decided to get out of the bath half an hour later, Harry made sure he didn't miss any other injuries before bringing her to his bed. He was just going to let her rest until a hand grabs his.

"Don't leave. Please."

Harry would always listen to (Y/N).

The boy stayed with her until sleep finally took over. As much as Harry wanted to stay with her, he had business to take care of.

Thankfully, he remembered where (Y/N) lived after dropping her off multiple times so he apparated in the night to her door. He banged on the door hard until it opened, revealing his new worst enemy.

"What do you want Potter? (Y/N) isn't here."

"Oh I know." Harry told Cormac. "Just came for a chat."

Harry stepped forward in an attempt to enter the house until Cormac stopped him.

"I'm busy right now."

"Well I guess I can try to make this quick," Harry said.

A punch was thrown at the older wizard, catching him off guard. Harry grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and pushed them into the apartment, shoving him up against the nearest wall.

"I know what you did to (Y/N), McLaggen. How dare you hurt her!" Harry screamed at him.

"I didn't do such thing." Another punch was thrown.

"Don't you dare lie to me! I know you did it. You hurt her! You never deserved her."

"Oh but you think you do?" Cormac scoffed at Harry, while trying to push him off.

"I would've treated her way better than you ever have."

"You want a slut like her? You're pathetic Potter."

Those words had enraged Harry more than ever. The two continued fighting, Harry having the upper hand. One more punch landed on Cormac before he fell to the floor.

"You better stay away from (Y/N). If I hear that you stepped one foot near her I won't hesitate to punch you again," Harry spat at him before making his leave back to his home.

Harry headed for his room, wanting to make sure that the girl he loves was still there. Fortunately, she was, but she was awake.

"Where did you go Harry? I was getting worried."

"I just went to take care of something," he said, trying to reassure her.

"What do you need to take care of at this time?" (Y/N) said while walking toward him.

A small gasp slipped her month before her hand made contact with his cheek. Harry would be lying if he said it didn't feel nice.

"You're hurt Harry!" (Y/N) exclaimed before dragging him to his bathroom.

"(Y/N) love, I'm fine." He kind of wasn't. Harry looked at his reflection in the mirror and saw the marks Cormac apparently left him. He was too focused on getting vengeance for (Y/N) that he ignored it.

(Y/N) began cleaning his face. "Harry, you have dried blood on your face. I don't think that's considered fine. What were you doing?"

"If I tell you, you have to promise you won't be upset," Harry said to her.

"What?" (Y/N) paused, confused.

"Just promise me."

"Fine. I promise I won't get upset."

"Alright, well," Harry began. The adrenaline was gone and he began feeling nervous. "I went to visit Cormac at your guys apartment."

"You went to see Cormac?" (Y/N) squeaked. "Why would you do that Harry?"

"I couldn't stand what he did to you (Y/N). He hurt you. You didn't deserve what he did. I had to teach him a lesson."

"So you went to beat each other up?"

"Well, him more so than me," Harry joked.

"Why? Why would you beat him up for me?"

"Because (Y/N). I love you."

(Y/N)'s eyes widen in shock. "W-what?"

"I love you. And I think I always have. Seeing you brought back those feelings I've had back when we were at Hogwarts. I would do anything to protect you (Y/N)."

"Oh Harry," tears welled up in (Y/N)'s eyes.

Harry noticed and got a little bit worried. "It's alright if you don't feel the same way. I know you just had to deal with Cormac so-"

Arms wrapped around him and lips met his. Harry froze for a second before melting into it, gently placing his hands on her waist.

(Y/N) was the first to break the kiss, to respond to Harry's declaration of love to her.

"I love you too, Harry."

(Y/N) finished cleaning up Harry before heading back to his bed. His arms wrapped around her, keeping her warm and safe.

"I promise to protect you no matter what," Harry said to her. "I would do anything for you."

"And I will do the same for you, because you're mine."

"And I will always be yours."

[onceuponaneverafter]

Let’s Talk About Jacks’s Apples PART 2

And again, their COLORS! Because after reading A Curse For True Love, I HAVE MORE TO SAY SO LET’S GET RIGHT INTO IT.

First, though:

You can find PART 1 here! It’s a quite thorough analysis of every single apple Jacks is ever described holding from Legendary to TBONA.

This post contains MAJOR SPOILERS for ACFTL. I will also reference my earlier findings, so spoilers for every book!

The focus of this post is on what ACFTL adds to my earlier analysis. For a summary of my findings, go to the end of part 1 (where we left off) or to the end of this post (general conclusions of everything).

Every non-canon conclusion I make here is just theories, based on my interpretations and observations! They aren’t the only right interpretations and I do not wish to present them that way.

The page numbers are from my ACFTL UK hardcover so if you have a different edition of the book, they may be a bit off for you.

That being said, welcome! 🍎❤️

So, to put it shortly: Because Stephanie Garber didn’t provide us with any answers about the apple colors, I decided to take it upon myself and go back to my trusted spreadsheet <3

What we did get is two new apples and more context, so let's get into it!

Table Of Contents

Introduction / Updated Spreadsheet

Why Apples? w/ the answers that we DO get in ACFTL, and my favorite new discovery!

ACFTL Apples

The Apple Colors (feat. me losing my mind over the lack of actual answers BUT I HAVE THEORIES and more thoughts on most apples!)

Conclusions / TL;DR

Introduction

The Updated Spreadsheet

In ACFTL, we get two new apples: one black and one white. I will take a closer look into these shortly, but here's the updated spreadsheet:

The total apple count (including apples from Legendary and Finale, which are presented in part 1) now looks like this:

This makes the total apple count 22, and the apples seen during the OUABH series reach the satisfying count of 15.

I don't know if there is anything intentionally symbolic about the total apple count, but I found with a quick google search that the number 22 can represent at least balance and harmony – which our beloved characters certainly deserve after everything they've been through.

Half of the apples are still white, while the rest are other colors - with Black Apples being the second most common. Like in part one, I will later go over all of the apple colors individually.

Why Apples?

New Information

First of all, let's appreciate the one time Jacks addresses his apples at all during ACFTL, after Evangeline asked about them:

"It doesn't matter," he said softly. "I don't need them anymore." –ACFTL page 381

This practically confirms that Jacks indeed has the apples to control his urge to kiss people in order to try and find true love (see part 1 or other people's theories for a more detailed explanation). Now that he's found true love and can kiss Evangeline all he wants (yay <3), he doesn't need the apples anymore. He's fulfilled his goal, and honestly, it's no wonder he's had enough of apples now:

"Her Prince of Hearts was never far from her, except for when she went to pick apples. Jacks never so much as tossed an apple any more." "– –Jacks preferred to avoid the apple grove altogether." –ACFTL, Waterstones bonus epilogue

While this is not officially part of the book, it's more context regarding the apples. If you want to read the entire bonus epilogue, others have posted it here on tumblr – if it would be helpful, I can post it myself/link others' posts as well. The other two bonus epilogues are available somewhere here as well.

Physical Movement

Alright, there are some interesting things going on here so let's get into some of my favorite discoveries!

In part 1, I pointed out how Jacks avoids touching Evangeline at all costs while he's holding an apple, and the interesting contrast that he does touch Tella while he has an apple in his hand (at least twice). While his apples are more or less his interpretation of self-control, this didn't completely align with it.

Now, I think I have figured out what's going on here! And it has to do with the way he would do anything (including giving up his only chance to go back in time to save Evangeline, and giving up his heart if it means no one can harm her again) to keep Evangeline safe.

He only touches Evangeline while holding an apple with not his hands (OUABH silver apple in hand, touches dagger to Evangeline’s lips), only because he has to and it’s complicated (blue apple in TBONA, Evangeline tried to grab the luck stone from Chaos) or he’s not himself at all and doesn't care about hurting her like he normally would (in ACFTL after he gave up his heart).

With Tella, he's always been reckless – not the least because he didn't truly love her, and because she didn't die when he kissed her.

I’d also like to point out that he kept carrying apples around after he kissed Tella and she didn’t die. Only once he finally found true love with Evangeline (and she also didn’t die when she kissed him <3) did he not need them anymore.

Regarding what he does with the apples, there isn't much new information. I still think it has to do with his emotions (see part 1 for a list), and the ACFTL apples confirm the theories I presented there.

ACFTL Apples

Page 101, Black Apple

It makes a lot of sense to me that this is the scene in ACFTL where Jacks has an apple. He's watching as Evangeline sleeps, convinced that she's better off not knowing him and that their story can't end happily. Still, he can't stay away from her. He is trying very hard not to get too close, though, which is where the apple comes in.

The apple is only described once, so aside from more context on its color (that I will get into a little later), there isn't much to analyze. What is particularly interesting about it, though, is Jacks's thoughts earlier during the scene that are connected to it:

He'd never understood why someone would watch another person sleep... until her. Castor did it. He said it was how he helped manage his urges. It did the opposite for Jacks. – ACFTL page 98-99

Considering that apples are what do help Jacks, this just further proves that we've been right about why he has them.

Page 289, White Apple

First of all, I love how Jacks is written after he gave up his heart. Evangeline says that he reminds her of when she first met him, and it really highlights how much he's changed throughout the series. He's gradually grown softer and to genuinely care about Evangeline – the development feels natural, even if there is a lot of it especially throughout TBONA. The way he acts when that softness is taken away creates a sharp contrast that wouldn't be so noticeable otherwise.

I also really love how even the apple reflects that. I will get to the color next thing, but let's take a look at what exactly he does with the apples (see chart above in Physical Movement).

Like I mentioned above, he touches Evangeline while holding the apple, which already sets the scene apart from the others. He never does that, not really.

Then, he drops the apple on the ground (before he tries to kiss her). While that isn't exclusive to the first half of OUABH where I don't think he has really fallen for her yet, dropping apples on the ground/floor is a pattern there, whereas most apples in TBONA and the black ACFTL apple are last seen in his hand. It's just a small detail, but I think it really adds to the contrast even if it's subtle and may not be intentional.

The Apple Colors

White Apples

In part 1, I said that I thought white apples either were the default color or represented focusing on what's important.

Now, with the context of White ACFTL Apple in mind, I think it's the default color. Half of Jacks's apples are white, and the one time he isn't himself at all (one could say he's even "defaulting" when he doesn't have his heart), he has a white apple.

With the first apple we ever see him holding (during and before the first time he meets Tella) also being white, I'm inclined to say that white is the "default color" for his magical apples.

Black Apples

I still think that Black Apples definitely represent doing whatever it takes, but I also think that their meaning has a touch of desperation as well – desperation is what drives him to do whatever it takes, isn't it? This is the one thing in common with all of the Black Apples:

Black Apple #1: Finale, last apple. Jacks offers to help Tella and the others in exchange for getting to control Tella's emotions forever. He's very desperate at this point, thinking it's his only chance at finding love.

Black Apple #2: OUABH, Nocte Neverending. Jacks is controlling Apollo's emotions because to fulfill the key prophecy, he needs Apollo to marry Evangeline. Even if he doesn't care about opening the arch, he's working with Chaos and has probably promised him that the Valory Arch will be opened. Overall, he has his plan and is willing to do stupid things for it.

Black Apple #3: TBONA, Chaos' place. Jacks brought Evangeline there to be healed because she'd been shot. At this point, I believe he already personally cares about whether Evangeline is alive or not. And even if he didn't, he would still need her alive – not only for the reasons stated above, but also because as a key, she feels each stone's magic the strongest (TBONA page 123).

Black Apple #4: ACFTL, Evangeline's bedroom. Jacks believes that the price he had to pay for Evangeline being alive was her memories being lost, and now his primary goal is to keep her safe. During this scene, he plans on leaving her for good once he "got what he needed" – I believe this refers to the protective glass cuff thingy that will stop anyone from harming Evangeline. Considering the price he paid for it, and the way she died in his arms only days earlier, he's very desperate to keep her safe in this scene. So, this apple also supports my theory.

Blue Apples

As we have no new Blue Apples to analyze, I still think they represent happiness and success – though maybe success even more than genuine happiness, because he has got something he wanted every time he's holding a blue apple.

Also, at the times he's genuinely happy, he doesn't even need any apples (The Hollow, which the cursed forest shows as the best day of his life in ACFTL, and his happy ending with Evangeline, when he says he doesn't even need them anymore).

The Golden Apple

We also didn't get any more Golden Apples to analyze, which is a shame, because this one's a struggle. I'm not so sure the Golden Apple represents Tella anymore because he's quite obsessed with her for a good while and he only has the Golden Apple after all hope of ever finding love with her is gone.

A noteworthy detail is that Jacks's blood is described multiple times to have gold flecks in it, so this apple could be connected to that – maybe he's feeling wounded, or it's more symbolic to him and the Golden Apple simply represents failure, heartbreak, and/or overall feeling broken? Tella did literally stab him in Finale, and at this point he still believes Tella is his one chance at finding true love, which obviously didn't work out even though it was supposed to.

The Silver Apple

This one is also still a mystery to me, and I mostly stand by what I said in part 1 – the Silver Apple could represent success but something being incomplete, being a "milder" version of the Blue Apples. Something about both being related to Jacks's eye color – which is being described over and over – seems significant.

I'd like to think the metallic apples, Gold and Silver, would have some kind of a connection with each other. The only thing I can think of is that these apples appear right before the scenes where Jacks tells Evangeline to fulfill a part of their deal – the Golden Apple is before Evangeline kisses Apollo, and the Silver Apple is on their way to the Fortuna castle, where Evangeline kisses the Fortuna matriarch's cheek.

Something that doesn't add up, though, is the fact that when Jacks is holding the Golden Apple, he isn't expecting to see Evangeline – he tells her he thought she'd be happily married to Luc by now.

This could be a storytelling element, like I suspected in part 1 that the purple apple might be. However, their deal is never fully completed, so we're lacking crucial context for this theory. It would have been fun if we had got a scene with him holding a bronze apple, before asking Evangeline to finally fulfill the last part of their deal.

The Pink Apple

I still think that the Pink Apple represents Evangeline, and I've only grown more convinced about this as time has passed. Before this scene, Jacks is only intrigued about Evangeline – one useful piece of information that we get from his chapters in ACFTL is that he's been interested in her from the second he saw her, but at first he only connected this interest to her hair color and the fact that she was a key (or that's what he told himself) (ACFTL page 100).

However, between the Silver Apple and the Pink Apple, Jacks saves Evangeline's life and spends a night holding her. I think this is where he starts developing a more personal interest towards her, and the pink apple represents that.

The Purple Apple

This one is still a struggle to me, because it doesn't seem to be connected to anything. I stand by my theory that either the purple apple represents royalty, nobility, or power, or is a storytelling element representing mystery.

The last scene where we see Jacks before the scene where he has the Purple Apple is the dinner with Elantine, before which he's holding a White Apple. He's hoping to take the throne, which makes sense in relation to the meanings associated with purple color.

Conclusions

To summarize all of my findings and conclusions, both from part 1 and part 2,

There are 22 apples in total that Jacks is described holding throughout the Caraval series (7) and the OUABH series (15).

What Jacks does with his apples (tossing, biting, picking up, dropping) is connected to his emotions.

As Jacks is a Fate, he carries around the apples to help control his urge to kiss people, in search of true love. Only once he finds true love with Evangeline does he not need them anymore. Now he's happy and has had enough of the apples <3

The apples have different colors that I believe represent different things: white (11 of 22, default color), black (4 of 22, desperation/doing whatever it takes), blue (3 of 22, success), gold (1 of 22, possibly failure or feeling broken), silver (1 of 22, possibly partial success or intrigue), pink (1 of 22, Evangeline), and purple (1 of 22, royalty/power/nobility or mystery).

The origin of the apples is still unknown, as is how the apples take on different colors.

If you have read this far, again, THANK YOU SO MUCH! Today I offer you two apples as a reward: 🍎🍏

Almost all of my conclusions are just theories, but I'm so happy if I could provide something to think about – and some much needed "answers". I know I was losing my mind when I read ACFTL and got almost none of the apple-related answers I had been hoping for, but on the other hand, researching this has been a ton of fun!

In part 1, I said I'd be happy if just one person besides myself would enjoy looking at my findings and theories. As of writing this, that post has 103 notes. Guys. I'm blown away by all the likes and reblogs and nice things some of you have said to me and just,,, THANK YOU. All of you. I'm overjoyed that I could share my little theories and that so many of you have liked them, it means the world to me.

You all have made the hours upon hours I put into these posts and dedicating my heart to this little detail a thousand times worth it. Thank you so much for reading, truly!! 🍎❤️

[randomwriteronline]

@cantankerouscanuck

Berix had never seen this much water before.

Or this many girls.

He couldn't quite decide which was more overwhelming.

He latched onto Nuparu's arm like a lifeline, looking around the essentially finished village nervously as if fearing that a pack of Vorox would jump out of the seaweed and brick huts at any moment. His Toa companion wasn't nearly as preoccupied as him as they made their way to the docks: he'd given the Agori a weird look when he'd first asked, in a sort of strangled voice, if it was true that the Ga-Matoran were all female, and hadn't understood his apprehension when he'd replied that yes, of course they were, what else did he expect? He'd only grown steadily more confused by Berix's short list of other possible options, and so the Gaquri had decided to just keep that strange tension he couldn't explain to himself.

One of the Matoran waved at them as they approached the port, recognizing the Toa who greeted her back. She must have been the one who'd sent Macku to ask for a mechanic - her boat had been damaged during fishing, and while repairing the hull had all in all been easy work, the engine kept sputtering to life for only a second before dying down with a pitiful lament.

She looked Berix up and down with a sort of mild curiosity: "Why's she here?"

The Gaquri's scales rattled with a tremble, almost turning indigo from the embarrassment: "I'm not a girl," he mumbled awkwardly, extremely quiet, as he tried to disappear behind Nuparu.

"Berix works with me," the Toa explained simply.

"And I'm not a girl."

"And he's not a girl."

"He's male?"

"Yes."

"Huh!" she exclaimed, hands on her hips: "Well, I'll be. Does that mean they've got females for all the other elements like we've got males for them instead?"

"They've got all genders in all elements."

"Is that so! Like the Skakdi?"

"Sort of. What was the problem?"

"Oh, yes! The engine, over there. We turned it over, in, out, sideways and upside down, but we've got no clue what's the matter with it. You used to be good with this sort of thing?"

"Still am," Nuparu replied, and with little fanfare walked to the side of the pier and plunked into the water.

Berix did not follow him.

The Matoran watched the Onu-Toa swim under the boat. After roughly two minutes, she gave the Gaquri a worried glance.

"He's - he's amphibious," he reassured her.

"Ah!" she sighed in relief. "Like you folks."

"Uh - I, hm, no, no, we're - we're not, ah, we can't, breathe. In the water, I mean."

"You can't?"

"N-no."

"But you're all fishy and stuff."

"W-well, you're - we're - uh - we, we can see, fine, in there because we've got these- there's little eyelids we can - we can see fine in there, b-but we can't breathe like fish."

"But you can swim well?"

"I'm, uh, I-"

"Turn on the engine," Nuparu's voice saved him as the inventor's head popped back out of the water: "I can't see anything weird with the propellers either. The problem might be a conjoined anomaly that happens upon ignition."

Berix shot him a grateful look as the nosy Water-maiden's focus was redirected away from him and she hurried to comply with the Toa's demand. His friend raised a thumbs up at him.

"By the way, do you know where Gali is?" he continued.

"Uh? Should be meditating down at the bay."

"Alright, thanks." then, pointing the Gaquri in the right direction: "You go on ahead, I'll handle this here and meet you halfway."

With a trembling smile and a little thumbs up of his own, Berix legged it as far away from the pier and the talkative sailors as he could, as fast as his legs could carry him.

A great chunk of the mountain the village stood at the feet of had fallen into the sea during the Mending, crumbling into a sort of rocky half circle that cut off the sandy beaches and turned them into a series of bigger and smaller ciffs surrounding the water. The Matoran and Agori had wasted no time carving paths into the sharp walls, be they smoothed trails or stairs of varied length: little constructions could be found alongside them - fishieries, solitary homes, even the skeleton of what looked like an astronomical observatory the works of which surveyed by an eccentric Ga-Matoran (Nixie, her name was) who kindly pointed him towards a track further down when he asked her for directions.

Gali sat crosslegged before the waves, as still as a statue. Seafoam sprayed her rhythmically, but it didn't seem to break her concentration in the slightest.

Berix hesitated, shifting his weight from one foot to the other.

He cleared his throat; but it was too quiet, and she didn't hear him.

Grabbing as much courage as he could with both his hands, he took a deep breath and almost shouted: "Hello!"

The Toa shifted imperceptibly at first. After a moment more she broke her perfect posture and looked back in search for whoever had called out to her until her eyes met the young Gaquri's; at which point she squinted for a little before replying with a wave of her hand: "Hello. May I help you?"

He froze in place.

They exchanged a long glance for a while.

"I'm Berix," he cawed out.

"Ah!" she exclaimed in sudden recognition, pointing at him: "Yes! Kiina's brother! I know you, we've met!" and before he knew it she'd climbed all the way up to him with a jovial glint in her eyes that made her mask look as though she was smiling. "I'm sorry, I still struggle telling Agori from one another when you folks are out of your armor. I guess it's even worse for you, what with our masks..."

"I- i-it's a little, a little bit, yeah, not the easiest, really," he nodded with a sort of tinny nervous laugh, suddenly aware of how much larger than him she was now that she was standing so close, enveloping him completely in her shadow.

Her eyes gleamed in a friendly manner: "Is there something you need my help with?"

There was, yes - technically, but yes.

Unfortunately, his body was refusing to let him speak his request into existence as hard as it could.

His scales rattled as he trembled fiercely, feeling weaker and weaker at the knees; he struggled to produce even just a single phoneme under her shining gaze, fingers twisting around the fabric of his clothes so fast that he almost tore it at the seams.

His throat unclogged only when she began to make a gentle sound, like another question, and in a sudden hurry to avoid that he wheezed: "I can't swim."

Gali blinked.

"I mean-" he corrected hastily, "I mean, I can dive and come back up and not drown and sort of, sort of move in the water, you know, but I can't- I'm not, really, that good, at actually - yes, I mean, you know, because I - there's, was, a desert and not - they're not, really, known, for having much, uh, much water, right?, right, s-so it's not that I, that I d-don't know how to- well I don't know how to swim, b-but I can float and dive and- and, and--"

"Then you came to the right Toa," she interrupted him. "I'll be glad to teach you."

Her arm slipped under his armpits and lifted him up to rest against her chest plate in one swift motion, keeping a tight hold on him so that he wouldn't risk slipping; helping herself with her tools, she jumped back down the small cliffs until she was at the edge of the water, and plopped the both of them into it with a little hop, Berix's head never coming even close to being submerged.

He clung hard around her neck with his arms when the frigid sea met his scales, shivering with a harsh whimper and curling up against her. He could feel what little weight he had try to drag him down, he was certain of it.

A wide hand pat his spine: "You've got nothing to fear," Gali reassured him. "I'm right here with you, and my mask will let you breathe underwater so long as I'm close by."

"How- how, how does it do that?" he asked, "D-did you test it?"

"Yes, don't worry! Just don't go too far."

Before the sight of the endless ocean and the rockus of the waves crashing into the stone, Berix swallowed a little trembling frightened laugh and tightened his grip around her: "Who's leaving?"

Gali swam slowly forward, carrying him along much like a river drags a sleeping otter that hadn't secured its hold onto a nearby plant.

Once she was far enough from the shore she turned to face the sky and began prying the scaled limbs from her shoulders; the young Gaquri, predictably, replied to her action by clinging onto her with all of his strength and shot her a wide eyed stare filled with terror.

"You'll never learn anything if you just stick to me," she argued.

"Maybe I don't mind that!"

The way she squinted doubtfully at him reminded him of Kiina.

Without any warning, she dipped a little further down, submerging herself completely. Berix immediately let go of her to pull himself through the surface, gasping for air as though he'd dived for hours and flailing his arms wildly to keep himself afloat; steady palms grasped the sides of his chest and helped him remain out in the dry air while Gali took her time coming back up.

"There!" she concluded mischievously. "That wasn't so bad, was it? Now we can start making some real progress."

He blew a raspberry at her face, making her cackle.

"Start by kicking your feet instead of splashing around aimlessly like that," she instructed: "Gently - take a look at my legs if you need to. Steady little kicks with both feet, like you're getting a pebble out of the way - not too strong, and keep that going."

She observed him carefully as he tried to follow her words. Her hands moved to hold his arms, then his forearms, then his palms; he panicked a little when she left him completely, but aside from a quick dip and a lot of frightened sputtering she found himself more than satisfied with how he was handling the situation.

The praise bubbling in her throat was however stopped by a quick frightened shriek as the Gaquri leaped onto her, scrambling for cover.

Beady orange eyes peeked from the waves to stare intently at them, the tips of large grey teeth barely visible through the water as its blue maw huffed in their direction...

"Kiriri!" the Toa exclaimed.

The massive beast pumped its thin front legs at her in greeting.

Berix could only watch flabbergasted as she gently caressed the mechanical creature's head, talking to it as though it were a harmless Scarabax beetle: "I was about to rip your mask right off again! Is this the way to show up, scaring us like that?"

The animal gurgled something in response, perfectly happy with its choice of introduction.

"You're lucky Kotu loves you to bits."

"You know this? Thing?" the Gaquri wheezed.

She laughed a little: "Kiriri and I go way back," she nodded. "I fought him off once and he's been the sweetest Tarakava on Aqua Magna ever since. Though like his caretaker, he dabbled in pranks a bit too ofted for most beings' liking..."

"A-a-and he's, is he dangerous? Does, does he eat fish, o-or meat, or, or meat with scales on it, or-"

"He enjoys algae and other water plants," the Toa reassured him. Struck by a mischievous vein, she smirked: "Maybe let's keep him away from your head."

She couldn't hold back a giggle as the poor young thing hurriedly grabbed the lichens growing out from under his scales like hair and tried his hardest to pull them away from the sharp maw sniffing at him curiously.

Many smaller pairs of black eyes also poked through the waters with curious sounds, agitating their little white tusks towards Gali with a certain familiarity.

"And what are these?!" Berix wailed as he tried to lodge himself into her armor.

"Don't scream like that, these are no threat either!" she laughed: "They're Waikiru! Some of the most mellow Rahi I've ever met. Give me your hand, I'll let them get to know you."

He whimpered as she held his palm out towards the creatures: almost immediately they were piling up to take a better look, grazing him with their massive teeth but never hurting him, just honking and barking softly. One even brushed its neck against his fingers as if asking for scritches, prompting Kiriri to push his big snout between them to get a pat as well - making him grumble a little disappointedly when the organic being pulled back away from him.

Gali nudged Berix to extend his arm again with a stern look. Despite his better judgement, he complied.

He wasn't particularly fond of animals. Their smells, their sounds, the weird way they moved and conveyed their thoughts - it was all terribly overwhelming and unpredictable, too dangerous. They were always too big or too small, and so far the only ones he'd been able to stomach had been Click and (for only a few minutes) the Rock Steed he'd somehow managed to ride during the attack against the Skrall.

But Kiriri's snout was metal, protodermis - caked in brine and scratched, but immediately distinguishable. It was fairly smooth and cold, just like a shield, or a mask: the top of his head had the hard edges of a variety of vehicle parts he had worked with during the years, and the rumbling noises that denoted his pleasant mood were awfully similar to those of a well oiled machine toiling away at its job, steady and functioning just right.

The Waikiru were rougher, with more dents and harsher textures, but all the same just as mechanical, just as familar; their barks had a tinny quality to them, their honks were more rubbery. Their flippers waded through the water with the quick precise movements of automated paddles.

"They're not so bad, right?" Gali's voice reached him.

Her hand was near him (he could feel the movement in the water, the way it gently disturbed the smaller lichens growing across his body) but wasn't sustaining him. He had been so caught up in petting the Rahi that he hadn't even noticed she'd slowly let go of him.

Berix gave her a small, wobbly smile: "They're different," he replied. "From- from the other ones, I mean. The ones from here, I mean, from Spherus Magna."

"Well, they seem to like you well enough," the Toa noted with a smile: "Maybe they could swim with us."

"With, with us?"

"Why not? You'd have someone else to latch onto for a change."

"Hey!"

Her laugh held no malice: "Come on," she grinned as she kicked her feet just enough to splash a few droplets on his face, heading a little further into the open waters, "Who knows if they won't teach you a thing or two themselves."

Kiriri and the herd followed along, gently pulling the Gaquri with them as he held onto the large reptile.

They swam a while - at least an hour or so. Berix had no idea one could spend so much time in the water. It felt profoundly unnatural in a way; in another, it felt like home in a way Bara Magna couldn't. At the end of the lesson he could paddle fairly fine, and even somewhat imitate a Waikuru's gait.

Gali noticed Nuparu first as he waved from the cliffs.

She replied to his greeting with a friendly shout, turning the focus of Rahi and young man alike back to shore.

"I didn't know he was here," she noted.

"Oh, he- for, we got a, uh, a Matoran needed a repair and so he, we, we came over," the Gaquri answered quickly; he waved back to let his fellow tinkerer know he was looking right at him.

The Onu-Toa brought his hands to the mouth of his mask and made a strange gesture, as if a cone were expanding from it.

Berix tried to reply with both arms, but what little weight he had wasn't quite enough to keep him afloat and almost caused him to sink into the waves. He climbed carefully onto Kiriri to stabilize himself and finally managed to show both thumbs down.

Nuparu gave him two thumbs up; he smacked a hand on his own head, made a swinging motion downwards twice, and pointed off to the side.

"What language are you two speaking?" Gali whispered, more than a little baffled.

"Oh, it's - you know, when there's welding and hammering and- and all that stuff, it gets, it gets hard to hear, when you talk," the kid explained as he gave the other thumbs up. "He said he's - he'll be helping the, uh, with the observatory."

She made a sort of strange drawn-out knowing clicking sound as she watched the other Toa make his way back up the cliff, soon disappearing from sight - whether because he was just that quick or from activating his Volitak, it was hard to tell: "We should get back to shore too. I think about an hour and a half of swimming is more than enough for a first lesson."

Berix paddled most of the way there, and was very proud of it.

A couple Waikiru nudged him up the rocks with their heads as the rest of the herd honked encouragingly, accompanied by Kiriri's deep gurgling goodbye. The Gaquri's clothes were sopping wet, dripping all over the cliffside as if aching to jump away into the sea again; strangely, the drenched fabric didn't feel so bad.

Gali smiled, still in the water: "See you, then. I'll be glad to swim with you again."

She watched him nod, mumble something like a goodbye.

Then he stood still.

He played with his fingers a while, scratching at his scales with newfound nervousness, shifting from one foot to the other. He seemed to be debating something with himself, whimpering and hissing under his breath far too fast for her to keep up.

At last he made his decision: he shut his eyes, sucked in a big breath, stiffened his spine, clenched and unclenched his fists, and pointed a trembling finger at the now sumbfounded Toa.

With as unwavering a voice as he could muster, he stated: "I know you're having sex with my sister."

Gali blinked: "Yes," she replied, a bit puzzled, "Should I stop?"

Berix sputtered a little (he had expected a variety of things, but not that) before regaining some amount of countenance and managing to continue on his line of thought: "Well, it's - you... You better treat her right. Or I, I will challenge you in the arena about it. And I'll kick you ass."

The Ga-Toa continued to watch him.

She extended her hand and grasped the Gaquri's wrist with a deathly serious expression. He flinched hard, but held as still as he could.

"I promise you, upon my honor as protector of Mata Nui," she spoke solemnly: "So long as I live, I will respect and care for Kiina with all of myself, and give her the best sex she's ever had."

Berix wheezed loudly, unable to find a more suitable answer.

He nodded very stiffly, shaking her hand; she made the same motion as him with a satisfied look.

"I," he stammered: "I- uh, it's, I'm, know that she can just - do, that, on her own of course- challenging you, I mean, she'd, she'd p-probably be better than me at fighting too, but you know, she- she's m-my sister and I- I-"

Gali snickered: "Don't worry, I get it," she reassured him: "I'd fight off anybody who threatened my siblings' well-being no matter the disadvantage too."

She let go of him and leaped backwards, landing with a splash amongst the Waikiru.

He watched her mask reemerge several bio away; she waved goodbye back at him with a wide smile before disappearing beneath the waves again with the rest of the herd.

The Gaquri stood before the sea.

A wave rocked against the shore a little softer.

The gentle sound snapped him out of his daze, and he hurriedly climbed back up the cliffs towards the observatory.

Nuparu was knee deep in some kind of argument with Nixie regarding the actual use for astrology and whether or not it was more interesting and-or worth putting effort into studying than astronomy when Berix finally arrived. The Ga-Matoran continued to chew his audio processor off even when his attention had very clearly turned elsewhere - though she was quick to turn around and blabber on to the rest of the construction crew, who seemed much less intent on arguing with her statements than the inventor was and simply enjoyed some chattering during work.

"So?" Nuparu asked genuinely curious: "How did it go?"

His friend, dripping water everywhere, straightened his shoulders for what felt like the first time in his life: "Good! I think. Pretty good."

He bounced on his heels and clicked his tongue.

"I even learned how to swim."

[minihotdog]

Captive - Eric Coulter x OC Eden Rossi

Chapter 1: Where Am I?

Chapter 2: The Ghost From Amity

t/w: death

"Eden, go help your father in the field. I'll let the two of you know when dinner is ready" I let go of my mother's dress and run out into the fields. The endless flow of wheat towering over. I follow the voices of my neighbors telling each other tales as they work.

"Eden, you came to join us, didn't ya?" Uncle Josh says to me with his permanent lopsided smile.

"Momma said I have to help y'all till dinner time, I think she's mad because Sam and I broke somethin' when we were playing hide and seek."

"That's alright then, you can come pass the time with us till she cools off."I look around and the townsfolk for my father, his kind eyes and thick black beard nowhere to be found.

"Where's pops at? Momma said he was out working the field."Uncle Josh lets out a frustrated sigh, "He headed out to the outskirts. Dauntless wanted to have a little talk with him, pro'lly gonna steal more of our grain and leave us hungry for the winter. Ol bastards!"

"Why didn't he tell momma?"

A concerned look flashes on Uncle Josh's face, "You know how she gets when the other factions come knocking. He pro'lly didn't want her to worry."He looks off in the distance towards the gates separating Amity from the miles of nothing between the other factions. "You don't go running and telling her, alright."

"Yes, sir! My lips are sealed."

A loud blast from the distance. I cover my ears trying to suppress the frightening noise. The birds fly away from the trees in all different directions.Uncle Josh grabs my hand and we start running through the hills leading to my house. He's running so fast I almost can't get a foot on the ground.The house finally comes into view, I see my momma standing outside yelling out to us.

"Go inside and don't come out till I say!" She yells at me.

"What the hell was that?!" I'm listening to her and Uncle Josh talk, eavesdropping from the hallway leading to the kitchen.

"Now, Evelyn." He sounds nervous, "You know Dauntless keeps asking us for more than we can provide." He's standing in front of her with his hat in his hands.

"What does that have to do with anything?!" She's almost at his neck with anger, "You tellin' me my husband's been meeting with 'em behind my back?!"He's trying to get a word in but she doesn't let him even catch his breath. 

"Explain to me what that noise could have been, what part of talkin' is that?!"

"He said that he could handle them and tell 'em that we can't give them more than what they are being rationed. They agreed to come unarmed this time and talk."

"UNARMED!? They've come armed and the two of you didn't bother to tell anyone!?"

The sound of footsteps comes closer, digging into the gravel. The voice of my oldest brother mixed with heavy breathing shoots through the house.

"Momma! Dauntless is comin' through the gates!" He falls apart, and I hear the gravel shifting. "They killed Poppa!" His screams shake the house.

~~~~~

I jolt awake, covered in sweat. My heart pounding through my chest. The stress slowly being replaced by the deep sadness that usually sits in its place.

“Eden Rossi.”

A deep voice fills the unfamiliar room. 

I turn towards the voice, sitting up on the rock-hard surface, just a thin layer of cushion separating me from the concrete slab. 

The man sitting on a metal chair just inches from the bed twirls a plastic card in his fingers before holding it in between his index and middle finger. He flashes the card displaying my photo and name, “you’re a little far from Amity, don’t you think?”

“Where am I?” I ask, still dazed by the painful dream.

“The more important question is: What were you doing within the walls of Dauntless during a time of conflict?” He lifts an eyebrow at me, the piercing above his right eyebrow catches my attention. I look him up and down noticing his tattoos and large frame. 

“I was delivering this month’s ration, I don’t remember what happened.” 

He sucks his teeth at me as he shoves my I.D. into his pocket, “Doesn’t sound very likely.”

He sighs impatiently, “No vehicle, no escort, reports say you were snooping around the housing area. Not much delivering in my opinion.”

The room was cold, in temperature and in color. The walls were concrete, the floor was concrete, everything was either gray or black. The small room only had a backbreaking bed and a metal table chained to the floor with a chair to match. Next to the table, window facing the lifeless outside that surrounded dauntless in the last decade. Opposite, was a heavy metal door and a large window that allowed more than enough view into the depressing room.

“You don’t have the authority to hold me here, even if you suspect me of doing whatever it is you think I did,” I argued.

The strange man lets out a humorless chuckle, “No one gives a shit about the Communal Laws. We operate above them.” He looks away for a second before looking back at me, “You’ve been detained under suspicion of espionage, regardless we’re within our right.” 

He stands suddenly, the chair letting out a screech as it slides against the hard floor.

“I’ll be back,” He says, the heavy metal door slides open, green lights flashing around it. “The sooner you talk, the sooner this ends.” The door slams shut behind him, and I see his figure walking past in the darkened glass.

[boopshoops]

🥣

🥰

🏘️

For Jojo, Shishi, and Ezzie (The Twst OCs ;w;) for the OC Ask meme)

Similarly to the last post!! This is color coded: me/narrator as default, blue as Jocia, and green as Ezra

🥣what's your favorite food?

"So this is some sort of interview? Alright then," Jocia gruffly responded, slouching over in her seat upon realizing the question was actually rather simple. She grinned, "Bulgogi's a fav. It's something my sister showed me when we were kids. Apparently she was trying to learn more about our family history or somethin', did a damn lot of research too."

"It's not something I looked much into myself, but I'm a complete sucker for anything barbecued or grilled. I think... Oh yeah, we tried it out on a camping trip. I stole some of hers off her plate," Jocia chuckled, scratching at the back of her head as she reminisced, "I gave her hell during that trip. Wouldn't be surprised if that's why we never did something like that again. Made it up to her later, though."

-

"Ooh! How fun!" The professor exclaimed with a sharp-toothed grin, "Let's see, should I go into detail? I don't see why not. You're supposedly looking into learning more about me after all, little sprout," He cheerfully pondered aloud, politely folding his hands in his lap.

"My favorite dish is Pasta Alla Gricia. It's absolutely divine. With most of the foods I like, they've unfortunately been changing and shifting in ways I'm simply not a fan of with the passage of time. BUT! With this? It's only gotten better since the first time I tried it one hundred years ago! I'll gladly buy you some sometime, little sapling. Oh! Perhaps I can get some for the whole class... Like a day of celebration after one of our competitions! It's important for student's to destress, after all!~" Ezra hummed to himself with a firm nod.

🥰do you think you're attractive?

"Uh..." The woman droned on, crossing her arms over her chest. She offered a casual nod after perusing her own thoughts, "Like, physically? Sure, yeah," She bluntly answered.

"It's not really something I've thought too much of before. I guess looking in the mirror and seeing how far I've come gives me something to be proud of. Especially since I'm... not the best at styling. Everyone else in the family got all that."

"But, hell, I've worked hard on myself. Even if working out and such is more of a chill hobby of mine, I'm still confident in how I'm built. Not to mention I can see little parts of the people around me in myself too, yeah? Like- an old friend of mine regularly helps me dye my hair, and I got my piercings at the same time as my brother. If I didn't like those parts of myself, it feels kinda like a dig on them too. No matter whatcha think anyway, there are gonna be people out there who think you're pretty sick."

"...Eh, I'm not good at getting all sappy."

-

Ezra blinked, his drawing his lips into a line. His brows furrowed, "This is a difficult question to be modest about, isn't it?" He awkwardly chuckled, bringing a hand up to massage his temple.

"Oh, I don't know. I have a lot of things I have to work on, truly. It's quite an ordeal. Not that I'm not proud of my appearance! After all, a lot of it was greatly inspired by my late father."

"...Ah! I forgot to mention- I'm a changeling fae, of course. I'm not the biggest fan of shapeshifting, however, so I try my best to correlate my appearance to my adoptive human family. In that way, I suppose topics such as 'attractiveness' are a bit more complicated to someone like me, dear," He finished, dodging and weaving around the actual question through his rambles.

🏘️where's your happy place?

Jocia brightened up a bit at this, smirking as the answer came easily, "With my siblings," she replied briefly.

"They're fun as hell to be around. We got each other's backs. They're a bunch of little shits sometimes, but we know each other better than anyone else," She paused, "At least... most of us. More of a reason for me to get home, as if I didn't need any more of one already."

-

"My classroom, of course! Oh, it's so fun!" The teacher excitedly replied, eccentrically taking the time to pop up out of his seat and lean over the table, "It's where I spend most of my time! Working with students in bloom, watching their talents grow, listening to my favorite stars sing broadway, tending to my adorable potted plants..." He babbled on endlessly, happily explaining to no end.

"...I haven't been here for very long, that is true, but it has very quickly become my favorite place to be. So much so I often get caught up in things and forget to attend meetings. I suppose me and the other fae individuals here have that in common... I'm working on that, however! Got to make sure my memory is in top condition!"

"Is that it? 'Kay. Be seeing ya."

-

"This was very pleasant! Thank you kindly for inviting me."

Ask Game!

Yuu Shi's responses are here

[ewanmitchellcrumbs]

Ange, as usual I come with my post-episode thoughts-

This episode was quite good, I say that of course meaning it was pretty good, all things considering in terms of the character developmental issues we've all been highlighting so far. I know that generally after every episode airs we all talk about the shitty mistakes the show's made, myself included, and the way things could've been better handled, but I thought this week, I'd try and say some more positive things-

The acting, superb, as usual. Ryan Condal may be full of shit, but boy do these actors make do with what they've been given.

Aemond speaking High Valyrian? Yes, I did giggle and blush, it was hot as FUCK

Seeing Sunfyre, and that little moment where Aegon smiled with his dragon, I wished we could've seen more of their bond. Aemond serving cunt while fighting. Sir? You're slaying dragons (and possibly your brother) and you're serving cunt?

I like Alys so far, actually, seeing more of her makes me more curious to see her interact with Aemond

Daemon in Aemond Targaryen dress-up

Another Milly cameo.

Gwayne Hightower serving cunt

There are more, but these come to mind. Naturally, of course, I had my issues, but the usually are a continuation of what I had issues with before, such as-

The greens basically hating each other

The non-existent brotherly relationship between Aegon and Aemond

Helaena erasure, Jaehaera erasure, Maelor erasure (What, no Daeron mention?)

This episode made it more clear the angle being taken, that Rhaenyra is some form of the righteous, morally correct side, and the greens are the villains, versus both sides being morally complex, and the characters having good and bad traits, for example Aegon caring for his family, yet he's obviously not the best ruler Aemond being loyal to his brother, yet clearly ambitious, Rhaenyra actually being selfish, not just some saviour-esque figure. This angle annoys me because it takes away from what is in my opinion a key aspect of the story in the books, which is that all of these people are complex, do good and horrible things, and this is a war of succession, not this whole thing about Rhaenyra finally going to war because of the song of ice and fire, and all what Viserys told her.

I really can't handle the whole Aemond betraying Aegon thing. Both teams are flawed, yet the show makes it look like only team green is. Look forward to your thoughts too <3

-🦋 anon

Alright. I am here to dump my thoughts! Thank you for returning each week for this, I adore you for it!

I have made my peace with the deviation from the source material. I have a better time watching if I treat it as a separate piece of media.

Daemon is basically useless at this point, just tripping balls at Harrenhal and achieving absolutely fuck all. Having said that, I am enjoying the hallucination scenes, and Alys's character is so, so interesting. I love what Gayle has done with her.

I am growing a little frustrated with Rhaenyra's approach. I get that she wants to be a peaceful ruler, and to avoid war, but war is happening right under her nose. It's good to see some discord being sewn among Team Black - them playing the picture perfect, grieving family while the Greens are at each other's throats was beginning to grate on me a little. Jace's frustration was really well acted and totally believable.

I enjoyed the meeting of the small council - I feel like Aemond got his own back for Aegon humiliating him in the brothel. I do feel for Aegon though, he is being ignored and discarded by his family, and I feel if there was a little more cohesiveness then he wouldn't behave so rashly.

I really felt the absence of both Otto and Helaena this episode.

I teared up seeing the scenes between Rhaenys and Meleys, and Aegon and Sunfyre, knowing what was to come. I cried at Rhaenys's death. Seeing the light go out of Meleys's eyes broke me.

I don't think what Aemond did to Aegon was premeditated, he was simply frustrated and wanted to get him out of the way, so he couldn't cause any further problems. His means for doing so were incredibly extreme though!

Overall, I really enjoyed this episode. I am hopeful the rest of the season will be much better in the second half.

[steeltraptrainer]

They can feel the time grow longer. They've been in the Dream for longer now. They're advancing though. And have been in this stupid ass village for ages.

"Momo, if I see one more dog with knives strapped to their jowls, I will scream."

"Same hat. But we're almost done here. Only that area over there left." Ferro turns his head slightly into Giacomo's direction at the other's words, smiling a little. His teeth seem sharper.

"Yeah. I hope getting whatever is waiting for us there will let us wake up at last." He exhales, then rubs at his eyes. They've been itching, and he hasn't had his glasses with him in Yharnam.

"Only one way to find out. Let's go."

---

The inside of the house is... eerie. And they feel watched. Ferro's eyes flit around, focus on the shape manifesting from the ground. Shadow. Ferro extends the burial blade, swings it wide. The siderite sings as it tears through the shadows, buries itself in an actual human's hide. Next to him, Giacomo revs up the whirligig.

---

It's two witches. And they are unfortunately obsessed with eyeballs. Ferro narrowly escapes the Mad Ones, swings the scythe wildly. One of the witches is hot on his tail, and he is not looking forward to seeing what they'd do if they get their hands on him. He has seen that rusty thing in their hands, and the eyeballs on their cloaks don't inspire confidence either.

Giacomo is doing pretty decent, all things considered. That saw is doing god's work, fast and terrible. And one of the witches goes down in a spray of blood he barely even notices anymore. What was a terror for him a month ago is just... work now. Blood is a fact of life for a hunter. Something to wash off afterwards. He turns, just in time to see Ferro entrapped by light. And the witch moving in. Sparks fly. A scream, two screams. And Ferro on the floor, holding a hand over one of his eyes.

"Ferro, are you alright?" Neither of them even notices the Insight accumulating. A glassy eye focuses on Giacomo, its owner woozy.

"I... I don't feel okay. My right... I don't think that eye's left." He doesn't move his hand from the wound. "Why's it always my fucking eyes? Isn't it enough I'm Deaf already?"

"Beats me. Let's light the lamp and see what's down in the basement. Or do you want to go back to the Dream already?"

"I... yeah, I think I will. Don't get hurt, Momo."

---

The blood disappears under his hands as the Dream envelops Ferro. The pain... does not. Not fully. He grits his teeth and stumbles over to the Doll, slides down on the ground near her.

"Hey Miss Doll..." He looks up at her weakly. "I think I don't like Hemwick very much." She gently moves his hand away when he looks at her, and freezes for a moment at the sight.

"Oh, good Hunter..." Her thumb lingers at the edge of Ferro's eye socket. "Yes, I can see why you would not. I cannot help you with recovering it in full. What I can do is help you bandage it until the Dream mends it. Until the Insight compensates." The Doll sounds so gentle.

"That... that'd be nice. Is it bad?"

"No more than any other wound you have received. This too shall pass. Allow me to help. You are not the first hunter to lose an eye."

"Let's hope he stays the last for a while..." Giacomo mutters, having manifested into the Dream in full just before the Doll had spoken. "Sorry for not being fast enough, Ferro."

"Ah, you did what you could. Just glad I didn't die. I don't like the feeling of that."

"No shit. Just... I hope we can get out and home for a bit."

"You two would deserve it." The Doll looks up at them both, carefully finishing her work. "Might I ask something of you two? Would you be so kind to bring me more books, should you return to your home?"

"Of course!" Ferro smiles at her, the thing crooked and uneven. "No problem at all. I'm glad you like the books so far." They could absolutely do that when

T h e y

w a k e

u p -

[nevada-wrytes]

A little something I wrote long ago but decided to revisit and edit today. There will be a second part but I don't think I will continue to write story any time soon (little busy with Jamie and Luke's novel :P)

Previously, a runaway science experiment offers her services to a gang in the city in order to be smuggled out of the country. Little do her allies know she is being hunted by the best army on the continent (The Hits). They use her powers to pull off a daring heist, but that places a target on their backs, so now they, too, are on the run, currently taking shelter on a deserted, supposedly haunted island off the coast of their city.

James 

"Boss, boss, boss!" 

James looked up from the multitude of papers covering the desk he’d commandeered as his own. Lenny had barged into his make-shift office looking paler than a ghost. Maybe he had seen a ghost- again. If that was the case, James had no time to entertain such fairy tales, not when their lives were at stake.

He grumbled, "What now Lenny?" 

Lenny was breathless. "It's Luna— they've taken her! The Hits have got her."

“What.” James stood so fast a teacup that had been perched precariously on a stack of files fell to the floor with a crash. He payed it no attention. “Explain,” he said, gritting his teeth, “Right. Now.”

Lenny still struggled to catch his breath, and now he raked a shaky hand through his hair, a tell of his nerves. “W-well, we were on watch— me and Rai— i-in the trees next to their camp. And- and she was doing her rounds, too, when they came out of nowhere— I wanted to go help her, I swear, but then the Hits would’ve known we've been spying on 'em, you know? And- so me and Rai watched them take her to the docks-" 

James had heard enough. "I can't believe this.”

He stormed out of the room. Lenny called after him, “James! James, wait!”

James did not stop. Not even when Lenny caught up with him and grabbed his arm, pulling him back. James simply shook him off, “Get Ezra, get Cap, and get me a boat so I can get off this fucking island!”

Lenny’s voice was pleading, “James, you can't go marching into their camp like- like this!”

James turned to him, the well he kept his anger in threatening to overflow. “Then what do you want me to do? Leave Luna there to die?”

He didn’t mean to shout, but Lenny flinched anyways. His voice was low. “Look James, I don't want her to stay there either, but we need a plan. Isn't that what you are always telling me? That a good plan is the key to success?”

James looked down at his second in command, his first second in command, right into those big blue eyes that had tricked him into believing in their false innocence long ago. Lenny was right, unfortunately, and it annoyed him to have his own words reflected back onto him.

He sighed, raking a hand through his hair. “Alright. I need a plan.”

“We need a plan.”

James waved a hand, “Yes, yes.” He merely agreed for the sake of it, he had no intention of asking any of the others for help. He could do it on his own. James ignored the worried look in Lenny’s eyes and walked off, already weighing the toll of the heist he would have to pull off to get his girl back.

...

After sacrificing the last of his luck to the Goddess of Fate, James is successfully able to infiltrate the camp and get Luna back, not without first learning the values of cooperation and teamwork (he could not, in fact, do this on his own). However, there’s a problem. The Hits had given Luna some sort of experimental drug that knocked her into a coma, and it seemed she was not waking up any time soon. Ezra, the gang’s resident poison specialist and sorry excuse for a medial professional examines the girl and the toll the drug has done on her body. They were too late. Luna had, at best, three days to live.

...

James

The whole world was falling apart. Shapes that should have been in focus now blurred around him as his vision swam. The ocean was too far away, but James could swear he heard the crash of waves in his head as his heart beat a furious crescendo in his body. He should have felt sad, heartbroken, even, but all he saw was red.

Anger had been a familiar taste on his tongue ever since he was an invisible boy in a seaside town where those that did stop to hear his words usually only laughed. He’d gotten good, over the years, of keeping it in check, of building that well inside him brick by brick just to keep his anger from spilling out.

But now that well had cracked and crumbled, been bombed away by a horror worse than supernatural— something man-made. Naked anger had crawled out of that deep well he’s made just to laugh at his measly attempt to keep his true nature at bay.

Without walls, there was nothing stopping it now. And there was only one person responsible.

“You.” James’s glare singled out a singular body in the crowd. The small little seedling he had allowed to take root in his gang now threatened to overshadow them all. It didn’t take long for all conversations to die around him, and it took Cee much less to realize what he was about to say.

He watched her shrink away from him, as if he was the predator and she was prey. He did not relish in the fear in her eyes. It made him feel worse. The more innocent she acted, the more the hatred in his gut pointed at himself, and that made him angry. Angry enough to move mountains, angry enough to command the tide.

“That's it. You’re done.”

“W-what?” Her voice was so small. James hated her for making him feel bad. She was the weapon of mass destruction. She was the they were on the run from the Hits. It’s her fault Luna is— Luna is—

“Dead. You’re dead to me,” he pointed a finger at her chest with each word, “Get. Out.”

“James-” Sarj warned, crossing the room just to get in between them.

“No.” James turned to him. “I’m the leader here. I say who stays and who goes. She’s been enough of a problem as it is, and now I want nothing to do with her.”

Ezra spoke up, “James, she’s just a girl. Are you really throwing a child into the streets?”

James was sent fuming at her tone. “Just a girl! Are you kidding me? She is a super weapon ready to explode! All of our misfortunes have been her fault!”

Silence rang through the crowd. But in the silence, a small voice chirped, “I’m staying.”

James turned back in disbelief to see Cee standing with her chest puffed out in defiance. “You need me with Luna-”

“Don’t say her name!” It took three men to hold him back from lunging at the child. James didn’t even realize he’d moved. He was more so surprised at the snarl in his voice. He felt like a monster. But he couldn’t stop.

“You are the reason she got in this mess in the first place! If you hadn’t brought the strange soldiers to us, we would never be in this situation! We wouldn’t have to be squatting in a ditch on the run for harboring you! I am sick and tired of other people telling me how to run my gang because of you! You are the reason Luna is going to-”

He couldn’t finish the sentence, his shouts about to turn into tears. He refocused on that raging fury, anything, to stop thinking about the girl dying in the other room.

James looked right into Cee’s eyes and continued. “I want you out. Out of my sight, out of my gang, out of my life! And if you ever think of showing your face in my city again, I will turn you in myself.” He spit out the last words as if they were poison. He stood there for a moment, transfixed in the way he was reflected in Cee’s blank, glassy eyes. He was red in the face and yelling with wide eyes, sheer insanity burning in them.

At last, he turned and faced the rest of his gang. “As for the rest of you,” he huffed, “back to work! The Hits won’t stop looking for their lost lab reject and I’m not going back to that camp to save any of your sorry asses if you get captured.”

No one moved. No one spoke, either, until Ezra faced him, pleading, “James, you’re being unreasonable. You can’t just throw a girl out onto the streets when her life is in danger. Please- what would Luna think?”

James ignored the sting of her words. “If you,” he made a show of turning around to face every other person in the group, “or anyone else disagrees with me, then I think it’s time you found another gang willing to take in your sorry reject of a soul.”

With that, and his jaw set in determination, James walked out of the manor, right into the pouring rain.

…

The storm raged on around him with the intense passion of a desperate lover. It reminded him, bitter sweetly, of his home, and the storms they used to get coming down from the North. That rain was always cold, threatening to freeze your bones in place if you so much step outside to get to the outhouse, and all through the night the only sound was the churning ocean below as it tore apart docks and boats and anything else in it’s way.

This was not that type of storm, but Jamie felt like it was, regardless.

Thunder rumbled somewhere close by as he found his way down to the beach, past steep cliffs and scraggly bushes that would sooner shred him to bits than offer a cushion to land on. Only when he reached the pebbly bottom, though, did he feel his resolve crumble.

The beach was just like the one back home.

James screamed. His voice was the thunder, every crashing wave, every lightning strike. He did not find peace letting his voice go hoarse, instead he felt all his emotions rise up in a catastrophic wave, threatening to drown him.

His situation was bad. Although he’d done what was best for the future of the gang, he knew it was wrong. A few members on the fringe would leave after his harsh words. Sarj, his only muscle, would go. He’d grown too close to Cee over the past few months to let her go alone. Jaque and Rai had enough money to buy themselves out, if they so chose to. Lenny was too far in debt to run, now, so he had no choice to stay. Neither did Ezra, since she wouldn’t leave Luna for the world.

Luna. What would Luna think of what he’s done? It was her idea to help Cee, would she be angry with him for not seeing it through? Cee had done her part of the bargain in getting them through the heist, and now he wasn’t keeping his. By letting her go, he was shunning their contract in the first place. A betrayal like that demanded divine punishment, but James ignored the warning signs.

His mind ached for Luna. He craved her calming presence, her graceful air, he craved her. Luna, as gentle and beautiful as moonlight itself.

“Jamie?” He stirred from his thoughts. That was Luna’s voice, no one called him Jamie— no one dared— besides her. It was his Luna— had Ezra managed to heal her? Had she woken up, stirred by his panicking thoughts?

“Luna?” He turned, frantically looking around at the cliff side, but she was not there. Instead, she was already on the beach, ankle deep in the incoming tide.

She looked like she did before, skin smooth and gleaming as if shining from underneath, and hair a soft silvery cloud being whipped around by the wind.

She looked at him like she always did, as if he was a red-hot steel bar that she just couldn’t let go.

“Luna!” Once he realized she was not an illusion created by his own mind, he ran to her. He picked her up in his arms and spun her around. She was much lighter than he remembered, and surprisingly cold, and wet. She had been outside in this storm too long, he needed to get her back inside before she caught a cold.

“Jamie,” she breathed, still in his arms.

“I missed you so much” he said, choking on tears. Sadness threatened to spill out of him almost as eagerly as his anger had before. He held it back, if only for Luna’s sake.

“H-how are you back? Did Ezra heal you?”

“Jamie.” Luna looked at him with sulky eyes. The tide was up to his knees now, it was really coming in fast.

“Luna?” He said only her name, but it was phrased as a question. “Are you alright? You’re creeping me out.”

Her motionless stare, her body, too shimmery to be real, and her scent. Salt and brine. The ocean, something one couldn’t smell like unless they spent all their hours close to fishing docks and seaweed filled water. Something was wrong, and it was not just the fact that the water was now up to his thighs, climbing to his waist, and threatening to pull him under. Just like the creature in front of him.

No sooner had what he thought was Luna’s strong support turned into the deadly vise of something not human, that he knew it was too late— all he could do was catch a breath before he was pulled under.

…

Calloused, worn hands rocked him back and forth. Somewhere outside the safety of these warm arms breathed the ocean, a gentle rumble in the background, nothing more.

Still, the dark clouds on the horizon filled the house with tension, and Jamie wished he could ease his grandmother’s worries.

Neither of them talked as they sat on the rocking chair, the older woman boring a hole into the window and the younger boy burying his face in the clean scent of her clothes.

Finally, James had the guts to ask, “Why are you scared?”

It took his grandmother a moment to answer.

“When I was a girl, I wanted to go swimming on the eve of a storm.”

The sun began it’s descent as she continued, “It was around midday, but the docks were deserted. I remember setting down my towel, a blue one with stripes, and sitting down on the old boards, just plunging my feet in, feeling the seaweed drift around my ankles, and then feeling something else.

Hair. Underwater. It felt soft, but thick, similar to the seaweed, but the darkest blue I’ve ever seen. So close to black, that I thought it was one of my own kin coming to spook me, but no, it was something different.”

A little girl, not much older than me, peeked her head out of the water. Her skin was the blue of a breathless baby, and she smelled like death. But she smiled when she saw me, a smile full of pointy teeth.”

“Were you scared?” James interrupted. He knew about the sea-folk. Everyone in town did. He’d heard the warnings, he understood when not to go near the water, and he knew to turn around when he heard his name called by the ocean, no matter what lovely voice sang it.

Don’t trust the sea-folk, they said. They’d sooner drain you dry then love ya, that’s for sure.

His grandmother stopped rocking. “I wasn’t as scared as I should have been. I was foolish— and curious. I didn’t believe the stories, but there one was right in front of me. I guess I was luckily, because she was young, too. She didn’t try to grab me, only smiled, as if it, too, was her first time seeing someone different from her. Finally, she asked if I still wanted to go for a swim with her. I managed to shake my head and, with a disappointed shrug, she sank back under. Poor me sat frozen on those docks until the first droplets of rain began pouring, in which I quickly picked up my things and ran back home.”

“Don’t fill his head with garbage.” His uncle walked into the room, cradling a bottle. “The sea-folk don’t ask for permission ‘fore they drag you under. It’s just bam! And then you’re good as gone.”

His grandmother shot the man an irritated look. “Don’t interrupt me, I wasn’t finished. You see James, although I was sparred by the Goddess of Luck that day, others did not share the same fate. After the storm, we found three bodies, pale and shrunken, washed up by the tide. Three claw marks around their heart told their fate— and one of the marks were smaller than the rest, as if made by tiny hands. I reckon it was my sea-girl’s first kill. You never know when you’re luck is going to run out, James.” She lowered her voice, “So, remember, it is best to never bargain with the myryads in the first place.”

…

The water was dark, filled with debris and swirling bubbles. The thing that held James in its claws and would not let go had dissipated it’s illusion. No longer did it pretend to be Luna, instead what emerged from the bubbles was a gangly monster, vaguely feminine with drippy hair like dark seaweed and saggy skin covered in shiny scales. This creature, he knew, was a story. A fairy tale, nothing more than Lenny’s ghost. But it was right here in front of him, and it was begging him to say it’s name: a myryad.

Although the salt water stung his eyes, he refused to let them close, favoring to face death head on. Even as he furiously struggled, the sea-girl’s grip did not falter. When she had pulled him far enough under, it turned it’s head to him. Her eyes were huge, dark pits in its milky-blue face. When it opened it’s mouth, it was not Luna’s lovely voice that came out, but a high-pitched scream, a cry, a siren call to it’s friends. More were on their way.

He felt frozen, paralyzed, both by the stories he grew up with and the very real, very dangerous, fairy tale creature in front of him. Her claws ran over his skin, stopping at his mouth. He shut it tighter, clenching his teeth, as she tried to wedge it open.

James did not waste time assessing the situation. He’d been in worse situations before, but he still panicked, struggling harder than before. Claws tore into clothes, then skin, as if it was paper. Although he couldn’t see very well, he knew the water filled with his blood, getting just the coppery taste on his lips. The myryad sniffed and looked him in the eyes. Hungry.

James knew he was running dangerously low on air, and he frantically tried to remember any stories of sailors escaping capture from the sea-folk, but his mind turned up blank. The only thing he could do was fight, the revolver in his belt useless, but the small dagger in his sleeve still plenty useful in creating a gap between him and the sea-girl.

However, quicker than the lightning above, she was back on him with a cry, even as he slashed at her scales, scoring through flesh. She squeezed his wrist, and a bolt of pain shot through him, enough to make him drop the knife, foolishly. Defenseless, she gained the opportunity to strike, sinking two sharp teeth into his neck.

James cried out instinctively, before he remembered that he was underwater, and managed to swallow a mouthful of ocean. His head swam and the sea-girl began sucking him dry. It was so painful, James felt his body go numb. In a last ditch attempt to get himself free, he lashed out and managed to poke the creature in it’s big, glassy eyes.

It caused her to go reeling back, shrieking. James took that opportunity to start paddling to the surface, but he was too slow. The myryad recovered fast, and latched onto his leg. James kicked wildly, and, somehow, her grip slipped. Her claws tried to latch on, but they ripped through his legs like butter. James grit his teeth at the pain, and put all his remaining energy into kicking to the surface. The sea-girl was shrieking, and somewhere close by other shrieks responded.

Panic raced through James’s gut, but it was overwhelmed by the need for air. His head pounded, his heart beat faster than it ever had, and black spots swam in his vision, enough that he thought he was a lost cause, that this was it, he would sink to the bottom and die, feasted on by the myryads, but, miraculously, he breached the surface.

Gasp. He took a greedy breath of air before resuming his frantic paddle to the shore. When he finally pulled himself onto the sand, he definitely cried. Relief, pain, frustration, it overwhelmed him. He was so thankful to be back on solid land he didn’t even mind the pouring rain above.

James laid on the beach for what seemed like eternity, just breathing like he had never breathed fresh air before. He had really thought he wouldn’t make it. He had never even said his goodbyes. Fortunately, his luck had not run out yet. Before the adrenaline ran out, he staggered up and started for the manor. There was a pool of blood, slowly sinking into the sand, where he used to lay. His injuries stung in the rain, and he knew he needed immediate medical attention, lest he wanted them to get infected. He remembered his grandmother’s warning, his luck could run out at any time, so he hurried as fast as he could as far away from that beach as possible.

[opheliajupiter99]

Enodi Interrogation

Cleric 1: Hello. Can you hear me? Enodi: ...Y-Yes. W-Where am I? Cleric 1: You're at our campsite. I and my sister here were concerned for you, so brought you here. Enodi: B-But I don't n-need help. Cleric 1: We're simply concerned, we're just going to check you over and make sure you're alright, then you're free to go. Enodi: ...O-Okay. Cleric 2 (whispered): Brother, please, do not delay this. Cleric 1 (whispered): I refuse to force this upon him, I am accessing first and foremost. Cleric 2 (whispered): Fine...but if he proves too far gone, we must grant mercy. Cleric 1: Apologizes. What is your name, sir? Enodi: E-Enodi. What's y-yours? Cleric 1: I am Brother Armon. It is nice to meet you. We were concerned because we observed you wandering in the woods near our camp, speaking a language that...few know, and even fewer will speak out loud. Do you recall this? Enodi: Yes. I w-was playing with m-my friend. Brother Armon: Your friend? We didn't see anyone else in the area. Did they run off? Enodi: No. T-They're here right n-now too. Brother Armon: Does your friend tell you things? Or...tell you to -do- things? Enodi: Sometimes. T-They told me n-not to t-trust your f-friend. Brother Armon: Sister Tabitha? Enodi: Mhm. Brother Armon: Why? Enodi: They t-told me she'll t-try to take them away, e-even if you d-don't want her t-to. Sister Tabitha: That is obviously a lie! Brother Armon: *is silence for a moment* Sister Tabitha: *huffs, turning to Enodi* I do not know what or who you are, foul creature, but you shall now blight this man any lo- *Suddenly, Brother Armon turned swiftly around and grabbed Sister Tabitha by the throat, his hand gripping tightly around her windpipe as she struggled in confusion. The third cleric (I who writes this) found themselves regrettably frozen in fright, despite how hard they've worked to be fearless in the face of evil. Tabitha died from said choking, and after killing her, Armon wandered off in a daze, and hasn't been seen since. The clown did not come after the third, simply leaving off into the woods as well. The third is the only that survived*

[duckapus]

In Deep: part 2

(okay so I don't have the motivation to properly word the opening, but basically Sonata demands an explanation for why the Airship group is in her kingdom and SMG4 manages to recover enough to tell her what's going on. And for as ridiculous as the whole thing sounds from her perspective, she can't help but wonder...)

"Your majesty, you can't seriously believe this crap!?"

"Patience, Admiral." she sighs and sinks slightly in her throne, "I am not yet fully convinced, but you must admit the idea has merit. Tell me honestly, can you remember anything in detail from before the barriers rose?"

"W- well..." he thinks about it, really thinks beyond his own stubbornness and the slight pinch behind his eyes, "...no, I can't. It's all broad strokes. More like the preamble to a story than a life lived."

"Precisely my point. Our actual memories are mere days old, the same days since the event SMG4 speaks of."

"I...alright, so maybe they are telling the truth. That doesn't change the fact that their so-called "plan" falls apart in the final stretch. And you've seen the way the red and yellow ones behave. Do you really think it's wise to put the fate of our kingdom in the hands of these...these morons?"

"...You have a point. Still, there's something about them that..." she trails off, then turns to address their guests, "I've come to a decision."

The group looks up from whatever they'd been discussing in their own huddle.

"While I'm not certain that I fully believe your story, I'll admit that it makes a great deal of sense. Still, I must prioritize the safety of my subjects, and your quest stands to put us and the other regions of this "Mushroom Kingdom" in grave danger. So, I have a proposition. Your party shall face seven of my kingdom's greatest champions in the arena. Defeat them, and the seed is yours. But should you fail even once, you and the rest of your cohorts on the surface shall be banished from my kingdom."

SMG4 gulps, but quickly shakes off his nerves and nods firmly, "We accept your challenge, your majesty."

"Uh...we do?"

"Not like we have much of a choice Cubot, we need that seed."

Sonata grins brightly, which turns out to be pretty intimidating between her shark teeth, her size, and the context, "Then let the games begin."

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

Soon enough, the group is in a decently sized room with a few guards, the gateway to the arena before them. SMG4 turns to address the others, "Okay guys, we've got no idea who we'll be up against, and they've got home-field advantage, so be ready for anything."

There's scattered affirmations, with Meggy and the twins looking determined, Mario going walleyed again, Cubot shaking nervously, and Sig just looking bored as usual.

One of the guards swims towards them, "Alright, first up are the one in the green poncho and the yellow box thing."

"I am ready."

"Oh boy..."

The two are led to the doorway, while the other five are brought to a viewing area, and they get their first glimpse of the arena. It's about what you'd expect, big flat circle with high walls, fully packed seats, architecture that fits what they've seen so far, even another throne high up in one of the seating areas where Sonata is watching from. But Cubot notices a few...unusual details.

"Uh...is it just me, or are those speakers up on the pillars?"

"I believe so. And the front row of the queen's section appears to have a DJ table instead of seats."

As they reach the apparent starting position and the gate across from them opens, the guard that's accompanied them hands each of them something and then swims off. Marcy looks down at the microphone on her sword in confusion, then the other gate finishes opening and she looks up to see who their opponents are...and groans.

"Oh you have got to be kidding me."

(Yeah, remember how I said in the Explanation post that the Undersea Kingdom is a musical ocean? We haven't seen much of that so far, now have we?

Anyway, tune in next time for episode 2 of the Undersea Kingdom's time in the spotlight (because why shouldn't Lily get two episodes instead of the one every other Zone is getting? Well, besides Muppetopia but that one has extenuating circumstances) "So You Think You Can Rap 2: Undersea Encore!")

[windy-trickster]

💭 💭 💭

Rubs my chin furiously. Alright gotcha boss. 5. @memurfevur Me and Eli haven't been talking for suuuuuper long iirc, but he's a pleasure to talk to and joke around with. Very creative and has ideas that kinda go against the typical Homestuck lore which I really like! He's got a lot of interesting chars with deep lore and aspects of them that have yet to explored. He's also listened to so many of my problems and never judged me for any of them, even if they seem silly now that I think back on them. So thank you for being kind and caring, Eli. 6. @ketchfantrolls Okay.... Is it cheating to compliment my own boyfriend? No? Okay good bc I didn't care if the answer was yes or not. That's my beloooooooved. My little birdie. My skrunckly. My everything and anything. Ketch has done so much for me even back before we started dating and I can't thank them enough for all they've done for me. Like- I genuinely wouldn't know what to do to repay them if they ever wanted repayment. They're just... They're my world, man. My entire world. I wouldn't be the same w/them in my life. 7. @kenztrolls Even if my convos with Kenz sometimes tend to be few and far between, I still genuinely love and care about her. She's a wonderful person and a great friend. Interesting fantrolls with complex stories interpersonal relationships. I love getting to talk with her, even if our chats can be brief at times. It's fun to plot and make up little stories with her as well. Hopefully she sees this and knows she's someone dear to me.

[bleachanimefan1]

Dragon Ball Legend Part 14

Super Kami Guru,

"Looks like we made it." Krillin said.

Krillin, Ocarin, Dende and Necke stopped as they saw a tall mountain within the distance. On top of it was a large hut shaped like the others on Namek with a slug like appearance with two spikes on the roof.

"Come on, we'll find the eldest Namek inside." Dende said. They landed on the ground and walked closer towards the hut. It was far too quiet as they didn't hear anything inside.

"Are you sure? Cause I gotta tell you I'm surprised that the place is still standing." Krillin said. "It's so quiet. Do you think they've got him already?" Dende glanced at him in worry, wondering as well. Necke frowned, looking down to the ground, thinking. Ocarin elbowed Krillin in the head.

"Do you always have to be a pessimist?" She replied. Suddenly, the door to the hut began to lift in the air, floating, as it opened. Ocarin let out a gasp and her eyes widen as she saw a Namekian warrior step out of the house, standing in front of them. He was wearing a dark blue vest, exposing his chest and stomach, a white scarf and pants with a blue sash and brown boots. Ocarin blinked again as she stared at him silently. She felt her heart beating a little faster, looking at him closer. He looked exactly like Piccolo. The same face, the same eyes, the same scowl. If the two were to be put side by side together, they would have been twins.

"Hey Nail! Am I ever glad to see you're alright!" Dende smiled up at him.

"It's good to see you, Dende and Necke. You and your friends are most welcome. Guru has been expecting you for some time now." Nail said to them.

"So, then Guru knows about what everything's been going on?" Necke asked.

"Well, that's some good news at least." Krillin smiled.

"There is much to discuss. Come with me, I will take you to Guru, now." The Namekian warrior told them.

"Wait, Nail. If Guru already knows about what's happening, then shouldn't he try to move to a safer place?" Dende asked him.

"Guru is very old. He knows his time is drawing near. Unfortunately, he's too weak to move. There is little more than I can do for him than to stay by his side to protect him until the end." Nail explained.

"Oh no. I knew that he was old, but I never thought that he'd be leaving so soon." Dende said, sadly.

"Please, come you two." Nail said and walked inside the hut.

Krillin, Ocarin, Dende and Necke followed the Namekian inside. Nail turned to them, directing his head up towards a large hole in the ceiling. "Up here." He floated up and Dende and Necke followed, flying up with him. Krillin and Ocarin nodded and slowly hovered up. As they came up, the two were surprised to see an taller and larger Namekian, sitting on a throne. His skin was wrinkled with age, the patches on his arms were dark orange, wearing a magenta cape over a dark brown vest and white robes and orange shoes.

'Master, I've brought Dende and Necke and their friends from Earth." Nail spoke as he bowed before the Namekian elder.

"Welcome. It is my great honor to be in your presence and I thank you for taking care of Dende and Necke. Is there something that I can do to repay your kindness?" Guru said to Krillin and Ocarin.

"There's no need to thank us, really." Krillin replied. They noticed that Guru was silent as he didn't answer Krillin.

"Is he alright?" Ocarin asked.

"Maybe, he fell asleep?" Dende wondered as well.

"I don't know." Krillin shrugged his shoulders and turned back to the old Namekian. "Excuse me-"

"Great evil has come to Namek. Frieza and his wicked men because of them nearly all of my children have been murdered. He'll stop at nothing until he has gathered all seven Dragon balls. To Namek, the Dragon balls symbolize wisdom and power. But Frieza only sees them only as a tool to serve his greed." Guru replied.

"Guru. That is exactly why we're here as well. But our goals are not the same as Frieza's." Krillin said.

"They've lost their friends to the same men who are terrorizing our planet. If we can wish them back, then maybe they'll be able to help save our planet!" Dende explained.

"Two of our friends meant a lot to me. We would wish them back with our own Dragon balls, but the creator was killed as well. The one responsible was Vegeta, a Saiyan, who's terrorizing your planet, now." Ocarin told him. Guru looked at her as he frowned in confusion.

"How is it possible that you have your own set of Dragon balls?"

"The creator of our Dragon balls is named Kami. He is an Namekian, like you, who came from the Planet Namek. He managed to escape the disaster that fell your planet by spaceship." Ocarin told him. 

"I don't believe it. The child of Katas has survived after all this time. I am pleased to hear that he made his journey safely. He was a gifted child from the Dragon clan." Guru said, surprised. "They had the power to create the Dragon balls. This Saiyan must be powerful, indeed. What an awful power. One who defeated a Namek like Kami must have been a Super Saiyan."

"Super Saiyan? What's that?" Krillin asked.

"You don't know? You two, come closer and we'll solve this puzzle." Guru motioned for Ocarin and Krillin to come closer to him.

"Go on, Krillin." Ocarin pushed him over to the Namekian as they approached Guru.

"Why me?" Ocarin stood to the left of Guru while Krillin stood to the right. Ocarin looked up at the Namekian as she saw him lift his hand towards her.

"So, do I take your hand or-" She squeaked in surprise when the Namekian placed his hand on top of her head and did the same with Krillin.

"Now, clear you mind so I can feel your past. What a terrible fate. A Namek who has warped himself and torn in two. Before he could become guardian of Earth, Kami had to first purge even the smallest trace of evil from his heart. Thus, he split into two and Piccolo was born. In doing so, his powers were also split equally between these two hearts. If they had been reunited, they would have not been defeated by any normal Saiyan." Guru told them then he reached up above him and pulled the Dragon ball off from the throne and handed it to Krillin. Krillin took the Dragon ball from him.

"Now, I have seen your mind. Your heart is pure, and your intentions are true. Your bravery and loyalty to your friends are beyond question. You have proven yourself worthy to receive this Dragon ball." Guru explained. Krillin smiled.

"Thank you, sir! You don't know what this means to me." 

"One down and six to go." Ocarin smiled as well.

"I only hope that there's still enough time to make your wish." Guru said. Ocarin looked at him, confused, wondering what he meant by that.

"What do you mean?"

"Unfortunately, I only have a few days left to live." The Namekian elder told the group. "If your wish is to be fulfilled, you will have to gather all seven Dragon balls before I go. However, if this could not be accomplished then the Dragon balls will disappear along with me." 

"Well do our best." Ocarin said.

"I promise, whatever happens I'll guard this Dragon ball with my life! If we can't get all seven Dragon balls in time for a wish, then neither does Frieza or Vegeta!" Krillin shouted. Guru smiled at the two.

"Thank you, you both do a great service to my people." He said. "Indeed, you are brave and there is much strength in you even more than you realize for much of it is still sleeping."

"Still sleeping?" Krillin questioned.

"What do you mean by that?" Ocarin asked, wondering as well. Guru turned to Krillin and placed his hand on Krillin's head.

"Allow me to awaken this power."

"I've already trained myself to my limits. I don't have any sleeping powers and to tell you the truth. I'm amazed that I even made it this far." Krillin said before something began happening to him. Ocarin's eyes widen as she felt a surge of energy releasing from Krillin.

"This is the power that has been with you all along." Guru told him.

"You were right! I never knew I had it in me! Whatever you did, thanks a lot!" Krillin exclaimed, excitedly, smiling. Then he looked back at Guru. "Um, excuse me, can you release anyone's power?"

"If they have the power within them, then it is possible." The Namekian elder said.

"If you do this too many times, doesn't it drain your own power?" Krillin asked in concern. Guru smiled, shaking his head.

"I appreciate your concern for my well-being. But the answer is no." Krillin nodded then pointed at Ocarin.

"Well, then can you do her as well?" Ocarin's eyes widen.

"Sure."

"Krillin, I don't think that's such a good idea." Ocarin said. Krillin turned to her.

"Come on, what are you afraid of. You know you have a hidden power within you. We're gonna need it against Frieza and Vegeta."Krillin said. Ocarin said nothing and Krillin turned back to Guru. "And do you mind trying this again on another friend of mine? He's really a great kid and he has a hidden power as well!"

"Bring him to me and if I can, I will unlock his potential." Guru replied.

"Great. I'll be right back-but wait, what should I do with the Dragon ball?" Krillin asked.

"I entrust it to you along with the fate of this entire planet, now rests in your hands." Guru nodded.

"Gee, no pressure. Ocarin, you stay here, and I'll come back with Gohan as soon as I can." Krillin told her.

"Hurry back." Ocarin told him.

"Please, be careful, Krillin." Dende said. Krillin smiled and hopped down the hole and left the hut as he flew away to get Gohan, carrying the Dragon ball in his hands.

"Now are you ready?" Guru asked Ocarin.

"Ocarin?" Necke asked in worry, noticing that she was quiet.

"I'm ready." Ocarin said. Guru placed his hand on top of her head.

"I sense something within you that I have not felt in a long time. It feels familiar to me. You also bear some resistance towards your power. A full awakening will require some effort." He explained. "Answer me this, what do you think of great power?"

Ocarin blinked at him, looking at the Namekian elder in confusion, then looked down thinking. Great power? What did he did he mean by that? She was just an ordinary person. She told herself. Then she was reminded of the battle with Vegeta. How she felt so helpless that she couldn't do anything to help anyone. Now, Piccolo was gone and Kami, too. She was in a complete rage that she blacked out. Ocarin couldn't remember any more after that. 

"To have a great power, I think that it would be scary." She told him.

"Yes. To you, power can be a frightening force indeed. But that's not all, I sense your hesitation that you feel it's full potential as well. Tell me this, when should a power like this ever be used?"

"Only when it's necessary."

"Correct." Guru nodded. "It should only be used when the time is right. Now, let's move on to the final question. If I unlock this power of yours, what do you plan to do with it? What is your purpose when you fight?"

"To protect the people that I love. I will do anything to bring them back to life." Ocarin told him.

"Yes, that is why you fight. Just think of only of this...and relax." Guru said. Ocarin slowly nodded. Then Ocarin felt something strange within her as she felt a strong energy surge through her. Ocarin saw her skin turn light blue and her hair turn white as she transformed. So, this what Krillin and Gohan meant when she turned blue. Dende, Necke, and Nail watched in surprise, seeing the transformation happen as well. Guru pulled his hand away from Ocarin's head.

"Necke!" Ocarin quickly turned her head when she heard Dende cried out to see Necke on the ground, struggling to stand by back up. She saw that Dende was struggling as well as he tried to help Necke up. Nail was on his knees before he managed to get back up again. 

"I'm sorry! Are you guys alright?" Ocarin asked worried. Then she saw her skin return back to normal, along with her hair as he turned back to black.

"We're fine. But what was that power of yours?" Nail asked her. Ocarin shook her head.

"Your guess is as good as mine." She told him.

"You mean you don't know?" Nail questioned. Ocarin shook her head.

"No. I don't know what I am. So, I'm one of you guys, a Namekian." She told him.

"I don't think that's how it works." Nail told her. Ocarin stared at him, silently, making the Namekian warrior a little uncomfortable. "Why are you looking at me like that?" Ocarin blinked before she blushed a little.

"I know that you are not him. But you said the exact same thing that he did back on Earth." She smiled, chuckling, softly. She saw Nail's cheeks had a slight purplish tint on them as he blushed.

"I know the answer to this power of yours." Ocarin and the other three Namekian's looked up at the Guru.

"What?" Ocarin asked, surprised.

"It is the power of a deity."

"Wait, you're saying that I'm a-I'm a g-g-od?" Ocarin stammered in shock. Dende, Necke, and Nail looked at him, shocked as well by the news. Guru nodded his head.

"It's been quite a long-time sense I've seen or even sensed a Cerulean on Namek." Guru said.

"There are more like me? Do you know where they are now?" Ocarin asked him. Guru shook his head.

"No, I do not. I have not seen any of your kind since the disaster that befell on Namek more than 300 years ago."

While things unfolded on Namek, in the Otherworld, the fallen Z fighters, Tien, Chiaotzu, Yamcha, and Piccolo were on King Kai's planet as they trained to get even more stronger. Even though he was dead, Kami managed to pull some strings, so everyone was able to have their own body. Tien, Chioatzu and Yamcha were chasing after Bubbles, King Kai's pet monkey, trying to catch him as part of their training. The kai was watering his garden and pulling weeds when he noticed a shadow appear behind him.

"What do you want?" He asked Piccolo, who towered over him.

"I've already proven that I am above these foolish games. So, what do you say that we just cut to the chase and move on to the next step of the training?" Piccolo said.

"No, sorry. You have to go through the proper procedures like everyone else. No one's forcing you to sit out, Piccolo. You're free to join the others at any time. But if you'd rather not do that, you're more than welcome helping me in weeding the garden." The kai smiled, gesturing to his garden as he pulled out some weeds. Piccolo growled and reached out, grabbing the kai's shirt.

"Listen, you-!" King Kai's glasses flashed as he glared up at Piccolo. Piccolo gasped and he quickly released King Kai, backing away from him. King Kai stared at Piccolo for a moment with a suspicious look on his face.

"I'm curious. Why are you in such a rush? You made a promise that you wouldn't fight Frieza. You're not thinking of breaking it, are you?" He asked Piccolo. Piccolo gritted his teeth, sweating nervously. King Kai smiled at him. "No, of course you're not. Cause that would mean that you're a liar and I think that we both know that the only thing worse than a liar is a no-good thief. I made a rule to never train either one. So, we wouldn't have to worry about that, right?"

Piccolo huffed and walked away from him. "Just forget about it." He muttered under his breath. King Kai watched as he left in confusion. Piccolo walked over to the tree next to the Kai's house and sat down underneath of it. He was getting frustrated being here. As he thought, Piccolo began to grow more and more worried for Gohan and Ocarin, wondering how they were doing by themselves. They have to be on Planet Namek by now. Judging by how worried King Kai was as he told the fighters and him, this Frieza character must be really strong.

"I have to get stronger. Just hang on a little longer, you two. Just stay alive until I get there. Ocarin."

[dragonfly92]

Lonny Eagleton's Sister

It was a sunny morning, Sarah and Charlotte who are best friends since forever and live together are both sound asleep in their beds but that was until Sarah's alarm went off and she stirred in her sleep, turning it off she slowly got out of bed not wanting to get out by she needed too because it was her brother's Lonny's 31st birthday and they both decided to go and surprise him and Andy have no clue that they are both coming of course Charlotte was looking forward to seeing Lonny seeing as she had a huge crush but she made it so obvious that Sarah had already figured it out but remained quiet.

The both of them had showers separately of course and now was changing into their outfits for the day thankfully they had plenty of time as the the podcast wasn't for another two hours, the only person that knew that Sarah and Charlotte was visiting was Andy's cousin Joe and he kept the secret quite well not telling a single soul, unfortunately for him it was extremely difficult but he managed to pull it off, right now they had gotten dressed and was now in the progress of having some breakfast before leaving for the day.

Once they had finished and had washed up, dried up and put away the bowls and spoons that they both used and then they headed upstairs to their bedroom they just sat down for five minutes because thankfully they didn't live that far away from the studio Sarah had been keeping in contact with Joe who was just waiting to start filming, Lonny was about ten minutes away is what Joe had sent Sarah through a text message actually there was another person that knew what was going on and that was Patrick, he was really good at keeping secrets and he was texting Sarah as well so Andy and Lonny were the only two people unaware of what was going on.

Then Sarah received a text to say that they had started filming so that was the go ahead, she looks to Charlotte speaking up saying, "Hey well they've started so that is our cue to leave, you ready to see your beloved who has no idea that you like him." Her bestie Charlotte starts blushing and she speaks up saying, "I still can't believe that you know about that why did I make it so obvious." She puts her head on Sarah's shoulder causing Sarah to pat her on the head whilst trying her hardest not to laugh.

It didn't take them long to get to the studio and luckily there was other people there who had been told that you two was going to make an appearance and they quietly opened the door and they didn't speak trying their hardest to keep quiet seeing as the boys was in the other room talking and playing a game, but then they had reached the room both girls continue smiling Pat had noticed them and was nodding his head in their direction somehow unaware to both Lonny and Andy who was too busy talking and then Joe was the next person to notice and just smiled at them.

Then the girls who was holding hands walks in the room and the boys still hadn't noticed that is until Joe looks over and that causes Lonny to question him asking, "Erm Joe what do you keep...." But before he can finish that he looks over and sees his baby sister and her best friend Charlotte and he goes quiet for a moment, Andy is still a little confused about why Lonny just randomly stopped his sentence that is until he looks in his direction and smiles, then they decided to continue the show of course the girls understood and stayed behind the camera Charlotte leaning against the wall and Sarah sitting on the window ledge she couldn't stop smiling.

An hour later the show was finished and when it was alright Lonny walks over to his baby sister who is like a year younger than her and she's the one to speak up first and says, "Well surprise." Lonny laughs a little smiling saying, "Yeah that's a pretty awesome surprise but I honestly wasn't expecting to see you guys today thought we was gonna meet up?" Sarah hugs her brother who is so freaking tall compared to her laughing she speaks up saying, "Yeah well we thought we'd surprise you early because it's been ages since we last saw each other.

Whilst Lonny goes over and gives Charlotte a big hug, Andy walks over to Sarah smiling and she speaks up saying, "Well gotta admit that was nice surprise." Sarah smiles, they both hug considering that Andy is like 6'3 and towers over Sarah he rests his head on top of her head and she replies with, "Well yeah thought you like that plus I am surprised that both Joe and Pat kept it quiet." Andy still has his arms over Sarah looks in the guys direction with a surprised look on his face and speaks up asking, "Wait you both knew about this but decided to remain quiet, wow that's a first." Joe was the one to speak up first and says, "Well to be honest it wasn't exactly an easy secret to keep it took a lot of energy." Pat is the to speak up and he says, "I found it quite easy plus I kind of promised and I took an oath."

[firebirdsdaughter]

Important facts…

… Tsukuyomi gets to stand in front of Woz.

(x)

[moonchildstyles]

Okay but Maliburrys girl (should we call her darling? I feel like he calls her that quite a bit in the fic?) always greets h when he comes home from work but what about if one day she ran up and jumped into his arms when she heard the door open. He didn’t even have the chance to call out her name and say that he’s home before she has her face burred in his neck. And he’s taken back of course but after he gets his bearings again, he drops his brief case so he can wrap his arms around her too and “hello precious” into her hair :( and shes “hi” all small in his neck and he’s “what’s all this about hm?” And she’d get teary eyed and his blood just goes cold cus he thought that she just missed him but now she’s upset?? So he pulls her back thinking something is seriously wrong with her and “what’s wrong??? Are you hurt? Did something happen? Are you alright?” Looking up and down her body for any visible injury’s and she’s quick to “no no! Nothing of the sort” and he’s pulling her back into him, “then what’s got you all upset then baby?” And she’s “it’s nothing. Silly” “not silly if it’s making you upset. Tell me” and she’s “today. When at brunch, Connie told us- she told us her husband is having an affair” and he’s “noo! Jack?!” And she’s “uh-hu. With his secretary at work” (so 70s hehe) and he’s “wow. I would have never guessed. They seemed happy. Every body thought so at least” and she’s “yeah” getting all teary again and he’s pulling her into him again, rocking her back and forth “this is what’s got you all upset baby?” And she’s “it’s just sad. I don’t like Connie much, but I would never wish this for her. I feel awful for her. I keep thinking about how I would feel if it was you and me and getting sad” and he’s :(((((((( reassuring reassuring reassuring her the rest of the night he loves her very very much and would never ever ever think of doing such a thing. And even though people always compared Connie and her husband to them cus they were the two couples that always seemed madly in love. They are not the same and he would never ever ever. And he loves her very much :((((

wait wait WAIT:( like the idea that since BRUNCH:( shes been home kind of wallowing bc like connie is by far not her favorite lady in the neighborhood but shes always admired the way she and jack have seemed to have fostered so much love between them and like Connies a difficult woman but jack seemed to love her for that and be the one person to handle her in ways that she just admired how much love and understanding they had so when connie is like all ashamed and teary telling the girls at Sarahs house that "i...I caught jack with lucinda. my hair appointment finished early and I find them in jack's study but he says he didn't mean it that it happened once only but I just know hes lying to me" and like its just one of the hardest things to hear and like shes watching a realtionships she admired fall to pieces and she would NEVER wish that on anyone no matter if she cares for connie as an individual so it just scares her:( bc she loves harry so much and she knows what it looks like to other ppl too that lovely adoring caring relationship but if it can happen to someone like connie and jack who had the publicly perfect relationship it could happen to anyone;( not like she doesn't trust harry its just such a scary thought and like dose of reality for her and the perfect little life and love nest they've made in malibu:( so when he comes home shes had all day to wallow and weep and she hasn't even started dinner or cleaned up more than the living room by the time h is home and she just needs him needs to know that he loves her and needs him to know that she loves him too so much:( but the way when she tells him hes so "JACK????? HE DID WHAT????" bc hes her little gossip buddy and knows everything about anything in the neighborhood so hes just as shocked and cannot believe but it begins to hurt him when he sees how hurt SHE is and when she explains why that its just a terrible awful thing and it made her think of how awful it would be if something like that happened between them it just breaks his heart further:( bc he knows they have so much trust between them and he knows he would never and that she would never either shes right its a scary thought like what would he do if he caught her w someone else? like how would he even begin to....breathe again so he understands why shes feeling so down about it:( but thats why he spends so much time that night just doting and reassuring and loving on her bc he NEEDS her to know that its not even a possibilty that he would ever so she doesn't need to worry herself over it :( so he takes her out to a little drive in diner bc she doesn't want to go out and get ready she just wants him so they have dinner in his car and maybe he just drives her around like he used to when they were just starting to go steady:( so they can just spend that quiet time together and hes holding her hand and singing along to the radio w her and every other word out of his mouth is how much he loves her how lucky he is how shes just...his reason for everything :((((((((( im making myself SOOOOOOOOO thinking abut this:(