#this took forever to sort out

[sweetescapeartist]

My response to this reply ended up being too long, so I decided to reply in a post.

The original post I made.

This is a response on that post from @putterpen.

I HAVE to address this. I've seen people say similar phrases many times before & there is literally no proof of these statements. Statements such as these originate from misinformation spread throughout the DB fandom. How so? I will break it down.

Disclaimer; This ain't to put anybody on blast or meant to start some sort of conflict. This is solely to address & correct innacurate statements that I've seen many ppl in the DB fandom repeat over and over.

So, others who may read this, do not attack or insult putterpen. And if you read this, putterpen, you can take this however you like, but my intent is made clear by how I speak. This is simply a discussion for me.

TLDR; (when I say this is a long post, I mean it.)

The DB fandom's ignorance & their false sense of masculinity is what causes many to believe that being domesticated is a bad thing when it's actually positive.

There is zero proof that Tien trains constantly or even trains a lot like Goku & Vegeta do. In fact, the opposite is proven true.

Krillin does train, and he has better training partners than Tien does in terms of power which allows for Krillin to be stronger.

The notion that Krillin recieves "Toriyama handjobs" is false & is proven so by the series. Tien has "Toriyama handjobs" that nobody brings up. But, I will.

Many believe misinformation because it is repeated over and over. And when a lie is repeated enough, people will eventually believe a lie as truth.

#1.) KRILLIN DOESN'T TRAIN?

So, Krillin stopped fighting after Cell was defeated during the 7 years of peace. Yes? And? Do folks say the same for Vegeta? Vegeta straight up said he wouldn't fight anymore!

Although he said he wouldn't fight anymore, Vegeta still trained. Do people believe that Krillin quit training all together when he's been practicing martial arts since he was 3 to 4 years old at a monastery? Krillin definitely slowed down, but he never stopped completely in DBZ. He may have skipped a few days, a few weeks, or even a few months, but there was indeed some form of light training as the series itself implies such. Training is part of his life, so some form of training is bound to happen.

As a former athlete, I know this to be true. I trained since I was about 3 or 4, then when I was a bit older I began doing 1,000 jump ropes almost every day for many years amongst other training routines. Then when I recieved an injury while competing at a high level, it got me very depressed. Despite that, 9 YEARS LATER, I still do light training because training is a part of my life. And I'm drawn to work that consists of manual labor because my body requires that after training most of my life. I've also spoken with former athletes & former martial artists (ones who could have gone pro and former pros) who still do a bit of training after they retired because training is just part of who they are. If this is the case in the real world (& it is), this is also the case in DB for characters like Krillin, Yamcha, & Tien who are far beyond the professional martial artist level.

Also, there were 7 YEARS OF PEACE after the Cell Saga, then 4 years of peace after the Buu Saga. How can you be a fighter if there are no battles to fight? The only time that Krillin actually "quit" martial arts was for about half a year in DBS before Freeza returned and later he realized he should had never "quit." And even during that time when Krillin "quit" martial arts, he still stayed active by being an elite police officer and using his martial arts skill to stop crime. So even then, Krillin never truly quit training all together.

In DBS, Krillin had an arc where he wondered if he made the right choice to stop fighting. He had conflict within himself for years. And when he decided to give up martial arts after the Battle of Gods Saga, Freeza returned & he put his gi on again without hesitation to fight the man responsible for a lot of his PTSD. A few months afterward Freeza's defeat, Krillin ended up letting his gaurd down while trying to appear as a normal police officer & got grazed by a bullet. This is when he regained his fighting spirit and came back full force and began enjoying martial arts again.

Also Krillin & the other humans martial artists use martial arts to better themselves just as Roshi had explained Budō to Krillin & Goku many years ago. It betters them physically, mentally, and spiritually. Martial arts is integral to their lives for this reason.

Martial arts has been something that these characters have practiced their entire life. They don't just stop completely. They do little bits of training here and there (other than Gohan who doesn't really like training nor fighting, but is just naturally gifted when it comes to power). Interviews with Toriyama & the series itself support that the human Z Fighters never fully quit martial arts. The 3 strongest humans even do work that requires them to use some of their martial arts know-how;

Krillin - He does police work to stop dangerous criminals & it helped keep him active and aware (until he fell into depression again which made him lower his gaurd and got himself slightly injured).

Tenshinhan - He does farming & teaching a martial arts school along with Chaozu.

Yamcha - He does freelance bodyguard work. Being a bodyguard means that he has to be alert and fight when necessary which helps keep his senses sharp.

So, this talking point that Krillin doesn't train is based in lies & misinformation because he just slowed down like the other fighters did. And this lie is usually something repeated to make Tien appear stronger than Krillin. It's often because people just think Tien looks cooler because he is taller and more muscular. But, I fact check, and everything says & shows that Krillin is the strongest Earthling. People can disagree all they want, but they are behaving like Vegeta when he was evil; hyping himself up & believing his own power fantasy as he denies reality that is right in front of him.

Not to mention that in DBS, Krillin begins training seriously again. Krillin also trains regularly on his own, regularly trains with 18, & occasionally trains with Goku. They all benefit from the training in different ways.

Krillin gets to train with stronger partners. This results in his increased strength and further polishes his skills as well as his on the fly strategies.

18 gets to train with a more skillful & strategic partner which helps her do better against tricky opponents & use her new knowledge to outsmart opponents.

Goku gets to train with a nearly equally skillful and more strategic partner. We even see Goku use Krillin's strategy to almost eliminate Jiren which made Jiren fight more seriously.

And its important to note that in Dragon Ball, having a training partner reaps better results than training solo. And having a stronger training partner reaps even better results.

FROM THE 23RD TENKAICHI BUDOKAI THROUGH THE SAIAYAN SAGA, Krillin had been gradually closing the gap between Tien and himself and finally surpassed him during the Freeza Saga (yes, Krillin had his latent potential unlocked, but Tien had the longest training with King Kai, so both got something special). And Krillin's solo training during the Cell Saga reaped more benefits than Tien's training with Chaozu. Why? The series itself explains so.

A weaker training partner can delay power growth as shown with Goku and Gohan. Same goes for Chaozu. And neither of the two were expertly skillful in martial arts. Gohan had his great latent power while Chaozu had psychic powers they each relied on more than anything else. (Krillin even defeats Gohan in a sparring match in DBS due to him being more skillful and strategic than Gohan.)

DURING THE CELL SAGA, Tien may have looked physically stronger than Krillin just as SSJ Grade 2 Vegeta looked physically stronger than Mastsred SSJ Goku, but Goku & Krillin were both stronger due to training their spirit/ki over their physical. Better control of your ki is how you get stronger in Dragon Ball.

Both Goku & Krillin know this due to their tutelage under the Turtle School and the principles imbedded in them. Meanwhile, Tien has different training principles imbedded in him from the Crane Hermit's flawed teachings. And then we have Vegeta. Vegeta has a flawed Saiyan mindset of only thinking about physical strength when it comes to training. Deeper understanding of ki is how a smaller, skinnier, or less agressive looking characters can surpass a stronger looking character. (This is also why SSJ2 Goku was far stronger than SSJ2 Vegeta and why Vegeta had to use a Majin magic boost to get on a similar level to SSJ2 Goku.)

Then, DURING THE BUU SAGA in preparation for the 25th Tenkaichi Budokai, Krillin trains on his own & with 18 who is a cyborg capable of taking down Super Saiyans, to get back in tip top shape plus some. Who did Tien train with? He either trained alone or trained with Chaozu. Chaozu is strong by normal human standards, but he is no where as strong as 18. And Chaozu isn't even near Tien's strength. Due to Tien isolating himself, he doesn't have opportunities to train with people stronger than himself. He would rather train alone if with a training parter was not as strong or skillful as himself. (Not to mention that Tien had taken training less serious at this point.)

Bottom line, Krillin did train. He just trained less than before for a while. But once he started training seriously again, he got even stronger. Not to mention that Krillin opened himself for opportunity to train with Goku thanks to 18 encouraging him to do so for his physical & mental health.

#2.) KRILLIN IS ALMOST FULLY DOMESTICATED?

First of all... what does that mean to be domesticated in the context of family? 🤔

It's not a bad thing to be domesticated. NOT AT ALL. In fact, Krillin being "almost fully domesticated" means that Krillin is a spectacular husband and father! Which means that Krillin takes care of his family like a responsible man does, and he will fight for them & die for them at the drop of a dime.

The DB fandom hypocritically use the term "domesticated" as an insult for some characters, while using "domesticated" as a compliment for characters they like more. Example being that it's an insult for Krillin to be domesticated, but the fans praise Vegeta being "domesticated" by Bulma when in reality credit should actually go to Future Trunks for being the reason Vegeta became slightly "domesticated." And even then, by definition, Vegeta isn't domesticated because he isn't fond of home life or good at home tasks because he refuses to do them. He only became slightly fond of it after the Buu Saga.

This domesticated talking point appears to originate from the alpha and beta type of thinking (I may be wrong with the origin, so I am open to correction). That kind of thinking is actually idiotic and is used to market a lie to ignorant and easily manipulated people. Because most people who call themselves "alpha" are actually betas in disguise. A real alpha doesn't have to parade it around. They don't care if anyone knows they are an alpha. Case in point, many Vegeta fans foolishly believe that he was an alpha in DBZ, but everything he did was actually extremely beta. A real alpha takes care of his pack (his family) and looks out for others. Vegeta didn't start doing that until the end of the Buu Saga & in DBS. And he's barely done so in DBS.

REAL ALPHAS ARE DOMESTICATED. Betas aren't domesticated, & they will either be a pushover or overcompensate. Also, betas will try to mimic an alpha. Like how Vegeta got a family to see if he could get stronger like Goku. Or these fake alphas will fabricate what they believe is an aplha. Like how Vegeta sold his soul for more power because he believed that doing so would put him back on top. Luckily for Vegeta, the love he developed for his family over many years is an aplha trait that he barely managed to hang on to. But, he almost threw it away because he inaccurately viewed love as weakness.

#3.) TIEN TRAINS CONSTANTLY?

He trains constantly? Where is it said that Tien trains constantly??? I've searched everywhere & only found that Goku, Vegeta, & Piccolo are said to train all the time. This is something the fandom fabricated to give false reason as for why Tien is stronger than Krillin. There is no proof at all that Tien constantly trains. However, there is actually proof that Tien DOES NOT train all the time.

For the long & in-depth answer, read this link to a post I made.

For the shorter, answer...

After the Cell Games & after Goku remained dead, everyone became depressed, especially the human characters. There were 7 years of peace. Almost everyone retired since there was no threat for so long. Heck, Tien even said that they won't see him again. He had lost his fighting spirit. He was depressed, yet I don't see Tien fans nor anyone bring this up. It's something they seem to overlook.

Not to mention that throughout the Cell Saga, Tien kept expressing how helpless and useless he felt & had mostly given up. And the scene that fans love so much where Tien risked his life to hold back Cell for a few moments? That wouldn't had happened if Krillin didn't give him hope by not giving up on saving the world. Tien wasn't doing good mentally or emotionally.

The guy was depressed. And Goku dying made it worse. But instead of expressing it vocally, he isolates himself for 7 years.

And Tien meant what he said about them not seeing him again. Where was Tien during most of the Buu Saga that took place over 3 days? Why wasn't he present for most of it? Because he lost his fighting spirit. Only after he dodged an attack that killed almost all of mankind except for a few, Tien decided to show up later after a few more battles to help & saved Dende from a small attack from Super Buu. Not only did Tien avoid the fight as much as possible when he could sense what was going on. He could also hear Babidi in his head like everyone else could & see what was going on if he closed his eyes. Yet, Tien deliberately chose to avoid the battle as much as he could until he was one of the last survivors. Tien truly DID NOT want to fight anymore. He was going to leave the fighting to the others until he had no choice.

And for all we know, Tien may have started training seriously after he saw Buu through Babidi's magic. (Not saying Tien didn't train at all until then. I'm saying he increased the intensity of his training after finding out about Majin Buu so he could try to help since he wasn't prepared for the 7 years of peace to be ended in such a frightening way.)

And even when Tien is faced with a serious attack from Buu, Tien calls himself useless again. Signs of depression that is ignored by the fandom.

And I hope nobody brings up Buu calling Tien a legendary fighter. That doesn't mean he's stronger than Krillin. Buu was just saying Tien is an expert fighter (as non Viz translations state & carry the similar meaning). In reality, Buu was saying that Tien was like an ant compared to Buu's own power. With context, it was a backhanded compliment from Buu. (Buu was saying Gohan was like an ant too since Buu became stronger than him.)

This fearless warrior who people claim constantly trains actually refused to train in the RoSaT & refused to fight for days when the Earth was in danger. Can that be explained? No, it cannot. Not if you believe Tien trains all the time and is a fighter like a Saiyan.

In reality, Tien DOES NOT train all the time. Tien is revealed to be a farmer in a Toriyama interview & the series reveals such as well (if statements in interviews are supported by & match up with the series, they are legit). Farming keeps Tien in shape, but its nothing serious. Just farming and light to moderate training.

And Tien has a newly formed school. This is Tien's therapy & has helped him feel useful. He has been regaining his fighting spirit back more and more in DBS by being around his friends more & teaching others at his school so that they can help defend the world if needed in the future. This is an important story arc and character development for Tien (& Chaozu) that is overlooked. Even many Tien fans overlook this for the sake of wanting Tien to be a "badass" and are upset he isn't the strongest human. Tien is a stoic character that is bettering the world in his own way. A way that is also healing his mental state. That's an inspiring story especially when you know his origins, but I guess many don't think its good enough. I guess they want him to be more selfish and behave like a human Vegeta.

Also, Tien slowly began to come out of his depression when we see him at Bulma's birthday party in Battle of Gods. We dont see him all the time because he is a loner, but we do see him every now and again just hanging out with his friends. Toriyama also says in an interview that Yamcha visits Tien from time to time too. Friendly visits like that no doubt helps Tien get out of his depression. (I'm sure that helps Yamcha get out of his depression too.) And even though Tien doesn't want a romantic relationship, Toriyama also stated that Launch drops by to visit him every now and then too. Which I'm sure her company helped Tien with his depression as well.

#4.) TORIYAMA HANDJOBS?

This is something I hear when ppl want to accuse another character of receiving unfair treatment. They say another character gets something good while their character gets less. Sometimes its true, but not in this instance. Some examples...

VEGETA & GOKU:

Fans claim Goku gets the "Toriyama handjob" because of how strong he is and say that he had his potential unlocked as a kid. They say its unfair to Vegeta, but they ignore the fact that Vegeta is a natural born prodigy amongst Saiyans.

But, let's ask some questions...

Is it a "Toriyama handjob" that Vegeta is a Saiyan prodigy that even surpassed his father when he was still a child?

Is it a "Toriyama handjob" that Vegeta got to be resurrected when he was evil and had recently killed Namekian children and old men?

Is it a "Toriyama handjob" that Vegeta had his potential drawn out beyond his normal means through Babidi's magic? That's conveniently forgotten by fans.

It it a "Toriyama handjob" that Vegeta was brought back to life in the Buu Saga because Dende worded the wish differently than what Vegeta told him?

Was it a "Toriyama handjob" that SSJ2 Vegeta got so angry when Beerus slapped Bulma that he somehow surpassed SSJ3 Goku?

Was it a "Toriyama handjob" that Vegeta got to train with Whis for 6 months before Goku?

Was it a "Toriyama handjob" when Toriyama wrote for Vegeta to stay at Capsule Corp. and live a luxurious life without having to do a single thing other than use Bulma's technology to do extreme training all the time?

Vegeta gets more "Toriyama handjobs" than Goku does, but many in the fandom pretend it doesn't happen so they can play victim and garner sympathy from others.

TIEN & KRILLIN:

Tien was a natural born prodigy who has natural abilities that others don't have. And he had the advantage of being taught to fly while Krillin was the only Z Fighter who had to teach himself how to do so. Ppl claim that Krillin having his potential unlocked by the Namekian Grand Elder was a "Toriyama handjob." But that power up is soley his own latent power, nothing more. Meanwhile, Tien got to train at King Kai's planet nearly twice as long as Goku did.

So, let's ask some more questions...

Is Tien training at King Kai's for a year a "Toriyama handjob?" A place where King Kai said to Goku that 158 days with him is like a few thousand years of training on Earth. Tien stayed there twice as long & had a training partner. (King Kai may have been exaggerating a bit, but the training on his planet is definitely beyond the highest training on Earth currently was.)

Is Tien winning a Tenkaichi Budokai a "Toriyama handjob" since Krillin never won a tournament?

Is Tien creating a powerful Kamehameha his first time using the technique a "Toriyama handjob?" Tien even calls the Kamehameha an elementary technique.

Is Tien learning the Mafuba on his own in half a day after seeing it once a "Toriyama handjob" when it took Goku 1 full day in DBS after being taught by Roshi?

Is Tien using the Tri Beam to stall Cell despite being many times weaker a "Toriyama handjob?"

Is Tien lasting longer in the Tournament of Power than Krillin did a "Toriyama handjob?" He also did a self-sacrifice instead of being caught off guard like Krillin was. (Anime version treated Tien better than the manga version.)

When ppl claim Krillin gets "Toriyama handjobs" they conveniently overlook the many "Toriyama handjobs" that Tien has received.

CONCLUSION

There is too much misinformation in the fandom that is believed without anyone checking to see if its true or false.

Being domesticated is good & true alphas are domesticated.

Krillin had did light training before getting back to training seriously.

Tien doesn't train all the time.

Krillin & Yamcha were still muscular in the Buu Saga and they slowed down a lot on their training. Tien isn't as buff as he was in the Cell Saga, but he is still physically fit in the Buu Saga despite training less because farming is a type of exercise & kept him in shape.

Tien has had plenty of "Toriyama handjobs."

If what Toriyama says in interviews matches up with what is shown in the series, those statements are accurate. And his statements are reinforced by the series, so these particular statements should not be dismissed.

[salt-and-shade]

BARBENHEIMER - July 21, 2023

The most ambitious crossover event in history (artists cited under the cut!)

I hyperlinked the original posts to the artist handle wherever possible so go show the artists some love!! ROW 1: @JohnBeLucky on Reddit @anglespizza on Twitter (they made this for a class-iconic) @whovianrad on Twitter @shadowknightdk on Twitter @BossLogic on Twitter ROW 2: @rahalarts on Instagram @justralphy on Instagram @GrungiestBunny on Instagram, available as a poster here @envelopandkissme on Tumblr (I think? idk this one was hard to find) @shirtsthtgohard on Twitter, available for purchase here ROW 3: @omarg294 on Twitter (possibly not the original source) @raichu.copper on Instagram/@raichucopper on Twitter @galactic_psychedelia Instagram, available on Redbubble here @thesenatortheatre on Instagram (possibly not the original source) @nannymcghee on Tik Tok

ROW 4: Retro Travel Design on Redbubble @rahalarts on Instagram @stevereevesart on Instagram @jonattfieldart on Instagram @gringgieespons on Tik Tok

ROW 5: @BossLogic on Instagram/@BossLogic on Twitter @rahalarts on Instagram @nolanlounds Tik Tok @seanlongmore Instagram @Cornettogod on Twitter

ROW 6: @readfulthings on Instagram (aka Adam Perocchi) I cannot find this artist but you can buy the shirt here and here @moviemantis on Instagram (possibly not the original source, idk) Jason P on LinkedIn (ok career barbie!!) and finally, you can buy the shirt here

huge love to all the incredibly talented artists that put their work on the internet for free for all of us to look at, we love you!! (please sign/watermark your works though, the amount of art theft I found while looking these up made me sad for you)

anti-shoutouts: to google for nerfing their reverse image search with google lens (seriously-CHANGE IT BACK), to twitter for making it almost impossible to use the website after I deleted my account, and to basically no one on tik tok (or any other social media site for that matter) for crediting artists because that made tracking down the original posts so much harder than it needs to be :')

[fluentisonus]

chiens-loups

[pocketgalaxies]

So, having finished the episode, thoughts???

ugh. SO GOOD. everything i was hoping for and more!! marisha was so so fucking incredible and stunning obviously. and matt did such a great job (as he always does) portraying a troubling parental figure, with all of their complicated love and selfishness and failures

the thing is. having an emotionally unavailable parent is such a common struggle, even if it takes on wildly different shapes and sizes for each person, and there are parts of the ep that i feel tied to in vague or inexplicable ways too. which makes my feelings harder to put into words and actually analyze in this moment lmfao

but ofc marisha did so many things that just made me ache. "that was a good fucking idea to handle a situation with a daughter that was clearly just wanting your fucking attention" and "i thought a dad was supposed to stay by their kid when they're having a fucking hard time" say SO MUCH about what beau's struggle was always rooted in. a girl who just wanted her parents to look at her and actually see her for once in their fucking lives, and making them proud was nothing but a guilty pleasure pipe dream. little eye rolls and head shakes when they both fall back into their shitty clueless habits because they will never fucking get it, even when she shows up at their doorstep drenched in rain and spits it in their faces. and "maybe i'm the one that's sent to humble you." because if i'm to be defined by the words of some random woman in the woods and not by my actions or my words or my efforts, then maybe they will also explain why you seem incapable of loving me.

other marisha things that hurt me include: trying not to listen when they were at the evening nip and nott and cad are telling jester "of course your dad loves you – what's there not to love?" still making sure to yell "mom! i'm going, mom." before leaving so she doesn't leave without saying bye. the waterworks as soon as TJ hugged her. OBVIOUSLY "well some things never change, do they, dad?" so many more. ugh marisha is so fucking good.

anyway at the end of the day, it honestly doesn't really matter how much your parents love you if they never fucking do anything about it. and it was neat to see m9 recognize that these people do love their daughter and perhaps they can do better by her in the future, but also recognize that their actions have made beau feel almost irreparably unlovable in her own home. and really interesting to see jester say "it's not worth it to carry this poison in you" while yasha says "maybe it's worth it to destroy this place, if it'll show you what you destroyed to get it." such an interesting contrast in reactions that says so much about these two characters too! WHAT A FUCKING GOOD EPISODEEEEEEE.

[ananinidraws]

This was a school project i made this year, for my animation class. I was pretty proud of how it came out so i wanted to post it here as well <3333

It's just a cute lil story between two long distance partners meeting for the first time <3333

I'll expand on details in some reblogs with more concepts for these characters uvu

[ray935sworld]

So, David is Rosquez's son. You've said that in general the Academy has accepted him over time despite the fact that Rossi is an impenetrable brick. But does David have any grudge against them? Of course I understand that as a child it is great to meet more family but when you are older and a little more aware. As you explain here: "As he grew up, David struggled with the resentment towards his father. On one side, his dad always told him not to hate him, that it wasn't his fault and that he was just hurt. And he wanted to believe him. But he wasn't stupid and he saw the media. He saw how caring and loving Vale was with the academy. He saw him hugging them and taking care of them. Fatherly he was with them. For him it was the teacher that Vale COULD be a father. He just didn't want to be his father. I imagine there would be a fight or two involved of David yelling at his "brothers" out of anger or envy.

Yes yes yes yes. Exactly.

The general idea was that David tries to be part of Vale's life and understand his father surroundings. Kind of a "if I understand what's happening around him, I'll understand him" situations. And in general he wants to get to know his father's side of the family, starting with Luca.

As a young child (5-8) that's great. All he sees are new friends that come visit, teach him and bring him toys. No problem. But when he grew up he kind of feels like they are the replacement for him.

Like a "if Vale wouldnt have them, he would want to care for me. He would pay attention to me" thought. I think marc would manage those thoughts over all and keep them down as much as possible. They have a very open relationship so David tells him everything.

Maybe there's a period where the academy boys don't visit or it's only Luca to make the thoughts less present. I have some more ideas, that include a big fight between Vale and David after a David and Luca fight excatly about that.

Like Luca telling David that Vale doesn't mean whatever fucked up thing he said (David is like 10) and David explodes and basically tells Luca to fuck off. That he wouldn't know what he's talking about and what's it like to be abandoned by his father and hated for his sheer existence and that he tried everything, his whole life to make Vale acknowledge him.

He's very mean and Luca backs off, but Vale finds out and he's pissed. So the confrontation between them starts. I got some vague idea and to many thoughts to keep them in order right now

[msmc-796-official]

-I managed to finally contact the HRA division with me to stop firing at your people. For the love of Christ-the-Buddha get your asshole commander away from me she won't stop screaming slurs in languages I don't understand at me over the comms channel we're stuck in

Who in the-?! Oh, wait, shit, that's right, I forgot you were still awake in there. Christ-the-Buddha Almighty, that scared me.

Are you sure that's still Kennedi screaming? She (or, rather, her unconscious - and hopefully not lifeless - body) and her molten wreck of a Caliban have been with us at MSMC-148's drop site for like two hours now, waiting for pickup. Slipshod managed to pry your casket outta that slag heap you used to call a Genghis Mk. 1 and get you connected to a "life support" of sorts on one of their backup generators, but if you can still hear Kennedi's voice screaming bloody murder at you, then your systems might be fried worse than we thought. (No clue if that sort of thing is fixable or not...)

Hopefully the Albatross will be here soon. Our distress beacon is still up and running, and they should more than have our coordinates by now. We'll all be out of here soon. (I hope.)

-- Angel

[awesomefella2001]

KINKAJOU HAIRSTYLES!!!

[doink-boink]

Meow

[redbean-nom]

may we meet again in kinder times

Alternate versions below the cut

Less lighting effects

Red headdress

Lineart + lightsabers

[yuanwang]

finally did bare bones for protag bios..

[luminique]

Hello, I'm the translator Anon. I know we don't have much information about the outside world, but I would like to know if you have any possible ideas for a Reader who is part of the Sons of Calydon and what role this Reader could play.

We see in the story that each one plays a role within the group, such as Lighter being a bodyguard and Burnice selling drinks. I tried to think of something for a Reader from the Sons of Calydon, but I couldn't think of anything, do you have any ideas?

HI TRANSLATOR ANON !! i remember someone else came up with reader who’s a mechanic and i LOVE that idea.

especially after what happened before the tour de inferno, you made a deal with the Sons of Calydon to not only supply them with top quality parts, but also repair and upgrade their bikes. all this outside of the hollow? that’s too good of a deal to pass up on.

in the beginning, they were a little suspicious. you didn’t seem to have any ties to bad biker gangs and your bike that you showed them used parts that could never be gotten so easily in the hollow. caesar decided to take your bike out for a spin (lighter watching like a hawk to make sure she doesn’t get hurt), and she was laughing and screaming. once she was back, she gave your hand a firm shake and immediately went on about what sort of upgrades she wanted with her bike.

from that day on, you became the official mechanic for the Sons of Calydon. your work was clean and your service was fast. other mechanics and repairmen would take a few days, you only needed 2 days. even if you took a bit of time on their bikes, you would give them the keys to your bike so that they could still ride around the outer ring if they needed to.

if anyone wants a longer post (mechanic reader x lighter perhaps?), i will be more than happy to write it out ! it might take some time because i know NOTHING about motor parts but i will try to write something good.

[shady-tavern]

Vampire’s Lullaby Part Three

The last and final part of Vampire’s Lullaby, part one and two can be found here. I hope it turned out alright! This is another long one.

Warnings ahead for mentioned child murder, please take care of yourselves.

***

Annabelle had worried the letter thin at the edges, folding and unfolding the piece of paper so often it started to fray a little. She was no fool, she knew exactly what Charlette was promising her. What she was trying to do.

Annabelle had often felt helpless and small in her life. She had felt it every time she had raced away from the shadows at dusk and every time she had chased after the sun at dawn. She had felt it every time she had to watch Dion step outside with no way of helping him.

She felt deeply touched that Charlette wanted to do something. That she cared enough about Annabelle, cared for her enough to want to change things for the better. Annabelle just wished she could help as well. She had never been an overly protective person of her loved ones, but she absolutely wanted them safe.

She just had no means to make that happen.

"You don't have to worry," Ophelia said, sitting on her windowsill tonight after Annabelle had invited her up. 

She had her son with her, who was climbing all around the roof, playing lookout with excited determination. The little werewolf looked very cute, much like an overly enthusiastic boy rather than a monster of fur and claws and teeth.

"Charlette is very tough," Ophelia added. "She had claimed a pretty big territory both in her old home and here as well. And you did notice how no one's coming to this part of town anymore, right?"

"I know, it's not that I don't think she can do it, I just wish I could support her," Annabelle answered. Of course Charlette was capable, but that shouldn't mean she had to do everything on her own.

Ophelia tipped her head in thought, one ear swiveling constantly to keep track of her boy and the hunters down on the streets. "You can't fight night folk," Ophelia pointed out, rather unhelpful in Annabelle's personal opinion.

"I know." Annabelle forced herself to set the letter aside. "If you see her, make sure she's taking care of herself, would you?"

Ophelia nodded. "Of course, she's family after all." Then her head snapped around and she made a quick growly noise in warning when her son tried to creep towards the edge of the roof where the hunters would see him.

"I should get to bed," Annabelle said quietly after a moment. "Thank you, for keeping watch."

Ophelia offered a gentler, less toothy smile. "You're my friend too, you know? Of course I'll be here if you need me." With those words she clambered off the windowsill and easily jumped onto the neighboring roof to join her now more cautious son.

Annabelle got ready for bed and struggled to fall sleep for long minutes, staring up at the dark ceiling. There had to be something she could do to help.

The thought occupied her mind throughout the following day, right up until they got another order from an impatient noble who wanted to have a notebook done by tomorrow to gift to a friend whose birthday he had forgotten. He was willing to pay triple the regular price for the rush order that would force them to stop working on all other orders.

Annabelle offered to work late again to finish up the notebook and Mr. Bell left with a reminder to be home before the sun was gone entirely.

"I'll be careful," Annabelle promised and focused back on her work. The trick was to not get sloppy despite feeling the urgency to head home, the fading light making her restless after a lifetime of fearful hurrying. 

Even though she was very sure nothing would happen to her, considering the protection she was under and the friend and lover she had now, that needling along her nerves remained.

She was nearly finished when the front door of the shop opened with a jingle. It made her startle, heart leaping into her throat, right up until she heard Ophelia's voice.

"Annabelle? Why aren't you home yet?" the werewolf called out and a glance towards the window showed it was pitch-dark outside. She had entirely lost track of time despite her best efforts.

"I'm back here," Annabelle called out. "I was finishing up an order."

The door creaked open and Ophelia poked her head in, ears swiveling as she listened and nose twitching at all the scents inside.

"I've never been inside a printing shop," the werewolf murmured as she ducked through the door, hunching down and shuffling to make her large frame fit. "It kind of reeks, though."

Annabelle couldn't help but chuckle. "I can imagine, my nose is nowhere near that sensitive, but even I don't like some of the smells around here." Especially some of the glues Mr. Bell sometimes bought. If he went for the cheaper stuff, their books always needed some time to air out to stop smelling.

"I was just wrapping things up," Annabelle said. "Thank you, for checking in on me."

Ophelia offered a wolfish grin, revealing fangs and teeth strong enough to bite straight through bone and metal. "Of course. Could I watch? I've always been curious."

Annabelle gestured her closer and showed how she put on the finishing touches.

"You know, if you ever want to stay late, you could," Ophelia offered. "I don't care if we sit around here or if I'm keeping watch outside your window."

That was a very nice offer and one Annabelle seriously considered taking. She could get so much more work done that way. But for now, she needed to go home or her family was going to lose it.

"You'd have to sneak me out my window if we want to return here," she said. "I have to be home or my parents and brothers are going to think I died."

Ophelia winced a little. "Yeah, that's fair, we don't want that. Let me know when you want to come back to the shop." She grinned again. "I could offer you a ride. I'll bet you I'm faster than you."

Annabelle snorted. "I'm not even going to take that bet, I know you are faster than me." There was a reason why hunters didn't run from the night folk unless panic took over. Why they chose to attack and lay traps instead.

She wrapped the book up in a soft cloth and left it to be picked up the next day. When she locked the store, Ophelia keeping watch, she jumped in surprise when the large werewolf suddenly started to growl, fur bristling.

"Peace," a calm voice spoke from the shadows. "I have not come here for blood."

Ophelia slowly settled down, tail lashing a bit and she kept standing half in front of Annabelle. 

"If I may have a word with the human?" the voice asked and Ophelia snorted.

"How about you show your face first," the werewolf rumbled. "Then she can decide."

After a moment's pause, a tall, willowy man stepped into the light of one of the sparsely placed street lamps. His dark eyes held a red shine and he was dressed neatly and cleanly and offered a polite bow of his head.

"You are Annabelle, correct?" he asked and Annabelle stepped away from the door, resisting the urge to fiddle with her keys. "The one who convinced Charlette to pick a fight with our kind?"

That did not sound like it would be a pleasant conversation. Ophelia's ears pinned back a little and Annabelle answered, "I am." While Annabelle hadn't asked Charlette to fight other night folk, she knew her words had had an impact on her vampire.

"Do you think it possible for us to get along? Humans and night folk, I mean," the man asked, watching her closely.

"I think it's going to take a lot of work," Annabelle answered after a moment. "But if I can befriend night folk, why can't anyone else? If the killing stops, we could start building something better."

He was silent for the longest moment. "I think you are very naive. It is not that simple. We night folk have tried, you know? To be part of your world." 

He stared off into the distance, something dark and grim crossing his face. "There are children no humans want, even though they are of their people. So I took them in. I loved them and cared for them, clothed and fed them and paid for their education. Do you know what happened to them?"

Annabelle found her mouth growing too dry to speak at the tone of his voice, her throat closing up when their eyes met. Fury and grief made his eyes glow a deep, dark red. Like blood. He was a vampire, she realized.

"I woke with the sinking sun to find them all hanged in secret," he said, low and with an underlying snarl that sent a stab of instinctive fear down her spine. "Children who had done no wrong. Children who died for consorting with monsters, as your lot call us. You humans didn't want them, but you didn't want anyone else to have them either."

He took a step forward, eyes blazing, only for Ophelia to step a little more firmly in front of Annabelle. He stopped and took a deep breath to reign himself in.

"I hold no insignificant sway in my part of this city," he said, voice calm again, but the darkness kept lurking in his gaze. "I will not support Charlette when we gain nothing. When the humans we dare to care about get slaughtered by their own kind. I will not fight for that kind of world, nor will all the others who agree with me."

He straightened, looking tall and imposing despite his willowy frame. "We are not the only ones who will have to change our ways." He then briefly bowed his head, polite enough but a little stiff now. "I said my piece. Do with it as you will."

Annabelle's mind was reeling too much to speak as he disappeared in the shadows. Ophelia glanced over her shoulder at her, a questioning look in her eyes.

Annabelle swallowed, wetting her lips, before she managed to speak, "Has this happened to many monsters?"

Ophelia looked away, her ears drooping a little. "To enough. It keeps us from trying to get closer to humans and it makes the other night folk more angry as well. It feels like we can do nothing right in the eyes of humanity. As though, after humans took our king, they now want to blame us for everything wrong in their lives."

"I'm sorry." Annabelle had no idea what else to say. Ophelia sent her a reassuring look.

"That's hardly your fault. Come on, let's get you home before your family worries too much."

They walked in silence and Annabelle's family was indeed very upset at her late return. The hunters outside who had escorted her home the rest of the way had scolded her as well, looking worried.

As she sat in her room, belly filled with a cold but delicious dinner, she found she was too restless to even consider sleep. The vampire's words kept circling in her mind, followed by what Ophelia had said. It wasn't until she restlessly fiddled with the papers on her desk that an idea hit her.

She couldn't grab a weapon and fight, at least not without dying needlessly in the process. She had no idea how to wield weapons after all and she especially couldn't help Charlette win against other night folk. 

But there was more than one way of fighting and more than one battle that needed to be won. She grabbed a piece of paper and her quill and began to scribble furiously, writing and rewriting parts until she thought she had gotten it right.

She shoved to her feet and hurried to the window, paper in hand. "Ophelia?" she called out in a whisper and the werewolf looked up form her perch on the neighboring roof. "Can you look at this real quick?"

The werewolf jumped across the distance easily enough, accepting the paper Annabelle held out. She was silent for a long moment after she read it and Annabelle fidgeted nervously.

"What do you think?" she asked and Ophelia looked up, astonished surprise on her face, then she grinned.

"I say you are amazing. What will you do with this?"

Annabelle smiled in relief. "Can you take me back to the shop?"

"Sure," her friend answered, puzzled and curious. "But why?"

"I've got an idea." Annabelle was already climbing out the window and was easily picked up by a big, strong arm covered in warm, soft fur.

Ophelia hauled her onto her back as though she weighed nothing and went bounding across the rooftops far faster than Annabelle would have traveled on the streets. They arrived at the shop in record time and Ophelia watched curiously as Annabelle got to work.

Annabelle printed two big stacks of flyers and by then exhaustion started to catch up to her. She had worried at first to blatantly use so much paper and ink, but should Mr. Bell ask, she'd come up with a fabricated story about tripping when she hurried to leave and spilling ink everywhere and that she had to regretfully toss things out.

"Can you help me spread these?" she asked the werewolf, who grinned, wide and a little wild.

"I can do better than that. Wait here." Ophelia ducked out of the shop and a moment later, Annabelle heard a loud, howling call. It was answered by others, near and far and as she peeked out the window, she saw shapes move and gather along the edges of artificial light.

"Annabelle, come meet our friends and bring some of the flyers," Ophelia called out and Annabelle took a deep breath and lifted her chin. She would not be afraid, she told herself. If night folk were meant to share a world peacefully with humans, fear had no place in it.

She walked out with a stack of paper in her arms and made sure to smile at the gathered night folk. All kinds of creatures had gathered and they all stared at her with varying levels of curiosity. She spread the flyers among them and within seconds she heard low chatter and murmur, the click of claws and clatter of hooves and the ruffle of wings.

"We will help," a raspy voice of a spindly, pale creature said and it smiled with a mouth full of sharp needle teeth. "We are tired of a never-changing world that does nothing but hate."

Ophelia ducked into the shop to retrieve the stacks and Annabelle decided that she would not worry about being this close to other night folk while her friend was gone. No one made a move to attack, on the contrary, the nearest night folk offered a bit of polite small talk. They were nothing like the stories of feral beasts she had heard all her life.

Soon every one carried a stack of flyer as tall as Annabelle's hand was wide and they left with excited murmurs and chatter, dispersing to spread the paper all across the city.

"That's just the first step," Annabelle said as she locked up the shop and Ophelia carried her back home. "Are you and they willing to help more often?"

"Of course," Ophelia said with a smile. "We've all wanted and waited for a real chance to change things. While some night folk have fallen too deep into the dark to return, many others who will take this chance with both hands and not let go."

*.*.*

The entire city was in uproar the next day. The flyers hadn't simply been dropped in the streets, the night folk had put them up on shop windows and street lamps and along all the intersections. They had even shoved any leftovers into mail boxes. It was impossible to go anywhere and not see at least one flyer.

Annabelle heard people curse and tear the flyers down, not wanting to hear what she had to say. But that was alright, minds didn't just change overnight. The few glimpses she got of people silently pocketing flyers, looking contemplative, was worth it.

She printed flyer after flyer as the days passed, sacrificing sleep gladly. And the more she did it, the more she told the truth, the more she spoke of injustices and wrongs committed that had to be made right and the possibility for actual peace, the more people stopped to think.

They started to look at the traveling groups of clerics and town guards differently, who tore down the flyers and demanded the heads of those who had done this. They all remembered the humans killed for being seen with monsters.

They hadn't known about the dead children, but someone had broken into the cleric offices and had returned with proof that such things had indeed happened. They had spread the information all over the city and people had been furious ever since.

Annabelle saw the expressions in the eyes of the citizens change as more and more things came to light. Most of all, people wanted safety and peace. The idea of no longer fearing the night, of not sacrificing their children or spouses just to try and keep the rest of the family safe was a very luring call.

Of course, the nobles weren't going to take this sitting down. Fear was one of the things that kept them in power, after all. Fear was what the clergy was built upon and how they got their money, by making people think they could buy safety off of them, as well as blessings for their homes.

Considering how swiftly the nobility retaliated, Annabelle knew that she was on the right track. Houses of rebellious fractions got raided and one day, the guards stood in front of Mr. Bell's shop as well.

"Feel free to look around," Mr. Bell said, making a sweeping gesture. "You won't find what you're looking for."

As the guards stomped past him, Mr.Bell met Annabelle's eyes, his expression telling her that they were going to have a long talk. It made her swallow nervously.

"You're very low on ink and paper," the head guard rumbled and Mr. Bell nodded.

"Yes, our resupply shipment will arrive tomorrow. It always looks like that at the end of the month. Especially with the rush-orders from various nobles we've been getting."

Annabelle involuntarily held her breath. This was not what their shop looked like at the end of the month. So Mr. Bell had noticed, of course he must have, that their supplies had dwindled down fast. Why hadn't he said anything?

"Show me the receipts," the head guard demanded and Mr. Bell dug out more bills than there should be. 

Annabelle didn't let her confused and worried tension show and soon enough the guards left, having found nothing suspicious. Not even a stray flyer anywhere. Annabelle made sure to remove any and all hints of her activities and any messed up prints she took home to burn in the fireplace while her family slept.

"So," Mr. Bell said as he watched the guards march down the street towards their next destination. "Explain to me why you've been making those flyers."

At her surprised, startled look, he huffed. "I'm no fool, girl. I know how much stock we have and how much we use. You're lucky I forged some receipts in advance when I realized what you've been doing. So, why have you decided to become a rebel?"

The entire story tumbled out after a moment of hemming and hawing and Mr. Bell listened carefully and intently, asking questions when he needed her to clarify things. At last he leaned against the counter in thoughtful silence.

"I know some supplies who sell under the hand," he said at last. "They'll bring us more ink and paper than we officially need."

Annabelle stood up a little straighter. "You'll help me?"

Mr. Bell chuckled. "Oh, my dear, you're looking at a rebel yourself. I might be getting old, but I've caused quite some mischief and trouble in my younger days." His eyes were bright and he grinned, excitement starting to shine through. "And here I thought I was going to have a quiet, boring life until I died. So, what's next on the agenda?"

Annabelle managed to collect herself, drawing away from the reeling surprise to lay out her plans. Mr. Bell had some great ideas himself and together they started to build a more solid plan of attack.

"I can't let you work on the flyers during the day, in case they come back for another surprise search," he said regretfully. "You'll be safe coming in after dark?"

"I am," she promised and he nodded.

"Then do that. In the meantime, you'll go and get some sleep, I'm sure we can throw something together." When she tried to protest, he waved her off. "I can handle the work by myself for a few hours. If necessary we'll refuse some orders in the future. We have enough money to give us that leeway for a couple of weeks." 

He gestured at the book she had finished for the noble. "And if we get more orders like these, we don't have to worry about money for even longer."

Annabelle couldn't help but hug her old mentor, who chuckled and gave her back a pat. "

Now, none of that," he said when she tried to thank him or to reimburse him by cutting short her earnings. "If anything, you are doing me a favor. I was wondering what to do considering that everyone keeps urging me to retire. Having a purpose is very fun, isn't it?"

She couldn't help but smile and he ushered her away to get some rest on their coats on the floor, while he got started on their remaining orders. Annabelle managed to doze off for a bit, waking up again when the noble dropped by to pick up the book. A well filled coin purse was left behind and Mr. Bell grinned at her when he saw her sit up.

"Ready for work?" he asked and she hurriedly got to her feet to join him.

Mr. Bell left in the afternoon and returned cheerfully. He kept what he had been up to a secret, right up until the evening bell rang and someone knocked on the backdoor. The one they only used to bring out trash to the small alley.

To her surprise, three young men were there, delivering crates of parchment and ink. Mr. Bell paid them and sent them on their way with a cheerful wave. The boys briefly peered at Annabelle with silent curiosity, though they said nothing.

"I'll keep the backdoor unlocked," Mr. Bell said as he ushered her out the front door. "Please use it just in case some guards show up to patrol at night in order to try and catch the flyer-rebel." 

The thought made her nervous, but Annabelle took a deep breath and steeled her resolve. If this was how she could help, she would do it, no matter the danger it brought. Things had to change.

She returned home, ate with her family and was glad to hear that Dion would return home at the end of the week. He'd stay in his bed for another week and then he'd have to return to guarding the house. 

The only reason Annabelle wasn't deeply scared for her brother was the knowledge that their part of town had become very, very safe. Not a single monster showed its face, at least not to attack anyone.

Ophelia waited by the window the moment her parents and brothers had fallen asleep and Annabelle climbed out and onto her back. They traveled along the rooftops once again and Ophelia dropped into the small alley to let Annabelle use the backdoor.

They printed another round of flyers, more monsters showing up to disperse them. Some smiled at her, others looked curious. Some seemed hesitant to be hopeful, but they had come to help all the same.

Annabelle didn't print flyers every night. Neither Mr. Bell nor she had the funds for such a thing, but she made as many as she could. Aside from flyers, she printed posters to leave on market squares and when one of the monsters handed over a well-worded letter their daughter had written, she published that one too.

Dion was home at last and she made sure her brother was comfortable. He looked tense and unhappy, though his worry eased whenever his hunter friends visited. They had told him they had guarded his family in his absence and how quiet things had been recently.

"It's weird, in all honesty," one of his best friends muttered, the woman who always waited and made sure Annabelle came home safely. It was the day before he had to resume his duty and he'd been high-strung since this morning. "Sure, there are times when things are calm, but never to that extent and never for that long."

Her brother was quiet that evening as they ate and he only grimaced a little in pain when he sat up for too long. Everyone knew he shouldn't return to duty tomorrow, but no one spoke up either. Annabelle kept her head down, her determination to change things stronger than ever before.

If the fighting and bloodshed ended her brother could finish healing in peace. Everyone could heal.

A knock at the door made her family and she startle. It was too late for visitors, there was only a faint glow of light remaining in the sky, the sun itself gone. 

"Open, in the name of the Inquisition," an authoritative voice shouted and Annabelle jolted in her seat, heart leaping into her throat.

Everyone knew the Inquisition. They were the ones who dealt with those who loved monsters, with humans who had gotten 'corrupted', as they called it. They also took care of rebels and 'threats to the city', which usually meant threats to the nobles. 

Nerves made her stomach clench and her appetite vanished in an instant. Her parents exchanged a nervous, confused look, before they got up to hesitantly open the door.

One of the head priests was waiting on the other side, flanked by two of his subordinates and behind them were three guards.

"How can we help you?" Annabelle's mother asked, shifting a bit to stand more firmly in front of her children. "I fear we do not have enough food to feed you all, but if you seek a safe place for the night, we offer our humble home."

"We are not here for peasant gruel or to beg a spot in front of your little fire," the head priest said with disdain. "We are here to question you on the integrity of your family."

"There is nothing to question," her father said sharply. "We are good, upstanding citizens."

"That remains to be seen," the head cleric sniffed, pushing forward until her father yielded and stepped back.

Annabelle watched warily as the priests and guards walked through the open door and when they didn't bother with closing it, a bad feeling began to churn in her gut.

"Leave the door open, woman," the head priest demanded when her mother rushed to close it. Her parents and siblings stilled, nervous and tense. Dion glanced to where his weapons sat by the door, gaze calculating.

Annabelle saw his hunter friends milling outside, watching warily and inching a bit closer, half of them staring at the open door, the other half watching the surroundings keenly. 

"We wish to question your daughter," the head priest demanded, those pale eyes boring into Annabelle, who scarcely dared to breathe. She sat ramrod straight, hands a gnarled knot in her lap as she gripped her skirts tightly, her heart pounding. 

The way he looked at her said it all. They suspected her. They didn't know for sure yet, which was the only reason she wasn't getting arrested, but they heavily considered her the culprit.

"Our daughter has done nothing wrong," her mother said, shifting to stand more firmly in front of her. "Anything you have to say to her, you will say with all of us present."

The head priest looked faintly annoyed, but continued on without pause, "Seeing as lately someone has been stirring up the masses, we've conducted a thorough investigation as to the people capable of such foolishness. And we've now come to you, Miss Annabelle. Care to tell us if these are yours?"

He reached into his pocket to pull out some of her flyers, unfolding them and tossing them onto the dining table.

"They aren't," Annabelle answered after staring at them for a second, heart pounding so hard she felt as though her very bones were rattling in time with the beat. "I've seen them stuck on walls before though, why do you think that I made them?"

"Because she works at a print shop?" her oldest brother asked sharply, smiling in a thin and very much unamused way. "Our little sister has worked her ass off to support this family and you come in here, accusing her?"

"I do not like the tone you take with me, boy," the head priest said sharply and at a look from her mother, Rudi settled down with a fierce glower. 

"Do you have any idea who could have made them?" the man asked Annabelle, who shook her head. "Or anything else you can tell us?"

Annabelle reached out to the closest flyer, coincidentally the newest one, pretending as though she was inspecting it. "The paper is thicker than the one we use in our shop," she said and the head priest's eyes narrowed. "And we don't own that shade of midnight blue either, it doesn't work as well when you want to print books."

She had never been been more relieved that Mr. Bell had gotten things for her under the hand, otherwise she could not have made those claims.

The head priest appeared faintly miffed, but turned to her parents next.

"Has she come home on time every night and not left again?" the head priest asked.

"She's shown up at dusk every day and she doesn't leave before dawn," her father said firmly. "We never heard strange noises or saw any wounds on her. Neither has she brought home gifts we couldn't explain. Go ask the hunters if you don't believe us." He gestured at the lurking neighbors outside.

"I shall," the head priest said, sounding colder and more displeased now. "You better hope your stories line up."

"They will," her mother said firmly. "Please leave now, we don't wish to invite monsters in and we still have to finish dinner."

The head priest stared Annabelle down a moment longer and she knew he didn't quite believe her, but he must have other suspects with how easily he accepted her answers. For now, at least.

"Have you considered that a monster printed these?" she found herself asking just as the man turned around to leave. "I heard some are smart."

"They're all mongrel beasts, mindless and driven by bloodlust," the head priest said sharply, looking at her over his shoulder, his eyes burning cold. "Don't be mistaken, girl, they can fake intelligence long enough to ensnare you. There is nothing more to them than instinct."

It was a fight to look appropriately chastised and agreeable and Annabelle made herself dip her head in embarrassed supplication. The head priest looked a bit mollified at that and stepped outside with his companions and guards, striding towards the waiting hunters.

Her mother closed the door, not quite slamming it but it made a clear, decisive sound. The entire living room was utterly silent, then her mother exhaled heavily.

"We will finish eating and then we'll wait for Dion's friends to knock." She turned around to look at Annabelle. "And you will tell us what exactly is going on here."

Startled, Annabelle glanced at her family and found all of them watching her with troubled frowns. She swallowed, nodding, and found herself too nervous to take another bite. No one ate in fact and Gerard soon got up to clear the table. It was almost unbearably quiet.

It didn't take long for someone to knock at the door and the hunter woman poked her head in. "They're gone. What happened?"

"Please come in and close the door," her mother said after a moment. "I think no monsters will attack, will they?" She looked at Annabelle, who ducked her head a little.

"No," she answered quietly. "They won't."

The hunters filled in and Annabelle found herself in the uncomfortable position of explaining what had happened weeks ago. Haltingly at first and then with more and more passion the story tumbled out of her.

She did not tell anyone about the kiss she had shared with Charlette, worried that it would be a step too far for them. Not because she had kissed a woman, they weren't like that, but because she had kissed one of the night folk.

Heavy silence rang after she finished, everyone staring at her with varying expressions. Dion looked guilty, Gerard and Rudi baffled, her parents incredulous and confused and the hunters were thoughtful.

"Is it possible to speak to one of these, erm, night folk?" the hunter woman asked.

"I think so," Annabelle said, thinking of Ophelia who was most likely waiting on the roof. "I can ask."

"Outside, not in here," her father said. "I just..." He sighed heavily, briefly rubbing his hand over his head. "What were you thinking?"

"She wanted us safe," Dion answered in her stead to her surprise. He sounded tired but understanding. "I can't say I blame her, father." He took a deep, steadying breath. "I'm tired of fighting for my life. Of worrying what will happen to you all when I fall. If there can be peace, I want it more than anything."

"As do I," the hunter woman asked and the other hunters of their street hummed and nodded in agreement, though they looked like they didn't really believe it possible either..

"I can go ask right now," Annabelle offered. "I could meet you outside?"

"Alright, we'll wait in the alley where no one will see us," the hunter woman said. "We just...we've got to see you're right, girl."

She got to her feet with a nod and hurried up the stairs. She heard voices rise behind her, but they were too quiet to understand individual words. It sounded like a hissed discussion, though.

"Is everything alright?" Ophelia asked the moment Annabelle opened the window. "I saw those fuck-awful priests prowling around."

"I have a request," Annabelle asked. "Would you be willing to meet my family and, um, our hunter friends?" When Ophelia reared back in surprise, she hurriedly tacked on, "It's safe, I promise. They just found out about everything and they want to talk to you. To see if peace is actually an option."

Ophelia was silent for a long minute, then she exhaled heavily. "I trust you, so, yes. Alright."

Annabelle smiled in relief, then visibly surprised her friend by climbing out the window. Ophelia easily hauled her onto her back and hopped down to the alley. Considering how everyone startled in surprise at her appearance but eased up immediately upon seeing Annabelle unharmed on the werewolf's back, Annabelle had chosen wisely to go with her friend.

"Everyone, this is Ophelia," Annabelle introduced her, clambering off her back and easily accepting the big, clawed hand that her friend held out for easy support. "Ophelia, meet my family and our friends."

"A pleasure," Ophelia said, sketching a bow, though she never took her eyes off of the hunters, who stared at her with the same intensity. "Annabelle said you have questions?"

The hunters hesitated, before Dion took a step forward, face tense but hope lurking in his eyes.

Slowly, with every question, Annabelle watched as the suspicion, the battle-ready worry, began to easy and fade. She watched as  hope began to glow brighter and brighter instead. As if a gentle hand had found an ember that had been about to go out and brought it back to life with steady care in order to create a fire.

"Alright," the hunter woman said at last, turning to Annabelle. "How can we help?"

At Annabelle's surprised look, she grinned fiercely and added, "We want peace and we want things to be fair. For everyone, nobles and commoners. And those night folk too, if they help us. So, I think it's high time we join your little rebellion."

Ophelia looked positively surprised and approving, grinning back just as fiercely. "Oh, I like you."

The hunter chuckled in her low, raspy voice. "The feeling is starting to be mutual." She turned to the others behind her. "What do you say, are you lot ready to go and fulfill our dreams of cozy fires and full bellies and night skies we do not have to fear?"

The hunters rumbled strongly in agreement, faces determined and even her parents and brothers looked convinced. They met her eyes with care and a supportive, if worried gleam.

Annabelle felt relieved down to her bones and she realized she was grinning just as fiercely as the hunters and the werewolf at her side.

*.*.*

A knock at the door drew Annabelle out of her concentration. "I'm almost done, Ophelia," she called out without looking up. "Just a minute."

"I'll wait," a familiar and sorely missed voice made her startle and she looked up to find Charlette stepping through the backdoor. 

Annabelle grinned wide in happy relief. Her vampire looked a little worse for wear, but proud in a way that told her of won battles. Her gait had changed as well. Where Charlette had been confident before, now she moved with the prowling knowledge of power, of tested strength and defeated opponents. 

To her surprise, Charlette wasn't alone. The willowy vampire she had spoken with what seemed ages ago accompanied her, tipping his head respectfully.

His eyes were considering as he watched her, then he looked at the flyers and posters she had printed. It was getting easier and easier to find just the right words to convince the people, to sway their minds and draw them to the side of change.

"I didn't believe it, at first," the vampire said as he slowly stepped forward to get a closer look. "When I heard of humans rallying behind the cause of this one." 

He nodded at Charlette, who curled her lips enough to reveal one impressive fang. He rolled his eyes at her, but looked fond rather than annoyed. 

He continued, "I didn't believe it either when I heard of hunters willing to lay down their weapons and hearing us out. Of other night folk protecting them from their mad cousins."

Annabelle had been surprised most of all when she had heard of the change that had traveled through the city ever since her conversation with the hunters. Of the impact the people who joined her had. 

Whoever had broken into the office of the high priests had done so again, publishing more and more damning material. They had brought proof as well for their claims, spreading committed misdeeds and crimes all over the city. More murdered children, stolen money, people forced and blackmailed into admitting night folk had threatened and thralled them when that had not been so.

The opinion of the night folk continued to shift slowly but steadily. Annabelle was helping where she could, doing her best to be a voice for the unheard. A voice for the people.

"None of that would have been possible without Charlette," she said, smiling at the vampire who smiled back with a warmth so sweet it made all the accumulated aches and stress and tension melt away. 

Annabelle yearned to be held by her love, but held back for now. She wouldn't want to be rude in the middle of a conversation by getting distracted.

The willowy vampire raised a brow. "And none of it would have worked without you." He glanced between them. "Somehow, the two of you have done what I thought impossible. You're bringing our two separate worlds back together, piece by piece."

"People don't want to fight anymore," Annabelle said. "They want warm fires and full bellies and peaceful nights." 

Or rather, most of them did. And those who wanted to continue fighting, well, there were always horrible night folk that still needed slaying. Just like there were horrible humans that the guards arrested to stop their evil deeds.

At this point, all that was left was getting their hands on the aristocrats, on the high priests, to force them to bow so they could cement the changes the people were demanding with increasingly louder voices. So they could have the peace back that greed and hunger for power had stolen from them.

"I will fight for that soft world," Charlette said firmly.

"Yes, you have proven as much," the willowy vampire tipped his head in respect and acceptance. "I only doubted if the humans would as well, but that doubt...it has waned with every sunlit voice that joined your cause."

He stared at the flyers for a moment longer, then looked up. "You will have my support. Every night folk from the warehouse district to the Emerald Park will immediately cease any hostilities towards humans and instead work with them when safely possible."

Annabelle's breath caught in her throat. That was...that was easily a third of the city. She stared at the vampire in surprise, who smiled thinly.

"Your Charlette isn't the only powerful one and I have many, many night folk to protect. I would not offer my support easily or foolishly. But you have convinced me, mortal maiden." He swept into a low bow. "I look forward to working together."

Annabelle hurried to curtsey back. "As do I. Thank you, really. This might...this is just the help we need to for a last push."

"I do my part as long as you do yours," he said and stepped back, gesturing at a finished and twine wrapped parcel of flyers. "I take it those are ready for distribution? May I take them?"

At Annabelle's nod he picked the thick parcel up. "I will spread these and I will get into contact with other night folk willing to help. We shall speak more on this matter tomorrow night. I believe it is high time both humans and night folk plan together." 

With those words he excused himself and Annabelle stared at Charlette in baffled surprise. The vampire smiled at her.

"I've been kicking a lot of teeth in lately," Charlette said with a casual shrug. "He's had to bend the knee to me, but that doesn't mean he had to help."

"I missed you," the words were out before Annabelle could stop them, though she didn't want to either.

She got a glimpse of Charlette's face softening, then the vampire stood in front of her between one second and the next, opening her arms. Annabelle threw herself forward to hug her tightly, strong, cool arms wrapping around her firmly, holding her securely.

"I'm so glad to see you again, well and happy," Charlette murmured against her hair. "It was hard, not coming back sooner. But I had to make sure I could return with good news. And I'm so proud of you, for all you've done for me and mine."

"This is our world," Annabelle said and pulled back enough to look up. Charlette gently touched their foreheads together. "Let's fight for it together."

"We already are," Charlette answered in a whisper and when she grinned, it was fanged and fierce and not at all human and Annabelle loved her so much in this moment. "And we will win."

[autisticlalna]

wonder how the town of new salem is doing.

[greghatecrimes]

If I'm not around much the next couple days, it's just cause I'm absolutely exhausted from work + procedure. But I miss House and hanging out on here, so hopefully answering asks asap and more screencaps and rewatch this weekend :3 Maybe even some In the Dirt planning if I'm lucky

[praazlwurm]

i stay on my PurpleProseShipping bias