#which spontaneously appear behind her. apparently.

[filletedfennysnake]

Oct 3– Giant, @kulttuurinkurittama

culhwch fell in love with olwen the second he heard she was the daughter of a giant. just sayin.

[sadceline]

THE ENHYPEN HOST || 17

|| Reverse harem || ft. TXT, Mingyu (Seventeen) & BTS

WARNINGS: foul language, explicit content, group sex, humiliation, sex in public, threesome, foursoome, rough sex, red flags, immoral acts, unprotected sex, morbid jealousy, comedy, parody, possessiveness, violent quarrels, arguments, betrayals, lies, femdom sometimes.

GENRE: +18, reverse harem, comedy, enemy to lovers, friends to lovers

TRAILER 1

TRAILER 2

TRAILER 3

PREVIOUS CHAPTER:

FIRST CHAPTER:

When I wake up, as this morning, there is someone watching me.

Since I fell asleep, I don't know how much time has passed, but I guess he's Sunghoon and the torture is about to begin, again.

However, looking closely at him.... no, he's not Sunghoon.

Is Jungwon.

And I am naked on his bed.

I feel even more shame for what I did, not only while I was in Sunghoon's company, on his bed.... I try to cover myself with the sheet, but I'm sitting on it, he looks at me and laughs.

"No, noona. Don't cover yourself - he says, joking almost, then looks at me - I won't touch you, just let me watch."

K.O. Amanda.

No, let's reason. I'm not comfortable while he's squaring me with those seemingly innocent little eyes, but... Does Sunghoon know he's here? He might not take the news that he wants to look at me naked.

Not that I worry about him, though.

"Of course you're beautiful, eh, noona?" He asks me.

I blush, not knowing what to say.

"All right - he sighs, moving away and taking the t-shirt that Sunghoon threw on the floor, handing it to me. - Better not look too much, or I'll want to touch."

I swallow, what is he thinking? No, after all, the whole situation is unrealistic, what precisely am I surprised about?

"You found the door locked, how did you get in?"

"I have a spare key."

"W-Why?"

Jungwon shrugs, turning a naive expression on me. "Because this is my room." He smiles.

Just after I put my shirt back on, which tightens slightly on my wide hips, the door opens. It is Sunghoon, and he is pale, looking at me, then at the leader.

"I told you-"

"I was curious- the boy smiles again, slyly anticipating him. - I was right to be curious."

Soon after, behind Sunghoon's back, Heeseung also appears, looking at me worriedly. "Are you okay?"

The middle man among the three snorts annoyedly, approaching me and grabbing me by the wrist. "Let's go."

"Don't go anywhere. - Heeseung stops him. - Why is she here? - Then he turns to me. - Why aren't you wearing anything?"

"N-Nothing happened, n-nothing!" I say, spontaneously, perhaps a little too much.

Sunghoon looks at me, not angry, not offended, he is.... apparently disappointed? And why should he be? And why am I sorry? Why am I sad about this?

"Do you believe her? - Sunghoon laughs nervously. - Look at her, could you say we haven't fucked?"

We all see it as Heeseung's confused and alert expression turns into pure anger as he goes at him and tries to hit him in the face, luckily Jungwon gets in the way and Heeseung doesn't even try to hit him, the leader.

"What did you expect? You left her here." Sunghoon keeps talking, unnerving him.

"Don't you get grossed out? - Heeseung asks him. - Your girlfriend left ten minutes ago."

This time is Sunghoon's expression that twists his calm and proud face. He's the one trying to hit Heeseung, I really don't understand what's going on.

Jungwon also freezes, laughing, but it's scary.

"Why don't you end it?" He asks calmly.

"This story, ends here. - Heeseung says, turning to Sunghoon, who looks into his eyes. - Amanda is no longer a host as of today."

Jungwon looks at him guinamously curious. "What?"

"I will pay the debt." He says.

What?

It's as if the world has stopped, I can't see or hear anything anymore, I'm sure I'm in some kind of dissociation... Heeseung is sincere? Me... does Lee Heeseung like me?

"I don't think you can. - Laughs Sunghoon, sticking his hands in his pockets. - But try, you'll be the pathetic son of a bitch who paid the bitch's debt."

What? What what what?

It's like he just shot me. The burning, the pain I feel in the middle of my chest is real, or maybe I'm just having a fatal heart attack, which wouldn't even be bad.

I mean, Heeseung... he stuck his neck out for me, but Sunghoon reminds him that this is nonsense.

"That's enough, you really are a piece of shit." Jungwon speaks, turning toward Sunghoon.

My eyes are filled with tears, perhaps that is what I deserve for having come this far. I turn away, to hide the tears, but there is no point, I should just walk away.

"Amanda..." Heeseung calls to me, approaching.

"You're freaking out over this bitch, huh?" Jungwon asks him seriously.

"Yes fucking, I'm going crazy. - Sunghoon replies, raising his voice. - This asshole let me fuck her! He was so unsure of what he wanted that it came to this, and I.... am butchering my relationship, my fucking reputation for her, despite knowing that if Heeseung pays the debt, she will be forever and exclusively loyal to him. - He talks so much that I am forced to turn away, he notices and looks at me, then smiles annoyed, wistful. - Do you think he wants your freedom? He just wants to trap you between guilt and your fucking natural inclination to be a slut."

"And you! What you want?!" I shout, because otherwise I would have to hit him again but this time with a blunt object.

He ignores me, looks at Heeseung, who, however, while remaining silent, has become gloomy in the face, his pink bangs barely masking his serious gaze that sends me shivers.

"What do you think will happen when Lee Heeseung pays the debt for her? She'll be sent so far away that you'll never see her again, like all the fucking important people we have! - Sunghoon laughs, out loud. - What, don't you know better too?"

"Don't talk like you know me. - Heeseung replies softly, walking toward him. - I know what I'm doing. Know that I don't give a shit what you do from now, stay away from her."

"Do we want to take it to the lawyer? - Still laughing Sunghoon, I am incredulous, how can he be such an asshole? - This is still my turn."

Jungwon is not careful enough to prevent Heeseung from hitting Sunghoon right in the face, to the point that while his lip is bleeding he looks at the major in disbelief.

"You were lucky, because I was good, because deep down I thought you were just a horny kid - says Heeseung smiling, but he is by no means cheerful, on the contrary he looks very creepy. - I would allow the whole world to fuck her, outside of you."

"Fuck hyung, not in the face! And anyway, are we going to continue talking in these terms? - Jungwon asks, visibly unnerved but still smiling. - Do we also want to pick her up and put he on a piece of furniture like an object?"

The two turn confusedly toward the leader, and to be honest, so do I.

"I can't stand these psychodramas anymore, from now on neither of you will be with Amanda noona. - Explain, politician. - It will be easier to integrate my turn."

It's a bit comical how the two simultaneously get him by the collar, I don't know what to say, I feel like I'm in a demential drama directed by a drug-addicted director.

"I'm kidding, but shall we talk about it over there? - He asks. - Honestly, noona I think this is too much. Sunghoon, fucking apologize."

Sunghoon hits Heeseung in the face when the leader is distracted, Heeseung staggers but a second later runs into him and the two of them fight, literally, to the point of falling.

Am I shaken, confused, smug? What kind of person am I?

"Oh my god, this isn't really happening." Jungwon complains, but he does not intervene.

I cling to Won's arm and he looks at me out of the corner of his eye. "We have to stop them!"

"Why don't you just fucking let it go!? - Shouts Heeseung, who is literally straddling him. - And apologize to Jake, no matter what goes on in that fucking head, you should just apologize!"

It makes more sense now, actually. All this, I mean.

"I have nothing to apologize for, are you friends with Jaeyun now?"

"No, I'm a piece of shit and deserve to be alone - heeseung replies, laughing sarcastically. - But after all you've been through? Don't you really want to apologize?"

"So touched." Jungwon whispers to me amused.

I'm not sure if I should laugh in such a situation, but I don't deny that his joke is funny.

"Yes hyung, to be honest - Sunghoon smiles, looking serious, - I don't think I owe him any apologies."

Heeseung tries to hit him again, but Jungwon manages to block his wrist. "That's enough now, seriously. I'll call Jongseong hyung, he makes you both cry."

"Hyung, no one likes you." Hoon smiles, his lips bleeding.

I can just see the blank, lost expression of Heeseung who can't even respond. This...must hurt him a lot.

"Imagine if I have to agree with Yeonjun.... but really, don't you fly too high? You're worth as much as everyone else. - He says, amused. - Be honest, am I not right?" He asks Won.

"You are not everyone. - Jungwon answers. - And I like you both anyway, when you're normal. You haven't recovered since February, have you?"

Heeseung gets up, not wanting to waste any more time on him, but walks over to me. He does not look me in the eye but simply takes my wrist to drag me out.

"Speaking of Yeonjun... do you know she was having lunch with him yesterday? Soobin was there too."

Heeseung pauses, saying nothing but clearly surprised by this, perhaps thinking I should have told him. "Oh yeah?"

"Are you ready to do anything for someone who doesn't even tell you these things? - He laughs. - Who knows what they did..."

"The important thing is that you weren't there." Answers only, Heeseung, dragging me out, however I am blocked unsuspectingly by Jungwon, who shakes his head displeased.

"No kidding, let's wait for Jongseong hyung and work out a solution. We all want Amanda, so.... you should just resign yourselves. She's a pretty girl you'll be working with for a while, both of you get over it and move on. Okay?"

The two do not respond, simply make eye contact, then Heeseung turns to me.

"You won't say anything?"

I lower my gaze, guiltily. "D-Do you think that.. it's possible?"

Sunghoon turns to me. "You idiot, don-"

"Won't you apologize?" Jungwon asks, pulling me to him and causing Heeseung to lose his grip, who lets me slip behind the leader's broad, masculine shoulders.

"Don't... I'm already humiliating myself far too much for her! - Sunghoon raises his voice. - I..."

"She prefers Heeseung, it's obvious." Won replies, I look at him surprised but he doesn't notice.

Sunghoon looks really hurt but I really can't believe he is.... he is the worst of assholes though...I just can't forget what he said just now.

I'm trying to forget it but I can't.

"For that reason - Jungwon says, looking at the older man - you can either choose to let it go, just have fun, or have Amanda sent away, she would probably end up in some other band, right? - He smiles, he's right. - You can't pay her debt. Will they believe that all of a sudden she found the money? They probably know her family history well, and they certainly keep our bank accounts in check. They would see such an amount moving out of your account and at the very least send it to Siberia, with TXTs."

Heeseung remains silent, and this thing... it's obvious that it hurts me but I don't want to show that I really believed it, I would just look like a fool.

I don't know if Heeseung is serious, if he meant it, or if he just wanted to annoy Sunghoon.... however...

"Jungwon, she can't be our host anymore. Do you understand that?" Heeseung asks, serious.

Sunghoon strangely nods. "That's right."

"Ridiculous - Jungwon smiles. - Let's talk about it over there. Wait here, noona."

NEXT CHAPTERS:

hello! haven't updated from long time, don't even have anything to say but im back, that's all

[pyxaperson]

I think out of all of the possible alternative universes that are being explored in Fionna and Cake, I am the most excited for the evil Marceline vampire world since I had always found Stakes and Marceline’s identity and history with vampires so interesting. Personally, I am pretty certain that the vampires from the stakes miniseries will be making a return in episode 7.

(reasoning under read more because i love writing ~1000 word theories about Fionna and Cake apparently)

My main reasoning behind this is the name of the episode itself: “The Star”. Besides the Vampire King (as well as regular Marceline), all the vampires are named after major arcana tarot cards. The upright meanings behind those specific cards also bleed into the character’s personalities.

The Fool - Represents free spirit and spontaneity showcased in his goofy behaviour.

The Empress - Represents abundance and beauty which is demonstrated through her elegance and her preference for unnecessary luxuries.

The Hierophant - Represents conformity and tradition reflected in his persistence for vampiric traditions.

The Moon - Represents fear and anxiety shown through her general creepiness.

In a similar way, their reverse meanings bleed into their defeats as well:

The Fool - Represents recklessness and risk-taking, referring to how he just played around with Marceline instead of doing anything that would protect himself. The fool can also represent the beginning which in this context can refer to him being the first of the vampires to be killed off.

The Empress - Represents a dependence on others which is showcased with Bonnie, Finn and Jake helping Marceline defeat her when she originally went to get her on her own.

The Hierophant - Represents personal beliefs and challenges the status quo with how his refusal to move on from drinking blood and vampiric traditions leads to his own death.

The Moon - Represents inner confusion and the release of fear which could be seen in Marcie overcoming her poison-induced dreams to suck Moon’s soul along with the others overcoming their paralysed-induced fear to take Moon out (tbh this was the hardest one to pin down so if anyone has a better interpretation let me know.)

“The Star” is also a major arcana card and considering that it appears that this Ooo variation is where Marceline is an evil vampire, I feel it would make sense that she would be a part of the Vampire King’s court with “The Star” being her title. It would make sense considering that the show is following the trend of naming its episodes after characters’ names and titles (like how the episode “The Winter King” is referring to a variation of Simon).

With that, we would need to consider what the card “The Star” represents. It’s upright meaning is hope, faith, purpose and renewal; while it’s reverse meaning is lack of faith, despair and disconnection. Following the trend of the other vampires, its upright meaning could possibly be seen in this Marceline’s position on the VK’s court while its reverse is seen in her downfall.

First focusing on her position, Marceline could represent hope for the vampire community. Compared to the rest of VK’s court, she would be a strong fighter and a great asset to help expand the group’s influence on this Ooo. In this variation, hurting down humans and expanding the vampire population would give her a purpose - considering if she were to ally with VK, her relationship with Simon would not have been the same as it was back in regular Ooo.

Back in our Ooo, Marceline states that the reason behind her hunting down and killing every vampire was so that she could protect Simon in some way after he left for her safety. After all -  even with him being under the power of the crown - Simon is still human and is just as vulnerable to the vampires as any other human at the time (since in his and the Empress’ brief history). Possibly joining VK’s court or even hurting humans goes against Marcie’s original mission.

For this reality to occur, that would mean one of two things:

Simon and Marceline never met. This could lead to the vampires finding her instead and taking her in as one of their own, turning her.

Simon and Marceline did meet, but something occurred in their time together that led Marceline to not take up her original mission.

Regardless of whichever interpretation it goes, they both possibly tie into Marceline’s downfall. With The Star’s reverse meaning a lack of faith and disconnection, through one means or another Marceline would feel jaded towards the rest of the vampires due to her kind-hearted nature. Given the circumstances, it would be likely that Simon would try to reason with her (even if they had a history or not). In a similar way to Bonnie’s situation in The Winter King; I doubt that Marceline will be willing to hurt people of her own volition. It would also be a good opportunity to explore Simon’s history with vampires as it’s been implied in AT that he had a few run-ins with them while looking her Marceline. Does he know any of the vampires in VK’s court outside of the Empress? Did vampires go after Simon and Marceline before Simon left? Does Simon have any opinions of them?

Also, I can’t find where I read this anywhere, but apparently The Star will also include scenes of Marshal Lee and Gary (I think?) going to a Gala. In a similar way that Gary’s bakery inverse tied in with Fionna and Cake killing the candy people, the setting of the Gala could be used to tie in Marshal/Marceline’s relationship with the vampire court (since if they were to appear in this episode, their normal/genderbent counterparts would be present at a place like a Gala).

That summary also says that Cake would be teaming up with vampire hunters which implies that Simon and Fionna are out of the picture here. Considering that the vampires have a preference for human blood, there is a high possibility that the episode will revolve around Fionna and Simon getting kidnapped by the vampires whilst Cake tries to save them.

Either way, I am pretty excited for episode 7 if you cannot tell lmao.

[episodicnostalgia]

Star Trek: The Next Generation, 110 (Nov. 28, 1987) - “Haven”

Written by: Tracy Torme Directed by: Richard Compton

The Breakdown

In this episode we find out that Deanna Troi is ‘genetically betrothed’ to some dorky space-nerd named Wyatt, as per Betazed tradition (even though Wyatt is human) overseen by her Mom (Lwaxana). Apparently Betazoid marriages also come with the expectation of the wife leaving her career behind, which Deanna doesn’t seem too happy about.  To make matters even more awkward, Wyatt is coming to the ship with his family (and Deanna’s mom) to meet Deanna for *checks notes* the very first time? Yep. That’s right, this is the first time they’ve ever even laid eyes on each other.  In addition to this awkwardness Lwaxana’s arrival makes matters only worse as she proceeds to ridicule everyone who isn’t a telepath for being so obviously inferior.  But she’s definitely not being rude, because this is just *checks notes* how Betazoids are… which I guess makes it not bigoted or xenophobic at all.

While Lwaxana makes every effort to be offend anyone she talks to, we find out that Wyatt is more-than-a-little surprised that Deanna isn’t how he imagined.  You see, apparently he’s had a vivid-life-long-dream about some random blonde woman he’s never met (haven’t we all?), and so naturally concluded he was accurately imagining Deanna the whole time. Chalking up his mystery woman to nothing more than a silly fantasy, Wyatt decides to settle for Deanna since she is very pretty, and that has to count for something.  Unfortunately, just as the two love birds are warming up to each other, Wyatt’s mystery blonde woman arrives on a refugee ship and immediately recognizes him; as it happens, she’s also had life-long dreams about him, which is a pretty remarkable coincidence!

And the explanation for all this… *checks notes* spontaneous space telepathy.  Yep, that’s what we’re going with. According to Lwaxana, apparently we all have some kind of universal telepathy deep down inside of us.  At any rate, that’s enough of an explanation for Wyatt, who packs up to follow the hot blon- er- his destiny.

The Verdict

One would think that ‘Haven’ might offer a decent opportunity to flesh our Deanna’s character, but nah. Why do that when there are still male guest stars, and love interests to focus on? I do genuinely try to find the good in these old episodes, but this one is a dud.  My biggest points of contention are in the portrayals of Lwaxana (specifically), and the Betazoid’s (generally).

For starters, Lwaxana is exceptionally rude; she’s condescending, hostile, and has no regard for anyone else’s feelings.  I don’t care that “She’s telepathic and therefore thinks differently,” she’s completely bigoted towards anyone who isn’t Betazoid, and it’s clearly spiteful. The episode tries to play it off as comic relief, but based on this episode alone Lwaxana exhibits more potential for becoming an arch nemesis than the Ferengi ever will.

Secondly, Betazed may have a unique culture, but perhaps the federation should think twice before inducting other civilizations with such draconian marriage practices into their ranks. It would all be one thing if Deanna was happy with the arrangement, but she clearly doesn't want to get married. So why must she? Why such pressure? Shouldn’t freedom of choice weigh in to all federation cultures, without risking ostracization or criticism? Even Picard is like “hey, this seems kinda questionable. I wonder if this should be allowed” but that’s as far as we’ll explore such topics, because we have a LOVE TRIANGLE to get back to! Yay! (more on that below)

1 star (out of 5)

Additional Observations:

This is Lwaxana’s first appearance. My familiarity with this character is mostly from DS9, where I found her occasionally amusing, if exasperating, so I never quite understood the hate she got from other fans.  Now I get it.

Space love triangle: Riker is too busy feeling jealous of Wyatt to consider how this may be affecting the woman he supposedly loves. Deanna even calls him out by stating “YOU’RE the one who wanted to focus on a career,” to which Riker essentially retorts with “Yeah, but this is hard on ME!” Real mature, dude.

This season really has a fixation for alien races that are just hot white people in revealing clothing. Which leads as a nice segway into my next point…

This show is VERY horny, but repressively so. The crew all seem to have a “live and let live” mentality towards others (which is usually good), but are very restrictive and emotionally stunted in their own self-expression.

On the other hand, Lwaxana talks about her naked body and sex life WAY too much. She’s obviously making the crew uncomfortable, and it’s clearly intentional.

Data’s fascination over “petty squabbling” cracks me up though. Solid comedic performance from Brent Spiner.

[libraryofcirclaria]

08 September 1281

Library of Circlaria

Third Level Society: First Version

Story Six: Meona Bell

I'm trying to piece together what happened since I last wrote. Everything Ivella told me when I first woke up in the University Hospital Wing made no sense to me. How Carter almost caught her...how she got away...her background...

I have somewhat of a vague memory of the Caucus Chamber. It was on fire. Or was it just smoke and sparks? Was that yesterday? Or was it last week? Or a month ago?

I know that Daniel Carter and Julian got into a fight? But why would they be hurling spellfire discharges at each other?

Or was it Kara Martins? Yes. I remember now. Carter wasn't there. Or maybe he was on the Dais. And then Kara lashed out at Julian. First, it was shouting. Then it was spellfire dueling.

Wait. No. Ceri Mains was there. And she attacked them both. She barged in. Either that or one of her cronies slipped into the Chamber among other Members. I don't remember Ceri emerging from the Audience Section though. She was just spontaneously there.

Ivella is telling me that the later in time I think, the worse it is. So I need to go back to the beginning, the morning of September 6.

That does seem clearer to me. So here goes, 1281 September 6:

Shortly after breakfast came a knock on my Guestroom Door. To my complete surprise, I saw standing at the door a very aged version of Daniel Orville Carter, himself.

"Meona now, is it?" he said. When I answered, he shook my hand and gave me a hug. "A very beautiful addendum."

"I didn't know you'd respond so quickly," I said.

"To what?" Carter said, finding himself a seat. "If you sent a message, I never got it. I was staying up the road from here since yesterday. I picked up on your name over the phone with Dungeonmaster Julian." Carter reached into his coat pocket and pulled out an envelope. "By the way, I also have an important letter from Miss Ivella; and I need to take this to Julian in person. As you can see noted, we are not to mention this letter to anyone but Julian and his close company. And no one but Julian may open this letter and read it."

"So you've come to get me to take with you to Julian?" I asked.

"You seemed to have read my mind," Carter said, standing up again. "I'm afraid I have no time for coffee and biscuits if that's what your plans were. We'll have that later."

The Campus Watch checkpoint was still up. In fact, they stepped things up by doing a more thorough search of our bags and persons. Within a very short amount of time, however, we were in Dungeonmaster Julian's Office, where Carter handed Julian the letter and ordered him to read it.

"Finally, a sign from her," Julian said grudgingly but relieved. "Right on the day of my big talk." But when he read, the look of relief fell from his face, which turned pale and blank. With his hand shaking, he handed the letter to me. "Meona. Tell me what you make of this."

I looked at the letter. Apparently, Ivella Ogden boarded an airship in Clareon, the capital of the Mid-Westerlies, and intended to ride a flight to Savel, from where she would take a cable train to Ereautea. However, the airship she was on experienced an engine failure, forcing them to make an emergency landing in the island-nation of Monassa. That was, of course, a customs nightmare for her, because Monassa has been an independent country since 1249. So she had to wait for a copy of her passport to be mailed to her.

In addition to that, there was also heavy traffic due to summer travels; so Ivella had to wait a week before finally boarding an airship back to Savel, putting her hopelessly behind schedule.

I read the second part of the letter aloud but in a quiet voice: "...However, Julian, you don't need to be afraid, and I'm saying this for two reasons: first, I know Mary Kormann very well, much more than you think. Despite her demeanor and appearance, she is very resilient. Ceri Mains is no match for her.

"Second, in watching and even involving myself in the protection of the Cabotton community during this uncertain time, I've been made aware, much to my surprise, that Ceri Mains actually has no intention whatsoever to harm Mary Kormann or otherwise infiltrate the Society, despite what certain media sources may say.

"I cannot explain why I am saying this in this letter because that involves disclosing dangerous information that I cannot risk being leaked in the unlikely event that this message gets intercepted, but I promise that I will speak with you when I finally arrive, at which point everything will make sense. In the meantime, I must ask something unusual of you. And that is to have, what you may deem, blind faith in what I've told you and to use your best judgement given the circumstances.

"I will hopefully arrive by this coming Sunday, September 9. Again, once I explain everything in person, you will be left with no more questions on the matter. Sincerely, Ivella Marie Ogden."

Julian shook his head. "That...this just...None of it makes sense," he said hysterically. "At all...I have to be on the podium in..." Julian paused and looked at his watch. "Ninety minutes!" Julian stood up and began to pace frantically. "Ninety minutes from this very moment! I have to reassure the Caucus that everything is going to be alright! And then I have Kara Martins and those other buffoons to deal with!" Julian snatched the letter from me, crumpled it up, and threw it at the wall. "That daft woman, Ivella! How could she say this!? How could she be in complete denial!?"

"She is running that darkfire sanctuary, you know. I'm afraid it's possible she may have been swayed," Carter said, and for a brief moment, I remembered back to when Julian had mentioned that diplomacy was questionable between the two figures.

"What do we do, Daniel Carter? Meona Bell?" Now there was desperation in Julian's voice.

"You're a Dungeonmaster now," Carter said. "Think!"

"Oh great!" Julian said sarcastically. "Thanks for your encouragement!"

"Let's talk to Mary Kormann," I said suddenly, standing up and lifting a calming hand to both of them. "Let's see if she has some words of encouragement to say...to the Caucus, I mean."

"You're starting to sound like Ivella now," Julian said accusingly.

"Do you have a better alternative, Mackwell?" Carter asked sternly.

Julian paused and sat back down. It seemed that he shrank and grew weaker. "Fine," he said. "Let's try Mary."

It was overcast and thundering, I remember. Small scattered thunderstorms was what the Weather Bureau called for. With that and the tight schedule, we made our way briskly to Mary Kormann's dormitory, located in Fleming House.

It was there where I met Dyla Cormick for the first time. She introduced herself and said that Mary was busy at the moment. Just then, Mary came out of her bedroom, accompanied by a tall and somewhat muscly figure named "Parker."

"Who are you to Mary?" Carter asked Parker. "Friend? Boyfriend?"

"Nah," Parker said. "Friend since childhood?"

"Who are you?" Mary asked, pointing at Carter and hiding behind Parker. "Are you a Ceri Mains thug?"

"Quite the opposite," Carter said. "I'm here to make sure Ceri doesn't get to you."

"Are you sure?" Mary asked. "I don't trust you."

Carter turned to me and Julian and said, "I'll remove myself out of sight for the time being. Call me when you're done."

I remember at that point wondering if Parker, himself, was actually a Ceri Mains accomplice influencing Mary. I almost tried to pull Julian aside to voice that concern but Julian was already in conversation with Mary. He was explaining to her how Ivella did not have answers yet.

"But she's aware of you and your safety, and is working on a solution," Julian concluded. "In the meantime, everyone else in the Caucus is scared too. We need to say something to them to make them feel better. Mary, what would you say right now to make them feel better?"

"Oh...well...I don't know...Let me think." Mary paused, sat down, closed her eyes and said, "Think...think...think..." repeatedly for the next few moments. "Oh I know," she finally said, springing to her feet and smiling gleefully like an eight-year-old. "I'd tell everyone everything you told me. And then I'd tell everyone how I have you and you and you and all these other friends to protect me." She pointed to me, Julian, and Parker when she said her last sentence. "It's just...I'm really shy..." Then she whispered, "I don't want to be on the Podium."

"You don't have to be," Parker said, gently patting her on the back. "Julian'll speak for you."

"Parker's right," Julian agreed. "I've got you there, Mary. Thank you for helping me figure out what to say though."

I called Daniel Carter back. It was twenty-five minutes before that meeting was due to start, so we set off, once again, at a quick pace.

On the way over, we talked about how things would go with this important moment. Before long, it was agreed upon that Daniel Carter, Dyla, Mary, and I would sit on the Dais by up in the front by the Podium while Julian stood and gave his speech. Meanwhile, Parker would be sitting in the Audience Section to give Mary encouragement with the presence of a friendly face.

I remember the thunder being a little louder and a little closer, though not as intense as the storm that destroyed that Great Oak Tree. Nevertheless, there were two reasons to hurry.

On the way over, we walked by a couple of Campus Watch Officers. No doubt, they were stepping up patrols since the news of Ceri Mains in Gentry County. It was all very scary for Miss Kormann, though, and I saw her flinch.

"Are those Ceri Mains thugs in disguise?" Mary asked.

Parker put a comforting hand on Mary. "Rest assured they are not," he said.

"And neither is Daniel Carter," I added. For a quick moment, I pulled them aside and flagged down one of the Watch Officers, who shook Mary's hand and gave a friendly reassurance.

"She thinks I'm one of Ceri's thugs," Carter added.

"Oh wow," the Officer laughed. "Carter's been here a million times. If he was an accomplice, we would've caught him by now."

It was when we entered the Side Hallways lining the Caucus, which was full and ready for Julian's big speech, when Daniel Carter bugged out.

"Gotta go," he said quickly. "Start without me. I'll join in the audience later."

Right when we needed his presence the most, I thought to myself.

Nevertheless, we entered the Chamber through the side door next to the Dais. The crowd fell to a murmur, expecting Julian to make his moment. Julian ascended the Dais first, then came myself, and then the other three.

"I'm okay with just Meona, you, and Julian," I heard Mary say. I turned around behind me. "Parker's not here but that's okay," Mary said to me.

That's when I realized that I did not remember seeing Parker since we were outside. But I didn't have time to think on that.

"Well, well, well. Look who decided to 'make a commitment' after all," someone said. I turned to the audience and saw that Peter Crane and Kara Martins were standing together in the front row to my left.

"Roll call!" shouted the Bookkeeper on the Podium now before I could say or do anything.

I never got a chance to know who the current Bookkeeper was or his name. He was clearly one of the professors, though, as a few Society Members are, and this one was nearing retirement.

I remember, now, whispering to Julian how they needed to change how that was done. The Dungeonmaster called the first 100 Members on the Roster; and as soon as 100 vote present, the session would begin. Julian was about to respond when a large clap of thunder outside startled the Caucus.

"Order please," the Bookkeeper said. When he finally finished, he yielded the Podium to Julian. And so Julian began his speech.

"I understand the fear, and yes it feels omnipresent," Julian began. "But rest assured, we, all of us, are constantly vigilant in protecting the Society given the situation. I have spoken with Ivella Ogden recently. She does not yet have a concise answer, but she has shelved all of her other commitments in order to focus on what is best for the Society-"

"Like what!?" Kara Martins cut in. And that was how it started. I'll never forget her shouting that, the sound of a few dozen Members shouting in support of her, and the Bookkeeper telling her to sit down and be quiet. She rounded on the Bookkeeper. "Oh so you're part of it too?"

"The Dungeonmaster is speaking!" said the Bookkeeper. "I said sit down and be quiet!"

"You and Ceri will not subjugate me!" Kara shouted, barging out into the Center Aisle. "You know about the thing with the Academy strike, right? All the faculty across all the schools are thinking of it as I speak! It's coming, I tell you! Now's the time for all of you to rise up too! Rise up and bring down these evil cronies!" She pointed at us as she said those last two words.

"Stewards! Take her away!" the Bookkeeper called amidst the growing tumult in the Audience. This turned into an uproar as the Stewards went in to take away Kara out into the Side Halls.

Suddenly, someone ran into the Chamber, shouting, "Ceri Mains has been reported on Campus!" This made the uproar in the Chamber turn into screams and panic.

"Order! Order!" the Bookkeeper shouted. "Everyone remain in their seats! This session is suspended until further notice! Stewards keep Kara in the Hallway once we resume!"

But those words were no good. Just at the moment, the Campus Watch arrived.

"Session will resume tomorrow!" the Bookkeeper shouted.

"This building's being evacuated!" an Officer called. "Everyone leave now!"

"Except you!" another Officer said, pointing at Mary. "We need to speak with you!"

Mary tried to squirm away. I tried to take her hand and calm her, but she took out a talisman and hurled a Stun Spell discharge at me. I did not expect that, but somehow I dodged that first hit and dove behind a seat. Campus Watch Officers tried hitting Mary with their rounds of Stun Spells but Mary had a good Shield Spell. Then she saw me and hurled another Stun Spell discharge, which hit me square in the face.

Next thing I remembered was waking up in this Hospital Wing.

"You were emotionally swayed, Meona," Ivella said to me. "You knew something was off with her appearance. She is a prodigy, this Ceri Mains, but disguise as a different person is not one of her strengths. You picked up on that, but you were under 'darkfire entrapment,' which dominated your emotions. And that inhibited your ability to act on what would have been your logical instinct. That is what I assume happened with you, anyway."

"You're not that far from the truth," I said.

So I learned from Ivella many things having elapsed since Thursday night. First, Ceri Mains, despite being surrounded by scores of Campus Watch Officers in that Caucus Chamber, managed to escape, and is currently at large.

And I still can't fathom the idea of Mary Kormann actually being Ceri Mains in disguise.

Second, Daniel Carter is in pursuit. I realized now that I was not the only one suspicious of that figure named Parker. It turns out that Parker was actually Kevin Mains, the cousin of Ceri Mains. Carter picked up on this on our way into the Caucus Chamber when Kevin Mains slipped away from us unnoticed. Carter noticed and went after him, which was why Carter had to leave us.

And they confronted each other. Apparently, Carter tried to stop him, but Kevin Mains turned around and struck him with a Stun Spell.

I thought back to the clap of thunder I heard during the roll call. Perhaps that's what I heard.

And apparently, Ceri Mains and Kevin Mains were, in fact, tied to the ongoing Weyne-North feud. I requested news periodicals brought to me so that I could read up.

So it began between the years 1200 and 1230 that both the Weynes and the Norths had moved out into what was considered the territory of the former nation of Wannonia as part of the big Combrian Settlement plan. There was a competition between the two families to have the highest value in property held, especially with land.

At one point, the Weynes bought partial farmland from the North family. On that plot was built a house at the end of a long driveway; this would come to be 1093 Cunningham Drive. The surrounding land was empty and remote but was eventually developed into the town of Orsbendock in the Province of Nintel. The driveway was converted into an actual street and the house became the address of 1093 Cunningham Drive.

So the Weynes built the house, hiring workers from the North family with the deal that the Norths would be allowed to live in that house for rent paid to the Weyne family. The Norths agreed to this. However, once the house was finished and they moved in, the Norths discovered that they had to share the household with Weyne tenants who claimed partial residence. Furthermore, rent was too high. As a result, the Norths handed a list of grievances to the Weyne landlords, who responded by deeming the North tenants to be a nuisance and evicted them.

The first Holz Finzi incident in the year 1237 left an opportunity for the North family to retaliate, because numerous members of the Weyne family had Involuntary Darkfire Conjuration Syndrome. The Norths convinced the surrounding community to label the Weynes and had the local government at the time blacklist them from their property holdings at the time and hand them to the North family. This gave the North family 1093 Cunningham Drive.

Then came the Retunian Revolution, which began in 1238. Once that war passed, won by the Retunian Republic, which established itself in place of the old Combrian government, the new government did away with "family condemnation," meaning that the Weyne family could regain some of their properties.

This did not include 1093 Cunningham Drive, however. That still remained under possession of the North family because in that time, there was a will written on it. The Weynes would have received it back regardless since they were technically the original owners, but the Weynes never wrote a will on it. And thus, 1093 Cunningham Drive became became a point of contention between the two families in the decades to follow.

By the 1270s and 1280s, the North family had members living in various locations throughout the Eastern part of Nintel, particularly in North Kempton, where they had particularly strong social connections; and they were quite the sociable family, apparently, having connections across all the places where they lived. Meanwhile, the Weyne family was more spread out, having residences in that same area but also in Gymia and Western Ereautea. Half of the Weyne family has the Darkfire Syndrome, half of whom reside in the Mount Carris Perimeter. And of the combined afflicted Weynes living inside and outside of the Perimeter, about half are in some way involved with the dangerous darkfire cartels.

The Weynes, like the Norths, are also sociable, but are popular with the marginalized Darkfire Syndrome demographic.

So tension had been building between the families over the past 100 years or so, but had been mounting especially between the 1250s and now. The Weynes had felt that the Norths would, at some point in the years to come, lobby both the County and Provincial legislatures to pass laws effectively bringing back "family condemnation." Though such legislation never materialized, many Weynes felt compelled to defend themselves by force, and began joining the community spellfire combat legions. Many of these legions, as we all know, charge tuition; and it's not cheap. Some of these Weynes turned to the darkfire cartel market to help pay for those training courses.

There was felt a mutual benefit there, however, because some Weynes decided to delve completely into the darkfire market, utilizing the skills gained in the legions. This would ultimately lead to direct involvement with Ceri Mains.

Meanwhile, the Norths were aware that the Weynes were arming themselves. And so the Norths, themselves, began training in community spellfire combat legions. The difference here, however, is that the North family is reputedly evangelist, and vowed never to involve themselves with darkfire, securing donations from churches instead.

Concerning 1093 Cunningham Drive, the North family apparently carved out a perpetual will, which ultimately played a role in sparking all the violence in the first place. This was written by Roseanne North in 1274, and was certified by a court of law and dictated that the deed to the house, upon death of the owner, who go to the husband or wife; if there was no living spouse, then the deed would go to the oldest son, or the oldest daughter if there was no son. If the married couple in question had no children, then the house would go to the oldest son in the "extended North family."

Richard and Roseanne North, husband and wife, inherited the house in 1243, after which the perpetual will was crafted at some point. In 1259, Richard North died, thus the deed went to Roseanne. Then in 1276, Roseanne North died; the house then went to her daughter, Bella North Kormann, who was married to Jon Kormann but was still considered a North under the will, and was eligible as Roesanne's eldest daughter since Richard and Roseanne had no sons.

Nonetheless, with Bella's last name being Kormann due to the marriage, this inheritance was the first in the North family history that handed 1093 Cunningham Drive to an individual whose legal last name was not North.

On 22 March 1281, Jon and Bella Kormann were both found dead at 1093 Cunningham Drive, with the cause of death determined to be poisoning. Their murderer is still at large, to this day, and has not been identified. Regardless, Jon and Bella, both 35 years of age at the time of their deaths, had no children, nor did they have a will prepared of their own; and thus the perpetual will had to be invoked.

But therein stood the conflict of interest. There had been a change in Nintel Provincial Law concerning the definition of "extended family," which took effect on 1 June 1276. Before that date, Nintel Law considered the term, "extended family," to mean all direct relatives, including one's first cousin or closer, with the same last name as yours, regardless of whether or not your descendent had a different last married name in the event they don't write a will themselves; therefore, under this version, the house was to go to someone in the North family.

The Province of Nintel was, up until 1276, the only Province in the Retunian Republic to have Provincial Law defining "extended family" in this way. This apparently caused a headache in court cases involving property disputes between parties in different provinces. So Nintel, under pressure from the other provinces as well as the federal government, made a change to said law, which took effect on 1 June 1276, to define "extended family" to mean all direct relatives including first cousin and closer of either you or your spouse regardless of whether or not you write a will, under the pretext that a perpetual will now applies to you and not the original author of that perpetual will. This would mean that the house, in this case, would go to someone in the Kormann family.

Again, this created a point of contention. But the ultimate controversy was this: Roseanne North wrote out the perpetual will in November 1274, before the change in Provincial Law was made and took effect. The change took effect on 1 June 1276. And then Roseanne died on 2 June 1276.

Obviously, this controversy could not be resolved without legal intervention; so a case was made to John Trayne, Arbitrator in service of Tradehouse County, who stated that the deed shall be signed over to Henry North, based on the notion that Roseanne had the earlier definition of "extended family" in mind.

However, the Kormann family disputed this, stating that since Roseanne did not have an actual individual in mind to receive the estate in the event of the deaths of Jon and Bella, the residence should go to Robert Kormann in adherence to the will based on the "extended family" definition in place after the 1 June 1276 change, since Roseanne died on June 2. This drew a rebuttal from the North family, stating that the will was signed on 18 November 1274, meaning that regardless of whether or not Roseanne intended a certain individual as a recipient of the estate in the event of Jon and Bella's deaths, the earlier law needs to apply.

Within his bounds in accordance to law, Arbitrator Trayne could not resolve this dispute, and was forced to turn the case over to court for a proper hearing and trial. The first of these took place in the Tradehouse County Courthouse on 14 April 1281, during which both the Kormanns and the Norths voiced their aforementioned arguments.

It was at this point that there was a big hole in the Provincial law revealed with no statement covering whether the law should interpret the will based on when it was signed or based on when the author of the will died. And apparently the gap was present in both the earlier and later laws. Judge Mervin Tame, presiding over this case, stated that every possible written statement by Roseanne that can be found must be collected and combined with witness testimony from both sides regarding interactions with Roseanne to determine what Roseanne had intended. The court was to reconvene on 18 April.

During the time that elapsed, Ceriph Wayne apparently approached Todd Buorning, Head Juror of the case; and there was a jury there owing to the intensity of the controversy. Ceriph had apparently promised Todd a good retirement if he promised to do everything possible to ensure the Jury did not side with the North family. Todd had sent a ticker message accepting the deal in secret; and Ceriph replied with an extended message of thanks.

This, neither I nor anyone else out there in the world would have ever known, had it not been for Todd's apparent absent-mindedness. This earned him the reputation these days as the "worst Head Juror in history." Upon receiving the ticker message of thanks from Ceriph, Todd had this stashed in his personal briefcase, which he accidentally left on a chair at a small cafe in one of the smaller towns in Tradehouse County. An anonymous person very much interested in this case, spotted the briefcase and the message hanging out of it, and had this message delivered directly to the Desk of Judge Mervin Tame, himself. Tame ordered the entire message exchange pulled from the wires.

And so on 18 April 1281, the court convened again. The Judge read the entire message exchange publicly and then subsequently ordered Ceriph and Todd jailed. He then dismissed the whole Jury and declared a mistrial, ordering a second retrial to be scheduled for October of 1282 and also ordering that 1093 Cunningham to remain vacant.

Rochelle North was, obviously, of the North family, raised by their ideals. However, she never "fit in" with the North family or their traditions, especially of their evangelist faith. She was always seen by herself and others as a "rebel."

At some point, she began a romantic relationship with Adam Kormann, who was close friends with Robert and Edward Weyne. Of that group, Rochelle was the leader; and they reputedly became involved in the illegal darkfire trade.

On the evening of 21 April 1281, they broke into the residence of 1093 Cunningham Drive.

Roger North, cousin of Rochelle North, had a completely different outlook, being truly loyal to the North family and their values. He was aware of Rochelle's plan and intended to confront her when she carried it out. Roger had two friends: Christopher Morriston and Charles Grodd, the latter of the two, may I mention, was a very close friend of Cray Fenton.

So on 21 April 1281, Roger, Christopher, and Charles went to 1093 Cunningham Drive and confronted Rochelle, Robert, and Edward. Suddenly, as all six individuals were armed and trained with spellfire talismans, all hell broke loose.

No one is sure what exactly happened but the end result was that the back add-on section of the house caught fire, warranting a call to the Fire Department. They extinguished the flames before too much was damaged. But the outcome was tragic; for they had discovered that Rochelle North, Roger North, and Adam Kormann were killed. Christopher and Charles were taken to the hospital but both survived and recovered. The same held true for Robert and Edward Weyne, but evidence emerged leading to the arrest of the latter two.

Thus the feud ignited. On 1 May 1281, the Weyne family struck back with a spellfire attack on a group of the Norths in a street battle in Orsbendock. Both sides suffered a few deaths while both Norths and Weynes, and their friends, were arrested.

The Norths retaliated on 7 May 1281, during which Tom North lured Casey Weyne into what she thought was a blind date starting on an airship leaving the Tradehouse County Airfield. As she arrived at the Airfield Tram Station, though, she was ambushed by North family thugs. She had brought Weyne family thugs of her own for precaution, but the fighting was intense enough and in a significant enough public space that the feud started to gain national attention.

Nevertheless, the violence spread. On 17 May, deadly fighting between the Norths and Weynes and their friends took place in neighboring Lyndon County. Between 18 and 24 May emerged reports of deadly fighting in Tradehouse County, Lyndon County, and Worden County. Between 1 and 8 June, the fighting spread to Torrens County and West Front County in Ereautea, and also to Shon County in Gymia.

On 11 June, Prime Minister Edward Jackson addressed the crisis, which now spread into Dearing County, and declared a national emergency, placing all the counties involved thus far under direct martial law to be administered by the Retunian Civil Guard.

And then, on 12 June 1281, Ceri Mains escaped. As it turns out, she was aided by Charles Kormann, based on a ticker message exchange pulled by the authorities shortly after the September 6 incident.

Neither he, nor Ceri, nor her other friends are to be found anywhere at this time.

<- 05 September 1281 <- || -> 09 September 1281 ->

[kirric-the-fan]

The Memory Cures: Meet the Villains

The Last Ones: A group of villains determined to eliminate the last of those who trapped them in the town, and all of the joy and delight they created. Every member hates the precure with a passion and seeks to eliminate them and everything they ever stood for. They're seeking a legendary weapon, the arrow of time so they can wipe the precure from history. On a smaller scale, they eliminate memories of items or events (or actual items) to make people miserable or sad (counter to what the precure have built up). Typically the item affected will become the last item of its kind, and also the monster of the week the precure need to defeat. That item is also something that usually brings joy. (the memory cures are about finding joy, and making happy memories)

The villains:

Koori (ice powers) is determined to capture the last fairy in the town.

Nightshade (sleepy pollen and flowers) is determined to stop time. The last tomorrow.

Menace is determined to have the last laugh. Making people miserable. First and weakest of the villains.

Vengeance (Jeff)(fire powers) is determined to wipe out the last precure. Apparent leader.

Memory is determined to wipe out the last emotion, the pain from her memories. (Cure Memory gets her own magic backfired on her, losing her memories. She is ‘saved’ and recruited by the Last Ones, ending up fighting against her former team. She always knows that something is not quite right, but Kao-san leads her to blame that on her former teammates.)

And Kao-san is plotting quietly under it all to eliminate the last barrier stopping them from unleashing raw chaos across all time.

There’s a lot of ‘the last time’ claims bandied around by the villains. The Cures make comments about this, especially when it’s the fourth time they have had a ‘final’ battle with the same general that month.

Typically the villian turns up to steal something away, or is stealing something away and the precure turn up to stop them. They summon the monster, the cures transform and fight, beat the monster and restore it and the memories, and the villain leaves, cursing the precure once again.

On a separate note, I can see one of the villains making the mistake of stealing away all the teddy bears and cuddly toys out of existence once, at which point Mirai and Riko spontaneously Manifest and kick the crap out of said villain until Mofurun and the rest of the cuddly toys reappear. Then they (maho girls) disappear off again. Villain is just left behind on the floor like wtf just hit me?, and the Memory cures aren’t exactly sure what just happened either except that two teenaged witches just appeared out of nowhere and beat up the villain. They just kinda...leave the villain to it. They're not going to fight them today.

Memory wiping the memory of how to make chocolate filled pastries or sweets is also a sure-fire (and probably the quickest) way to bring the entire precure roster together to defeat her. I can just imagine Nagisa waking up, learning that the chocolate cornets are gone, and immediately being on the warpath.

[aloeanemonabee27]

I have a lot of things in mind, and because of that I tend to block not knowing of what to start over first. So, sorry for that. But I wanted to share a possible ASL au concept idea, randomly appearing out of nowhere when I'm supposed to finish some sketches. It won't be a long introduction like I said is a concept only, I'm not sure if I want to continue this unlike the others that I'm actually hyped about and want to introduce properly the day I get better at digital art. Also most of what I introduce is supposed to be drawings, but since my inspiration is spontaneous the only thing I have close to is writing and I have to before the idea dies.

Leaving the unnecessary explanation behind, this ASL au concept is a genderbend ASL trio being mythological beings. I've seen fanfiction on this idea, but they are in so little portions and the stories are either in indefinite hiatus or cancelled. The ambient is the same old One piece, pirates etc. exept that the ASL trio are mermaids. Elaborating a bit, Ace and Sabo are sirens while Luffy is a mermaid and this beings share some similarities but they are different. As everyone knows (or at least I remember) some mermaids are peaceful creatures, they are fun, loving and usually get along with most people ore creatures. Sirens however, are not, their nature is absolute hostile and unpredictable, some can be tranquil if no one gives them a reason to drown them in the deeps of the sea. Ace and Sabo (or in this case Ann and Sab) are traveler sirens who are always on the move, once in a while putting people in their place or merely just surviving. Luffy is a lone mermaid who is always close to the beaches of Dawn Island, specifically Fusha Village cause she doesn't have family or a home. She gets along with the people in the village, especially with Makino and the mayor. The villagers coexist with this happy and mischievous mermaid, it was basically an unspoken rule to protect Luffy from slave traffickers or greedy pirates and often have to remind Luffy to not get close to Goa kingdom in fear of what might happend to her. But Luffy can defend herself too and ain't afraid to throw hands, or tail. One day, the villagers warn to themselves to beware for apparent sirens that appeard in the close beach's, and of course warning Luffy about it cause it's no secret that sirens and mermaids don't get along. Of course, Luffy ended up meeting this two sirens, ending up doing the opposite of what she was supposed to, Luffy tried to befriend them and of course this two had no plans in doing so.

What Ann and Sab weren't prepared for was the persistence of this mermaid, or better yet her stubbornness, which turns tiring at some point. But the two sirens ended up hanging with the mermaid, who somehow wormed herself into their hearts, and started to acknowledge her. Ann and Sab learn alot of things about Luffy and Luffy of them, the two sirens became somewhat a family to Luffy knowing that she doesn't have a family and became sisters.

And that's all I have to share. I just can't stop thinking about mermaid Luffy and siren Ann and Sab. What do you think?

[tragedytells-tales]

Artificial Avatar ☆ Sugar Rush

Notes - No MC, Fluff and Comedy, Obey Me AU, Drabble, Ajay is an absolute menace, Feat. Ajay, Mammon, Grim, ( Himiko, and Ryo belong to @absolutepokemontrash )

Summary - What happens when you give a child, who didn't know what breakfast was, a cookie? Nothing good probably. And by probably, that means absolutely.

Warnings - Slight mentions of drowning ( No one actually drowns or is drowning ), Not Proofread

TW - None

[ Prolog ] - [ PT.1 ] - [ PT.2 ] - [ PT.2.5 ] - [ PT.3 ]

Himiko never made a habit of going into peoples rooms without permission, with the only exception being cleaning. But she chose to break the rule just this once, and entered the guest room after the third knock without an answer.

Onyx eyes scanned the room from ceiling, to empty bed, to clean floors. Yet there was not a single half-demon in sight.

Only a lone red panda plush that sat on the nightstand...

It was in that moment that she decidedly not trusted the plush red panda that sat innocently in its spot.

Apparently it had appeared spontaneously in the middle of the night, right on the foot of the guest bed. She knew the toy was something that Ajay cherished, as they had affectionately dubbed him "Mr. PanPan" the moment they saw him, yet he just looked too... alive. And not in the judgmental manner of Mr. Fuku, no. Something far more sinister...

Wrenching her gaze away from the nerve-wracking stare down, she continued in her search for the kid under house arrest.

"Did you need something, Lady Himiko?"

"OH FU- By Diavolo, there you are Ajay..."

The teen tilted their head with a confused frown, as confused as a neutral stare could get, and side-eyed the empty guest room. Whatever they were looking for, apparently they didn't find it as they turned back to Himiko with more neutral confusion than the first look had.

"Is something wrong, your highness?" The teen questioned, robotic arm even drooping in sync with their shoulders.

Himiko sighed and dropped her hand from her chest, cautiously glaring at the still red panda plush on the nightstand. "No, well not no, I came to get you for lunch. You skipped breakfast, which is fine since not everyone eats it, but you need to eat something. It's bad for both your mental and physical health to skip meals."

"Both are already in shambles." The teen mumbled to nobody.

Before the demoness could question the whisper a brief waft of something sweet drifted by. Himiko's attention drifted over to the direction of the kitchen, missing the way Ajays pupils blew wide and their nose twitched. Even the gem necklace that hung on their neck swayed ever so slightly.

Grims head peaked around the corner with a wide grin, "The cookies are done!" He announced before zipping back over to the kitchen faster than either could blink.

"I'm surprised they didn't burn them," Himiko chuckled, fondness edging at her voice, "Come on Ajay."

The half demon followed behind silently, as silent as they could be when they weren’t actively quieting their robotic arm anyway. It was at times like this, walking behind someone they were taller than by a whole head, that Ajay wondered which part of the experiment made them taller than they felt.

Then they rounded the corner into the kitchen and spotted Ryo and Mammon standing over a perfectly made tray of unidentified food, and remembered that they're actually rather short for a demon.

"There you two are!" Ryo looked up and waved while attempting to speak through a cookie, "I was gonna eat all these cookies by myself if you didn't show up soon!"

Mammon looked over and waved next. "I like the whole motif you've got goin' kid. Red panda necklace, red panda plush, really sticking to a brand." He remarked, nodding to Ajays green necklace hung right around their neck.

"Thank you Lord Mammon."

Himiko picked up one of the golden brown cookies and turned it over with a satisfied smile, "Good job on the cookies."

"They ain't even burnt!" Mammon exclaimed as he stood proudly over the tray, chest even puffed out just the slightest bit.

Himiko rolled her eyes and lightly batted Grim away from the tray to take her seat, "Yes yes, amazing job you two. I'm very proud."

"A great enough job to earn a kiss?" Mammon smiled, barely leaning over the table to receive a kiss on the cheek from his wife, which was followed by a loud fake barf from his daughter.

"Ah yes, how rancid, to have two deeply in love parents." The demon remarked, dramatically leaning himself over his daughter before dead dropping all of his weight onto her already struggling form.

"YOU ALMOST MADE ME DROP MY COOKIE!"

"What's that thing you kids say? Oh yeah, skill issue."

"EH?!?!"

Ajay tilted their head at the two demons fighting for their lives before turning to Himiko with the same puzzled expression. "What's a skill issue?" They asked while choosing to stand rather than sit.

Himiko pointed to a chair next to her and watched the child sit before giving them an answer, "To lack in a specific skill, a skill issue."

"Okay... and what's a cookie?"

"A dessert that you're not gonna eat until you at least eat something with nutrition." Himiko nodded, reaching over to the fruit bowl right next to the cookies and grabbing a heart shaped red thing that Ajay once again did not recognize.

"What is that?"

The demoness stopped for a moment and blinked before her expression morphed into one of shock. "Do you... not know what an apple is?" She asked, watching the half demon shrug with their eyes locked onto the fruit in her hand.

"No. No I do not." They answered, blunt and fast.

Dual-colored eyes stayed locked onto the fruit in the well manicured hand and Himiko nearly thought they were attempting to explode it with their mind for a moment. She handed the apple over to Ajay and placed it in their hand, "Here, try it and see if you like it. If not I'll get you a different fruit-"

"Oh it's sweet."

By the time she turned back to the teen, a large chunk had been taken out of the apple. They chewed for a moment, expression twisted into one of both shock and surprise. But they didn't look upset.

"This is... a lot sweeter than I expected." Ajays eyes widened with a red glow in one, swallowing the bite they already had before taking another with a delighted hum while gleefully kicking their feet. Himiko even swore they had a little smile.

Ryo wrenched her way out of her father's noogie and raced over to where Ajay sat devouring the apple. She chuckled at the gleeful teen, even sliding another apple slice into their unsuspecting hand, "I would say I'm surprised, but seeing as you probably lived in a cave, I am not."

Ajay almost stopped to ask why Ryo thought they lived in a cave, only to remember that they currently had a lovely fruit from the gods in their hand and couldn't be bothered with questions.

Mammon smiled as the half demon scarfed down their last bite of apple and he turned to pick up a cookie, tossing it with a flip before handing it in the teens direction. "Here kid, now that you've had your nutrition you should try one of these before Grim stuffs them into his never ending stomach." He remarked, turning to shoot a sly smirk at Grims pout.

A robotic hand took it with only a moment's hesitation. Ajay raised it to their nose and sniffed it for a second, ignoring the questioning stares they got, before biting into it.

All at once, three things happened.

One, their eyes and pupils blew wide.

Two, the cookie in their hand was gone and before anyone could blink they grabbed another, devouring both it and a third in quick succession.

And three, Ajay shot ridged straight and dead still in their seat, so tense that Himiko wondered if Ajay had stopped breathing. Right as Ajays eyes went just the slightest bit wider, Ryo let out a low chuckle and whispered "Oh no." Before taking a few steps back.

Ajay began to rapidly bounce in their seat and flap their free hand so fast Mammon thought it would flop out of its socket, "SUGARRRRRR!!!!"

The teen raced out of their chair and dashed around the living room faster than anyone had even seen them move, only stopping every so often before darting around a corner and zipping right back.

"Oh-" Mammon stepped out of the way seconds before Ajay ripped past him and out into the gardens, "Yeah, kid! Sugar-"

Just as fast as they left, the teen darted back through the sliding glass door, jolting to a stop in the living room. Dual-colored wide eyes locked onto Ryo, and Ryo stared back. Himiko, Mammon, and Grim watched in tense silence for a moment before Ajays shot her a mischievous grin. Ryo smiled with a playful growl and hopped up out of her chair.

"Oi, you wanna SCRAP kid?! let's go!" She cheered, launching herself over the couch and chasing after the half demon who sidestepped and hopped over her before racing off with a laughing Ryo behind them.

Himiko hummed with a tilt of her head as she watched the two teens expertly race around the living room, surprisingly without breaking anything. Ryo even got a face full of couch cushion when Ajay teleported out of the way of an incoming tackle, to which she claimed was cheating. The bracelet on Ajays wrist apparently agreed as it stopped them the next time they tried, which led to them nearly getting body slammed.

"How long do you think they'll last before they crash?"

Mammon watched the two and swallowed his own cookie before responding, "I give it two hours, a sugar rush can't last that long."

A sugar rush can in fact last that long. Long as half of the day.

Ryo tapped out after the second hour of chasing them, claiming that the P.E in NRC had taken enough out of her before Grim took her place. He too suffered the same fate as Ajay was simply too slippery to catch, or so he says.

Mammon also took a go at entertaining the child, at one point even pulling out a red laser pointer that he had the time of his life watching them chase. The scratches on the walls are a simple enough fix.

The Avatar of Misfortune had even decided to toss them into the pool, which in turn got her both dragged in and the interesting discovery that Ajay couldn’t swim but had a ridiculous lung capacity. She found out the latter when Ajay didn’t surface for three minutes straight and scared everyone into thinking they drowned. Mammon ended up retrieving them.

Himiko, in the end of it all, jumped in just as the last bit of energy made its way out of Ajays system. All had gathered in the living room and Himiko decided to entertain them by simply letting them talk themself to exhaustion.

Ajay bounced rapidly from their seat on the floor, robotic arm even buzzing, and turned to Himiko with the most serious look they could muster in their sugar crazed state.

"If DK is the initials for Demon King, does that make Lord Diavolo Donkey Kong?"

Mammon and Grim collectively stopped to think about the question. Occasionally even going to respond or debate before turning the question over in their heads.

Ryo, on the other hand, answered with a swift and enthusiastic, "Yes! You see the vision! Ace is wrong yet again!" Followed by a prideful smile as she leaned back in her seat, sticking her tongue out at Grim.

Himiko didn't bother answering as Ajay nodded to Ryos answer and continued to talk themself in circles about the apparent meaning of life and Diavolo secretly having a child called Diddy Kong. Even if it was clear that they had no clue what they were talking about, not when Donkey Kong apparently threw watermelons.

"And that's way, mathematically speaking, an Avatar could be created off of the sin of choccy milk-" The half demon's rant was cut off by a long, fanged, yawn. They shook their head for a moment as a last ditch effort to drive away the heavy feeling slowly creeping in, and forced their eyes to stay open as they leaned off of the couch.

"Well," Himiko chuckled, nudging Ajay over to one of the spare seats on the couch, "I guess that's enough of that for the day." She watched Ajay grumble something under their breath before the full body collapsed into a tight ball right between Ryo and herself with a big and hearty sigh.

"Aww, I really wanted to learn more about the sin of chocolate milk." Ryo dramatically pouted and scooted away from Ajay to give them more space, only for them to not move a muscle.

Grim poked their cheek, taking the poke from Himiko in return. Even then the sleeping teen stayed dead to the world without even a flick of the eye. "They really are knocked out, huh?"

"I didn' expect them to sleep in front of us that fast." Mammon raised a brow as tiny snores filled the silence despite Ajays body never relaxing. The teen was almost curled into a perfect circle, which was an impressive feat not even Belphegor had accomplished.

Ryo shook her head, "What a sugar crash does to a teen..."

With a shrug and a playful roll of her eyes, Himiko picked up the remote and scrolled for a bit before turning on a movie that got the approval of everyone in the room.

A girl named Meilin Lee began to monolog as Himiko's eyes drifted over to the still sleeping teen curled up next to her. Their hair almost completely covered their face and their hands were squished in between their arms and knees, almost like a cat.

...They really did have a red panda motif.

She had to remind them to pack a bag for Lucifers when they woke up.

And if Mammon snuck Ajay a cookie before they went to bed that night and solidified his place as Ajays favorite person? Then it wasn't anyone's concern.

AN: Ignore the subtle slip in of two very important things that I forgot to write in earlier. Excuse that this is coming out at 2 am, I just love these guys. Only good things for them always, especially Ajay =)

[cloudsrust]

I have a lot on my mind after that ending and I truly need to write it down before I actually spontaneously combust so- Parallels between Azira/Crowley and Nina/Maggie and Crowley’s independence from Hell vs Aziraphale’s dependence on Heaven (especially in fighting) HERE I GO- (Tried to also make TLDR but I'm not great at those eh-)

1- Parallels between Crowley/Aziraphale and Nina/Maggie

Your honour they’re a mirror- but seriously, if there were any doubts on it, the Ball scene in which both couples dance at the exact time had to be the final confirmation. But anyway- the parallels between these two “wannabe couples” are truly something. Going into the serie we are led to believe, through their appearance, personality and a bit through their occupations, that Maggie is supposed to fully mirror Aziraphale (vintage wardrobe and likes, really sweet but that wants to assert herself and appear more courageous (which she is, just in a dumbass way.. just like the angel)), while Nina mirrors Crowley (dark and more modern clothes, very direct and sarcastic but it’s apparent she has a lot of baggage that she carries around, has difficulty asking for help wanting to fix everything herself). But relationship wise? They switch. Maggie is an emotional dreamer that knows that life can’t be a bed of roses (it’s mostly thorns with a few petals thrown around tbh) but that still desperately wishes for a happy ending where everything works out in the end- she is also the first one to make a step towards her crush, awkwardly but she tries her best by offering something she enjoys- (Crowley offering Azira food and wine? The latter that he came to enjoy first? Yeah.) and OH not even checking on her precious record shop to instead help out Nina, leaving it behind to help and stay with the one she cares for.. just like Crowley did with both his precious car and hell.

While Nina is someone that seems attached to her routines and, especially, her duties (her worrying about her coffee shop opening late even after she almost died by a demonic horde attack- she cares a lot to maintain her day to day alright.) and she is also stuck in a toxic relationship until Lindsay herself literally kicks her out of their ,possibly, shared house/apartment. She would’ve stayed in that relationship if the other one hadn’t completely cut ties with her, she would've stayed with someone that accused her of being selfish, only thinking about herself and that was VERY controlling on a daily basis. Nina also doesn’t seem like a very showy kind of person when it comes to love or affection, her love language perhaps being simply worrying for the other one, (then again we didn’t see a lot of her post relationship, so just my guess) and she is also someone that needs time for things to change (not because she didn’t jump into Maggie’s arms the moment her relationship was over, no no, it’s because of how she stayed in that stagnant relationship- it feels as if she didn't want things to change.). And I’m sure many have already seen this point but- Lindsay is to Nina exactly how Heaven is to Aziraphale. 

Crowley and Maggie are, well.. were, at the same square: waiting for the other to be ready. Now Crowley is back at Maggie’s “post shop blackout’s fight”.

Aziraphale is behind Nina in terms of squares: he is still in that toxic relationship and that, now that he feels he has the power to do so, he is desperately trying to fix by going back to Heaven. And if the parallels goes on, Aziraphale might also find himself thrown out- this time for real.

TLDR; In terms of relationship's views, Azira is the mirror or Nina while Crowley is the mirror of Maggie. Crowley has been in the "waiting for you to be ready" for a good while and now he is back at the step of the "fight at the coffeeshop during the blackout". Aziraphale he is still in a toxic relationship with Heaven (Nina and Lindsay parallel) and is still at the step of wanting to make things work out and fix the relationship while shutting out who really cares for him.

2-Crowley’s independence from hell vs Aziraphale’s dependence on heaven

There are many instances in which we see it. Crowley has fought tooth and nail to fully cut himself off from Hell and ,at least mentally, I’m sure he already was on his own waaay before the whole Armageddont ordeal. Aziraphale in comparison has simply.. took a step away from them, just gently slid to the side (Great, now we got the Demon that simply sauntered downwards and the Angel who just gently slid to the side. You’re welcome Neil.) but mentally he isn’t over them at all, like AT ALL. (to badly quote the “But it’s so nice to have someone to tell the things you’ve done to now that I don’t report anymore”, he is still trying to fix his bloody routine into something more normal- he hasn’t fully accepted being a rogue angel at all.).

I mostly would like to point it out with how they choose to fight though.

Crowley when he has to fight always chooses to use either his own mind or his own stuff: Season 1, at the Armageddon, all he has as a weapon is that thingy from his dear car (I have no idea what that’s called, I'm so sorry Crowley;;) and his powers/mind that he uses to both stop time and talk to Adam AND, before that, to not burn alive in his Bentley (it’s not a demonic thing since Hastur discorporates in the fire, that’s all Crowley’s doing). There is the bit in which he technically used a heavenly weapon, the Holy Water, to destroy Ligur- but that for me only demonstrates even more how much he DOES NOT care for either side. Using a weapon from the opposition? Yeah sure why not. Destroying your own kind (which is apparently frowned upon in Hell)? Yep, he got what was coming to him. 

Season 2, at the attack on the bookshop, he still just uses his mind to trick Shax into letting the humans get to safety- he doesn’t even use any real rule from Hell, he just makes something up that sounds convincing enough to work.

Also- Crowley is always shown being very distant to the other demons, and in season 2 he doesn’t even try to hide how much he isn’t interested in their conversations or the job they’re doing at the moment, even to BEELZEBUB THEMSELVES- Hell he only starts breaking a sweat when they mention Aziraphale, until then he was just bothered. 

Now let’s see Azira.. he is very, very dependent on Heaven:

Season 1, at the Armageddon, he ends up wielding a flaming sword that resembles to an extreme amount the one he was assigned (and gave away which- could I hazard a “I tried to get rid of it but in the end here it is (a copy of it) in my hand again”?)) by Heaven back at the Eastern Gate. And before that, to try and stop it he calls upon the Metatron to try and speak to God Herself, straight up using an Heavenly Circle (which also ends up discorporating him and leading to the events of the bookshop catching on fire, which yes it was an indirect consequence but.. I don’t know I like to see it as a cautionary tale about how toxic Heaven is to him.) The only demonic thing I can give him the props of doing is taking over, well- sharing, a human body, which apparently Heaven doesn’t really like. (Not counting the Holy Water thing because it would harm Hell more than it would harm Heaven.)

Season 2, at the attack on the bookshop, to stop the demons he once again uses the Heavenly circle, and once that falls he is completely helpless- Nina and Maggie are the ones who keep trying to fight with anything they can (his books to his dismay.. that poor bookshop keeps on suffering). The only last thing he tries is using his literal Holy Halo has a sort of grenade (which, the moment I saw, I liked to see it as a symbolic “I’m letting go of a very important angelic part of me to protect the humans which I actually hold dear”, and that could still be- but I also now see it as him still relaying desperately on his angel’s status).

ALSO- Aziraphale is still trying to keep his Heaven’s connection as pristine as he can, he invites them in, he is polite (even humoring Muriel’s whole thing while Crowley was ready to de-mask the poor thing at the first slip up), he tries his best to lie and maintain his facade of a good angel with the whole love thing. And he is scared. He is still deeply scared of Heaven, of the other Archangels and of the Metatron (he is on edge when he is going out the bookshop with them, while Crowley spoke to them as if they were just a stupid floating head you’d see in a bad Luna Park). But he still chooses to help out the one that wanted both him and Crowley dead, GONE. He is afraid but he still believes in Heaven being the good guys, or at least they have the ability to be.. maybe with his help. 

TLDR; Crowley is very independent with what he uses to fight and help himself, he also has clearly shown he doesn't care about Hell at all. Aziraphale is instead very dependent of Heavenly props to fight and help himself, as much as he wants to think he has accepted being a rogue Angel he is still not ready to leave Heaven behind.

-

That ending- I don’t think it’s out of character for Aziraphale to make that choice. Both he and the Demon want to do what they think is best for the other: Crowley wants to give his Angel a precious, fragile, peaceful human existence, just the two of them doing their own thing- no Heaven or Hell to think about. But for Aziraphale that “fragile” is a problem, I feel like he knows that they cannot just run away from their respective sides and go live in peace. And he wants to fix that at its core- first by offering to make the Demon and angel again, back to the good old times, then by presenting his hope that he can make everything better, fix Heaven and all of its problems. Unlike Crowley, he doesn’t know that you can’t cure a rotten apple- but he is still deeply attached to Heaven and he will stay there- even if that could mean rotting alongside it.

I say that but- something bothers me about that damned coffee offering from the Metatron. It’s so specific, so unlike them- they were being way too kind, a contrast to how dismissive they were when they first spoke with Aziraphale. 

And the way Azira’s expression was twisting in the elevator- he could’ve been going through all the stages of grief alongside Crowley or putting on a smile for when he arrived at the top but.. that smile at the end I just- dammit it really bothers me. Something is still up in the Up I swear.

[miras-ash]

Epilogue of "Just as the stars love the night"

Ash's pov

One year later...

I strolled with Yumiko through the parking lot of the stadium. In front of me I pushed the buggy in which Estella babbled and next to it ran Maho who was very amused about it. They both grew up so fast, I remembered exactly how small they used to be, time passed so quickly and soon we would welcome dwarf number three in our midst. Yumi was heavily pregnant with Jordan's child, they were supposed to start their planned trip around the world months ago but that plan was promptly scrapped when they found out about their blessing. I was so happy for them, they deserved all the happiness in the world. As for me, or rather Elena and I, our family planning was complete. With Estella and work we had our hands full. It took us a long time to adjust to a normal everyday life again but with the help of our friends it worked out.

Together we entered the stadium, it was a hot summer day and we had spontaneously decided to visit our loved ones at the training. The Tournament of the Champions was in a few days and everything was running at full speed. This year Lena would still be competing for Nighthaven since she was still under contract and even though it seemed strange to me I was cheering for Kali's troop this year. She should just not get used to it, next summer she would have no more chances should I be released for the service and participate again. I hoped so much, I loved being a mother but I wanted to get back in the saddle and work but I wasn't quite out of the woods yet. Sometimes nightmares and panic attacks still plagued me but with time it became less and less.

Yumiko and I crossed the lower area, past the changing rooms and entered the interior of the large dome. We walked the familiar path along the side to the benches where the various teams sat. I got Stella out of her stroller and put her on the grass, there she could crawl in peace as she wanted without anything dangerous lying around. Maho got all jittery, she had hoped that Jordan was already done and took her to the training building where she was allowed to drive around with a drone as long as it was not one of Twitch's, the last time she had zapped Mozzie with it a few times who did not find it as funny as the rest. She kept an eager lookout while playing with Estella.

Yumi sat down on one of the benches and stroked her round belly. She was beaming like the sun.

"Oh Liz, are you sure you don't want another one? You're such great mothers and I'm sure Stella would love a sibling. Maybe we can even get pregnant at the same time then, imagine that."

Her eyes shone with joy at the thought and she seemed to have her head in the clouds.

I looked at her and raised my eyebrow.

"No for the last time, you know how I feel about it. I love my daughter and wouldn't trade her for anything but I also want to finally do something for myself again. I want to get healthy and start back at Rainbow, I miss it so much. Besides, she already has a sister and soon a brother. We all spend so much time together that she will never feel alone. And another thing you douche, both of us pregnant at the same time? Our partners would leave the country. We're bad enough as it is."

She shrugged and replied "Well maybe I'll talk to Mira, she might see it differently."

Suddenly a voice sounded behind us "What do you want to talk to me about?"

Elena was standing there, she had already changed her clothes. Apparently she had finished her workout and had gone to take a shower while we waited. Jordan also appeared next to her, which did not escape Maho's notice. She ran up to in and let him lift her into the air.

"Hi Dad!!! Can we go?"

She had started calling him that over the last few months and Jordan couldn't have been prouder. Together they went off to play with the drone.

Mira picked Estella up and then joined us.

"So what about me?"

I rolled my eyes and said "Yumi thinks we should expand our family."

Elena laughed "Why, she's already doing that for us with Jordan or is she talking about a dog?"

She earned a nasty look from Hibana who got up and waddled away. Someone should have told her that she couldn't be taken seriously like that.

We amused ourselves for a while, then Mira changed the subject.

"So what do you say? Do we have a chance against Rainbow?"

I snorted, she knew how to draw me out.

"They don't stand a chance against you guys. You'll flatten them."

Never would I have thought to root for Nighthaven, I guess I was more mentally unstable than I thought.

The rest of the afternoon passed quietly. We went for a walk as a large group and family and then ended the evening without children in a restaurant. I had missed that so much, to lead a normal life without being on the run or having to fear for my loved ones. But now everything was finally good. I had people around me who loved me and for whom I felt the same. When I think about it, I had everything I ever wanted and needed. I was happy.

The end.

[stiricidewrites]

All the Things We’ll Leave Behind: ch 34, pt 1

Enter: Luo Qingyang's perspective.

No update tomorrow, as I both lost a writing day due to a doctor's visit and am just straight up busy with Too. Many. Things.

Enjoy your weekends! I'll be back Sunday!

Previously

~

lqy rocked on her feet as the challenge’s attendant explained the rules, his attention mostly directed towards the other groups, the alpha having apparently deemed their own trio to be reasonable and already well-informed about how this challenge was supposed to go.

“While this is a challenge where physical confrontations are generally expected,” the man said, his voice no longer the kind, cordial tone he had used to chat with them as he glared at the other group of jyl’s suitors, “if I deem your behaviour to cross a line between what would be acceptable in a martial arts match and what one would expect in a cage fight, you will be ejected from the challenge.”

lqy snickered to herself while jzxuan muttered under his breath and lwj’s scent—which lqy had been surprised to learn he had only minimal control over—edged towards annoyed as they eyed up the other groups.

The group of local alphas weren’t going to be a problem. She had been sizing them up on shore, and while there had been a few who seemed inclined to start trouble, most had been recruited to simply fill the competitor roster and were hoping for a good time—it wasn’t everyday you got to compete in an event like this, outside of specific college clubs, which were usually reserved for only the most proficient alphas.

This group of locals were on the younger side, likely only a year or two into university, home for the summer and looking to work off a little steam. lqy knew well enough that the difference between the excitement and spontaneity of university life and the boring ass small town you'd grown up in could be palpable—she’d grown up in Yiling after all.

No, that wasn’t even right. She’d grown up in the outskirts of Yiling, even the touches of culture and excitement that occasionally vibrated through town out of reach until wwx had come along. wwx had been a wildfire, appearing seemingly out of nowhere one day and deciding to set up shop there. He’d recruited locally at first, focusing on employing the otherwise unemployable, before bringing in an army of employees and their families from elsewhere.

It was the families who had brought the most change, their little town suddenly alight with dozens of new businesses to frequent, the beliefs they had brought with them swimming through the locals until it was rarer to find a business not employing omegas in supposedly un-omegalike jobs than it was to find them following the cultural norm. Within half a year, her little town had been bouncing with excitement and life and freedom. It hadn’t been many years since then, but the home lqy had been afraid to return to during her years attending boarding school had become one she dragged her more liberal friends to visit during university.

And now, wwx, man of mystery and power and fear, seemingly wanted her of all people to take over for him.

Kinda.

[ear-worthy]

Nobody Listens To Paula Poundstone: It's So Out There; It's In!

Do longer-running podcasts change from season to season? On TV, we witness shows that tackle new storylines, add or subtract characters, and even alter the "feel" of the show. The Walking Dead, Supernatural, NCIS, and The Big Bang Theory made substantial changes over the course of their long TV lives. 

How about a podcast that's been on for over five years like Nobody Listens To Paula Poundstone? In case you're not familiar with the show, here is the show's synopsis: "Join Paula Poundstone, co-host Adam Felber and a long list of characters, real and imaginary, on Nobody Listens To Paula Poundstone (the comedy podcast), a podcast taking the fun of a late-night show, the wit of a public radio show, and the knowledge of a guest experts while setting the volume to the max. Acerbic yet infectiously funny, Nobody Listens To Paula Poundstone (the comedy podcast) invites listeners into the audience of this absolutely ludicrous variety show, if they can follow along…or not."

This comedy podcast mirrors the quirky stream of consciousness mindset of its eponymous host, Paula Poundstone. Known for her smart, observational humor and spontaneous wit, Poundstone is well known for her appearances years ago on A Prairie Home Companion, her current guest spots on Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me and her stand-up act, which gears up for more than 85 shows a year. Poundstone’s enduring strength as a comedian does not really depend on a tightly scripted routine, but on her magical ability to improvise and begin talking to an audience to uncover comedic nuggets from the mouths of admiring fans. 

I've seen her live several times, and she often comes on stage and begins to talk to the audience. From those interactions, her improvisational comedy flows. Unlike a tightly scripted routine like Sebastian Maniscalco or Kevin James, Poundstone lives on the comedic edge. Her podcast reflects that spontaneous tone. 

 When you listen to Nobody Listens To Paula Poundstone, however, you are assaulted with a hail storm of sharp-witted jokes, zany characters, idiosyncratic contests, lunatic projects, cranky animals, imaginary celebrity guests and a carousel of talented musicians. 

That part of the podcast has remained stable over the life of the show, yet the craziness changes constantly. The show has the weirdest book club imaginable -- now reading the Valley Of The Dolls by Jacqueline Susann. There are odd gardening tips, the ongoing search for a survivalist gone missing, and new musicians every episode that become the "house band." Co-host Adam Felber has been there since the beginning, clearly behind the wheel in the podcast episodes, trying – sometimes in vain – to keep the show on the pavement while Poundstone continues to try to veer off into comedy potholes. His ability to play off Poundstone for comedic effect is a virtuoso effort, and his apparent exasperation at Poundstone’s detours makes for comedic sparks. Poundstone’s manager, Bonnie Burns, is affectionately and derisively known as “Captain Crinkle” on the show, and her frenetic, haphazard and logic-destroying manner gives Felber and Poundstone comedy ammunition. Even the podcast's producer -- Toni Anita Hull -- gets in on the comedy action with her hilarious tale of a cruise gone horribly wrong with her brother, who left the cruise at the halfway point so she was forced to hang with a niece she doesn't get along with.

A big change has been the location of the podcast studio, and there have been several over the course of the show. In the beginning, the show was recorded at the Ray Horseman Studios on Miranda Street in Los Angeles, an area infamous for its urban decay.

However, the podcast found a new production home, and has also worked with several production studios during the run of the show. The show has expanded its episode length. When it started in 2018, an episode ran about 55 minutes. Episodes today typically run about two hours. That expanded length of an episode is a legitimate trend, especially with comedy / interview shows, with Joe Rogan marathon episodes driving that episode expansion. Poundstone's show benefits from compartmentalization, since you can listen to her weird openings, the book club, the expert guest, and her back and forth with Felber as discrete segments. 

Over nearly 300 episodes, Poundstone and her crew have conjured up characters that will wrinkle your forehead, including Southern grand dame Mrs. Culpepper, whose husband, the colonel, died tragically from eating bad cheese. “Adam, it was the gouda that got him,” Mrs. Culpepper confesses to Felber in their ritual mock interview. 

Recently, in episode 297, the show eschewed a special guest in favor of the crew playing games like Password. The show was laugh-out-loud funny. The people in the Chik-Fil-A drive up line did not appreciate my guffaws. Nobody Listens to Paula Poundstone has kept a key holdover from the earlier podcast Live from the Poundstone Institute, and that is the interaction of Poundstone and Felber with a guest expert every episode. These experts provide actual important information and often seem to understand that instilling the audience with new knowledge often takes a backseat to Poundstonian diversions into flights of observational humor.

Episode 78 was one of my favorites. Called “We’re Dying Up Here!” the show welcomed guest mortician and author Caitlin Doughty, who spoke about the rituals surrounding death with her own brand of irreverent humor seamlessly blending with Poundstone’s gallows humor.

The guest interview is where Felber shines. First, he has that dilettante quality where he seems to know enough about a lot of topics and second – and more important -- he keeps Poundstone from veering off the interview path where she can riff for five or more minutes while the guest is mute and momentum is lost.

Outstanding guest experts include Hulu’s The Orville writer and former Star Trek science consultant Andre Bormanis who “dropped science on them” and ecologist Dan Cooper who explained to Poundstone how to communicate with the birds in her front and backyards.

What's also changed -- and is an object lesson for indie podcasters -- is the energy that Poundstone and her crew invest in monetization via growing a loyal fan base. Loyal fans -- and Patreon backers -- are called "Nobodys." The Nobodys are referenced regularly, often feted, and quite often become part of the show. Poundstone puts a lot of effort into her merch for the show, and she's not afraid to aggressively sell her show to listeners. 

Like all comedy podcasts, Nobody Listens to Paula Poundstone attracts listeners who like her as a comedian. That's the essence -- and the success quotient -- for comedy podcasts. "I think this person is funny, and now I can hear them regularly instead waiting for a live show or a Netflix special."

Of course, as Poundstone, who was once thought of as "edgy," has grown older, so too has her audience. The key here is to attract new listeners, since numerous podcast surveys reveal that podcast listening rates for people over 55 years old are low, and not appreciably climbing.

 Listening to Nobody Listens to Paula Poundstone is akin to walking around a crammed antique store with narrow aisles and items stacked floor to ceiling. That’s where you’re likely to find treasures galore like Mrs. Culpepper, the store that sells dented appliances down the street, the missing survivalist, the kaleidoscope of musicians and the strange alchemy that makes Nobody Listens to Paula Poundstone a worthwhile listen.

[catsconflictscopicsandchamomile]

oooohboyohboyohboy. okay. I’m gonna try to explain the plot of spn & the latest canon/fanon updates as clearly as I can (given that the show’s canon is already basically nonsense), using ONLY mythology terms. hang onto your era-appropriate mug of mead bc this is gonna get WILD.

So.

The plot of spn is that Grendel (”Sam” in the modern day, apparently. he’s still a giant if you’re wondering) and Grendel’s Brother (instead of Grendel’s Mother. whoo. puns.) are wandering around the USA with their adoptive mom, a pooka in the form of a car that nobody EVER canonically acknowledges as a pooka, despite her being clearly sentient and able to get from Kansas to LA in a half hour. one time she got to alaska in a week, WHILE she was LITERALLY CURSED BY GOD. 

anyway yeah they just kinda roam around fighting any other monsters/humans/whatever they see, trying to find the demon that killed both the grendels’ birth mom (human? half-elf? hard to tell). then they start getting involved with Christian Shit which goes about as well as it ever does for Grendels, and the ANGEL OF TIME (His name is Cassiel in most lore, Castiel in spn canon, but everyone calls him Cas) shows up, falls in love with Grendel’s Brother and basically becomes an honorary member of the Unseelie Fae. 

a LOT of crazy shit happens, Crowley From Good Omens’ daughter (yeah. he had a kid with some human. the daughter is clearly thracian so it was a while ago. shes scary) and grandson are there, and at some point the newest Jack (from Jack Stories) shows up and crashes with them for a while, does the whole usual take Death as a mentor/betray death/kill some scary mythic shit/piss of the devil/piss off God/trick his way into heaven thing before (we all assume) getting promptly yeeted tf out and (I assume) going off to do the whole “Ruling Halloween” thing. Sam fucks an Empousa who promptly fakes her death, burns his college dorm down, and then un-fakes her death to come bug him (she was allied w the demon that killed his mom. it was a shitshow), then after more flings with more demons (and humans) than you can count, Sam couples up probably-permanently with AíLIN, THE BURNER OF TARA, an UNSEELIE PRINCESS who ALSO THINKS SHES HUMAN. there’s a Tanuki who wears a trucker hat and drinks beer instead of the usual straw hat and sake, he hangs around now and then, makes rooms spontaneously appear, fakes his death a couple times to go do whatever it is yokai do, and mostly just sits on the porch and says “BALLS” a lot because Subtlety Is Dead I guess

The show ends with Cas confessing his love to Dean with his dying breath, while directly behind the door the REST of his true angelic form is (purposefully) recreating Chronos’ fall into tartarus by fighting the horseman of death one-on-one and letting the resulting cut-to-pieces-with-a-scythe-ness of it all drag them both into Tartarus, which, weirdly, was the defeat that loosened the forces of the apocalypse’ hold enough that Trump lost the 2020 election. 

and then like two weeks later Dean gets a cold iron stake through the back and, since HE DOES NOT KNOW HE’S NOT HUMAN and therefore doesn’t know how to do the whole Grendel Invulnerability Thing, he reacts like most demon-fae-whatever creatures would to cold iron and dies in agony burning from the inside out (he lasts almost 10 minutes though- thats pretty impressive), aaaaaaand then Sam gets grabbed by the local fae (working for the horseman of Famine, long story as to why) before he even leaves the scene, and blah blah the usual malevloent fae stuff, weird illusory fake life where nobody’s face is clear, 50 years sped up over 5 hours, etc etc, eventually Famine himself shows up full of fresh Grendel Boy Life Force, taunts him and leaves his white-haired husk in in a field to rot. 

and then some absolute FUCKS (cough. horsemen again) decided to do the whole “devil and the iron nails” folktale and stab shit into Dean tiil he was forced to serve them, so he’s doing that sometimes, and they’re making him do Real Evil Shit... but like at least he’s figured out what he is. furry, even bigger, fangs, breathing fire and all that. when they’re NOT using him, they’ve got him, Sam, AND the Pooka (when they’re not using HER as a soldier too- horsemen. pooka. black horse. I just feel rly bad for her, she lost an eye...) chained to a bridge in north cali (trolls on a bridge. ha ha ha) 

while I THOUGHT Dean was just using the whole Grendel thing to access his predecessors’ memories to do (spoilers), it looks like he might actually have taken some of his angel boyfriend’s magic and is using it to yeet around time. unfortunately the horsemen know this as well so he also yeets around time on their commands and does Bad Guy Things, ripping Osiris’ eye (the magic one) out, eating heroes, pissing off a Son of Mars by eating his grandpa and cursing his dad, teaming up with random fae, fistfighting the devil for really no reason, etc etc etc. 

Cas is either still in tartarus, or in London (tldr Cassiel rules the Deaths Of Kings in the lore so he was DEFINITELY summoned by the queen kicking it last yr)

and as for Sam, well. uh. yeah just try to picture “Grendel Draugr” as a concept and then be VERY happy that he’s stuck on that bridge, even if his magic isn’t. yeeeeeeesh. 

and the tanuki has decided to run for president. 

....oh also, absolutely nobody except me sees spn canon this way. I am the ONLY one. that being said I really enjoyed explaining this to someone who knows a lot about grendel and nothing about spn- its honestly a lot easier than trying to explain this to the actual spn fandom. fandom about myths full of ppl who do not know the relevant myths. 

What do you think of my new Grendel's Mother costume concepts

[deobitchxx]

request! 

synopsis: the jealousy in your boyfriend led to an unexpected sex warning(s): filth smut ig?? degradation, slight slapping, chocking, breeding, multiple orgasms and overstimulation to the point y/n squirted so minors kindly dni! <3 prompt(s): 83 - it's sir, understood? 88 - be quiet or i have no choices but let them know what a whore you are underneath me 89 - do you have fun teasing the shit out of me? notes: i get too carried on with the plot thus leading it to be quite long than usual </3 my apologies

it was unprofessional of him to behave like this. to be precise, was it even your fault to begin with? it was your job as an idol and you can’t just say no to your manager. you needed the money and you were sure you could gain more popularity by accepting the commercial. it was quite new for a rising idol to be modelling for a lingerie company, but you were proud with your body proportions. plus, the thoughts of money flowing into your bank account can’t bring the smile on your face away. however, you weren’t informed that you’ll have a co-model for the month of promotion. you were shocked once you saw the quite provocative images by the side, the team expected you to pose equally the same or at least giving such vibes with your fellow co-worker. a male voice appeared as you turned to face the owner of the voice, seeing lee sangyeon, the leader of your boyfriend’s group. it was definitely an awkward situation for both of you, especially when sangyeon often saw you hanging around in their dorm during your leisure time. it was too late for both of you to back out and you knew it would only cause an unnecessary scene, leading to a heavy dark weird atmosphere in the studio. therefore, both of you decided to put all the thoughts behind and posed for the camera professionally.

you didn’t dare to bring the issue to your boyfriend, afraid that he would feel weird or distance himself with his leader. that’s the least you want since their group was busy preparing for their comeback. though both of you had busy schedules, there wouldn’t be a time where both of you would empty your time just to meet even though it was only for a few minutes. strangely, both of you had free time during the weekend. your company decided to give you a break during the weekend after your hard work during the weekdays while for your boyfriend, juyeon, the company decided not to pressure them too much. they gave them ample time to rest during the weekends though they still have to practise for plenty of hours. well, better than nothing right? juyeon appreciated everything the company gave to him, thus leading both of you to cuddle in his room. thanks to their recent success, the company managed to provide a new dorm for the members for their own comforts and some chose to have their own rooms while some choose to be roommates with their own members. for juyeon, he preferred being alone and since it was hard for idols to go out for dates, both of you often have your dates in his room. he wasn’t alone to begin with, some members apparently bring their significant others to their dorm too and they planned a conspiracy to not tell their managers. 

“how’s your week going?” his voice was so soothing, it almost brought you to sleep but you didn’t want to waste your free time with him sleeping. being in his arms as he cuddled you on his bed, you snuggled closer to his muscular body, getting a little bit comfortable under the huge comforter. the netflix show that was playing through the projector spontaneously became a music background, both of you weren’t paying much attention to what's showing since it was re-watched for the fifth time. since your arms were wrapping around his waist, you were drawing a circle on the naked skin, defining his packs. “nothing new, just as usual. how about yours? how was the preparation going?” it was your turn to ask him, looking up to face the beloved man in your life. with his right arm under your neck, casually landing his hand on your shoulder, he pulled you closer while rubbing your skin, “tired and stressed. preparing for a comeback would always be so bittersweet.” you nodded, understanding the feeling damn too well since you are an active idol too. “sangyeon leads us very well, i’m glad he’s the leader.” juyeon added, the day of you having a photoshoot with him suddenly flashed in your mind. starting to feel anxious, you fiddled with your fingers and the taller one noticed it. “something wrong?” 

“promise that you won’t get angry.” the doe eyes started to play its role, making juyeon soften by your expression as he gently caressed your hair, tucking them behind your ear before touching your ear. “i won’t promise, but i’ll try my best.” that’s what you like about juyeon. he wasn’t a good liar, nor good at being straight-forward but he’ll always choose the right words to not hurt you. exhaling the breath you didn’t know you held in, you cross-sitting on the mattress, leading the other to sit too while leaning his back against the bed frame. unlocking your phone and immediately going to the gallery, you showed him a few pictures from the previous photoshoot with sangyeon. “the lingerie company i’m currently modelling in just told me that i’ll be working with sangyeon starting from this month's promotion. i didn’t know about it, nor was it mentioned in the contract. both of us were informed right when we arrived at the destination.” you finally confessed the long ago things you’d been wanting to tell him, hoping he won’t be angry for the sudden confession. “i didn’t want to tell you yet because you were busy with your comeback. i didn’t want to make you more stressed, let alone having the intention to make you feel bad..” you bit your lips, head down as your eyes glued to your legs, suddenly found your legs attractive to look on. you expect for a disappointed sigh or the sudden raise in his voice, but instead you earned a chuckle from your boyfriend. 

looking up to face his reaction, it was true that he wasn’t showing any bad feedback at all. he rather gave you a smile before patting his lap and being the obedient girlfriend you are, you wasted no time in climbing to his lap.  “do you think i would get angry at this?” you nodded, earning another chuckle from him as his hands went to grab your chin, the sudden grasp startled you and he forced you to face him. “well you guessed it right. what gave you the right to think that i won’t be angry?” his fingers slowly tracing down to your collarbone, sensually touching them before landing his fingers on each side of your neck. “did you have fun doing the photoshoot with my leader?” you shook your head as a no, reducing the intake of oxygen as he pressed the sides tighter. it can’t be denied, angry and jealous juyeon is one of your favourite genres. “cat got your tongue?” he lowered a few octaves as you shook your head again, “n-no..” his other hand straight went to cup one of your breasts, earning a choked moan from his girlfriend. “i was already mad enough to know that you are modelling for a lingerie company but having sangyeon as your partner? that’s fucking pathetic.” he soon added, “whores like you sure like to play with my friends huh.” 

the sudden flip made you gasped, his strength never failed to impress you as he topped you, lips crashing with yours while fingers ripping every clothes of yours. as soon as your body was only covered by your undergarments, his lips went down to your neck, tongue casually covering your skin with his saliva. “fucking mad that you would agree with such stupid photoshoot,” he groaned against your skin, unclasping your bra to free your boobs and teeth sinked to one of your buds. “f-fuck juyeon-” “it’s sir, understood?” you nodded your head, so close to grip his hair but his hand was quick enough to pin your wrists on your head. “did i allow you to touch me? fucking needy slut who can’t keep her hands.” the pathetic whimpers that escaped from your lips produced beautiful melodies to juyeon’s ears, circling his tongue around your aroused nipples. the way he sucked into your nipples were quite hard to the point you were thinking if milk would suddenly come out but you knew it was impossible since you weren’t pregnant yet. after paying much attention to both of your breasts, his other hand cupped each of them, not wanting to leave it untouched while going south, facing your clothed cunt. letting out a sharp and loud moan, his hands now held your thighs, preventing you from moving much. 

“be quiet or i have no choice but let them know what a whore you are underneath me.” juyeon growled and you nodded, biting your lips from letting out another embarrassing moan. teeth holding onto the band of your panty, he slid it off and threw it somewhere around his room. the sudden emptiness made you whimper, blurting out incoherent words which juyeon assumed you wanted something to be done with your pussy. it was helplessly wet and you were too horny for a foreplay, but you knew you weren’t in control- especially when the angry juyeon was in between your legs. flicking his tongue against your folds, you held in the moan though you were sure soft moans managed to escape, hands gripping the bed sheet tightly. the sounds of your mewl began to reflect the whole room, whoever passing by juyeon’s room would surely knew what both of you were up for. “p-please..” you shook your head erratically, not wanting to get teased by the man beneath you but instead earning a cold silence as he slowly moved his tongue on your clit. “mmmff-” the bite on your lower lips got harsher, your fingers were finding anything that was impossible to hold onto. “sir please, no m-more mmmh,” you rolled your eyes to the back in sudden ecstasy as he left a long lick on your clit. maybe you were too horny or you were sex deprived, the liquid on his face maybe could explain it. 

“wow,” juyeon smirked, wiping the cum on his face with his thumb and licking it, looking up to face you as you were trying to easen your breath. “were you too fucking horny? i barely touch you,” the uneven breath responded to him, you can’t even form a proper sentence to the dominant one. “but above all of them, you came without my permission.” his tone got deeper as he reached for your neck, causing you to choke at the sudden grab. “and you know what sluts like you should do, right?” nodding your head off, switching your position as he now sat on the bed and you were in between his legs. “suck.” he demanded after you struggled taking his shorts off, greeted by the proudly standing wood right in-front of your face. licking the veins that stood out angrily as you pushed the tip into your mouth, slightly gagging at the sudden growth. you were taking too long and it wasn’t exactly what juyeon needed so he held your hair in a ponytail, pushing your mouth to the base and thrusting his hips up, causing you to gag. juyeon often informed you about the safe words and taps if it was getting overwhelming to you and since he didn’t receive any of them yet, he kept on forcing your mouth to his root, letting out a satisfied grunt by the warmth of your mouth. you knew that it was one of his favourite things in sex, well you liked it too, having his huge dick in your mouth. you preferred it more when he gets rough to you and that’s what exactly you got from him. 

bobbing your head according to the rhythm the latter just set to you, closing his eyes as his climax reaching soon. noticing it, popping out with the sound of ‘pop’ before circling your mouth around his tip with your fingers playing with his balls, dangerously close to his hole, deciding to tease him a bit and that would be the worst thing you ever chose to do on that day. tightening the grip on your hair as he yanked you off from his dick, forcing you to face him. “do you have fun teasing the shit out of me? do you think it’s cute to tease me?” you shook your head as a no but only to be responded with a slap on your cheek and hell, that fucking turned you on. “answer me, whore.” “n-no.” “no what?” the overwhelming pleasure was too much for you, pressing your legs tightly as the knot in your stomach was appearing again. “no s-s-sir.” a cheeky smirk could be heard afterwards as he threw you on the bed, hand still on your neck while the other reached to his dick, lining it up to your vaginal hole. “sluts like you should be put into their places back.” 

the sudden thrust into your hole caused you to let out another choked moan as he wasted no time in thrusting his hips against yours, the slapping sounds against wet skins were too obvious to be hidden anymore. following with your pathetic whimpers and sobs, you would have a hard time to face his teammates soon. knocking the breath out from you as he bottomed out, pulling out only to be slamming back into the tight hole of yours. the increase in speed led to another embarrassing moans of yours, incoherent words started to blurt out and the bed cracking against the wall surely left nightmares to whoever was in the dorm. “s-sir, s-sir mmmf sir please,” juyeon somehow managed to catch on what you were saying, raising an eyebrow as his hand went up to caress your hair gently, totally contrasting to the thrusts of his hips. “please what, kitten?” “anything s-sir, any-mmf fuck anything sir. just wanted to c-come,” the tears on the corner of your lips were getting clearer, the pleasures he gave to you were inexplicably good. “then come.” managed to get permission from your boyfriend, back arched as tears fell down, you screamed out loud as soon as you released, giving no fucks that he was still living with his members and some of them were probably having their rests in their own rooms. 

the pretty moan escaping from your lips was soon muffled as his lips caught yours, hips still not stopping from thrusting into you as it got impossibly faster and deeper. you swore you could see the bulge in your stomach and fuck, that made you wet again. “gonna cum in you,” juyeon whispered against your lips as soon as both of you parted off, the thought of breeding you making him insanely turned on and it could be proven by the changes in thrusts. “would you like that?” he asked as you once again nodded erratically, moaning a ‘please’ causing him to smirk, “of course, sluts like you should be breeded.” soon followed by him cumming into you as you could feel the long and thick ropes filling you up. you too were turned on by the thought of getting breeded, not realising that you just squirted on his dick. finishing riding his orgasm out in your hole, juyeon slowly pulled his dick off only to watch some of his cum dripping down to your thighs. the combination of your squirt and his cum on your thighs were putting him over the edge as he leaned in to lap the liquid off, earning a whimper from you as you grip his hairs, shaking your head. “t-too much. too much sir,” you squirmed but he ignored you and that caused you to have your orgasm for the fourth time. 

“good girl, my good girl.” juyeon praised you, giving endless pecks on your lips and forehead, “you did so well for me, princess.” ignoring the mess right in-front of them, he pulled you into a hug, pecking the crown of your head as you snuggled closer to him, finding no strength in moving at all. “did i went too harsh on you?” you shook your head as a no, wrapping your arms tighter around his well-defined waist and rested your head on his chest. “i’m sorry if i did, i got too carried away with my jealousy.” “it’s fine, juyeon. in fact, i like it.” you looked up to him and assured him with a peck on his cheek, responding to his smile. “next time, don’t hesitate to tell me if things like these happen again, okay? i promise i won’t be mad- at least, not like this. plus, you looked too hot for the shoot, guess i was too aroused by it.” you giggled at his sudden confession and nodded, pulling him closer to your body. “i love you.” “i love you too, my princess,” said your boyfriend as he pecked the top of your head again before putting both of you to a quick nap.

[libraryofcirclaria]

And now a little of my own...Third Level Society, Story Six, Part Two

6 - Meona Bell: Part Two

1281 September 8

I'm trying to piece together what happened since I last wrote. Everything Ivella told me when I first woke up in the University Hospital Wing made no sense to me. How Carter almost caught her...how she got away...her background...

I have somewhat of a vague memory of the Caucus Chamber. It was on fire. Or was it just smoke and sparks? Was that yesterday? Or was it last week? Or a month ago?

I know that Daniel Carter and Julian got into a fight? But why would they be hurling spellfire discharges at each other?

Or was it Kara Martins? Yes. I remember now. Carter wasn't there. Or maybe he was on the Dais. And then Kara lashed out at Julian. First, it was shouting. Then it was spellfire dueling.

Wait. No. Ceri Mains was there. And she attacked them both. She barged in. Either that or one of her cronies slipped into the Chamber among other Members. I don't remember Ceri emerging from the Audience Section though. She was just spontaneously there.

Ivella is telling me that the later in time I think, the worse it is. So I need to go back to the beginning, the morning of September 6.

That does seem clearer to me. So here goes, 1281 September 6:

Shortly after breakfast came a knock on my Guestroom Door. To my complete surprise, I saw standing at the door a very aged version of Daniel Orville Carter, himself.

"Meona now, is it?" he said. When I answered, he shook my hand and gave me a hug. "A very beautiful addendum."

"I didn't know you'd respond so quickly," I said.

"To what?" Carter said, finding himself a seat. "If you sent a message, I never got it. I was staying up the road from here since yesterday. I picked up on your name over the phone with Dungeonmaster Julian." Carter reached into his coat pocket and pulled out an envelope. "By the way, I also have an important letter from Miss Ivella; and I need to take this to Julian in person. As you can see noted, we are not to mention this letter to anyone but Julian and his close company. And no one but Julian may open this letter and read it."

"So you've come to get me to take with you to Julian?" I asked.

"You seemed to have read my mind," Carter said, standing up again. "I'm afraid I have no time for coffee and biscuits if that's what your plans were. We'll have that later."

The Campus Watch checkpoint was still up. In fact, they stepped things up by doing a more thorough search of our bags and persons. Within a very short amount of time, however, we were in Dungeonmaster Julian's Office, where Carter handed Julian the letter and ordered him to read it.

"Finally, a sign from her," Julian said grudgingly but relieved. "Right on the day of my big talk." But when he read, the look of relief fell from his face, which turned pale and blank. With his hand shaking, he handed the letter to me. "Meona. Tell me what you make of this."

I looked at the letter. Apparently, Ivella Ogden boarded an airship in Clareon, the capital of the Mid-Westerlies, and intended to ride a flight to Savel, from where she would take a cable train to Ereautea. However, the airship she was on experienced an engine failure, forcing them to make an emergency landing in the island-nation of Monassa. That was, of course, a customs nightmare for her, because Monassa has been an independent country since 1249. So she had to wait for a copy of her passport to be mailed to her.

In addition to that, there was also heavy traffic due to summer travels; so Ivella had to wait a week before finally boarding an airship back to Savel, putting her hopelessly behind schedule.

I read the second part of the letter aloud but in a quiet voice: "...However, Julian, you don't need to be afraid, and I'm saying this for two reasons: first, I know Mary Kormann very well, much more than you think. Despite her demeanor and appearance, she is very resilient. Ceri Mains is no match for her.

"Second, in watching and even involving myself in the protection of the Cabotton community during this uncertain time, I've been made aware, much to my surprise, that Ceri Mains actually has no intention whatsoever to harm Mary Kormann or otherwise infiltrate the Society, despite what certain media sources may say.

"I cannot explain why I am saying this in this letter because that involves disclosing dangerous information that I cannot risk being leaked in the unlikely event that this message gets intercepted, but I promise that I will speak with you when I finally arrive, at which point everything will make sense. In the meantime, I must ask something unusual of you. And that is to have, what you may deem, blind faith in what I've told you and to use your best judgement given the circumstances.

"I will hopefully arrive by this coming Sunday, September 9. Again, once I explain everything in person, you will be left with no more questions on the matter. Sincerely, Ivella Marie Ogden."

Julian shook his head. "That...this just...None of it makes sense," he said hysterically. "At all...I have to be on the podium in..." Julian paused and looked at his watch. "Ninety minutes!" Julian stood up and began to pace frantically. "Ninety minutes from this very moment! I have to reassure the Caucus that everything is going to be alright! And then I have Kara Martins and those other buffoons to deal with!" Julian snatched the letter from me, crumpled it up, and threw it at the wall. "That daft woman, Ivella! How could she say this!? How could she be in complete denial!?"

"She is running that darkfire sanctuary, you know. I'm afraid it's possible she may have been swayed," Carter said, and for a brief moment, I remembered back to when Julian had mentioned that diplomacy was questionable between the two figures.

"What do we do, Daniel Carter? Meona Bell?" Now there was desparation in Julian's voice.

"You're a Dungeonmaster now," Carter said. "Think!"

"Oh great!" Julian said sarcasticly. "Thanks for your encouragement!"

"Let's talk to Mary Kormann," I said suddenly, standing up and lifting a calming hand to both of them. "Let's see if she has some words of encouragement to say...to the Caucus, I mean."

"You're starting to sound like Ivella now," Julian said accusingly.

"Do you have a better alternative, Mackwell?" Carter asked sternly.

Julian paused and sat back down. It seemed that he shrank and grew weaker. "Fine," he said. "Let's try Mary."

...

[pheita]

A congress, a playful cover, and a coincidental epiphany Part 3

Let's start the games of fake dating. @bloodlessheirbyjacques @stormbrightwriter @catharticallysarcastic @kainablue

The next morning, Tali wondered what she had gotten herself into. It was clearly the dumbest idea in the universe to agree to Constantine's proposal when she was already hopelessly in love with him anyway, and then on top of that Melinda was such a manipulative bitch. The panicked text message to Zoe that evening only resulted in her being laughed at and Zoe thought Tali should use it, maybe it all brought to light more than she thought, but Tali didn't dare think Constantine had even a glimmer of interest in her that went towards the romantic direction. Sullenly, she swung out of bed even before the alarm on her mobile rang. If she was already awake, she might as well take advantage of it. There were two full days left and the departure day coming up that would have her and Constantine pretending to be together. After some thought, it occurred to them that Tali's stormy embrace and his cold reaction toward Melinda on the first day already provided good grounding, and they just needed to be a little more explicit for Melinda. It didn't make it any better that Tali had to give her speech that morning and was already nervous about it anyway, but it had now increased immeasurably with the chaos caused by Melinda, and she would have preferred to throw up from nerves. Freshly showered and dressed, she stepped out of the bathroom only to run into Constantine, who was walking around the room in just his underwear. Through the water, Tali apparently hadn't noticed how his alarm clock had gone off and couldn't help but unintentionally memorize how he looked almost naked, even though she knew her subconscious would surely make her suffer for it.

"You're done, that's perfect timing." A satisfied smile on his face, he grabbed his clothes and pushed past her. As soon as the door to the bathroom closed behind him Tali fell onto the bed and took a deep breath. She had to find a way to calm down before the speech and take precautions for the evening that she was going to explode because something inside her was going crazy. As if on cue, her mobile phone beeped that a message had arrived. "Good morning sweetie, so how was your night as a fake couple?" For the armada of winking emojis behind it, Tali wanted to strangle Zoe.   She just barely suppressed the growl and replied before heading out to breakfast. Still in the doorway, she remembered that they had agreed to appear together for breakfast as step one of the plan to provoke Melinda. Spontaneously, Tali hated everything about this morning.

So she had no choice but to look over her notes for the presentation again and put everything in its order, even if she had done that before leaving.  With a sigh, she closed her folder just as Constantine came out of the bathroom. As so often, he had his shirt sleeves rolled up to his elbows, which only made her sigh again. "Don't worry, Tali, you'll handle the presentation beautifully." He smiled encouragingly at her and moved his arm in a welcoming gesture. The folder under her arm, Tali surrendered to her fate, put on what she hoped was a confident smile, and stepped up beside Constantine.

Luck, or bad luck, was their hold, as Melinda sat just inside the breakfast nook entrance, looking over at them incredulously as they entered together. Tali had to stifle a grin until they had found a table and were seated far enough away from Melinda "That was a clear sign that she had the clear intention of driving a wedge between us yesterday," Constantine commented, also grinning. "I didn't think she would give herself away so easily." "So far, she hasn't had to deal with anyone as clever as you to see through her, either." "I'm going to get something to eat." Hastily, she disappeared before he could see her blush with certainty. From the buffet, she dared a sidelong glance at Melinda, who was staring at her as if looks alone could make Tali drop dead. Intrigued, she laughed softly to herself as she sat back down at the table. "Melinda?" "If looks could kill." Constantine nodded slightly thoughtfully and got up to organize his breakfast. Walking past Tali, he leaned down and kissed her on the forehead. "We want to keep up appearances, don't we?" A strangled squeak escaped Tali, because she hadn't been prepared for this, even though they had agreed that she was okay with such a thing for the sake of appearances.  Without her doing, her imagination began to envision what it would be like if they were really a couple, and she began to grin. The grin was still on her face as they walked to the first lecture. Tali's turn wasn't until eleven, so they had time to listen to one of the other presentations beforehand.

She only half listened, even though it was interesting how it was about how mystical beings perceived time differently and thus often perceived historical events differently than humans, resulting in a delayed reaction. The example given was the Second World War and how the twisted Nazi ideals had belatedly spread among the mystical beings, thus providing the breeding ground for the War of Fate in the first place. Tali had been looking forward to the lecture, but she couldn't quite concentrate on it because Constantine was sitting next to her and Melinda had crept up behind them and was sitting somewhere further back, which Tali had taken as an opportunity to rest her head on Constantine's shoulder and put her hand in his. He had only smirked and pointed backwards with his eyes as a sign that he had noticed Melinda as well. So now she sat snuggled up to him, as one would expect of a couple, Constantine had his arm still around her shoulder, trying not to let the girlish giggle out.       

It surprised neither of them to see Melinda at Tali's lecture as well. She took it with a roll of her eyes and prepared the charts and everything. Her plan was to fill half the hour she had with the talk and leave the rest for questions. Only a few minutes left before the lecture started when someone came up to her and handed her a piece of paper. Tali looked up, blinking. "Can I help?" "This was dropped off for you." She didn't recognize the hotel's uniform at first. "Thanks, I think." As soon as she accepted the piece of paper, the clerk left. Even more confused, she opened the piece of paper. You're smarter than the previous ones, but that won't help you either. It ran hot and cold through Tali. This was clearly coming from Melinda, and it was just as clearly a sign that she was buying their charade. Tali licked her lips, looked up and searched for Melinda among the audience already seated in the room, demonstratively crumpling the note while maintaining eye contact.

"What was that?" Constantine had stepped up beside her and placed his hands on her shoulders. "A battle of wills." "Melinda?" "Who else?" she asked, leaning her head to the side and smiling amused at Constantine. "I have a feeling you're enjoying this." "After she just revealed she takes everything seriously, yes." His gaze went to her hand, which still held the crumpled note, and he snorted in amusement. "Could it be that you love to show other people where their limits are?" Tali looked past Constantine with a frown. "I don't know. I think Melinda fosters a side of me that I don't know about myself." "I like that side." He gently pressed her face more toward him with his hand and kissed her cheek, though to others it had to look like it was a real kiss. It took a moment for Tali to regain her composure and not stand there grinning stupidly. This was becoming more and more like playing with fire for her with each passing hour, and she was sure she was clearly going to get burned doing it, but then at least she would drag Melinda along. Elated by Constantine's attention, she cleared her throat and checked the microphone. Her eyes fell on Constantine, who was sitting in the front row, looking at her in a way she couldn't name. It threw her off for a moment, but then she managed to pull away from him and sought a spot further back in the room. "Good morning, I'm glad to see, so many have found their way here after all. My name is Tali Hanson and for the next thirty minutes I would like to give them a brief introduction to why it is important to see the history of the mystical world as interwoven rather than each tribe, each region on its own. After that, I've scheduled time for a community discussion." The room briefly got a little noisy as some sat down differently. Tali took it as a good sign and began her talk.

Relieved that she had made it, Tali sat in the hotel garden and enjoyed the juice. She had been able to win over a few people to the idea, a few of them even historians who wanted to beat themselves up for never having thought of it themselves. When in the end she had jumped into Constantine's arms with joy without thinking about it, Melinda had stormed out with a loud complaint that everyone could hear her.  Since then, she had disappeared, for which Tali was more than grateful, as well as for the little break from it all. "So, how's it going? Exploded yet?" Rolling her eyes, she read Zoe's message. "No, but it's only a matter of time. That bitch is sneaking up on us, and he's taking every opportunity to be affectionate." It was only a matter of moments before Zoe would reply, she was having too much fun with the situation and especially teasing Tali for that. But her sister was right about one thing, if Constantine continued to use every chance to hug her or even kiss her on the cheek, then her hormones would really go crazy at the end of the day, Tali was sure of that, and how she was supposed to sleep then, when there was only the double bed, she didn't know. In case of doubt, she would have to spend the night in the shower.      "Are you sure it's just because of her?" Zoe's question threw Tali off track. She looked behind her to see if Constantine was in sight and hastily finished her juice. On her way out, she set the glass down by the bar and left the hotel, so she could be sure she wouldn't run into Constantine or Melinda anytime soon. A glance at her watch told her that Zoe must be on lunch break, so she walked faster so that she disappeared into the crowd and called her. "That was quick," Zoe laughed in greeting. "What do you mean by that last comment?" "Sweetie, I've only seen you with each other twice, and I could be wrong, but his focus is clearly on you, and now when you say he's taking every chance to be affectionate with you... Consider me batshit crazy, but when in doubt, this fool of an archivist doesn't know what his own mind is doing." "And that's supposed to help me now? Even to her ears, her squeals sounded panicked, and it surprised Tali that no one turned to look at her. "Just keep watching it for a bit and have the courage?" "Very funny." On the other end, she heard Zoe sigh heavily. "Tali, do you want to spend the rest of your life pining after him like a love-struck idiot?" "No....," Tali meekly confessed. A comparably heavy sigh followed. "But you know me. I can't. Especially not here." "Damn it, what are we going to do with you?" "Partial amnesia?" Zoe laughed out loud, and Tali could already imagine her shaking her head at that. "If only it were that easy. Just try not to go crazy for the next 36 hours." "That might be hard." The dirty giggle on the other side of the line had Tali already suspecting evil. "Other than that, you've got two healthy hands." "And share my room with him." "And he's an elemental, which means his ears are only as good as humans' and not as good as ours." "Zoe...." "Love you. I have to get back to work." Not a second later, the call ended. Stunned, Tali looked at her phone. The time flashed on her, reminding her to back up slowly if she wanted to hear the next lecture, too, even if it meant ringing in the next round of the charade.