#Like is it what’s in the insects reacting to something in the frogs or something else | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

ctitan98official · 3 months

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Anonymous: Hello I have come with a new Y/N Basically. Snow White (as in the capacities not appeareance wise) Every animal (insects included) loves them and Y/N loves them back but there are 2 things that makes it chaotic :1) Y/N loves to eat and taste new things (cannibalism is on the table, Cockroach Lollipops are too) it's as bad as it sounds. 2) When they don't eat new friends, Y/N enjoys adopting them, as in catch a random ass beetle in the garden, random frog that slipped pass the doors (his name is Gary) . I would like to know how would The Re8 ladies, react to this Snow White Y/N

Ooh, interesting! Let’s get into it!

Alcina:

Let’s be honest, this version of Y/N isn’t much different than her daughters (As in, eating gross stuff).

Y/N is kinda feral when they first meet Alcina. She finds them scrounging around on her land and has the daughters bring them to her for questioning.

As Alcina gets ready to ask Y/N what they were doing on the castle grounds, Y/N opens their mouth and a fucking frog pokes out.

“His name is Gary!” Y/N explains as they place him into their pocket for safe-keeping.

Alcina is grossed out, but finds the odd intruder quite captivating so she lets them stay for a bit.

The two eventually fall in love, but Alcina has to make sure that Y/N leaves all of their little critter friends either outside or in the dungeon.

Donna:

Y/N surprises Donna one day as she is out gardening. They watch her for a bit, admiring her from afar, before walking right up to her.

Donna lets out a startled yelp and Angie’s by her side in a second telling Y/N to beat it.

Y/N just smiles and kneels down to her level before saying hello to Donna and Angie.

They reach into their backpack and pull out a tiny baby bunny. They hold the bunny out to Donna and ask if she would like to pet it.

Donna coos at the sweet little bun before softly rubbing it’s head.

After a while of regular visits over tea, Donna begins to fall for Y/N. The two are soon smitten with each other and Y/N moves into Beneviento Manor.

Donna has to watch Y/N and Angie constantly, because they will both sit on the front porch and eat random beetles that come along while comparing notes on flavor.

Miranda:

Miranda is one for solitude. When she finds some weirdo sniffing around near her house, she gets pissed.

She slams Y/N into the side of her house and demands to know what they are doing.

Y/N stammers out they had followed an injured dog there and wanted to make sure it was okay.

Miranda grumbles but lets Y/N go. Just then, a small whine is heard before a little dog approaches Y/N.

Y/N leans down and pets the dog. “I think he has a broken paw. Can you help him?” Now, normally Miranda would just shoo someone away if they asked for her help, but something about the look in Y/N’s eyes made her huff and lead the dog and Y/N to her lab.

Miranda treated the dog (Y/N named him Benji) and he got better. Over the course of Benji’s recovery, Miranda knew Y/N would now be in her life forever.

They fell in love and Miranda has become accustomed to new animal friends that Y/N brings home now.

Bela:

Bela finds Y/N one day when she goes down to the dungeon.

Y/N had wandered in because they were cold and hungry. They were snacking on old crusts of bread laying out in the cells when Bela spots them.

She is furious that someone has trespassed, but when she gets a good look at Y/N her undead heart skips a beat.

Y/N smiles and waves at her, saying that they were hungry and some of their rat friends had led them there.

Bela approaches Y/N and notices that they have a bad gash on their arm. She offers to clean it for them and they let her.

After Bela and Y/N have gotten to know each other, she offers to let them stay in the dungeon. Y/N gratefully accepts.

Over the course of a few weeks, new feelings start to blossom and the two realize that they are falling in love.

Bela broaches the subject of Y/N meeting her mother, but Y/N is a bit scared. They tell her they will only do it if they can have a few critters with them. Bela grimaces but tells Y/N that will be okay.

Y/N finally meets Alcina… surrounded by a group of feral rats.

Alcina just looks over to Bela as if to ask “Really?” but Bela blushes bright red and nods her head.

Alcina groans but welcomes Y/N into the family.

Cassandra:

Cass met Y/N when she was out on a hunt with her sisters. Y/N was playing with a baby deer when they get tackled by Cass.

She finds their scent delicious and takes a big bite out of their neck. Y/N yells out for help and something about their pained cries makes Cass stop and take a good look at them.

She is flustered when she notices how good looking Y/N is. She reluctantly takes a step back to give them some space.

Y/N shoots up and whistles for a bear friend of theirs who comes charging towards them.

For once, Cass is actually frightened at someone else’s abilities.

To her surprise, Y/N didn’t summon the bear to attack her, but to get cuddles to calm them down.

Y/N looks at her warily as they pet the bear and ask her what her name is.

Cass blanches and mumbles out that her name is Cassandra.

Y/N smiles and waves at her which confuses Cass. She just tried to kill them and they were being friendly to her?

Cass went home perplexed, but when she goes on later hunts, she and Y/N always manage to run into each other.

The two soon fall in love and Cass has never been happier.

Daniela:

One day, Dani was running errands for Alcina in the village. She is drawn to a large, cheering crowd and decides to go investigate.

She spots Y/N running some type of bug race and people placing bets to see which one will win.

Her eyes sparkle in curiosity as she watches a little grasshopper take first.

Some people clap while others groan about losing.

Soon, the crowd clears out and Y/N gathers up all of their little friends before they notice Dani standing there. They grin at her and ask if she’d like to watch another race.

Dani smiles and nods before settling down to watch.

Dani and Y/N spend a long time watching the little bugs race and chatting about lots of different things.

Dani finds herself asking her mother for permission to go into the village a lot more often.

Alcina has gotten reports from her other daughters that Dani is smitten with a certain bug enthusiast.

She tells Dani that her new friend is welcome to come by the castle whenever they want.

Frequent visits allow for the two of them to develop their relationship and Y/N and Dani are now madly in love.

Masterlist

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soupbabe · 8 months

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Heyo, Me Again! Could I Maybe Request A Part 2 To That Jojo Characters x Morbid! Himbo! Reader I Requested Awhile Back? This Time With Weather, Kars, And Rohan?

No Pressure And It's Totally Chill If You'd Rather Not Do Repeats Or Anythin! Hope You Have A Rad Day, Yoski! 👈🐻👈

JoJo Characters with a Morbid! Himbo! Reader: Part 2

Featuring: Weather Report, Kars, Rohan Kishibe

No problem anon!! Usually I max out repeat prompts like this when it hits 3 parts, so you're good!!

Kars

- He loves keeping you around just for the pure entertainment you give him

- Usually he has no time for less than bright humans, especially if you're clumsy or if you forget things easily

- But you? The man that could describe in detail about how rattlesnake venom can rot off the limb that it bit just for the fun of it? Oh he's keeping you around

- In all honesty, Kars isn't too impressed by your little fun facts. He's lived a long life, done just about anything you could think of

- You'll try your best to unnerve him and it's entertaining to see you not grasp his "accomplishments"

- "Human sacrifices? Really, human? I was seen as a god among men, thousands have been slaughtered in my name. Try harder next time."

Rohan Kishibe

- Oh yeah no doubt this man has used Heaven's Door on you without you knowing

- Literally you are an enigma to him. It's frustrating but you pull him back in with your golden retriever like charm

- He's so used to scaring others off so that they'd leave him alone, whether by his intense stare or eating insects

- But you barely reacted. Dare I say you laugh at his attempt to get you off of his porch.

- Since then he's learned to genuinely enjoy your company !!

- He's learned to appreciate your sweet moments, smile at your dumb moments, and he makes sure to get a notebook out whenever you have a horrifying "what if" thought

Weather Report

- Yeah out of this list he's the most unphased

- Just a thing that happens when you're Anasui's mediator, he holds him back at his most violent. You having a weird idea or fun fact isn't going to shake him

- However you might get a side eye if you laugh at something at the wrong time

- Omg head empty just thinking about you bringing Weather venomous spider or snake from the courtyard and showing it off to him

- Apart of him enjoys hearing you talk and ramble, but also he wants to slap out whatever is in your hand because you picked up a dangerous animal without a thought behind your eyes

- Remember when it was raining poisonous frogs? He isn't one to believe in miracles but the fact you didn't die during that proved him wrong

#jjba #jojo's bizarre adventure #jjba x reader #Kars x reader #jjba kars #rohan kishibe #rohan kishibe x reader #jjba weather report #weather report x reader #jjba battle tendency #jjba diamond is unbreakable #jjba stone ocean

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ofpineapplesanddawns · 2 years

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❛ i wonder what i look like in your eyes. ❜ ineffable husbands?

The Ineffable Inktober's theme for today is First Meeting, which I think is a good theme to go for as plot inspiration for this prompt, haha.

So, this takes place in Eden.

On with the fic!

The rain hadn't let up at all, and it seemed like it might be a while before it would. Still, Aziraphale stood at his post, watching the desert before him, where the fire of his sword and the two humans have long since vanished from sight. Adam and Eve had moved on, to find their place in the world outside of Eden.

And as Aziraphale stood there, so did the demon he was still protecting from the first rain.

Really, Aziraphale should do something about Crawly. His job was to keep evil out of the Garden, which he didn't... exactly do, and he was also meant to fight said evil. And yet, here he was, his wing still covering the demon who was facing the other way, looking into Eden with curiosity as the rain soaked the land.

"Do you think the plants like the rain?" He heard Crawly say and Aziraphale looked back, seeing wide, golden eyes staring at him.

"I-I'm not sure, I wasn't part of the team that helped in creating them." Aziraphale replied, wringing his hands together.

"Ah, well, I think they like it. They seem to be reacting pretty well to gettin' wet. They look happy. Seem really happy too."

"You can tell?" That was interesting, a demon who could sense happiness?

Crawly shrugged, making a weird noise with his mouth. "Ehhh... kinda? I think it's some sorta feelin', I dunno."

"Maybe it's something demons can do." Aziraphale said, his attention back on the other side of the wall.

"I dunno, we sense weird shit. Not sure if the feelings of plants is part of that." Crawly turned around, looking at Aziraphale. "Don't quite have the same senses we used to have."

Aziraphale frowned, oddly feeling guilty about that, even though Crawly had said it so casually. "I'm sorry."

"Eh, not your fault. Just somethin' that happened to us to make us... this." The redhead gestured to himself. "Maybe it's a positive, really, some of the odd things we can do, maybe it's to make up for how... wrong we were made."

The angel blinked, tilting his head. "Whatever do you mean?"

"I... these human bodies, we've been given them recently, some of us who have recently been assigned work. All the other demons I've seen with a corporation look so... I'm not tryin' to be judgemental, but really, I don't think insects coming outta a human's face is normal. Neither is having a frog melting on your head."

Crawly scratched at his arm, looking at his feet, which Aziraphale just noticed had black scales scattered about on them on the top, the undersides looked much more coated.

"I wonder what I look like in your eyes."

Aziraphale was caught off-guard by the quiet statement. "You... wish to know what I see?"

"Yeah." Crawly swallowed. "I don't... really know what this body looks like, I was never shown, but the other demons said I looked wrong, at least compared to them."

With a small stammer, Aziraphale let out a small sigh, looking at Crawly, at his golden, slitted eyes. "Well, I think you look fine."

"That's not telling me much."

"Alright. You have long, beautiful hair, I don't believe I've ever seen this shade of red on anyone before. A-and you have a sharp face, that's not a bad thing, it's very nice. Ah, you also have..." He gestured at his own face and Crawly grimaced.

"Pock marks? Boils? Insects? A dirty word scribbled on my face?"

"No, freckles."

"Freckles!?"

"Yes! Right across your nose and cheeks!" Aziraphale said. "It's honestly rather cute."

He watched as Crawly blinked, his cheeks darkening. "You think I'm cute?"

"W-what!? No, of course not-! I mean... f-for a demon, you're quite, uh, quite handsome! O-oh, look, the rain's let up! I best be off, I have to get started on repairing the hole in the wall...!" Aziraphale stepped aside and took off into the sky, feeling way too warm for someone who had stood in the cold rain.

Later, when he patrolled around the forests, he found Crawly looking at his reflection in a pool of water, seeming very pleased with himself, mumbling something that made him laugh, almost gleefully. Aziraphale decided to let him be.

Crawly was excited when he saw his reflection because he knew that Aziraphale thought he looked good.

#good omens #ineffable husbands #crowley #anthony j crowley #aziraphale #john's drabbles

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littlealeta · 3 months

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Don Bluth's Thumbelina (1994) Review

I’ve been meaning to watch this film fully for my entire life, but I only watched bits and pieces of it. I remember thinking it was alright when I was younger and was confused by the negative reception of it. Since Saberspark also uploaded a reaction video to this, I decided to sit down and watch it. And now I finally understand why people didn’t like this movie and why I probably kinda liked it as a child.

Story

The main plot is basically random insects and animals coming out of nowhere to try to seduce our boring protagonist for no apparent reason whatsoever. No themes are apparent here. I heard that this was what the original story was like, but here’s the thing: This is not the 1800s anymore. People do not have the patience to watch flat protagonists reacting to random shit anymore. And the fact that the entire story just comes off as creepy, I don’t see how THAT was even appealing back then.

Thumbelina also falls deeply in love with a prince because well, he’s a prince, literally one minute after they meet. Freaking Thumbelina and Jacquimo have more chemistry than Thumbelina and Prince Charming.

And the ending, like A Troll In Central Park, is tied up in a neat little bow. Are all 90s Don Bluth films like this?

I also want to know the timespan of the movie. In the beginning of the film, people have regular clothes on, the animals are out, and it looks like a happy, sunny day. But then all of a sudden, winter comes. And everything becomes a blizzard. Was Thumbelina kidnapped for multiple months then?

There are inklings of a good story in there and I think it could’ve been a pretty neat twist on the love triangle trope. I think instead of focusing on Thumbelina meeting all these people that want to take advantage of her and trying to get home, focus more on a coming of story, her trying to fit into this new world as a rare species. Have all these people fight over Thumbelina as Thumbelina tries to figure out where she fits into all of this. Maybe one of them gets killed by a yandere, idk. And instead of having the Prince Charming be a boring cardboard, why not give him some attributes that could cause conflict with Thumbelina. Like make him into an asshole or something annoying like that. So, then it would give Thumbelina more conflict over finding a tiny human just like her, but he’s actually kind of an asshole. And then there’s all these ugly, weird creatures over there that are swooning over her, but probably have better personalities. And I know that people will probably find the interspecies relationship creepy, but this also takes place centuries ago, so that kind of stuff wouldn’t matter.

Characters

There aren't any great characters in this cast. I would say the liveliness of some of the side characters (Mr. Beedle, Jacquimo and the frog lady) are somewhat charming. And there are a couple of creative bits with the characters, like Jacquimo talking to two animals doing the cat and mouse, and a whole audience laughing to the beat of a song. But still, like the other characters, their mistreatment of Thumbelina just brings everything down. Mr. Beedle even calls her ugly for no reason (what, was she not dancing good enough or something, what the hell?) Prince Charming (I initially typed him as Prince Nothing here lol) is nothing more than a flat love interest. Jacqimo does jackshit as a supporting character. He merely exists to try to bring Thumbelina hope instead of fucking actually stepping in to HELP HER ASS. While the whole message about following your heart has some truth to it, it does nothing for the main character’s situation. Instead, the song could’ve been better used for Thumbelina’s coming of age arc in my rewritten idea instead of what it was. Following your heart, what you truly love makes more sense than being in the middle of nowhere, completely relying on your random instincts to guide you home. Other supporting characters like the bug kids that Jacquimo, for whatever stupid reason, decides to assign to Thumbelina ALSO do jackshit. Thumbelina is probably the worst character in all of this. Just a typical bland damsel-in-distress. She has virtually no personality or motives, it’s just 100% reaction and crying with her thumb up her ass about wanting to go home while she lets all these motherfuckers assault her.

I think the film suffers from having a bit too many characters as a lot of them don’t really do anything and/or merely exist for the same bs of trying to seduce Thumbalina (I can’t even say her name correctly anymore). For a love triangle story, a few characters would be fine, and maybe just have one character (Jacquimo) be the major supporting character instead of the kids. Give the characters different motives behind why they want Thumbelina and let the romantic tension come gradually. Frogs can teach her how to behave in a way that their species/race can agree with, Beedle can teach her how to dance the way he likes, and Mrs. Fieldmouse tries to matchmake her to the mole for whatever reason.

The dialogue can also be overly talky at times in a way that’s unnecessarily random and drawn out.

Animation/Music/Voice Acting

These were mostly the parts that drew me to the film as a child. The animation is really pretty to look at and the movements felt natural for the most part. There is some janky animation here and there, but it’s mostly competent. The character designs look good. I don’t like the mustache dog’s design for whatever reason. But Thumbelina has the beauty that fits that time period and Prince Charming is handsome, though he’s clearly made to look like the Disney princes.

Most of the music and singing sounds good, however, some of the songs within the context of the story are messed up. Like Follow Your Heart is a good theme by itself, but using it as a way of helping Thumbelina get home or uplifting her is insane. Marry the Mole and Yer Beautiful, Baby are songs that I find pleasant to listen to, but again, messed up. It’s yet another attempt at the movie trying to get our poor protagonist to marry someone she doesn’t truly love. Also, ngl, but Gilbert Gottifred’s nasally voice gets grating after a while. On the Road is just obnoxious visual noise. Let Me Be Your Wings is a try-hard version of A Whole New World. Soon and its reprise are weirdly enough, better than the I Want song from the other Thumbelina movie, but I think it’s just the singing that elevates it for me. I also do genuinely like Thumbelina!, it's fun to sing along to.

I would say the best part of the film is the voice acting though.They are all cast well and do an excellent job at making these characters come to life. You can tell how hard they are trying to make these characters appealing even if they kinda failed due to the horrible script. Jodi Benson, in particular, has excellent emotional range.

Overall

This film is basically 90s Disney at home. While the solid plot and energetic personalities make it slightly better than A Troll in Central Park, it still has many of the same problems that film has. Which makes me wonder if Bluth disliked this one, too. It follows the same beats of a controversial story that has aged extremely poorly. It contains a (harmful) message and story that the main character doesn't really learn from. And all the good guys are mostly useless. Like all this shit wouldn't have happened if Jacquimo actually got off his Pollyanna singing ass and helped Thumbelina.

Thumbelina gets 4.4 bells out of 10.

I can’t believe this, but this puts it below the other Thumbelina film that I watched and reviewed (which was the most frustrating thing I’ve seen in a long time). At least that one had a slightly better protagonist. But it makes it even sadder that it was clearly trying to copy a bad movie, which results in it having a lot of the same problems.

#don bluth #thumbelina #review

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demoths · 1 year

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Pinedevil

Part 1

The chirp of frogs and insects filled the clear night sky, an ode to the Milky Way which cut a path through the heavens. Lichen covered stones radiated the heat of the sun which had taken its leave some hours before. Lunar rays shone down like a floodlight, obscuring the stars around it in its bright, ghastly nimbus. A young man adjusted himself, laying on his back on the massive slab of granite, staring up at the stars in primal awe. Three other young individuals surrounded him. An exceptionally tall man, a notably short woman, and a scruffy boy barely into his teens. All gazed skyward in rapturous amazement, eyes reflecting the sparkling celestial ceiling. As they laid there, wild noises serenaded them. The lake below them played a gentle beat as it lapped softly against the stone shore. Bugs chirp and chatter alongside the peep and croak of frogs, singing together with no rhythm and perfect harmony. A gentle breeze rustles the needles of tall pines while the leaves of skeletal paper birches turn back and forth, shimmering in the soft silver moonlight.

Countless minutes passed, then the tall man rose slowly to his feet, the joints in his lanky limbs popping softly. He let out a small groan, muttered something about a latrine, then wandered along a path that led away from the campsite, deeper into the woods. The other three remained, still transfixed by the stars and the sounds of nature all around them. The serenity seemed infinite, ineffable, profound on a level that defied expression, interpretation, or interruption.

It took less than a heartbeat to shatter the peace. Without warning, a high-pitched scream echoed across the lake, echoed off the steep stone banks, reverberated powerfully across the open expanse of calm water. The triplet of stargazers jumped as one, the horrific screech tearing them from their trance like a splash of frigid water on a sleeping child. The young man and woman were on their feet before they fully realized what they were reacting to, some primal instinct directing their gaze across the dark water, eyelids peeled wide. The younger boy sat up, but did not rise to his feet, instead staying in a low crouch. He rested his hand on the hilt of a knife on his belt. The sturdy feel of the hilt gave him some small comfort, the rubber and nylon grip seeming to meld with his hand in a familiar way. They held still, breathing shallowly. Birds, frogs, and bugs alike stayed perfectly silent, and the lap of water and rustle of leaves became like a roar, filling the void left by the creatures, then overflowing the space they had left. After what felt like eons, there was another scream, louder and longer. This second cry came not from across the lake, but from the north, to their left as they stared out at the water. The scream went on and on, rising and falling in pitch, stretching out painfully before falling in tone and volume, and finally fading away. After only a heartbeat or two, another scream resounded, rising steadily in pitch as it resounded across the water, in roughly the same direction as the first, but louder. The otherworldly clamor rose in volume and pitch until it became almost painfully loud, even from such a distance. When that third screamended, abruptly, without preamble, there was a ringing in everyone’s ears that deafened them to the noises of leaf and lake.

“What is that?”

#horror

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dailyadventureprompts · 2 years

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Deity: NokolOb-Zich , Outer god of the Unmaking Inquiry

As you approach the cultists altar, you can’t help but shake the feeling of being watched. Something has witnessed your deeds here, and it is hungry to see more.

Setup: Many occultists will speak of the terrifying obscurity of their patrons, of powers beyond mortal ken that look upon the waking world with little more than disgust or disregard. Few then speak of those powers that are fascinated mortal kind not in the jealous, imitate way of gods, or in the detached curiosity of alien arbiters, but in the rapture of a child staring at insects beneath an overturned rock, or an anatomist over a vivisected frog. The scrutiny of such a being would be terrible, as it can bring unseen powers to bear to poke and prod the object of its focus into the desired stimulus, moving through impossible angles to allow the target of its obsession no possible escape from its probing scalpel.

NokolOb-Zich is one such entity, a thing that peers through cracks in reality looking for new things to catch its interest. Seldom invoked by dabblers in the forbidden arts, ‘Ob-Zich is less likely to grant its petitioners power or knowledge as it is to crack part their minds and start picking over all the pieces. Still, the Voyeur has itself a following, mainly in other inquisitive sorts who hollow out a part of their own mind to act as the outergod’s peephole into their own lives, absorbing scraps of eldritch insight like some kind of cognitive remora.

Those who have encountered the entity report that it has very little of a physical form, existing as only a sense of being observed and an endless stream of nonsensical questions: “ When will you cry? How does joy taste? What shape is your favorite sound? that lead in the general direction of a conversation”. Others have reported visions of eyes peering through empty spaces and endless grasping hands, though these are likely to be an effort by NokolOb-Zich to communicate its intent rather than a hint at its physical form.

Adventure hooks:

The Voyeur seeks not only to observe, but to provoke, spurring the subjects of its fascination into action so as to better be able to understand them. To this end it may set a horrid monster on a settlement divided by civil strife to see how the community reacts to an outside threat, or haunt a lone individual to test how their mind deals with the pressure. Stranger however is when the entity randomly chooses to be “nice”, creating facsimiles of long departed loved ones to see who a bereaved individual might change, or delivering an oddly appropriate gift to a stranger just to see their reaction. The outer god should never be considered benign, as those gifts are never given out of a sense of selflessness and are most often intended to make the target squirm.

Those seeking to know the dark secrets of history or the possible future will sometimes invoke NokolOb-Zich if their need is great and their self preservation is small. Eschewing traditional sacrifices of blood or treasure, the outergod prefers twisted tales involving the lives of mortals, traditionally involving those who compromised their values or ended up in bizarre or paradoxical situations due to their convictions. Those petitioners who do not have their own stories of mishap are often forced to create one if they wish to trade, creating innumerable networks of tragedy, blackmail, and sorrow that all lead back to the wandering eye.

Terrible is the favor of a god of heedless knowledge, as ‘Ob-Zich’s blessings are likely to manifest in the form of ceaseless visions from across the known universe, just as likely to contain the wisdom of dead civilizations to your neighbors’ dirty gossip. What’s more, the voyeur has no problem distributing dangerous knowledge to those people/cultures totally unready for it, leading to calamitous advances in technology, magic, or warefare for those unready for its burden. More than one disaster has been caused by NokolOb-Zich depositing dangerous information into the mind of an unstable arcanist or inventor, or simply some emotionally immature weirdo given step-by-step instructions to unleashing havoc.

Titles: The Voyeur, The Wandering eye, The all devouring unknown,

Signs: Feelings of being watched, endless questions, constant whispering, alien eyes staring through holes in places where there should not be holes.

Symbols: Innumerable eyes or hands gazing/reaching outward or inward, Peepholes, an eye painted on the ceiling or engraved on reflective surfaces.

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outofangband · 3 years

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In preparation for my story that deals with the Darkening I want to talk about these two pages part by part because there is just SO much (not least Maedhros running into open court shouting “blood and darkness!” at Manwë)

masterlist

Also of note is one of the few insights we get into how Maedhros reacts to a violent and traumatic crisis, at least relatively early on in his character arc.

But even as (Nienna) mourned there was the sound of feet hastening in the night. Then through the throng came the sons of Fëanor, flying from the North and they bore new tidings of evil. Maedhros spoke for them. “Blood and darkness!’ he cried. ‘Finwë the king is slain and the Silmarils are gone!’

look I know that he is presumably traumatized but just...the image of him running into the equivalent of a court room in session and without greeting just shouting “blood and darkness!” is quite...something

Then Fëanor fell upon his face and lay as one dead until the full tale was told

So he had been in the ring of doom when his sons came in with this news. I’m going to try and not take any cheap shots with that sentence given the solemnity of the scene but...I’ll leave that to others.

‘My lord,’ said Maedhros to Manwë, ‘it was the day of the festival but the king was heavy with grief at the departure of my father, a foreboding was on him. He would not go from the house. We were irked by the idleness and silence of the day and we went riding towards the Green Hills. Our faces were Northward but suddenly we were aware that all was growing dim.’

Maedhros captures the atmosphere so vividly here. I can feel a quiet, summer day when there shouldn’t be a thunderstorm but it feels like there will be. Slow and almost crackling and the heavy air starts to feel like dread. I love this description and I’m not doing my response to it justice

‘The light was failing. In dread we turned and rode back in haste, seeing great shadows rise up before us. But even as we drew near to Formenos the darkness came upon us; and in the midst was a blackness like a cloud that enveloped the house of Fëanor.’

‘That enveloped the house of Fëanor’. I assume he means literally as he was out riding with his brothers but the more symbolic implications of that line are pretty powerful

The rest is under a cut just for length! I should note that I just...can’t articulate this properly so I apologize if this is kind of rambling

‘We heard the sound of great blows struck. Out of the clouds we saw a sudden flame of fire. And then there was one piercing cry. But when we urged on our horses they reared and cast us to the ground, and they fled away wild. We lay upon our faces without strength; for suddenly the cloud came on and for a while we were blind. But it passed us and moved away north at great speed. Melkor was there, we do not doubt. But not he alone! Some other power was with him, some huge evil: even as it passed it robbed us of all wit and will.’

Imagine what a Silm narrated entirely by Maedhros in this format would be. Hm. That’s another project for me to file away...

I have a very vested interest in horror, what makes things scary, what invokes dread, etc. I also am autistic and not always good at articulating these things so I apologize if this is kind of a mess.

The sense of chaos and sheer wrongness is palpable here. I don’t know if this makes sense but the buzzing of the air with tension, the birds and insects and warm weather frogs have gone quiet, like a solar eclipse in a world that does not yet have the sun. The forced cheerful but wary day of riding turning afoul when this cloud comes and screams are heard, the confusion, them being cast from their horses which have and unable to move as this dreadful, ancient power draws nearer to them? I was talking with a very patient @cobaltjellyfish about this who said it very well; the Fëanorians were trapped as this horrifying entity passes by them and survive only because they are not directly in the way.

A sense of dread, static atmosphere, trusted animals acting oddly and then violently, the light going out, helplessness induced as though by an otherworldly power

And then what they find when they finally reach home.

I’m reminded of the frenzied energy of various horror films I like; watch the first thirty seconds of the trailer for A Field In England and this is similar to the mood I get from this scene even if the context/story is completely different

The Silmarillion says that Fëanor would have almost certainly been killed had he been at Formenos when Melkor arrived, indeed it was likely Melkor’s aim. (And Fëanor cursed also the summons of Manwë and the hour in which he came to Taniquetil, thinking in the madness of his rage and grief that had he been at Formenos his strength would have availed more than to be slain also as Melkor had purposed “The Flight of the Noldor”). We can’t say for certain what would have happened in hypotheticals that the author didn’t directly addresses but I have a hard time imagining that Melkor would have showed much mercy had the sons of Fëanor not gone out riding and had instead attempted to aid their grandfather.

Also the mention of how the cloud that passes robs them of their wit and will. This is...intriguing to me.

‘Darkness and blood! When we could move again we came to the house. There we found the king slain at the door. His head was crushed as with a great mace of iron. We found no others; all had fled and he had stood alone, defiant. That is plain; for his sword lay beside him, twisted and untempered as though by lightning strike. All the house was broken and ravaged. Naught is left. The treasures are empty. The chambers of iron are torn apart. The Silmarils are taken!’

So this is perhaps one of the few insights we get into how Maedhros reacts to a traumatic crisis, at least early on his in life. This is an incredibly coherent and detached description of finding the murdered body of your grandfather in a place that had not ever seen violent murder. That he had the presence of mind to get his brothers away from Formenos and go directly to where Manwë was is pretty impressive! Especially in the dark! I can imagine what that journey must have been like, not knowing who or what is still lurking out there

and to think of Finwë’s last stand against this shadow of his childhood who has now haunted him across two continents, who’s evil deeds he has known from the very beginning, who started as a shapeless horror that stole away his kin in the dead of night and became this knowable threat he still couldn’t escape....

I’m also wondering how Maedhros knew what the injuries of a mace look like, or even what a mace is at all.

And Melkor wrecked the whole house! Killing Finwë was likely unnecessary, he could have almost certainly cast him aside, knocked him unconscious, etc. @promin-blog says that Melkor probably became enraged when another member of that family denied him entry and I think they’re right.

Anyways this is a fascinating scene!

#Maedhros #Fëanor #Morgoth #Melkor #The Silmarillion #musing and meta #long post #I don’t even have a pre Angband tag oops

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feriowind · 3 years

Text

got bit by a literary bug the other day and typed up a thing about how feral luffy discovers conqueror’s haki (luffy is roughly ~11 yrs old)

Luffy looks over his hat in growing worry. It’s become more and more frayed, the brim slowly becoming undone, and he’s discovered a new hole on top of it. He holds it gently in his hands and runs a hand over the top.

He knows he’s always been reckless, but he’d made a concerted effort to be smarter, more careful with how he lived, as hard as it was to do. But regardless, he couldn’t stop the degradation of his hat, especially with his lack of any kind of artisanal skill.

Luffy sighs, frowning. Should he find a hiding spot to secret his hat away? It was dangerous though, the beasts in the jungle often destroying whole trees in their vicious fights. But keeping his hat on him is the reason it’s in its current state.

He thinks about this for several moments, but before he can come to any decision, a massive shadow falls down behind him and the ground shakes on impact. It happens in an instant, and it is only from pure instinct that Luffy dodges from the incoming swipe from a massive paw.

But as Luffy jumps, he watches in horror as his beloved hat falls from his grasp to the ground, unguarded and terribly, terribly vulnerable in the presence of the beast. Time slows to an aching crawl as the beast approaches, not even noticing the small, worn straw hat mere steps away from its cruel claws.

It feels like Luffy’s heart is in his throat, and in his mind's eye, his most precious memories flash in rapid succession. Shanks dropping his straw hat atop his head. Sharing 3 cups of sake with his brothers, Ace and Sabo. Declaring their dreams to become pirates, no matter what.

Luffy feels, down to the very marrow of his bones, that if he loses his hat, he will lose something far, far more important than that. The idea of what exactly that is is intangible in his head, but the sudden overpowering fear of losing his hat grips his heart and he reacts without thinking. His arms shoot out and grab the straw hat, and Luffy instantly brings it to his chest, curling his body protectively around it.

The beast leaps then with a roar then and swipes at Luffy, slamming him across the jungle floor. Luffy cries out in pain, but he doesn’t loosen the protective hold he has over his hat. In that moment, it was more important than his own safety.

The beast manages to send Luffy flying a fair distance, and when his violent tumbles finally come to a stop, Luffy uncurls with a pained grimace to check on his hat. To his dismay, it’s become even more crumpled, the force of the attack and his resulting fall too much for his body to protect his hat from harm.

“No…”, he whispers, face twisted in despair. He can’t lose his hat, his PROMISE. He just CAN’T.

Closing in from the distance, the beast stalks closer, seemingly enjoying this new game of cat and mouse.

Luffy turns to it, body still shielding his hat, and his lips peel back in a snarl of pure fury and desperation. How dare this stupid animal harm his most precious treasure? How dare this stupid animal treat HIM as PREY. Though Luffy was fully dedicated to the safety of his hat, he did not plan on dying yet. He would not let a random beast prevent him achieving his dream.

“STOP!” Luffy howls. He’d seen how often creatures of the jungle intimidated each other, scaring their opponents away and avoiding a fight all together. If he can scream loud enough, then maybe-!

The beast takes another step closer.

“GO AWAY!” Luffy screams even louder. He can feel his throat straining. The beast continues, unimpressed.

Luffy grits his teeth, and white hot anger from frustration boils up from within him. “DON’T!” He roars, “COME ANY CLOSER!”

A wave of SOMETHING blooms from Luffy’s chest, and the beast freezes to a stop, looking alarmed. Luffy pants, exhaustion suddenly clawing at his mind, but something feels DIFFERENT. The beast seems to sense it as well, suddenly looking at Luffy as if he were a fellow beast to be wary of instead of prey like he had been moments before. It makes an attempt to take a small step forward, but Luffy immediately leans forward and snarls, halting the beast’s movement.

“NO!” Roars Luffy again, and the beast leans back. Luffy takes a step forward and takes in a deep breath of air, rubber chest expanding to accommodate. “GO---!!” He screams with as much force as he can push into his voice and the beast jumps into the air, eyes wild with panic, and flees back from where it had come from.

A strange silence hangs in the air right after, and Luffy vaguely realizes he can’t hear a single cry of a bird, frog or insect. His fatigue is too strong for him to concentrate on the strangeness of that fact though, and he can only bring himself to gently grab his hat and drag himself to the relative safety of a large tree he’d made a temporary base. He is so, so tired

#no betas #word vomit ONLY #feral luffy au #one piece

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laurelnose · 3 years

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What roles do drowners and drowner-tadpoles play in their local food chains and ecosystems?

we gotta come up with a name for the tadpoles. like how salmon get to be alevins and fry and parr and smolts before they’re salmon. does someone who speaks Polish know what the diminutive of “vodnik” would be?

ok ok ecology. this is a pretty nonspecific question so I’m just gonna start spitballing! lmk if you have a follow-up to something

here are some things we know about adult drowners:

habitat generalists. can be found as far north as Kaer Morhen and as far south as Toussaint or farther. inhabit a range of environments from lakes to shorelines to bogs to rivers to sewers.

amphibious. require water, but is comfortable on land, and hunts in both environments.

diet generalists. carnivorous and technically necrophages, so will scavenge dead bodies, but seen eating fish and known to kill humans and eat them fresh. not picky eaters!

toxin-resistant. this is, according to the bestiaries apparently how they live in sewers. I’ll buy it. it’s also how real ‘necrophages’ (scavengers) handle eating dead flesh.

extremely common. they’re everywhere. implies they breed easily and frequently.

not that dangerous. they’re predators, but relatively easy to avoid and/or kill.

loosely social. never found alone, and known to react strongly when they watch other drowners die.

basically, we’re looking at something pretty similar to a lot of small predators with aquatic or urban associations! first ones that come to mind for me are raccoons and American bullfrogs.

like bullfrogs and intertidal fishes like midshipmen and sculpins, their wildly plentiful eggs probably nourish a bunch of different insects, supporting a huge range of animals up the food chain—same for tiny newly hatched larvae. as adults, drowners probably exert predation pressure on a bunch of different fish species (possibly upsetting fishermen in more ways than just the danger of drowner attacks), and improve the water quality of rivers and lakes by eating dead animals in and around their habitats.

as adults, they’re midsized and not particularly well-armed predators and thus intermediate on the food chain. they’re probably preyed on by everything from bears to draconids—and, in fact, canonically by humans. I also think that Skelligers eat drowners but that’s my own pet headcanon.

their wide range of tolerated habits, indiscriminate eating habits, and the size of their tadpoles probably means that if they’re introduced to a new area, they’re an extremely effective invasive species, like American bullfrogs (whose fat-ass tadpoles eat other tadpoles and thus outcompete native frog populations in a bunch of places). try not to ship drowners or drowner eggs around anywhere or you will never get rid of them.

also, since they like sewers so much, I still maintain that as human development on the Continent increases and the populations of bears and large monsters like draconids continue to decline, the lack of predation pressure and the abundance of new habitat will absolutely skyrocket the drowner population! and it’ll be difficult to get rid of them because, as toxin-resistant as they are, they likely can’t be safely poisoned (as has been relatively effectively deployed against lampreys in the Great Lakes, cw images of fish with nasty wounds).

#kaer morhen biology of monsters 101 #i gotta make a drowner-specific tag lmao #drowners #asks #castillon02

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whoslaurapalmer · 3 years

Text

so i never do this but i put a lot of thought into really specific details about the structure and scene layout of (the three-part folding mirror) and i really really really want to talk about it so here are some of my notes and some general commentary

-the crux of the fic, at least the way i had envisioned it, is what vfd does to family, how it becomes biological family vs the family created by vfd

-what vfd did to specific families: -physically separated the calibans -morally separated the denouements and the snickets -somehow brought the anwhistles closer together

-in terms of ramona and olaf, ramona was there to stress the distinction of biological family vs. vfd family but also how they’re so inextricably intertwined with each other, and olaf, this is harder to tell bc he doesn’t have a point of view here, but olaf is scoping out potential candidates for his personal group of firestarters – his own sort of “family” (ramona bc she’s a duchess, ernest because he has a similar line of thought, josephine because her husband is working with the mushrooms, the white-faced women because, well they wind up in his troupe and I have very vague headcanons about how that happens)

-related; the reason frank asks olivia about miranda at the end is because, at that point in the fic, frank feels so terrible about what he said to ernest that he’s trying to reassure himself that his family is still okay because (dewey’s right) at least they’re together, compared to the calibans, who haven’t seen each other in years. it was one of the first ideas I had when I was jotting ideas down in april and it stuck with me the whole way through. I really wanted it in there. I went back and forth before I got to this plot, though, on whether or not frank or ernest would be the one asking it. but I think it fits frank. -(ahahahahahaha the kicker being that miranda really was at the party the whole time and olivia didn’t recognize her) -anyway

-the parallels in the fic were: -the denouements start the fic together, and end the fic alone (by being honest about how they feel about each other) -the snickets start the fic relatively separated, and end the fic together (by being dishonest about what happened during the party) -the denouements start the fic by playing their game, and the snickets end the fic with theirs -frank is mistaken for ernest, ernest is mistaken for frank -frank pretends to be ernest on accident, ernest pretends to be frank on purpose -dewey has never slammed a door in his life; towards the end of the fic he slams the tray -i….think that’s all of them. I think

-character-wise, jacques and frank both see themselves as the people holding their families together; when in fact for the denouements, it’s dewey, which I think is clear in this, and for the snickets it’s lemony, which is less clear here? but definitely something I agree with -dewey and kit see themselves as the most ‘normal’, and they both have relatively solitary positions of acquiring information -ernest and lemony clearly both vibe on a ‘question vfd’ wavelength -i was also interested in kit and ernest, as siblings who feel stifled by an older/perceived older sibling, and dewey and lemony, who are sometimes unnecessarily protected by their siblings because they are the youngest/perceived youngest -this doesn’t show up in the fic bc olaf’s parents are still alive, but I thought ramona and olaf were also interesting foils re: reacting to their parent’s deaths

-some narration notes: -frank never refers to ernest and dewey as his brothers, except in the scene where he argues with ernest. because frank doesn’t necessarily see the split of biological family vs vfd family but has definitely swayed more to vfd family -ernest and dewey always refer to each other as brothers. -similarly, frank refers to the members of vfd as associates, most everyone else refers to them as friends. -ernest refers to vfd as strictly VFD because he’s distanced himself from it, while everyone else calls it ‘the organization’ -frank doesn’t swear even in his narration when he’s thinking them and not saying them because it’s, still his narration. he still wouldn’t quite completely say the words. (oh, he’s like gansey, like that. the raven cycle is still on my brain. i had so many scene sketches where ernest and frank were way too callous to each other bc they kept coming out like ronan and declan.) -kit’s line at the beginning is “someone in this very room has betrayed us” which is jacques’s line from the building committee meeting in unauto. the clock saying wrong afterwards is because the someone who really betrayed them (lemony) isn’t in the room.

-the costumes, which i did decide very arbitrarily: monty: clearly a snake. olaf: sigh. wolf ramona and olivia: oh, there was actually a slight distinction that just no one notices because none of them have looked at an insect (and also because describing clothes properly but succinctly is the hardest thing. i've written fic for a long time!!!!! i did my time in block paragraph clothing description hell!!! it haunts me!!!!!!!!!!), but ramona was the butterfly and olivia was actually a dragonfly. their masks are roses because, well 1) I thought that would be cool 2) butterflies and dragonflies land on flowers…. jacques: the boxwood, but a lion otherwise. josephine: ocean widdershins: the octopus with the pirate hat jacquelyn: the gold star suit (because gustav said she should do it for a play on. star. like. actress star.) miranda: uranus’s moon named miranda. it was very vague and I put that in the fic before I decided to have her in the little scene with esme. and then i thought i would put her in that scene too. gustav: phantom of the opera. haruki: tree frog hector: tree (not because of haruki’s costume but because i literally could not think of a damn thing for hector to be) lemony: uhhhhhh I had vague ideas he was. a cloud or something. like a stormcloud???? couldn’t pan out though. I like him in grey anyway. kit: I really just wanted her in red. with a big cape. and i spent so much time mentally deciding if i wanted her to have glasses or not in the archives that i forgot to mention her mask. everyone has one i swear to god white faced women: did anyone recognize that was them? :) it’s not mentioned in any way at all but in my head they were all dressed identically as flappers

esme actually doesn’t have one, because I, forgot, to give her one. I’m taking suggestions.

-references to lyeekha’s fics: -“that which is essential is invisible to the eye” is what frank says to jacques at the end of edge, and also the title of their snicket/denouement series -it initially wasn’t in there, because I was worried it wasn’t, like, in the right tone, re: what happens in edge vs how I was interpreting jacques and frank? but i liked it a lot. so i put it back in. -“frank quit smoking, but you didn’t” is a reference to frank smoking at the end of rigged -guess the guest and the clock alcove are from the end of fragments, with dewey and ernest watching hotel guests. this is my favorite thing in the whole world and something i actually keep forgetting is not canon because it is SUCH the perfect beethoven parallel -kit’s tattoo, which I was specifically imagining as the giant bombinating beast tattoo from ink on her back, which is definitely not around her neck but that was the only spot of skin she was showing so it was available and my thought was, it was kind of a low-cut in the back dress, and she was wearing the cape to cover up the giant tattoo on her back because beatrice was not there to cover it up with makeup (also bea picked out the dress.) (bea: if I can’t be there you have to make a statement) (kit: I have to what) -lemony being a “powerful, mythical figure” to the sugar bowl gen was actually something I wrote a long time ago, back in 2013, and I put it in the fic because I thought it fit, and then happened to reread double edged VERY late into the rewriting, literally THE DAY after I wrote that line in, and i saw a similar line of thought, and I was like “*cooper voice* sometimes you just get lucky ~ ” -jacques being in a lion costume, from the masquerade outfit sketches

additionally – -yes I am still cackling about ��angel of my apple’ -angel of my apple -ANGEL OF MY APPLE -writing olaf is constantly like, he can say the funniest fucking things. and then turn around and say the absolute cruelest shit and the balance can be difficult. -but, angel of my a p p l e

-i can’t believe that out of all the people here, frank and jacques are the ones having the most semi-successful romantic relationship. well, ramona and olivia, too, but frank and jacques actually kiss so good for them -i know it was very vague and it’s because writing romance is physically embarrassing, but yes that last line was supposed to be them kissing, i’m so sorry

-undercover underwater was a last-minute addition because I didn’t want to take the time to try and google something real and good because I didn’t have the time. my guilty pleasure is super shitty hallmark murder mystery movies (I like good murder mysteries as well, thank you.) and my mom’s been reading terrible murder mysteries during lunch (where I was sitting across from her, also eating lunch, but also hiding behind my laptop and writing the fic) so I just came up with undercover underwater on the spot, but my mom came up with the tagline. it was originally ‘sleeps with the fishes’ (especially because i love the godfather movies which also, clearly has a very big stress on family vs The Family) but I thought ‘diving for the truth’ was funnier. -my mom and my brother (who has no interest in shitty murder mysteries, but loves to verbally smack them down with me re: their predictable tropes) and I decided that the plotline was something like, single woman scuba dives and keeps running into stuff (you know, hidden treasure, dead bodies, the like); her love interest drives the boat; her overbearing family member is an aunt; this is definitely like, book four in the series. there’s probably twelve books or something. (she goes on vacation on like book six and still finds a dead body, come on it practically writes itself.) (she probably owns a little fish tank......it’s a small sunny beach town.........etc etc.........) (it’s so easy to do this.) -oh, fixer upper is the worst hallmark murder mystery series, murder she baked is the best. in my opinion.

-dewey and lemony were supposed to have an actual conversation at the hors d’oeuvres table but every time I tried to put lemony in earlier he just wouldn’t work. it didn’t feel right. so he got saved for the reveal. -but i’m still delighted by the idea of lemony literally doing the shot of gazpacho. -dewey uses a spoon because he doesn’t have the composure or the guts to do a shot of cold soup -lemony was also supposed to have a scene with kit and one with jacques, i’m pretty sure, to lead up to the gazpacho conversation and the commiserating re: siblings. but again, didn’t work out. so then dewey had to fare alone in the scene. -oh!! the line about how lemony hides, in the least likely places, was actually something that was in my initial write of lemony’s scrapped pov of my ellington fic. jacques being responsible for sending olivia to the hinterlands was from a scrapped jacques fic. -steal from your unused fic.

-because I had to take scenes with lemony out, I had some, gaps in the night that I had to fill in (especially because this is a party more people are there than the snickets and the denouements), so that was how esme, the herpetology squad, and olaf and josephine came to be. (also olaf needed to show up again somewhere else otherwise he kind of, disappeared awkwardly, I thought?) -also because initially there was going to be a scene of bea and bertrand, elsewhere, but I wanted to keep the fic contained to the hotel, because one of the ideas I wasn’t able to put into the fic all that much was the sense of the hotel being its own world -oh, bea and bertrand don’t know that lemony used them as cover. the assignment they were working on instead of being at the party? planning the opera. the scene would’ve come right after ramona and olaf’s conversation. -the herpetology squad not only serves to highlight that people can’t tell the denouements apart (part of the foreshadowing that ernest would pretend to be frank), but was also me roasting myself because writing like a million different characters I had never written like this before had me very concerned about if their characterization was consistent, specifically for kit. (specifically, her with dewey.) also defining a character down to one base trait can be helpful when writing and creating characters, but for people no it’s not ideal. -haruki’s estimation of the denouement’s traits were not how i was mentally keeping track of them, because i definitely do do the ‘one base trait’ sometimes, but i had a lot more going on when i was thinking of them -but yes dewey is kind. in the way that bertrand is kind, but bertrand’s like, way more smooth about it.

-lemony does not have his own pov because, for me personally, I can’t fathom writing him in any other way besides first person, and it just would not do to have one scene out of the whole fic not in third person. unless he was secretly narrating each scene, which, he clearly was not. i would’ve had to do it in a whole different style.

-i love that dewey and kit are like ‘ahaha we’re the normal ones though’ and their normal conversation is them literally going ‘hey these creepy fish are AWESOME THOUGH’ -i looked at so many fish. for hours. -ALL BECAUSE I came up with the phrase ‘oceanic intrigue’ as a fun phrase and decided I had to commit my soul to it and never look back. -oh, the fairy shrimp are really very cute though. and i think the cookiecutter shark is, fucked up but a neat little guy.

-i’m eternally going to be laughing about this too kit: where the fuck is frank frank: /three floors down, making out with jacques

-oh!! 40-49 is unassigned in the dewey decimal system (which I googled. many, many times.), and was previously biographies. there’s another section for biographies now, but because biography was the closest I could come to like, some sort of, identity category, I thought it was more fitting if it was the section that used to be biography but was now as blank as frank felt.

-dewey is the one responsible for the clock sounding like it does. he just thinks ‘wrong’ is a fun word. that, and frank recognizing jacques by sound, were from my earlier scene sketches for this when i thought this fic was going to be much, much shorter.

#lulu talks about the sad lemon man

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burnedbyshoto · 5 years

Text

My Girl

jealous!bakugou katsuki x reader; jealous!todoroki shouto x reader

warnings: cussing, jealousy, wig snatched

word count: 5,000 (the both of them together LMAO)

a/n: jealousy… such a sexy emotion… okay but for real y’all, if your boyfriend/girlfriend/partner/significant other/etc., is always jealous to the point where they accuse you of disloyalty??? DUMP THEIR ASS!!!! that wont be discussed here tho... because i went on a rollercoaster of ideas so this is what was produced!!! anywaysssss enjoyyyyyyy.... also....i forgot the fluff....omg...sorry

Part Two

bakugou katsuki

Bakugou Katsuki was not a man of patience.

He was a man of action. Always straightforward and deadly. That was Bakugou's preferred action to most issues. He was not one for sneaking around, and for sure never hiding within the shadows as someone else did a job for him. So when the situation called for Bakugou to be a bystander, it was hard for him not to react. Especially because he had to watch as his girlfriend proceeded to get her hands dirty. The results of this were a bit… surprising but expected.

Bakugou’s fingers scrape against the table as you socialized at the bar. That dress on your body was so tight that Bakugou could imagine you without the dress on. Which meant every other bastard with their eyes glued on your ass could imagine you naked. You have a stupid wig on too, for precaution, it’s pink and shit is it long. You were sex on legs, and Bakugou was not happy about it.

Bakugou watches as your fingers touch the forearm of the man next to you. A charming smile on your face as you leaned in close to the man; as if there was some beautiful secret you had to share. Bakugou watched as your head dipped backward in laughter. Your laugh, a beautiful sound, that echoed through his mind despite the fact he couldn’t hear you. But all Bakugou could do was stand at his table and watch on, his teeth clenching and grinding.

“Bakugou, calm down,” Tsuyu reminds Bakugou from beside him. Her own eyes taking in the concerned reactions of their neighboring tables as well as you. “You’re making a scene, and you’re a recognizable face.”

“Shut the hell up, I could murder anyone in here anyways.” Bakugou sibilates. His eyes twitched as his upper lip curled at the interaction unfolding before him.

It was but, true, Tsuyu had a point. The bigger point being that Bakugou could give less of a fuck.

Here he was staring at his hot as hell girlfriend flirting with the man next to her for information! Espionage his ass! Bakugou would rather go fuck up every villain group to figure out where stupid Deku was being held. Anything instead of this! But no, the government wouldn’t “allow” that course of action. Instead, the now Pro-Heroes of the old class 1-A were working to find out which group it was. Furthermore, the man next to you knew exactly who the group was. Stupid Icy Hot captured his associate a few hours ago and he had confessed a single name.

While searching for information on this mysterious man, they found his Facebook. They were quick to figure out that he was completely straight, too!

So Yayorozu had devised a perfect plan on getting the information from this man! Hopefully without it resulting in a major battle, too. Which was something they were going to need to keep from at all costs! Being secretive was not at all the trademark the alumni of the U.A. Hero Class 1-A had. In fact, given wherever they went, destruction ensued in some sort of way. But for the plan that Yayorozu created, it would begin with a bait.

The bait being you.

But the reason it was you next to the man, was because you wore a mask as apart of your hero costume. Not many knew how you looked like unless they remembered your first year Sports Festival, which many didn’t. It turned out that even then, many people forgot how you looked. Which was beyond Bakugou on how because you were by far the most beautiful thing in the world.

“I’m going to fucking kill him,” Bakugou hisses under his breathe. He watches the dickhead place a suggestive hand on your ass. Bakugou hated the fact that you were so damn good at acting as you leaned into his touch. A smile on your face as you captured your lower lip between your teeth. That smile that is meant only for him. “I’m also going to fucking kill y/n, too.”

Bakugou couldn’t help the fury that ignites in his blood as the man slips a key card to you. You had succeeded in the getting the key, but still, Bakugou was not happy. The man gets up afterward, and walking away, adjusting himself in his pants. Bakugou wants to rip his own head off as his fingers clench the fabric of the table cloth. Bakugou watches as you turn around, your e/c eyes locking with his. It’s a fleeting gaze that lasts less than a second, but it’s everything Bakugou needed to calm down for the moment. He feels better.

As soon as you walk out the door, Bakugou and Tsuyu have to remain there. They are attempting not to look too suspicious after all, but soon enough they follow after you.

It’s time to get this rescue mission on the road.

Bakugou watches from a video camera in the hotel room next door to their target. His eyes trained on the laptop before him. He has an intense stare on the man who was freshening himself up with cologne as he awaited you.

Before this event, they had bugged undetectable tiny camera’s in the man's room made by Yaoyorozu. They brought in with the help of Koda’s animals, or were they insects? What ever it was, it was nothing big enough to let them into the room without making it obvious.

The plan was simple, and it was the following: Tsuyu would go in using her camouflage. While you and the man were busy, she would look around. Bakugou role in this was the tank they would need in case something happened. Not that the two of you couldn’t handle yourselves, but they had no information on this dude’s quirk. They had to also take into account that you were in a skin-tight dress, heels, and without your Hero License! No one was sure how far you would have to take it with the man or how paranoid he could be as most villains were. So, no one risked the license on you. Tsuyu, while a fantastic hero, would focus more on the sneaking and attaining details. Bakugo was there in case she failed.

No one actually wanted it to be Bakugou as the tank. They had suggested that Todoroki or Mina be the one watching out. Bakugo, nonetheless, wouldn’t allow any of that insisting that it had to be him.

So they had to compromise.

Thus there Bakugou sat staring through the live input feed as the man sat on his bed as you sauntered in. The pink wig flowing around you as if straight out of a movie. Bakugou could see Tsuyu given he knew she was there. A feat that managed to impress Bakugou given that it was through a camera and not in real life. Moreover, the man was unresponsive to the green dressed hero walking in. He never broke his attention away from you meaning that everything was still in the clear.

Bakugou watches in growing anger and jealousy as you go and sit on the bed. Tossing your fake hair over your shoulder, a hooded look in your eyes as a smile spread on your face.

He watches with his nostrils flaring as you crawl towards the man. You then get on top of the man, straddling him onto the bed. You push his shoulders in one swift movement so that he collapses onto the bed. Bakugou stirs. That should be him.

Bakugou watches your pretty mouth brush against the man's lips before pulling away. Your ass rising off his body as you lean down teasing him again. Your arms supporting your weight besides his head as you smile. The veins in Bakugou’s arms are popping out as he clenches the pants of his disguise. Calm down.

He watches as the man's hands travel up your creamy, delicious thighs. Snaking their way under your dress, managing to move the fabric up. The screen freezes for a moment, much to the growing rage of Bakugou before reconnecting. On the screen, he can see you throw your head back, something Bakugou knows to be a moan escaping your lips. A lustful smirk enters the man's lips.

Bakugou is fuming.

But he can only watch as the man removes his shirt, and it's thrown somewhere in the room. Bakugou scoffs at the way too overdone muscles on the dude's stomach and chest. That was definitely only for looks. Hell, Bakugou bet a single punch even without his quirk would take him down.

“Hurry the fuck up, frog face,” Bakugou seethes as the man now has you flipped onto your back. He can see the giggles escaping your lips as the man head dips to brush his lips against your semi-exposed chest.

Bakugou flashes his attention to Tsuyu who is standing by the door now. Her thumbs up showing she obtained the information. Moreover, with what could only be jealous rage, Bakugou stormed into the hallway. Slamming the fire alarm on, Bakugou knows Icy-Hot would be setting a fire somewhere in the hotel. Bakugou disappeared back into the room. People are hesitant about exiting their rooms, everyone unsure if it was a false alarm or not.

“Please, all guests, exit in an orderly fashion.” A voice over the intercom system says. Bakugou watches through the laptop as you exit the room with the man on your waist.

There’s a lot of people in the hallway, so as Bakugou exits the hotel room, he keeps his head down, on a mission to now get you away. Your eyes widen as you see him in the hallway, and he knows that you see the jealousy in his face and eyes. A knowing smirk comes onto your face. Bakugou rolls his eyes at your smirk but he manages to crash into the man, his hand disconnecting his hold onto you.

The damn bastard shouldn't have had his fucking hands on you in the first place.

“Shit, sorry man.” Bakugou apologizes, his head low. He smirks seeing that the small bump was successful enough for you to slip away unnoticed. The man walks away confused and searching for you as he followed the crowd nonetheless. Bakugou grins as he sees you and Tsuyu by the hotel room. That hot yet stupid wig still sitting on your head, and an accomplished look on both girl's faces.

“The group that has Midoriya-kun are called: The Second Coming. They’re a small organization, but they are powerful quirk users.” Tsuyu states showing them the manilla folder. The said group name and address of their headquarters printed in small text. “It says here, they have someone with a jellyfish quirk that has had him paralyzed.”

“Fucking fantastic,” Bakugou snarks, “Go tell the others for us.”

You look confused as Bakugou grasps your arm, as he pulls you into the room, abandoning Tsuyu in the hallway.

“Katsuki!” You groan as Bakugou slams the door behind you. You turn ready to face whatever pent up emotion he is dealing with. You’re shocked as you aren't meet with possessive jealous anger. Instead, you're wrapped up into a sweet, soul-crushing hug.

“I was jealous,” Bakugou mumbles against your neck. He was taking in your intoxicating perfume as a way to remind you that you were there with him now. “But I worried something terrible was going to happen the entire time. To be honest, I would’ve killed him if you had sex with him.”

You sigh gently. You wrap your arms tight around your emotion-driven boyfriend, “That’s why we had Tsuyu. She’s great and super fast at scouting.”

“That’s bullshit, I could’ve been faster,” Bakugou states as the two of you sway in each other’s arms, your fingers gently massaging his scalp. The hug never wavering in contact or strength.

“Like hell, you could be! The infamous loud and rambunctious Bakugou Katsuki, Explosion Hero: Ground Zero? Being able to slip around while being visible? I don’t think so.” You laugh as Bakugou rolls his eyes.

“Shut up, extra.”

“I’m your girlfriend, but if you want me to be an extra in your life, well I’m sure there was a man out there who was willing to—“

“Don’t you fucking dare say it!” Bakugou growls by your ears and goosebumps flash across your skin.

“I do dare,” You counter playfully. Your teasing stopped by Bakugou’s lips possessively dragging against yours. Your eyes shut in response as hot huffs of air escapes both your mouths as he continues devouring you in a kiss.

“I guess I’m going to have to re-educate you on what I’m willing to do for you,” Bakugo grunts against your lips. His hands move to grasp your ass, something he’s been aching to do for so long that night.

“You don’t have the—the,” You can’t finish that sentence as you moan. Bakugou had sucked on the sweet spot on your neck. His hot tongue soothing the enflamed skin seconds before he could break through any skin. Your eyes close as he picks you up in his arms, beginning to walk with a single destination in mind.

“The what?” Bakugou growls as he tosses your body onto the bed, a loud squeal coming from you. Bakugo groans as you look at him with the same hooded eyes that drove him insane moments before.

“The balls to fuck me when your best friend is missing.” You pant moving your hands to remove the pink wig from your head.

“Nuh-uh, the wig stays on, princess. Shitty Deku got himself into this mess, he can stay there for a few minutes longer.” Bakugou sneers as he unbuckles his pants as he stares into your flushed face. He was ready to give you the quickie of a lifetime.

todoroki shouto

Todoroki Shouto was a man that many believed to be dense. Lacking situational cues. Sometimes even uncaring.

They weren’t wrong, per se, Shouto was dense. It took him seventeen months to figure out you were flirting with him! He never picked up on the fact you wanted to date him until you asked him out! He also, at times, was uncaring about situations that didn’t concern him. But Shouto was no idiot. He knew when men were flirting with you even if he couldn't tell with himself, and to be honest, he was not a fan of it.

The two of you were now established Pro-Heroes. having graduated from U.A. last year, and you both shot into stardom alongside other alumni from U.A.

Shouto was also dating you, a secret from the general public, actually.

The two of you decided to keep your relationship status concealed from the public. As new heroes, you didn’t want your popularity or hate coming from your relationship. You wanted recognition because you were an effective and capable hero. Not that it mattered in the end. The general population “shipped” the two of you together in exceedingly high numbers.

It had gotten to the point that your PR managers had requested the two of you to come together for a PR stunt. Both businesses were unaware of your relationship status. Nonetheless they had created a joint meet-and-greet.

Tickets had sold out within two minutes, and they hadn’t been cheap either. The day would start with free merchandise. Fans would get V.I.P. selection! Two meals, of course, because it was an all-day thing! One meal was paired with the interview where Shouto and you would let them all speak at least once! Finally ending with a one on one interaction with the two of you! It also included a free professional personalized photo with the both of you. Everyone could stay until the very last photo as well, but no one could take two photos.

The agonizing two-hour dinner interview where Shouto had to dodge personal questions finished. It had been completed hours earlier, but now it was the one-on-ones. It was safe to say Shouto was ready for photo’s to wrap up so the two of you could leave for an at-home late night date. The photo’s and one-on-one’s were becoming annoying and were dragging on to Shouto.

You were getting a lot of attention from both male and female fans. Many of which would come up, grabbing a hand from you and himself. They would stare before they let out a line that about always was, “You guys are the reason for my gay panic,” or “You’re my mom and dad!”

Every time it happened without fail, you let out a laugh enveloping the person in a hug. You admitted it to be the best compliment you received as you chatted away with them with a happy tone. Shouto was grateful you were so great at media interactions. If someone would come up to him by himself and confessed to something like that... Shouto would most likely shoot a ray of ice and fire at the same time by accident.

Of course, there were also the fans that obsessed over the "fake relationship" between the two of you. Some requesting that their photos be of Shouto kissing you while the fan fainted by their feet. Hell, someone even requested you to step on her face while you hugged Shouto, both of you not agreeing to it. Or Shouto’s least–most–favorite. The fan that wanted a cheek kiss, and almost managed to get the two of you to lock lips in front of the large audience you had. The shrieks of approval, dismay, and everything between would not stop for a good too many minutes.

But there were also… those fans who obsessed about only one of you. Shouto could handle the crazy fangirls on his end, most of which were respectful. Yes, some foamed at the mouth. Some sobbed for the entire three-minute interaction. Some became almost bullies as they tried to play off how much they loved him. And the very rare feelers who would attempt to touch Shouto inappropriately.

Still, those girls were nothing in comparison to your fans.

A fan asked if it was okay to motorboat you! He actually pulled out a stack of ¥1,000, and managed to touch his cheek to your breast! That was before both you and Shouto removed him from the premise. The fan still was happy with the contact and refused to take his money back. So you made a donation to a charity, that supported children from abuse, under his name. Then there were the fans who would squeeze your ass during photos leaving you livid. The fans who tried to kiss you by surprise as the camera flashed. Fans who presented you with some sex toys in the hope to woo you. Fans who– well you get the point. Shouto was becoming pissed off at the situation you were in. Looking at the line he was happy to see that there were three people left in line. Nine more minutes.

Shouto turned his attention to the still very large crowd of people who were staying until the very end. Shouto realized in dismay he couldn’t drop his, albeit small smile, yet.

The next six minutes went by fast enough. The third to last person was a tiny and sweet girl who presented gifts to both heroes. Her requested pose was that you carry both Shouto and her on your shoulders. You nailed it by the way, and Shouto had to fight to keep the blush off his face at the feeling of you carrying him with ease.

The second to last person was a Shouto fan only. He pretty much ignored you all together as he talked to Shouto about everything they had in common. Professing that they were soulmates because he was the Scorpio to his Capricorn. The fan asked for a picture of Shouto carrying him bridal style, with you in the far distance looking upset. After all, because he stole Shouto away from you. As he walked away happy with the picture, Shouto focused his gaze on you and rolled his eyes. You smiled regardless, finding the situation funny. It wasn’t the first time something like that got requested after all.

Shouto sighed by your side as the final person approached them. The small gasp that escaped your lips put Shouto on the defense immediately. What Shouto was expecting to see was an average looking civilian, at most, coming over. The gasp was something you did to make people feel excited and special about themselves.

“Ito-kun?!” Your voice calls out in disbelief. Shouto trains his eyes onto a very handsome man walking over, his arms stretched out for a hug. The man had ink-black combed back hair. He was tall, bulked but nothing too overkill and was wearing black slacks and a white T-shirt. He was exactly what traditional handsome in Japan is.

“Looking good, y/h/n!” Ito says with a smile. The non-stranger wraps you up in a hug, a warm smile on his face. Shouto could not help but notice that the hug lingers for a lot longer than any other fan. His eyes narrow. Shouto hears a few squeals coming from the fans, and he sees cameras recording them. So he tries acting unbothered by it all.

“I didn't recognize you without your costume on!” You exclaim as you remove yourself from the hug. You step back to look at him from top to bottom, your attention fleeing over to Shouto. “Shouto, this is Ito-kun, or as you may remember him from the awards ceremony, Kyandi!”

Shouto freezes the slightest bit. Memories of you talking about one of your childhood friends who became a Pro-Hero as well floods his mind. “Oh,” Shouto recomposes himself. The slight jealousy he had been feeling flooding out of his system, “It’s nice to meet you, Kyandi.” Shouto bows in respect, Ito was a dear friend of yours.

Shouto stiffens in his bow as the man doesn’t even acknowledge him. Shouto straightens up as Ito continues talking to you, and you glance over at Shouto. Your own eyes filled with confusion. A small motion of Shouto's head informs you that he didn’t wish to make a big deal out of it. With reluctance, you focus back on the conversation that Ito was having.

Shouto feels awkward as he stands next to you, trying to not feel excluded. But whenever you tried opening the circle to him, Ito would close it off. Shouto watches as Ito places a hand on your elbow, a sugar-sweet smile on his lips. Ito mentions that you look beautiful today. Shouto rolls his eyes, of course, you do! You always do! “Not that you don’t always look good!” Ito backtracks an embarrassed laugh escaping his lips. “It’s that you have such an irresistible personality when you’re around your fans! It’s attractive.”

Shouto rolls his eyes at this comment, could he be any faker?

But he stills when you seem to buy it completely, “Aw! Ito-kun, you’re so sweet! My fans make me so happy after all, I’m glad it’s noticeable!”

“Three minutes are up!” The photographer informs the group. Your eyes snap over to the man who for the entire night was happy to have been there.

“Hold on, okay?” Ito winks at you grabbing your shoulders and giving them a tight squeeze before walking over to the man.

“He’s a bit… touchy.” Shouto whispers to you, and you look over and laugh.

“Is he? Huh? He doesn’t get much time in the limelight... he has his agency in the same district as Bakugou, Deku, and Uraraka-chan. It’s most likely Ito trying to get public approval ratings.” You whisper to Shouto, as you grin up at your frowning boyfriend, your own smile soon faltering. “Do you think it’s something else?”

“…no...” Shouto brushes it off as Ito comes back. Ito with much excitement claims he was able to gain five more minutes with the two of you! Your confused blinks and Shouto’s third eye-roll doesn’t go unnoticed by fans. The fans who are expecting things to wrap up by now. So Shouto stands there as Ito brushes a strand of hair out of your eyes, and he feels his hands twitch. A fit of hot bitter jealousy starts shooting through his veins.

It’s the lingering hand on your waist that makes Shouto shove his hands into his pockets. It's to keep him from ripping Ito’s hand off your waist.

It’s the way that Ito stares at your beautiful face that causes Shouto to look away for a bit, fearful that he’ll lash out.

It’s the small inside jokes that Ito passes through his lips and your pretty giggles. Shouto has to bite down on his tongue to keep himself from speaking up.

It’s the closing space between you and Ito that finally causes Shouto to snap. His ears burning, his heart thumping in his ears, “It’s time for the picture.”

You blink as if out of a trance and smile in agreement, “It is! How would you like to pose, Ito-kun?”

“Would you climb onto my shoulders, like how we posed as kids?” Ito asks still not once looking at Shouto, and you nod your head.

“What about Shouto?”

“Oh, uh, does he have to be in the picture? I want to give this to my mom, and well, it’s not like the two of you are dating, so I wouldn’t want to give it to her.” Ito explains and hot fury lashes through Shouto’s chest. Shouto's heart hammering as he’s ready to show this candy man who the hell he was. Before Shouto could drag Ito to hell with his words alone, you speak up.

“Sorry, Ito-kun, but rules are rules. We already bent one, two would be too much.” You apologize as Ito sighs in annoyance.

“Okay, well I guess he can stand there.” Ito huffs as he picks you up and places you on his shoulders, a squeak escaping your lips from the sudden action.

So Shouto stands there. He's trying to keep the scowl off his face as he glares holes into the side of Ito’s skull. But he chooses to instead look at you flashing peace signs for the photo, and he smiles instead. As Ito places you back onto the floor, he finally pushes his luck too far as he goes in for a kiss.

“Ito,” You gasp as you dodge the kiss all while Shouto now has his right hand clenching Ito’s arm. Shouto's hand glowing with the initial threat of his activated quirk. “That’s inappropriate!”

“Come on, y/h/n, you’re a total babe, why not?” Ito asks despite having his eyes locked on Shouto for the first time tonight. Black eyes meeting blue with grey eyes and you can feel the icy tension flowing between them.

“Please leave. Now.” Shouto growls as Ito rolls his eyes as he shoves Shouto’s hand off of him.

“Whatever. If dating you will mean that this asshole will be guarding you all the time... I wouldn’t want it anyway!” Ito snaps as he walks away covering his face from the cameras. The fans had now all seemed to gather back on word that drama was unfolding between the heroes.

Maybe it’s because the angry jealousy in Shouto’s veins had been at an all-time high. Maybe it was because Shouto wanted people to know who you were dating. But at this moment, Shouto grabs your arm and walks closer to the fans. All the phone cameras are now on the two of you. You’re completely oblivious of what is coming as you assume he’s going to say goodbye and thank you.

What happened next would stay forever in Pro-Hero Romance Drama.

As you waved and blew kisses to the fans, Shouto’s hands cupped your unsuspecting face within his hands. Shouto’s fingers caressed your cheeks, your eyes locking on his with confusion, as he presses a rough kiss on your lips.

You gasped into the kiss having not expected it. Shouto does not waste the opportunity to slip his tongue into your mouth. You can’t even help yourself from throwing your arms around his neck, pulling him in close, as his tongue presses against yours. Shouto keeps a hand firmly placed onto the back of your neck. Another one keeping your hips against his as the kiss intensified.

Your lips pressed against each other harshly. Your tongues dancing and twirling in the middle of your mouths. You break apart from Shouto for a moment before pressing your lips back on his, his hands grasping your ass. You can’t keep the small moan from your throat as Shouto bites your bottom lip and then intermingles his tongue back with yours. Which immediately reminds you of your location and you break apart from him. A string of saliva following your opened mouth as blush inks itself against your entire body. The screams of the crowd finally hitting the two of your ears.

You launch yourself away from Shouto. Covering your eyes with your hands as you bow many times in apology to your fans.

“Me and y/h/n have been dating for two years. I want you guys to know that I will for certain will fight anyone who tries treating her indecently from here on out.” Shouto states to the crowd, wiping the bottom of his lip before he turns on his heel and drags you with him. A proud smirk on his face as he leaves security to take care of the feral fans.

“That was so embarrassing,” You whisper behind closed doors.

“I don’t like men touching you like your theirs,” Shouto murmurs as he presses another kiss to your lips. A kiss that you still pour your heart into as your fingers grip his hair.

Pro-Heroes More Like Pro-Lovers! Shouto and Y/h/n Steamy Make-out! is the most trending and streamed thing for the next two months.

(part 2 smut???anyone???)

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seiin-translations · 3 years

Text

2.43 S1 Chapter 4.2 - Drifting Yunichika

2. BOYS’ NIGHT

I’m back...for real this time

Translation Notes

1. Japanese rooms are often measured by tatami mat. A tatami mat is about 1.65 square meters.

2. Vabo-chan is a mascot character created by Fuji TV that shows up during volleyball game broadcasts. It’s basically a white ball with hands and feet and creepy looking eyes

3. The “itoko”/Itoko pun is back! Itoko is the Japanese word for cousin and also Kuroba’s cousin’s name

Previous || Index || Next

Seiin High School was built on a slope at the foot of a mountain. It took fifteen minutes to climb up the hill from the school building, and the training camp was located in a place where you had to push through the woods of the mountain behind the school. It was a one-story wooden house that was in all probability haunted, rumored to have existed before the school was founded. The mountain was also owned by the school, and at the end of the first semester, all the first-year students were sent to collect firewood for the school festival campfire. The memory of being eaten alive by mosquitoes was fresh in his mind. Even though he wasn’t stung, just walking into the woods brought back the itchiness he had felt all over his body.

From July 26 to 30, this would be the lodging house for the boys’ volleyball team’s summer training camp. Two days after training camp was over, the Fall Tournament would be coming up from August 1 to 3. It was a one-off tournament that wasn’t connected to Nationals, but it was a chance for them to check well their team was doing as well as to gauge the strength of the other schools so that they could make final adjustments for the Spring Tournament prefectural preliminaries at the end of September.

The house was a minimalist structure, with a twenty-mat (1) Japanese-style room, kitchen, canteen, and communal washrooms for men and women, and the facilities were also very simple. It of course didn’t have luxury items like air conditioners installed, just an old-fashioned electric fan in the canteen.

“I wish there’s a fan in this room too…”

After the study session in the canteen had finished, he was lying on his stomach at the edge of the Japanese-style room to cool off when Okuma stepped on his back and he let out a “Gueh” like a crushed frog. “Wait, it’s coming out, the food I ate.”

“Hey, where did Haijima go?”

“Please don’t treat us as a set. Didn’t he get caught by Aoki-senpai and is still in the canteen? Aoki-senpai doesn’t seem like he’d be satisfied he can’t do something about his modern lit.”

When they got their results back from their end-of-term tests for the first semester, the academic abilities of the new recruits had become joke material for their seniors. Kuroba was good at Japanese overall, but in most other subjects he just barely avoided failing. Haijima, on the other hand, was…

After the seniors exclaimed “Whoa…” in astonishment at his amazingly high marks in subjects that had to do with calculation and memorization, the eye-avertingly awfulness of his writing subjects made them fall down and say, “Never mind…”

��Haijima seems uncomfortable with Aoki-senpai. He looks like he hates him.”

Futons were already laid out in the Japanese-style room. It was four futons in two rows, with the pillow side facing each other. They had laid them out themselves, so it was quite messy. Hokao and Uchimura, who had already taken up positions on the middle two futons that formed a second-year island and were fully ready to sleep, lifted their heads off their pillows and said, “Oh, that—”

“Haijima got kicked by Aoki-senpai because he pissed him off, right? In April.”

“Has Aoki-senpai ever gotten angry?”

“He’s scary when he’s angry. No, it’s more harsh rather than scary.”

“Aoki-senpai gets harsh when he’s angry, and it’s Kanno who’s scary when he’s angry.”

Hokao and Uchimura looked at each other and stifled laughter. The various sounds of summer insects continually fell like a gentle drizzle, constantly beating against the awning of the porch. When the storm shutters were fully slid open, they felt a moderately comfortable breeze. However, mosquitoes also flew in, so mosquito repelling incense stood in the four corners of the room making thin plumes of smoke.

The mixture of incense smoke and the remaining scent of the yakiniku was already thickly staining the T-shirts they had changed into after practice. I might have eaten too much meat…my stomach hurts… Well, the excess calories could be easily consumed in tomorrow’s practice, and in any case, Kuroba didn’t have such a delicate body that a weight change of one kilogram or around that could affect his jumping power. By the way, Okuma was the only member of the team who was required to lose weight. He had too much muscle mass.

“It’d be boring if Haijima wasn’t here.”

“Is there something interesting?”

When he tried to get up, Okuma sat astride his back. “Heavy…I really am too full…” And that’s why you’re so irritating… Moreover, he chose the right person. It was detestable that he thought he could get away with this kind of messing around with Kuroba, but didn’t do it with Haijima.

Okuma thrust his cell phone into his face from behind. His phone was the latest model with a big screen. The moment his eyes landed on the screen, Kuroba stopped his complaints with an “Oh? …” and gulped. It was a video of a woman with a lot of exposed skin, so to speak, squirming and moaning on white sheets, with one thing or another being done to her. “Senpai, turn up the volume a little bit. I can’t hear.” He attached himself to the screen in spite of himself and strained his ears.

“Huh, you reacted normally. I thought you’d be more embarrassed since you seem so innocent.”

“I have an older cousin, so he shows me a lot of this stuff. Hey, the volume. How do you turn up the volume on this thing?’

“Idiot, the third-years will hear it. You got a voice fetish or something? Boring, I knew I should wait for Haijima’s reaction.”

“Ah…so mean.”

He was about to grab his phone away, but Okuma snatched it away from him.

“Oh, speak of the devil.”

Kanno and Haijima appeared at the door of the room while talking about something. Judging from Haijima’s gestures, it seemed that they were talking about the duo they had been playing as all day. Or rather, that was the only thing Haijima could talk about in such an assertive way.

“Hey, hey, come over here, you two.”

Okuma was beckoning them over with a scheming look on his face, and the two looked at each other dubiously before coming over.

“What is it?” Kanno said politely, even though they were in the same school year.

“The curry recipe. You two are in charge tomorrow.”

As soon as Kanno peered into the phone screen Okuma pushed into their faces, he let out a “Wah” and turned his face away. While holding the edge of the phone between his fingertips and passing it off to Haijima, he pulled his hood down over his eyes. “I’m not too good with this kind of thing.”

“Oh. I see, I see. So you’re used to seeing it with Suemori-san.”

“Haa!?”

He suddenly snapped. It was the first time they heard Kanno’s angry voice, so Kuroba and Okuma unconsciously bent themselves back. Even Hokao and Uchimura, who had known him for a long time, started on their futons.

“Aren’t you going out with Suemori-san?”

“Absolutely not, and if you ever try to bring that sort of topic up with Ibara-cha…Suemori-san…”

His voice went a tone lower, and there was even bloodlust rising up from his shoulders. The aura of Kanno, who was usually quiet, and if anything, had practically no presence, suddenly swelled, frightening Okuma, who was fifty percent wider. Kuroba took that opportunity to crawl out from under Okuma’s buttocks. Hokao and Uchimura looked at each other under their pillows, whispering to each other, “We warned him that he’d be scary when he gets pissed off…” “Right?”

“S-sorry, sorry. I won’t say it again…” Ibara-chan, Okuma mouthed, looking like he wanted to say something, but he didn’t seem to have the courage to make fun of him to his face anymore.

“As long as you understand.”

Kanno said, then easily retracted his harsh look and reverted to his usual low-key presence. He tucked his hands into the sleeves of his hoodie, walked with sliding steps to the wall where his things were, looking like a ghost floating a few centimeters off the floor.

“Haa… So which one of us has a girlfriend?”

Okuma sat crossed-legged on the porch, facing the room, and ended up tossing out a blunt question without having learned anything at all. Hokao, Uchimura, and Kuroba all looked away vaguely. If he had one, the most exciting event during the summer vacation of his first year in high school would not have been a boring thing like a team training camp.

“This is so sad. You’re young, so you should be hungrier. The captain doesn’t look like he has a girl at all, and the only one who might be popular is the vice-captain?”

Okuma played innocent and judged others with his own arbitrary impressions.

“So, how about you, Haijima?”

When he finally brought up the subject to Haijima, Kuroba secretly felt something like a sense of superiority, thinking, This guy still has no idea at all.

Volleyball was his lover. Or rather, if volleyball was one of the opposite sex, Haijima would no doubt become her obstinate stalker. If he had a girlfriend, that would definitely be a cataclysm. Haijima, who was watching the video with his fingers pressing the earpieces of his glasses and looking like he was seriously trying to decipher a curry recipe, answered bluntly, “I don’t, and I never had one.” Just when he thought, There you go,

“Well, that’s what I thought. You seem to have completely matured from kind of stuff.”

“I did have a girl I liked.”

He doubted his ears because Haijima had reluctantly answered back to Okuma.

“Se…seriously!?”

Without thinking, he got up from lying on his stomach and crawled over to Haijima. “She’s an actual human being, right!? She’s got proper arms and legs, right!? Ah, Vabo-chan (2) does has arms and legs, but they’re not human, so wake up!” “What are you talking about…Why Vabo-chan?” Haijima screwed his face up. Okuma was doubled over laughing on the porch.

“Vabo-chan! That’s hilarious, Kuroba!”

Hokao and Uchimura had collapsed onto their futons, making strange laughing noises. Even Kanno was crouching in front of his bag with his shoulders shaking furtively. “…What does it mean?” Haijima was looking more and more reluctant. “No, I didn’t say that to make you laugh, senpai. It’s a problem that seriously needs to be examined.” “What do you mean?”

“What are you are getting noisy about? I’m turning off the lights.”

It seemed that the clamor could be heard all the way in the canteen, as Oda looked in from the door with a severe look on his face.

“Good grief, save your strength or you’ll regret it to the point of vomiting tomorrow. And I mean that literally.”

From behind Oda, who lowered his voice and gave off a sense of danger, Aoki also appeared, bowing his head to avoid scraping his head against the lintel.

“You remember me saying that those who can’t sleep will do dashes on the slope, right? Okuma, you seem to be the most energetic one here.”

“Not at all. I can fall asleep in a second.”

Okuma shoved his phone under the stomach of his T-shirt and dived into his futon. Hokao and Uchimura were now pretending to be dead, and Kanno, who was at the bags until just a while ago, was quickly tucking himself into his futon before they knew it. Somehow, the beds were arranged by seniority, with the two third-years on the innermost territory, the four second-years in the middle territory, and the first-years Kuroba and Haijima in the territory near the door.

As soon as the ceiling lights were turned off and darkness fell, the room that had been full of clamor and noise suddenly became strangely quiet. Immediately after, they began to hear someone snoring. Ten to one, that deep and throaty snoring belonged to Okuma. He was jealous that he really could sleep in a second.

Even when he laid down and closed his eyes, Kuroba couldn’t go to sleep easily. It was true that his body was exhausted from the first day of training camp, but his head was strangely clear.

He opened up his futon, turned over, and then stared into the darkness. A blue light, slightly brighter than the indoor lights, shined in from the porch, and the jagged shadows of the trees pierced into the night sky. Mosquitoes buzzed in his ears, and he waved them away in irritation.

…Mmm. Can’t sleep. I feel too excited for some reason.

He turned over again, and this time he was lying on his stomach and hugging his pillow. “Hey,” he whispered, leaning forward. “You up?”

He saw the head moving slightly on the pillow that was lined up face-to-face with his.

“Go to sleep.”

A curt voice responded to him in the darkness.

“I can’t, though.”

“Then go run outside.”

“Hey, when did you like that girl? It wasn’t when we were at Monshiro Middle, was it?”

“I told you to go to sleep. You think this is a school trip or something?”

“It’s definitely not Itoko, right?” (3)

There was the rustling of clothing, and the hair that had been hanging down on the pillow rose up. Haijima also lied on his stomach and stretched his neck towards him over his pillow. His brow was wrinkled and his eyes were narrowed so much that he looked positively villainous.

“Why are you talking about ‘itoko’?”

“Ah, did you just call her by her first name!?”

He was so shocked that his voice became louder. Haijima’s expression became even more grim, and he abruptly swept his hand off to the side of his pillow. When he was wondering what was going on, he grabbed his glasses that were caught on his fingers in a careless but familiar manner, put them on, and then thrusted his face at him again.

“Are you still seeing that cousin of yours?”

“Seeing…wh-what are you talking about, we’re not seeing each other at all! We go to different schools, I don’t really have any feelings for her, and she’s like a sister-in-law.”

As he was listing that off in a shrill and excited voice, …Hmm? Something doesn’t seem to be meshing… When he really thought about it, he didn’t remember Haijima and Itoko having any interaction with each other, and since it was Haijima, he might not even recognize Itoko’s name.

“…By cousin, do you mean Yori-chan?”

Haijima frowned and tilted his head as though to say, What are you talking about?

Yorimichi, his cousin who was three years older than him (but third-rate) had left town in spring to go to university. Kuroba also had the feeling that he was let go because his relatives found him unmanageable.

“I have nothing to do with Yori-chan anymore. We haven’t even been in touch.”

“If that’s the case, then you wouldn’t be getting so worked up.”

“I’m not getting worked up about this…”

The light from the window that was shining in from the balcony was suddenly blocked. He shut his mouth with a start and jerked his neck around, and saw a long and skinny shadow crouched beside his futon, as though one of the creepy trees he had seen outside had snuck in.

“Aoki-senpa…i…”

Two long arms reached out and grabbed the two’s heads firmly. The two drew in their necks with an “Ugu” as their heads were lifted up like in a crane game. “Idiots…” they heard one of the second-years mutter with a mixture of exasperation and sympathy.

“Since you two seem so eager to go running, I’ll grant your wish. Twenty hillside dashes.”

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#2.43 #2.43: Seiin Koukou Danshi Volley-bu #2.43: Seiin High School Boys Volleyball Club #2.43 translation #2.43 book 1

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theshatteredrose · 3 years

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Relic Keepers: Awakening of the Red Lily (Chapter 34) - Original Fiction

AN: Yup, still working on this. There should be about 47 chapters to this story, so got a few more chapters to go. Enjoy reading~

Ao3 | Wattpad | Inkitt | FictionPress

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Chapter 34:

Eishirou found himself listening closely to the forest noises around them as he kept a close eye on his tablet. He could hear the sounds of frogs croaking and the buzzing of insects. He wondered briefly if there had been such noises during the time that ShadowDweller had been stalking them. In hindsight, he wished he had paid more attention.

Yet, he reasoned with himself that the usual sounds must have been present as no one other than Zayne had realised that they had been followed. And Zayne only really caught on because of what Eishirou had seen on his map.

Zayne’s own father, a veteran Elite, hadn’t noticed.

The ShadowDwellers within these mangrove trees were quite…unusual was probably the right word.

The creature Team 3 faced off against was a large lizard in appearance, and was most definitely an ambush predator. It didn’t get destructive or violent until after Zayne exposed its presence.

Before then, it had moved silently. Not a rustle of a leaf. Not a snapping of a twig.

Nothing.

There was just so much they didn’t know about ShadowDwellers. They were as individual and unique as any species of animals.

Eishirou paused in his making of notes to glance at his surroundings. The foliage of the environment hadn’t changed; mangrove trees intersected with tall swamp reeds and light brown mangrove roots spiralling into pools of algae covered waters.

The temperature had warmed significantly, despite the shading of the thick canopy above. It was well after midday now, yet the dull light had stayed the same. And Eishirou assumed that the night of these woods fell sooner than they were used to.

Night-time beneath the canopy and lush vegetation were sure to be dark and unnerving.

A sudden and sharp pain from his shoulder promptly reminded Eishirou of his injury and he gritted his teeth to prevent a pained-filled murmur.

He mustn’t have fully succeeded as Zayne placed a hand on his back to get his attention. “How’s your shoulder?”

Eishirou gave a cautious shrug of his shoulder but promptly stopped when he was greeted with more pain. “Ah, it’s aching a little, to be honest.”

Zayne frowned in concern. “Do you have your painkillers?”

“I’ll take them when we return to camp,” Eishirou insisted. “They make me a little sleepy.”

Zayne’s frown deepened for a moment before he nodded his head. “Hm.”

Eishirou could only assume that Zayne’s frown was due to the fact that he wasn’t all that happy to know that he was in pain. And that he had a way to ease said pain, but due to certain side effects, wouldn’t take it.

And he was likely still annoyed about how he received such an injury in the first place.

A loud, sharp crack suddenly resonated. A low rumbling soon followed, along with the distinct sound of trees shaking. And breaking.

“Watch out!”

Zayne reacted immediately. He simultaneously wrapped his arms around Eishirou and manifested his wings. Eishirou found himself reacting just as quickly; he clutched his tablet against his chest with one arm as the other moved instinctively to loop around Zayne’s neck. He then crouched down for a moment, slipped an arm under Eishirou’s legs and scooped him up before he launched them both into the air.

And not a moment later, rocks and boulders barrelled through the tree line, careening destructively as they destroyed everything in its path. The way those large boulders and rocks moved looked so surreal. Boulders, four-foot wide bounced and rolled like they were made from cardboard.

The noise, however, was testament to how heavy, and how brutal, those tumbling stones were.

A rockslide. Not only were the ShadowDwellers dangerous, so was the environment.

With one arm around Eishirou’s back and the other under his knees, Zayne pulled back as his teammates, all with their own wings manifested, created a protective semi-circle in front of them. Their weapons were drawn, ready to deflect any stone or boulder that could potentially jostle in their direction.

A few of the small, somewhat ‘lighter’ stones were ejected from the slide in their direction, but Leon and Rinka were quick to deflect them away.

Eishirou subconsciously tightened his arm around Zayne’s neck and pressed himself closer to him. Had he been alone when that landslide occurred, it definitely would have killed him!

There was no way he could outrun something like that!

As quickly as the rockfall had begun, the tumbling stones came to a stop at their new resting places. The smell of toiled soil and freshly cut wood permeated the air. Along with an uneasy silence.

“You all right?” Zayne asked.

Eishirou nodded his head. “Yeah. Only thanks to your quick reflexes. That was a little close.”

A crease appeared in Zayne’s brow as he, too, nodded his head. “Yeah. What started that, I wonder.”

Eishirou turned to look at the now exposed hillside. The foliage had been so thick that he hadn’t realised that just a few feet away the terrain ascended steeply. The damage trail appeared narrow, gouging a potential new path. Though, he was reluctant to inspect it so soon after a rockfall.

“Something clearly dislodged these stones,” Ernesta mused as she lowered her mana-lance to her side. “Perhaps a ShadowDweller?”

“Perhaps,” Cadmus responded as his gaze remained firm on the debris path.

He didn’t sound fully convince. And, honestly, Eishirou wasn’t exactly sold on the idea that a ShadowDweller was responsible either. Perhaps he was just jumpy or paranoid after all the troubling events that had occurred recently.

“Let’s keep moving,” Cadmus ordered before he turned sharply in Zayne’s direction and raised an eyebrow. “You can put him down now, Zayne.”

Eishirou felt his cheeks abruptly heat up when he realises that Zayne was holding him, carrying him in what others may call “bridal or princess style”. Easily and casually at that.

“Walking is taking too long,” Zayne returned coolly, making no attempt to lower himself to the ground to allow him to safely loosen his hold on Eishirou. “It’ll be easier this way.”

He had a point…

A point that Cadmus couldn’t exactly refute.

“You can hardly fight like that,” Tatsu was the one to point out, rather scathingly at that.

Zayne turned his head sharply in his direction. However, he directed his words toward Eishirou.

“Hold onto my neck.”

Wordlessly, Eishirou did as he was told and tightened his arm around Zayne’s neck. Zayne then unwound his arm from around his shoulders, deftly snatched up his holster, and presented it toward Tatsu. Showing him that he was capable of drawing his weapon if the need called for it.

“See? I can fight just fine,” he retorted. “We’re wasting daylight; let’s move.”

Ernesta made a sound that was similar to a cough, and yet it was a forced cough. Like the one would make to cover up a laugh. Or something.

“I agree,” Ernesta stated. “Flying at low altitude would indeed move things along. And we’ve suffered enough distractions. We need to continue.”

Her tone of voice left little room for debate.

Though, Cadmus did give the impression that he had wanted to say something else. But decided against it. He did give Zayne a peculiar look before he turned, still mid-air, and took the lead once more.

Zayne and others soon followed.

That look was…parental, in a way. Exasperatedly parental. Probably inwardly lamenting how much of a rebel his own son had become.

Was Zayne being rebellious? Eishirou didn’t think so. He hadn’t done anything he hadn’t done before. He may be more vocal about it, but only because other people kept questioning him.

So…maybe the way he was acting wasn’t how Elite normally would or should act?

How ever an Elite was supposed to act, Eishirou was grateful for Zayne. For his determination and dedication toward him. He saved him and protected him more times than he could count.

He…didn’t know what he would have done without him.

Eishirou must have unconsciously shifted closer to Zayne as the other tightened his arms reassuringly around him. “I won’t drop you,” he said.

“I know,” Eishirou returned immediately. “I was just thinking of something else.”

Zayne gave him a quick smile before he returned his attention to the space in front of them. And Eishirou turned his attention to his tablet. Or more specifically, the map. He made the mental note to mark the rockfall when he was able to use his other hand.

Until then, he’d keep an eye out for any unusual blips.

They were making good pace and approaching the next point of interest quickly. A few minutes later they moved from the narrow, natural tunnel created of mangrove trees, and into an open clearing where they could see the blue sky above from an opening within the canopy.

“This is the second site,” Cadmus stated as he dropped to the forest floor, his red mana wings still activated.

As Zayne’s teammates followed the veteran Elite’s example, Zayne himself chose to stay in the air a moment longer. To cast a cautious glance at their new surroundings. Only when he was satisfied, did he finally land. And place Eishirou back onto his feet, too.

Eishirou thanked him quietly before he also inspecting the clearing. His gaze soon landed on an object found north in the clearing. A tall stone covered in moss and vines, of which had only been recently brushed aside.

It was the mural that had caught his attention back at the museum.

Zayne also noticed it and was close behind him as they walked toward the runestone. “Is this what that sentinel being Professor Jairus mentioned looks like?”

Eishirou nodded as he stood before the mural. More of a portrait. Someone that those who had painted such a thing held in high regard. “That’s right. He looked similar to this. Distinct long white hair with beads and feathers and dark brown skin.”

“Is this painting as old as the Red Lily?” Rinka was the one to ask as she, too, looked at the painting in interest.

“Yeah. Amazing, right?” Eishirou replied. “Possibly ten-thousand years old. Survived the bombardment.” He trailed his fingertips over the rough stone cautiously. “And it still has mana.”

Hmm. It appeared to be in good shape. He didn’t need to restore this one.

All he needed to do was prepare himself to receive a recording.

He stepped back momentarily and slipped his tablet into his bag. He then lifted it up over his head and dropped it carefully to the grass by his feet.

With that done, and with the knowledge that Zayne was sure to protect him from anything and everything, he raised his hands and placed them flat against the stone. He lowered his head. And with his mana, reached out to the memories stored within the stone.

They rushed forth without hesitation.

An underground temple. A sacred fire burning before a tall runestone. The sound of humming, wordlessly singing of a song of revere. Rapid drumming, wooden musical instruments.

A figure dressed in white with feathers and twine in white hair. The sentinel being Eishirou had seen so many times before. He stood before the fire. He looked youthful, though his soul was ancient.

He raised his hand to his side to reveal a golden wristlet. Upon it, the Red Lily.

Dawn of a Crimson Gold,

Celebrations of the Sacred Earth.

A gentle voice resounded as the drumming increased.

Shadowy beings, no form nor structure, edged in from all sides. Toward the sentinel being and the relic he wielded on his wrist.

The figure in white, completely unafraid, raised his hand toward the shadowy entities. The Red Lily shone with a bright light. Yet, the radiant light seemed to create a sphere around the being. Encasing him, protecting him.

Elements of a Fated Connection,

Reveals the Strength of the Mirrored Souls.

Someone else suddenly appeared before the sentinel being. Crouched into a battle stance that was somehow familiar. Though, they, too, were hidden in shadows.

Bright blue eyes suddenly looked at him. Directly at Eishirou himself.

Everything came to an abrupt end and Eishirou reeled his head back from the sheer force and power of the recording had shown to him. He clutched at his head and squeezed his eyes shut as he felt an arm encircle his shoulders.

Eishirou rubbed his temples with his fingertips as he attempted to wade through the lingering images of the recording playing through his head.

A golden wristlet. With the Red Lily as the centrepiece. It also appeared that the figure in white was…using it in battle? It wasn’t used offensively, though. Not fully. He was…using it defensively, and yet it felt as though he was also using it to enhance or support…someone else?

That second figure…he couldn’t see anything from them. But…they were of a masculine energy.

That was honestly the downside to reviewing recordings – he didn’t have enough time to inspect and intersect the images. He had to go on memories after the recordings were done. And he could only view the recordings once. Only after the object he pulled the recording from restored its mana supply could he possibly see it again. But there was a high possibly that it would not be the same recording.

It was all rather complicated.

The wristlet was new, though. Previous recordings had the red jewel nestled within a crown. The Red Lily back at the academy, however, was alone. So, it may be possible that the relic could be interchanged with other relics?

And the environment those images took place. It looked like a temple of sorts. An ancient sacred place. Carved stones, man-made altars and totems. And a tall runestone with ancient etchings.

Somewhere important.

Somewhere that still existed?

“Eishirou?”

Zayne’s voice holding a subtle sense of concern pulled Eishirou from his thoughts. He opened his eyes and immediately glanced over to his left. Where Zayne stood. His arm across his back in a comforting and supportive touch.

“You all right?” he asked.

Eishirou nodded and dropped his arms to his sides. “Y-yeah, sorry. It wasn’t holding back with the energy.”

“What did this one reveal?”

It honestly took Eishirou a moment or two to gather enough coherent thoughts to answer. “A…an ancient ritual of sorts. Another relic, I think. There’s…a stone temple. Underground. I think it still exists. Somewhere on this island. That relic…might be able to help me to understand the Red Lily further.”

Of course, he had no solid facts on any of that. But he felt it to be true.

“And no idea where this other…temple is found?” Cadmus asked, poorly hiding his scepticism.

“No,” Eishirou admitted. “But I’ll know when I see it.”

That wasn’t exactly reassuring. And Cadmus’s expression stated as much.

“Your injured shoulder might be interfering with your ability to view recordings,” Zayne suddenly suggested.

A sharp pain erupted in his shoulder, seeming in response to that observation. “Ah,” Eishirou winced. “You’re probably right.”

His shoulder wasn’t the only thing aching. His head was starting to set into a low throbbing. Something that happened when he used a bit too much of his own energy. The pain of his shoulder surely wasn’t helping.

A sudden, piercing buzzing from his tablet caused Eishirou to turn his attention down to his bag. He stepped away from Zayne and knelt onto the grass to pull out his tablet. As he flicked it on, he was greeted with the sight of the map.

And a strange dot close to the area where they had encountered the rockfall.

“Huh?”

“What’s wrong?” Zayne immediately asked as he crouched down next to him, his gaze on the map, too. “Another strange blip?”

Eishirou nodded his head. The marking wasn’t like the red symbol he had seen before. The one that indicated the ShadowDweller. The new blip…blips (there were three now), were light green in nature. Similar to the indicator of the tablet’s location on the map.

That…

“Is there anyone else on the island with us?” Eishirou asked suddenly, his attention toward Cadmus.

Cadmus seemed surprised by the question before his brow quickly furrowed and his expression turned stoic. “There shouldn’t be. Why?”

“It’s just…the map indicated to another possible party. Close by,” Eishirou explained as he glanced down at the map. However, as he looked down again, the dots had moved on. Off the path. “But…it’s gone now. Maybe they’re out of range?”

Had the academy sent another team to help in the research? But that didn’t seem plausible. Jacob would have definitely told him if he even entertained the idea so not to alarm him.

Something didn’t feel right. He would contact Misaki later and ask him.

“Let’s return to camp,” Cadmus suddenly commanded. “And stay together.”

Something didn’t feel right with him either, it seemed.

#original fiction #sci-fi fantasy #young adult #gay romance #Mystery/Suspense #relic keepers: awakening of the red lily

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friendocheaven · 3 years

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Picnic Ask

Ask and ye shall recieve @theaxolotleastofthesun it’s long af tho, so it’s under the cut.

1. Where and When is the picnic happening? (Gonna take this as ideal location and season basically)

a. Milo: Prefers someplace a bit south—warmer than the northern parts of the Eye. Summer in Sun Elf territory would be nice. Not south enough to get jungle-y and humid (Glim can take heat, but draws the line at humidity), but someplace he could retreat to the blessed relief offered by the shade of a scrubby tree and have a good excuse to eat his favorite spicy foods and sweat to cool down.

b. Glim: as stated above, he doesn’t do well in high humidity. Also not the biggest fan of excessive heat, but will put up with it for Milo’s sake. Were it up to him though, he would prefer an autumn picnic in a cozy shady glen under a still-full canopy of rich reds and violets and sunny yellows. A sigh of crisp wind carrying with it the first hint of winter.

c. Remmi: Love’s spring, especially when it’s still early. They love the way the fruit trees look while still flowering and the cool, but warming, breeze. They would most enjoy something near water, but with plush green grass still under foot. The Northern Reservoir is well tended, with bright, blossoming bushes hedging cobbled pathways. The surrounding park stretches most of the way ‘round. Remmi would most like a quiet day at the eastern edge—farthest away from the great roaring falls that lead into the canyon. Bonus if there are frogs.

d. Hani: Loves the dead heat of summer; the feel of warm sun on his skin. A midsummer, late afternoon picnic after a day of splashing around the Southern Sea would be heaven. Sure, the food might get a little sandy, but it wouldn’t stop him from eating and enjoying every second.

2. What food and drinks do your OCs bring? (you fool! You’re enabling me to indulge my fascination with food culture!)

a. Milo: Goes all out on the spice—picnic with him at your own peril. He packs extra-hot kimchi, seasoned roasted garlic cloves, Zevi’s falafel recipe, and a few other side dishes that reflect his upbringing by a Southern Dwarf familiar with Halfling food culture. He also gets pretty excited with drinks, bringing three; an iced ginger tea made with turmeric and black pepper, buttercup and honey hwachae (most non-halflings just call it wine even though it’s usually not alcoholic) because he’s (not so) secretly pretty sappy and sentimental, and Baekse-ju to finish off with a good pair for spicy food and just a touch of alcohol.

b. Glim: Settles for light, seasonal snack foods. He brings a bunch of fresh cut in-season fruit like apples (that yes, he does cut the skins to look like bunnies like his mother used to), a couple loaves of bara brith made with ground dried fruits and nuts served with butter, and a whole basket of pic ar y maen (cookies with raisins and currants mixed in). He brings spiced virgin cider and a fine local white wine to wash it down.

c. Remmi: As a professional baker, they refused to bring anything but their best to their picnic. They pick finger-food pastries—the best from their eclectic cooking experience and travels. Beignets topped with honey and powdered sugar—in a basket enchanted to keep them fresh and hot and crisp because they take pride in their work. An impressive assortment of petit fors lined up and packed tightly in another container. Muffuletta finger sandwiches with toothpicks holding them together for the more savory inclined guests. And finally some cranberry pastila which they hadn’t made in years and was their way of flexing their baker’s muscles. They pack a thermos of milk tea and an iced chocolate drink.

d. Hani: not a big cook. He was hoping Senya would do most of the cooking. It’s not like he’s particularly picky about what he ingests. To be polite though, he brings a crock of bamia—a stew with lamb, okra, tomatoes, and onion—that his mother would make on special occasions. He also brings an impressive array of drinks; sugar cane juice, carob juice, tamarind juice, and iced coffee.

3. What are your OC’s wearing to the picnic?

a. Milo: Largely his usual sort of outfit. A sleeveless turtleneck, cargo capris, and combat boots. He does add a lightweight cotton shawl embroidered with geese in shades of red that he got as a wedding gift from Lian. He wears it to avoid sunburn, but once in the shade and eating, he carefully folds it and sets it aside so it doesn’t get dirty.

b. Glim: A cream colored tunic and brown tasseled cardigan over dark blue leggings, simple but sleek black ankle boots, and finished off with a simple sapphire teardrop pendant on a gold chain.

c. Remmi: they opt for something simple and comfortable, but fitting for the season. They wear a yellow wide-band tank top under an oversized baby pink cable knit sweater. The sweater is so big it slouches off one shoulder, reaches their knees, and the sleeves hide their hands if they aren’t scrunched up at the elbow. They pair that with slim, washed out jeans, and a pair of tan slouchy boots. As one final touch, they don cherry blossom studs in their ears.

d. Hani: he goes for something sporty and comfy. A loose and flowy off-white sleeveless crop top over a pair of baggy gray-blue shorts held round his hips by a broad and colorful sash and a pair of greek sandals that he discards almost immediately. To add a touch of class—after all this is a fun outing so why not—he wears golden arm bands just above each bicep. Those stay on longer, but they, too, eventually get unceremoniously dumped into the picnic basket in favor of total comfort.

4. Which OC brings a musical instrument to idly play?

a. Surprisingly enough, Hani. Remmi knows a little piano and harp, but those aren’t exactly available at a picnic. Milo has never learned an instrument (though he finds guitar interesting). And Glim tried playing, but sucked at just about everything; and anything he could play he couldn’t play in front of others. Hani, on the other hand, randomly knows how to play—and is good at—the oud (which is like an Arab lute). And yes, he does attempt to play Wonderwall on it.

5. How quickly does your OC realize there are ants trying to sneak into their food? What do they do about it?

a. Milo: He’s very perceptive, so it doesn’t take long for him to notice. He proceeds to squish them then mix them into his food for “extra protein” without hesitation. Despite knowing that Milo was raised eating bugs and still does fairly regularly, everyone still looks at him like he’s gone insane.

b. Glim: He picks up on it when someone else points it out. It’s only then that he realizes that he forgot to activate the insect repellent rune. He curses under his breath and apologizes before quickly moving the picnic supplies a few meters away and activating it then.

c. Remmi: They spend the whole picnic low-key looking out for this. Whenever bugs start walking toward or flying around their precious gourmet picnic, they nonchalantly close all the containers up tight then swat them all away without breaking the conversation.

d. Hani: he doesn’t notice until one of the ants bites his tongue as he’s eating. He spits that one out because it was mean, but all subsequent ones he eats. And unlike Milo, Hani doesn’t mix them into anything, he just pops them into his mouth.

6. Which OC hides under the shade at first before being convinced to come out into the sun? How do they react?

a. Glim hates the heat. If you can manage to convince him to leave the tranquility of shade, he will be a drama queen about it. Really laying it on thick and moaning about how “the sun is a white hot laser” against his “poor fragile flesh” and that if he continues on he will surely “burn up, dry out, and die!” and other such dramatic nonsense. He gets weirdly poetic when he’s frustrated or cranky. Needless to say, Milo has ceased pushing the issue.

7. Imagine your OCs spending their time picking nearby wildflowers and watching the butterflies and bees at work.

a. Milo foregoes this particular activity, choosing this time instead to just take in the scenery. He’s scared he might upset a hive or get stung or bitten by something so he’d rather just sit back and soak up the atmosphere.

b. Glim is carefully rooting around for four leaf clovers under a subdued parasol.

c. Remmi carefully plucks and cuts an armful of flowers and stems so they can make colorful flower crowns for everyone.

d. Hani chases the bugs and small animals, not unlike a dog would. But he’s having fun so it’s fine.

8. Which OC foregoes a picnic blanket and sits directly on the ground? Are they concerned by the grass stains on their clothes afterwards?

a. Hani doesn’t care where he plants his butt and cares almost as little about stains.

9. Which OC brings a chair because they can’t stand the thought of sitting on the ground?

a. Remmi, but a lot of it is because they don’t want to risk getting their clothes too dirty and also because the ground is never as soft and even as you think or hope. So sitting on the ground, even on a blanket, hurts their butt.

10. Imagine your OCs falling asleep after eating their food, content and happy.

a. Milo is one of the first to nod off and lays down in the shade. He kicks his shoes off and lets the sun warm his feet while the shade keeps his face cool. He wakes up to groggily help pack everything back up.

b. Glim doesn’t actually fall asleep. He just sort of zones out while playing with Milo’s hair and enjoying the breeze.

c. After loading up on carbs, Remmi dozes off in their chair and wake up with a tender sunburn spread across their nose and cheeks. They vow to never fall asleep in the sun like that again, but they make the same mistake next time.

d. Hanni has seemingly boundless energy throughout the day, which is a bit unusual for him as he often naps a lot when the sun is out, but is wired by the time the moon replaces it. As soon as they’ve packed everything up and are headed home, though, the excitement wears off and he crashes hard. He’s asleep the whole way back.

#I got like.... reeeeally into this #it took two sessions at my computer #lol

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stillness-in-green · 4 years

Text

MLA Week, Day 2: Judge/Shackles/Freedom

A threefer! Spinner and his brand new lieutenants. (Look, until Horikoshi starts deigning to give these guys names, they are free real estate.)

I was originally going to use this day to write about one of the more thuggy or delinquent-looking lieutenants, spin out an ex-con not being able to get his feet back under him and so sliding into the MLA’s sphere, but then I remembered this three foot tall goblin in a drugstore Halloween costume and decided to go with him instead.

Also included is Spinner’s number 1, this gal:

Content Notes: Discussions of disability, portrayal of the marginalized having become the radicalized. The Liberation Army’s really fascinating, y’all.

———– ———– ———– ———–

«I think you’ll like this one,» Nimble announces, the rainbow-colored letters of her quirk dancing in the air.

“You thought I’d like the first two, too,” Spinner replies skeptically, looking away from the floating words to focus on his brand new number one, a woman with a face like a doll whose sculptor had gotten as far as the eyes—huge and green—before giving up on the rest, little things like a nose and a mouth. She breathes by absorbing air through her skin like a frog, apparently, which is why she dresses the way she does, a distractingly low-cut tank top and a sweater jacket that he has never once seen covering her shoulders.

She shrugs, expressive eyes briefly fluttering closed, and movement in the air draws Spinner’s attention back over to where her quirk—Sky Write—has spelled out her response.

«I thought you’d like them too. Can I call him in?»

“Yeah, go ahead.” Just as long as he’s not a not surly bastard like the last two. They’d had good quirks, the last two, but damned if Spinner’s going to work with people who can’t even manage to keep resentment out of their eyes for the length of a job interview, or whatever this process of picking subordinates out of an army full of people that were trying to kill him less than two weeks ago is called.

Nimble’s letters dissolve into a shapeless blur as she looks over to the door, eyebrows briefly lowering in concentration. A few seconds later, the door to Spinner’s makeshift office opens. Spinner’s eyes drop almost half-a-person’s length in height and he tries to keep the surprise off his face.

“A kid?”

«He’s twenty-one, actually.»

“What she said.” The voice comes out a bit muffled through the black hood covering the kid’s—okay, the twenty-one-year old’s face. But if he’s the same age as Spinner, he sure as hell doesn’t look it. He can’t be over a meter tall, with the skinniest legs Spinner’s ever seen sticking out from under the hem of the black robe he wears like a kid running around the house beneath a sheet. A big feathery ruff sits around his neck like a dried-out wreath.

“Scarecrow, reporting in.” The weird little gremlin settles into a military rest in front of the desk, far enough back that it’s not too obvious that he has to tilt his head to look over it. “It’s an honor to meet you, sir.”

Spinner stares at him, trying to suppress a grimace. Scarecrow stares back through little eyeholes cut in the hood, but without being able to see more of his face, it’s impossible to tell if he’s glaring or just has really piercing eyes.

“Right.” Spinner glances over at Nimble, who nods. Her response scrawls itself in the air between them, facing first him, then angling to face the gremlin.

«Show him your meta-ability, Scarecrow. Catch!»

She pulls out a 100 yen coin and deftly balances it on her thumb before flicking it out into the air over the desk.

Spinner bites back a yelp as bug legs unfold from beneath Scarecrow’s ruff, long, segmented things that narrow down to sharp points at the tips. Two thin lines of silk jet out from the knobby second joints, catching on the spinning coin, and the legs reel it back in, bouncing it in the air, spinning it like a weight on a string, then cocooning it up with quick efficiency. It falls neatly into his hand—not a normal human hand, Spinner notices belatedly, but a prosthetic, hard plastic and super articulated, with cables visible beneath the individual parts.

“I can fully cocoon up to twelve adult men a day,” Scarecrow rattles out. “I can also pull myself up the sides of walls and move between buildings, if they’re close enough together. I was inducted into the Meta Liberation Army on my sixteenth birthday; my parents have been members for ten years. I know we’re a relatively new family, but—”

“I don’t—” Spinner stops himself from finishing that sentence with care about that stuff, amending to, “I’m not worried about your—generation or whatever.” Is that better? Neither Scarecrow or Nimble react to it with narrowed eyes or a snarl, anyway. Promising? “Why’d you join up?”

Jumping on a bandwagon is one thing, but at least that takes a running start and a leap. Not like joining a cult because it’s just the family business, Spinner thinks viciously at his memory of that greasy asshole Trumpet’s plated mask.

Scarecrow stares at him for a long second. Spinner does his best to look serious, like he’s actually got a whole prepared list of questions or whatever. Like he knows what he’s doing.

Finally, Scarecrow holds up his hands, both spread wide, both obvious prosthetics. His bug legs twitch and probe at the air.

“I was born with no arms,” he says. “Just my forelegs. It’s not the same as having opposable thumbs, obviously, but it’s better than you’d think. But my teachers used to scold me for raising a foreleg instead of a hand to answer a question or carry things. The kind of stuff a kid who didn’t have a birth defect could use their quirk to do and no one would look twice. If I go out in public and so much as open doors for myself with them, people look at me funny. Because I look funny.”

Don’t use your quirk at school outside of training lessons, Shuuichi-kun. Spinner remembers that kind of bias, yeah. All the non-heteromorphic kids could run around the schoolyard playing tag with snowballs in July, but heaven forbid he use his quirk to climb a tree so he can get away from bullies for the length of a lunchbreak.

He pushes the memory away and nods at Scarecrow to keep him talking. Not that the guy needs much pushing—he talks like someone who’s told the story before, hard-edged, voice intense despite a mid-ranged pitch. He’s got just a hint of a—a hiss or a lisp, something that muddles the edges of his hard consonants. The hood doesn’t move like he’s hiding mandibles under there, but…

“I’ve been wearing prosthetics for longer than I can remember. The government pays for most of it, since I was born this way, but there’re a lot of limitations on it. How often they’ll replace them, what my folks got charged for them. It was always tight, and the kinds of prosthetics government money buys definitely weren’t as nice as these.” He flexes his false fingers demonstratively.

“My folks and I met Re-Destro—” and there’s that note of reverence, the same tone Re-Destro himself’s using about Shigaraki these days “—when I was nine. A family friend recommended Detnerat’s products to us, and he took an interest. That’s how we found out about the Army.”

“Yeah?” Spinner crosses his arms over his chest.

“My parents joined up because of me. But I joined up for myself. Because people think that because I have prosthetics, I shouldn’t need to use my forelegs in public.” Scarecrow’s voice sharpens. “Like I don’t have the right to use the limbs I was born with. I should have that right. We all should.”

“We’re not out to reform society, you know,” Spinner cautions him. He’s had to tell Re-Destro that too many times already, and that’s just having grasped it himself there in the ruins of Deika. “That’s not what Shigaraki’s after.”

Scarecrow gives him another long, quiet look, unreadable behind his hood. Finally—slower, less practiced—he nods and answers, “Destro’s teaching was that oppression will always lead to revolution. The Grand Commander of the Liberation Army is the one who’ll throw off those chains. Whatever he makes of the world, I want to be there to help, not sitting in my shackles waiting for someone to hand me an answer.”

Spinner breathes out hard. He scratches at his hair.

“…Right,” he manages. Don’t admit he said it better than you could. “Well put.” He turns to Nimble and adds, “Well, he didn’t offend me.”

«I know you’d like him.» Her words practically shimmy in the air, flickering green and yellow and pink. «Then do we have our number 2?»

Spinner glances back over at Scarecrow, who’s staring determinedly out the window behind the desk, his back toy soldier straight. He still looks more like a kid in a costume than anything else, but…

Well, I like him better than people like the politician. And we need to keep things moving, anyway. Don’t stop running or someone might catch up.

“Yeah, I think so” he says aloud, then takes a breath and leans over the desk, offering a hand. Scarecrow takes it without a second’s pause, plastic clicking against Spinner’s scales. “Welcome to the Support Regiment.”

———– ———– ———– ———–

I’ll have some links up about things here when I post this to AO3, but in the meantime, Scarecrow--whose condition at birth was called amelia--wears a hood not because he’s embarrassed of a bug face, but rather because he’s embarrassed of the way various surgeries to repair cleft palate and cleft lip have left his face looking. He’s much more confident in showing off his meta-ability than what he thinks of as his disability.

Scarecrow is also vaguely modeled on an insect called a webspinner, a tiny little bug that lives in big communal web “galleries” and has the unusual feature of its silk production apparatus being located on its front legs rather than the base of its abdomen like spiders. The choice felt appropriate for an unusually tiny cult member with top-mounted spider legs.

#MLAweek2020 #meta liberation army #iguchi shuuichi #spinner #spinner bnha #boku no hero academia #bnha #bnha spoilers #my writing #ficcing #my hero academia #plf advisors

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