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class-1b-bull · 2 months

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Class 1B as random things me and my friends have said part 2.

(Once again i got every student but some got a bit more than others)

Not proofread we die like men

Awase: "35 dolla?!"

Tsubaraba: "its worth it for the vegetable titty pad"

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Tsubaraba: "ya know like a bussy doctor. What are they called again? Pedestrian?"

Rin: "NO-"

Tsubaraba: "then whats a pedestrian?"

Rin: "a child doctor...."

Tsubaraba: "....i quit...."

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Monoma: "i get to go home an hour early because a costumer told me to kill my self."

Rin: "damn. I get to go home because a costumer called me a woman."

Manga: "poggers. I get to go home because I was fired for drawing titties on cyborg."

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Komori: "part of me hopes the fnaf movie is bad."

Kodai: "dont speak to me ever again."

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Monoma: "I dont check my bank statement because im a bad bitch."

Kendo: "and your hiding from the fact that your in crippling debt."

Monoma: "....... bad bitch."

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Shoda: "the tire pressure one."

*ends call*

Shoda: "i sounded so fucking smart" :D

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Reiko: "death is starting to seem nice..."

Pony: "i actually just finished playing a dating game where you date the grim reaper! It was super cute. And yea he was really nice!"

Reiko: "not what i ment but okay-"

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Manga: "youre honor, that wasent very skibbidy toilet gyatt of you.. you're really giving ohio fantam tax vibes and thats not gonna slide when my venus is doing the renegade."

Kamakiri: "hey... have you tried shutting the fuck up lately?"

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Sen: "cool and all but i didnt ask..."

Setsuna: "yea you did. In my dream last night you came up to me and said 'at exactly 2:37 tomorrow, can you tell me your favorite things about the older pokemon games?' And i was like fuck yea! So yea... ya did ask."

Sen: "i fucking hate you."

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Bondo: "and i really respect you so im not going to treat you differently based on some opinion that i may not agree with."

Kuroiro: "i think your favorite show is mid."

Bondo: "and im not going to treat you differently for that opinion. Even though its wrong.."

Setsuna: "i fucking will, the fuck you mean its mid?!"

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Shiozaki: "how did you even.... get that far...?"

Shishida: "its the only game i play."

Shiozaki: "still i wouldn't expect you to have 100% over a 500 different levels in geometry dash..."

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Pony: "a fucking pokemon theme song quiz? I got this shit who dosent know this song. Embarrassing honestly."

(46% correct.)

Pony: "... i am never speaking again."

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Tetsutetsu: "i am packed full with so much testosterone that I could fight a horse."

Tetsutetsu: "i mean i would lose but i ckuld fight one."

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Honenuki (or pony): "yea bomb threats in school are cool and whatever but do you believe in the power of friendship?"

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Komori: "i swear he was flirting with me! I mean i hope he was because I was so red after he did that!"

Setsuna: "i highly doubt a monster from a horror game was flirting with you..."

Komori: "yea yea but did you SEE the way he dragged my corpse away? Hm? Snapped my neck and took me to dinner all in the same night as far as im concerned."

Reiko: "i am now forming a bracken protection squad just to protect him from you."

Pony: "ill make the t shirts!"

Gif anime - dungeon meshi

#class 1b #bnha headcannons #bnha headcanons #mha headcanons #awase yousetsu #sen kaibara #kamakiri togaru #yui kodai #kosei tsuburaba #kinoko komori #neito monoma #hiryu rin #reiko yanagi #kojiro bondo #manga fukidashi #pony tsunotori

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kaylinalexanderbooks · 2 months

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Find the Word

Thanks @notwritinganyflufftoday for the tag!

My words: gift, life, beautiful, empty

Your words: trace, rough, slip, different

Softly tagging with no pressure @mk-writes-stuff @little-peril-stories @aziz-reads @mysticstarlightduck @jessicagailwrites @pinkevilwriter @chauceryfairytales @cadotoast @memoriethereaderandwriter-blog @thewrittenpost + anyone else

TSP intro

TSP tag list (ask to be +/-): @thepeculiarbird @illarian-rambling @televisionjester @finchwrites

Keep reading for:

One of Robbie's presents to Lexi

The shortest chapter of TSP

Noelle kills the mood

Any time I get to post the boneless cereal scene, I do!

Gift - from The Secret Portal Part One (Lexi POV)

Robbie stepped forward, holding up a messily-wrapped box in his hands. “Gotcha something,” he said, handing me the present. “Aw, thank you!” I said, setting down my things so I could take the gift. I sat on the couch and Robbie sat beside me. “Go on, open it!” said Robbie, knee bouncing in excitement. I smiled and ripped the paper, a brown box being uncovered. “Oh, wow, a box. Thanks so much!” Robbie laughed as I attempted to break the seal on the box. It snapped open, revealing the contents. “Bubble wrap!” I said, immediately beginning to pop it. Maddie leaned over and took a sheet, and Robbie helped himself as well. “I thought this was my present,” I teased. “No, the bubble wrap is for me,” said Robbie, beginning to pop the bubbles. I removed the bubble wrap and tossed it temporarily on the floor. In the box rested three objects. I gasped at the first one. “An Xbox Game Pass?” I looked up at Robbie. “No way.” He shrugged. “See what else is in there.” I picked up the next relatively flat wrapped object. “You went all out.” “Of course,” Robbie said like it was obvious.

Life - from The Secret Portal Part One

William slowly poured the new formula, sparkling with speedsters’ lightning, onto the frozen insect. He clutched the tablet—containing all of his notes, the ingredients to his formula, his observations, the past month of his life—against his body. He tapped the side rapidly, anxiety taking hold. Slowly, the insect’s wings began to flap. William laughed. He jumped out of his seat, tossed the tablet on the table, and ran out of the lab, toward the elevator. He didn’t think to write down his findings—he could do that later. He didn’t even think to call Atsila to let her know he was on the way to their quarters. He had to tell his wife in person. Immediately.

Beautiful - from The Secret Portal Part One (Gwen POV)

The woods were fascinating. I’d been on nature hikes like this one back home. There were differences here, though. There was a patch of bracken with a purple-blue hue. In fact, a lot of the plants in the forest were shades of purple. At least more than there are at home. Purple was rare in nature. But not here. We passed a small brook with reddish-violet stones. The bark had different patterns, colors—everything. The animals were just as enthralling. There was a small herd of deer, though instead of antlers, they had horns. Longhorns, to be exact. There were squirrel-like creatures with tiny bull horns that scampered up a tree. A shiver of the indigo bracken caught my eye and what looked like a ferret poked its head out. It looked normal until it ran out—not with legs, but wiggling like a snake. Frogs hopped along the stones in the brook and flew off on dragonfly wings. “This place is beautiful,” I murmured. “There’s a war going on,” Noelle said.

Empty - from The Secret Portal Part One (Robbie POV)

“You thinking about something?” Akash asked at the table as I stared at the bowl in front of me. “Have you ever thought about how cereal is like the skeleton of milk?” “You’re implying that milk is meat, and I don’t like that at all.” “Milk has fat—yes, I’m implying that it’s meat.” “So milk is cereal that’s, like, boneless?” “Exactly.” “However, some people have cereal dry, which means that the cereal is a fatless skeleton, but we add fat if we feel the need.” “Does that make the bowl the flesh?” “Of course it does.” “So we’re eating the insides right out of the skin?” Akash paused. “Yes.” “Terrifyingly morbid,” I said, taking a huge bite of my soggy bowl-innards. “Some people have fruit in their cereal,” Akash pointed out. “What are those?” “Organs?” I suggested. “Sure, why not?” “I just realized something even more morbid.” “What?” “So we keep the bones in its own separate box, we keep the meat refrigerated in a liquid state, it’s already disemboweled, and we keep its empty flesh sack in a dark room with other flesh sacks.” “What the heck are you guys talking about?” I looked up to see Sammy in the doorway, her hair a mess from just getting out of bed. “You’re up early,” I noted. Sammy shrugged. “I got hungry.” “You want some disemboweled innards served directly in the flesh sack?” Akash asked, holding up his bowl. Sammy pressed her eyebrows together in a disturbed expression. “I think I’ll get toast.”

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factorialsfandoms · 1 year

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For the short fic ask game, how about number 5?

Right! From what I remember 5 was a forehead kiss so... Okay this is Rune Factory AU, as threatened, from when Bracken (read: Hyrule) was first taken to to the village... Doctor Odel is... A named version of one of the many old men, just one who is a doctor.

Bracken is ~9 here, just... having a really bad time.

This is kinda an unrelated scene as context and setup, then the actual kiss. The worms are not in my favour tonight.

When Rusl had called Doctor Odel out to the edges of the Lost Woods, he had been expecting many things - a member of the hunting party poisoned by the hallucinogenic spores, perhaps, or someone with crushing injuries from a more sentient vine. Being led to a clearing filled with bracken and brambles was not on that list, neither was how Rusl pointed to a spot where the other hunters were not looking.

Odel's sight had been gradually declining for some years, now; he squinted hard, trying to see anything there.

The red of ginger hair came first.

The red of well hidden blood came second.

And only combining them did he spot the child hiding within.

"We tried to get him out," Rusl sighed a little. "He wouldn't come, then when we tried to grab him he ran, but we can't leave him out here. Been pretending we're still looking so he doesn't freak out again."

They really couldn't; Odel had to wonder how the child had even found their way so deep into the Lost Woods. Alone, at that. Unless the parent was dead nearby, but...

"I'll handle it."

Rusl nodded, and gestured the other hunters to move along. To Odel he whispered a quiet promise to check the local area for monsters, just in case the child ran again.

Odel waited for them to leave, and then approached the patch of bracken where the child hid. He did not reach out, however, instead knelt down nearby. Old bones creaked and groaned, and Odel did his best to ignore them.

Once safely on the floor, Odel rummaged through his bag for his flask, and made himself a cup of tea. Not looking at the child he sat, and sipped at it for a little.

And then.

"Hello," he offered in the direction of the bush. "Are you alright, child?"

No answer at all.

Odel frowned, putting an end to the ploy immediately; given the reported skittishness, he should have at least heard some shuffling. Instead there was nothing, not even some leaves.

He thought of the blood again, shoving his flask away and ensuring bandages were to hand.

With aching bones and a little spite, he pulled himself back to his feet.

"Child?" he said again. "Do you understand me?"

Still nothing.

"I'm going to come to you," he spoke slower, explaining. "Please - I just want to help."

When no objection came, he did exactly that. In three strides he made it to the correct patch of bracken, and pushed the branches aside.

There was more blood than he had expected. The child was curled tightly around himself, pale, and his eyelids fluttered only slightly as Odel approached.

"I'm a doctor," Odel said quietly, trying to soothe the terror in hazy eyes. The spores, perhaps? "I just want to help. Will you let me?"

The child did not object, and so Odel reached down. It was only as he picked the child up that he realised he possibly should have called Rusl back to help, rather than rely on ancient bones.

Another moment, and he realised the child was impossibly light.

Not just underweight or even starving, but so light it should not have been possible.

The most obvious explanation was that the poor child was some sort of monster-born. It would... Well the forest would have let him through, but nothing else. The poor thing, no matter he was suffering.

Briefly, he wondered if it was kinder to put the poor creature out of its misery. But, no, no, this was a child - as human as not - and one capable of being human all of the time.

He was also gravely wounded.

With a few steps he bought the boy back to his bag. He set him down on a patch of softer grass, hurridly grabbing supplies. Everything would be treated properly when they got back to the Clinic, but for now he needed to stop the bleeding.

Odel's hands hesitated over the needles. If he were monster-born, the iron... Hopefully the tape would hold until they got back. He had some needles he used for the farm monsters at the Clinic. Maybe he should start keeping them in his emergency bag...

Sunken eyes, pale skin, clearly malnourished (what would he even need to eat?), covered in scratches and scars and a serious of thick whip wounds across not his back but his chest. Rags, not clothes. He might loose that eye if he were unlucky, but Odel thought he could save it, so long as the boy survived... So injured in the mud for who knows how long...

As Odel worked, the boy neither flinched nor made a sound. He just... lay there, eyes tracking him even as his body did not respond. Chances were he would remember none of this; Odel rather hoped so.

Once the bleeding was stopped and Odel thought his body would survive the spell, he called Rusl back. It did not take long to explain the situation and give Rusl's return token to the boy. Odel would bother Farore for a new one if the boy stayed, but for now...

He clicked the charm around the boy's neck, and pressed a finger to it. So, too, did he press a finger to his own. With a fragment of magic he activated the old spells, pulling them both from the Woods. It lasted only a few seconds before the two were found in the sacred grove; he bowed his head to that ancient tree, scooping up his patient.

The Clinic was only two doors down from the waypoint; the child would be safe here. They could find a way to hide him. Odel doubted that the hunters had realised, and he was not about to let them know.

---

Three weeks later, Odel was busy cleaning. Despite the infection he had expected setting in and his frail condition, the boy had survived. Still he did not speak or even make a sound, via trauma or magic or just the nature of himself Odel was not sure. And there certainly was trauma; when he had returned from helping Uli through the birth of her first son, he had found the boy awake, eyes blown wide with fear.

A promise it was okay, a kiss on the forehead, an offer to stay until he fell asleep; the boy clung to his sleeve as he did his best to curl up, still shivering from the dream.

Paying more attention at nights now, Odel could see them more often.

Whatever had driven the child into the Woods, it was nothing good. Still, the boy seemed more inclined to stay than to leave, having made no attempt to escape. They still had no name for him, the boy refusing if not unable to write either, and Odel would have to fix that soon.

Both parts. Writing lessons were the simpler, but the name... He could not just name someone else's child. But he could not just call him child forever... Later problems...

And that someone else; too old to be an abandoned baby, but he doubted the child's human parent was alive. Perhaps not either of them were. He would have heard... something.

The last he heard about monster-born children were reports of a mixed monster-human settlement being destroyed by a monster-hunting party. It had turned ugly when they chased a monster back, and found humans willingly beside them... Burnt, destroyed, ravenged... That had been a little under a year ago.

... He hated that it was not just possible but plausible the child had escaped that bloodbath.

Busy thinking about other things, he did not realise immediately that the boy was 'calling' for him, making an insistent beckoning gesture towards him.

Odel put down the brush, and turned to face him.

"Did you need something?" he asked.

The boy gestured a little more insistently for him to approach.

Odel did so, and he watched a calculation in his eyes. After a few long moments, a hand reached out and caught Odel's sleese, tugging it down. Caught off guard, even the fragile strength of a sick and injured child was enough to have him stumble fowards a little.

His chin was caught by the child, and then... something pressed to his head.

It took Odel a moment, and then he realised - a kiss to his forehead.

He paused, and let the boy finished, trying to think what had bought this on. Was it...

Oh.

"Thank you, child," he showed the boy his hand, before reaching out. He ran a hand over the boy's hair, watching as he relaxed a little. "Did you realise I was worried?"

A small nod.

Copying him, then.

Odel smiled softly, leaning over and granting the boy a gift of his own.

The boy yawned, silent as ever.

"Get some more sleep; I'll be right there."

The boy reached out, grabbing Odel's hand. He held it back, tracing soft patterns on the hand until eyes stayed closed.

#link factory #fanfic #harm to child #major character injury #though somehow still fluff #referenced murder #you know the good messy backstory stuff

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bleachbleachbleach · 3 years

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Fic: Away, Away

This was written for Day 13 of @hitsuhina-week! If you prefer, you can also read this on AO3. Which is my preference, because Tumblr keeps eating my spacing whether I use Rich Text or HTML so it looks absurd on here. >.>

Aftermath / Going on a Trip Together Hinamori Momo + Hitsugaya Toushirou Pre-Series

This will be the last time.

(Whisper it, so he won't hear.)

Every spring, Junrinan finds its way to the western mountains. (The souls of Rukongai wander.) There is no grand procession: They disperse across the vast range, often alone and sometimes in twos. They are always careful not to cause disruption, because while one soul in a forest full of spirits generally isn't worth the effort, seven is a meal.

They are three.

Soon, they will be two. Hinamori can't stop whispering her new name, hi na mo ri. It's early to be out here, but the snows were mild this year and new growth is already peeking from beneath the thick, rich leaf rot. She feels an affinity with this year's tender saplings, a feeling that grows hotter with every whispered repetition of her name. Her grandmother had given it to her, showed her how to write it. She'd studied her name harder than she had the exam.

Hinamori has an acceptance letter. In April, she is leaving.

Hinamori nearly walks straight into a nettle spirit--the hair-eating kind--draped across the game path plain as day.

"Do you wanna be bald?" Toushirou grouses as he yanks her back just in time. "I guess it fits. You're acting like a blind old man."

Hinamori blinks, brushes imagined hair from her face. It's the fifth time she's tried to walk straight through a spirit in as many days.

"Studying is bad for your eyes," says Toushirou. He doesn't care for moony Hinamori. Momo had paid a lot more attention to what was in front of her. But she's Hinamori now. At least, that's the only name she'll write, dragging her thin stick through the dirt outside the house. So that's what he calls her.

Toushirou squeezes through a bumble of pot-bellied mushroom spirits and Hinamori follows him, stepping carefully into his tracks.

"You'll need to keep reading even when I'm not around. It'll go if you don't practice," she says.

Toushirou makes a noncommittal sound.

"I'll send you letters full of kanji and quiz you on them when I visit." I'll learn how to write them pretty, she promises, just like Baachan does.

"Will you write me back?" she asks.

"Probably not."

This hurts her. But Toushirou plans to go the rest of his life without writing a single thing. It's not personal.

"Why would I need to tell you what happens in Junrinan?" he says. "You already know."

And if I forget?

Life in Junrinan doesn't change. That's what Toushirou was promised. The winters are quiet and slow, and in spring they go to the mountains. Summers are for farming, and autumns for harvest. Then winters are quiet and slow again.

Spring passes with bracken and angelica in hand. It is counted in the spirals of ferns as their number grows in the baskets. Some are dried; some are steeped. Mostly, they are sold. Many of the men in Junrinan spend springtime waking before dawn to sprint to the mountain, forage the lowlands, and return to the village for evening revelries, but Toushirou and Hinamori and their grandmother have always spent the whole of the season between the trees. The mountains prefer it when you stay.

This will be true no matter how long Hinamori is gone.

April 12th through July 20th, then our first break, she says, scratching numbers in the dirt. But Junrinan doesn't have dates the way the Academy does. She draws the way the trees will change. The change happens in a long straight line, and beyond July 20th there is an emptiness rather than a repetition. How do you draw an unwritten future?

Hinamori writes her name again.

In the spring, everything is full: Toushirou enjoys the wet green of it, the late snows and vernal flooding. The water flows down from the mountains ice cold and the forests are loud and thick with spirits.

The spirits have no names that are written and no faces that have ever stayed the same, unremembered but immemorial. They are loud. Most of them respect the borders of his body. They brush against his legs with thick wet fur or scrape his cheek with leathery wings. They coil around his throat, treating him like a tree or rock. Some of them are trees and rocks. They are the mountains and forest, just like the wandering souls of Junrinan. They all belong here, more or less.

Toushirou can see most of them. When the blurry ones pass through you, it's feverishly unpleasant for the split-second it happens and then is nothing at all. The blurry ones, Toushirou figures, aren't actually in this forest. They are like shadows at sunset, cast long and far from their bodies. Their true bodies roam a different world entirely.

That's what Hinamori wants to do.

Hinamori used to clamor for shinigami stories any time one of them passed through town. She'd been told one time that all travelers carried stories and now expected it.

The shinigami never expected her. Unless commerce was involved they didn't tend to acknowledge souls, or even look at them. So they always seemed surprised by Hinamori, like it hadn't occurred to them that they'd meet a real, full person out here. Which is fair enough, Toushirou grudgingly allows--there are plenty of souls in Junrinan so old and staid they cannot move, nor speak. (Don't touch them. It's unlucky.)

We don't talk about those.

The shinigami talk story: The story of black dye. The story of a tall bathhouse. The story of grilled meat on sticks. The story of the time they saw a noble. The story of a big fish. The story of a bigger fish. The story of the bullet train. The story of my sister, who isn't very interesting but is the only thing that comes to mind right now sorry. The story of 19th seats should be paid more. The story of the soul who wanted a story.

Almost none of the stories are about death.

"Little girls shouldn't go into those mountains," one shinigami once said, which is as close as a story ever came to it. "Nasty stuff in there. They're called Hollows, you know. Real bad guys."

The shinigami patted the sword at his hip. He'd just told Hinamori a story about the third son of a lesser noble whom everyone loved and thought deserved better than the shadows of his elder brothers. And how preposterous is it, really, that he should have to prove himself when his brothers never did? Pushed out here into the boonies, seeking honor and fame. He really feels for the guy. Don't you? Don't you?

"You seem to know a lot about 'this guy,'" Toushirou offered.

"I'm a master storyteller," said the shinigami.

I've killed a Hollow before, you know, boasted the master storyteller. He'd led a unit of twelve men into those mountains out there, which were so quiet you could hear your own heart beating. When you can hear your terror--that's when you're on the cusp of valor. His eyes lit up. I was the one who cut the mask, he said.

Twelve is obviously far too many (seven is a meal), and those mountains have never been quiet. Toushirou didn't think he'd really been.

In the spring, though, there's a dark scar where once there'd been a copse of trees. Shattered branches and burned ground. His grandmother says it smells like Hollow.

"They see things differently," his grandmother half-explains, of the shinigami and their Hollows and the silence of their mountains. Of course this would seem a different place to them.

"They're idiots," says Toushirou, though suddenly he's not sure. The scar is hair-raising, and his stomach roils. Maybe they really shouldn't be out in the woods.

"The shinigami know more than you," says Hinamori, taking his hand in hers. She grips it tightly, reassuring, or maybe annoyed. Both. She has a lot of school spirit for someone who hasn't even been yet.

But she doesn't let go of his hand, even after they've returned to the cover of the live trees, kitsune fire nestled in the brambles at their feet.

Toushirou makes the mistake of noticing a spirit that tends to linger just out of sight. It feeds on your instinct to look, and it grows higher and higher the more you crane your neck, so sure you'll be able to sneak a glimpse of it. By the time you realize the trick, you've always been had. It's very annoying.

This will be the last time.

(Scream it.)

"It's so dark out here," says Hinamori, in spite of the kitsune and all the rest. Lots of spirits glow. She is still holding his hand.

Toushirou thinks of the small lamp Hinamori had bought to study by, the wild shadows it cast on the interior walls and the way it had made all hours bright. He thinks of all the hours she hadn't slept. All because some shinigami had told her a story about a school.

Anything would seem dark by comparison. He can't remember the last time she hadn't had her lamp on when he went to bed.

Hinamori is going to snap the bones in his hand. He yelps. Tears prick in his eyes. "What's wrong with you?"

She doesn't let go, and then she doesn't let go.

"It's so quiet," she says faintly. Her free hand wavers over her heart protectively.

It's so dark. It's so quiet. Quiet enough to hear your terror.

Except it's not. It's not dark.

It's not quiet.

The forest is full, air thick with chirrups and buzzing, screeching, hooting, chittering. Bodies clack and bones shudder. Reeds whistle and something large makes a whomping, resonating tone. Foxfire hisses as it makes sparks, throws phosphorous motes that dance high above. A heartbeat glow marches up the ridged spine of a lizard spirit. The forest is as it has always been.

Toushirou's eyes widen.

"You can't hear them anymore."

To Hinamori, it is all darkness and silence.

She sinks to the ground, burying her head in her knees as though to hide from the quiet. From the black. She drops his hand.

"Momo--"

She shakes her head. She opens her hands to the sky like she's waiting for a bird to land. For a split second, a small warm flame billows from her palms.

Then the entire forest catches.

The thought had been innocent enough--to be her own light in the darkness, conquer her fear. But the forest only hears the conquering. It's the kitsune who don't take kindly to Hinamori's light. Their fire screeches up and outward and then all the spirits are in frenzy. A meal! scream some; and others, a threat! A danger to be expunged. A strange thing not of this forest, these mountains.

Outsider! the world around them hisses. Away.

away, away

Hinamori screams as the flames leap forward--the claws, the vines, the terrors and all in between. She throws herself in front of Toushirou.

Toushirou can't find his voice at all. The wide whites of his eyes feel the propulsive gust of the forest coming down on them. On Hinamori. No! he can't shout, cold fear coiling over his frozen legs and pricking at his shoulder blades. Something serpentine rushes past him and he's on the ground. His head smacks hard against a writhing tree root and he tastes bile, feels nothing.

Hears everything.

away

When he wakes, snow is falling, wet and sloppy. Kitsune are nibbling at the singed edges of a hanafuda. Hinamori is in her grandmother's arms. She's crying.

Before Hinamori started studying, with her bright lamp and her long nights and her feverish poetry scratched into the ground, before the hunger came, she'd woken one morning to a futon streaked with her blood. Her grandmother said that this was womanhood.

"The tea will stop the bleeding," she assured a tearful Hinamori as they scrubbed at her futon, pinking the waters. Toushirou beat at the stain with his feet, splashing everywhere.

"You don't have to touch it," Hinamori had said quietly, her eyes fixed on the water. "It's my mess."

"Baachan said I have to help," Toushirou objected. "Besides, am I supposed to just sit here and watch you bleed?"

Just one last time.

Hinamori isn't hurt, but she is in pain. The forest doesn't want her anymore. (She is leaving.)

"The forest sees them differently," his grandmother says, the other half of her earlier explanation. "Them," meaning shinigami. "Them," meaning Hinamori, now.

Shinigami see and are seen differently. They belong differently. Toushirou had only ever distinguished them by their black clothes, and sometimes their attitude. But his grandmother talks about reiryoku, about reiatsu, about the realms the shinigami travel through and the spirits they are blind to. The spirits that belong to different worlds than theirs, even when they're side by side. Some worlds are bound to one another, tied by fate and duty; others are repelled.

As Hinamori's reiatsu blossomed with her womanhood, slowly folding outward past her skin, beyond her body, her worlds were chosen for her. Like the bleeding, there's a tea to help this, too, but it's not the same.

There is no going back.

"What're you looking at," Toushirou scowls at her. He's not sure what to do with her pain. There's nothing he can do for her pain. But she's looking at him differently, a little less like Hinamori and a little more like the rest of Junrinan does, and that scares him.

She asks him if he'd felt anything. Something cold.

She's asked him before. Every day since the incident, she's asked him.

His answer is always the same. No. Just fear.

He should be helping his grandmother. They're here in the forest for a reason, and that hasn't changed; they have foraging to do. But he doesn't want to leave Hinamori alone.

"Don't be afraid of it, Shiro-chan," says Hinamori. Hinamori, who's now afraid of the dark.

Hinamori, who is leaving.

She doesn't have a choice. When her power comes into her she knows there is only one place she can go. It's a place she has always wanted to go. (She has always wanted to go places.) But now she has to.

She smiles.

If she is going to go, she's going to fly. She will love, and yearn, and cry. She will give all of herself to the future before her, even when it means that precious things can be only memory. If there is something Hinamori leaves in him when she goes, it's flight.

Someday, Toushirou will remember to remember that.

"Will you write me?" she asks.

(You will be written.)

She returns for the summer, then is gone again. Winter, then gone again. But she doesn't come home for the spring. They'll be going to the realm of the living. They will fight Hollows, just like the Gotei 13. She explains the meaning and stroke order of the characters, go tei, though she doesn't explain what the Gotei 13 actually is. That part must already seem obvious to her. Shinigami stuff. That's all Toushirou will ever need to know. Seems pretentious.

When Junrinan returns to the mountains this year, Toushirou and his grandmother stay behind. "It's dangerous," she says. She squeezes his shoulders.

It's dangerous now.

There is no going back.

Junrinan may not change, but life does, and by the second summer, Hinamori has mostly forgotten the shapes of the forest spirits. Toushirou is forgetting them, too.

The difference is, Hinamori has found replacements. She talks about incantations and sword stances, friendships and histories. She has been to the realm of the living. It's only been a year, and already they have nothing in common but their memories, ever-receding.

Sometimes she wakes up screaming. She doesn't say why.

Toushirou dreams of a chill ripping through him. He dreams of a place where there are no mountains as far as the eye can see.

He wakes to Hinamori.

#hinamori momo #hitsugaya toushirou #hitsuhina week #bleach fic #IT'S FOR THE CULTURE #I wanted to play with the idea of the districts of Rukongai having their own cultures and practices apart from what we know of the Seireitei #I thought it would be interesting to imagine that it's because these things are not legible/perceivable to our shinigami narrators #because their existence is tied more closely to other worlds and realms #So just like there are things that humans can't see wandering their world there are things that shinigami can't see either #👻👻👻👻👻👻#yes this is the angery fic that hates me but its deadline is today so now it is done!

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tallstars-rewrite · 3 years

Text

Chapter 9

chapter list / previous / next

Tallpaw crouched low to the ground, minding every one of his paws to step as lightly over the damp heather as he could. Tail down. No swishing. The wind blew the rabbit scent directly into his nose so strong he could taste it on his tongue. He was downwind of his prey and there was no way it had scented him yet. The small brown animal had its back to him and was nibbling at the grass. Tallpaw bunched his hindquarters to ready his dash. The rabbit raised it’s head suddenly but it hadn’t turned around. It’s not looking at me...quickly, before it turns--!

He shot out of the heather and made a leap for the rabbit as it took off sharply to the right just as fast. Tallpaw pushed his legs faster and faster, he was less than a fox length away from his prey and he kept on its trail, his long tail turning to angle his momentum as he pelted after it. But before he could make his leap, the little creature vanished under his paws and was gone down a small burrow in the ground. Tallpaw stuck his head down it, but it was far too small for him.

“Fox-dung!” He growled down the hole, tail lashing angrily.

“That was excellent! You very nearly outran it with how fast you picked up speed!” Dawnstripe called to him as she weaved her way through the heather.

Tallpaw sat with a dejected huff, his ears drooping slightly. “But I missed it again!”

“We’re only practicing technique and form right now, Tallpaw. And you’re improving very fast! But do remember that a rabbit's eye can detect you even when you think you’re behind it. Just because it’s not turned towards you doesn’t mean you don’t have it’s attention.”

I should have known that it was paying attention…Tallpaw thought miserably. He’d hardly caught more than a mouse in his quarter moon of training, but it was the rabbits that made a real impressive hunter. He had to be good enough to catch one on his own soon.

He shook away his self pity and got to his paws “Can we join the dusk hunting patrol? I was even closer this time than I was this morning. I’m sure if I work at it the rest of the day, I could get it right!”

“I admire your enthusiasm to learn, but there’s no need to push yourself so hard. You’ll have more than earned a rest by sundown. Temperance and patience make a skilled hunter as much as endurance and speed.”

“Indeed!” The deep voice made Tallpaw jump, though Dawnstripe, clearly having detected the senior warrior's approach, only calmly dipped her head as Hareflight stepped gracefully forward, his spotted brown pelt blending easily into the grass. “Patience and discipline is of utmost importance for all young warriors to learn.” Hareflight went on in a haughty voice.

Shrewpaw was close at his mentor's heels and flashed a smirk at Tallpaw. “So is being aware of your surroundings,” he snickered quietly.

Shrewpaw must have seen him startle. Tallpaw whapped the other apprentice with his tail and looked away to hide his embarrassment.

“You're right on time as expected, Hareflight.” Dawnstripe said.

“Of course.” Hareflight lifted his chin. “Punctuality is also of the utmost importance. It’s as I always tell my apprentice. What do we say, Shrewpaw?”

Shrewpaw let out a very heavy sigh and droned, “A warrior true always rises precisely when the day is new.” He caught Tallpaw’s gaze and dramatically rolled his eyes. Tallpaw stifled a snicker himself and mouthed ‘wow.’

At Dawnstripe’s signal he sat back up, ears at attention. “Since you’ve been so eager to learn quickly, we’re going to try out battle training. Hareflight’s an experienced warrior and has seen many battles, so listen closely to him.”

Tallpaw perked his ears at attention, but inwardly he wasn’t especially excited. Shrewpaw stretched and flexed his claws, tearing at the grass. Of course the wiry apprentice spent their whole kithood play-fighting, a game Tallpaw had never particularly enjoyed as much. He had over a moon's head start training on top of it, and would surely be eager to show off.

Couldn’t I have done this with Briarpaw the first time? Tallpaw thought glumly.

Hareflight gave them a very long diatribe on the importance of silent communication and how the heart of the clan comes through well coordinated and disciplined teamwork. In order to fight together, they had to know how one another moved. Tallpaw couldn’t tell whether he or Shrewpaw were more bored. It was astounding the way Hareflight had of making things that should be interesting sound so dreadfully dull.

Dawnstripe nudged Tallpaw gently and he tried very hard to pretend he hadn’t been spacing out looking at the clouds for most of the explanation. “Remember, today is about practicing technique. It’s alright if you don’t come out on top.”

Hareflight looked at the two apprentices through narrowed eyes. “Dawnstripe and I will be watching you closely, so keep your senses and wits about you, you must take this seriously. No futzing about!”

“But don’t feel nervous either. It’s not an assessment, we’re here to learn.” Dawnstripe added hastily.

“But certainly don’t think that means you shouldn’t take it as seriously as an assessment. I, personally, will be taking careful note of your missteps.”

“Yes, mentor.” Tallpaw and Shrewpaw said in unison.

“Now enough talking, there’s no better teacher than experience, as I always say!” Hareflight called.

If only he could have said that before talking for half the morning! Tallpaw thought as both apprentices positioned themselves. As he and Shrewpaw began to circle each other, Tallpaw had to admit to himself that fighting hadn’t been a part of warrior training he’d dwelled on much. The idea of plunging his claws into another cat made him wince. But of course it was only training, and their claws were to stay safely sheathed. I can do this, how hard can it be? he thought.

Unfortunately that confidence left him rather quickly. Shrewpaw feigned to the left and Tallpaw only barely managed to dodge his paw swipes. Momentarily he was unsure how to go about this, overly concerned about hurting his attacker. Pretend he’s an enemy warrior! But that didn’t help much either. Tallpaw kept blocking, swiping his strikes to the side and leaping nimbly out of range. He heard Dawnstripe encourage him to strike back, but his first attempt was far too clumsy and hesitant. Before he knew it, Shrewpaw ducked his blow with ease and darted under Tallpaw, tripping him as his gangly limbs got tangled and he face planted into the dirt.

“You’re fighting like a cornered rabbit!” Shrewpaw said, “Come on, just hit me!”

“My apprentice is right, you are far too hesitant. Momentary distractions will land you in trouble in a real battle.” Hareflight called out. Turning to Dawnstripe, he added “perhaps we should practice team fighting first. It’s an important skill for WindClan as other clan cats often have an advantage of brute strength. So, Tallpaw and Shrewpaw, you will work together and I will act as your enemy. Keep track of each other, follow your partner's lead, if Shrewpaw aims for one area, keep your target distracted from the other side. If you work together, you can take down an enemy much bigger than yourself. The most important thing is to keep track of your battle partner.” He stared hard at the two apprentices. “And remember, a cornered warrior alone is a dead warrior.”

“Yeah, so don’t let me die, flea-brain.” Shrewpaw said.

Alright no pressure, Tallpaw thought.

As they got into position to act as if they were ambushing the senior warrior from the long grass cover, Shrewpaw hissed in Tallpaw’s ear, “Whoever knocks him down first gets to have the other do their chores tomorrow,”

“Do you think he count’s competing as ‘futzing about?’” Tallpaw whispered.

Shrewpaw’s eyes gleamed. “Not if he doesn’t notice.”

Tallpaw bared his teeth. You’re on, he signaled silently. If he could show up Shrewpaw, maybe it would make some of his stress and exhaustion worth it. And better still, if he was good at this, Sandstone wouldn’t have to worry about him falling behind. Maybe it didn’t matter if Shrewpaw had more practice. He was also overly arrogant, and that was always a weak point.

The first strike didn’t go well for either of them. Shrewpaw leaped at Hareflight’s back and Tallpaw pounced at his side.

Hareflight shook them off with surprising nimbleness for a warrior his age. “Work as one unit, not two!”

Tallpaw tried to get around him so they could leap on from either side, but Hareflight ducked out of the way and Tallpaw went crashing into Shrewpaw. The momentum sent them both tumbling down the hill and into a bracken patch.

When they hit the bracken, something went streaking out the other side. A small rabbit had been hidden out in the open, staying stalk still in a bid to not be seen until they’d scared it into running. The two apprentices barely glanced at each other for half a second before ingrained hunter instinct took over, prompting them to charge after the fleeing prey. No way was Tallpaw going to let this opportunity get away. And if I get this, it will make up for earlier!

The rabbit bounded ahead and turned sharply, trying to throw them off, but the apprentices were neck and neck on its tail.

“Better pick up the pace, Wormpaw.” Shrewpaw huffed between breaths as he started pulling ahead of Tallpaw. Tallpaw didn’t respond as he pushed his legs faster. I will not let him get this! His frustration added an extra burst of speed to his stride. He was so focused on his prey he barely heard Dawnstripe’s warning yowl behind him.

“Tallpaw, stop!”

But it’s so close, just a bit further! The rabbit's scent was so strong he could taste its fear scent against the roof of his mouth. Suddenly, another scent hit him so hard he almost gagged on it. Cat scent, and not ones he recognized. He heard Shrewpaw cry out in alarm and screech to a halt so fast Tallpaw barreled into him and the two toms toppled over each other into the mud. The rabbit had dipped out of sight. Tallpaw spat a clump of dirt from his mouth.

“That was quite an impressive tumble,” A raspy voice purred from somewhere above Tallpaw’s head. “Seems WindClan’s young aren’t as graceful as they used to be.”

Tallpaw gasped and sprang to his paws with a start to meet a pair of cold slitted amber eyes and a mocking toothy grin surrounded by messy fox-red fur. Three shadowy feline shapes sat side by side just under the shadow of the Thunderpath tunnel. Tallpaw hadn’t realized they’d run so close to the marshy grass under the treeline and now were right up against the path that separated their territory from ShadowClan’s.

“If that’s how WindClan is hunting now, it’s a wonder they haven’t gotten even scrawnier than they already are.” hissed another.

Tallpaw suddenly felt as if he’d lost his voice, but Shrewpaw hadn’t. The bristling tom scrambled to his paws and stepped in front of Tallpaw, the dark brown fur along his back spiking as he hissed back, “who asked you!? You’re the ones who messed us up!”

The ShadowClan cat growled and moved to step closer but froze in place as Dawnstripe and Hareflight leapt through the bushes with a warning snarl and moved to stand beside their apprentices.

“It would be very unwise of you to take another step further.” Hareflight warned.

“You’re beyond your border. Turn back.” Dawnstripe added.

With his eyes adjusted to the darkness, Tallpaw could make out the figures better. They reeked of the scent Tallpaw often caught wafting under the thunderpath, a mixture of sour rotting plants and peat, and strangely reminiscent of a rancid decaying snake body he’d stumbled across once. The two taller forms were no bigger than Dawnstripe or Hareflight. They looked lean with messy unkempt pelts and thin curved claws that scratched at the wet stone under their paws. Sharp muzzles and wide eyes, pale and strangely hungry looking. Tallpaw had never seen an angry fox before, but he imagined they looked something like this. The one who’d insulted them was a wiry gray flecked molly with cold yellow eyes, likely apprentice-aged as the smallest of the three. She stood beside the warriors, tail swishing in excited agitation and claws flexing as if waiting eagerly for a chance to use them as she eyed the WindClan apprentices. Tallpaw felt a defensive growl rise in his throat, and he hoped his fear scent wasn’t noticeable.

Beside the fox-red tom sat a tall dusky gray-brown molly, her fur was smooth and her stance unaggressive as she cooly replied, “I apologize for the rudeness of our apprentice. They are merely my escorts. We’ve gone beyond no border. Neither of us mark inside the Thunderpath tunnel.”

“There is no reason to go through the tunnel unless a cat is looking for trouble.” Hareflight said. For once, Tallpaw was grateful the senior warrior was around, his unwavering stoicism gave him a shred of confidence.

“Perhaps. But I am ShadowClan’s messenger.” She replied, and she cast her gaze down to Shrewpaw who looked like he was preparing to leap any moment when given command, “And you’ve no grounds to attack me.”

Hareflight stepped in front of his apprentice, ignoring his annoyed growl, and said, “I know who you are, Deerstep. If you have something to say, then get on with it, so you can stop standing around the outskirts of our land.”

“That may change very soon,” said the red tom, barring his long teeth in a grin. “You know, you’re standing on a marshy woodland that your clan doesn’t put to good use.”

“And that doesn’t really belong to you!” cut in the gray flecked molly.

“Doesn’t belong to us? This woodland has been part of WindClan territory for seasons!” Dawnstripe hissed. “If you’re planning on just waltzing onto our land when you see fit, you’re more hare-brained than you look.”

“Please be polite Ashpaw,” purred the messenger. “You know messenger escorts don’t go on raids. There’s no clan law against them looking, is there? That’s all we’ve done. We have no quarrel with you today. I’ve only come to say our clans will have matters to address at the next gathering, that is all. You may inform your leader that Cedarstar wishes to discuss land negotiations, as we have done in the past. Good hunting to you.” She dipped her head and the three cats turned and padded silently into the dark tunnel back to the shadowy woods beyond.

Shrewpaw arched his back and looked as if he wanted to take a swipe at the ShadowClan cat as she turned, but Hareflight put a large paw in front of him and gave him a stern look. “If they are part of the messenger's escort party, we cannot attack without direct provocation, Shrewpaw. WindClan does not take the first swipe, especially not from behind. Besides, Tallpaw has not had enough training for a real battle today.”

Tallpaw flattened his ears indignantly. I’m not a kitten! I could have used my instincts...

“So? We three could have taken them!” Shrewpaw argued. “They were purposely trying to make us angry for no reason!”

“Exactly,” said Dawnstripe. “ShadowClan always tries to invite the first hit so they have a justified cause to hit back. At least they are finally taking an upfront approach instead of sneaking around and making us nervous. I don’t know what that cat was trying to imply about territory negotiations, but it can’t be anything good.”

“I’m afraid I may have an idea of what they were referring to,” Hareflight said, and then added under his breath, “but why in StarClan anyone would care to bring it up now, I haven’t the slightest idea.” He turned back to the apprentices. “And as for you two running off like that, I’m very disappointed. You have the restraint and attention span of a kitten chasing a feather!”

“Sorry,” Tallpaw ducked his head. “It’s just, the rabbit was right there and I thought I could get it quickly.”

“Yeah, you can’t just put a rabbit in front of me and not expect me to chase after it! It’s not my fault it ran at the border. I would have got it if those fox-breaths hadn’t gotten in the way.” Shrewpaw argued.

“We’re going to have to have a long talk about your self control,” Hareflight sighed. Guiding a still bristling Shrewpaw away with his tail, he called back to Dawnstripe, “But first we’d better get back to camp, Heatherstar will want to know about this. I’m afraid the training session will have to be put off for a bit.”

chapter list / previous / next

#FRU9 #chapter 9

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aerinmelina · 4 years

Text

(From this post here.) @jaylalovesreading

So I wrote this whole thing in an entirely different way last night, and then tumblr deleted it when I tried to save it (!!!!), but I think I like this one better anyway.

———

A knock sounded at the door, and Kendra glanced up at the clock on the wall; 8:00am, the same time as usual. She smiled and opened the door to find Bracken on the other side of it. He waved at her and she waved back, then motioned for him to come inside. He stepped inside and closed the door behind him.

She sat down on a bench near the front door and put her shoes on, then grabbed her coat and backpack. “Bye, Mom!” she called.

Marla’s voice rang from the other room. “Bye, sweetie! Have a good day at school today!”

“You might want an umbrella,” Bracken said. “It’s a bit drizzly out there this morning.”

“Got it. Do you have one?”

He shook his head. “My sisters absconded with all of ours.”

“We can share,” Kendra said. She felt her cheeks tingle a bit. “It’s large enough for two people.”

She could swear his smile was bright enough to light up the entire world. It wasn’t hard to see why Bracken was one of the most popular guys in school.

Kendra opened the hall closet and removed an umbrella from its depths, then turned toward Bracken. “I’m ready,” she announced.

He opened the front door and motioned for her to walk through. “No Seth?” he asked.

“Not today,” she replied as she walked outside and opened the umbrella. “He has baseball practice this morning.”

“Isn’t baseball practice usually after school?” Bracken asked as he fell into step beside Kendra, under cover of the umbrella.

She shrugged her shoulders. “They’ve been doing a mix lately. Some days before school, some days after. I think some of the team is part of other clubs and had a hard time making it to all of the practices. Not sure. The game season is about to start, anyway.”

“Makes sense to practice a lot,” Bracken inferred. “I look forward to watching one of his games.”

“They’re okay,” she replied. “They’re definitely getting more interesting as he’s getting older. When he was younger? Super boring.”

Bracken chuckled a bit at that. “I know the feeling, but with ballet and piano recitals rather than baseball.”

They walked in companionable silence for a few seconds, and then Bracken switched topics. “So. You know how I’m on the student council, right?” he asked.

“Yeah. Of course,” Kendra replied. He went to meetings every Wednesday before school, and stayed after school on Mondays and sometimes Fridays as well because of it.

“Well… this’ll be announced today in the junior and senior homeroom classes, but we’ve decided on a date, location and theme for this year’s prom,” he said.

A well of hope started to spring up inside of Kendra and she tried to quash it. Prom?! Was he going to ask her to prom?! “Oh yeah?” she asked, suddenly feeling a bit nervous. “When is it?”

Please ask me to prom. Please ask me to prom. Please. Ask. Me. To. Prom.

“May 4th,” he stated, then stopped walking and looked at her. She was surprised to see that his cheeks were rosy, but then again she felt like hers were going to catch fire in a minute as well.

He had her full attention. “May is a good month,” she stated. “Maybe it’ll be less rainy by then.”

His hand made its way to the back of his neck, a gesture of embarrassment that she’d come to recognize in him over the past months since school had started, and his blush intensified. “Would you like to go with me?” he asked.

Okay. Her cheeks were surely on fire now. “Yes!” she said, perhaps with a little too much exuberance. She cleared her throat and tried again, this time keeping her voice calmer despite the party she was throwing in her brain. “I mean, um. Yes, I would love to go to prom with you.” She couldn’t stop smiling. Alert. Alert. She could not stop smiling!

His grin matched hers, and he offered her his arm which she gladly accepted. He in turn took the umbrella and held it for both of them this time. “I’m glad you accepted,” he said. “I didn’t want to go with anyone else, and I didn’t want to show up alone, either.”

How much more could her face burn? Was she some sort of science experiment or something? “I wouldn’t want to go with anyone else, either,” she mumbled. They resumed their walk and continued to grin like maniacs. Kendra was through the roof with happiness and excitement.

Upon reaching the school, Bracken closed up the umbrella after shaking it out, then returned it to Kendra. “Thank you for walking with me,” he said, just like he always did. This time, though, the words seemed to somehow stand out a little more.

“Thank you for picking me up,” she replied. “See you after school?”

He nodded his head. “Same place as usual.”

A sense of boldness, maybe, came over Kendra, and she stood on her toes in order to kiss him on his cheek. When she pulled away, she found his face had become a brilliant shade of red, probably like her own, and he moved his hand up to cover the spot where she’d kissed him. He had the biggest smile on his face that she’d ever seen. “It’s going to be hard to concentrate today,” he said.

Kendra laughed. She wholeheartedly agreed, but didn’t care. She had the feeling that today was going to be a great day.

#fablehaven #brackendra #aerinm writes #au scene #high school au #omgosh this was fun

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lambourngb · 4 years

Note

How bout some Michael POV for your masterpiece?!!!

This takes place during chapter 2, Michael has just exited the mindspace and is waiting for the agents to question him.

“I take my last chance, to burn a bridge or two”

Michael had passed the point of exhaustion both two days and ten years ago.

The thin, plastic covered cushion in the holding cell at Chaves County Sheriff's Office had the same feel of familiar comfort as his camp bed mattress in the Airstream, both places adequately met his needs after a bender or a brawl. He was never one to shy away from dropping into oblivion, met in the bottom of the bottle or at the end of a long night of working on his ship, until today. Closing his eyes meant slipping into the almost hypnotic state of the mindspace, and then he would hear her voice again.

His mother. Golden and whole for a moment. She was the energy between his cells, the original instructor of his atoms, funneling life into him; to grow and be strong.

“Oh my beloved son, oh you’re here, you’re here already grown and bound, I’m here, but no time, not enough time, there’s so much you should know my beautiful boy, I love you, I love you so much, I will always love you, now go, run, run for me.”

His eyes snapped open as the burn of tears threatened again. Goddamn it, he didn’t have time for that. Taking a deep breath, he stared up at the unremarkable ceiling to force his mind to go quiet. It was an old building, but built soundly. Not a crack in the plaster, not a flaw to betray its age. It housed the broken, who knew where home was but stayed away in the arms of intoxication; the evil, who knew home as a place for violence or thievery, and the lost, who longed for a home but never found the way back. All those souls gathered under its roof, this solid roof that sheltered without wear or tear.

At one time Michael had been all of those; deep into the dark warmth of drunk, or full of crooked wagers from dice games, he had even been picked up on a cold night a time or two with nowhere to go. Marked by violence in a tool shed, the system shocked with such a hard shove on his orbit, that he was knocked forever from the path he once had as a teenager, left to wander in all of those grim directions.

Once upon a time his English teacher assigned to the class, near the end of term with graduation nipping at their heels, some busy work in the form of a ‘where do you see yourself in ten years’ thought experiment. His hand had sketched out a good job, college degree, and a house, while his mind traveled the fantasies of holding the small hands of a child, of helping pat dirt down over a buried seed in his garden, of Alex, always Alex, playing his guitar on the back porch-

Fuck. His bare left hand, now whole and hale, mocked him.

Michael wrenched his mind back to the present, and dug out a crumpled handkerchief from his pocket to wrap over his left hand. He tied a knot, pulling it tight with his teeth. A bitter smile crept over his mouth, using his teeth again for the grip he lost in his hand was familiar at least.

Hopefully whatever trouble that Max was in, was teaching him a lesson in meddling where he wasn’t wanted. High on power Max thought to heal his hand, but took no care to think about the damn consequences of everything, of Noah, of the things Noah was up to in Roswell. He flexed his hand again, the tight constriction of the fabric felt comfortably close to how the scar tissue pulled and tugged over his ruined knuckles. Already there were too many questions to answer, he didn’t need one more on his hand.

As angry as he was at Max, he couldn’t help but hope that the flash of pain/wrong/vacuum wasn’t so serious that he couldn’t be useful now. Ride into the Sheriff’s Office, explain away the questions to his boss about Noah and Racist Hank, so Michael could be released without need of Alex and Alex’s story.

Goddamn it Alex. Showing up at the Wild Pony, those hopeful dark eyes turning wounded and betrayed as he realized that just because he didn’t see Michael as suitable, someone else did. Like he had the right to protest Michael moving on from them. It wasn’t Michael saying that they couldn’t be together because of Michael’s record, and it certainly wasn’t Michael saying that their relationship wasn’t worthy of a pyrotechnic breakup.

And yet. When the pyrotechnics were happening, Alex was there. Immovable. Saying everything that Michael had longed to hear for ten long years.

“I love you. There is nothing I wouldn’t do to protect you and I would give anything to have this story be true, that you were mine all along.”

A tear slipped down his unshaven face as he blinked rapidly. Alex was so stupid, how could he miss the fact that Michael had been his? Across the years, through two different battlefields, and after Alex had finally come home, Michael had worn two concrete boots, Alex and Isobel. Each his own anchor to this planet, as he worked to complete his ship.

The door swung open, startling Michael off the bunk, as a tall, dark haired man was escorted into the room by Agent Ross, who shot Michael an annoyed look. “Just knock on the door when you’re ready.”

The imposing cut of the military uniform and densely packed square of ribbons on his chest sent a shivered down Michael’s spine. It was only just over two days since Michael had been involved in the destruction of a secret military operation.

“Michael Guerin?”

“Depends on who is asking.”

“I’m Major Mark Torres, attached to the JAG office at Kirtland Air Force Base.” The officer tucked his cover under his arm and held his hand out toward Michael.

None of what this Mark Torres said made any sense to him. Kirtland was three hours away, Holloman was the closest base to the Caulfield facility. Michael lifted his eyebrows mockingly, but made no move to step closer to the open cell door, “That’s nice and all, but I’ve got nothing to say to anyone until my lawyer shows up.”

An amused smirk flitted over his mouth, “I am your lawyer, Alex sent me.” Instead of waiting for a response, Mark entered the cell and took a seat on the bunk, turning to Michael with a patient expectation. He placed the brim of his cover next to Michael’s black cowboy hat and then pulled his slim briefcase into his lap. “I admit, this isn’t how I expected to meet you, the infamous Michael.”

“Alex got me an Air Force lawyer?” The rest of that implication, that Alex had spoken of them to anyone in the past, let alone someone in the service was too much to even think about.

“I’m a lawyer who’s in the Air Force, and I’m doing this in the civilian court system pro-bono,” Mark replied easily, and popped the fasteners of his briefcase open to pull out a yellow legal pad and a pen. “Now that we’ve covered why I’m here, let’s talk about why you’re here. Tell me everything you know about Noah Bracken, what your connection to him, why the police might think you’re involved with his disappearance, and why they found a body when they came to question you.”

Michael stared at Major Mark Torres for a long moment, weighing his extremely limited options. The distant place inside him, where his faint connection to Max lived, was still and empty. He rubbed his wrapped fist against his face before sighing as he took a seat next to him. Alex said to trust him that he would get Michael out of this, and whatever mess that lay between them after Caulfield and now Maria, Michael believed wholeheartedly that Alex didn’t make promises he couldn’t keep.

As a rule Alex Manes didn’t make promises at all, to anyone, least of all to Michael.

“I know Noah Bracken, I mean everyone does in this town and I have a record, petty shit obviously, but that’s enough I guess for them to suspect me. But I have an alibi, I was with my boyfriend all night- hell, I’m with him every night. We’re kinda makin’ up for lost time since he was in Iraq, until well-”

“You’re referring to Captain Alexander Manes, correct?” Mark asked, scratching notes down on his pad without looking up.

“No one calls him ‘Alexander’, but yeah. Alex.” Michael licked his lips almost nervously, before he took a deep breath. This was the easy part of the alibi. “Alex is everything to me. I fell in love with him when we were seventeen, and I never stopped fallin’.”

“He did mention you were a romantic.” Mark nodded in approval of Michael’s words and capped his pen, “let’s start with the last time people saw Bracken in public at that-, good God, this town has a museum dedicated to aliens? What a thing to celebrate. Anyway, Alex tells me you’re a mechanic, that you can fix anything you put your hands on, were you at the gala for business purposes?”

Michael stuttered a little, feeling his face heat in embarrassment. He wasn’t used to anyone singing his praises, let alone a complete stranger. What did Alex say to this guy? “Um I helped do the lighting and sound for the organizer, Isobel. Um, Isobel Evans-Bracken. I left Alex at home, err, my Airstream ‘cause he doesn’t really enjoy the dog-and-pony show even though there was free booze. I gave a friend a ride home, Maria Deluca, and then spent the rest of the evening with Alex. In bed.”

His pen never stopped moving, “and last night, when this Hank Gibbons ended up dead, you were with Alex again? At your Airstream again?”

“Yeah, um, Alex lives pretty far out of town, and I had work in town. Um, during the week he spends a couple nights at mine, on weekends we’re at his place. Compromise.”

Spinning this fairy tale of shared residences to Torres, of disappearing to Alex’s cabin on the weekends and splitting the time apart during the week renewed an ache inside Michael. The slow turn of a bolt, burrowing into his heart as the threads of the light caught on hope and corkscrewed deeper into place.

“No one can corroborate that, correct? Other than Alex?”

“We’ve been keeping our relationship quiet. For personal reasons.”

This time Mark’s pen came to a halt, and he looked over to Michael with a sad understanding smile, “I’ve met Alex’s dad. He’s a first class prick. I’ve never met anyone more different from Alex in my life.”

“That’s for sure. Niger can have him. In fact, I hope he gets Ebola over there.” His eyes glanced up to the video camera on the corner before dropping to Torres again. Michael paused, hedging the risk of this disclosure, before continuing, “I’m not a violent man, but if I were, I wouldn’t bother with the town lawyer or the local racist asshole, it would be to protect Alex from that guy.”

Mark followed his gaze to the camera and back, before nodding. “I think I know all I need to know about you, Michael. Let’s go clear this up with the locals and get you released.”

***

“You were with Captain Manes all night? You didn’t leave at all?” Agent Ross asked quietly, his thin face placid, while his partner, Agent Rollins barely held back the curl of disgust from his face.

“Have you seen Alex? Like dude, I know I’m punching way above my class with him, you would have to be crazy to leave a bed that had him in it.” Michael smirked, fiddling with his hat on the table. Next to him, Major Torres stayed quiet taking notes.

“And he can confirm that?”

“Yes. I know he didn’t let you have a good look, but my Airstream isn’t big enough for him to miss me leaving. Trust me. We were together all night.”

“Let’s go back to the fight you had with Mr. Bracken-”

“Man, that’s bullshit, okay?!” Michael cut him off, “I did not have a fight with Noah, and whoever says differently is lying.”

Mark set down his pen to touch Michael’s hand lightly, before looking at the two agents evenly, “one eyewitness, on a dark night, does not overturn the alibi provided by Captain Manes. Let’s move on, shall we?”

“This relationship you’re in with Captain Manes, he’s alluded to the fact that it was kept secret. I find that rather convenient, and I can’t help but wonder if he’s trying to help out a friend. Maybe cover up the fact you were having an affair with the wife of our missing lawyer?” Rollins smirked, exchanging glances with his partner.

It took a moment before Michael could catch the inference, and then only Mark’s tight grip on his wrist kept him in his seat. “Wait?! You think I’m lying about Alex to cover up for an affair with Isobel? What the fuck, man? Number one, that’s gross on a number of levels, number two, Alex is the most stubborn man alive, but he’s also the most honorable. He wouldn’t do that for anyone, especially not about adultery. He could get court martialed for that shit.”

Ross picked up his turn to provoke, offering another even almost-bored question to Michael, “I see, you deny that an affair was going on with Ms. Bracken. So you’re not attracted to women then?”

“I don’t see how that’s relevant,” Torres protested.

“Mr. Guerin opened the door earlier, basing his alibi on how attractive a bed partner Captain Manes was.”

Michael took a deep breath again, pushing down the nettled feelings of exposure. Of all things he thought he would be discussing at the sheriff’s office, this wasn’t anywhere on the list. “Not that it’s relevant, but I’m bisexual, yes. I’m also monogamous. It’s not that difficult to understand. I love Alex, I wouldn’t cheat on him with anyone.”

“So on the night of the Gala, that was thrown by your platonic good friend Mrs. Bracken, you were there, without Captain Manes, but in the company of a Ms. Maria Deluca. Another platonic friend, I assume. Do you remember anyone bothering Mr. Bracken? Someone who might have wanted to harm him?”

***

Hours later, after they had combed through every minute of Michael’s time at the gala and the night before when Hank Gibbons was at the Wild Pony, the agents finally concluded their questions and granted his release from temporary custody. There was still an air of disbelief from both agents regarding his alibi being with Alex.

From the outside, Michael couldn’t blame them. Even setting aside his spotty employment record, rap sheet, and history of being in care of the state, anyone with eyes could see that Alex Manes was a man who could have his pick of partners. Why would he pick the outcast of Roswell? It didn’t make sense to Michael that was for sure, and that had been true almost from the beginning.

“This was fun, Agent Rollins. Let me know if you want me to go over my movements from the other night again, and Alex’s even better movements. I can really open up on that, if it helps,” Michael offered, stomping the blood back into his boots as he left the interview room eagerly.

There was some satisfaction in seeing out of the corner of his eye, Agent Rollins looking as if he had bit into a lemon.

Next to him, Torres grabbed Michael’s forearm with a warning squeeze and steered him down the hall where Alex was waiting with a worried expression. “What my client means is, you have my number if you wish to schedule a follow-up interview. We’re happy to cooperate in any investigation, especially if it leads to Mr Bracken returning safely home.”

Alex’s eyes flickered from Torres’s hand on his shoulder to the agents and back to Michael, but there was a hint of smug satisfaction in those dark eyes. Somehow Michael knew that Alex was holding back amusement over his graphic words to the bigoted agent. Well, there was no sense in not completing the performance.

He moved into Alex’s space comfortably, and brought his hands to Alex’s neck to draw him into a kiss. His last memory of kissing Alex, had been handled and revisited to the point of being thread-bare before being set aside as an old fantasy out of reach. Feeling Alex’s arms come up and hold him close, sent shocks down his fingertips as he cupped Alex’s chin to hide the chasteness of the kiss from view.

Alex wasn’t playing fair in return.

Those big, firm hands of his slid up Michael’s back, and threaded into the sweat-thick curls of his hair. Michael felt Alex’s lips part against his, that clever hot mouth opening to Michael, and nothing tempted Michael more in that moment, than following Alex’s lead.

That long bolt of the lie, turned deeper inside him, shredding the few safeguards he had in place. Alex loved him, Alex wanted to protect him, Alex had never stayed before- so many truths, so many reasons he wasn’t able to trust this especially now. Michael kept his mouth closed, and after a second, he felt Alex back away. They were good at that at least, retreating.

Alex’s cheeks were warm, probably from the public nature of the kiss, even as his face showed only the firm resolve of their shared story. His eyes drifted down, playing his role of a shy lover with Michael expertly. “You uh, ready to go home then?”

“Long past ready, darlin’.” Michael exhaled tiredly, already wondering how he was going to make it through this without losing more of his heart than he had to spare in the process. He reached for the familiar weight of his hat in his hand, and tipped it to the still watching agents.

#malex fic #fake dating your ex because of the feds #no beta here #malex #michael guerin #alex manes #missing scene #no excuses ask meme #hmd023

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certain-death-awaits · 4 years

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Theories & Predictions for Champion of the Titan Games

If you need a refresher on the full lore of the Fair Folk, do read my post about it. They’ll be quite relevant to these theories. Now, let’s read the theories! If you want anything explained, don’t hesitate to make a comment, or send an ask on anon if you’re shy. It’s weird to write everything down after just having it in my head for so long, so this might be long-winded and incoherent.

Ezabar, the Somber Knight, and Selona - I theorise that the Somber Knight is a lich. The Somber Knight has an especially dark reputation according to Henrick, and resides in catacombs (built by wizards even though Dragon Slayers generally have a distaste for wizards).

The air in his lair is markedly lifeless, though pure.

He is thought to be undead- something more “powerful and evolved” than a zombie or wraith- by Tanu and the public of Terrabelle. When he loses his leg and forearm, he isn’t in danger of dying, but makes his way back to his lair to regenerate. In popular culture, a lich keeps its soul in a reliquary. If destroyed, the lich would re-form at the location of its reliquary.

Like the Somber Knight, liches traditionally spend their time hidden from the world in their lair.

In Fablehaven, liches appear desiccated (like the ones on the Path of Dreams) or completely skeletal (like Calumbra or Ezabar) .Their touch also bruises- both would be good reasons for the Somber Knight to be completely encased in armour.

In Fablehaven, a lich is a type of undead (the lich Belrab used to be a wizard), who deliberately retains some of it’s former human will. Some are able to control lesser undead. I think that the Somber Knight, or Ryland as is his true name, was one of the Fair Folk, and think the Fair Folk had a role in placing him. I don’t think it’s really in question for him to have been a wizard- all Dragon Slayers hate dragons, and tend to distrust wizards. He also has a name that sounds like a Fair Folk name (Like Lockland), and resides under Terrabelle; he would have even been placed there at the same time the territory was established. Eve found his name from “the old stories”, and Lord Dalgorel asked him to help Eve even though only the caretakers of Wyrmroost are supposed to command him. Seth asks Ezabar if he’s a lich, and Ezabar concedes that “that is one label”. Ezabar asks Seth to find a piece of information for him in return for allowing him access to the prison. To help provide context, he explains that he used to live in Selona. It’s possible he lived there as a wizard, but I think that he lived there as one of the Fair Folk, because he asks Seth what became of a boy called Toleron, son of the Duke of Hester, whose mother was called Ingrid. It seems like a matter of personal importance to him. I think that becoming a lich or whatever higher form of undead might be more common among Fair Folk, or at least it doesn’t have the same taboo it seems to have for wizards. Oh, and I asked Brandon Mull if Fair Folk could become undead, and he said that they wouldn’t be normal undead, but could be liches or revenants. Those would be the forms of undead with their own will.

Wizard-Fair Folk Cooperation- Wyrmroost was established by Archadius, the first wizard. Wyrmroost has had several caretakers since its establishment, the fourth of which was Agad. Though the Fair Folk are neutral, there is a settlement of Fair Folk at every dragon preserve, with the three largest settlements being at the three with a Dragon Temple, and this is not common knowledge- perhaps deliberately so. These three preserves are also where the Sage’s Gauntlets, shield-that-repels-dragons, and harp-that-soothes-dragons are guarded by the dragons. The very talismans that helped defeat the dragons long ago. I suspect the Fair Folk are stationed in these locations to keep an eye on the dragons, and that they-at least formerly- are here to prevent the dragons from gaining power over the other races. Further proof that they have diplomatic priority- by “ancient treaty”, the defences of Blackwell Keep do not repel the coach of Stormguard Castle.

I also want to talk about the Sovereign Skull. If you don’t remember it, you can catch up on it here. I think that Selona was created by wizards primarily to house the Sovereign Skull, or at least the sphere it’s located in. I would equate it with Zzyzx, which had a physical location (Shoreless Isle) but was in reality its own realm. Selona would have a physical location in Europe (as Ezabar alluded to) but be its own country. It’s very secret- Eve declines to tell Kendra and Seth about it, Ezabar says it’s impossible to access, and Agad only reluctantly shares information about the location of the skull with Kendra. It makes sense- the Fair Folk enforce neutrality at Selona, and Lord Dalgorel was certain the dragons would need to “crush Selona”. “If our mother country falls, it could create a permanent imbalance, and unending age of dragons.” he says. The dragons mean to destroy the Sovereign Skull. I believe they are connected.

Humbuggle and Curses- What happened at Stormguard Castle is widely referred to as a curse by those who do not know what happened, and was created by Humbuggle. Serena, investigating the Nipsie curse, was last seen headed for Titan Valley, which is where Gabrinko said that Humbuggle’s Castle is. After all, it was Humbuggle, colluding with Graulas, who cursed the Nipsies. My theory is that the Nipsies are a cursed form of Fair Folk- that’s why nothing is ever designed with them in mind (think the Path of Dreams). Calvin says that Nipsies “used to be more powerful. And bigger. Maybe even as big as I am now”. But to curse them, he’d need a motive- I think it’s possible he intends to weaken the Fair Folk as a group. Another curse of his might’ve been the phenomenon in which “Almost no babies are being born anymore. Nobody is sure why.” Weakening the Fair Folk would benefit Humbuggle simply because they are a neutralising force, and of course curses are Humbuggle’s hobby.

Calvin and Humbuggle- I think that Calvin is either colluding with, or he is Humbuggle. I have only circumstantial evidence, but here it is. Look how these parallel one another-

“The curse came with a prophecy,” Calvin said.

“Tell me.”

“All nipsies can recite it:The curse arose from the demon’s blight; the lord who slays him will set it right.”

“It rhymes,” Seth observed.

“Most of the good ones do,” Calvin said. “Some strain more than others. But the basics are clear. Whoever kills the horrible demon will help lift the curse.”

And then these two scenes from Wrath of the Dragon King

“I suppose,” Humbuggle said. “I could also eat plain oatmeal every day to stay alive. An explanation is more pleasant when it rhymes. And a tad more official.”

“To keep the game fair, I will confess that the Wizenstone is jealously guarded by a powerful demon. Any who seek to claim the stone would have to ward off the demon before long.”

I also think it’s intriguing that right after showing Kendra how he morphed into Augie and Elouise, this exchange takes place:

“You’re sneaky,” Kendra said.

“Young one, you have no idea,” Humbuggle replied.

Bracken misses Calvin when he’s reading minds. They never check with the Nipsy elders that Calvin is legitimate. Camarat does not sense any darkness in him, but he is also unable to tell what Calvin is before he reveals himself. This is of note because in SotDS, Camarat is able to tell that the knapsack contains an “unconventional automaton and a hermit troll”, and is able to detect that Seth is a young shadow charmer. Gabrinko says he’s legitimate, but like @carolinelikesdinner said, he’s an outcast from his society and may be exiled for a good reason. He would also have access to Fablehaven- in the Caretaker’s Guide, it’s mentioned that there is a magical dwarf among the colony at Fablehaven, whose intentions are unknown.

Loose Things That I Want To Point Out

-Serena was “with a woman of human size”. I have no evidence, but intuition tells me she is Isadore, an enchantress mentioned in the Caretaker’s Guide.

-Ezarod was killed by Dromadus in dragon form. Dragons, when they become wizards, change their name. Liches are often former wizards. It’s possible, though unlikely, that Ezabar was in fact Ezarod.

-Celebrant’s wings make an unmistakable whistling sound when he approaches by air. I know Chekhov’s gun when I see it.

-The Roost is Wyrmroost Castle. The caretaker used to split time between it and the Keep. It was important enough to even have a scepter. However, I cannot find any other allusion to it, and we can only assume we will learn more in future books, meaning we will hopefully return to Wyrmroost.

Agad is a Shady Bitch- This isn’t a theory, but I have a couple of things I want to point out. First, don’t forget that Ryland thinks he may be:

“Agad became caretaker long after Wyrmroost was founded,” the Somber Knight said. “He was the fourth caretaker. Wizards love their secrets. It is possible he never knew the medallion derived power from a hidden scepter. If he did know, then you were set up to become caretakers, and to discover this knowledge on your own, so you would be forced to decide how to proceed without external influence, thereby assuming responsibility for all the associated risks and perils.”

Agad constantly warns Seth to stay away from the Blackwell. When he departs for Soaring Cliffs in WotDK, he warns Seth to stay away from the Blackwell. Marat, too, frequently warns Seth to stay away from the Blackwell. Of course, this is for the safety of himself and others- but he’s also one of the only people even capable of releasing the beings of the Blackwell.

Vanessa lists shades and haunts as ethereal restless beings, much like apparitions, phantoms, sky phantoms, specters, and wraiths. Shades and Haunts are said by Amulon to live in the Barrows, Lackluster Woods, and Adjoining Meadows- why weren’t the creatures of the Blackwell given their own domain like this? I have a very good reason- Agad’s grudge against the wizard-turned-lich imprisoned there. According to the Sphinx, Belrab is a powerful lich, and controls the other beings imprisoned there. This is eerily similar to the case of a Morisant; he was another dragon-turned-wizard-turned-lich, imprisoned along with his minions. (It’s never explicitly stated Morisant is a lich- but he matches all the requirements)

#dragonwatch #fablehaven #theory #meta #original

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kovecs · 4 years

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Hi everyone! I think I’ve shared my Cyberpunk 2020 character before, but I figured that -- in anticipation of 2077 -- I would put out a series of quick short stories that would follow his adventures in Night City. He is a pretty somber guy; glass half-empty type, but he has a good heart. So here’s part #1!

~Kovecs

Ash, 2020: A Cyberpunk Series

Part #1: Party Time

Neon lights flickered in a field of darkness, cascading off of floods of dancing pedestrians. Throughout the room, the buzz and hum of modern music berated what little remained of their eardrums. The nightclub smelled like must, booze, and second hand smoke. Ash, NCPD Detec, sat at a rust-stained booth. He was a complete contrast from the partying denizens; blinded by their revelry. He had been there for a haze of time, watching with cybernetic eyes and waiting patiently.

“You’re a cop, aren’t’cha, baby?” A female voice called over.

“How’d you guess?” Ash responded in a monotone voice. He turned his head. The voice was a young woman standing at the edge of the crowd. She wore colors which rivaled the neon lights. She was dramatically augmented, almost enough to the point that “cyborg” wouldn’t be an insult. Ash was one to talk, though, with his augmented eyes and cheap metal arm. The lights reflected off of the woman’s chrome cybernetics, making her look like digital distortion.

“Because cops are boring, and I can tell you’re no fun.” Her voice had a playful gleam. Ash couldn’t tell if her edge was taken off by bliss or booze. Maybe both.

“How do you know I’m not fun?” He asked, meeting her glowing gaze.

“Because there’s a fucking bitchin’ party and you’re sitting there all alone like an asshole.”

“I’m working.”

“See? No fun, asshole,” she stated, saying that last word with a playful giggle before turning around and disintegrating into the crowd. She was right. This, among many reasons, was why Detective Ash hated parties.

Ash disliked this party in particular, with its indistinct pandemonium of drugged up punks and abrasive music. He wondered if it was his nomad roots, but he hadn’t lived in the badlands since he was a kid. Night City was his home now, whether he liked it or not.

The detective sat there quietly for a few more minutes before suddenly, he was joined by a spindly man and his burly bodyguard. Ash looked at them both, his bright blue cybernetic retinas scanning them with an untrusting gaze. He knew them both. The bodyguard was Rage; hired muscle who worked for different gangs on and off. The gangly one was called Bisby Bracken, a low-tier fixer who was as likeable as radiation dust. He wore clothes of countless colors, like the young woman from earlier. Kitsch, they called it; all style, no substance.

“Didn’t think you were gonna show your face, Ash.” Bisby said, grinning wolfishly with chrome teeth. Ash could smell cheap moonshine and metal on his breath.

“You’re the one who’s late.”

“Fashionably, fashionably,” he responded, flicking away a cigarette butt. “Besides, I’m the one who called this little meetup.”

“Was the party your idea?” Ash asked in a monotone voice.

Bisby scoffed and rolled his eyes. “You see, Ash, that’s your problem. You can’t ever have fun.”

“I’ve heard that once or twice,” Ash grumbled. “Get to the point, Bracken. Why are we here?” Ash was hoping this would be worth his while. Bracken was scum, but he was connected. That could be useful.

“What’s the point of you guys anyway?” The Fixer was distracting again and it was old before it began. “Private cops are so much more efficient. The NCPD is old news, man. But you; you’re the most obsolete.”

“Why is that?”

“Because you still think it’s about good guys and bad guys, man.”

“Is that why you brought me here?” Ash was getting uneasy. “Just to tell me you don’t like me very much?”

“Naw, man,” Bisby said as he lit another cigarette. He puffed it and exhaled the smoke into the musty air. “I don’t really give a fuck about you, Ash. But my boss? He’s a different story… and he’s got a message for you.”

Before Ash’s heart even had a chance to beat, Bisby pointed a pistol at his face and moved his finger to the trigger. Ash only had a millisecond to respond. He jerked his head to the left, sending him to the side as the bullet burst through the back of the booth. Before Bisby could reload, Ash kicked the table into the thug and drew his own pistol.

“Fuck!” Bisby cried before Ash’s bullet ripped through his chest. He died immediately.

Ash was so dumbfounded that he did not even realize that Rage had picked him up. The hired muscle lifted him with ease and threw him into the crowd of party goers; most of them hadn’t even noticed or cared.

Ash quickly sat up and shook his head. He was still in a daze when he turned to finish Rage the same way he had killed Bisby, but he realized that his gun was gone. It had been knocked away during the struggle. Damn it.

Rage did not even say a word as he drove his boot into Ash’s face. Blood shot from the detective’s mouth and nose as he went back down. When he was lifted again, he made eye contact with his assailant. There was a reason they called him Rage; he liked this work. He’d rather kill Ash with his bare hands than use the gun at his hip. He rammed his head against Ash’s, sending his consciousness halfway through cyberspace. He did it again, then again, and then… BAM. The two of them crashed to the ground.

This time, it was enough for the partiers to scatter. On the dancefloor, the neon lights still flickered, the music still blared, but there were no dancers to be seen. Just Ash and the dead body of the man he had just shot with his own gun.

This was just another day in Night City. The detective wiped his face absently, smearing the blood. Rage had done a number on him. But whoever that boss was would have to be disappointed… for now. As Ash got up and left the club, he could not help but think that that girl was right: He was terrible at parties.

Dear Reader,

There’s part one! I’ll hopefully put out a few more of these before the game comes out. For this one in particular, I wanted to pay homage (best I can) to the style of William Gibson’s Neuromancer. I was also trying to give it an 80s vibe. I hope you enjoyed reading.

~Kovecs

#cyberpunk #2020 #cyberpunk 2020 #fanfiction #fanfic #fanart #cyberpunk fanart #cyberpunk art #cyberpunk fiction #cyberpunk 2077 #2077 #cd projekt red #neuromancer

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jesussavedevenme · 4 years

Text

Cooking Shenanigans

A fic for @aerinmelina whose birthday was a few days ago.

Everyone at Fablehaven knew what Friday nights entailed. Friday nights were the nights they all gathered together and played games until everyone either passed out or decided on a movie. It also seemed to be the only night of the week they could get everyone in one place at the same time nowadays. Between missions, trips to the fairy realm, duties around Fablehaven and everyone's separate living arrangements all of them truly spending time together had become a rarity. The clock in the hall could be heard chiming through the halls informing anyone awake to the early hour. Kendra, Seth, Warren, Bracken, and Vanessa sat in a circle trying to quiet their laughter as they were the only ones still awake.

“Kendra, truth or dare.” Seth asked a mischievous glint in his brown eyes. Kendra groaned quietly before replying,

“ Truth.”

“You’re no fun.” Seth grumbled scrowling playfully, “ umm, name the worst dressed person in this room.”

“ Says the boy who wore Iron Man pajamas until he was 16.” Kendra replied, smirking.

“ Yeah and you wore unicorn pajamas until you got married.” Seth retorted a slight blush dusting his cheeks.

“ Bold of you to assume she doesn’t still wear them,” Bracken said, earning a smack on the arm from his wife.

. “Bracken, you traitor!” Kendra exclaimed, blushing as everyone dissolved into a fit of laughter. “Van, Truth or Dare?” she asked once everyone had settled back down.

“Hmm, Truth.” she replied, earning an eye roll from Seth.

“You guys are so boring.” he said sighing in exasperation.

“It is way too late for me to do whatever it is you would have me do.” Vanessa replied before looking at Kendra expectedly.

“ If you could change one thing about these Friday get-togethers what would you change?” Kendra replied after a minute causing Seth to groan

“ I mean I guess I wouldn’t mind not having to cook every Friday.” Vanessa replied jokingly and Kendra nodded in agreement.

“Yeah well we’ll go hungry otherwise.” Kendra replied with a smile.

“Hey, wait just a second, are you saying we can’t cook? .” Warren asked , causing Kendra and Vanessa to muffle their laughter.

“Fablehaven would end up in shambles with the three of you in the kitchen.” Kendra laughed

“ Is that a challenge?” Warren asked, narrowing his eyes. “ I bet we could do just as good as you could.” He replied gesturing to Seth and Bracken.

“Ok, it’s a bet.” Vanessa replied, narrowing her eyes at Warren “Next Friday you boys plan and cook the meal and snacks for the night, loser owes the winner a favor.

†††††

"Come on, guys, we have slayed demons, cooking can't be that much more difficult." Warren sighed as the brainstorming session thirty minutes with nothing to show. Normally the lack of answers wouldn't bother him, but he refused to let Vanessa win again. The next Friday seemed to roll around quicker than usual, leaving the three boys standing in the kitchen completely unprepared for the big job that lay ahead of them.

“I can cook a pretty decent entrée from the Fairy realm.” Bracken offered when Warren's request for ideas received no reply. “ I’d just have to make a quick ingredient run.”

“ Great, maybe we’ll get extra points because it’s exotic.” Warren replied, turning to look at Seth,” Seth you’re on desert duty, it can’t be that hard to mess up a pan of brownies. And I'll cover the snacks, sound good?” and with that the three boys split up Warren to the cabinets, Seth in search of a brownie recipe, and Bracken out to get ingredients.

“Why are there no individual microwavable popcorn bags in here?” Warren asked after about ten minutes of searching the cabinets and coming up with only a giant bag of popcorn kernels.

“ Because we live in a family that believes everything is better homemade. Which is amazing, until you’re the one making it.” Seth replied, not looking up from his phone as he continued to search for homemade brownie recipes that weren’t overly complicated.

“True but what do you expect me to do now? I have a feeling you can’t stick these in the microwave and call it done.” Warren asked.

“I don’t know. At least not knee deep in brownie recipes. I didn't know there were so many ways to fix brownies.” Seth replied, rolling his eyes.

“Oh come on, it can’t be that bad.” Warren said peering over Seth’s shoulder at the recipe he was currently looking at.

“Seriously, I've started to read these like I read science fiction, I get to the end and think well that's not going to happen.”

“ Seth you live in a world where dragons are real and your sister is married to a unicorn, I don’t think science fiction should surprise you anymore.” Warren replied through his laughter.

“Dude, That's fantasy.” Seth said, smiling and finally seeming to settle on a recipe as he headed to the fridge for ingredients.

“Whatever. That still doesn’t fix the problem of this popcorn though,” he pointed out, gesturing to the bag of kernel still in his arms. "pretty sure the girls aren't going to let us squeeze by without it. It's like the go to snack. Right after chips and dip."

“You need one of the popper things.” Bracken replied, walking into the kitchen with an armload of ingredients most of which were completely foreign to anyone but him. “It’s kind of circular with a clear top. I've seen Kendra use them before. ” He continued when his comment was met with blank stares. Shrugging his shoulders Warren began to once again search the cabinets, this time in search of a device that matched Bracken's description. Bracken set his ingredients on the counter closest to the stove and Seth claimed the one opposite to begin working. The two men worked in silence until Warren returned with popcorn popper and set it next to Seth triumphantly.

"Hey! I'm working here." Seth said, pulling an impressive new York accent. "Find your own counter."

"Make me, Sorenson." Warren joked regretting it when Seth's eyes flashed with mischievousness and his smirk turned lethal. Before he even had time to react, he felt the slimy cracking sensation of an egg cracking in his hair. "Oh, it is so on." He said, grabbing a fist full of flour and tossing it in his direction. Seth ducked instinctively causing Bracken, who had moved from his post by the stove, to receive a cloud of flour in the face. 'Yeah, this is going to take a while' Warren thought as Bracken stalked toward them with the spoon previously found in the brownie batter.

†††††

“ So, what kind of pizza are we ordering?” Vanessa asked when she and Kendra wandered into the kitchen later that evening.

“ Oh, now we are doing this. We’ve got dinner, desert and snacks, so get ready.” Warren replied, gesturing to the oven and a pan of what appeared to be brownie batter beside a tray of assorted snacks on the counter.

“ Wow, I’m impressed!” Kendra said happily, choosing to ignore the brownie batter on Bracken's face, the egg in Warren's hair, and the flour that covered most of the kitchen. As well as the many popcorn kernels that were sprinkled across the floor and counter. Evidence that someone had forgotten to put the lid on before popping it.

“ Wonderful, now as you’ve told me so many times, get out of the kitchen, go bother someone else.” Seth said, placing one hand on his hip and raising his voice in a horrible impression of Kendra while waving a nearby spoon threateningly in their direction. Warren and Bracken dissolved into laughter while Kendra rolled her eyes and smiled at her little brother's antics before leaving with Vanessa in tow.

"Tell everyone that we are about ready to start" Bracken called after her while pulling the finished meal out of the oven and replacing it with the brownies. " Well, that's about it." Bracken declared with a smile, receiving nods from Warren and Seth.

"Yeah, all that's left to do is clean up." Warren replied before looking around and the chaos that surrounded them. Well, maybe they shouldn't have celebrated just yet.

†††††

Behold from chaos, order, from ugliness, beauty, from basic ingredients and an oven, brownies.” Seth announced proudly emerging from the kitchen a few minutes after everyone had finished eating. The brownies were lopsided and they looked a little underdone in the middle, but the thought still made Kendra smile. She had to admit the boys really had outdone themselves. The main course melted in your mouth, delicious despite its appearance. And they had even miraculously been able to clean the kitchen by the time it was time to eat, though she was pretty sure that Bracken played a major part in that. Kendra watched as Seth beamed at the compliments he got for his brownies. She couldn’t deny that they tasted incredible. Just gooey enough to melt in your mouth without becoming too overwhelming and the scoop of ice cream he served it with only served to make it better. The bright smiles and empty plates seemed to prove that everyone else agreed with her.

“So did we win?" Bracken whispered once their group had finished eating and retired to the living room to watch, or rather argue over, a movie.

“Yes, yes you did.” Kendra said, thinking back to the delicious meal and obvious fun the three men had shared.

"This means you now owe me a favor, princess." He mumbled mischievously. Kendra hummed quietly content to snuggle closer to his side as a movie was finally decided on and the lights were turned off.

#fablehaven #dragonwatch #warren burgess #kendra sorenson #seth sorenson #Bracken #vanessa #brackendra #warrenessa #shenanigans

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theastrophilearchitect · 3 years

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March TBR/W.

Every book, audiobook, tv show and movie I want to consume in March 2021.

-Hence ‘TBR/W’ - to-be-read/watched.

I’m not usually a fan of pre-planning my media for the month - I plan out all my media obsessively, but doing it by month seems a little too much like setting deadlines for my taste, and I’m sure I’ll somehow manage to turn watching tv into a chore. Regardless, it’s worth a shot, so this is going to be a rough guide - I’m going to pick four of each category, one per week, because I’d rather underestimate and surpass than overestimate and have to defer things to the next month. So let’s go.

Books

1. Skyward and 2. Starsight by Brandon Sanderson

Skyward is set in a future where the human race is on the verge of extinction, trapped on a planet constantly attacked by alien warriors. Spensa, a teenage girl stuck on the planet, wants to be a pilot, but it seems far-off. Then, she finds the wreckage of a ship that appears to have a soul, and she must figure out how to repair it, and persuade it to help her navigate flight school.

In truth, I mainly want to read this because of how highly it’s been praised by Hailey in Bookland on YouTube. I actually tried reading Sanderson’s Mistborn series a couple years ago, and just didn’t click with it. I love fantasy, but I can pretty confidently say epic fantasy just isn’t for me. However, Sanderson’s work is adored by many, and Skyward and its sequel Starsight appeal so much more to me, and I can’t wait to get to them.

3. House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J Maas

This is Maas’s first technically-adult book; Throne of Glass is young adult, ACOTAR being classed either as young or new adult. I’ve been a fan of Maas for a long time, and, though I enjoy her books less now than I have in the past due to how seriously they tend to take themselves, I’d still love to read this one. Where her previous series were both fantasies, this sits somewhere between that and a sci-fi, but I can’t say as-of-yet what I think, because I haven’t read it yet.

Bryce Quinlan finds herself investigating her friends’ deaths in an attempt to avenge them after they were taken from her by a demon. Hunt Athalar is a Fallen angel, enslaved by Archangels, forced to assassinate their enemies, when he’s offered a deal to assist Bryce in exchange for his freedom.

4. Scythe by Neal Shusterman

I listened to this as an audiobook in 2019 as part of BookTuber Book Roast’s Magical Readathon, and didn’t hugely get along with it in truth. The audiobook was excellent as an audiobook, but the story Ian’s I just didn’t really vibe. I think I just want to like this book, so I think it’s worth a reread to see if my opinion changes.

This follows Citra and Rowan, a reluctant pair of apprentice Scythes - in a utopian future where humanity has the means to live forever, it is the job of the Scythes to control the population by essentially reaping the souls of those they choose to die. Neither Citra or Rowan want it, but I don’t remember enough about this book to say any more.

Audiobooks

1. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

This is the last book in the Hunger Games trilogy, and you either already know what this series is about, or you’ve been living under a rock for the last thirteen years. I read this book for the first time nearly seven years ago, and it’s stuck with me. It sent me into a phase of only reading dystopian books (The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken was part of this, and was the series that really got me into reading), but this was the main one that stuck with me.

It contains a powerful message about capitalism and discrimination, and this is the second time I’ve listened to the audiobooks, though the god-only-knows-what time I’ve read the series. I listened to The Hunger Games and Catching Fire in February, which automatically puts this on my to-listen for March.

2. Ghosts of the Shadow Market by Cassandra Clare, Sarah Rees Brennan, Maureen Johnson, Kelly Link and Robin Wasserman

This is a novella bind-up set in the Shadowhunters world, that I would imagine has quite a bit to do with the Shadow Market, an aspect of the Downworld introduced in The Dark Artifices, which I finished in January.

In truth, I’m mainly planning to listen to this audiobook because it’s the only Shadowhunters novella bind-up with an audiobook, and I’d just rather read additions to the main Shadowhunters series in this format rather than physically.

3. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

This is a Hunger Games prequel that was released early last year, and I just wasn’t going to read it. I heard several reviews, the general consensus of which was basically that it’s not as good as the trilogy and is somewhat unnecessary, but, in truth, my curiosity’s got the better of me, especially since I started listening to the trilogy’s audiobooks again.

This prequel follows Coriolanus Snow as a mentor in the Games before he became President of Panem and the wonderful villain of the original trilogy.

4. Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia

I mentioned this in my physical TBR post a couple weeks ago, but have decided to listen to the audiobook instead. A few weeks ago, I’d started to run out of audiobooks I wanted to listen to, and didn’t want to read anything on my regular TBR in this format, including this book. But, I went through a load of audiobook recommendations, and this was one of them, so it joined my to-listen.

I’m not hugely into contemporary books, but I’ve wanted to get more into the genre for a while, and this was the first one to join my TBR.

This novel follows Eliza Mirk, your typical high school outcast, who publishes a hugely popular web comic under the pseudonym LadyConstellation. Then Wallace Warland, the biggest fanfic writer of her comic transfers to her school and begins to draw her out of her shell.

TV Shows

Before I go into my list, I’d like to mention that I am currently watching WandaVision and am definitely planning to watch Falcon and the Winter Soldier on Disney+, but both come out on a weekly basis, so aren’t being included on this list. Also, I’ve been watching way too much YouTube recently, so I’m not sure I’ll get through all of these this month, especially since I’m watching the Arrowverse shows, which have such long seasons.

1. Love, Victor Season 1

This Love, Simon spin-off follows a character named Victor at Creekwood (I think that’s the name?) High School. I saw Love, Simon twice in cinemas when it was released, and, miraculously, it made me cry. I love that movie.

This series was released last year on Hulu, which is only available in the US, but as of February 23rd, it’s one of the shows that came to Disney+ as part of Star.

2. The Flash Season 1

As mentioned, I’ve started watching the DC Arrowverse shows. I watch tv shows through alternating seasons - as in, I watch season 1 of show A, then season 1 of show B, then 2 of A, etc., then when I finish one, I start watching show C - but I’m treating the Arrowverse as one show (even though it isn’t) so it’s not the only thing I’m watching. So this is technically Arrowverse S3, preceded by Arrow S1+2 (though I haven’t actually started S2 as of writing this because of how much YouTube I’ve been watching, so I’ll be finishing that first).

I genuinely don’t know that much about most DC superheroes, Flash included, but I’m going into this having been assured it takes itself less goddamn seriously than Arrow. It’s my sister’s favourite Arrowverse show, and I can’t wait.

3. Dare Me Season 1

I added this Netflix show to my watchlist when it came out, and my basic understanding is that it focuses on the cheerleaders at a high school, and begins when a new coach arrives. It focuses on the psychological damage behind competitive cheerleading, and I’m not convinced I’m going to love it, but I think it’s worth a shot.

4. Arrow Season 3

I’m so confused by this poster. This is specifically the season 3 poster, and I’m so confused, but I’m sure it’ll make more sense when I watch the season.

I explained the weird way I’m watching Arrowverse (named as such because Arrow was the first show in it) already, but Arrow follows Oliver Queen, the son of one of the billionaires of Starling City upon his return after being stuck for five years on an island when a cruise ship carrying him and his father sunk. His father left him with a list of names of the people ‘corrupting’ the city, and Oliver takes it upon himself to assume a vigilante identity and take them down.

Movies

I’m not a huge movie-watcher, but I end up compiling so many to watch that, to ensure I get round to them, I watch a movie every time I finish a tv show season. I’m also currently re-watching the MCU movies in chronological order.

1. Instant Family

This is just something that came onto Netflix recently and I thought might be entertaining, and so it joined my list.

This follows a couple who decide to adopt a teenager, only to find out she has two more siblings.

2. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

This is just a continuation of my MCU re-watch - I love this movie. I love Guardians of the Galaxy, full stop (on another note, I just generally don’t understand why British people call it a full stop and Americans call it a period. Neither name makes particular sense).

3. Avengers: Age of Ultron

And here we have another continuation of my MCU rewatch. I honestly think this is my favourite Avengers movie, because the whole teams actually together, and Wanda, Scarlet Witch, is introduced - I love her. I really didn’t like Vision until WandaVision came out, though.

4. Behind The Try: A Try Guys Documentary

Not technically a movie, but still. (Are documentaries movies? I tend to think of them as separate categories, but I guess they’re both movies. Hm.) I’ve been watching the Try Guys for years, which means I need to convince my sister to give me her Google password so I don’t have to pay for this.

I’m probably not going to stick to this list, and even if I do, I’m either going to also consume things not on it, or just not finish it. But, you’ll have to wait for my March wrap-up to find out.

#tbr #book #books #reading #reader #bookblr #marchtbr #tv shows #movies #review #films #movie #tv show #writerblr #march tbr

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ginnyzero · 4 years

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Completely Harmless Ch. 7

Completely Harmless An SSO SilverGlade Re-imagining Story (Or Fix it Fan Salt fic) By Ginny O.

When Lily and her friends wanted to buy horses and were directed to the Silverglade Manor and its myriad of problems, they didn’t expect to start a revolution. They were just a bunch a stable girls. Completely harmless. Right?

A/N: Things are only canon if I say they’re canon. Pre-Saving the Moorland Stables compliant for the most part. Posted in its entirety on my website. Posted in 2000 to 4000 word bits here. Rated T for Swearing Word Count 177,577

Chapter Seven Meeting Agnetha and Bjorn

“Well girls, the stables are clean,” Regina said. “We’re on our way to getting G.E.D. out of the fields. Now what?”

“We might have gardeners showing up this afternoon,” Lily said.

“And, the gardens are currently a fire hazard,” Pauline murmured as she texted their new name to Linn.

“Heavy gloves,” Jennifer said firmly.

“I think there are some clippers and hoes and such in the hay dryer. That should also be in the tack room,” Tyra cracked her neck.

“Let’s go girls,” Lily said.

Brittany started to hum an older but still popular country song.

“I only want to have a good time. The best thing about being a woman is the prerogative to have a little fun,” she sang.

Those who knew it joined it. “Oh, oh, oh, give them a lady…”

Linda burst into giggles.

“Man, I feel like a woman,” Lily said as she did a little dance step.

They went to the hay dryer and Tyra handed out equipment and they tugged on heavy gloves. They split into two teams each taking one side of the gate and started by clipping the weeds. Lily kept her eye on the gates just in case Iris’ gardener friends started appearing.

Seeing that the girls were working on the gardens, the gardeners approached them. Some were incensed that the girls were weeding. As if the girls were going to start planting flowers next without any supervision. Others had grand plans that had nothing at all to do with the space or what the Baroness might like.

Lily scratched those types right out of consideration.

Late in the afternoon, a pair of gardeners showed up. One was a rather pleasant fellow with a beard, straw hat and a flower dangling out of his mouth. He looked around the place with consideration. The other was a hard faced woman who looked over the space imperiously. Seeing the girls pulling the weeds into piles. She marched over.

“Hard workers, I like that,” she said and put her hands on her hips. “Can’t really get a sense of the space with all these weeds in the way. Now, who is in charge here?”

“Well, that would be the Baroness,” Lily said slowly.

“Linda is the stable manager,” Regina said. “Judy is the stable master.”

“We’re a bunch of stable girls,” Lily said.

The man came over. “Agnetha,” he chided gently. “Stop bothering these poor girls. They’re working.”

Agnetha huffed.

The man smiled. “I’m Bjorn,” he said in a friendly manner. “My wife, Agnetha, and I have done a lot of research about the Silverglade Manor gardens and their history. When our good friend Iris said that the manor was in need of some care and attention,” he trailed off.

Lily leaned against her hoe. “Well,” she gestured. “As you can see, it’s gone a bit to seed. You’re more than welcome to look around.”

Pauline stripped off her gloves. “I’m local,” she said. “And I know these terraces like the back of my hand. I can give you a tour if you like.”

“Do you have any ideas?” Theresa asked.

Agnetha sniffed. “Not until I see what we’ve got to work with and if I could get my hands on some of the old layouts from the former gardens. I’d like to restore and update rather than start from scratch.”

“They might be in the library,” Pauline said. “We can ask Linda. She knows where everything is in the library.”

“Do you ride?” Tyra asked. “It would be easier to show you if you can ride. Big gardens are… big,” she smiled weakly.

“We can try.” Agnetha said. “Never been much for horses,” she mumbled.

“We’ll be right here with you,” Lily said. “Wait here.”

“We’ll keep at it,” Theresa said.

“And abscond with a person from the other side. Keep the teams even,” Elsa wrinkled her nose.

Lily and Pauline giggled. They jogged off and returned with their horses and gentle horses for Bjorn and Agnetha.

Pauline led the tour skirting around the empty reflecting pool that had lots of leaves and dirt in it.

“We better shovel that out next,” Lily said and texted it to Grace to add to their list of things to do.

Agnetha nodded.

“So, the gardens are a bunch of terraces that wind back and forth all the way down to the Riding Arena,” Pauline said. “They all have irrigation pipes. Not the big ones like the grape fields above the ground, but smaller ones. But everything is broken. You can take the main road down to the Riding Arena that skirts the mountain and the gardens or you can take the winding path through the gardens that ends on the opposite side near the gate for the Golden Hills.”

Agnetha nodded.

Bjorn made passing comments about what the different areas of the garden used to be according to their research.

A chipmunk darted across their path holding some seeds in his cheeks and with distinctive stripes down his back.

Pauline winced. “As you can see, we have a chipmunk infestation.”

“It looks like there is a lot of work to be done,” Bjorn said.

“Roses,” Agnetha said shortly. “Lots of roses. Lilacs. Purple fountain grass. Maybe some white cloud grass or white pampas.”

“The Baroness we know likes purple,” Bjorn grinned. “It’s the official color of the family because of their access to red grapes to get it for dye.”

“The tannins,” Agnetha waved a hand.

“So, they could make purple dye too?” Lily asked.

“Birch makes an excellent reddish brown dye,” Bjorn nodded. “That’s how they added more red to the purple to get the lovely mulberries.”

“Ohhh,” Lily said. “Makes sense to use their natural resources around them.”

“Allium,” Agnetha murmured. “Glads are too much work if we’re doing roses. Foxgloves,” she nodded. “Definitely want a wild folly type feeling back here through the back. Lupines. Lisianthus, white and purple in one flower. Maybe Clematis to hide the corners. It’s a climber.”

Bjorn just looked fond.

“Lily of the Valley for the shady spaces. Vinca, they’re showy. The frost is long past so Queen Anne’s Lace won’t go amiss. Wild feeling again. Foam flowers for the shady areas near the clematis. But mostly, we’re going to want roses. Lots and lots of roses, they’re enough types for height and ground cover. Just want to break them up a bit back here.”

“You’re the expert,” Lily murmured.

They ended up near the riding arena close to the Iron Gate that lead to Golden Hills. Agnetha nodded her head. “I’ve got the feel for it.”

They escorted them back to the Manor by taking the road. Linda met them and so while Pauline and Lily went to take care of the horses, Linda led Agnetha and Bjorn to the library where she’d already laid out a bunch of books and blueprints of the gardens.

“You’re the first ones to ask in an age,” Linda said apologetically. “I hope that this is useful.”

“You’ve given us more than we could have hoped for,” Bjorn said with a smile.

“The gardens are well documented at least here in the Manor library,” Linda nudged her glasses. “If you have any questions or need more sources, please come find me.”

They both nodded but were already engrossed in the papers.

Linda left them there.

By the time the girls left to go back to Moorland that night, there were big piles of weeds and bracken that they didn’t know precisely what to do with in the garden spaces. (Tyra thought they should compost it somehow.) Their limbs were also quite sore. But they were hopeful.

What they didn’t know was that evening, Baroness Annabella Silverglade decided to inspect her stables and gardens to see what needed to be done herself.

And she was very impressed with what she saw of the work that had been done.

Very impressed indeed.

FOR THE ACCOMPANYING IMAGES PLEASE DO NOT REMOVE MY WATERMARK AND CONTACT INFORMATION. THANK YOU. I get it. Some of you might get excited and want to see this stuff in the game, especially the clothes, tack, and pets. However, the only way I want to see this in the game is if I get paid for it. If I see it in the game and I’m not paid for it, there will be hell to pay. You think I’m salty. I’d be angry. Personally, I’m not going to send this info to SSO. If you do, leave my contact information there! Don’t give them any excuses to steal.

Now, I’ll know you haven’t read this note if you leave me comments about how ‘salty’ I am about the game and if I hate it so much I should do something else. I am doing something else. It’s called Mystic Riders MMORPG Project. Mystic Riders however is a very baby phase game. You can check out our plans on the game dev blog. (Skills, Factions, Professions, Crafting, Mini-Games, 25+ horse breeds!) If you know anyone who would be interested and has money or contacts about game making, direct them to the blog.

#star stable #star stable online #sso #fanfic #star stable salt #short chapter #completely harmless #jorvik reimagined #silverglade reimagined #many nods to ruth westside #promise to an appendix post soon

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asexualbookbird · 5 years

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THE DARKEST MINDS BY ALEXANDRA BRACKEN ★★★★☆

When Ruby woke up on her tenth birthday, something about her had changed. Something frightening enough to make her parents lock her in the garage and call the police. Something that got her sent to Thurmond, a brutal government “rehabilitation camp.” She might have survived the mysterious disease that had killed most of America’s children, but she and the others emerged with something far worse: frightening abilities they could not control. Now sixteen, Ruby is one of the dangerous ones. When the truth comes out, Ruby barely escapes Thurmond with her life. She is on the run, desperate to find the only safe haven left for kids like her—East River. She joins a group of kids who have escaped their own camp. Liam, their brave leader, is falling hard for Ruby. But no matter how much she aches for him, Ruby can’t risk getting close. Not after what happened to her parents. When they arrive at East River, nothing is as it seems, least of all its mysterious leader. But there are other forces at work, people who will stop at nothing to use Ruby in their fight against the government. Ruby will be faced with a terrible choice, one that may mean giving up her only chance at having a life worth living.

Hey, look what I finally read! I added this when it first came out, and it’s been sitting on my shelf for a few years now, and I never got around to starting it. But now that I have, I can see what all the hype was about! It’s not quite your typical YA dystopian, but a lot of the tropes are still there. This is one of the better ones, up there with The Hunger Games, but with a different twist on the genre. A mysterious disease is killing children and leaving the rest with different kinds of psychic powers that the remaining adults have come to fear. It was different enough from other dystopians that I didn’t feel like I was reading the same book for the tenth time, but similar enough that it was easy to follow and figure out what was going to happen. An all around good read.

GOODREADS

It felt very similar to The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa, a girl on her way alone in this disease ridden world that wants to kill her, finding group of people looking for a Secret Safe Place, hiding a secret that could tear them all apart. I adored that series, so this wasn’t a problem for me. This book was a little more realistic, as it didn’t deal with vampires, but what really hit me was the parallels with everything going on in the world today. A government throwing kids in “camps”, saying it’s for their own good, lying about the conditions there, a president abusing his power and using loopholes to stay in office way longer than should be allowed. There were even walls put up on the northern and southern border of the US (though in this universe, that was Canada and Mexico’s doing, not the US). It was eerie to read, especially considering this book was published in 2012. Really says a lot about the world and its history. Overall, I did enjoy this, even the romance to some degree, but it just felt like something was missing and I can’t put my finger on what. I certainly didn’t like Clancy, but we weren’t supposed to, and the ending wasn’t a surprise, but I think that has more to do with my familiarity with the tropes rather than anything distinctly wrong with the book itself. I love Ruby’s character arc in this book, and I look forward to watching her grow even more, but it’s weird to think most of this book took place in the span of two weeks. I was left with a lot of questions, but I’m pretty sure at least some of them will be answered in the rest of the series. I really hope they don’t try to put too much science into it though, because I’ve noticed that’s where books tend to go wrong. I’m definitely interested in continuing the series, and would love to check out the movie at some point! This really was a well done book, and if you’re going to read any of the books from the YA dystopia boom, it should be this (and The Hunger Games for its commentary, but this was better written). It’s a lot of travel, but it doesn’t feel like a lot of travel. Things actually happen, there’s a sense of danger around every corner, and everyone works to trust each other as they grow together. I look forward to having some questions answered in the future, I want to know what’s going on in the rest of the world as the US falls apart.

#books #booklr #bookstagram #alexandra bracken #the darkest minds #book review #my review #ezra reads darkest minds #bookbird babbles

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mazzystargirl · 5 years

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do you have any good book recommendations?

ok sorry this took me so long to answer but i have so much i want to recommend!!! thank you for giving me an opportunity to rant abt books, anon!!!! i also know this is going to be long so i put all my recs under the cut :)

it’s likely if you’re on tumblr that you already know about the main tumblr books (like six of crows or all for the game etc) so i’m not going to waste time telling you that you should read them if you haven’t. you should. they’re good.

here are some lesser known books that i don’t see a ton of fan content for! in no particular order!!!

1. Jane, Unlimited by Kristin Cashore. this is an all around weird (in the best way!!) book tbh. it follows a girl named jane who visits her friend’s house on an island. it’s split into five stories, each one a different genre and based on a choice that jane made. it’s sort of hard to describe, but it’s seriously so brilliant. also jane is a bi girl if you’re into that!

2. The Summer of Jordi Perez by Amy Spalding. this is a lesbian rom-com! it’s about a girl named abby in los angeles who meets another girl (jordi perez) and they fall for each other. ITS SO CUTE UGH it’s full of really awesome friendship and romance that made me feel butterflies in my belly. ugh i love it so much.

3. Dear Rachel Maddow by Adrienne Kisner. this book made me cry a lot. i think it can be a really emotionally heavy book, but it’s also very cathartic to read. it follows a girl, brynn, who’s brother’s died and she is struggling with the aftermath of that. the thing i love about brynn is how much she really cares about everything. she’s my favorite type of heroine, someone who tries so hard and cares so much, but has a lot of trouble expressing it because of sadness and stuff. maybe i’m projecting. also, brynn’s a lesbian. i think you can probably see a theme here. tw//suicide attempt

4. We Are Okay by Nina LaCour. i’m not sure how popular this book is but it’s good, ok. don’t let anyone tell you nina lacour books are boring. it made me cry like hell. it’s about a girl named marin who goes to college across the country from where she lives after her grandfather dies. she isolates herself from everyone in her old life, and it’s such a beautiful story of family and friendship and finding yourself after you think you’re so lost you can never recover.

5. The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily M. Danforth. this book is amazing and not enough people have read it. i know you might have already heard of it but: follows a gay girl named cameron whose parents die and she navigates through being gay is montana in the 90s. highly, highly recommend if you haven’t read it! tw//conversion therapy

6. The Literary Works of Alice Oseman. she has a decent fanbase on this website, but just. read all her books. they’re so amazing. they’re all so realistic and indicative of the millennial/gen z experience in this day and age. highly, highly, highly recommend. her books are probably my favorites of all time!

7. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas. i know i said lesser known books, and this book is pretty popular, but ugh. this book. ugh this book is so, so, so good. it’s a must read! it’s about a girl named starr who is the witness to the murder of her friend khalil at the hands of the police. it has a very delicate exploration of relationships between the police and low-income black families. the core of the book is really about family and friendship and being strong in a time of hardship, and it’s very very touching and an extremely good piece of work. also it annoys me that there’s not more fanwork surrounding this book. i can’t draw but i wish i could JUST so i could draw starr and khalil!!! tw//character death

8. Release by Patrick Ness. this book follows a young gay boy, adam, through one day of his life, and it is a WEIRD day. there are some really insane supernatural elements, and it explores adam’s relationship with his friends, his family, his boyfriend, his ex-boyfriend, and more! it’s definitely on the heavier side, too. it’s sweet and sometimes really sad. it’s also such a beautiful book. patrick ness is SUCH a good writer ugh. tw//homophobia and sexual harassment

9. Whatever by S.J. Goslee. this book is SO funny ugh. it’s kind of wild but very cute. it’s about a boy named mike who realizes he’s bisexual! he’s a dumb stoner half the time but he drinks his respecting women and loving his friends juice so you end up adopting him halfway through the book. there are a lot of really awesome friendships and i love mike’s sister a lot too. tw//homophobia and biphobia

10. Evil Librarian by Michelle Knudsen. this book is also Very Funny. it’s about a girl named cynthia who realizes that her librarian is actually a demon from another dimension, and has to save her best friend annie from becoming his bride. it has such an awesome friend dynamic between cyn and annie, and also her two other friends diane and leticia! the romance between cyn and her love interest is also a very healthy and cute relationship that i love. plus the backdrop of musical theatre was also very cute because i love musical theatre lmao! there’s also a sequel and a third book coming out in august that i am Very Excited about!

11. The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken! an actually good apocalypse novel series! a whole thing happens that makes a bunch of kids have superpowers, and they’re sent to basically concentration camps, and they have to overthrow the leader. i love the main character ruby and also love the relationship between her and her friends, zu, chubs, liam, vida, and jude. three books in the series and one book of novellas.

12. Etiquette & Espionage by Gail Carriger. abt a girl named sophronia who goes to finishing school. the school ends up being a school for spies. chaos ensues. i seriously love this story so much. it’s set in a steampunk london, so lots of cool gadgets with the retro coolness of the victorian era. there are highwaymen, but they fly so they’re called flywaymen, and werewolves, and vampires, and a kid named vieve who is seriously such a delight. four books in the series.

13. The Female of the Species by Mindy McGinnis. this book is so insane. it’s about a girl named alex craft who gets revenge on the asshole who murdered her sister. it’s an examination of rape culture and all the shit that comes with being a girl in high school right now. tw//sexual and physical assault

14. Stranger Than Fanfiction by Chris Colfer. so i didn’t know the author was in glee, i just picked the book up because i thought the cover was cool. and yes, it is not a perfect book. but it is wild. it is crazy. it has a lot of heart. and that’s what matters. it’s funny and just kind of a fun trip to read. the plot kind of feels like fanfiction at times, but you know what. its stranger than that.

i hope you like these books anon!! they’re some that i really enjoyed and now i feel like i want to go back and read them again lmao.

#ask #anon #book recs

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static-teevee · 5 years

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okay okay okay okay mostly nnk2 and it’ll have spoilers,, this is Super long and a mess you guys don’t have to read it I just wanna Scream

so i got nnk2 for christmas and was like “okay cool” cause it was on my list but ive never been Super into nnk? just cause it was a game i never owned but watch a play through for YEARS ago and liked but only got about to where you get swaine (ithinkthatshisname) before getting busy and forgetting about it

and like true to me i spent over 30 hours on the game in a week, one of the days having 12 hours pooled into it. just cause i like?? everything about it

the characters could use fleshing out in bits but there’s dlc for that yeah?? i think?? and the diversity of the main cast is Lacking but i still enjoy every one of them. there’s not a single character i hate and if chapter seven didn’t turn out to be a Roland Plan and he actually DID betray Evan i would have probably dropped the game then and there

it’s one of my few games where i didn’t spoil anything for myself along the way, save for small hints that were inevitable as i snooped around the fandom for stuff and that made my experience So Good i need to do that more cause that’s what i did for the persona games and it’s probably what i love them so much now

ofc mr fucking president stole my heart the Moment he was protective towards Evan so,, can i Talk about how much i love-hate the exicution of his character

cause he’s supposed to be Cool™️and Stoic™️ or whatever which i can see but also i associate with silent protagonists n stuff. I think of him like a stern dad who obviously wants to get shit done but cares for the people around him very openly. in flavortext (i think that’s what it’s called) he’s constantly singing compliments to Evan and supporting him and it’s Cute and Good

and as fine and dandy as it is i really wish we got to see more about his past. we get a cutscene before fighting Doloran w his son that’s mentioned like,, Two times outside of that. no mention of a wife from what i remember either. and w the cutscene he’s Obviously got some survivor’s guilt or something but Never Talks About It and like,, let him Expresss let him Emote

I wanna say stuff about the other mcs but now that i think about it they Severly lack the development Roland and Evan have, which is a crime >:/ maybe things will be revealed in sidequests or something but for now I’m :/

also i Love that Evan is the main character. it being a child just,, works really well. While with Roland we can relate because of his lack of worldly knowledge, Evan wants to see everything in a good light no matter what and it rubs off on you tbh. idk its hard to explain but im glad he’s the Main character

and uhhhh Why did they wait until 2/3 through the game to give us Bracken. you can’t pull a Haru you just. can’t. it doesn’t give the character enough time to settle, especially with the following chapter being almost entirely linear with Roland in DDD so we don’t even see her. She seems super interesting and i wanna know more but we just?? Don’t get enough of her it’s a tragity

We spend SO much time in Goldpaw and that leaves Hydropolis, Broadleaf, and DDD like unworthy contenders. Like we don’t even Get to a new place until I think chapter 5? idk exactly but it really felt like all of Goldpaw was too long. The music got really grating

SPEAKING of music i love 90% of it. Obviously some songs get repetitive which leaves the score lower but very rarely did I dislike a song. Prime example is that one plays during the Trial of Kings or whatever with the ticking clock. That was stressful as FUCK

as much as i like that nnk2 Wasn’t a direct sequel to nnk kinda?? Wish we could’ve Seen some characters from the first one. It’s obviously been years but what if,, it hadn’t been that long and you could see like adult Ester (??? Whatever her name is?) running around. that’d be neat.

idk idk I’m running out of things I really really really like this game despite all the negatives I said. sorry it got Rediculously long I’ll edit it on my computer later so there’s a read more

#screaming snails #long #long post #no tags we die like men

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