#ooooh my cringe be upon you

[tsunael]

“… no wounds, nor the presence of any poisonous substances.”

Tsuna stood in the threshold of the sick bay, twirling the rounded gem hanging from her horn’s tip. It was Kan-E-Senna who bid her welcome when she arrived, looking thoroughly out-of-place in Twelveswood furs when surrounded by nothing but heat and sandstone.

The room smelled of death and disinfectant. The siege of Ala Mhigo had left it wanting in supplies, but certainly not in bodies. Tsuna’s expression merely darkened.

“Is he well?” She asked, foregoing the pleasantries of seeing a familiar face.

If Kan-E-Senna was slighted by the lack of manners, she did not show it, instead she merely shook her head on the negative, softly inclining to the prone subject of their musings. “His condition has yet to change,” she said, trailing off as if hesitant to unveil the situation, “... Though, I do not expect it to.”

Meaning: he hadn’t awoken since the collapse. The chirurgeon had advised against moving him so soon until they find the cause, despite the Scion's fervent wish to see him back to The Rising Stones for succor.

Tsuna hinged not on that of which she already knew, but the fact that it would continue.

“Why!?" she barked. "If you know something– tell me! Please.” There would have been a cutting edge to Tsuna’s voice had she not warbled as she said it. The padjal did not deserve her misplaced ire, but she was the only wall she could scream her uncertainty to. “All of these alchemists and chirurgeons– all the testing– what were they all for?”

Kan-e-Senna sighed, soft. “I myself examined Thancred. Reach out as I may, I could not sense in him the spark of life that is his soul.”

Tsuna brought her hands to her chest, curling them in just to hold something as she stared, suddenly breathless. Who could have possibly done such a feat? No mortal of their era held such power-- to pluck a soul from an unwilling body should not be possible. Her mind swam with questions and caveats– what came from her lips instead was denial. “That can't be true.”

The Seedseer’s patience was vast, and her empathy, boundless. “You have inherited A-Towa-Cant’s will. I bid you to seek him out yourself, though I fear you will arrive at the selfsame conclusion.”

Tsuna wanted to protest, to argue she held no such proclivity to aethersight, nor academic knowledge of aetherology, but the moment her thoughts drifted to the padjali man who first gave her the pearlescent stone did it begin to warm her chest. Like a heart’s beat it pulsed strong and true to remind her of what she was.

It moved her to act. She crept to Thancred’s side where he slept, and lowered herself to sit upon the edge of the mattress. The spell began as soon as she lifted her left palm but ilms from his chest. There was a small apology for the intrusion of what she was about to do, and then a familiar warmth began to ripple through her. It reverberated up her spine and spread to her hand, and then she began her search for him.

Aether moved from the earth beneath her boots, out through the tips of her fingers, slowly probing for a sign.

His lungs yet moved with breath, but they filled so shallow that it should not have been enough to sustain him. She closed her eyes to the feeling welling within her, concentrating harder as she rounded his heart. It, too, beat with the rhythm of life, and carried out its biological function of moving the humours as it was designed, but that was all. There was something missing. The spark that Kan-E-Senna spoke of was simply not there.

Before her was a body that was moving on its automated course, nothing more and nothing less. It was a vessel; a husk of a man.

Tsuna’s meditation ended, and she withdrew her aether with a pained gasp. She felt her eyes prick with the emotion settling thickly in her throat. It was just as Kan-E-Senna said, and she hadn't needed a crystal to tell her as much.

“I’m sorry, Seedseer,” Tsuna finally whispered. “I should not have doubted you. Thank you for looking after him.” Tsuna looked first to his folded hands, and then to the padjal at the foot of his sickbed who smiled softly in equal parts brief and rueful.

“I should have come sooner. I’ve been trying to find the time with everything happening when I should have been making time for you-– and for him-–”

“Tsuna, please.” Kan-E-Senna shocked her first with her own name, and then talked her down with all the gentleness reserved for a fretting child. “Although he is stable there is naught else you can do for him now but to carry on. There is still more I need to speak on regarding the nature of his condition, but I believe it is something every Scion that was affected should hear…”

Why the lot of them doubled over with pain, why they heard a voice, and why it was only Thancred succumbed to the call.

The padjal excused herself to make contact with the others, and Tsuna was left with such information and her morbid company. A part of her was glad for it, for the tears and hand wringing were able to begin in earnest without fear of coming apart in front of her esteemed mentor. She took a shivery little breath, cursing the Gods as hot tears escaped her eyes, and carved a wet path down her face. They wetted her lap, and she could do naught to stem the flow.

As much as she hated him, he did not deserve this fate. After all he had done, and more, Nymeia had no reason to spin his thread in such a way. Moreover, the subject he asked to broach with her before the Alliance’s meeting would be left unknown. What had he wanted to speak to her about? She ruminated over a chewed lip. Had he known something?

Thancred looked as if he were asleep– and for all accounts– he was. He was asleep, but he did not dream. Out of three long years of knowing, it was the first time she had seen him vulnerable. It was the first time she was able to look upon him in the way she was meant to.

He looked younger, she noted, when bereft of his customary scowl. The lines on his face had softened, and for once he looked to be his age of thirty and four.

Softly, she sniffled, and reached out her hand again, hesitating on the last ilm. Her fingers curled and retracted in finding the motion improper, for she was not searching for his spark this time but instead to sate her own wonder. Gently, respectfully, she brushed the soft hair from his face, moving to cup the hard line of his jaw.

His skin was as ice– and it was as she feared. She entertained a living corpse. Tsuna took her hand away, burned for her curiosity, to finally leave him to his peace.

She was going to find the thing that was doing this

and she was going to break its heart.

#lmao hi #ooooh my cringe be upon you #he looks like a wet cat and I don't think these came out very well but whatever #I've been thinkin a lot about kan e senna lately because I love her and I remembered she was the one that found out what was wrong #personally I think tsuna should backhand mr. exarch shrimply because She Would Do That and also It Would Be Very Funny #and he'd probably cry about it afterwards-- oh :( #my writing (derogatory) #gpose #ffxiv spoilers

[loveharlow]

WICKED

PAIRING ‧₊˚ JJ Maybank x Fem!Reader

SYNOPSIS ‧₊˚ [1.6k] Even though they called it quits months ago, JJ and Y/N just can't seem to leave each other alone, no matter who gets caught in the crossfire.

WARNING(S) ‧₊˚ swearing, they're both assholes in this, sexual references, mentions of/use of alcohol, toxic relationship, mild violence (drink throwing and literally one punch), slut shaming, mild dark themes

A/N ‧₊˚ Ooooh shiiit. I don't where this idea came from but I just needed more Dark!Reader in my life where the reader is this self-serving, bitch because I rarely ever see it. Also DISCLAIMER: I don't support that (unless necessary...), I'm joking! (Or am i?)

 ˗ˏˋ jj masterlist  ˎˊ˗

YOU WERE LAUGHING INTERNALLY. JJ Maybank had truly lost his mind if he thought the girl currently planted in his lap had even the smallest chance of making you jealous. Unfortunately for him, he was oh-so sorely mistaken. You knew who the blonde was the second you saw her. She’d dated half the guys on the island and was a regular touron.

Last you heard they were dating, JJ and her. Summer fling type thing. 

You were loitering by a tree, sipping on whatever was in the red solo cup in your hand, wearing the one dress you knew drove the blonde twenty feet away from you crazy. It was a birthday gift from him.

You were sure you were staring — glaring, more accurately. But you didn't care.

“Don’t do anything stupid.” An assertive feminine voice spoke from beside you. The slight brush of light brown hair in your peripheral revealing the girl to you without requiring you to turn your head.

Chuckling, the sound echoing into your cup, you tilted your head up to continue staring daggers into the side of JJ’s head as you spoke to my best friend. “I won’t, Kie.”

“You say that every time and you still find some way to do something so…”

Raising one perfect eyebrow, a sly smirk edging it’s way onto your lips, you made some move to face her. “So what?”

She had a deadpan expression. “So you.”

You feigned hurt, cringing as she rolled her eyes and took a sip from her own cup. "Don't be such a downer. I can be a good girl for one night."

She simply scoffed and you could see her shake her head in the corner of your eye as she let her back fall against the tree as well. Your mood dampened as you swished the alcohol in your cup around while watching the girl plant kisses on JJ's cheek.

Your lips curling into a disgusted snarl as you made a gagging sound. "Oh, fuck me." I muttered, repulsed. Kie let out a sigh as I tried to mask the anger that was bubbling.

Kiara knew very well of the dynamic between JJ and yourself. You had been dating on and off for about 2 years but this break-up had lasted longer than the rest, bordering on three months now. However, she knew just how tightly you each other wrapped the other's finger.

You loved each other but were both so terrible at showing it. So you decided if he wanted to have his little fun with this moron on his lap for the night then fine. But at the end of the day, your mind reminded you that it’s always going to be you and him.

So, when the touron in question was stumbling off of his lap and over to the keg that wasn’t too far away, your own cup was downed, tossed, and forgotten. Abandoned to the sand as you straightened out your dress and Kiara made protests behind you, reaching out to grasp onto your upper arm before she was gently shrugged off.

Turning back to her with a mischievous smile that told her everything she needed to know, you winked and set off in the direction of your ex-boyfriend who was finally sitting alone.

Propping yourself into the chair next to him, you could see his jaw clench before he even looked at you.

You turned so you was facing him — one leg crossed over the other as your elbows rested upon the arm of the chair and your face rested in your palms. “Why so tense? Are you not having a good time?”

He now had a cigarette in his hand as he brought it up to his lips. He knew you couldn't stand the smell of them.

You admired him from the side for a few moments and drew your attention behind him. About fifteen feet away, his little 'girlfriend' was struggling to figure out how to use the keg.

If she was anyone else, you would help. But as of right now? She was kind of stepping on your toes. Not that she had a chance of whisking JJ away from you. Never. She was just in the way, making things more difficult than usual, and quite frankly, you wanted her gone.

So, she could struggle. You couldn’t care less. There are other poor souls at this party that would help her out, you were sure.

Averting your gaze away from her and back to JJ, you noticed something. Reaching your hand up to his hair when he suddenly gripped your nimble wrist just as you'd pinched the object between your fingers.

“What the hell are you doing?” Tilting your head down and plastering an unamused expression on your features, you struggled against his grip to bring your hand down and into his line of vision, a small brown leaf clasped between your fingers. Then, he was rolling his eyes and releasing your wrist while you made to throw the leaf to the ground.

Suddenly growing bored of this company-keeping game, your head rested in your hands as you whistled and looked around, ultimately deciding to take initiative. Reaching over and snatching the disgusting stick from his fingers, you threw it to the sand and stepped on it as you rose from your own chair to round his and plant yourself on his lap.

He spat your name, a hard expression on his face. Jaw tense, veins popping in his neck.

“For someone who wants me to go away so bad, you seem to enjoy my company.” You spoke cockily, motioning to his hands that were already subconsciously grasping your hips.

“Why do you always do this?” He spat angrily, looking into your eyes that were wide — innocent. Your hands were over his shoulders and playing with the hairs at the back of his neck. “Why do you make it so hard for me to move on?” He hissed, his blue eyes raging with a passionate fire behind them.

“Why do you make me chase you?” You snarled, your seductive nature quickly flipping into one of frustration as your gentle touch switched to one where your hands were fisting into the back of his hair to pull his gaze further up. Your eyes setting into a stone-cold glare as you clenched your teeth. 

However, no matter how negative of an emotion you were displaying, your face always held some kind of innocence to it. Maybe that's what gave you the upper hand in this whole ordeal — the fact that he, nor anyone else, could ever tell what you were really feeling. Because that means you were a little less predictable than you thought.

You truly hated when JJ had to see this side of you — the part of you that lived and breathed for him. The part of you that wouldn't let him go.

But for some reason, you felt that, tonight? He deserved it all.

“You’re jealous. And possessive. And I don’t know how to handle you.” He gritted through his teeth, his own hands now on your thighs as he gripped onto them harshly, his short nails leaving moon-shaped marks in his wake.

“You’re wrong.” You said softly, your demeanor doing a complete 180 as your deadly glare went from that to one of innocence. Your fists loosening in his blonde locs and trailing back down his neck all the way down to his chest, stopping right above the waistband of his shorts. Leaning in so your lips were centimeters from his ear. “You're the only one who can." You whispered, not giving him a moment to reply as your lips dove for his neck, leaving harsh, biting kisses in the crook of it.

You could hear him biting back moans, his neck flexing under your lips as his grip on your thighs tightened, a burning sensation starting to make itself known between your legs and an erection growing prominent underneath you.

“Do you love me, JJ?” You spoke tantalizingly, even though you knew the answer. 

“I do.” He croaked out, leaning back to give you better access as you continued to leave kisses. “I shouldn’t, but I do.”

“Then say it.”

...

“I love you.”

Smiling and cupping his cheek. “I know.” You remarked, leaning in to rest your forehead against his own. "Now, get rid of that Ms. Lips-A-Lot before I do it myself." You muttered lowly before roughly clashing your lips with his — the taste of alcohol, fruit, and cigarettes remaining ever present in the exchange. Biting your bottom lip to separate it from the top as he pulled your frame closer, if even possible. 

You started to slowly grind yourself against him, earning a guttural yet low moan into the kiss as he slightly bucked his hips. Enough movement to get friction between you two but not to be noticed by the entire party. Though, if someone did happen to notice, it wouldn't stop either of you.

“What the hell?”

Breaking the kiss slowly, the blonde girl that JJ had waltzed in here with was now standing near you both. A thin and barely visible string of saliva still connecting you to him as your hair framed your face, seeing as it was held down to hide the smirk on your face as the girl was looming over both of you, fuming.

Your only goal was to stake your claim and get her to back off by any means necessary. What ever happened afterward would be none of your concern as long as she was out of the way, and soon. You didn't care if that meant her leaving the island or deciding to stay in her hotel the rest of her trip, wallowing in a summer heartbreak.

So as far as tonight goes, your job was done. You weren't going to taunt her or twist the knife any further. She'd seen everything she needed to and everything you wanted her to.

Getting off of JJ’s lap, he'd tried to hold you in place but ultimately let you go. You made no moves to acknowledge the girl as you wiped your bottom lip and set off back to where you were moments prior, also where Kiara happened to still be standing and staring at me with a look of disapproval. 

You were a few feet away, at most, before you heard the girl mutter something under her breath. 

“Fucking slut.” JJ must’ve sensed what you was going to do before you did it because you don’t even recall turning around, hearing him begin to say “Don’t”, before you was snatching the girl’s own cup out of her hand, splashing it in her face and reeling your free hand back, swinging it forward to sock her in the nose, the harsh connect making an audible crunching sound. 

The party's attention was stolen for a few seconds as 'oohs' and curses rang out through the crowd and the girl stumbled on the sand.

You weren't going to take it much further than that. You spent too much time on your hair and outfit to mess it up for some girl who wouldn’t be on this island after summer was over. So as, what you presume were her friends attended to her bleeding nose and shouted obscenities at you, you threw the cup to the ground and turned right back in the direction you were headed in the first place.

But not before stopping next to JJ, who had his jacket that was previously slung over his chair on his lap to hide his very visible boner, and planting a hand on his forearm. “Door’s open. Parents are gone for the week.” You proclaimed, walking off after flashing the blonde a smile. 

A/N: Touron: Fucking slut

Y/N: You raise the phone, take a fast step back, step forward, step back, and swing!

LMAO IF YOU GET THE REFERENCE IM SO SORRY^

General taglist;@livlaughquinn 

JJ Maybank Taglist; @ronnieissupermegafoxyawesomehot @maybankslover 

feedback is appreciated! thanks for reading.

©loveharlow

#jj maybank x you #jj maybank imagine #jj maybank #obx jj #jj maybank x reader #obx jj x reader #rudy pankow x reader #rudy outer banks #rudy pankow #obx #obx fanfiction #obx netflix #jj mayback x reader #jj mayback imagine #jj maybank fluff #jj maybank angst #jj maybank x y/n

[wilderlingdev]

Ooooh how about 1 and 21q from the ask list?

heyo!!!

1) is there a story you’re holding off on writing for some reason?

yup! though it's is a linear, non-interactive story instead of a game. it's... a bit like, uh, that series that had tons of fairy tales? (once upon a time i think? can you tell i barely watch tv shows) but in a high fantasy setting with a somewhat darker tone (not much though, i'm staying faaaaaaar away from grimdark or dark fantasy). main character is inspired by snow white, other important characters by sleeping beauty, red riding hood, etc. though i must say it isn't really a retelling (i'm basically just borrowing some elements/imagery/tropes lol) .

i'm holding off on writing it for now because i think it has the potential to be quite long & complex, and i'm still not sure if i want to go down that path or try to make it simpler/shorter. it has a lot of tropes i love, it's probably the most self-indulgent story i've ever come up with and i love the characters. but every time i think about it i just thing "oh wow this is too big" and nope out of there lol

21) what do you think when you read over your older work?

it depends on how old it is honestly. i've been writing for over 15 years at this point, but i wrote mostly in my native language until i was 18 or 19. so i feel like had a bit of a soft reset when i switched to english, which was made even worse because i've written way less in the past 8-7 years than in the 7-8 before that. my older, in-portuguese stuff from when i was a teenager still makes me cringe a bit but it's like... the right kind of bad since it's just not mature enough, i think. my older stuff from when i just started writing in english, on the other hand, makes me cringe real bad because it's awful. portuguese has a very different flow than english (that was in fact the main reason that led me to start reading, then writing, in english - english translated to portuguese just doesn't feel right most of the time, imo) and i struggled hard because of that when i just started. today it's much easier because i read mostly in english, so i've got a better feel for it. still far from perfect, though, i spend sooooo long trying to make my writing feel less stilted in english lol xD

a few months ago i actually unearthed one of the first drafts i wrote in english and it's so bad it hurts my eyes, but i love the story & plan on rewriting it alongside briarheart.

thank you so much for the ask!!!

#i actually set up a writing blog a few days ago #but its mostly empty now bc *gestures to briarheart* #thank you again!!! #replies

[legacies-game]

okayy soo how would the ROs react if they accidently found MC crying and in a sad state alone? Would they directly attempt to comfort MC or like pretend they didn't see and cheer them up in other ways? 👉👈

I'm a sucker for soft moments like these 👀

(I really loved the demo btw! ❤️)

(Ty! 😊) Also ooooh 🤔 I’m going to envision this as crushing stage and while they’re on the road. May have to get a bit creative with Tenebrosus since they don’t travel with you, but that’s fine!

Eilert/Eira:

They had returned to camp a bit sooner than the rest, preparing for a night of respite and setting up the fire whilst M went foraging and C took care of the hunting. There was so much to be done: Sharpening their weapons, taking inventory, making sure the perimeter of the camp was safe from the beasts of the wilds. M insisted the magical barrier they had constructed was foolproof, but…well… E was never one to underestimate the creativity of fools.

A faint sound had caught their attentions, the tinder they’d been working to light still held between their fingers, unawares of its burning embers until it singed the tip of their thumb. Letting out a low hiss, E dropped the ember into the fireplace, turning their attention back to the sound. It was so quiet, you’d barely notice but… sniffling? From… MC’s tent. A million scenarios, most of them worrisome, flew through their mind as they crept closer. Gingerly, as if both afraid to discover what lay beyond and whatever is beyond being afraid of them, E opened the tent flap.

The light of the fading daylight spilled through, illuminating the source. MC, huddled in a corner of the tent and… crying? A moment of fear spread through E’s features as they checked the other over for any injuries, but finding none, their green gaze drifting back to their face. “MC, are you alright?” they asked with the sort of gentleness they seemed to reserve only for you. They were partially afraid of invading your space, looking at you for some sort of confirmation that you were okay with it before entering further, taking a seat next to you and wiping away your tears. They had some time yet before the others returned to camp.

“Let it out,” they murmured gently, offering a small, understanding smile. “You’ll feel better once you do.”

Muzai/Maza:

Offering a self-satisfied harrumph, M looked over the protective barrier they’d placed over the perimeter of camp with pride. Truly, they never ceased to out-do themselves, though their expression deflated just a touch at the thought of E nagging them about getting too cocky. Something, something, pride before the fall blah blah blah.

They didn’t have to return to camp for a while yet, anyhow. Along with the barrier, they’d managed to forage nearby for a collection of wild berries and crab apples, sitting neatly within their make-shift collection basket. (Really, it was just the hood of their cape but, hey, at least M wasn’t stuffing the berries in their pockets. The juices would ruin the nice embroidery, anyway.) They began scouting for a suitable place to rest a while before returning, maybe even a stream to wash out their findings in— instead all they managed to find was… you. Crying as quietly as you could manage behind the trunk of a rather large tree.

“MC?” M asked, tone less cocky than it usually is and instead rather… surprised, if a bit worried. They approached as though you were a rabbit they were scared of chasing off, but finding you otherwise unaffected by their presence, M looked at the forest floor a bit forlornly… Mushy, wet leaves and an ungodly amount of moss. With a silent cringe, M unceremoniously plopped themselves down upon the forest floor next to you. “You’re lucky you’re cute,” they murmured, leaning forward and caressing your cheek, their thumb collecting and stray tears in the process. “Mind sharing your troubles? I cannot magically make you smile, I’m afraid— but I can do my best.”

Cihrue/Cihre:

Bow at the ready, C was… walking? No, no… stalking would be more precise. Yes, stalking through the forest in search of their dinner. Well, they were until they stumbled upon you, crying into a stream— the sound of it masked out by the running water. In truth… they’d been there for about five minutes, agonizing over what they ought to do. What could they do? They were absolute garbage at comforting anyone and they knew it. Perhaps you wanted to be alone, anyway? Thus, they hid in a rather large bush agonizing over their choices.

Until you caught them. “C?” They heard your voice call to them, the tips of their ears going scarlet at having been caught. A part of them felt their heart ache at how defeated you sounded.

Standing from their spot, they fleetingly made eye contact before approaching, slinging the bow across their back as their hands clenched and unclenched. “Er, I happened to… come across you by accident,” they admitted lamely, half expecting you to tell them to get lost or something. When you didn’t, they glanced back at you curiously— seeing you struggle to keep your own emotions in check in their presence. It was a valiant effort, but one they would rather you not have to make. With great hesitance, they reached their hand out before placing it on your shoulder— as much as they could manage without their heart giving out as they looked down at the ground. “I won’t tell anyone, you can be yourself when I am around.”

Tenebrosus:

Oh, they were perfectly aware they shouldn’t be here— but the chance to see what they were up against was too good to pass up. Besides, disguised as they were, who would notice a random fox was the god of chaos? Perhaps a fox was a bit cliche, but at least they weren’t something more obvious like a raven or a snake.

Trotting into this simple little camp like they owned the place was easy enough— the three other heirs being absent as Tenebrosus could not sense their magic. One was here though, they reckoned, the clock calling to them like a siren’s song. Weaving through tents pitched up in various states of quality and effort, the god darted through the flaps of one tent— beelining where their senses told them their goal was.

The watch, so close… achingly close— just another step and they could snatch it within their jaws and—

Sobbing? Their ears twitched towards the source, the Heir of Time, curled up in a corner of the tent looking so small, nothing like the foe that had gone toe to toe with the god of chaos more than once at this point. It was borderline pathetic, though what sliver of a conscience Tenebrosus had left made them feel… guilty? Strange. They chanced a step closer, then another, crouched so low to the ground as they hoped not to be seen. It seemed the Heir did not care about the animal invading their tent.

This would not do. Perhaps in a momentary lapse of judgement, a sliver of insanity… Tenebrosus sat themselves in their fox-state next to the Heir’s lap, resting their head upon a knee and ears twitching upon hearing them gasp quietly at the arrival. A moment of confusion, Tenebrosus tensing as they wondered if the Heir would toss them out of the tent but then… a hand, caressing their fur and scratching behind their ears. They didn’t much care for it, but they allowed the touch anyway as it seemed to stop their tears. Laesis and Esone would never let them live this down if they saw this… but perhaps Tenebrosus could enjoy this for a few fleeting moments before returning to reality.

#ask #ROs #E #M #C #T #Tenebrosus #snippet #may have gone a bit overboard #but I saw a specific set of scenes in my head and had to write them out

[trashyswitch]

How Does a Skeleton Work Exactly?

The Sequel to 'Can a Skeleton be Ticklish?'.

Arial had been tickled by some of the sides a couple weeks back, and was now playing a casual card game. But things quickly get competitive and unfair. Virgil eagerly decides to use his new knowledge on Arial and her love for tickling to tease her. Janus and Remus quickly join in and ticklish chaos breaks loose.

This sequel was suggested by @smileheart110. Here you go! And of course, please let me know if I got your character wrong or inaccurate. I will happily fix it for you.

I hope you enjoy!

Arial was sitting at the table with the dark sides and playing Spoons. Remus was being a bit of an evil cheater, and Arial was growing determined to catch him red-handed. Not literally though...That would be awkward…

“Look at how fast I’m going…So speedy...” Janus said with no expression. Arial looked over at Janus, and bursted out laughing: Janus was desperately trying to move a bunch of the cards over to Remus, while more cards piled up on top of the pile he was sorting through. It was an endless pile and you could tell, Janus was having none of it.

Arial was so close to getting all four Jacks in her hand. She was quickly shuffling through to find the last one. 5 heart, 10 spade, 7 spade, King diamond, Ace heart, 2 club-

Janus quickly grabbed a spoon first. Virgil, who immediately noticed him, grabbed a spoon next. Arial looked up, and grabbed the last spoon by the handle. But Remus had grabbed the end of the same spoon!

“No! It’s mine!” Remus yelled.

“I grabbed it first!” Arial shot back. “Let go!”

“Only if you let go~” Remus teased.

Virgil summoned himself some popcorn. “Let’s see how long this goes for.”

“12 seconds? Or 12 years?” Janus asked.

Virgil chuckled at that. “How about 5 minutes?”

“Remus you’re being ridiculous!” Arial yelled.

Janus wheezed. “And Arial’s not being ridiculous whatsoever.”

“Yeah Re- HEY!” Arial shouted. “How dare! Why don’t you fix this instead of making fun of us.”

Janus threw his hands up in the air. One of his hands had his own spoon in it. “Hey now...It’s not like I grabbed the spoon first and started this cycle or anything…”

“Yeah, you started it. So finish it.” Arial shot back at Janus.

“Fine.” Janus leaned back and took a handful of Virgil’s popcorn. Then, he started to obnoxiously chew.

Arial groaned. “You’re not doing anything!” She reacted.

Janus lifted up his hand full of popcorn. “Yes I am. I’m eating popcorn.” Janus replied, his mouth somewhat full.

Arial growled and kicked Janus’s foot under the table.

Virgil looked up and crossed his arms. “One of you could easily resolve this by letting go of the spoon. It’s just a game.” Virgil mentioned.

“Yeah! A game I’m determined to win!” Arial shot back.

Remus chuckled and smirked at her. “A little reminder that you’re only made of bone.” Remus mentioned as he poked her forearm. “I could easily break it.” Remus told her.

Arial widened her eyes. “You would’t...” She warned.

Virgil widened his eyes and frowned. “Remus, no.”

“Oooooh, but Remus yes!” Remus replied.

“If you so much as crack my arm, I am going to kick my bony toes right into your crotch.” Arial threatened.

Virgil and Janus both made pain-filled reactions. Virgil made a cringe-filled hiss, while Janus squished his face and muttered a low “Ooooooh...Yikes.”

Janus crossed his arms and cleared his throat. “Remus, breaking her arm would not benefit anyone. It’s an unnecessarily painful thing to intentionally do to someone, especially because of a card game. You would hurt her greatly, and she’ll hate you throughout the healing process.” Janus warned.

Remus shrugged his shoulders. “I guess you’re right.”

“On top of that, we would be down a player for the rest of the afternoon...and the rest of the month.” Janus added. “And we totally DeSpIsE when Arial is over for game night.” Janus mentioned.

Arial smiled and covered her face. “Awww!”

“Alright alright! I get it. No breaking her bone.” Remus said back. “I wasn’t actually gonna do it. It was just a threat. Just like how Arial threatened to turn my balls into smushed meatballs with her foot.” Remus added.

“Alright Remus we get it.” Virgil muttered.

Then, Virgil looked at Arial and smirked a little. “Breaking her bones is off the table. But you do bring up a good point, Janus…” Virgil stood up and walked behind Arial. “She does feel many things despite looking like she doesn’t have nerves.” Virgil added with a hint of evil mischief showing up in his voice.

Arial widened her eyes and grew worried. “Whaaat are you planning…” Arial warned.

“Nothing, I swear.” Virgil replied. “I’m just-”

“Liar! You’re gonna sabotage my victory!” Arial yelled.

Virgil shook his head and lifted her up by the armpits. “I’m just picking you up.”

Arial blinked and looked down a little, confused and tense. “Why are you-”

Arial suddenly squeaked and lifted her knees up to her chest. Virgil’s smirk grew wider. “What? A little ticklish?” He asked as he skittered his pinkies on her bony armpit. Arial laid her head against her left shoulder and started to grow a lopsided smile. “Vihihirge- NOHO!”

“Ooooh...What an unexpected turn of events…” Janus reacted softly.

“Whaaat? I’m just holding you, I swear.” Virgil reacted calmly.

“Nohoho yohohohou’re nahahat! Yohohohou’re tihihicklihihing mehehe with yohohour nihimble fihihihingehehers!” Arial reacted.

Virgil hummed in almost a hurt kind of tone, and looked at his pinky. “Are they really that nimble?” Virgil asked.

Arial nodded her head.

Remus laughed at that. “Have you seen your own fingers, sweet pea? You’ve got the most nimble fingers out of all of us!” Remus reacted as he grabbed Arial’s ring finger. “Just look at these! They have no meat on-”

Remus ended up pulling a bit too hard, causing Arial’s full finger to fall right off the joint. Arial widened her eyes as she saw only her ring finger’s knuckle left on her hand. “You pulled-”

Virgil let out a loud shout and dropped Arial onto the ground. He fled backwards as quickly as he could, and covered his mouth. “REMUS YOU IDIOT!”

Remus yelped and dropped the finger and the spoon. The moment her finger smacked on the ground, Arial grunted and closed an eye. “Ow…” Arial knelt down and picked up her finger and the spoon. “Guys it’s-”

“Why did you do that?! SHE CAN’T REATTACH THAT NOW!” Virgil shouted. “NOT WITHOUT A DOCTOR!”

Remus put his hands up in surrender. “I’m sorry! I didn’t know her nimble fingers were capable of falling off that easily!” Remus reacted back.

“She’s a skeleton. It’s not like she has muscles or skin on her fingers. If she did, her fingers wouldn’t pop off as easily from a light pull.” Janus added.

“You think I don’t know that?!” Remus yelled back at Janus.

“We need to call 911 now!” Virgil shouted as he whipped out his phone.

“GUYS!”

Everyone stopped yelling and turned to the source of the overpowering voice. Arial had her finger flipped up at them. But...it wasn’t the middle finger. It was the ring finger!

Wait...How did the ring finger get back onto her hand?!

Virgil was the first to point at the finger. “How-”

Arial smiled. “It’s okay. Removing the joint doesn’t hurt me.” Arial demonstrated by removing the finger from her knuckle again. It didn’t even make a pop sound like bone joints normally do when they separate slightly. Arial showed them every angle of her separated digit. “Not only that:” Arial curled her finger in as well, and uncurled it with no trouble despite it still being separated from her hand. “I can move it too. Weird, right?” Arial added.

Virgil was visibly tense upon seeing the digit move on its own like it was from a horror game. Virgil looked like he was actually gonna scream again, but quickly covered his own mouth with his hand.

Janus had calmed down and even started to smile. “Interesting. Logan totally wouldn’t experiment on you for hours if you told him.” Janus joked.

Arial chuckled at that and reattached the finger. “That’s not the only joint I can detach…” Arial gently pulled on her hand and watched with a smile as the hand and wrist bits detached from her lower forearm. Arial held up her hand and waved at them with her 4 fingers. “Cool, right?”

Remus was ecstatic! “Can I hold the hand?! Please please please please PRETTY PLEEEEAAAASE?” Remus begged.

Arial burst out laughing and handed her free hand to him. Remus felt the hand excitedly, and manipulated it carefully. Arial clenched her teeth slightly to prevent from giggling. His small pokes and prods tickled her a little.

She mentally let out a breath of relief when Remus moved onto creating symbols with her hand. “Look!” Remus started showing off the middle finger he had made from her hand with clear pride in his eyes. “It’s a boney fuck you!” Remus declared.

Janus let out a breath of relief. “I thought you were gonna say something else…”

Arial laughed at Remus’s joking around. But her laughter quickly halted as she felt herself get lifted up. It was Virgil! “Up we go, you little trickster.” Virgil declared.

Arial giggled and wrapped her arms around Virgil. “Am I really that humerus?” Arial asked.

Virgil raised an eyebrow and grew a grin. “Think you’re such a witty bone-fied genius?” Virgil asked.

“Tibia-honest, yes.” Arial replied.

“That’s it!” Virgil threw Arial onto the couch. Arial laughed at his unusual reaction as she landed on the soft cushions. But all her laughter paused the moment Virgil grabbed her ankle. “Since I know your joints can be harmlessly pulled off you, I can do this:'' Virgil removed Arial’s foot and ran away with it. Arial let out a super high-pitched shriek and reached out. “HEY! YOU MEANIE- OHOHO FAHAHAHAHA!” Arial immediately fell back laughing hysterically as her foot was attacked mercilessly.

“Nimble fingers, and flat feet! What a fun mix!” Virgil reacted. Then, Virgil pointed to Janus and Remus. “Any of you want the second foot? It’s free for the taking.” Virgil told them.

“IHIHIS NAHAHAT!” Arial yelled back.

“Are you sure? She might not want this.” Janus mentioned.

Virgil giggled at that. “Trust me: she loves being tickled.” Virgil told them.

Janus grinned widely upon that news. “Make that surprise número dos!” Janus said in part spanish.

“I CALL DIBS!” Remus shouted as he ran to her foot. “Mine!” Remus pulled on the foot and accidentally got her ankle as well! “Oops...Welp, more to tickle!” Remus declared.

“AAAH! WAIT-” Arial was immediately shut up by Remus’s weirdly soft skittering fingers. UHUHUNFAHAHAHAIR! AHAHAHAHAHA!” Arial shouted as she kicked her legs to cope with the strong tickles.

“Hey...Hey Remus...Is her ankle ticklish?” Janus asked.

Remus paused his tickling and decided to try it. “Let’s see…” Remus started gently skittering and scratching on the different sides of her ankle.

“EEEEEEHEHEHEhehehehehe! REEHEheheheheEHEHEHE NOHOhohoHOHOHohoho!” Arial begged.

“No, her ankles are totally not ticklish.” Janus replied. “Not ticklish at aaaaall…”

Remus smirked as he detached the ankle and handed it to Janus. “Here: Free tickle spot!” Remus said.

Janus smiled. “Wonderful. Her laughter is totally not the cutest thing in the world, and definitely not worth ending the game over.” Janus replied as he started tickling her ankle.

Arial rolled around all over the couch as she giggled and laughed. This was SO unfair! And yet...The best scenario to ever take place! It would be even CRAZIER if Fluffymary read this fanfic and drew fanart for it. If they did, Arial would surely die of the embarrassment from her lee mood.

The moment Virgil went up to scritch on Arial’s toes, she was done for. She shook her head around like a bobble head and let out her first snort!

Remus grew super excited at the sound. “SHE SNORTS!”

“Hmm...I sense there’s more to her anatomy than meets the eye.” Janus added.

“...Janus...You are currently tickling a girl with no visible Larynx or vocal cords, no visible tongue and no eyeballs…” Virgil mentioned.

Arial’s laughter only went up an octave after Virgil’s comment! The emo was completely right! The only thing she really lacked was a stomach!

Soon, the boys gave her a break. Arial went limp against the couch and breathed heavily to get her endurance leveled out. Janus handed Remus the skeleton’s separated ankle and watched Remus connect the ankle and foot together again. Then, Remus handed Arial her foot back.

“Tha…*huff* Thank you Re...Remus.” she replied.

Virgil handed her the other foot and gave her a glass of water with it as well. Arial drank some of the water, and looked up at Virgil and Remus. “Hey you two: look.” Arial separated her big toe from her right foot and dropped it into the water.

Virgil looked down awkwardly, quickly growing uncomfortable with the thought of soggy bone. Remus looked closer at the bone and noticed it was turning more yellow than white. “Why is it yellow-y white now?” Remus asked.

“Because it’s wet now. That’s what wet bone looks like. Because my bones are alive yet not engulfed in wet layers, my bones go more and more white from exposure.” Arial explained.

Remus hummed curiously and poked his finger between two of the ribs. “Am I able to-”

“OhoHOHOHOhohohokahahahay...Ihihi dihihid NOHOHOT expehect thahahat!” Arial admitted.

“Sorry Arial. I wanted to see if I could fit my fingers through your ribs.” Remus told her bluntly.

Arial chuckled with her eyebrow raised. They’re so weird. After a bit of thought, Arial lifted up her shirt and watched Remus bring his finger over to her rib spaces.

Remus started to put his fingers through the different rib spaces that were lower and more safe to touch. Remus discovered he could fit his pinky and ring finger through her ribs! But his thumb and index finger were too big for her rib spaces. All of it tickled enough to make her giggle through the whole thing.

Arial had to watch and feel every ticklish move Remus made with his hands and wiggly fingers. The anticipation was both anxiety-inducing, yet adrenaline-rising! She couldn’t figure out if she liked all the excitement, or didn’t like the unpredictability. Remus could strike at any given moment. Remus could easily change his mind and start full-blown tickling her in a surprise attack. But even his unintentional tickling was still tickling her.

Remus’s moving through her ribs would move quicker and turn more intense, before slowing back down. It was SOOO EEEVIL!

“OHOKAHAHAY! Thahahat’s ehehenohohough!” Arial decided, pulling her shirt down and giggling up a storm. “Nohoho mohohohore guihinea pihihig time.”

“Well that didn’t take long at all!” Remus reacted.

“Well how would you feel if you had fingers wiggling in between your sensitive ribs?” Virgil started skittering and digging his fingers into Remus’s ribs. He made sure to pay particular attention to the Duke’s rib spaces.

“aaAAAHAHAHAHAHA! VIHIHIRGILYOUFUCKING AHAHAHAHAHASS!” Remus shouted at him.

“Sorry Remus! I wanted to see if I could fit my fingers through your ribs!” Virgil teased as he continued to ‘attempt’ to fit his fingers through Remus’s muscle-covered ribs. “Oh wait! You have muscles and skin!” Virgil acted. “That means you’re eleven moooore ticklish!” Virgil started massaging Remus’s ribs and ab muscles next. Remus had a particularly tight core. For some people, this would make massaging it more painful. But for Remus, this made Remus more ticklish beyond belief!

Remus quickly flopped to the ground and landed smack dab onto his right shoulder and hip. Thankfully, it didn’t really hurt that much. Virgil knelt down, and just kept on skittering and massaging his fingers into the abs and lower ribs of the Duke of Stinkyton. Remus had completely lost his composure and was now laughing hysterically below the emo.

Oh my, how the tables have turned.

Arial happily watched the new tickle fight while sitting on the couch with her glass of water. She had started to finish her last gulp of water when something rock-like and hard, smacked into her nose hole.

Ow...What was that- Oh…

Arial picked it up and chuckled to herself as she held the soggy toe in her finger and thumb. With one last bit of toeless water, Arial put the cup down, dried her wet toe on her shirt and put the big toe back onto her foot. There. Now she’s all together again.

Let me rephrase that: She’s all TOE-gether again.

#fluff #male-female friendships #playing cards #competition #teasing #surprises #skeleton puns #skeleton anatomy #ticklefic #ler!virgil #ler!janus #switch!remus #lee!arial #female oc #oc made by someone else

[blossom-hwa]

Ooooh Mark Lee + Hogwarts au with hufflepuff reader pretty please? Belated congratulations on 3 years, Lina!!! ❤ I'm so happy I stumbled on your blog during your last drabble game! Truly one of the best writers on here!!! -🌻

Sunny!! Thank you so much for being here with me these past few months! You are 90% of the reason why Swing! and Breathe, and Live exist as aus - without you being there to let me yell about these ideas, I never would’ve written them. I’m also so grateful you stumbled upon my blog, and hush - I'm nowhere near the best writer, but I’m flattered you think so <3 I hope you enjoy this little token of my appreciation for your existence!

3-year anniversary drabble game: send me an NCT/WAYV/Stray Kids/The Boyz member + a prompt (check out the post for ideas) and  I’ll write a drabble for you!

~

Title: Study Sessions

Pairing: Mark x gender neutral!reader

Triggers: none

~

“Why,” you moan, pointedly ignoring Madame Pince’s pinching gaze, “did I decide to take Arithmancy?”

Mark pats your hand. “Because both of your parents got NEWTs in it and pressured you into taking it too.”

“I don’t like it when you make sense,” you warn, twirling your quill so it points right to him. The tip drips ink onto your robes. “Shit.”

“Y/N, it’s not too bad,” Mark tries to console. “You’re just finding the value of x here - it’s almost the same as the basic algebra you learned before coming here.”

“Well, just because I’m a Hufflepuff doesn’t mean I’m good at finding y’s fucking x!” you all but wail, planting your face into the book. “Y should solve its own relationship problems,” you continue, voice muffled by the pages. 

Mark snorts at that, he really does. “Y/N, seriously.”

“Mark, seriously,” you mimic, lifting your head back up. “God, I can’t believe I need to pass this stupid test so I can keep playing Quidditch. All of my other grades are fine, why can’t I just let this one slip?”

“Y/N, I really agree with you, but Professor Vector isn’t into Quidditch the way McGonagall is, so she’s not going to give you a free pass,” Mark says. He looks out the window. Maybe the two of you can go outside for a short break?

But no, it’s raining, and even worse than failing this test is you getting sick and being unable to do anything for the next few days. Mark needs to come up with something else to motivate you. Idly, he pats your head while trying to think of ideas. 

Something really stupid pops into his head. It’s so stupid that Mark wants to cringe just thinking of it, but it might work. 

“Y/N.” He shakes your slumped shoulders lightly. “Listen, for every ten problems you complete correctly, I’ll give you a kiss.”

Your head shoots up. “I thought you said no kisses during study sessions,” you say cautiously, eyes narrowed but bright with stupid hope. 

Mark’s heart melts a little. “Yes, but I think you need more motivation,” he replies, trying hard not to blush under your sharp gaze. “Unless you don’t want it...?”

“No, I want it!” Hastily whipping the end of your yellow scarf away, you search for your quill. “I’m working, don’t bother me!”

Mark watches in fascination as you attack the problems with far more vigor than he’s used to seeing when it comes to studying. Maybe he should try this more, he thinks, as your quill scribbles numbers and symbols across the page. It seems to be working, at the very least. 

“Done with ten!” you finally say, pushing a sheet of parchment over to Mark. “Am I right? Please tell me I’m right.”

Quickly, he scans the page. He can almost feel how taut you are right next to him as he tracks the steps you took for each problem, as he marks each one correct until the last. “You mixed up the steps for this one.”

The groan you let out is almost comical as you messily scribble the wrong answer out and work out the right one. “Can I still get a kiss?” you ask, pushing the page back to him. “Please?”

A stupid smile crosses Mark’s face as he nods. He can never be too strict around you, he thinks, something that’s both a blessing and a curse. “Come here,” he says, wiggling his fingers. 

He doesn’t even have to wait before you’re leaning forward to press your lips to his, hands rising to cup his cheeks. For several blissful seconds, Mark lets himself relax in your warm hold, rubbing small circles into your skin where his hands have settled at your waist. 

Then Haechan, of course, has to ruin the moment (as he always does - Mark has no idea how he always manages to have the worst timing possible). “No making out in the library,” his voice says, making Mark shriek and you jump. 

“Haechan, you fucking asshole,” you snarl, throwing an ink-covered quill at him. “Get out of here!” 

Smirking, the Slytherin retreats back into the library shelves. Mark just sits there, trying to calm the furious blush across his cheeks. “Back to work,” he says, determinedly turning back to the table. 

“Oh, come on,” you whine. “Can’t we continue where we left off?”

Mark would dearly love to, but he also can’t be a bad boyfriend who lets you slack off on your grades. “Not this time,” he says with finality. “Ten more problems, let’s go.”

(The study session ends eight kisses later, when you finally finish all of the worksheets Professor Vector left. And when you complete the last one, Mark makes sure to give you the sweetest kiss you could receive. It’s worth it, it really is, even if Madame Pince is the one who catches you this time and sends a flurry of books to chase you out of the library.)

#nct #nct 127 #nct dream #nct scenarios #nct 127 scenarios #nct dream scenarios #nct oneshots #nct imagines #nct mark #nct 127 mark #nct dream mark #mark #nct mark scenarios #nct 127 mark scenarios #nct dream mark scenarios #drabble #fluff #hogwarts!au #study sessions #3 year anniversary drabble game #lina answers #scriptura-delirus

[atxlxs]

Beyond The Veil: Chapter 5

The assessment test was pretty consistent.

Those that had the quirks suited for it at first glance had dominated while the rest all seemed to get variations of the same base score. Some slightly better, some slightly worse. This made it pretty easy for Muska to just, consistently get good scores.

When your quirk, *cough* and other things *cough*, essentially affects anything and everything as long as the energy itself isn’t being used by something else it becomes easy to just enhance everything.

Ball throw? More like sniper propulsion. Long jump? Ha, more like flying to the opposite side. Grip strength? She doesn’t even need to touch it. Just contract the energy surrounding the mechanism. Flexibility? She used to do ballet, like, a century ago but muscle memory counts.

She had some tests she couldn’t do well, like the endurance test. She was here to train her quirk after all. Plus the longer the tests went on the harder it was to continue. If she continued at the level she was doing, she’d have one hell of a headache. It was starting to hurt as well. Every time she tried to go over her limits, using the energy actually hurt so she’d rather avoid that.

By the end of it all, Muska had placed a solid 3rd place. Beating out Robocop and PomPom (Bakugo), looking down the list with curiosity, Muska cringed at Midoriya taking last place. The kid definitely couldn’t regulate the energy belonging to his quirk, which felt really weird whenever Muska looked into it, and had broken his finger on the ball throw. However, what she didn’t expect was the feeling of mirth coming off of Aizawa.

Wait a damn minute.

The fucker wouldn’t.

“It was a logical ruse to make you all perform at your best capabilities.”

The fucker did.

Now, even as the class started shouting once more that evening, Muska was highly focused on the man in front of her. That was a lie. He lied about it being a ruse. The energy had fluctuated just slightly when he said ruse, going from mirth to a hazy feeling. The indescribable experience one goes through when they white lie or bluff.

He was going to expel the person who came in last. Something changed that though. What the fu- Oh. Ooooh.

“...If you won’t take this seriously as the hero in training students you are…”

The bastard was judging our potential and disguised it as an assessment!

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

Rat-man hadn’t given Muska a map, either expecting her to ask someone to help or look at the map and guess. She would do neither. Asking for help would warn them beforehand and she might be waved off considering it was a staff meeting. Secondly, she just doesn’t want to.

Instead of her quirk, Muska closed her eyes and felt around the harmony. Surprisingly, the school was ‘clean’ for the most part. A few dark patches here and there but nothing horrendous. That was when she noticed it. A room towards the top of the fourth tower, left side in the back away from the gate, was filled with several aged energies. One of which seemed to be escaping slowly towards something else. That was weird, but definitely where she needed to be.

It took 10 minutes of dedication to get to the tower needed, and 10 more to not stab the principal on sight after she got up the stairs and walked over to a steel door that had a key code. Disregarding the key code box since she definitely didn’t know said code, she decided that knocking in the tune to “Crab Rave” was a good alternative.

The door opened before the first verse was done to a very confused woman in spandex. Giving her a smile, it definitely had an annoyed flair to it since she could be at home and forcing Eras to be cooking right now, Muska slipped past her and into the meeting room. The Rat-man stood on the large table, surrounded by pro hero’s (based on the flashy getups…. Is that a horse gas mask?) and seemed to be in the middle of something. A beat of silence followed as Muska walked over to an empty chair near the front, it looked to be Nedzu’s but the short rat-man didn’t need it, and sat down. Pulling out her phone and starting to scroll through Tiktok. It was an old app but it stayed strong through the years and was still running.

“Uh, whatsa youngin like ya doin here?” Horse gas mask man asked. The heroes all subtly nodded along, too shocked by her nonchalant actions about crashing a very obvious faculty meeting.

Muska’a face twisted into a small frown as she turned her attention up to see the man. Aizawa, who she just now noticed was sitting at the back corner of the table, was just glaring down at Nedzu. Smart move and he was right.

“First of all, don’t call me youngin, I can guarantee I'm older than you. Second of all, ask Remy the rat here for that info.” Muska stated, about to return to her phone before perking up again and continued, “Also rat-man, if you want answered questions they better be done before 5, I have pasta being cooked by a glorified 5 star chef waiting at home.”

Several heroes choked, Aizawa hid a snort into his scarf, at her words. Nedzu, the fiend, just smiled wider.

“Of course!” The chimera chirped.

Yes chirped, maybe he had some bird DNA mixed in?

“I wouldn’t want to keep you too long! Faculty, this is Viridis Muska, Viridis, these are the pro heroes on staff that I trust to keep their mouths shut under oath of an NDA! Your guardian was kind enough to email it over to me this afternoon.”

Muska snorted at that. “Yea sounds like her.” Placing her phone face up on the table next to her, she tapped on the table expectantly as the Rat took his sign to continue.

“The most obvious question should probably be first and I know my dear staff are confused, what did you mean by you being older?”

It was an innocent question, she’ll answer it.

“Why Remy, that's cause unless Humanity has managed to surpass their expected due date of at max 120 years, then I am very much so older.”

The room was filled with confusion. It radiated off them in waves as distress rose at getting such vague answers. Aizawa in the corner sighed and snapped his gaze from the rat to her.

“I’m sure what the rat meant to ask was how old are you exactly and how did you reach that age.” Aizawa stated. Clear and concise.

“Of course, if I remember correctly I should be turning 267 this year,” she said, not pausing even when coffee was spat all over the table from a few of the people around the room, “and I was born a human, however upon entry into the veil and my chosen profession as a witch, I was changed. Reaching the height of my craft has allowed me to unlock certain aspects of my being, immortalizing my body for now. I’m still technically in my ‘teen’ years considering the average witch you’ll meet has passed a thousand years in some capacity.”

Aizawa ran a hand down his face in exasperation and a quiet mumble of “fucking problem ch- witch” escaped. A few other heroes were pale, and the spandex woman looked very intrigued. A twink with blond hair that had the weird energy actually coughed up blood. Muska’s gaze snapped to him at that. The need to heal over writing her focus for a moment before Nedzu cleared his throat for attention again.

Reluctantly she returned her gaze to the rat. If she didn’t know any better she would have thought he was undisturbed. She did, however, know better. The rat was practically vibrating where he stood in excitement.

“Viridis, do you think you could give us a basic rundown of the veil?” Nedzu quizzed, looking more and more like the sadistic researcher he was. Fuck, He's just like the elves.

Muska leaned back and sighed. She expected this and went over it with eras last night. They came up with what could, or couldn’t be talked about for the beginning until they were all deemed trustworthy.

“I can give you a short, very short compared to all the details of the veil, summary but frankly the veil doesn’t want certain info getting into certain hands.” She said, voice cold and steely. She would not be taking a no for this.

“I understand! Anything you can trust us with for now would help the mystery that has been plaguing me for years.” Nedzu said, which caused Muska to cackle a bit.

“I know, the… reps of certain races and collectives have placed bets on when and who would slip and give you the info at some point.” watching with amusement as Nedzu’s whiskers twitched, she sighed and leaned forwards. Pointing a finger at the white board behind her.

Nedzu, who of course understood exactly what that meant, nodded.

Muska stood up and grabbed three markers. One black, one green, and one red. Taking the black marker, she drew a large circle and wrote ‘The Veil’ above it. Uncapping the green marker, Muska spoke up as she marked off sections in the circle with black and labeled them in green.

“In the veil there are set collections and races. I, as a witch, belong to the group called Magia.” Magia was written in a section taking up a 5th of the circle, “It's a collective that represents those who follow magically tied professions, no matter the race you are, since once you become a part of what defines the Magia you are assigned this section. Of course like nations there is also dual representation. However, that's more complicated and this is the short version.”

A quick glance told Muska that everyone in the room was listening with rapt attention. Especially Aizawa and Nedzu, one more concealed than the other.

“Next is the elvish. Yes, elves, and yes, they are very pretentious. The younger ones are more lax and ready for mischief, but the elders tend to be stuck in their ways or research. God the research they do. They’re called the scholars of the abyss. Do you need to know something? Ask an elf. They write and read practically everything there is to write and read.” Another section gets cut off and labeled.

“Then there's the dwarves, oh and I’m listing these in population order as is the sectioning. The more people the bigger the section and so on. I’ll get to influence later. Back to dwarves. They aren’t all blacksmiths as myth leads you to believe but they do make the best weaponry and armor. You can find quite a few in engineering professions. A lot find jobs in mixology and brewing as well.” Another section. So far all are labeled with green.

“Next is the Vampires. These guys are incredibly important in the veil since they were the first members of it. Treated the closest to monsters, they had to run away from society's view earlier than loved races like elves and dwarves. Hell, even witches had some supporters when Halloween started to become a festive rather than a lore holiday. If you want to truly know about the veil? Then ask a vampire. They have every secret tucked away and safe guarded by their Origins.” Muska said, a small mischievous smirk was hidden as they faced the board. The energy shift in Nedzu told her the first time he met Eras would be cathartic considering it's her quirk registry game that led her here.

“Next is a much smaller group called the Fae. They are everything you’ve read and more. Do not engage with them until you’ve gone through Celtic mythology. You’ll become moss like that. I fuckin hate the imps sometimes.”

“In a more general group are the smallest numbers. Collectively known as the ‘inbetween’ these members range from the sirens in the waters to the spirits that haunt the earth and fuel the energy. Demons fall under here too but they rarely visit earth and always do so under contract so they don’t have much of a voice. Dragon descendants too, the last of the actual dragons died thousands of years ago but their blood lines are in half dragons. They have wings on some, horns and scales on others, but all carry the boiling blood of their predecessors.”

Muska took a deep breath after labeling one of the last spaces with green. Capping it, she uncapped the red and wrote a bold ‘FORGOTTEN’ in the smallest space. Turning around she dropped all smiles and pleasantries. Voice harsh and cold as she spoke venom with every word.

“Never, ever, look for those in the forgotten. They do not have representation but they are known and branded. A red circle with a line in the middle along with text that only certain people can read is their symbol and it's burned into their skin. The forgotten are the, essentially, criminals of the veil. The veil is filled with people of dubious legalities to humans but there is a special place to rot for those that cross veil taboos. Whether it’s a necromancer practicing on those that are alive, or a vampire who has gone blood crazy and slipped into the view of humans as food. Elves committing experimentation on live creatures for research or sirens drowning sailors into the ocean out of amusement. These are all examples of forgottens who get branded soon after they are recognized.”

The air seemed stale as Muska ran her glare over the heroes present. Even Nedzu shuddered as the energy in the room seemed to freeze and burn those that took too deep of a breath despite not actually happening.

The heroes nodded once they realized she was looking for a response and her gaze softened but still held a serious edge to it.

“The brands are placed by chosen representatives of the race where the forgotten came from. The representative is chosen by a council meeting between the heads of each race, the heads themselves are chosen by vote or position within the race and the job is carried out within 24 hours of discovery.”

Speaking of the representatives of races,

“Any questions before I head home for my fuckin pasta?”

(She just really wants her pasta)

Tags:

@baguettehead

#bnha #mha #mhafanfic #bnhafanfic #mha oc #au

[deanisbisexual]

Ok so I stumbled upon ‘ with understanding’ a few weeks ago and at at first I was like ooooh??👀 Bc I loveee criminal minds, but then I saw the tags and the word count and I was like N O P E 🏃🏻‍♀️ but now I’m intrigued ??????? So like pls tell me, apart from the fucked up plot is the writing good ? Or I’d this one of those all together cringe fics that are so bad that you cannot stop? I wanna give it a try but also im scared bc cas is my angel babY and idk if i could stand reading about him getting hurt over and over and possibly not even getting a happy ending (again🙃) the first and last dark fic Ive read was the 1d/larry cancer fic (and im still triggered after 6 years ) so im nervous but the curiosity is killing me help

my initial reaction was also N O P E 🏃🏻‍♀️

as a SA survivor any stories heavily involving rape/dub-con is a big no-no for me**. but i was really curious to see how the conversation in the description was gonna go so i was like “i’m just gonna read that part and then stop” (12 hours later) “just one more chapter”

i do think the writing is good, but like any AU dean and cas can both be ooc. dean especially, but i think that’s pretty evident lol, he is very driven to please cas, so much so that it makes up almost all of his personality but it makes sense since in his eyes cas is his soulmate and he wants cas to be happy so that cas won’t leave him. cas is literally the only thing keeping dean from killing himself. i think it’s important to note that i am NOT shipping dean and cas in this fic. i think their dynamic is very interesting, but i am completely rooting for cas to escape and try to get some semblance of a normal life again. dean....ugh...i very small part of me feels for him because he’s canon dean who’s been pushed too far by everyone dying, so i would like for him to get psychiatric help, but ultimately i wouldn’t be upset if he died either.

i’m still not finished with the fic so i really can’t say if cas will have a happy ending, i’m sorry!! so far, this is NOT a happy story, there are “happy moments” but i say that with air quotes given the situation. there’s a really interesting part in the story where dean and cas talk about actual happiness vs synthetic happiness and it comes to a point where cas (spoiler alert) gives up trying to escape which causes him to fall into a deep depression, but in order to survive and not kill himself, he chooses to let himself be happy (synthetic happiness) in those moments with dean. but it’s not really a choice y’know? it’s something he has to do to survive because this is the position that dean is putting him in. anyway i could write an essay on this fic it’s truly something.

ultimately, this story is very fucked up and you should only read it if you are in the right headspace for it. i think it’s very well written and really makes you think and question morality and what you would do in that situation. but it is definitely NOT for everyone and people should be very careful when they read this fic. i am a little concerned for where this story is heading, but i’ll keep yall updated.

P.S. speaking of larry did you ever read “like a bastard on the burning sea” because that fic made 15 year old me actually hate harry styles for like a week, like i couldn’t look at the boy without getting nauseous. i’m lowkey scared this fic is gonna do that to dean for me, but so far i’m okay.

** i feel like i should clarify something here about the fic and the rape/dub-con tag. this is only as of chapter 12, i’m not sure what remains in the next couple chapters. the rape tag in this fic, at least in my opinion/interpretation, comes from the fact that cas is NOT in a position to give consent due to the fact that dean is his captor and holding him against his will and i do consider this rape. however, none of their sexual interactions*** are inherently violent (although dean is very possessive in some chapters and this is especially touched upon in chapter 12 when you get his pov) their first couple of interactions were super uncomfortable for me because cas plays a very passive role, but dean does ask for permission (i think there was a kiss and a few touches that he did not ask permission for but stopped when asked) and tells him it’s okay if he doesn’t want to (however it’s important to remember the power dynamic here guys and i do feel like there were moments were dean pushed cas) eventually cas does come to play a more active role and initiates sex. as of chapter 12, cas does not consider himself a rape victim

but as a reader (at least i did), there are moments when it’s said that cas is scared or that he only wants to have sex to feel something (i.e. the synthetic happiness i mentioned above) ultimately i feel like at no point in the first twelve chapters cas was in any position (physically, emotionally, mentally) to give consent.

UPDATE: as of chapter 14, seems like the writer will dive more into this

UPDATE #2: As of chapter 15

*** there are violent interactions in where dean hurts cas to stop him from escaping, but so far none have been sexual.

#kidnapping tw #rape tw #depression tw #with understanding #destiel #god i hope some of this made sense

[a-fire-emblem-geek]

The Incredible Shrinking Unlucky Student Part 1

Monodora feels like the killing game just isn’t interesting enough. He whips up an interesting new motive, which involves a peculiar thing happening to a certain unlucky student.

The day had started out average enough.

Ayumu woke up, the morning announcement blaring in his ears.

“Good morning, everyone! Please meet in the cafeteria for a very important announcement!” Monodora spoke.

Ayumu grumbled, mustering what little energy he had to get out of bed. He didn’t sleep a wink last night. The thought of a killing game was far too scary for him to sleep like a baby. But no one here looked like that they could be a potential murderer, right?

Right?

He slipped into his outfit, briefly taking the time to attempt to get the one tuft in his hair to just stick down. When that attempt proved to be fruitless, Ayumu stepped outside, only to be greeted by Seishi.

“Ah, Mr. Fujimori, good morning!” Seishi greeted.

“Hey, Seishi! Are the others at the cafeteria?” Ayumu asked.

“Only a few people. Come on, we shouldn’t keep Mr. Monodora waiting,” Seishi responsed. The mystery novelist and the unlucky student walked down the hallway.

Once they got to the cafeteria, they saw that Misuzu, Kazuomi, Kasumi, Mitsunari, and Narumi were already there.

“Good morning, Seishi. Good morning, Ayumu,” Misuzu greeted.

“Hey,” Kasumi grumbled.

“I wonder what Monodora fucking wants...” Kazuomi growled, the karate practitioner resting his head in his hands boredly.

“Hungry? I’m about to start breakfast!” Narumi chirped.

“Why did Monodora wake us up so early?” whined Mitsunari as he spoke for his puppet, Uma.

“Uma, you always wake up at 11 am!” objected Mitsunari as he spoke for his other puppet, Shika.

“Hey, I need my beauty sleep, you know!” Uma yelled.

“Now, children, we shouldn’t fight!” Mitsunari himself repremanded sternly.

“Sorry, daddy...” both puppets chorused.

Soon enough, more people started piling in. First came Aruma, who looked rather... aroused.

“Sorry, everyone! I was having the most... hot dream ever...” Aruma spoke. “It involved-.”

“Enough of that shit!” Kazuomi growled. Nevertheless, the purple-haired animal trainer went to sit by Kazuomi.

Next came in Saiji with Nico and Maiko at his heels.

“Sorry to keep you waiting, everyone,” Saiji apologized with a polite dip of his head.

“You don’t have to apologize all the time, you know!” Maiko repremianded.

“So- Never mind,” Saiji stopped himself before he could be reprimanded again.

“I didn’t sleep. The thought of a killing game hung over my head like a hawk over a field of chickens...” Nico murmured. The poet, the undertaker, and the dancer sat together at their own separate spot at the table.

Marin and Kego came in a few seconds later.

“Good morning, everyone! Big sis hopes that you all had lovely dreams! Poka poka! （＾ω＾)” Marin beamed. Ayumu’s mood brightened upon seeing the cheerful weather forecaster.

“I was hoping that I could practice my sick beats before Monodora said that he needed to see us...” Kego mumbled.

Lastly, Mikoto came in the room with Akira not too far behind.

“Let’s see what Monodora wants now...” Mikoto grumbled. The mysterious girl sat next to the open chair near Ayumu.

“Eh, it’s probably for no good reason...” Akira concluded. The NEET took his own spot near Aruma.

Not too long after Akira sat down, Monodora popped out of literally nowhere.

“Goooooooood morning everyone!” The disembodied cat plushie head spoke. No one spoke. “Oh, come on! You youngsters are so rude!”

“You are literally keeping us here...” Akira pointed out. Monodora continued as if the dark blue-haired NEET hadn’t spoken at all.

“Anyway, I noticed that no one here was going to kill each other-!” Monodora started.

“That’s because we refuse to do that!” Seishi interrupted.

“Will you all STOP INTERRUPTING ME?!?” Monodora yelled. Once the room was completely silent, he continued. “I noticed that no one here was going to kill someone, sooo I concocted a little motive for that to happen!”

“We are not going to fall for it, Monodora!” Ayumu shouted.

“Ooooh, I think you will! Speaking of which, Ayumu... come here!” Monodora ordered. Seishi protectively wrapped his arms around Ayumu.

“He is not going to follow your orders!” The redheaded novelist yelled.

“If he doesn’t come up, I’m just gonna kill you all right now!” Monodora cackled. Ayumu gently pried himself out of Seishi’s grasp.

He got up, his legs shaking as if they were supported by jello instead of bones. Ayumu hesitantly stepped towards Monodora, his heart thundering in his ribcage like a boxer punching rapidly at a punching bag. Once he was close enough to Monodora, Ayumu found himself barely able to speak because his mouth was dryer than a desert. That was when a Monodora did something completely unexpected. He took out some kind of gun and shot it at Ayumu. The unlucky boy cringed as a tingling sensation encased his body and... nothing. Ayumu opened his eyes to see his body briefly encased in a yellow aura, which then disappeared after a bit.

“Well, that’s enough of that! Bye for now! Upupupupu!” Monodora promptly left.

A moment of silence filled the cafeteria. It was so quiet that you could easily hear a crumb drop. Finally, it was Kazuomi who broke the silence. “Hey, Ayumu? Do you... fucking feel okay?” the SHSL Karate Practitioner asked.

“Y-yeah, I’m fine. I’m just... shaken up, that’s all...” Ayumu mumbled.

“Big sis hopes that nothing serious happens to Ayumu-kun... poka poka... (☍﹏⁰)” Marin muttered worriedly.

“Someone should just keep watch of Ayumu, just in case...” Mikoto suggested. “We don’t know what that beam did to him.”

“If anything at all, really,” Akira piped up. “It could just be a trick to make us think that something happened to Ayumu...”

“Guys, seriously, I feel fine!” Ayumu objected.

“I agree with Mikoto. Someone should watch Ayumu just in case...” Saiji pointed out.

“I’ll do it, Mr. Rokudou,” Seishi offered. “I hope you don’t mind, Mr. Fujimori.”

“N-not at all!” Ayumu stammered, his cheeks going as red as his eyes. Wait, why was he getting so flustered? Seishi was just a really good friend! Friends shouldn’t make other friends flustered. Ayumu shook off his romantic thoughts as he walked alongside Seishi.

The rest of the day continued as normal. Ayumu was always with at least one student: he was at first with Seishi, then with Saiji and Maiko, then with Marin and Kazuomi, and lastly with Mikoto. They never left him alone for a second. Once nighttime struck, Ayumu went back to his room, not feeling too different at all. He changed into his pajamas, got ready for bed, and crawled under the covers. For the first time since this killing game, Ayumu went into a deep sleep.

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

The next day came surprisingly fast, but Ayumu found himself not wanting to leave his bed. The covers had a comforting grip on him, for they felt somewhat heavier than usual. The morning announcement broke him out of his tired stupor, and Ayumu climbed out of the covers.

Although it wasn’t obvious, Ayumu could tell that something was off. First of all, he found himself having to bend his legs a little less in order to get out of bed. Okay, nothing too strange. When he went to change clothes, he noticed that his clothes felt a bit... looser on his body. Maybe he lost weight? He hasn’t really been eating much since the killing game, no matter how delicious Narumi’s food was. But then as he could hear someone knock on the door, he noticed that the doorknob was a bit closer to his face last time.

Seishi was at the other side of the door, and he was immediately struck speechless the second he saw Ayumu.

“Uh... greetings... Mr. Fujimori...” Seishi sputtered out, still eying Ayumu up and down.

“Hey, Seishi...” Ayumu murmured awkwardly. The two boys left together.

As they walked towards the dining hall, Ayumu felt Seishi’s gaze heat up on him. Why was Seishi staring at him? Was it something on his face?

When Seishi and Ayumu got in, it became everyone who was staring at Ayumu. Some were scanning him up and down, others were whispering to the person next to them, and others gazed at him worriedly. He got his plate of breakfast from Narumi... noticing that the fork was slightly bigger.

As everyone ate, people kept glancing at Ayumu every now and then. That was when the unlucky boy snapped.

“Why is everyone staring at me?” He asked, nervousness in his voice.

“It’s nothing against you, Ayumu, it’s just that...” Saiji trailed off mid sentence.

“Something seems different about you,” Kego finished.

“Nothing really feels-.” Ayumu was cut off by a yellow aura encasing his body. A brief pulling sensation encased his muscles, and then the aura wiped away. Ayumu noticed that he could no longer touch his heels to the floor.

“W-what the fuck?!” Kazuomi stuttered.

“Is it just me, or did Ayumu get shorter?” Narumi asked, finishing her toast.

“No, Ms. Osone, we all saw it too,” Seishi replied.

“Did an evil spirit do this?!” Kasumi gasped.

“Calm down, everyone! Big sis is sure that it’s just a one time thi-! ⊙﹏⊙” poor Marin was cut off by the yellow aura encasing Ayumu’s body again, knocking him down a couple of inches.

Now everyone was freaking out.

“Is Ayumu just going to keep shrinking?!” Aruma yelled.

“D-definitely not! He has to stop eventually-!” Saiji stammered, rudely cut off by Monodora entering the room.

“Hate to tell ya this, prayer boy, but Ayumu isn’t gonna stop shrinking!” Monodora laughed.

“But if he keeps shrinking...” Akira mumbled, showing his own form of unease.

“Then he’s going to get too small for us to even see!” Misuzu finished.

“Correct!” Monodora cackled. “And he’s just gonna keep shrinking... and shrinking... and shrinking...!”

“Tell us what we could do to fucking fix this right now, you monochrome piece of shit!” Kazuomi yelled, seething with rage.

“Woah, woah, no need to get hasty!” Monodora laughed. The yellow aura encased Ayumu’s body yet again, which shrunk him down even more. “And the answer is simple, KILL SOMEONE! Bye for now! Upupupupu!” And with that laugh, Monodora disappeared.

“This is baaaaad!” Maiko yelled, looking at Ayumu.

“Oh, puh-lease, we are not going to give in to that c*cksucker’s motive!” Kasumi yelled.

“But... Ayumu...” Nico started. The yellow aura struck again, shrinking Ayumu down by a couple of more inches. Seishi looked lost in thought.

“Wait!” He spoke up. “There is a way! Mr. Monodora said that there is a chemistry room!”

“How’s that going to help Ayumu?!” Mikoto hissed.

“There are certain chemicals that Mr. Fujimori needs in order to stop the shrinking!” Seishi spoke.

“Then what are we fucking waiting for?! Let’s get them!” Kazuomi yelled.

“Wait, someone should stay with Ayumu! If no one watches him, we could step on him by accident!” Saiji pointed out, worry overtaking the voice of the typically cool and refined undertaker.

“I’ll do it,” Mikoto volunteered. “The rest of you, go!”

The other 13 students nodded, running off, leaving Mikoto alone with Ayumu.

————

Mikoto knelt down next to Ayumu, wincing as he shrunk further. Something in the back of the girl’s mind wouldn’t stop nagging her.

She failed.

She failed to protect Ayumu Fujimori, the Ultimate Unlucky Student.

Now he was going to shrink into nothingness if her classmates don’t hurry the fuck up.

“Uh... thanks for watching over me,” Ayumu spoke in an attempt to make conversation. Mikoto just nodded. Ayumu’s chest now lined up with the bench. “Mikoto? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, Ayumu...” she mumbled, clutching her leg in worry.

“It’s not your fault, Mikoto, in case you were thinking that,” Ayumu spoke.

“It kind of is. I was supposed to protect you,” Mikoto hissed. That’s when she realized her error.

“Protect... me?” Ayumu echoed. He was knocked down a couple of more inches. Mikoto’s heart raced. He was now about the same height as Kego.

“I wasn’t planning on telling you this, but... my Ultimate talent is the Ultimate Bodyguard,” she spoke. Ayumu shrunk down more.

“A bodyguard?!” Ayumu echoed, still shrinking.

“Exactly. And as a bodyguard, I failed.” Mikoto grumbled. Ayumu placed a hand on Mikoto’s, which was now about the size of her entire palm.

“Hey, Seishi is gonna fix this! He and the others should be back anytime soon!” Ayumu reassured her. Mikoto gave a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it smile.

“I hope so,” she mumbled, staring off into the distance.

—————

Seishi straight up wasn’t having a good time right now.

Ayumu Fujimori, the boy he grew to care for, was now in severe danger. He didn’t know how small he was going to be when the other 13 students came back, or if he was even going to be visible to the naked eye.

Was this... all part of his plan?

‘No, don’t think about that!’ Seishi reprimanded himself, approaching the chemistry room.

“What chemicals do we need?!” Misuzu barked out, immediately rushing inside.

Seishi told them the chemicals that they needed.

“Hey, Seishi, how do you even know this?” Kego asked, currently rummaging through the supplement shelves.

It had been when they were kids. Zen thought it would be a good idea to shoot himself with a mysterious gun to scare his brother. However, Zen wasn’t counting on the gun being a rapid-shrinking gun. They had managed to stop the shrinking with those chemicals, but Zen now currently stood at an inch tall. Serves him right.

Seishi hoped that Ayumu would at least be bigger by the time the chemicals were obtained.

Saiji had gotten the first chemical, handing it to Seishi who responded with a ‘thank you’. Mitsunari had found the second, which Seishi immediately took given Mitsunari’s puppets being on his hands. Lastly, Kasumi had gotten the last chemical. Seishi immediately mixed them together, his heart racing in his chest.

The 13 Ultimates ran out of the classroom. Seishi’s stomach churned with nervousness. ‘Hopefully, we’re not too late...’

#gtronpa #danganronpa rebirth #tiny!ayumu #giant!literally everybody else #kudos to whoever knows what movie the title is spoofing #the-littlest-geek... posting about something OTHER than giant Saiji? It’s more likely than you think. #in this story Zen and Seishi are different people #the incredible shrinking unlucky student

[let-it-show]

All The Love I Found In You 9/?

Ahh, I’m sorry for the wait everyone. I still see activity on this story so thank you so much for reading it ;; You can find part 8 here! Poor Anna isn’t feeling super well and having some issues. But what else is wrong? Elsa is full of confusion and guilt, she’s not sure what to do. Ah, the troubles that come with love... Click HERE for part 10! tag for @hellodemoiselle !!

Despite being exhausted from the day, Elsa could not fall asleep.

It wasn't an isolated event. When her mind was overtaken with her worries she would stay up and just think, usually watching the sky when she stayed away from everyone. It was always better in the winter when she could watch the snow. In Ahtohallan she watched certain memories throughout the night - often they involved Anna. Between her years of isolation and leaving Arendelle, she spent time with Anna if her mind would not let her sleep. Even if she didn't tell Anna exactly what was on her mind all the time, her presence helped.

Elsa found herself gazing down on her sister's sleeping form, lying on her side by then with Anna on her back. Her shoulder had become a dull aache but still unpleasant. She was looking at her own form but it was Anna's soul in there, every movement was hers. The smile on her face, that was Anna's, and so was the hand Elsa held in her own.

"What could it be, Anna?" she whispered into the silence of the night. She had a small wish that Anna would manifest her dreams and that she could learn something from those. However, Anna's dreams could be off the wall. Elsa supposed she didn't need Anna to create scenes of reindeers in slippers racing each other in the bedroom.

Anna offered no answer, just a sleepy little sigh.

"I'm not going to leave you." Elsa had waves of strong regret flooding through her off and on as the hours went by.

If only in the past she had at least tried to connect with Anna, tried to sneak out to see her sometimes or at the very least, offered words through the door when her parents died. Her parents, who she listened to and thought the world of even as they did irreparable amounts of damage to both women. They had tried hard. What options did they even have? What they did made sense.

No. No, that was wrong. They didn't have to do exactly what the trolls said. They didn't have to keep them apart so many years. When they were a few years older than when the accident happened, why couldn't they have figured out a way for the sisters to connect? Why? It was her fault-no, she had been a little kid when she hurt Anna! She hurt Anna...

"Stop!" she growled to herself and then froze. She'd done that louder than she meant to. "Stop," she whispered again.

How to silence her mind from the thoughts that plagued her? She didn't know that they would ever quite go away. Even if they came far less often than they used to, they still happened.

Part of her wanted to walk, maybe go to the library and try to seek out an answer - both for her thoughts, and get ideas for Anna. However, she had been all over the library for the former and found no magic cure. And if she got up and left, waking up alone would surely hit Anna's panic button like a giant's rock.

She didn't want to leave her anyway, especially as Anna snuggled in closer. Elsa squeezed her hand and lowered herself back down in the bed so her face snuggled against Anna. Maybe another hour passed and Elsa finally fell asleep.

"Ooooh no, oh no..."

Elsa's eyes shot open to the sounds of moaning and groaning next to her on the bed. She sat up in alarm and looked to Anna, who had rolled on her side with her back to Elsa. The first bits of morning light fell in through the window with curtains they had forgotten to close and for a moment Elsa thought the complaint was due to being woken up..

When she heard another painful groan, she knew otherwise. "Anna...?" Her fingers gently brushed her shoulder.

"Ooooh Elsa, oh Elsa it's baaaad..."

"What's bad?" Elsa asked, her entire being nearly in panic mode at any slight bit of discomfort from her sister. She had an idea, just a little inkling...

"Oh Elsa I had some strong stuff last night and so much cheese, I'm going to be sick! My head hurts too, whyyyyy why did I do that," Anna moaned out and started inching toward the edge of the bed. "I gotta throw up."

"Woah let's get you to the washroom, throw up there and-"

"Noooope." As soon as the word was out, Anna propped herself up and leaned over to throw up. "Ohgaw!" she made a strangled noise of surprise as she did so. Elsa cringed and tried to pet her back and arm in what she hoped was a soothing gesture.

She felt a spike of cold in the air, and wasn't terribly surprised. When she was sick she made snowmen with a sneeze and one time when she was terribly nauseous she made a blizzard in the washroom. With Anna she guessed she shot some snowballs out her nose.

Her hand continued to rub Anna's arm as she felt her body shake from exertion. It took a few minutes for the poor girl to recover. Even when she seemed she had she laid her head on the pillow again and groaned.

Elsa steeled herself for the sight on the floor; she was going to take care of it right away from Anna and she started to get up. "No, please," Anna begged weakly when Elsa began to peel away from her. "Can you stay a little longer? It's still early."

"It's very early, but I need to clean up and get you some water and a bucket," Elsa told her. Then I'll lay back down with you for a little while," she told her.

Surprisingly, Anna giggled. "Oh there's nothing to worry about for cleaning." Anna turned her head a little. "I turned it into snow on the way out."

"You..." Elsa blinked. She couldn't remember ever doing that herself.

"I didn't want to be gross and I didn't want to taste it so...I sort of froze it but not entirely and anyway I puked snow." She giggled again and then groaned. "Ow..."

"I'm impressed," Elsa admitted. "You got a handle on those powers quick to turn vomit into snow in the process of, uh, yea."

"It was kinda easy for me," Anna admitted in a small voice. "But control with emotions is...it works for me I guess, when I'm happy mostly."    

"Your love has always been there, always been a powerful part of you and you flourish with it," Elsa said, lowering herself to kiss Anna's cheek. "I should have expected it." She wondered if, even with Anna being in her body only a couple of days, if she already handled her powers better...

If so, she was proud. She couldn't be jealous. She had concealed too long and too hard and Anna hadn't.

"I'm going to get you water." Elsa still had to take care of her.

"Nonono, please please," Anna begged weakly. "Can you stay, I don't feel good so can you stay?"

"Anna," Elsa sighed in frustration. "I'm going to come right back! You need to drink something and if you cuddle up to me I'll fall right back asleep before getting you anything."

"I don't see the problem," Anna whined.

"I do." Elsa finally managed to slip away from Anna and the blankets, shivering in the cool air. It may have been cold anyway, but the chill born from Anna's sickness only piled onto it all. She wished she had slippers near the bed or something, but last night she hadn't exactly been thinking about a wake-up routine. "I'm going to get the fireplace going again, too."

"But I can keep you warm," Anna told her as Elsa sought out a robe by the door to throw over herself.

"I know. But you need not focus on my well being, and if you get too warm or your head hurts too much-"

"I can do it. I can do whatever you need me to, Elsa."

Elsa's hand had been on the doorknob when Anna's words made her hesitate. She noticed her voice seemed small, too. "Anna?" She peered at her and Anna was sitting halfway up in the bed peering at her with wide, begging eyes.

"Don't go, I can um, I can take care of you so stay."

"..." Elsa studied her. Surely Anna wasn't drunk, still, though a mean hangover could be messing with her mind. As a result it was bringing yet more to the surface. Elsa needed to learn it and hear it, but she didn't like it coming forth as she was trying to help her. "I know you can take care of me, but you shouldn't have to do that right now. Let me take care of you. Please? I'll be right back."

Her words seemed to do the trick, for the time being. "Oh...okay..."

Elsa smiled at her and then hurried out the door, the cool floor making her feet feel like, well, ice. It was uncomfortable at best and she hurried toward the kitchen for a fresh pitcher of water. They still had glasses in the bedroom. The cooks might be starting breakfast preparation. Elsa hoped she could easily duck in and out.

Luck was on her side. A couple of the servers were in and cleaning the counters down while the head cook had his head in the pantry. The servers saw her and opened their mouths to say hello, but Elsa just gave them a tiny wave, trying to signal she didn't have time to stop and chat. They appeared a little thrown off but that seemed about right. Anna usually chatted and was a beaming ray of sunshine to all the staff. Elsa didn't have the time or the energy to do so.

It was upon leaving the kitchen with the pitcher that she was vaguely aware she had Anna's bedhead going on for her and she never let staff see her like that. Oops.

She was making her way for the stairs when she heard a greeting called her way. "Queen Anna! My, I didn't expect to catch you this morning!"

Menander. Of course it was Menander, so early catching her leaving the kitchen when she was in a hurry. And yet, she couldn't pretend she didn't hear him so she stopped and turned. "Hello Menander!" she said with a smile. "You're...you're up early."

"As are you!" Menander was dressed in an excessively large robe. It was a deep red with lines embroidered around the bottom to resemble lighter red flames. On the chest of his rob was the runic letter Wyn in black. It looked brand new, and Elsa couldn't shake the feeling he had chosen that morning to show it off for some reason.

That man was very odd. "Sort of. I woke up thirsty and I won't be able to get the rest of the sleep I need if I don't take care of that," she said lamely.

"Ah, I think a portion of your staff and people could stand to do the same," he said with a chuckle. "I've hardly seen anyone else awake, which means the party was enjoyed."

"Something like that." She didn't want everyone out of it for the day when the world kept going and there were still discussions to be had and papers to be signed. But perhaps it could buy her and Anna more time to get going. Elsa felt fine, but...

"Are you taking water to your sister?"

"Huh? Oh.." she had started to space out. Maybe she was a little hungover.

He motioned to the pitcher. "Lots of water for one person."

"Yes." Elsa nodded. Would it matter much if she mentioned they shared the bed? They had many times before, so...

"I will let you get back to her as I ask the kitchen about a special breakfast," Menander said, bowing his head. "Please tell Elsa I said hello."

Elsa had been worked up to defend Anna passing out in her room, but Menander didn't even question it. As a result she remembered his words from the night before and suddenly felt the need to ask him a question. She called out as he started to turn. "Wait, Menander! Can I ask you something?"

He whirled right back around to regard her with a wide grin. "Of course, fair queen! What would you ask of me?"

Why was he so dramatic? "Well, it's a little strange but you see I...Olaf found this book and I couldn't quite answer him, and all your talk of twin flames yesterday morning..." She took a deep breath as she rambled much like Anna. "True love is the most powerful force in the world, right?"

"Powerful doesn't do it justice!" Menander expressively waved his hand. "It is the most beautiful force, the most awe-inspiring, sometimes the most painful and the most terrifying! It is a limitless power!"

"Okay...but what if...what if true love doesn't break a spell? What if love is definitely the key, but somehow it isn't working?"

"The answer still lies in true love, dear queen!"

Elsa tried to hide her irritation at that response. "But the true love, it's there, it's expressed, but it isn't working. The power of the spell still remains. The love is strong, but could it possibly not be strong enough?" Her heart ached at those last few words.

"Nonsense." Menander shook his head. "It is plenty strong, it just begs for a secret to come forth, or for a hurt to be understood. It calls for a balance."

At those words her mind was already working. When Anna learned of her powers and Elsa ran away, love still persisted as Anna reached out to find her pain, to try and soothe it, and to eventually save her. Elsa loved her then strongly too, but it was Anna who settled it all with her persistance and actions.

Was she as capable as her loving Anna?

"Huh. So something needs to be...learned, and done, or..."

"Perhaps simply understood, since some things cannot be changed." Menander shrugged. "Ah but that is merely what I have come to learn. Maybe this book that you - ah, Olaf - has an answer hidden deep in it. You just need to take your time reading."

"Hmm." Elsa stared at him, and then sighed. "Thank you, Menander. I-I better get back up with this pitcher," she said.

"Of course," he said, nodding his head to her again. "I hope to see you later this morning as we prepare to travel home!" he told her, turning away slowly, smiling at her as he did. "But if you so desire to spend every moment with your true love, I more than understand." And with that, he walked away.

Elsa turned his words over in her head, wishing she could get a firm grasp on them. There was something yet to be understood and balanced, but she had no clue what. Elsa was smart enough to know there was pain of the past to overcome. But as she recognized that and would be stepping up to the issues, why did the swap persist?

Her mind was working hard even as she entered the bedroom. Anna was laying down on her back, her eyes half closed. "Anna?" Elsa asked quietly as she approached the bed.

"Mmm I started falling back asleep...but head is throbbing..." Anna said weakly.

"I bet it is." Elsa rounded the bed to the nightstand, watching her step around Anna's snowpuke. It had some discoloration near the bottom and she had to look away quickly. "Sit up and have some water," she said as she poured a glass. She held it to Anna who groaned as she sat up.

"How long were you gone? It felt like a long time!"

Elsa laughed. "Not long at all. I happened across Menander and didn't want to be rude so I greeted him."

"Oh." Anna gulped down half her glass at once. "Did he look as bad as me?"

"You look fine."

"You have to say that, it's your face," Anna said with a little grin, followed by a cringe. "Ow, head."

"You always look beautiful to me, Anna, you know this," Elsa told her as she studied her own hungover features. That didn't even look like her! Surely she didn't look that dopey. "He looked fine."

Anna blushed. "Oh...I guess he didn't drink much."

"Maybe." Elsa had poured her own glass, drinking it slowly. "Anna if you're not well when I have to get up, please stay here. I know you want to stick next to me but I don't want you feeling even sicker."

Anna stopped in the middle of gulping more water and looked at her with wide eyes. "But..but Elsa!"

Elsa stepped closer to stroke her head. "I won't be going anywhere. I'll just be doing your queenly duties, you know that. And I'll check on you." She didn't want Anna to end up taking herself out harder by forcing herself to tag along.

"..." Anna looked at her glass instead. "As soon as I feel better I'm tagging along!" she declared.

"Of course." Elsa watched Anna finish her water and set her own glass down too, nearly done with it. She crawled onto the bed and over Anna very carefully. The bruise on her hip had begun to hurt. She lowered herself to the bed she could already feel Anna's hands on her arm and side, bringing her closer. It was adorable. Elsa smiled at Anna, letting her sister roll on her side and pull her closer. She draped herself over her and Elsa looked at her face. It was maybe an inch away. "You feel okay laying like that?"

"It helps, actually," Anna said as she wiggled closer. She closed her eyes and let out a happy sigh.  If it worked, it worked, and Elsa wasn't going to stop her.

While Anna fell asleep, Elsa still didn't. She was so troubled! How was she supposed to figure anything out...Anna had been pretty honest with her the night before but that was under the influence of alcohol and she wasn't into getting her drunk just to talk to her. That didn't seem right.

She laid there for a while before the light poured in generously and she knew it was time to wake for her duties. Anna was still out. "Anna..." Elsa said her name quietly and gently shook her shoulder. "Anna I need to get up."

"None for me, thanks, just the flowers" Anna muttered in her sleep and didn't budge.

Elsa quieted a chuckle and stroked her face. "Anna, I'm going to move, okay?"

When there was nothing but a little sound, Elsa carefully moved herself away. The loss of Anna's touch was rough and her bruises throbbed, but she got herself going. Anna settled into the bed with a light groan and a frown but she didn't wake up.

She was adorable.

Elsa smiled at her and brought the blankets back up over her before she quietly moved on to select a dress. She chose a light and gorgeous dress similar to what Anna had worn when they had searched for a tradition on that holiday a couple years prior. The dress she chose had splashes of a nice pink along the sleeves and on the torso, narrowly escaping being an eyesore. Elsa combed out her hair and tied it back in a braid again. She wanted to leave it down but thought better of it.

When she was ready for the day, she crept up to Anna and leaned down. She kissed her on the cheek and nuzzled her. "I will see you later, my darling," she whispered in her ear.

Then the day started. It was miserable.

Elsa could not focus one bit.

The whole day and night before was a whirlwind for her and she found herself going over all of it, from the happy parts to the worried parts. She'd decided to stay, and on that she wasn't wavering. How would the other spirits react? Would the Northuldra see it as an insult? In her heart she did feel everyone would understand. It was time for her to depart from Ahtohallan as her home. However the anxious part of her buzzed loudly in her skull.

If only Anna were right there with her, as she signed papers. If only Anna were with her as she went over a trade route with her council. If only Anna were there as she finally sat down to a late breakfast by herself and poked idly at the waffles served to her.

All she had to do was look into her eyes and she knew her decision was solid and true.

But Anna wasn't there, so Elsa sipped her hot tea while hoping her beloved would wake up soon to join her.

Just then she heard the door to the dining room and looked up hopefully. In about half a second she realized the footsteps didn't match at all and she spied Olaf running in to join her. "Oh, good morning Olaf!" she greeted him.

"Hi!" He waved a stick hand and kept going to the table. He pulled himself into a chair right across from Elsa so he could face her. "Where's Anna?" he asked her.

"In bed. She was not feeling too well," Elsa told him, wondering how she felt now.

"Oh! ...Oooh." Olaf frowned. "Sorry. I should have stopped bringing her drinks, but she was having fun," he said, giving Elsa a guilty look.

"She also could have stopped herself from drinking them at any time. Besides, it wasn't just the drinks, it was-"

"-the cheese?" Olaf finished and laughed when Elsa nodded. "Kristoff had to start reminding her not to have wine and cheese because it didn't combine well for her."

"I didn't know that." She really didn't! It alarmed Elsa and puzzled her to realize she didn't know something about her sister. She thought she knew everything. Then again, before she left for the forest, she could imagine Anna didn't really want to be seen when sick off alcohol and cheese.

"It...oh I did it again! Too late now. It embarrassed her so she hid it from everyone until Kai caught her throwing up one morning. Wait." Olaf squinted. "She's in your body, do you get sick from it?"

"Sometimes...if I eat a lot of one and drink a lot of the other," Elsa said and sighed. Either body was going to have trouble with all that she guessed but not knowing still bothered her. "I hope she feels better soon."

Olaf was still studying her. "Are you okay?"

"Yes...?" she lied.

"No you're not. I can tell because you aren't eating at all! What's wrong?" he prodded.

"Uh, well..." Elsa hesitated, but she knew she could trust Olaf. He said a lot of strange things, sometimes too much, but he still didn't share her secrets. "I'm very worried about her. Olaf, something is keeping us from changing back, and I think it's Anna's sadness, but I don't...I don't know how to get to the bottom of that. You felt yesterdays happiness."

Olaf laughed and closed his eyes for a long second. "Yes, I did," he finally answered as he reopened them. "It was wonderful!"

Elsa smiled back at him, glancing down at the tabletop before she continued. "That in mind, I don't understand what's going on. Anna was so happy you could feel it in you. I could feel it. We talked last night and-and stuff." Olaf didn't need to hear the details of their kissing. "I've never felt quite this happy, even when I've ridden Nokk across a quiet frozen ocean. Anna is my world and why I was able to-to grow." Anna was her key to everything.

"I think this is the happiest Anna has ever been, too. I mean I only knew her after you freaked out and made me, but she's even happier than she was for those three years!"

"Those three years..." A small portion of both their lives. "And...after that? Kristoff has already told me some, and Anna did herself last night. I thought she got out what she needed to."

"Did she talk about the cave?" Olaf asked abruptly.

"Huh? Oh, you mean when...well, we did talk about it at one point months ago. I apologized. I felt awful, I still feel awful." Her heart ached for the time Anna had spent in the cave she spoke of. It sounded cold, wet, and terrible. She felt like a monster for what she had put her through...

"But how much did she say?" Olaf tilted his head a little. "Anna was destroyed...I mean I was, um, well I wasn't there. But I still know that."

Elsa nodded slowly. Her stomach hurt and she couldn't even touch her tea. "Yes..."

Olaf just looked at her for a minute. He seemed to be internalizing, trying to make his thoughts into words. "Anna told me a few weeks ago. She wanted to give up in the cave. She still wanted to give up after the forest was free, before she saw you again."

"Give up..." Elsa's blood suddenly felt ice cold.

"I don't know exactly what she meant," Olaf told her with concerned eyes. "Maybe she didn't mean what you think she did. But if you hadn't returned alive, she would never be okay again. I know that."

"But Anna is so strong. She doesn't need me to be able to continue forward with her life." Even as she said it, she knew it wasn't true. Anna was indeed strong, she persevered and she pushed on every day! At the same time, Anna's energy was wrapped forever in her own. With their souls brutally ripped apart Anna would have no hope. No future. Though Elsa came back that day she damaged Anna forever.

She wanted to throw up.

"Without you she's been so sad."

"I know," Elsa said as her head spun. She would never leave Anna, but she could never repair what she had done. What if she did hurt her again? She felt like a copy of herself. Elsa was unable to focus on anything, almost unable to breath when a stick hand touched her own.

Olaf waited until she looked up at him. "Hey. You can't change what happened. The past is in the past."

"But it still hurts. It still hurts Anna...I hurt Anna."

"Not anymore?" It was a question and a hopeful one, but so naive it made her even more anxious.

Elsa could only shrug. "I hope not. I don't want to. I want to make sure the rest of her life is beautiful and that she we always feel loved." She wanted to spend all her time giving Anna the dedication she deserved, make up for everything. "I want to beg her forgiveness for all I've put her through..."

"You know she'll give you that." Olaf stated it simply as he gave her a bright look.

"I know." She didn't deserve it. But she would do what she could to earn it. Starting with...oh no! "The fire!"

Olaf jumped and his eye widened. "Fire!? Where? What fire? I'll get the guards!"

"No, no Olaf." Elsa got to her feet quickly. "I meant to start a fire for her in the room and forgot. I know she doesn't feel the cold but it's still peaceful, it's...I forgot! How could I do that," she was annoyed at herself. All that talk of making Anna feel good, and she had forgotten to do that. While she knew Anna would not be bothered about it, she didn't like how she felt about forgetting.

"Oh, oooh go do that!" Olaf said, waving her off. "I'll take care of the dishes!"

"Okay!" Elsa said, smoothing her dress down. "I'm going to- I'm going to do that. And Olaf, thank you," she said honestly. She owed him. "Thank you so much..."

"The fire!"

"Right!" Elsa smiled and rushed off, not even thinking about whatever she had to do next. Take care to put out royal documents she needed delivered, maybe? She'd get to it. For the time being she needed to take care of Anna and see if she could get her talking, see what more she could dig into.

When she arrived at the room she got an unfortunate sight. All of her energy dropped out of her and she sagged in the doorway.

Anna wasn't in bed and the room was empty.

#Frozen 2 #Elsanna #fanfic #elsa #anna #olaf #body swap

[thenightling]

The first Raven (a very short Sandman fan fiction)

           The First Raven  

 Disclaimer:  This is a very short Sandman fan fiction.  The Sandman belongs to Neil Gaiman and DC comics.

This short one shot story is very loosely based on this piece by @artwinsdraws​ but I was a little kinder to Lucien.   I think he’s going through enough right now with the current The Dreaming comics.

The First Raven:  

 “Milord, I have served you loyally and faithfully this past millennium…”  The speech was well practiced but the tone still revealed a certain nervousness and lack of ease.  His voice trembled with uncertainty.

           “What is your point, Lucien?” The Dreamlord sounded weary.    

            Morpheus was seated on his Nightmare Throne.  The whole of it looked to be carved from dark wood and had a Gothic aesthetic to its design.  There were three steps leading up to the ornate throne itself and upon those steps, on either side, were small pumpkins.   Pumpkins had not yet been introduced to Europe at this point but Morpheus and his raven were not in Europe.  They were in The Dreaming.  And he rather liked the look of them.

           The throne was well designed and candles were fixed on the high back of the seat.  Spider-webs made of silk dandled at certain parts as part of the decorative intention.

           Morpheus, himself, matched the throne in his own, long, black robes. His eyes were almost entirely black save for the tiny star-like pupils.  And he had wild, dark hair. He was painfully thin and his skin was as white as bone.  The sleeves of his robes were belled and as such easily fell down his skinny arm when he rested his elbow on the armrest of the throne so that his hand was under his own chin.

            He looked at the black bird that stood on the ground in front of him.  He watched the bird with intent and perhaps some discrete affection.

           “Sire,” The raven said, “I have become weary of my post.  I wish to continue to serve you in some capacity but…”

           “But no longer as my raven?”  The Dreamlord sounded disappointed.

           “Well… Uh…   Yes.” He said meekly, fearing his lord’s well-known wrath.  

           “I see.”

The raven cringed with dread, knowing his lord’s temper.  The cringe came when he saw that Morpheus was rising from his seat on the throne.  

Morpheus descended down the stairs of the throne and stopped at the raven.  He knelt down and offered his arm for the raven to perch on the dark sleeve of the robe.  

“Lucien, you have served me well this past millennia, it is true.   And if you wish to retire from your post, I owe you a boon as payment for your service to me.  Perhaps I can see to that boon benefit us both.”

           “But I-“

           Morpheus made a “Shhhh.” sound as he placed a finger to the black beak, without fear of being bitten by his raven.  

“If you wish to continue to serve me that can be arranged.  But I have had time, Lucien, ample time to prepare for your inevitable retirement and what is owed to you and what shall be done with you, provided your consent, of course.”

            The raven was considerably worried now.  Was he angry and just toying with him?  Was he secretly furious that his raven would want to no longer be his raven?   Nervously he took perch on Morpheus arm, careful not to let his talons pierce the soft, black velvet of the sleeve, and Morpheus rose to stand.

           He walked with Lucien toward a staircase that had not been there a moment before.

  Morpheus walked with his raven, up a long, curving, staircase, to a set of grand doubled doors that almost appeared to be made of gold, and maybe something far stronger than gold hidden under the gilded platting. These were doors Lucien had never seen before but some part of him felt a rush of excitement at what might be behind them.

           Morpheus placed his hand against the heavy, gilded, doors and the doors easily gave way to his touch.  

           Beyond the doors was a room that seemed as wide and expansive as the castle as itself, if not more so.   There were stone tablets with carvings engraved into them, resting against the walls. There were slotted shelves, with perfect square openings.  And in each square was a perfect Greek or Roman scroll.   There were texts from Mesopotamia written on untreated lamb’s skin. There were hand-bound volumes of the new and gorgeous invention, the book.  There were many books already.   More than what Lucien imagined existed in the Waking world.

           These were things that Lucien loved dearly.  Poetry, art, plays, history…  All compiled here in this grand repository.  He had never seen such a thing.  

           The raven flew from his perch and began to fly through the stacks and shelves, exploring the texts that were easy to see, the ones pinned to walls or in display cases of transparent glass.

           He flew back to Morpheus and flapped his wings to stay at face level with him.   This grand collection of stories and knowledge was all he could ever dream of, all his little heart had desired.

            “My Lord… Is this- is this Heaven?”

           “No. But it could be your Heaven.  Do you want it?”

           “Me?”  Lucien’s little raven eyes seemed to swell to double their size.  Had he been human they might have been welling with tears. Even now they seemed glassy with emotion.  

           “This new library will house all the stories that are dreamed of.   Every tale that was never told and yet dreamed of by the potential author will be here.  Along with their Waking works, of course.”

           “My lord, I- I don’t know what to say…”

           “Say you will be my librarian.   Consent to this change of position and this library will be yours forever.”

           “Oooh, yes.”  

           “Very good.”  There was a twinge of something like a smile on the edges of Morpheus’ mouth.          “What form would you like to have?”

           “What form?”

           “Yes.  You are no longer my raven.  You could physically remain a raven but I am under the impression you don’t want that. And it would make your new duty somewhat difficult, though not necessarily impossible…”

           “Do you want to be human?”

           “Well, not exactly…” Lucien said with careful thought.  “Humanish, I suppose.   It’s been so long I don’t think I know how to be a human.  But I wouldn’t mind thumbs, and hair.   And…   Ooooh, may I be tall?”

           “You may.”  Morpheus actually looked amused.   He imagined it could sometimes get frustrating to have the size of a bird and not be able to reach things without the aid of flight.

           “Taller than you?” he asked cautiously.  “Say… about a head taller thank you?”

           Morpheus walked from him and ran a pale, bony finger over one of the book spines to his left.  “You would have to be tall to reach some of the higher shelves with ease.”  He said thoughtfully.

           “I don’t want to look the way I did… before I was your raven.  I want to be someone new.  Can you make me a body specific to being your librarian?” Lucien had not always been a raven but he was not fond of remembering who or what he had been before then and Morpheus was obliged to not remind him.  Though Lucien had been the first raven, Morpheus had consciously decided that if he sought new ravens to serve him, he would pick souls that had not quite like being human anyway.

           “I can.”

            Morpheus moved to the raven.  He reached for the leather pouch that hung at his own hip and drew out a fistful of the glittering, magical sand.  He scattered this over the raven. Lucien shut his eyes with uneasy anticipation.  

Morpheus’ cunning fingers went to work as if he was sculpting soft clay.

 Lucien barely felt the transformation but as he changed, each aspect of the metamorphoses seemed perfectly natural.  White fingers lightly stroked the feathers on top of Lucien’s head.   Before he realized it he had hair the color of dry, autumn leaves.  It was very much brown.

His nose, though human, was still somewhat beak-like. He felt the nimble fingers lightly tugging at what was fast becoming human-like (or elf-like) ears. The ears were pointed as many of Morpheus’ creations had pointed ears.  Morpheus rather liked pointed ears.   The skin tone was Caucasian and light.  The eyes were brown, like the hair.

 Lucien knew his eyes were changing when he felt the fingertips lightly rest against his eyelids.  The magick tingled through him.  When the tingling faded Lucien finally opened his eyes.  He moved toward a mirror that hung on the wall and he was certain had not been there a moment before. He examined himself, the new face- quite different from his original human one.  He approved of the beak-like nose.  And the soft, expressive, brown eyes.  He even liked the hair, it almost felt like feathers.

 He was wearing a suit of new clothing.  And he looked down at his hands, flexing the fingers.  They felt good.  They felt natural.   He turned to his side, where his lord now stood.  And he looked down at Morpheus.  How small and child-like his lord looked to him from this height!  He looked around himself in wonder and then grimaced.

“What’s wrong?”  Morpheus asked, like a painter who might have just learned his latest masterpiece had a flaw.

“It’s- It’s nothing… It’s just…”

“Just what?”

Lucien lightly touched the eyelids.  “It’s all satisfactory, milord.  And I don’t want to sound ungrateful…  I very much appreciate the height. But...”

“But?”

“It’s the eyes…   I saw so much clearer as a raven, so far, and with impeccable detail.  These eyes are weak and the words in the spines blur from a distance.”  He frowned. “It’s rather blurred and faded compared to how I saw as a raven.”  

“You would prefer to have kept your raven eyes?”  Morpheus raised his hand as if to ready himself to undo some of his work. Raven eyes sized to fit a human head-like wouldn’t be too difficult.

Lucien shook his head.  “No.   I like the look of them.  I just...”

“You just want to see as you saw as a raven but retain those eyes?”

Lucien nodded, reluctant to ask for such a thing.

 Morpheus reached into the pouch at his hip and took out a fistful of glittering dreamsand.  He scattered this into the air and caught the thing that was taking form.   He placed the round spectacles on the bridge of Lucien’s nose.  “There.”

Lucien pushed the spectacles the rest of the way up his face.  From behind the glass he saw precisely as he had with his raven eyes.  “Oh!  Oh, that is much better!  Thank you, Milord!”

 There was that trace of a smile again on Morpheus’ face.   “Does this make you happy, my librarian?”

“It is all I have ever wanted.”

“Then it is yours.   This is your reward for serving me as my raven.  You will serve me now as my librarian.”

 And so Lucien the Librarian was born.

The End

#Neil Gaiman's The Sandman: Fan fiction #Lucien The Librarian #Morpheus #Dream of The Endless #The Sandman

[tfw-no-tennis]

mtmte liveblog issues 4&5

its delphi time babey

I'm sorry but drift & co look like such fuckin nerds on their scooter things on the cover lmaooo

oh god. seeing the first page just reminded me of how horribly confused i was for this whole little arc the first time i read it. i was like ok, who are all these new characters, and also why does everyone look so similar

anyways now i now what's going on. i love first aid

love the running continuity of rung being the literal only psychologist on cybertron (except for fr*id but that's later). no wonder everyone's fucked up they all have to share a single therapist 

ok i find it extremely funny that first aid was demoted from doctor to nurse, as if that's a thing that happens EVER - I mean it'd be one thing if first aid was a nurse practitioner (which i doubt is a position that exists here), at least that demotion would make sense, but like...the doctors i work with don't know how to do most nurse stuff (like BP, cathing, vaccinations, hell even using some of the thermometers - that's all stuff nurses/etc do), so demoting one to a nurse would be a disaster (just like promoting a really good nurse to a doctor would be a bad idea). anyways i know I'm being pedantic but it Be like that when you work in the medical field and read something that has medicine-related stuff in it

i love swerve giving ratchet the tiniest free drink ever lmaooo

is that skids being a rowdy drunk in the bg lmaoooo

unironically i love medical statistics. keep it comin

i love magnus’s giant sternal chestpiece thing. its like a bird’s sternum but without the massive pec muscles attached 

i love magnus and rodimus’s dynamic so much

oh pipes....im so sorry but this fun space adventure is going to be not so much fun for you

ratchets ideologies are certainly interesting, and i liked seeing how they changed over the course of the story

drift: why would i be SCARED of the DJD, I've got a SWORD, two swords even,

hvbhajkhfbsdjkf pipes really said ‘oi, you two - what's this, then?’ that's the most british fucking thing, that's literally something i say when I'm doing an overexaggerated british accent, oh my god,

PIPES IS SUCH A TINY DUMBASS. ILY SIR BUT WHAT ARE YOU DOING

aaaand now you're covered in dead bodies, pipes. look at your life, look at your choices

drift epic sword moments

drift confirmed for the kinda weird guy who has katanas that he uses to like, cut up fruit and water bottles in his backyard while rodimus films him

‘i thought i heard...bickering’ lmaooooo

ah, so its covid

this arc is how i feel working in healthcare lmaooo especially now that i probably have covid 

so rewind condensed the entire war into an 11 second long cringe compilation. nice

seeing the mechanical stuff past tailgate’s visor is so cool

poor tailgate, this guy is getting slammed with history from multiple sides. and like, bias is inevitable in ANY sort of recounting of events, especially controversial historical events, so poor tg just kinda has to take it all in and decide who to listen to 

that’s...not really how immunity works, guys. also, you shouldn't be exposed to so much disease with proper ppe usage

is there even such thing as ppe in the transformers universe?? there are fluid- and contact-transmitted illnesses, so there SHOULD be

is there even OSHA in this universe??????? unbelievable 

first aid, holding a giant fucking claw clamp: we haven't tried EVERYTHING............

first aid read a human wikihow article on how to jumpstart a car and took notes 

i love tailgate’s ‘mom says its my turn on the xbox’ pose 

tailgate has a point - he’s from pre-war times, where things weren't as grey so of course he would try to divide the two sides into ‘good guys’ and ‘bad guys’

CYCLONUS BE NICE DONT HIT UR FUTURE HUSBAND

go get some character development and then maybe you'll feel better

seeing the word quarantine is making me twitchy w/my possible month-long complete isolation quarantine on the horizon

drift pulling his swords on pipes and ratchet pushing down drift’s arms...lmao

poor pipes...even tho this is completely his fault, its still rough

also jesus, pharma and ratchet look so goddamn similar, reading this was so confusing the first time around 

drifts idea of subduing pipes involves turning into a cool car and also posing with his sword

also. never gonna be over drift’s massive thighs. jesus man

ooof now drift has the rona. ouch 

poor drift, his covid realization is getting overshadowed by pharma being flung around

first aid bustin thru w/the epic medical nipple clamps and some Big Boi Backup

ok that's an epic pre-beatdown speech from fort max right there, daym 

im just gonna continue on w/issue 5 now for continuity’s sake. yay!

the cover of tailgate in magnus’s autobot school is so cute

and we open with an incredible shot of fort max str8 up ripping a guy in half. i mean, to be fair, he DID just give an epic speech about how much he was gonna do that, and he certainly followed thru

yeahhhhh, fort max is not doing so well atm

when he puts that dudes head in his chest vent thing and then snaps it shut....man 

also i fucking LOVE when their faces are shaded all in black w/only the eyes/mouth fully drawn...fantastic stuff

ratchet: phew i am not equipped to deal w/this level of Fucked Up Mental Trauma. u good m8?

ratchet is already writing up a referral to rung for fort max as this is happening

drift is just laying on the ground dying like, oh hey yeahh I'm still here too 

i fucking love when punctuation is drawn in story - like here where first aid has a little ? over his head....fav

ratchet holding drifts hand ;_; 

ok tbh ambulon having switched sides 10 yrs ago is wild bc like, 10 years is barely any time for these guys, especially in a war that lasted 4 million years. that would be like a human switching sides in a war like, 3 months before it ends. probably. i sense some math bs, I'm just extrapolating here

all that mexican standoff shit is going down and first aid is just like But That's None Of My Business

ah so ambulon is an asymptomatic carrier 

and there's first aid with the save! iconic

pharma calling ratchet ‘buddy’ hbvakjdsbfhkasdf

ooooh i love that they figured it out - and i love that twist, that transforming is what triggers the start of symptoms. remember when drift turned into a cool car? yep

s/o to Ambulon Transformers for helping me in my medical terminology courses, bc now ill always remember: Leg(tm)

also this explanation makes a ton more sense (in universe, at least) than the whole ‘i guess we as medical staff have been exposed to enough Germz that we’re more immune to this or something’ theory 

ah, i love the meaningless (to me) alien robot medical jargon 

drift and ratchet hhhhhhhhh

‘I'm too wide’ fort max L O R G E

also once again drift is forgotten in favor of a bunch of other dramatic stuff happening vbhjksdfbjhskdf

godddd i love tailgates little flashbacks where we see how Important and Special he is, complete with his ‘bomb disposal’ arm label...augh its so good! 

and tailgate’s autopedia page even reflects his lies! like, did tailgate go edit that first thing upon waking up??? seriously, I'm fascinated by tailgate’s meticulous dedication to his fake life

also the fact that ultra magnus believes everything he read on autopedia is amazing lmao

ultra magnus: you think somebody would just go on the internet and tell lies? 

fuckgin love magnus’s long ass name/title placard 

tailgate hvbahjkdfbjhaskf i mean, he’s gotten the abridged version of everything else, of course he would assume that’d be the case here too...but not on magnus’s watch

magnus cant even say ‘fun’ hvukdasdbjfkjsadf i love my uptight law dad

love rung implying that upon questioning, he would easily divulge a patient’s name and maybe even information about said patient’s treatment while under him....love the disregard for patient confidentiality and hipaa in general 

not that hipaa seems to exist here, at least not in a fully realized form 

also i mean the above genuinely, i think rung’s tendency towards at least slight malpractice is very interesting 

poor red alert....super bad luck that HE was the guy to get roped up in that overlord business 

I'm glad that, at the very least, red alert was able to prove that he was Actually hearing something to rung, rather than get brushed off completely 

god magnus and tailgate’s interactions are golden 

also tg is much more sarcastic/quippy than anyone gives him credit for tbh

‘thought warfare,’ ultra magnus says with complete seriousness. god i fucking love this comic

now i can tell pharma apart from ratchet bc pharma has let his true Petty Bitch nature emerge and you can see it in his expressions

the whole ‘tarn is addicted to transforming’ thing didn't really go anywhere, right? i feel like i noticed that on my second readthru as well 

also pharma is such an interesting character given the context of him like, trying to strike a bargain w/the djd to keep them from destroying delphi, but that arrangement inevitably kinda making him lose it as the situation escalates. he’s also just really entertaining bc i feel like he kins the joker or st and probably gets into really heated arguments w/people on twitter about just abt anything

‘sound bomb’ i love this comic

another important facet of pharma’s character becomes clear around this time as well - how he’s really into ratchet. i also choose to read them as awful exes tbh, it makes their dynamic even more entertaining

‘killmaster, with the wand’ is one of my favorite running remarks lmao

also, was killmaster even a character before mtmte? or, if he was, was he an important one? it would crack me up the most if he literally didn't exist at all, but any way you spin it is still funny 

ratchet’s tiny humansona facing off against pharma is wild

‘I'm miles from anyone i truly care about’ brutal, ratchet, drift is dying like 2 floors away (im p sure)

SUDDENLY DRIFT IS HERE, ACTUALLY 

oh don't worry first aid, that sure isn't the last we’ll be seeing of pharma 

so like, did first aid save everyone by posting that data log to his wreckers fan blog or something? lmao love it 

i love the pretty fucked up reveal of ratchet having stolen pharma’s hands. like, damn dude. 

and that wraps up the delphi arc! our first true ‘arc’ of mtmte, and a fantastic one at that. short and snappy and fresh, with some very clever writing and cool new characters, and a lot of great plot threads to be picked up later. plus, we got to see the beginnings of drift and ratchet’s whole thing (and ratchet and pharmas whole thing). and the lost light gets some much needed extra medical staff, so everyone wins! 

well, we’ll see how fort max feels about this all pretty soon.....

#lj rereads mtmte #love me some delphi

[nocompromise-noregrets]

1, 4, 8, 20, 24!

YAY THANK YOU! :D

1. Tell us about your current project(s) – what’s it about, how’s progress, what do you love most about it?  Well. Obviously Two of a Kind is the ultimate ongoing project, dammit all to hell (two very damaged ex-street-kid musicians slowly working out that they are everything in the world to each other; they are the archetypal idiots in love), but it’s not co-operating at the moment. What is cooperating, however, rather faster than I can write it down, is My Heart Is An Empty Vessel, which is a Bard the Welshman/Thranduil the Drama King epic currently standing at *checks* just over 60k, with a multitude of side fics and an ultimate-happy-ending epilogue which is threatening to turn into a sequel that plays extremely fast and loose with canon. I’d expected it to be about 10k of sexual tension and maybe a bit of smut, but the characters had other ideas, and now it’s 60k of feelings, yearning, pining, a bit of smut, political ramifications, and Bard’s kids being alternately scheming (Sigrid the oldest girl) and adorable (Tilda the youngest girl). I am bewildered to fuck but enjoying every second of it. :D

4. Share a sentence or paragraph from your writing that you’re really proud of (explain why, if you like)  Ooooh, this is going to take some thought. I am really happy with how Empty Vessel is turning out (I might dare to think that it’s my best work so far, although that might have a lot to do with how much I’m loving writing it), and there are a lot of bits that I might choose, but here is a bit that makes me squee every time I reread it:

Bard’s letters provided small bright spots in the darkness of winter. He was not eloquent, and he clearly struggled to think of what to say; most of the letters were variations on a theme of ‘it is cold and wet and everyone is miserable and I am most miserable of all’, but Thranduil could read between the lines and understand what Bard was trying to say, and that made his heart sing. Bard was miserable because he was uncomfortable with the role that had been thrust upon him, but also because he was missing Thranduil quite dreadfully; he looked forward to spring not only for the better weather but because that was when they would see each other again. His negotiations with the Dwarves for builders and stone to make the buildings safe had gone well, because Sigrid and Tauriel had known just what to say, and that was because they had been studying the book Thranduil had sent them. Bain was becoming a competent archer and swordsman thanks to his textbook, and Tilda was a ray of sunshine who could not stop retelling the tales from the book of Elflings’ stories Thranduil had sent. I cannot thank you enough for the books, Bard wrote more than once, it was a kindness we did not look for, and we all appreciate it very much. Which meant, Thranduil thought, you remembered my children and I take the gesture as it was intended and it warms my heart even now.

And just for fun, because I had a blast writing it, here is an extract from Bard and Sigrid explaining to Thranduil how their negotiations with King Dáin of the Dwarves have been going (I channelled Billy Connolly as best as I could), and how Dáin reacted to a particular suggestion with regard to diplomatic relations with the Elves:

“And what did he say?” inquired Thranduil, one eyebrow raised.

“I can only tell you if you cover Tilda’s ears,” said Bard, and Thranduil did so with a soft chuckle, though Tilda pouted in disappointment. When the little girl’s ears were safely covered, Bard drew in a breath. “He said that if I thought he was [spoiler spoiler spoiler] to the perfidious pointy-eared pretty princeling, I could bugger right back off to the lake and then I could keep buggering off until I got to the Woodland Realm and then…well, I’ll stop there, given the company, but he continued in that vein for a little while. He did manage to cast aspersions on you, me, and what he perceived our alliance to be, let’s just put it that way.”

Sigrid was chortling hysterically behind the hand she had clapped to her mouth, and Bain was snickering, wide-eyed at the amount of profanity he was apparently considered old enough to hear. Thranduil let out a bark of laughter, and Bard was relieved that he did not appear to be offended.

“He does not seem to have a great many insults for me, does he?” said Thranduil after a moment, uncovering Tilda’s ears. “Except one or two about my appearance, and the rest is simply where I live, and an inaccuracy about my rank.”

[they have already reported several of Dáin’s utterances on the subject, and none of them have been complimentary XD ]

8. Is what you like to write the same as what you like to read? To a certain extent. I am much happier reading really angsty stuff and really smutty stuff than I am writing it - I can’t do unhappy endings or heavy angst because I just want my characters to be happy, and I can’t do explicit smut mostly because most of the words for the necessary parts of the anatomy make me cringe. XD I can read it quite happily, but I can’t make myself write it.

20. Tell us the meta about your writing that you really want to ramble to people about (symbolism you’ve included, character or relationship development that you love, hidden references, callbacks or clues for future scenes?) Ooooooh. I am nowhere near clever or organised enough to intentionally include symbolism and callbacks, but I was delighted to discover last week, on rereading A Little Piece of the Sea, the series I began 15-odd years ago about Legolas and Prince Imrahil of Dol Amroth (it’s a tiny ship but I will sail it till I die), that I have unconsciously included some fairly huge parallels with that story in Empty Vessel. I mean, apart from the fact that both Legolas and his Dad manage to fall in love with a mortal (there are some fairly large similarities between how I’ve characterised Imrahil and Bard, although they are very different people). Particularly the first story in the series, in which Legolas and Imrahil meet at Éomer and Lothíriel’s wedding and become lovers, which I wrote in 2004, and had not referred back to at all before I wrote the first few chapters of Empty Vessel. :D So that was pleasing. Mostly I discover this stuff after the fact, because I’m definitely a pantser, not a planner, and the stories just come out how they want to come out, and to hell with whatever I might have envisaged for them.

24. Would you say your writing has changed over time? Not stylistically, I don’t think. I’ve just become capable of writing longform fiction, thanks to doing NaNo a few times. I’ve looked back at some of my old stuff recently and I wouldn’t have done any of it any differently if I were writing it today - but I’ve become more capable of sustaining a story, and perhaps more confident at just going with what the muse tells me, no matter how wordy or lyrical or potentially pretentious. 

THANK YOU THAT WAS FUN!, <33333

#anyone else want to ask me stuff? #the questions are a little way back on my blog now because i reblog so much stuff #but i love answering these things #so if you want me to reblog the q's just ask #:D #palavapeite

[gumnut-logic]

okay okay 34 and 39!! 😁

Well, this proves little other than I know how to ramble and not really answer a question :D But I did try :D

34.  What was the hardest scene you ever had to write?

Ooooh, you’re reaching into long term WIP territory, basically because they are long term WIP sometimes for this reason.

‘The Price’ this fic is incomplete even though I know how it ends and how to get there. I really should just sit down and write it as Sotto Voce is a special universe for me. I think the problem is that at heart I am not a violent or severe hurt-loving person. I got Virgil into a position that just hurt. I broke him both physically and mentally and it was actually affecting me and I had to step away from the fic (which is kinda sad and pathetic, but writing is such an involving experience for me, it is really full on and immersive and my mood can be fragile (and annoying)).

I’ve also found the ends of fics to often be a challenge. I often throw out one liners in the middle of stories that sound great at the time, but when the fic comes to an end I have to tie it all together. It can go from fun to actual hard work to tie everything up and find an end. A good example of this is A Little Chaos. That one is caught up on a resolution issue. I had one thing planned, but tried something else and I’m not happy with it – there are over 2000 words of it (I think) unpublished sitting on my ipad. I need to go back and re-orchestrate it.

I used to have a sign up in my studio – TO START IS FUN, BUT TO FINISH IS ECSTACY. Endings are hard.

But for scenes I have actually written…ack, there are so many and my memory is so poor. I have stress feelings from the second half of Gentle Rain – the brothers were hurting a lot and relationships strained. Fischler vs Tracy was a technical challenge – I had to research NZ law and procedure for that one and ended up fluffing most of it because I don’t have the brain for it. Still crossing my fingers a lawyer or court person doesn’t read it and cringe badly. Control & Understanding also sucked because there was so much yelling between Scott and Virgil ::wails:: So much hurt.

Let’s just say I’m rather too emotionally connected to my characters when writing. Nutty can hurt herself if she is not careful :D

That and if it gets too hard, Nutty doesn’t write it :D

 39.  Weirdest character concept you’ve ever had

::grins:: The first one to come to mind is rainbow farting Virgil in Prank War, but that was really Veggie’s fault :D

::fights forgetful brain:: All sorts of weird things pass through my distracted brain, but only a few actually land on the page.

The whole Marks & Wings AU is pretty out there for me. I haven’t traditionally been an AU writer, well not beyond picking a point in canon and branching off. The embryonic scene that was the first inkling of Marks & Wings is special to me, despite the fact I rewrote it in the fic that eventually joined the series.

He held his breath as long as he possibly could, but eventually he had to shoot for the surface, strong arms climbing up the water column, shoulders aching and lungs straining. Busting into the air, Virgil gulped in enough oxygen to stabilise his system, the chill of the surface breeze goosepimpling his arms.

He dipped and rose with the slight swell for a moment, bare legs kicking, the bright sunlight driving him to squint. There was water in his ears.

A few strong breaths and he dove once more. He was naked with the exception of his tight swim trunks, IR emblazoned on his hip, and he could feel it as he dove deeper, the cold of the ocean seeping into his bones.

He returned to Gordon, floating in the flickering turquoise sunlight. His brother lay drifting, all ten tentacles lax, his chromatophores flickering in the remains of distress, ink still drifting lazily in the distance.

Virgil reached out and gently touched his soft mantle. Under his fingers his brother’s skin activated, colour and pattern dancing in reaction to their connection. Cells flashed deep contrasts, spots merging to plains of saturation only to retreat to match the shape of Virgil’s hand.

As his hand moved, his print was left behind.

Gordon’s fine stabilising fins rippled in the sequence to move him just slightly, bringing his great eye to gaze upon the second Thunderbird. The glassy iris flickered with familiar amber.

Virgil hung there as long as he possibly could, but eventually he, again, had to climb to the surface leaving his brother behind.

Another desperate gasp of oxygen, his hair in his eyes.

The sun glared at him and he dove again.

And would keep doing so as long as he had to.

-o-o-o-

The first time I actually picked up a bunch of characters and completely removed them from their universe and slapped them in another was as recent as last month with The Prince Who Would Not Be King.

The great silver form of Eos sat on his arm preening her feathers. Every so often, the hawk would pause and survey the room, just like her bearer, her startling red eyes catching everything. Sal would never understand that relationship, but it had saved her family more than once and she was grateful, if still wary.

I do have a single scene floating around in the back of my brain where Virgil is working in a garage as a mechanic and he has lost his memory. Just that single scene (but that’s how some of my biggest fics have evolved, though this one would require a lot of work on a trope that has been pretty well used in fandom before…though it could be fun anyway).

So, uh, the short answer to that question is…my characters aren’t as weird as they could be?

Umm, yeah, so I obviously forget most things ::headdesk::

Thank you for asking ::hugs you lots:: Apologies for the rambling.

[trashyswitch]

YouTube Collabs be like...

Chapter 1: 2 Dares...That’s All it Took...

Jack and Felix are filming a video together! The filming experience becomes a roller coaster ride, as their adrenaline becomes tested.

WARNING: A couple swears.

“DINGDINGDINGDINGDING! TOP OF MORNING!” Jack yelled in his chair.

“TOP OF MORNING! SWEDISH NOISES!” Felix yelled beside him. Jack chuckled.

“WOW! YOU’RE SWEDEN?! I HAD nO iDeA!” Jack joked, placing his hands on his cheeks in pure ‘surprise’.

“SuRpRiSe! I is SwEdEn!” Felix said, purposefully messing up the grammar.

“WOOOOOW! Hi Edgar!” Jack cheered in a baby voice, completely changing his focus from the camera to the little black pug that was suddenly in front of him.

“EDGAR! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE! We are RECORDING!” Felix yelled, jokingly before picking up his pug.

“WAIT! One last pet!” Jack begged. Felix rolled his eyes, before letting Jack pet his head.

“Pat pat!” Jack said in a baby voice as he scratched the dog’s head. After Jack did his thing, Felix walked away with the pug in hand.

“BYE EDGAR!” Jack yelled, with a pouty face.

Soon, Felix came back on camera to continue with the video.

“Alright! So, what are we doing?” Felix asked.

“We’re doing a dare challenge. Now, on Twitter, me and Felix put up dares for us to choose, and the best dare gets chosen.” Jack explained.

“Alright. I have mine, and you have yours. What’s your dare?” Felix asked.

“Right! This one was tough. There were A LOT of good dares out there. But the best dare I came across, was by FuzzyPineapple. ‘I dare you to play the latest game in the ‘Whack the’ series: ‘Whack the Serial Killer.’ And telling by the likes and comments, it looks like there are thousands of people who agree...Now, I’ve played these games before-“

“I have as well, but not this one yet.” Felix interrupted.

“Ya, I haven’t had the chance to play this one yet.” Jack finished.

“Oh boy! Can’t wait! Is it gonna be more gory than the others?” Felix asked as he typed the game into the search bar.

“Well, considering the last game, whack the burglars, was really bad and gory, something tells me it’s gonna get much, MUCH WORSE.” Jack predicted. Felix clicked on the right website, and turned it onto full screen.

“So, WARNING! RIGHT NOW! LOTS OF GORE! LOTS OF TERRIFYING GORE!” Felix warned as the loading screen showed up.

“Yes! Watch at your OWN RISK! If you have a weak stomach like I do, don’t watch this. Heck, I shouldn’t be playing this! WHY AM I PLAYING THIS?!” Jack asked.

“Cause people like watching you gag, apparently.” Felix replied as the first frame showed up.

The Whackit logo showed up onto the screen, as they continued to talk.

“Heheh...I mean, you may be right. There are probably some people who enjoy watching me gag. They enjoyed my surgery games and other ‘whack your’ games, so why wouldn’t they enjoy this?” Jack asked. Felix laughed as he eyed up the camera and shook his head, to show his disappointment he feels towards Jack’s fans.

“Okay. So, it’s the guy and his girlfriend walking, with whiskey!” Jack explained, watching the backstory.

“Hey! Don’t take the ste-god damn it...” Felix sighed, watching as the dog jumped into the hedge to get the steak in hand.

When the boyfriend turned around to find whiskey, the girlfriend had turned around with a surprised face. A guy with a needle had come up behind her and knocked her out.

“Oh my god! That would be so scary!” Jack reacted.

“True, true.” Felix replied.

In the next scene, the girlfriend is seen tied up to a chair, in a room surrounded by tons of weapons, perfect for killing people.

“Oh! My! GOD! NOPE! I DON’T LIKE THIS!” Jack shouted, holding his hands up in surrender.

“Is that a medieval torture bed? And an electric chair? And...a masked man cleaning his bloody tools...Awesome.” Felix added.

“Oh no...is there gonna be stabbing in the back in this?” Jack asked, nervously.

“Something tells me there will be.” Felix replied.

Suddenly, the camera pans over to a cage, with a dog in it.

“WHISKY! YOU’RE TIED UP!” Jack freaked out.

“Let the dog go, you maniac!” Felix begged before clicking the cage door with the mouse. Whisky’s paw hit the cage door to get it open.

“Come on! You can get it! OH! Oh yes! Go Whisky! Save that girl!” Jack cheered as the dog ripped the cage door open and untied the girlfriend with its teeth.

The girlfriend stood in fighting stance, and the instructions came up on the top left corner.

“Okay. Here we go. ‘Find all the 20 ways to kill the serial killer.’ Sounds easy.” Felix said.

“I hope there’s no combos. Those are hard, man.” Jack muttered.

“What should we go for first?” Felix asked.

“Uh...the torture table?” Jack said, hesitantly.

“.....okay.” Felix decided, as he clicked it. The girl walked to the right, and grabbed a sledgehammer.

“That’s not...” Felix muttered as the girl walked up behind the masked killer. Suddenly, she smacked the sledgehammer against the man’s head.

“OOOOH! Yikes, man!” Jack cringed, holding his fists against his temples.

“Well, that worked.” Felix added.

15 minutes later

The scene fades in with the serial killer’s unmasked face, and body attached to the table.

“Oh no...Is this gonna be Whack the neighbor all over again?” Jack asked, nervously holding his hands up, to cover his face at any point.

“Maybe. It’d better be accurate this time!” Felix warned. The lady spun the cylinder towards her, so the hands and feet could be pulled away from him, dislocated his limbs in the process.

“NOPE! OOOOH THAT’S BAD! EXACTLY like Whack your neighbour!” Jack winced.

“OH MY GOOOOOOD! Okay, it’s portrayed a little more accurately this time! Awesome!” Felix cheered, giving a thumbs up to the camera, as the serial killer’s limbs decapitated from his body.

BLOODY

“‘Bloody’. Ya, no shit!” Jack commented, reading the single text that popped up as the girl escaped with her dog.

“Okay! Next one!” Felix announced as the scene was ‘reversed’ like a VHS tape, to the beginning.

“What next? It’s your turn.” Jack asked.

“Hmm...What is this box of toys?” Felix asked, as he clicked on it. The girl walked up to the cardboard box of toys, and knocked it down. Inside, there was a Chucky doll and a few other unrecognizable toys.

“YOU DUMBASS!” Felix yelled.

“WHY, THE FUCK, DO YOU HAVE A CHUCKY DOLL IN YOUR BASEMENT?!” Jack exclaimed.

The Chucky doll ran up to the serial killer, cut off his leg and waited for him to lose balance and fall. Then, he stabbed him in the chest.

“I mean technically, you brought this upon yourself-“

“BUT WAIT! THERE’S MORE!” Felix interrupted as the other 4 toys shot up and started beating up the serial killer in a cloud of dust and sound effects.

After the hidden toy (with the drill on its head) drilled through the serial killer’s entire head, the 5 toys vanished!

“BAHAHAHA! JUST LIKE FAIRIES!” Jack bursted out, laughing at the disappearing toys.

“You know, for scary creatures, your vanishing act needs some work!” Felix critiqued.

The VHS reversing clip rolled once again, and they resumed back to square one.

“What now?” Felix asked.

“The electric chair.” Jack said. Felix clicked on the electric chair, and a message popped up onto he screen.

“‘This object requires a second to work’. Ummm...fire? Toolbox? hammer? Scissors? Rope? It’s rope!” Felix said out loud as he finished the combo. Suddenly, the girl jumped up, a wooden plank in hand, and slammed it down onto the serial killer’s head.

“DAMN!” Felix reacted.

“I know you had muscles from that time you beat up some creeps, but JAY-ZUS!” Jack reacted.

Next thing they knew, the serial killer was in the electric chair, unmasked, and the girl was pulling the lever on and off, electrocuting him and turning him to pure skeleton.

“Well that escalated quickly...” Jack commented.

“That’s about what I expected from an electric chair death.” Felix added.

A few deaths later, and Felix had managed to find a combo kill: A wooden mallet and a sharp stick.

“Oh boy...not in the back, not in the-AW, COME ON!” Jack exclaimed, frustrated that he has to watch an altered version of his worst nightmare.

“Right in the chest!” Felix encouraged. Just as Felix wanted, the girl readied the stick, and hammered it through his chest, with the mallet. On the other side, the heart could be seen with the stick pierced through it.

“Oh dear god...NO! JUST NO!” Jack yelled, rubbing his forehead.

“What’s wrong Jack? Don’t like being pierced in the back?” Felix asked.

“No! I don’t! Change that stick and mallet to a blade, and that would be my worst nightmare.” Jack replied.

“Oooh. So you don’t like the idea of being stabbed in the back...literally.” Felix clarified.

“Literally. Don’t like it.” Jack clarified for him.

Another couple deaths later, Jack and Felix came across the cage and the mouse.

“Oh no. Is this what I think it is?” Felix asked as the girl walked to the right. She grabbed the sledgehammer, walked towards the serial killer and knocked him out with it.

15 minutes later:

The serial killer was tied up, similarly to the first kill of the video. Except this time, the girl placed the mouse under the cage, and heated up the cage with a blowtorch.

"YYYYEP! I WAS RIGHT!" Felix said, accepting his ruined mental state, as fate.

“Oh please no...” Jack begged.

“You’re not gonna like this. It’s medieval torture.” Felix warned.

“I know it is.” Jack replied, nervous of what he'll have to watch.

30 minutes later

“OH GOD! OH GOD THAT’S BAD!” Felix shouted, still watching the screen.

“OH...DEAR LORD! THAT’S DISGUSTING!!” Jack yelled, pushing his fists into his temples.

30 minutes later

“Is he-“ The Irish man took one look at the mouse wiggling in the serial killers corpse. Instinctively, he started gagging. “Nope! *gags* Okay-*Gags* It’s inside of him. *gags* I can’t look anymore. Oh, fuck that.” Jack muttered as he turned, covered his mouth with his hand.

“That’s insane.” Felix said, before looking at his disgusted friend. “You okay, Jack?” He asked.

“I’ll be okay. Just give me a sec...” Jack said, as he attempted to control his gag reflexes.

1 hour later

“Is it still going on?” Jack asked, looking away from the computer screen.

“Yup. We can skip it if you like.” Felix suggested.

“Yes please.” Jack replied. Felix clicked the red skip button on the bottom right corner of the screen, and the whole scene was fast forwarded, and brought back to square one once again.

After watching a few more deaths, they felt like they were ready to experience what could possibly be the worst one.

“You ready?” Felix asked.

“I don’t know...” jack replied, covering his eyes with his hands. Felix snickered. “What?! I’m nervous, okay?” Jack exclaimed, offended by Felix’s slight laughter.

“I’ll take that as a yes, then.” Felix said, before clicking the surgical tools.

“Just like surgeon simulator, right?” Jack said out loud to himself, hesitantly.

The girl grabbed the plank, jumped in the air, and dramatically knocked the serial killer out cold.

“YES QUEEN! Knock him out REAL GOOD!” Felix cheered.

15 minutes later:

“I hear screams...WHAT THE FUCK?! OH NOO!” Jack screamed, cupping his own head with his hands.

“AAAAAHH! I DIDN’T NEED TO SEE HIS EXPOSED BRAIN!” Felix shouted, using his hands to block the laptop screen, so he couldn’t see it.

“HOW DO YOU KNOW HOW TO DO THAT?! I mean, I know it’s just cuts to the stomach, but there are multiple layers to the brain!” Jack explained, as he watched the horror unfold.

The girl fed a piece of meat to the dog, before walking back to the ‘surgical’ table. Then, she grabbed onto the middle of the brain with the tweezers, and yanked at the piece of brain until it removed itself.

“THIS IS INSANE! At this point, THAT GIRL IS THE SERIAL KILLER!” Jack shouted.

The girl walked up to the fireplace, started putting the piece of brain in the fire, and...fed it to Whisky.

Felix gasped. “DON’T FEED THAT TO THE DOG! THAT’S NOT DOG FOOD!” Felix shouted.

“NO! NO NO NO, STOP THAT! AWWW! THE POOR DOG! DON’T FEED THE DOG THE BRAIN!” Jack shouted, partially sitting up from his seat.

The girl walked back to the exposed stomach, and ripped a square layer of skin, out of the serial killer’s abdomen.

“Oh dear LORD! That must hurt SO BADLY!” Jack winced at the serial killer’s screaming.

“NO MORE! THAT’S DISGUSTING!” Felix yelled.

“STOP FEEDING BRAIN TO THE DOG! I mean, I’m guilty because I fed Sam and Samsonite rotten flesh, but THIS ISN’T FOOD! THIS IS FRESHLY COOKED HUMAN BRAIN!” Jack screamed.

“I can’t watch anymore. I’m done.” Felix decided, sitting out of the chair and walking away from the set.

“Yup! I’m joining you. I’m gonna throw up if I keep watching this.” Jack said, following Felix off camera.

The scene continued to take place, as each piece of the Serial killer’s stomach and brain was ripped, cooked and eaten by the dog.

After a few more minutes, a distant, Irish voice could be heard from off camera.

“Is it done?” The voice asked.

“It’s done.” Another voice replied.

“Okay good.” The voice said, as the person walked back to his seat, in front of the camera. The voice had belonged to Jack. The other voice came back as well, revealing itself to be Felix.

“Okay. Can we move onto your dare? I’m not in the mood for anymore blood and gore.” Jack asked.

“Sure.” Felix replied, clicking the X button with his mouse.

“Oh thank God.” Jack reacted, calming himself down with some water.

“Okay. It was tough for me to pick a dare as well, because everyone had so many good ideas. But I eventually came across a particularly interesting one. This comment is from a person called ‘I like memes’. Hey! I like memes too. It says ‘I dare you to watch Jacksepticeye’s video: Read your Comments #95, and skip to 9:03.’” Felix said.

Jack’s eyes widened. “Oh god...” Jack started as his hands gripped the armrests.

“What?” Felix asked.

“Uh...nothing. Nothing.” Jack said, deciding to keep himself calm to not raise suspicion. Felix dismissed him, and typed ‘Jacksepticeye Read your comments #95’ into the search bar.

Almost immediately, a smile grew onto Felix’s lips as he eyed up the thumbnail. ‘Are you ticklish?’ He read. He dropped his head and gave a silent chuckle.

“You told everyone you’re ticklish?” Felix asked, looking over at his friend who was now sitting uncomfortably in his seat.

“Yyyeeeeeesss...” Jack started.

“Well now I HAVE to watch it!” Felix said. Jack groaned and leaned back in his chair. “Hey! A dare’s a dare! Besides, I’m getting curious.” Felix said, clicking on the video.

“Alright. And the dare included a specific number to skip to.” Felix said, moving his mouse to the time closest to the recommended time slot.

“‘Are you ticklish?’ MOTHER OF GOD YES! Not in-...it’s weird. On my sides, I’m not that ticklish. Only on my right side. On my right side I’m super ticklish. I can even tickle myself. Which a lot of people are like: ‘you can’t tickle yourself! It’s impossible!’ I can tickle myself cause there seems to just be...a big ball of nerves that run down my right side, and if I touch it, it kinda like-" Jack pokes his own right side, causing his body to jolt and curl in. “Makes me-“ He added, making his body jolt and spaz again. “-go like that. It doesn’t make me laugh or anything, it just makes me all spaz out. But, on the left side, I’m fine. I mean, if somebody else tickles me, I’m ticklish a lot. On my armpits, not so much. On my feet, not really. My feet don’t get ticklish, they get itchy. If somebody like-" Jack started moving his hands up and down, imitating drawing lines with all 10 of the fingers under his feet. “-gently rubs ‘em, gently rubs on my feet...then they get really itchy. I guess, ticklish. I dunno. But yeah, I’m really ticklish. Heheh. AND THAT DOES I-"

Felix paused the video, and hung his head. Jack couldn’t see it, but Felix had a big, toothy grin on his face.

“Bold move, Jack...Boooold move.” Felix said, as he walked over to his nervous friend, and walked behind Jack’s chair.

“Uh...what are you doi-“ Jack’s question was completely interrupted by a hand squeezing at his right side. “HEHEHEHEY! Nahahat ohohon cahahahamera!” Jack said through his new found fit of laughter.

“Last time I checked, YOU told your subscribers about your tickle spots with no difficulty at all! So, tickling you in front of your subscribers, shouldn’t be a problem!” Felix mocked, looking at the camera a few times through his dialogue.

He decided to switch up his finger tactics, and start scratching Jack’s side with all 5 fingers.

“FUHUHUHUHUCK!” Jack bursted out. His body had started to squirm so much, he was gonna fall off the chair! So, Felix decided to stop, lift up the ticklish lad under the arms, and kick the chair away.

“Felix! PUT ME DOWN! RIGHT NOW- Nohohohoho! You ahahasshohohole!” Jack yelled through his quiet laughter, squirming in Felix’s grasp.

“Hey! You keep on shouting at me, I’ll only tickle you more, ya understand that?” Felix teased, continuing to wiggle his middle finger under Jack’s armpit as he held him. Jack couldn’t bring his arm down to stop the finger, because of the way Felix was holding him! It was so annoying!

But, it didn’t last long, because before he knew it, he was being laid down onto the floor. Jack breathed a sigh of relief...only for his laughter to bubble up again, thanks to Felix’s clawing and wiggling at his terribly ticklish right side.

“FEHELIX PLEHEHEHEHEASE! NOHOHO MOHOHOHORE!” Jack begged, kicking his legs.

“Why should I stop now! You seem pretty comfortable!” Felix argued. He continued targeting Jack’s right side, and eventually decided to include his other hand.

But just to scare the poor lad, he lifted his free left hand, and started wiggling his fingers in front of Jack. All the while, the camera was capable of capturing everything from the side.

“FELIX, NO! I’M BEGGING YOU! DON’T YOU DA- NAHAHAHAHAHAHOHOHOHO!” Jack went absolutely ballistic! His laughter had raised an octave, and he was starting to feel tears in his eyes.

“Jesus Christ Jack! I’m not even doing much!” Felix claimed with a smirk. Soon, Felix decided to switch his finger clawing/wiggling, to something lighter yet unpredictable.

Felix jumped over Jack’s body, to sit at his friend’s right side. Then, he started lifting Jack’s shirt, and poking jack’s vulnerable right side.

“NOHO! Feheheli-WAHAHA! Nahat FAHAHAIR! Please! AAAH! STOP-NAHAHA! STAHAP POHOHOKING me!” Jack begged, attempting to cover up his vulnerable side.

“Okay, fine. I’ll stop.” Felix said with a calm smile. He let Jack just lay there, as he ran to the camera and picked it up.

“There! I hope you guys enjoyed that! I certainly did!” Felix said to the camera, before turning it around to face Jack. “Hey Jack! Got anything to say?” Felix asked.

Jack flipped his middle finger to the camera. “Yohohou guys suck...” Jack said with a smile, before moving the middle finger above the camera. “Especially you, Felix.” Jack added, before his left hand flopped onto the ground.

“Yup, I am completely aware.” Felix said to Jack with a smile. Despite his weak state, Jack’s facial muscles were eager to give a wide smile to the Swedish man. So, he let himself smile as he rolled onto his back.

Felix turned the camera back to himself. “Thank you, ‘I like memes’ for sending me that dare! This was really fun! Thanks to you, I know how to punish this guy when he’s being a little shit.” Felix said.

Felix laid down beside Jack and continued to film themselves selfie style. “Say bye, Jack!” Felix said. Instead of the bye he was looking for, Felix received a poke to the side.

“HEY! Bad boy!” Felix commanded, treating Jack like a dog.

“Don’t worry. I’ll be getting my revenge eventually. Perhaps YOUR subscribers would like to see that? Comment down below if you’re up for that!” Jack explained. Felix gave a smile, but visibly paled. “Okay. BYE!” Jack cheered.

“Bye!” Felix said, slightly nervous. He turned off the camera and placed it down. Before he left however, he turned towards Jack.

“You okay?” Felix asked.

Jack smiled. “I’m fine. But do we HAVE to put that up?" Jack asked.

"Uh...I would've said the same thing to YOU about your Read Your Comments video. You could've EASILY edited that comment out, and added a new one. But NOPE! You kept it in, and now you're paying for it." Felix explained. Jack groaned and let his head fall onto the carpet underneath him.

"So, to answer your question: Yes. we HAVE to put this up." Felix decided. Jack sighed and sat back up.

"God damn...then that means we HAVE to put up a revenge video at some point. Which means..." Jack said, standing up. "...I get to find out YOUR weak spots." Jack said in a loud whisper.

"NOPE! DON'T YOU FUCKING DARE!" Felix warned.

"Hey! You got yourself into this mess, by choosing this dare in the FIRST PLACE!" Jack said, trying not to laugh as he got the upper hand.

"YOU-YOU STARTED IT BY ANSWERING THAT COMMENT!" Felix argued, slightly scared.

"True...But I made this subject widely known early on, so I could get it over with and move on. You've taken SO LONG to tell YOUR subscribers about YOUR tickle spots..." Jack defended, holding his hands up at arrest.

"F...fine. You win..." Felix said accepting defeat.

"Wait, really?" Jack asked.

"Well, I minus well get this over with now, than wait." Felix explained, with a chuckle and a scratch to the back of the neck.

"Okay. When do you wanna record the revenge video?" Jack asked. Felix bursted out laughing.

"You want ME, to choose MY DEMISE DATE?!" Felix asked, shocked.

"Well, I wanted to give you the chance to say 'never' or, 'in a few months', if you're not comfortable with it. I'm not gonna do this if you're not comfortable with it." Jack explained. Felix sighed. Jack was being so nice to him! He now wishes that he had consented with Jack first, before recording the video.

"...N-Now I feel bad!" Felix whined.

"Hey! A dare is a dare. Plus, I've experienced worse." Jack reassured with a smile.

Felix sighed and returned the smile. "Alright. Tomorrow? So I can get this done and over with?" Felix asked. Jack's smile grew wider.

"Sure! We'll do this tomorrow. Just me, you, and your hysterical laughter." Jack replied, teasingly. Felix chuckled. He was expecting Jack to go hard on him. But with Jack's consideration and kindness, he started to realize this may not be as bad as he thinks...

#Ticklefic #lee!jack #ler!felix

[ciestessde]

Chapter 1

When Ciestess arrives in our new world, her first thought is something completely pointless.

< Cold… I’m cold again… < … I HATE the cold. >

Tess knew she’d be cold. She starts off cold almost every time she arrives in a new world. And yet she always acts surprised by it each time.

She’s lying down. I can feel grass and dirt underneath our new body. So she’s outside, then.

There’s something poking her side, maybe a twig or rock. It hurts, but not enough to make her move yet, apparently. Always so careless about her health, I swear…

She opens her eyes. There’s a tree trunk in front of her. A forest, then? Ah, there we go -- she sits up. Not just a forest. She’s on a mountain.

She gives a long-suffering sigh. < Why can’t my body ever form with clothes on? No matter how many times it happens, it never gets any less annoying. < Noctu isn’t bugging me yet, at least. > Oh yeah? Looks like it’s time for Xihrae’s present!

I send the information our newest companion’s gathered into her brain, and her head throbs all the way to the eye sockets. < Jeez! C’mon, man, really?! I get making sure I’m prepared, but this is too much information! Now I’m cold AND I have a headache! It’s like I studied for over a hundred tests in five minutes!!! > One hand goes up to her head, the other to the ground to help keep her steady. She’s swaying, the world spins… < Ooooh, my head! I’m gonna be sick! I need a distraction -- anything but the pounding in my skull! >

She looks outward for a distraction, while inside her new brain synthesizes the rush of information and experiences about this world. She starts at her toes. This new body seems to be humanoid, as Tess prefers. Similar, in its basic form, to her original body, and the kind of form she’s been in for the past few worlds. Working to stand, she gets her feet under her, wobbling in the unfamiliar gravity, nervous system, and bodily proportions. < I’m… maybe average size for its age? Still smaller than I’d like. > < What were you expecting, > I interrupt her thoughts, < when starting out at prepubescence? > As her gaze moves up, I notice several differences about this body. It has fangs, I can feel a strength like iron in every muscle, and, although it’s night, she can see for miles in every direction.

< Greeeaaat. And just when my head finally stops pounding, I’m interrupted by yet another annoyance; as usual, I’ve arrived hungry. Be-a-utiful. > < Well, yeah. A new body doesn’t come with a full stomach any more than it does with clothes. > < Although… Wait, I’m hungry for-? > < -Yep! And on that note, Xihrae knew you’d be interested in this the moment he heard about it. > I point out a specific set of information in her head. < The world’s last vampire. Until you showed up, anyway. > She’s started grinning without even realizing it. < Aww, you two! Always spoiling me~! You really know how to brighten a girl’s mood! >

Now used to her newest flesh prison, she stretches her new prizmal body a bit. It seems that, while Prizmal itself is far from connected to the material aspects of this world, her own prizmal body can interact with any matter it touches. < Well. Having to drink blood isn’t exactly ideal, but, hey!- > The ground underneath her turns to shadow, then spreads up and envelopes her. < -at least I can make my own clothes, for once! >

She just makes a simple black dress. No need for anything fancy.

And no time, either. She hears something approaching -- a LOT of somethings.

She stretches her eyesight. < In the bushes. Is that…? -No way! > < Oh, no. >

She lets out a little scream of delight, “Ah! Wolfies!” She doesn’t love wolves NEARLY as much as vespers, but they are definitely up there on her “favorite animals” list. …Which means I’m gonna be stuck listening to her blather on about them the whole time we’re in this world.

Tess thanks her new body for its instincts as she transforms into a flock of bats, each only about two inches long, to get a closer look. She dodges through tree limbs and around foliage, and if I had a face, I’d cringe at the handful of times she crashes. We find a surprise when she reaches the nearest one. < JEEZ, it’s huge! I’d almost forgotten how big wolves are! > < Actually… > I do a quick calculation, relating the size of the wolf to the nearby elements, < It’s bigger than average by approximately- >

< -Yeah, whatever -Don’t care -CUTE! > But karma must exist here, because the wolf notices her, snapping at the air with enormous, drooling, teeth-filled jaws- < -Bigwolf,lotsofdrool,bigjaws,MANYTEETH! > She had also, apparently, forgotten how freaking high they can jump, because she only barely dodges in time. < Hey! That’s no way to treat a new guest! > < … Was that meant to be out lou-? > < I know, I know. I’m currently still ba- > < -Because bats can’t talk, y’kno-! > < -Shut up! I’m doing well for only, like… 5 minutes in! > < Haha! ~Whatever makes you feel better, sweetie~! >

She finds a nice-sized branch above the creature and transforms back to her humanoid fleshiness- and pauses to listen. < … Rustling? -Oh. It’s packmates! 1, 2, 3… > They stalk out of the trees slowly. There’s maybe ten of them, all growling and barking at her, their eyes reflecting the moonlight. She purses her lips. < … No. No, this just won’t do. They are all far too cute to have angry at me. < I want to pet them, dammit!

< Alright… Deep breath. > Oh! She’s about to start a hypnotizing song. I always love watching this part! I tune in more deeply to the senses of her body, trying to feel what she feels. The wind gusts, filling our nose with the scent of autumn- -When one of them starts howling.

The others all join in -- it’s SO LOUD!

We cover our ears, cringing in pain and realizing, belatedly, that of course Tess’s hearing is more sensitive than Xihrae’s! All of her senses are more sensitive than his! But still… Listening past the pain, it’s a rather beautiful noise… Almost a shame to interrupt.

But, in the shadows of the trees on the other side of the small clearing -- a new audience member is watching. So it’s time to put on a show. We take another breath. The wind slows. And Tess sings.

…

It takes a couple minutes to have an effect. But slowly, the howling stops. Once every wolf is silently staring at her, she jumps down -- a fall that would have broken both of Xihrae’s legs, yet she barely feels it. < Well well. You finally get a body that isn’t as fragile as PAPER for once! > I jab at her. It’s an exaggeration… But, more to my own annoyance than her’s, only barely.

The wolves approach her, blocking any escape. They’re large enough, and Tess small enough, that they can look her in the eyes. They sniff her -- then start licking her and pounding the ground with their paws. Tess grins widely, uncontrollably. < Aaaww! A group of giant predators, acting like I’m their leader?!

< So cute! > She scratches behind the nearest wolf’s ears. “Who’s a dangerous predator! Who’s a good giant puppy!?”

“...” As she’s having the time of her short-lived life, her mysterious audience member decides to show himself. He steps out from beneath a nearby pine, the shadows clinging to him -- then dispersing as he pulls away from them, evidently having only been held in place by his presence. An old man, almost twice Tess’s height. Wrinkled face, white hair reaching past his shoulders. Matching long white mustache and goatee. Dressed in a clearly expensive suit. Eyes the color of blood.

… And fangs poking out of his smile. He’s clapping with skeleton-like hands -- and chuckling.

The last vampire.

The name Xihrae had saved for her surfaces in her mind. < This must be “Dracula.” > Along with the name comes one of Xihrae’s master plans, solidifying itself step-by-step inside her head. Having watched him form it, I vouch for it; in this case, it (probably) isn’t a setup for some kind of chaos.

Still, it’s not impossible for him to hide information from me. And yet, despite my doubts, despite the number of times he’s tricked us, Ciestess insists upon trusting him! I just don’t understand… But. Even if I don’t agree, I… Well. Tess has decided to trust him.

So, I’ll let it slide. For now.

Having reviewed her course of action, Tess braces herself to play the long-game. < Well, then. Time to put on my best innocent act. > Aaah! A show I love even more than her singing: Watching the effects of her aura on brand new souls! Fumbling, she extracts herself from the mountain of paws, tongues, and wagging tails. < Time to make a good impression. >

She twists and fidgets her hands in front of her, makes her eyes go wide, eyebrows tilted up and in, the corners of her mouth tilted down -- and many other microexpressions, adding up to an overall fearful and guilty appearance. She squeaks out, “I’m s- I’m so sorry for trespassing! -” -But he interrupts her apologies, “I’ve never seen my wolves take so well to an outsider.” His voice is deep, but not as deep as I had expected.

He stops clapping, folding his hands behind him as he walks towards her. The wolves move out of his way quickly, sitting at attention on either side of his path like soldiers. Even the ones near her stop playing to stand and watch him, their ears and eyes trained on him, tails low and unmoving. Dracula only stops once he’s within arms reach of Tess, staring down with a calm, intrigued expression.

And that’s all he does, for a few moments. His eyes bore into hers. Then-

“How did you learn such an ability?” Still feigning nervous energy -- hands fidgeting, feet shifting -- she replies, holding eye contact, “I was… born with it. I think?” “You think?” Nothing has changed, yet the tension coming from him is palpable. Pursing her lips, Tess breaks the eye contact and rubs her arm.

“What is your name?” She looks back up at him. His expression still hasn’t changed.

She breaks eye contact yet again, looking to the right of him. < Innocence. Ignorance. > Trying to appear as though she’s struggling to remember -- eyebrows furrowed, mouth tense -- Tess replies slowly, “Ci… Cies…?” Then, as she looks back at him, she says her name with confidence. “Ciestess.”

His eyes narrow slightly -- but his head tilts just a little. < Good, good… Come on… > “Your accent. You are from… far from here, yes?” She regains her uncertain, “thinking” pose and doesn’t answer. He waits patiently for a bit, then asks, “Where are you from, miss Ciestess?” She transitions to feigning slight anxiety -- eyes wide, eyebrows tilted back up. Looking back at him, she replies, “I… I don’t…”

He doesn’t miss a beat. “How did you get here?”

< Yes! He’s falling for it. Time to seal the deal! > She looks down at the ground, wraps her arms around herself and starts shaking -- which isn’t hard, since she’s still cold. “I don’t know. I- … How did I…? Wh-” Tess looks back up at him, eyes even wider. “Where… am I?”

He considers Tess for a few moments, eyes narrowed even further. Yet, he almost seems to be grinning, slightly. < If he thinks he’s playing me -- EVEN BETTER! > “Do you have anywhere to stay? Anyone you’re travelling with?” She looks back at the ground, shoulders hunching slightly, and, after a couple of beats, shakes her head.

It only takes a couple more moments before it happens: “Why not come inside? You can stay with me. Until we find where you belong.”

His hand enters her line-of-sight -- he’s holding it out for Tess to take. She looks back up at him. With power in his voice, he says, “I insist.”

Outwardly, Tess hesitantly takes his hand -- still shaking and wide-eyed. Inwardly -- she’s struggling not to grin.

< Hook, line, and sinker! >

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

[Previous Chapter] - [Next Chapter]

Buy this ebook on Google

#Crossroad Of Infinity #crossroadofinfinity #sci-fi #fantasy #dracula