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dreamwritesimagines · 3 years

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Burn The Witch 14 - Haunt [Bucky Barnes x Reader]

A.N: Thank you so much for your wonderful support and feedback my loves ! ❤ Here’s the next chapter, I hope you like it as well and please let me know what you think! ❤ Thank you! ❤❤❤

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Female Reader

Warnings: Enemies to lovers, fake dating, mentions of blood, sex, violence, death, manipulation, language, guns, knives.

Summary: It’s always difficult to keep secrets.

Series Masterlist

Well then.

Apparently this was how civilians dated.

You couldn’t exactly say you were very familiar with it. Your line of work didn’t exactly allow you to date and do normal couple stuff, let alone with a civilian. Spies were easier, you didn’t trust them and you knew they didn’t trust you.

Except for missions, you didn’t have any date nights unless they included going after targets.

That was why posing as a civilian was almost a relief. It was simpler, more fun, more peaceful-

Even happier.

“What do you mean you can’t give me a clue?” you asked, “It’s date night, you’re supposed to give me a clue. Those are the rules.”

“I don’t remember any rule like that.”

You slurped on the milkshake, dangling your legs back and forth on the high seat you were perched on.

“Well, how am I supposed to know what to wear then?”

Bucky tilted his head, eyeing your uniform with a grin on his face and you slapped at his arm playfully.

“Are you serious?”

He held up his hands, gesturing surrender. “I said nothing.”

“I refuse to believe you find this uniform hot.”

“Why?”

“Bucky, just look at this!”

“Believe it or not I’ve been looking at it for some time now.”

You rolled your eyes, “You’re so full of it.”

“Oh trust me darling, I’m completely sincere.”

You raised your brows, “How?”

He heaved a sigh and looked like he was considering whether he should tell you or not while you waited patiently.

“When we were—“ he licked his lips, “When—uh, back in the 40s, one of my buddies, he had this poster on the wall of the barrack we were staying in.”

You gawked at him, “A poster of…?”

“A pin up.”

“In this uniform?”

“Almost the same, yeah.”

You let out a clear laugh, “Oh my God, that’s why you reacted like that when you first saw me in this?”

The tips of his ears went pink before he dragged his gaze from yours and you awwed.

“Then it’s only fair if I ask you to return the favor and dress up from 40s.”

“As if you know any—“

“Clark Gable.” You cut him off and scrunched up your face, “Was that too quick?”

“A little, yeah,” he said, “Do you want to try again?”

“….Yes please.”

“As if you know anyone from those times.”

You cleared your throat, trying to play it cool, “I’m just pulling this idea out of thin air, but Clark Gable.”

“I don’t think I can pull off that mustache, Y/N.”

“I mean have you tried?” you asked, narrowing your eyes and he shook his head.

“Stop imagining me with that mustache.”

“You would look good!” you insisted, grinning mischievously and he heaved a sigh.

“Clark Gable? Seriously?”

“Bucky, I’m the one who’s dressed up like a pin up your buddies used to fantasize about, so I feel like you should give me some credit here.”

“Fair enough.”

“Why thank you,” you pointed out, “So? Where are we going?”

“You can ask as much as you want,” Bucky grinned, “It’s not going to work.”

You threw your head back, letting out a whine. “But I want to know!” you said, “Okay, is it inside or outside?”

“Outside.”

“A concert!”

“Not a concert.”

You pursed your lips, deep in thought, “…Flea market. You’re taking me to the flea market.”

He pulled his brows together, confusion written all over his face, “You think we used to go to flea markets on a date?”

“Picnic!”

“In the evening?” he asked and you pouted.

“It would be a romantic evening picnic.”

“Do you want to have a romantic evening picnic?”

You shook your head fervently, “I want whatever you have planned!”

“Nah, I’m putting romantic evening picnic on the list.”

“You have a list?” you asked and he nodded.

“Yep.”

“Can I see it?”

“No.”

You huffed out, making him laugh, “Aw, you’re adorable when you’re frustrated.”

“Bucky!” you whined again, making his smile bigger.

“Yes darling?”

“It’s not fair,” you insisted but before you could say anything else, you heard Tara’s voice.

“Hey lovebirds,” she said, “I hate to interrupt because you two make a beautiful couple, but your break is almost over and I’m going to need some help at the freezer.”

Bucky’s body tensed up beside yours but only for a second, and you pressed your lips together.

Right. Freezer probably didn’t bring up good memories.

“I can help if you want?” Bucky said slowly and you shook your head.

“Nope. Company policy, only staff can go in.” You leaned in to peck him on the lips, “What time will you pick me up?”

“Around 8:30.” He stole another kiss from you and stood up, “I’ll see you tonight.”

“See you tonight!”

“Have a nice day Tara.”

“You too Romeo,” Tara said as he left the shop and you followed her to the freezer.

“He is so whipped,” she commented, making you grin, “And so are you.”

Your jaw dropped, “Hey!” you said as you helped her with the chocolate milkshake container, “Not nice!”

“I can already picture how cute your children will be.”

You almost dropped the container at the mention but managed to catch it and pull yourself together.

“Oh I don’t think…” you trailed off, trying to ignore the pang at the pit of your stomach, “I don’t think he wants—um, I don’t think we—“

“Aw you really are cute,” Tara said, “Come on now. Are you telling me you never thought about a future with him?”

The image that flashed in front of your eyes was almost taunting you but you bit inside your cheek, then shook your head.

“My last relationship ended really badly,” you explained, “And Bucky has had a rough couple of….”

Decades.

“Years,” you said, “And everything is pretty complicated, I don’t think that’s possible.”

“Well, do you want it to be possible?”

You pushed your hair back and grabbed the nearest set of jars to put them on the shelf one by one, just so you could keep yourself busy.

“It doesn’t really matter what I want,” you heard yourself say, “It won’t make any difference in the future either.”

***

“A funfair,” Chloe looked up with a bright smile on her face as soon as you jumped up to sit on her desk. “He’s taking you to a funfair.”

“Wait, really?” you let out a laugh, “Oh that’s cute.”

“Who knew The Winter Soldier could be romantic?” she said, “I’d probably swoon if someone took me to a funfair.”

You could swear Keith appeared out of thin air behind you, “What?”

“Holy shit!” you exclaimed and pressed a hand over your chest, “Don’t sneak up on me like that!”

“Who’s swooning?”

“Barnes is taking Y/N to a funfair,” Chloe said, “Isn’t that romantic?”

“You find funfairs romantic?”

“Yeah!”

“Keith,” you raised your brows, “Aren’t you busy?”

“Nope, General is talking to Julian so I’m not busy at all.”

You heaved a sigh, “My meeting with him lasted like an hour, how did he let you go so fast?”

“Easy. I’m not the team leader.”

You sipped your coffee, crossing your legs and Keith grinned.

“So, did you tell her yet?”

Chloe frowned, “Did she tell me what yet?”

“Why Barnes stayed over at your place until midnight last night?”

“Y/N!” Chloe gasped, “You promised we would go lingerie shopping before you slept with him!”

“First of all, I didn’t sleep with him, and second of all, Keith nosey neighbor much?”

“It’s literally my job Y/N.”

“What happened?” Chloe asked, barely able to sit straight as Julian walked past you three to check his laptop on an empty desk near Chloe’s. You gritted your teeth, and turned to Chloe.

“Hm?”

“You have to tell us!” she said and Keith laughed.

“At least give us a base.”

“Second base?” Chloe offered and out of the corner of your eye, you could see Julian clenching his jaw.

“Nah no way,” Keith said, “The guy hasn’t been getting laid since what? 40s? Third base.”

No bases. None at all, Bucky was a gentleman and seeing that you were quite shaken up last night, he had just held you while you two watched that ridiculous action movie until you could calm down a little.

He hadn’t even asked any questions.

“Do you think he—“

“Y/N,” Julian’s voice cut through Chloe’s, “Can I talk to you for a moment? Alone?”

You pulled your brows together, “About what?”

“The mission.”

You eyed him up and down, then shrugged your shoulders and made your way to the nearest empty room, which happened to be a meeting room. He followed you inside and closed the door behind him as you turned around to look at him, already dreading this conversation.

“So?”

“So General agrees with me.”

Your head shot up, “I beg your pardon?”

“He agrees that it was quick thinking on my part when Barnes walked in on us arguing,” he said, making you grit your teeth, “Granted it wasn’t idea, but we can turn it around to work on our advantage—“

“Bullshit,” you cut him off, “Are you serious?”

“To repeat, an ex-boyfriend creates an environment of competition,” he said, making you scrunch up your nose in distaste.

“Unbelievable,” you said, “You know, just because General doesn’t see through this whole façade doesn’t mean you fool everyone else in here.”

“What façade?”

“Oh give me a break!” you let out a humorless laugh, “This whole teammate trying to be helpful bullshit. You don’t think anyone but yourself, you’ve proven you can’t be trusted and you want to take over this mission.”

“I couldn’t take over this mission if I tried,” he pointed out “I’m not Barnes’ type.”

You rolled your eyes, “Oh look at you, you got jokes now.”

“Just saying, I wouldn’t look as cute in that uniform.”

“Fuck you.”

“Y/N—“

“You’re not taking over my mission.”

“I’m not trying to take over your mission,” he explained patiently, “I’m trying to help you, is that so hard to believe?”

“I think we both know you couldn’t care less about me,” you said, “As that last mission proved.”

The amused, taunting light in his eyes was dimmed in a second as he gawked at you, brows pulled together in confusion.

“What?” he asked after a beat, “You think I don’t care about you?”

You let out a laugh, “I’m sorry, is that a trick question?” you asked, “You sure as hell didn’t care back then.”

He ran a hand over his face, “I think you and I remember that last mission quite differently,” he said, “I did what I had to do—“

“Uh huh.”

“I thought you would do the same,” he insisted, “Y/N, I was trying to get us out of there, just because I beat you to it—“

“I would never!” you snapped at him and he shook his head.

“Have you ever thought maybe that’s a problem?”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“Why do you think the General put me into this mission?” he asked and you shrugged your shoulders.

“Are we going to pretend you’re here to do something else other than spying on me and reporting it back?”

“No, that’s not my mission,” he said, “I’m here to make sure you don’t do what you always do.”

“What, nailing the mission?”

“Running headfirst into danger,” he said, “You ran into world’s most dangerous assassin whom you’re playing the honeypot for, and any other spy would get the fuck out of there but what did you do? You taunted him. Twice.”

“Well I hate to break it to you, but I know Bucky better than you or the General—“

“You mean the Winter Soldier?”

“…Yeah,” you corrected yourself, “Yeah I know the Winter Soldier better than you two do. Better than anyone here.”

“It doesn’t matter,” he said, “I don’t know who told you otherwise, but not your every decision is right on missions. You keep taking unnecessary risks because you think it’s fun.”

“Maybe. But hey, at least I don’t leave people to die.”

A muscle in his jaw ticked and he closed his eyes for a moment as if it was way too difficult for him to hear and opened them again.

“I didn’t leave you to die, Y/N.”

You scoffed, “Alright,” you said, walking to the door, “We’re done here—“

“Are you sleeping with him?”

Your hand on the doorknob froze and you looked over your shoulder, “I’m sorry?”

“Are you sleeping with Barnes?”

“Who wants to know?” you asked, “You or the General?”

“Does it matter?”

“Yeah. If it’s you, I can ask why it’s any of your business.”

He shifted his weight, suddenly dragging his gaze from yours.

“I just…” he murmured, “I don’t like it.”

You paused for a moment, trying to wrap your head around the idea before you clicked your tongue.

“Well that’s a relief,” you stated, “I don’t give a fuck what you like.”

With that, you swung open the door and left the meeting room, not even looking back once.

***

In your defense, when you went to bed for a nap you didn’t think that 15 minute nap would turn into a whole two hours. You were still groggy by the time you woke up and your hair was a mess and you still had no idea what to wear and—

You were starving and way too thirsty.

You stretched out as you walked to the kitchen, still trying to pull yourself together but it was already dark outside so it was making things even worse. You flipped the switch and opened the fridge to grab the water bottle, uncapping it and taking big gulps. After you were done, you took out two slices of bread and peanut butter and jam, then quickly made a sandwich to take a bite. Leaning back, you let out a sigh and eyed the gun on the table.

You had a feeling the General would send you on another night mission soon.

You took another bite of your sandwich but your head shot up when you heard the doorbell ring and you almost dropped the water bottle but caught it mid-air.

“Shit…” you whispered and grabbed the gun to put it in the kitchen cabinet, and placed the sandwich on the plate, then made your way to the door to open it.

A fond smile pulled at Bucky’s lips as soon as he took in your disheveled appearance, “Hello there Dracula.”

“I’m so sorry,” you tried to fix your hair, “I…I was taking a nap and then I didn’t hear my alarm and—“

“Don’t worry about it darling,” he said, “You look beautiful.”

“I look like a mess,” you corrected him, scrunching up your nose and stepped aside so that he could walk in. He pulled you closer to peck you on the lips.

“Hi.”

“Hi back,” you smiled up at him and made your way to the kitchen with him following you suit.

“I’m just going to finish this and then I’ll get ready in like ten minutes, promise!”

“Not a problem,” he said as you jumped up to sit on the counter, dangling your legs, “If you want to stay in tonight—“

“No no!” you interrupted him, “I want to go to…um, wherever it is we’re going. Do you want some?” you held up the sandwich, “I could make you one too.”

Bucky stepped closer to you to take a bite of your sandwich, making you giggle.

“I mean do you want your own?”

“You’re not good with sharing?”

“Nope,” you shook your head, still smiling as he put his palms on the counter either side of your legs, caging you in.

“No?”

“Nuh uh.” You said, then leaned in to peck him on the lips again before you pulled back to take a bite out of your sandwich.

“How was your day?” you asked, and he heaved a sigh.

“Mm, uneventful.”

“Uneventful can be a nice change.”

“You think so?”

“Yeah I mean…at least your ex doesn’t show up out of nowhere,” you paused for a moment, “Or in your case, doesn’t escape from nursing home.”

He chuckled, his thumbs caressing the soft skin of your legs, making you distracted for a moment as the warmth filled you again.

“Did he visit you again?”

You tried to focus and looked up at him, “Hm?”

“Julian.”

“Oh,” you made a face and shook your head, “No. No but something tells me that wasn’t the last time I saw him.”

“Really?” he said, “I still feel like the next time he shows up you should let me know so that I can—“

“I already know what you’re going to say, and no.”

“What was I going to say?”

“Some macho showdown nonsense,” you said with a laugh, “Seriously. I can take care of myself.”

“I know you can,” he said with a sigh, “But the guy said and I quote, he would take you away from me, so forgive me if I want to have a talk with him.”

You rolled your eyes, “No one is taking anyone from anyone,” you said, “Number one, we don’t live in Stone Age. Number two, I’m quite happy with who I am dating now.”

A small smile curled his lips, “Are you?”

“I mean,” you heaved a dramatic sigh, “I would be happier if my date told me where we’re going but can’t win ‘em all.”

You pressed a kiss on his cheek and jumped down.

“Okay, I’ll be ready in a couple of minutes, knock yourself out,” you said, “There’s beer in the fridge if you want.”

“Thanks,” he said and you walked to your bedroom to open your closet, then grabbed a dress and put it on. After quickly doing your make up, you found the lipstick you were looking for and started applying it.

“Darling do you have a bottle opener?”

“Yes, it’s in the kitchen cabinet!” you called out and checked your reflection in the mirror before your mind caught up to what you had just said. Panic crashed into you, knocking the breath out of you and you dropped the lipstick to rush to the kitchen.

“Bucky wait—“ you started but as soon as you saw the open cabinet, your stomach dropped. He looked at you over his shoulder with a frown on his face, then turned around and held up your gun, making you swallow thickly.

“So,” he said, his gaze pinning you to your spot. “Anything you would like to tell me?”

Chapter 15

#bucky barnes #tfatws #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes imagine #the falcon and the winter soldier #marvel

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otp-holic · 3 years

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Stucky Week: Kisses

Little drabble + Heavy on pictures for @stucky-week

Kissing for the world to see (also in AO3 where I will surely edit as crazy, haha)

Steve wants to kiss Bucky in the street. But he can’t, so they come up with a little something.

600 words. Drabble. Heavy use of Steve and Bucky's font. Bucky writes all Caps 8hehe), Steve not. My computes is basically dead by heat, so images are of questionable quality.

Their little scheme is born out of his sheer need on September 30, 1938. Steve remembers the date because it was on the paper he used.

It is his first time going for a walk around the block after yet another close call after dealing with a nasty ear infection gone south. And yes, it is their first time walking around the block because Bucky took the day off to celebrate. And probably because he didn’t trust Steve not to push it too hard.

Autumn’s beautiful golden light, street bursting with people enjoying the warm weather, Bucky talking non-sense right by his side...

And right at that moment, Steve feels actually good and happy: he feels healthy and so so in love that the need to kiss Bucky right there in the middle of the street paralyzes him and he has to stop for a second.

“You ok there, pal?”, the fact that Bucky realizes something is not right in less than a second doesn’t make things better.

“I’m ok, Buck,” he smiles at him and it works as reassurance. “Just… one second.”

Steve takes a piece of discarded newspaper from the floor, and uses the pencil he always carries with him to write something, handing it to Bucky.

“This is me, kissing you on the lips sweetly and way too long. As a thank you and because I love you.”

This is how it starts, but it’s now how it ends: It becomes something they do and it feels right, like a victory. They are much more subtle that Steve was on that first newspaper, but they just know that when they get those little notes, they are kissing for the whole world to see.

FIRT KISS SET:

January 23, 1940: Bucky on Steve’s notebok. “On your eyebrow, punk, you had bags under your eyes.”

May 19, 1941: Baseball during a match “See those lovebirds two rows down? Just like that”

December 9, 1941: On Bucky’s Draft letter, when they go to tell Bucky’s parents “Under your right eye. Sad and salty.”

March 10, 1942: Hot dog napkin while eating outside. “This tastes like mayo, but I’m not sorry. You’ll understand later. Happy birthday”

SECOND KISS SET:

June 14, 1943: on the 4F paper at an alley. “This one is angry and desperate. Sorry for the blood taste, they burst my lip”

June 15, 1943: Old paper left on the kitchen. “On the forehead to remind you about stopping with the stupid. And since we are home, an extra one on the lips. for luck.”

November 3, 1943: On Steve’s Notebook passed on to Bucky after rescuing him. “I’m keeping this one for later. A paper won’t be enough.”

November 15, 1944: Note on mission’s map, at a meeting. “That star on your chest. Over and under. For hours.”

THIRD KISS SET:

February 7, 1945: On a bottle at a destroyed tavern “On your hand holding mine. this is stupid now.”

April 11, 2011: On his own sketchbook, alone. “I would kiss you in public. I guess I could now. If.”

May 21, 2011: On Captain America’s Expo ticket. “Right at the corner of that smile you would have right now after reading all this bullshit.”

July, 2012: On a wet tree leaf by the Potomac. “I would…”

FORTH KISS SET

June 28, 2015: On a pride notebook. “Filthy on the street, feeling you up. But you are not here, so I just can imagine.”

July, 2016: On Bucky’s journal. “Your forehead. Sweetly. Because I remember.”

July, 2018: On a note passed on the Wakanda shore surrounded by children. “While dancing to 40s music. Inside now to make it happen? (I love you in wakandan)”

March 10, 2022: On a missing people poster. “Today I'm asking for one on my neck. To give me the strength to keep on trying.”

HOME

July 3, 2024: On a note inside Steve and Bucky’s book

“All over since we are both naked. Why aren’t you home yet? We can kiss on the porch now”.

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hollowxxclouds · 3 years

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The Capture of Ryuk

Monday Morning:

A regular day for 15-year-old Ryuk in 1980, in Westville, he was serving at the bakery, Charlotte’s Home Sweets.

“Come on Ryuk! Business is coming low!” Mrs. Charlotte hollered from the front door of the bakery,

“Yes, Mrs. Charlotte!” Ryuk replies as he brushes off the sweat from his forehead. Legend says Mrs. Charlotte has been running the bakery since WW2, and she doesn’t even seem that old. Although her mood has never changed, you see Mrs. Charlotte’s husband was fighting WW2 but died in Hawaii when Mrs. And Mr. Charlotte were on vacation, she managed to escape, but Mr. Charlotte was right on the scene, and Mr. Charlotte died. But Mrs. Charlotte heard something strange in that scene, Mr. Charlotte’s last words were, “Aliens are here..” and aliens were of course make-believe in the WW2 occurred, so no one genuinely believed in aliens.

“Hi, Mr. Buck, what would you like to order?” Ryuk questions, as he has a coffee in one hand cinnamon rolls in another,

“Oh come on Ryuk! You know I love the regular!” Mr. Buck exclaimed as he pointed his smoking pipe to Ryuk. Mr. Buck’s smoking pipe was from his great grandfather.

“You know where this pipe came from?” Mr. Buck asked,

“N-no sir,” Ryuk stammered,

“A day in West Virginia, My great Grandad, was on his carriage with his two white horses, Philly and Emilly, he was having a normal day going to his work when he heeded something very glistening, he deemed it was a bird with a fragment of glass, but a tobacco pipe came falling’ from the sky, he called it the ‘holy pipe’”.

“Wow I didn’t know that, but could that glistening thing be aliens?” Ryuk questioned,

“No son, there is nothing such as aliens.” Mr. Buck frowned, gave him the money, and left the shop. Later that night, Ryuk came home and started arranging dinner, he seized out two eggs and started boiling them. Ryuk thought more profoundly about what could have been the glistening object in the sky, Ryuk smelt some burnt smells and black dust coating the kitchen, he instantly lowered the heat and poured the burnt egg on a plate, and threw himself on the sofa going into a deep sleep.

Tuesday 7:30 am:

“Knock! Knock! Ryuk! Are you there?!” The newspaper yelled. Ryuk heard some mumbling sounds, and then quickly got up and brushed his eye with his quite red fingers, and opened the door,

“Yes?” He squeaked tiredly,

“Newspaper!” The guy said, Ryuk took the newspaper from him, and locked the door with his lavish strength, he opened a window and then launched the newspaper outside.

8:45 am:

Ryuk locked his door and headed outside, to the bakery, to start his very hard-working job. Ryuk lost both his parents at the age of 5 months, he never really knew what happened to them.

“Oh good! Start by cleaning the dishes!” Mrs. Charlotte said in a somewhat polite way,

“Yes, Mam!” Ryuk answered with very little enthusiasm.

5:30 pm:

It was the end of the shift and Ryuk was heading home to go to bed.

“Hey look, it’s the kid who works at the bakery, what a poor idiot!” Easton giggled with his 2 other friends,

“Leave me alone,” Ryuk sighs and said in a very tired way,

“Oh is that so? Do you want some money, so you can have a bed?” Easton assured. Ryuk ignores them and starts heading home-

“Look, the orphan bakery nerd is running home!!!” Easton and his other mates laughed quite hard. That’s when Ryuk lost his mind took out his right arm and punched Easton in the right eye,

“Oww!! Fight that loser!” Easton said looking like he declared war, one of Easton’s friends tried to kick him but Ryuk grasped his leg and slammed him on the terrain. His other friend started to sneak behind him and strangled him. Ryuk was trying to get his muscular hands off his throat, and that’s when Easton spotted a rock and thrust it as hard as he could on Ryuk’s face, Ryuk went all black.

Wednesday 9:45 am:

“Honey, are you ok?!” A lady asked,

“Oh yeah, I am ok,” Ryuk guesses, as he sees dark blood on the ground and then touches his face,

“Honey, I think you should be at the hospital!” The lady said with fright,

“No, I am okay,” Ryuk smiles and runs to the bakery. As he was running one thing on his mind was, ‘are aliens real?’

“Oh my!! What happened?!?” Mrs. Charlotte asked, hoping for a long answer,

“I fell, there is nothing to worry about,” Ryuk said with a fake smile,

“Come to the kitchen!” Mrs. Charlotte demanded,

“I am serious, nothing happened!” Ryuk said with determination,

“Did those three hooligans beat you up again?” Mrs. Charlotte questions, as she gets the medkit out,

“Yeah,” Ryuk mumbles, Easton’s father was the richest in the town, he owned all the bakeries, Easton also went to school but Ryuk didn’t because he couldn’t afford it,

“I will tell you what, you can take some rest for this shift, and I will give you some money to go get some ice cream,” Mrs. Charlotte smiles, and puts the bandage beneath his left eye,

“Are you sure?” Ryuk asked, Mrs. Charlotte, nodded.

10:10 am:

Ryuk was at the library licking his ice cream and started playing alien games. There was a spaceship, and it would suck up many people from the beach. The game was indeed dull, to be truthful, but Ryuk was so interested that he never got bored, he played it on for hours and hours until it was lunch. Ryuk yawned and stretched his arms and legs and went to eat lunch. He loved eating lunch at McDonald’s, the cheapest restaurant in town but had the best tasting food.

Moments later:

“McDonald’s! What would you like to order Ryuk?” Mrs. Tucker asked, with a very pleasant smile as if she got a promotion,

“The Big Mac, thank you!” Ryuk said with the least excitement,

“That will be $3.15!” Mrs. Tucker said, Ryuk looked at his money and he had three dollars and twenty cents left, he gave 3 one-dollar bills, and 3 nickels. Mrs. Tucker’s regular consumer was Ryuk. Ryuk munched the big mac as if he was the hungriest person on Earth, he thought in his head are aliens even present? Would aliens take over the world? Is Mr. Buck’s smoking pipe from the aliens? And what does Mr. Charlotte’s last word supposed to even mean? All these thoughts were circling Ryuk’s head.

“Hey, Ryuk, are you ok?” Mrs. Tucker asserts,

“Yeah kind of,” Ryuk confirms,

“You look like you are in deep thought,” Mrs. Tucker said with concern, Ryuk takes a deep breath,

“I know you might think this is a stupid question but are aliens real?” Ryuk replies, with very limited expectation, for Mrs. Tucker to not say he’s stupid,

“My big brother was a Xenoarchaeologist, in Hawaii, while he was doing an experiment he passed away,” Mrs. Tucker cries,

“I am so sorry,” Ryuk stated,

“Before my brother’s death, he gave me this artifact which has a different language written on it and he said to return it to them,” Mrs. Tucker said with misery,

“It must mean that it’s from the aliens, right?” Ryuk asked,

“Yes, at least I think so,” Mrs. Tucker,

“I need to go, Mrs. Tucker, bye!” Ryuk conveys,

“Bye!” Mrs. Tucker responds with her half crying voice.

Thursday 9:00 am:

Ryuk was walking down the road until he saw multiple posters that say, ‘Your chance to go to Hawaii, state why you want to and can be the winner on August 5th in city hall at 2:45 pm’. This was Ryuk’s only chance to know what Mr. Charlotte’s last words meant.

Two months later:

It was Wednesday, 2:00 pm, Ryuk got in his best clothes, ate some bacon and eggs, and entered outside, but that’s when he ran into someone,

“Look who it is! The nerd of baking, I heard he is studying about aliens,” Easton giggles, and then the 3 of them start to laugh,

“I am studying about aliens, and they are just a different type of species,” Ryuk whispers putting his head,

“Oh is that right! This loser thinks aliens are real,” Easton blabbers,

“It is, you see I was playing this game in the library-” Ryuk said,

“I don’t CARE! Look, just stay out of my way, I am going to Hawaii and you are going to be a poor loser working in that bakery!” Easton yells,

“You have all that money and you can’t go to Hawaii?” Ryuk questions,

“Look, my dad thinks I have to earn money myself, and then spend it to go to Hawaii,” Easton said in a way that sounds like his dad is a villain. Ryuk nods and just heads to the city hall, but the city hall was very far away, about 30 mins, and Ryuk couldn’t walk 10 miles, he already wasted a good amount of time talking to Easton, he had to take the cab.

“Ryuk!! Are you going to the city hall?” A man said from a far distance approaches Ryuk with a taxi,

“MR. BUCK!! You saved my life, I was wondering how I would get to the city center, Thank you so much!” Ryuk answers with a large smile,

“No problem, always happy to help!” Mr. Buck replies. Ryuk opens the yellow smooth taxi door and gets in the cab, the seats were a printed design of circles and triangles.

2:40 pm:

Ryuk and Mr. Buck get out of the car and enter the City hall, there were rows of seats filled withs crowds of people, the soothing opera music made people dance around the massive building. Mr. Buck and Ryuk got the front row seats, everyone there looked like they wanted to go to Hawaii.

“Hello everyone! I am Atticus Wilson, which all of you probably know, and today we’re going to have participants give reasonable answers on why they want to go to Hawaii!” As Mr. Wilson states, the whole crowd cheers. Many participants go by until it was Easton’s turn,

“Easton!” Mr. Wilson yells,

“Coming Dad!” Easton replies,

“Okay,” Mr. Wilon responds, Easton sprints to the stairs and goes to the middle of the stage,

“I want to go to Hawaii because I want to enjoy life!” Easton assures.

“Next participant, Ryuk!” Mr. Wilson hollers,

“Oh LOOK it’s the loser!” Easton said as he runs down the stairs, Ryuk goes to the middle of the stage,

“I want to go to Hawaii, because of my love and interest in aliens, either mythical or true living species. I want to go and discover it by myself. I also want to know what Mr. Charlotte meant when saying his last words!” Ryuk said with a proud smile. The crowd starts clapping.

��Okay, that’s enough! The winner of-” Mr. Wilson doesn’t complete the sentence, but Easton runs to the stairs, knowing he would win,

“What the heck are you doing?!” Mr. Wilson said with a concerned face,

“Oh, I was just coming up here because I won!” Easton said proudly. The whole crowd seemed blank. Mr. Wilson quickly ignores,

“Sorry about that, the winner of this competition is Ryuk! Please come to the stage,” Mr. Wilson said with a smile. The crowd starts applauding,

“What?! THE LOSER BAKING NERD WON?!” Easton screams,

“Easton! YOU DO NOT call people that?!” Mr. Wilson yells back. Ryuk runs to the stage and goes to the middle.

“I loved your reason! Which is why I chose you as the winner!” Mr. Wilson said,

“But WHY?!” Easton hollers,

“Let me tell you why, when I was your age I also worked at the bakery, I did not have a rich dad,” Mr. Eastons said, the crowd gasps and so does Easton and Ryuk,

“So you were also a loser like Ryuk?!” Easton asked,

“No, and Ryuk is not a loser, I loved mythical creatures especially the Loch Ness Monster! And the mayor at my time had a contest to go to Scotland, I won and I went to Scotland to research the Loch Ness monster, and I saw this passion inside of Ryuk so that’s why I chose him!” Mr. WIlson confirms. Mr. Wilson gives the ticket to Ryuk,

“Thank you so much!” Ryuk said respectfully, Mr. Wilson smiles and nods.

4:00 pm:

“Well Ryuk, when is the flight?” Mrs. Charlotte asked,

“Its next week Monday,” Ryuk said with panic,

“I will tell you what you can have this whole week, off you’ve never been on an airplane, so get mentally prepared and do go pack your luggage,” Mrs. Charlotte smiles and pats Ryuk’s back,

“Thank you!” Ryuk said happily and walked away. As Ryuk was walking down the road he bumped into someone-

“Oh, I am so sorry!” Ryuk said with dismay

“Oh it's alright, wait you’re the winner from the City Hall today,” The girl who is 1 inch shorter than Ryuk and has freckles,

“Uhh yeah, who are you though?” Ryuk questions,

“I am Crystal! Nice to meet you!! You know there are two seats, so I was wondering if I could come?” Crystal said with cute dog eyes, her eyes were blue and her hair was golden,

“Wait, yeah um it does say two seats, so we just met, um,” Ryuk tries to deny but doesn’t know what’s the right choice,

“Oh yeah, I know we just met but come on!!!!! Please???” Crystal tries very hard to convince Ryuk,

“The flights on Monday, 6:45 am, sharp!” Ryuk with serious,

“Ok, I will come to pick you up with a cab, at 5:30 am,” Crystal said,

“Ok I will be ready by then, and my streets in Coronado drive 1142, my name is Ryuk,” Ryuk said with a happy smile,

“Bye! See you on Monday!” Crystal said with a superb amount of enthusiasm,

“Yup!” Ryuk replies.

Monday 5:20 am:

Ryuk got up from his bed, brushed his teeth, he was very sleepy, his eyelids were almost pouring like a liquid to his face, but that’s when he remembered what cartoons do when they are sleepy; he went to his kitchen, and opened one of the cabinets, he took out the toothpicks, and placed from his eyelid, to beneath his eye. His eye still had a scar when Easton threw the rock, but his pain was gone. Ryuk yawned, and poured some milk in his red transparent glass, he drank the milk as if it was his last meal, he took a banana and started munching on that too.

“Knock! Knock! Knock!” Ryuk ran to the door and opened it,

“Hi! The cab came a little earlier than planned,” Crystal said, with very little excitement,

“Oh ok! I am going to get the suitcase,” Ryuk said,

“Ok!” Crystal replies. Ryuk goes straight into a dark hallway and returns with a pleasant smile and a suitcase in his hand. Ryuk takes the red and ripped suitcase and places it in the trunk of the cab.

“All set!” Crystal announces,

“Yup!” Ryuk said as he was locking the door. He slides in the car, and closes the door,

“I am 13, and I am studying about alien stuff,” Crystal said,

“Oh, aliens are cool, but I am going to Hawaii, so I can solve a mystery,” Ryuk replies. Crystal nods and they both get comfortable to lay back.

6:00 am:

Crystal and Ryuk reach the airport, it was the biggest thing Ryuk had ever seen in his life,

“This is humongous, we’re gonna get lost in it,” Ryuk said with fright,

“Don’t worry silly, we won’t get lost, just look at the gate number,” Crystal remarks,

“27A,” Ryuk said with confusion,

“Oh ok! That means it must be this way,” Crystal points as she states. After following Crystal for a few moments, they ran into an elevator,

“We’re gonna need to use this,” Crystal said with excitement. They both go inside and Crystal presses a button, they go up, and they see a very large line, Crystal, walks straight into that line, and Ryuk follows her behind.

“Wait, why are we here?” Ryuk asked,

“Check-in line,” Crystal replies quickly. Crystal looked like she was very rich, all her cosmetics, made her look like her father worked for the president, even her suitcase,

“Ok!” Ryuk, blinks, and then Crystal was gone

“Crystal???!!” Ryuk yells, then a parade of people comes shoving him,

“Watch it, kid!!” A guy roars,

“Sorry,” Ryuk whimpers. And then he saw his luggage gone, he saw a man with a black cap, with his luggage running,

“HEY! Give it back!” Ryuk yells, with all his voice. He sprints, as swift as he can, and slams many people,

“Hey oww!” A woman shrieks,

“What a hooligan!” Another woman hollers. Ryuk saw a bike and hopped onto it. He chases the man for a few moments, until the man trips, and runs away,

“Finally!” Ryuk pants,

“You dummy, where were you?! I hate running you can get in trouble, in the airport realize?!” Crystal said, with terror,

“Sorry! Long story short, some guy stole my suitcase,” Ryuk said,

“I guess at least we’re not late,”

“Why don’t like you like running?” Ryuk asked,

“My mother died by running by running,” Crystal whispered,

“Ok, let’s do the check-in,” Crystal said with disbelief. Crystal approaches the women’s side, and Ryuk to the men’s side.

“Do you have any electronic devices son?” The officer asked with his shades on,

“No,” Ryuk confirms,

“Any jewelry? Liquid? Weapon? Sharp stuff? Or batteries,” The officer pulls, his shades down, and looks at Ryuk’s eye,

“No sir!” Ryuk said with confidence,

“Ok your good son, now I want you to stand like a tree, with your arms stretched,” Officer demands,

“Ok,” Ryuk replies. The officer gets an electronic gadget and touches Ryuk with it all over his body,

“You all good, son, now take your luggage and you can go,” The officer smiles, Ryuk goes straight and takes his luggage, and waits for Crystal.

“Ok so it’s 6:30, just 15 mins, before the flight, so we will go to gate 27A, and board there,” Crystal remarks. Ryuk nods as if he understood everything, which he didn’t.

A few moments later:

“Boarding flight, please come to the boarding station!” The lady on the speaker announced. The whole crowd, including Crystal and Ryuk, rushed and formed a line.

“Next person,” The Karen lady said impatiently,

“Hi! This is our ticket,” Crystal affirms, and hands the ticket to the lady,

“All set you can go!” The lady said Crystal and Ryuk enter a long hallway made out of the grey, rough carpet. Ryuk pulled his red suitcase with max strength because the suitcase was getting stuck on the carpet.

“Hi, this is Hawaiian Airlines Boeing 737, welcome in!” The kind flight attendant said, Crystal nodded and went inside the airplane.

“Who was that?” Ryuk whispers with a frown,

“The flight attendant, the person who cleans and makes the food of the airplane,” Crystal replies back.

“Seat 31C and 30B,” Ryuk announces,

“I will sit in 30B, and you can sit in 31C,” Crystal said. They walk until find 30,

“Ok you are right behind, and you get the window seat,” Crystal said as she lifted her suitcase, and put it on the top compartment, Ryuk did the same thing. Ryuk slides in his seat, and he sees an old woman coming in his direction.

“Hi, honey! Is this sit 31B?” The old lady asked,

“Y-yes, mam!” Ryuk stutters,

“Oh, goodie!” The old lady smiles. The lady gets slides in the middle seat. Then when Ryuk saw something glistening in the sky it might have been the sun, but it was moving.

“This is captain Bill, we will be taking off now, please put on your seat belts,” The radio announces. Ryuk puts his seatbelts on and prays that this will be very safe. The engine starts to rev, and then the airplane goes into its top-tier speed and Ryuk closes his eyes.

A few hours later:

The flight attendant had given his food, and Ryuk started to open it, it was beef tacos, he munched on it as quickly as possible so he fell asleep again, but he had swallowed it too, so he was probably not going to go to sleep again. Once Ryuk wakes up he cannot go back to sleep.

“Honey do you want a cookie, I baked it for my grandson,” The old lady said with kindness, and offers Ryuk a cookie,

“Thank you!” Ryuk said as he took one. He munched on the cookie, it was chocolate and strawberry, two of Ryuk’s favorite flavors. As Ryuk ate them, he thought that this lady must have had a very good experience baking cookies.

“This is awesome,” Ryuk said with astonishment,

“Well back in my day we used to have a lot of bakeries, and I used to work in one, my boss, taught me how to make the best cookies,” The old lady informs,

“Oh! That makes sense!” Ryuk confirms. Ryuk gets comfortable and closes his eyes.

“We have a slight problem, but there is nothing to worry about, stay cautious we might run into turbulence,” The captain remarked. Ryuk was afraid that they would crash or something, but it probably wasn’t going to happen. Ryuk got up from his seat and headed to the restroom. He opened the door and went in. There were no lights in it so he didn’t lock the door.

“We have a bigger problem, there is something in the sky that is visible, we are still trying to figure out what it is!” The captain yelled. Ryuk got out of the bathroom and sprinted to his seat. He puts on his seatbelt and starts to pray. Then he saw something very flashy, it came in quick, and it broke one of the wings of the plane, which exploded. He went black and then he heard the radio on the plane,

“MAYDAY! MAYDAY! BRACE FOR IMPACT!” The captain screamed, Ryuk looked out the window, he saw the plane going super fast into the water.

“Ryuk?!” Crystal screamed,

“Is this heaven?” Ryuk replied,

“NO! You are alive!” Crystal said with concern,

“It’s a miracle?” Ryuk said as he got up. He saw his hand bleeding wildly. Ryuk got up, and he looked at the island, it wasn’t big but it wasn’t small either,

“How are we supposed to get out of here?” Ryuk asked,

“I don’t know, maybe a boat or an airplane will come?” Crystal said with uncertainty.

“We have to survive here somehow, well first I am going to take some rest, I need to take all of this in,” Ryuk said while wiping his forehead. Crystal nods,

“I am going to check out the other side, to see if there are any other survivors,” Crystal declared. Ryuk lays down in the sand and closes his eyes.

A Few hours later:

Ryuk wakes up from the sound of the waves, he sees Crystal stargazing at the sky.

“Are there any survivors?” Ryuk questions,

“No, just us,” Crystal replies,

“What about food, will it last us days?” Ryuk asked with a positive attitude,

“Just 2 days,” Crystal replies,

“We’re kinda doomed,” Ryuk said tiredly. Ryuk goes to a large coconut tree and sees a big leaf on the ground, he takes the leaf and wraps it around his hand, and goes to bed.

Morning:

Ryuk yawns and gets up. He sees Crystal circling the trees in deep thought,

“We need to build a shelter, so we can be protected from the weather, there is a high chance of a storm coming in,” Crystal announced to Ryuk,

“Yeah! You're right, but we also need the materials. We can make the shelter out of bamboo,” Ryuk said,

“Your right I am going to go check if there are any materials that are floating in the ocean,” Crystal informs,

“Oh ok! Then I will look at the materials on the island,” Ryuk declared back. Crystal dives into the ocean and goes at full speed. Ryuk sees a ton of big leaves on the ground, and he got a good idea. He took one of the leaves and put sand in it. He also broke the leaf and a sticky goop came out, he put it in the leaves and wrapped it, this was his idea of a pillow. So he made two of these, for a pillow. Ryuk found big rocks. This can be a good idea to write something on the ground or protect from the weather. As Ryuk was done with it, he waited until Crystal came back.

“I am back, I got some supplies!” Crystal said with excitement,

“Nice!” Ryuk replies,

“I found a hatchet, some wet blankets, lots of pretzels and peanut packs, and lastly, a big shield, well not exactly a big shield, its the door to the airplane,” Crystal said happily

“Well, the hatchet will be very useful!” Ryuk decides,

“We can cut down the coconut tree and use the wood from it,” Crystal suggests,

“Yeah, I was thinking that too,” Ryuk said. Ryuk takes the hatchet and gives all his force at the coconut tree, but it didn’t do a dent,

“The problem is it would take a million tries, by that time it will be dull,” Crystal remarks,

“Your right but we’re gonna have to keep trying until we have successfully done it,” Ryuk said with confidence and keeps swinging,

“I got an idea!!” Crystal face glows up,

“What is it” Ryuk questions,

“Is there any rope,” Crystal asked,

goes fast, doing a lot of damage to the tree

“Yeah!” Ryuk said. Ryuk gave the rope to her, and Crystal tied it between two other trees, she took the hatchet and pulled it with rope like a catapult. The hatchet flew onto the tree, making a lot of marks on the tree. Ryuk and Crystal tried it over and over until they were exhausted,

“This might take us forever, and I am really hungry,” Crystal said with tiredness,

“Me too, we need to find food, I saw a bus with berries earlier, let’s eat the berries,” Ryuk said as he pointed in a direction. Crystal follows Ryuk until they reach a big thorny berry bush.

“Wow, that’s a lot of blueberries!” Crystal jumps in excitement

“Those aren’t blueberries, they are huckleberries,” Ryuk consults. When Ryuk was 8, he used to live with his uncles, until they died from a tragic accident, before that accident he used to go on the boy scouts team. From there he learned all about berries, now he practically could identify any berry in the world.

“I see!” Crystal said as she pulled one from the bush. She tastes it and makes a sour face,

“They are very sour, I guess we have to stick to the food that remains,” Ryuk said hopelessly. Crystal pulls out a bag and sees all kinds of food there. He first started eating the pretzels, they were very salty, he saw the old lady’s cookies and started thinking whether he was the chosen one to live. He saw Crystal devouring the cookies one by one.

“I am full Ryuk!” Ryuk declared,

“Me too,” Crystal replies while rubbing her stomach. They get the hatchet and start cutting the tree again.

“BANG!” The tree falls after numerous amount of tries,

“Finally!!” Ryuk yells and brushes the perspiration off his forehead. Ryuk chops the tree into pieces and uses some of the pieces to make a bed and the other to construct the shelter. He takes the rope, bamboo, and coconut tree pieces and ties them together to make a whole shed.

“Great we made a shed, to protect us from rainy weathers,” Ryuk said proudly,

“Ok now we got a place to sleep tonight, we’re gonna need blankets because it’s gonna start getting cold,” Crystal exclaimed,

“No problem we got these large leaves, we can use this as a blanket,” Ryuk replies,

“Yeah, that’ll work!” Crystal gives a quick response and smiles. It was the evening, Ryuk and Crystal started circling the island.

“There’s a lot of rocks, we can form a word from using these rocks, like ‘HELP’” Ryuk articulates,

“That’s a fantastic idea,” Crystal said with joy. Both of them take huge rocks and form the letters h, e, l, and p.

“Let’s hope someone can see this!” Crystal exclaimed. Ryuk nods and heads on to the food basket,

“There are 6 meals, it will help us for today’s dinner and tomorrow’s lunch and dinner combined,” Crystal declared,

“Oh that means, after that, we need to make our food,” Ryuk said with dismay. Crystal nods and walks away.

“What do you think the time is?” Ryuk questions, Crystal stops midway,

“Probably 7 pm or 6:30 pm,” Crystal said with uncertainty,

“Well then let’s have supper!” Ryuk exclaimed,

“I am not that hungry, you can eat,” Crystal remarked,

“Okay I guess, Ryuk said. He opens the transparent box and sees two cold tacos, he eats them like he never ate in his life. Ryuk finishes quickly and goes to the shelter,

“You sure you don’t want to eat? The food will get col-” Ryuk doesn’t finish his sentence when Crystal interrupts,

“THE FOODS NOT GONNA GET COLD OKAY? Look I JUST CAN’T TAKE ANY OF THIS!!” Crystal screams as she walks away. Ryuk goes to his bunk, lays down, and goes to sleep.

“Ahhh What a beautiful day,” Ryuk says as he stretches his arm and gets up from his hard bed. Sleeping that night was horrible, the bed was so hard Ryuk had a backache in the middle of the night. Ryuk looked beside and saw Crystal’s bed with a huge leaf on it. Crystal probably used that as a blanket.

“Look I am sorry about last night I just couldn’t believe it! Can you please forgive me?” Crystal asked,

“Yeah, sure!” Ryuk said politely when he steps on something smooth but hard, Ryuk looks down and sees a turtle,

“Ahhhh!” Ryuk yells,

“Silly it’s just a turtle!” Crystal laughed,

“Can we keep him?” Ryuk asked,

“Am I your mom? Yeah, we can keep him,” Crystal said with thrill,

“Let’s name him Roca,” Ryuk declared,

“Sure I guess, as long as she’s fine with it,” Crystal says with a pleasant smile. Ryuk can have Crystal play with Roca the whole day.

Another day passed, like nothing, and Roca was gone from his sandpit. Ryuk yawns,

“Where’s Roca?” Ryuk asked with solicitude. Crystal wakes up in an instant,

“Maybe he went for a walk or a swim?” Crystal guessed,

“Probably,” Ryuk remarked. Ryuk stared at Roca’s pit for a minute and went to the side of the island, there wasn’t any way they could brush their teeth, so Ryuk and Crystal used the salty water to rub it against their teeth. You might be also wondering by now, how are they drinking water? They are using the salty one till now.

“We can’t stick with the salty water, it’s toxic and it’s not like the salt is going away from our body,” Crystal declared,

“Your right,” Ryuk responded while wondering what can be another solution,

“How many coconuts are there?” Crystal asked,

“From the tree, we cut down, um a solid 50,” Ryuk said,

“Well, that’s awesome! That’s more than enough for us to last about 25 days,” Crystal yelped,

“Well, I think we should start by cutting the coconuts!” Ryuk exclaimed. He took the dull hatchet and kept on slicing the coconut with his one hand until it broke.

“Crack!” The coconut cracked,

“Okay I got one cracked, I need to do another,” Ryuk remarked,

“You can just do this instead,” Crystal said, as she placed the hatchet straight and then started banging the coconut on the hatchet,

“Crack!” The coconut cracked,

“See this took way less time,” Crystal discloses. Both of them start munching on the copra and then drinking the coconut water.

“Good breakfast!” Ryuk exclaimed. Ryuk took the last of his remaining rope, a long stick, and sharp rock, and combined it to make a spear.

“Now this can be good to catch fish!” Ryuk said as if he invented something new. Happiness wasn’t a critical mood in this situation, it is hope, belief, and determination. Ryuk’s clothes were all ripped and his hand was still healing. They knew that they were hopeless, but most importantly they had belief in themselves and each other. Ryuk ran to the ocean with his spear in one hand, after several tries he caught a fish,

“I CAUGHT ONE!” Ryuk yelled in astonishment,

“Just one?” Crystal said,

“Well, they are really fast,” Ryuk remarked,

“I am going to make a fire so we can cook the fish,” Crystal said,

“Okay I will try to catch more fish then,” Ryuk replied. Crystal finds a lot of extra wood from the other day and finds flint rocks and a little bit of steel from her pocket, it must have been the metal necklace she had been carrying, she rubbed the flint and the little bit of steel together for a pretty long time until the fire came out she placed it on the wood,

“I made a fire!!!” Crystal said,

“Nice, I am trying to find more fish,” Ryuk announces. As Ryuk goes back to the ocean he sees Roca with two large fish in her mouth,

“Roca got us fish!” Ryuk exclaimed,

“Thanks, Roca, we’ll cook one for you too!” Crystal affirmed. Crystal took the two fish from Roca’s mouth, she took two sticks and put them inside the fish.

“Now we can roast it over the fire like they’re a marshmallow,” Crystal exclaimed with happiness as if she got what she wanted for her birthday. Ryuk got his large leaves as a plate. After a long time, the fish was done, Crystal gave one fish to Ryuk, one to Roca, and one for herself.

“Roca's, it's really hot, so be careful!” Crystal said as if she was Roca’s mom. Roca did not listen to a single word to what Crystal said and she started munching like she never ate before,

“It needs a lot of things,” Ryuk affirmed,

“Yeah it does, but we don’t have any of the ingredients,” Crystal said hopelessly,

“One of the most important things that we need is a taste to this fish, maybe we should put some berries there,” Ryuk conveyed,

“We can, but the berries have a horrible taste,” Crystal affirmed,

“We can try it right?” Ryuk responded,

“Fine, we can try it at dinner, but if anything goes wrong it’s all your fault,” Crystal acknowledges.

Eight hours later or 9 pm:

Crystal went to the berry bush and plucked out 10 berries, This is not the best idea Crystal thought inside her head. Crystal loved reading, in school people called book addicts, and that’s why she can go deep in pretty much anything you can think of. Crystal walks over to the fire and starts setting the fish up.

“Hey on the bright side we get to experiment with things!” Ryuk exclaimed,

“I am not giving the ‘tasted’ to fish Roca,” Crystal replied,

“Fine,” Ryuk remarked, Ryuk walked away and went to the other side island, so he can gather leaves to make a plate, he plucked leaves off the tree, then he turned around saw Crystal,

“H-ow?! Did you come here so fast?” Ryuk stuttered with confusion,

“I used to run in my school, you know, like cross country and track and field,” Crystal said nervously. Ryuk nodded and walked away, Ryuk knew something was up. That day when he won the prize several people came to Ryuk as if he was a king and he can grant any wish, be he still doesn’t know why he chose Crystal.

“Ryuk food is ready!” Crystal chanted,

“I am coming,” Ryuk sprinted to the fire.

PART 2 WILL BE COMING SOON!

PART 2: “Okay let’s see how the fish tastes,” Crystal remarked. Ryuk took a huge bite of the fish and closed his eyes,

“This IS awesome!!” Ryuk replied,

“Seriously,” Crystal said as she takes a bite of the fish. Crystal was super surprised that the fish was going to taste that good.

“See I told you,” Ryuk smirked. Ryuk looked at the sky and saw something shiny,

“Do you see that?” Ryuk asked,

“See what?” Crystal back,

“This weird shiny object, probably a shooting sta-” Ryuk didn’t finish the sentence,

“We need to go, immediately!” Crystal bellowed. Crystal and Ryuk went behind a boulder, the “shooting star” was gone. Ryuk got up,

“It’s probably just a shiny, nothing to worry abo-” Ryuk doesn’t finish, and a huge piece of metal lands on the fire. Crystal pulls Ryuk behind the boulder. Then suddenly Ryuk remembers, what he saw in that flight,

“It might be aliens,” Ryuk said in uncertainty,

“You silly! It’s no time to joke around, I study about it, but science has shown that it isn’t real!” Crystal said with an annoying accent.

“BRFFF!” A deafening sound hits Ryuk’s ear hits.

“RYUK! WAKE UP!!” Crystal screamed into Ryuk’s ear. Ryuk got up started walking and then fell on the sand flat on his face.

“I am okay!” Ryuk confirms as he does a thumbs up,

Morning:

Ryuk yawned and woke up from his sand, which was very uncomfortable, probably the reason he had his backache. Ryuk brushes his with his sharp fingers and goes to the water. He takes a whole handful of water and throws it at his face.

“What the-” Ryuk exclaims, as he turns around. He saw a circular object with a bubble type on top,

“What is this?” Ryuk asks,

“I stayed up all night, you were sleeping this just floated from the beach,” Crystal said. She looked all fresh and kind of absurd.

“Could have been from the flight?” Ryuk questions,

“It isn’t when it hit the flight it was very much stable,” Crystal replies,

“Are we gonna try to on it?” Ryuk suggested,

“Just press this switch, and I think it turns on,” Crystal said with doubt,

“Okay, first we must be ready,” Ryuk said,

“We’re ready,” Crystal said in rush. Crystal pressed that big red button in heavy uncertainty, if the switch didn’t work she looked like would drown in a sea of grief. The bubble-type lid opened, and you could enter, both of them jumped in, and in a flash they teleported.

“Where are we?!” Ryuk panicked,

“Somewhere…” Crystal confirmed. They were surrounded by purple walls and two vents.

“Let’s go through the vents and see which one leads to what,” Ryuk remarked. Crystal nodded and pointed to the vent she wanted to go to,

“Let’s go through this one,” Crystal said as she pointed,

Both of them go through the vent for a long time, and then they heard some heavy whisperings, it was an unknown language for Ryuk. Ryuk deeply thought inside his head, it must have been aliens, as he was thinking “DHAM!”, Ryuk slammed on the ground with Crystal,

“AHHHH!” Ryuk screamed in fear,

“How did humans come here,” The unknown being object said, the voice sounded like a robot,

“We have stumbled upon your place, we are truly sorry, please mercy us,” Crystal said with a weak voice,

“Our leader will decide,” The being remarked. Then the alien said a secret code, where a really short person who looked two million years old pondered in,

“Cr-yst-al?!” The old man yelled,

“Dad!” Crystal remarked. Ryuk was dead confused,

“W-hat?” Ryuk stuttered. The old man led Crystal and Ryuk to a big room.

“You see this is my daughter, she actually a million-year-old, but she was born with three superpowers, one: she can time travel, this was a family gene we all could do it, and so was immortality which she also has, two: make herself look young, and lastly three: she can run really fast,” The old man said as he ran out of breath,

“Oh, so that explains everything!” Ryuk said with sweat dripping down his head.

“But there’s is a problem, a long time ago an emperor had two puzzle pieces that were very valuable, but he lost one of them, they were important because they make the alien city function, but one day a robber stole one of the pieces, which was never found again. And now we only have one more piece but we can’t seem to find it at all. People say that Xenoarchaelogist found it but he died afterward,” The old man spoke with all his energy,

“Wait you mean this?” Ryuk asks, as he looks in his pockets, and pulls out a black piece of plastic material and a purple light glowing on it,

“This? The light didn’t glow before,” Ryuk said,

“Oh my yes!!! This is the piece thank you so much, it glows, as you start getting closer and closer to the place,” The old man shined like a light bulb. The old man took the piece from Ryuk and he put it into a machine, which started getting brighter and brighter, and Ryuk woke up on the sand. All alone.

“Crystal?! Hello anyone?!” Ryuk panicked, as he saw a motorboat coming near him, he saw a group of men coming,

“Hola! Buenos dias, Como estas?” The man said in concern,

“I no comprehend Espanol,” Ryuk replied,

“Oh ok, where do you live,”

“I live in Westville, North America,” Ryuk said in a panic, thinking that they won’t understand,

“Okay, how long have been here? Have any family? Anyone else here?” The man asked,

“What’s the date? And no family and no one else is here” Ryuk asked as he thought about Crystal and where she disappeared,

“August 31st,” The man replied,

“21 days,” Ryuk said in disbelief.

“Okay, I need to take you to the nearest airport,” The man said, they both jumped on the boat and left the lonely island.

Two months later:

“Hi, Mrs. Charlotte long time no see,” Ryuk exclaimed,

“Oh my hello, how was your journey?” Mrs. Charlotte asked,

“Fantastic!” Ryuk replied,

“You know a girl named Crystal, she came to visit and see if you were there,” Mrs. Charlotte said as she was mopping the floor,

“Yes, do you know where she went,” Ryuk questioned in astonishment,

“Yes, she said something about meeting her on a specific island in Puerto Rico,” Mrs. Charlotte replied. Ryuk nodded and thought what will happen next is the question.

#aliens #1980s #mysterynovel #suspense

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paradoxguild679 · 4 years

Text

Life Changing Experience

Prologue:

Chloe is seventeen. She has black hair brown eyes and a small set of B-Cup breasts. She excels in school and she has many people that love and respect her. Chloe was always seen as nice, helpful and extremely kind. Chloe always had a love for the world of entertainment but has one terrible flaw, she is incredibly shy. She loves the field of acting and talk shows, she even has fantastic ideas, but never put them out their due to her shyness. For this reason, she has also yet to find a boyfriend. She would love to solve both problems but, she never could find a way to get past her shyness. One day, while going to an event of a webstar that Chloe greatly appreciates, she was about to walk up to have him sign something but, she then runs away and hides behind a column far from everyone. While running away, a woman in her 30s noticed Chloe and decided to follow her. “Excuse me young lady? Is everything alright?” Chloe only nodded as she was still in her moment of anxiety, the woman then cocked an eyebrow, “Are you sure? You look as if someone is trying to kill you.” “Y.. yes, I was j.. just about to get my poster signed when I just was too shy to go up there and meet him.” “Oh, you poor thing. I once was like you but, I’ll tell you what. Take this camera and start practicing making videos with it.” “*sniff* How will a video camera help me become less shy?” “Oh, it’s a special camera. Trust me, you start making videos with this and I promise you, that shyness will be a thing of the past.” The woman hands Chloe the camera, “Thank you so much miss…” as Chloe was putting the camera in her bag the woman had disappeared. “That was odd but, I have had enough public exposure for today, I’m going home.” While back at home, Chloe was trying her best to figure out what videos to make before opening the camera. She was more of a writer than a video maker, then she got the idea of making video logs. While trying to figure out how to use the video camera she notices a note on the screen after turning it on. The note stated, “To go back, just push the reset button” She had no idea what that meant but she started to record in her room, talking about herself and her passions. After a total of 40 minutes of her talking she finally watched it over and realized she doesn’t like. Chloe then deletes the video and falls asleep.

Day 1:

After Chloe wakes up she notices that, besides feeling slightly taller for some reason, nothing much else has changed. However, she cannot find her backpack for the life of her. [Damnit, where the hell is my bag?] Chloe thought. She then notices a bag in the corner of her room that she does not recognize. When she goes over to it she finds nothing but notes inside. “Hey mom, I’m ready to go to Gregland!” Chloe screams downstairs to her mom. “Oh, don’t you be a smart-ass with me young lady! Take your car and go to University or you’ll be late.” [Huh? Why would she tell me to get ready to go to college classes? Last I checked I was over a year away from graduating High School.] Chloe then grabs her wallet and checks her ID; she then sees that she is now 20 years old. [Oh my God! What the hell is going on?! How am I 20 now?! Did that camera have something to do with it? I wonder what else it can do?] “Chloe! NOW!” “Okay mom.” Chloe then steps in the car and somehow knows what to do and where to go. After she arrives at University, she then notices it is the Medical School that was her first choice. “HOLY SHIT! I can’t believe it! Not only am I now going to college. I’m at my first choice! Well, my mom’s first choice. I would’ve preferred to study in the entertainment industry. But, thanks to my shyness I couldn’t speak up to my mom and chose what she would have wanted.” Chloe then takes a look at her diary that she kept in her dashboard and confirms what she already knew. However, she did find that she had top notch grades in all of her courses and even found that she got a full ride because of her grades from high school. After making it into class just before the professor took role she discovered today was one of the last days to study for the final in her courses, Chloe knew she would have to study hard in order to pass the course with flying colors. When Chloe returned home, she found that her pajamas where missing. Chloe then asked her mom where they ended up and was told that her father has left for the whole week to work. “And I know that when he isn’t here you just love to walk around in nothing but your bra and panties.” Of course, Chloe was incredibly embarrassed and would usually never do that. However, since she didn’t want to sleep in her clothes she decide to give it a shot and finds that she feel extremely comfortable in nothing but her underwear. Chloe then walks up to her room and begins to study. While doing what she does best, Chloe couldn’t help but having her focus come back to the camera. [Well, I guess making another video won’t hurt, besides I can take a short break.] She then decides that instead of getting dressed that, since she’ll more than likely never post this and that the reality changes are over, she could just record in her bra and panties. While recording, she finds that she feels more comfortable and fluid in her vlog. And after looking the video over, she likes it but, will obviously never post a thing like that. After all, she’s still to shy to present herself for an audition, who knows what shame she would try to post a video in which she is half naked.

Day 2:

Chloe wakes up in a completely different room and panics. She then looks around the place and discovers that she’s in a small apartment and is completely alone. She then rushes to read her diary: the day and year are exactly the same as it should be. Except for one thing, the day that Chloe started University, she also decided to be more independent. She got an apartment not too far from the university and even got a job as a bartender in a simple place. As an alarm goes off, she discovers that she has an hour to get around and start her day at work. When she opens her closet after taking a shower, she notices that her clothes do not fit what her previous style was. Instead, the clothes are all tight fitting and revealing clothing. Her shirts all showed her naval, tops that showed her shoulders, very short jeans and miniskirts. “There is now way I am wearing any of this shit!” Chloe’s phone then goes off as she now is running the risk of being late for work. So, Chloe then forces herself to wear something that doesn’t feel like it was too revealing. As, she looks at herself in the mirror she does think that the clothes are much prettier than her normal ones even if they are mostly revealing. Chloe then heads off to work as a bartender. She manages to be very kind to everyone but, is often embarrassed by many guys and even some girls claiming how hot and sexy she was dressed like that. Chloe had never been so embarrassed before in her life yet, she also felt odd by the experience as well. When she returned home she took off her shirt and pants, as usual. “God today was probably the single worst day I had in my life. However, I also feel like I should…” Chloe’s eyes leered towards the video camera. For whatever reason, she desperately wanted to make a video about her day. In fact, she began to feel horny by just thinking about it. She then starts recording and talks about her day and grows more excited as she does. Then at her peak level of horniness, she stops talking and begins to masturbate. Chloe had never done this before in her life but, it feels incredible. She then stops recording after she came. While looking over the video, she turns red. Instead of deleting it, Chloe deicides to keep it, without publishing it of course. She doesn’t know why but she was proud of it. She then decided to get some sleep as she shut the camera off.

Day 3:

Chloe proceeds to wake up in the same apartment. Nothing seems to have changed, except for one thing: the bed where she sleeps is no longer a twin but a king size bed. She doesn’t know why the bed changed but, she looks in her journal. She notices that many pages are gone. It goes to the day she started college but, the day is different. After reading, Chloe finds out that she never started university out of her pursuit to be working in front of a camera but does not specify what because her mother would never approve. After reading these words, Chloe tries to remember the lecture she had yesterday but finds nothing, she can’t even remember the name of her professor. In the diary she also sees that she found an apartment and she is trying to in every-way to overcome the specimens, but in the meantime has found a job to practice, yet there are no written details. At one point her phone rings and she sees that her mother is calling. “Hey mom.” “Hey sweetie, when are you coming home to start university?” “I don’t really feel up to it mom. Don’t worry though, I found a job.” “Oh really? And what’s that?” “A maid.” Chloe blurted out as a lie. “Oh, and what all do you do?” “Fuck off mom.” Chloe then immediately hangs up. She’s shaking from being so nervous but also feels great. [Holy shit! I have never spoke to my mother that way. But goddamn did it feel great! That cunt totally deserved it. Making me choose a career that I never fucking wanted. Oh my god, what am I thinking? I need to press that reset button.] Just as Chloe reaches out for that button, she hears a knock on her door. “Oh-em-gee, who the like, fuck is that?” She then opens the door to find a 25-year old guy who she had never met before. Even though that was the case she let him in, and she didn’t know why. The guy tells her that he couldn’t afford the full job and can only give her about $56. [Oh, he must be like, referring to one of my scripts.] Chloe then looks down and notices his erection in his pants. [OH MY GOD! This douchebag has a fucking boner! I should kick his ass out of here…] Instead of doing what she was thinking her body does something else, her body turns on the camera and hits record. After turning it on Chloe strips as she proceeds to take out the man’s cock and give him a blowjob. While doing the deed, Chloe begins to struggle on how to take what’s going on. [What the fuck am I doing. I mean I seem to be a pro at this, and it feels fucking amazing. No! What am I thinking? Oh god, I think he’s about to cum. Why am I getting off on this?] As the man cums, Chloe for the first time gets to experience the delicious majesty that is semen running down her throat. She had never tried it before, but now she wants even more. Chloe then gets up, licking her lips, and approaches the camera saying, “Nothing tastes better than this. Trust me.” Then she turns off the camera. After the man leaves, Chloe is shocked because that was her first oral sex experience. Originally, she would have never done such a thing… and she loved the hell out of it. Chloe then understood she needed to press the reset. After she does it a message pops up on the screen and says: “Reset will only work after the events of the last recording have happened.” “Fuck it,” Chloe states “I’m going to bed.”

Day 4:

Chloe wakes up and sees nothing has changed around her in her room. She doesn’t have the time to properly wake up as she receives a video call from her mother. At first she’s nervous to accept the call, as of where they left off. Chloe then accepts the call and braces for a long, yelling lecture from her mother. “Hey sweetheart, how are you doing? Are things going okay?” “Yeah mom, things are totally fine?” Chloe says confused. “You aren’t like mad at me?” “Well, I cannot say that I’m happy with your choices so far but, I’m not mad at you, no. Why? Should I be?” “No! I mean no. I just guess I can have some blonde moments.” “Speaking of which, did you dye your hair?” “What are you like, talking about mom? This is totally my natural color.” Oh sweetie. Did I call you too early in the morning? You’re being really silly; we both know your natural hair color is blonde. Stop kidding around, did you dye your hair or not?” “Look, mom I’ve got to go…” “Oh did you finally get a job?” “I’ll tell you like, tomorrow. It’ll be a umm… what’s the like word?” “Surprise?” “Oh like, duh. Yeah a surprise mommy. I’ll call you tomorrow. Bye.” Chloe then hangs up not feeling well as she runs to a mirror and see her once raven black hair become sun ray blonde and branch out to her ass as it and her thighs begin to bubble up and expand. After her small changes, she ran over to her diary, where almost nothing is written, and discovers that she had dropped out at 4th grade after she was rejected, only to have found the possibilities for her dream job at the age of 19 and to have arrived in the apartment for her to be able to achieve it. Her dream job was always to write scripts and communicate with people on talk shows, but how could she do that without a diploma? Suddenly, Chloe got a notification from What’s App. It was many positive replies. She texts her friend what do they mean, and her friend sends her the link: Chloe almost screams as her blowjob video was uploaded yesterday on Pornhub and made well over 100,000 views overnight. It was the same in the video from yesterday except she had the long, blonde hair and the thicc thighs and ass. Chloe then understood; the camera was turning her into a porn star. “Shit! When I meant I wanted to be less shy, I couldn’t even fathom this!” Chloe decided to get some fresh air (in the same skimpy clothes she had from yesterday) and goes to drink in a bar. While in her wallowing self-disgust, a guy comes up to flirt with her. Initially, Chloe wants to refuse but, she instead begins to accept the man’s advances as they both run into a bathroom to have a quick fuck. She feels great! It was the best feeling Chloe had ever had in her whole life. After their sexcapade, the guy attempts to ask for her number, but Chloe instead quickly runs back to her apartment. She really did want to have more sex, but she immediately decides to press the reset button, fighting with herself. She then presses the button and click on the “First Phase: Body, Personality, and Clothing” option. Then everything goes back to normal. Her hair changes back with her clothes becoming her normal closed off style. Even her thoughts return to normal, she wasn’t thinking about constant sexual pleasure. Unfortunately, her shyness comes back at full force, Chloe almost crying for what all she did before. Chloe is ready to go back to being her shy and quiet self, having regained her old identity. Then she starts to think about one thing: She would never want to become a porn star however… she remembers that in the moments she had sex and published the video, she finally felt satisfied with herself by destroying her shyness. Chloe didn’t want to go bankrupt and lose all of her dreams because of her extreme shyness. [Is it possible that I always need a camera to fight it? I mean after-all pornography is a form of entertainment. And it is infinitely loads better than being shy… No! It must be to prove something else.] Chloe then turns on the camera and begins vlogging. This time she uploads it to YouTube. Later that afternoon, Chloe receives several glowing and positive comments on her approach in the video. She finally gained her self-confidence and is ready to press the reset again. Chloe remembers now that she can’t use the camera if the last recording doesn’t take place first. This time, Chloe isn’t scared, she is convinced that nothing can change her mind, whatever the effect.

Day 5:

Chloe wakes up to see nothing has changed in her apartment. She immediately gets up to activate the camera but, begins to feel strange and heads to the bathroom. She looks in the mirror to see her breasts grow in to natural D-Cup with her bras all adjusting to them. Her hair changes back into the long, flowing blonde hair it was before along with her face changing to becoming sexier than before. In fact, her whole-body changes into a hot body that any man would lust after. Chloe is surprised to see what she has become, and she loves it. While looking at herself in the mirror, her head becomes filled with memories of last night, she had heavy sex with a guy from a bar she met. Just thinking about it makes her masturbate. [I have to press the reset again. But, this feels so good and what about the talk shows? What about the experience on stage as enjoyable as her new job?] “And why would we like, ever go back to that like, lame, nerdy little loser of a body when we have this totally hot as fuck piece of ass right here?!” Chloe exclaimed while smacking her ass making it jiggle like Jell-O. She then found in her diary that she had fun picking on other girls who were less cute than her in High School. She also found the experiences on stage were a waste of time. Chloe then understood that the camera didn’t just change her physical appearance, but her personality as well. She became a total stuck-up bitch. [I should go back, this isn’t me. Oh, really? Well, like, weather it is or isn’t us, I like this one better. We were so totally useless as that little shy nerd. Now, we’re a like fucking force to be reckoned with! We do what we want, when we totally want, no matter who gets in my way.] Chloe has lost who she once was as her new self, had taken over. “Now, I need to find myself a morning fuck. I’m gonna go scout the bar! I’m gonna get my ass rammed good and publish the video after doing it. Goodbye shy Chloe-bear, hello sexy ass bitch Chloe!”

#Bimbotf #MindAltering #bimboslut #slutification

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verai-marcel · 4 years

Text

We’ve Only Just Begun (RDO OC x OC Fic)

Summary: Everett, a few weeks out of Sisika, has paid his debt to Mrs LeClerk. Though he’s now free, he can’t return to his old life as a ranger, so he opts for the next closest career: bounty hunting. When he’s handed a lead to some slavers related to the ones that had kidnapped his sister before, he jumps at the chance to wipe them out once and for all. But there’s a catch: he has to take a partner with him.

Author’s Notes: I’m being self-indulgent. This is how Verai and Everett first met.

Tags: oc x oc, rdo oc, origin story, historical racism, slow burn, strangers to friends, gun violence, minor wounds

Word Count: 8764 (I know it’s long, but mostly dialogue.)

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

Everett stood in the middle of the police station in St. Denis, listening to the sheriff ramble on about the man on the bounty poster he was looking at. The sheriff had heard that the bounty had been seen skulking around the ruins of the old train station a couple hours outside of the city. It wasn’t going to be a hard bounty; the man was just a sneaky bastard that had given his deputies the slip one too many times.

“Alright, I got it. I’ll bring’im back in one piece.”

“Preferably alive, Mr. Osborn.”

“Of course, who do you take me for?”

After taking the poster with the sheriff’s condescending ‘good luck’, Everett left the city on his black chestnut thoroughbred, the only thing tying him to his past. He had left Sisika swearing that he would drop his old life and everything around it, but he wouldn’t give up Ares for the world. Once Mrs LeClerk had told him he had some free time between jobs, he had snuck back to his old stable and taken him away. He was pretty sure they just let him take Ares back with no trouble, since he swore he saw a guard nod his way and turn around when he thought he had been caught.

The sun had moved overhead by the time he reached the ruined station. He let his horse rest a few hundred feet away and snuck over to the building, his navy revolver out and at the ready. Hearing some rustling amongst the rubble, he slowly turned a corner.

A man, sneaking past a broken wall, looked over his shoulder at the exact moment that Everett appeared.

"Shit!" the man exclaimed, bolting over the crumbling piles of bricks.

Everett immediately gave chase. Leaping over the wall, he landed with a loud squish into the bayou mud.

"Goddammit," he muttered as he pulled his boots out of the mud and made his way to solid ground. Putting on some extra speed, he whistled for his horse to follow.

"Leave me alone!" the man yelled over his shoulder.

Everett ignored him and saved his breath for running.

Then the man pulled out a gun and shot blindly over his shoulder.

Ducking and weaving, Everett dodged most of the bullets. The last one grazed his upper arm, tearing his shirt and burning his skin. His temper running a little short already because of the mud, he whistled again for his horse and kept chasing after the man, now more pissed off. He hated being shot at, and given that the man was running and shooting blindly over his shoulder, he really shouldn’t have been able to hit him.

The sound of a horse made him smile. He was going to run the bastard down before tying him up. Maybe drag him through the mud a little.

Then his smile faltered. That didn’t sound like Ares—

A blur of brown and white rushed passed him as a criollo leapt into his path, cutting him off.

As if in slow motion, he met the eyes of the rider: a woman, hair as dark as the midnight sky, eyes as sharp as a hunter’s knife, lips painted red like the lanterns near the gunshop of St. Denis.

He kept running, but watched as she expertly threw some bolas at the bounty. Hitting him in the legs, the man went down face first into the ground and slid a few feet. She skidded her horse to a stop and leapt off, landing in front of the man.

“Stupid bitch!”

The woman casually knocked the man out with a swift drop kick to the head before she pulled his arms out of the mud and tied his wrists together.

Everett caught up to her and was quickly met by a Schofield revolver pointed at his chest.

He put his hands up. “Whoa, hold on, I was hunting him first.”

The woman raised an eyebrow at him. “Oh? Since when?”

“Since this morning.”

The woman pulled a bounty poster out of her satchel with her free hand. “I’ve been after him since last night.”

Everett stared at the poster for a moment before clicking his tongue. “Damn sheriff,” he muttered.

She stowed the poster away, but didn’t stop aiming her gun at him. “You can go, I got it from here.”

For just a moment, he wondered if he could fast draw on her, shoot the gun out of hand, knock her out, and take the bounty, but quickly thought better of it.

“I’ll shoot you before you take a step,” she said, reading his thoughts.

He sighed. “I wouldn’t actually try anything,” he relented. “I know when I’m beat.”

“But you did think about it.” Nodding her head towards the man, she continued. “Help me put him on my horse, and we can split the bounty 20-80.”

“40-60.”

The woman hummed. "30-70,” she finally said, looking at him

Everett narrowed his eyes, glaring.

The woman shrugged. "You don't have to help me. I can do this myself."

And take the bounty for yourself, he thought. "Fine, fine. 30-70."

She stepped back, her gun still trained on him. Everett got the hint and slowly walked over to the unconscious man, picked him up, and dumped him on the back of her horse. Standing back, he turned to her, noticing her eyes were focused on something behind him, but he didn't dare take his eyes off someone with a gun aimed at him.

A soft nickering and the wet thud of hooves got closer until he could feel his horse nudging him in the back of his head.

The woman raised an eyebrow.

"Not now, Ares," Everett muttered.

His horse kept nudging him.

"Ares, stop."

He felt his horse's lips playing with his hair. Everett sighed. So much for trying to be a tough guy.

The woman snickered. "I guess you aren’t so bad, if your horse is this silly." She holstered her gun and walked towards him.

"Wait, Ares doesn't like strangers—" he started to say, just as she held her hand out. To his immense surprise, Ares dipped his head and pushed his muzzle into her hand.

"Hey there, big boy. Are you bothering your owner for a treat?" she said gently, her voice changing into something more sing-song while she spoke to the horse.

The woman was now close enough for her scent to wash over him. Most women he knew smelled like perfume, flowers, something exceedingly feminine. Her scent was different. She smelled of rain and thunderstorms, of leaves and meadows. And when she turned to look at him, he found himself drowning in her dark eyes. He noticed an emotion flicker in her eyes before she glanced away, looking back at his horse. What was that?

Everett swallowed. He suddenly had a strong urge to get to know her better. "Name's Everett. Everett Osborn."

Without looking away from Ares, who she was now petting with soft strokes, she replied, "My friends call me Verai." She turned to him with a wry grin on her face. "So you'll have to call me Ms. Marcel."

Everett grinned back. "Alright Ms. Marcel." He gave Ares a pat on the neck before mounting up. "Lead the way."

She nodded before heading back to her horse and trotting towards the city.

Everett took his cutter hat off the saddle and put it back on his head as he followed her. They rode in silence for a while, nothing but the sounds of birds and the occasional passersby accompanied them. Soon enough, he got curious about her.

"So what's his name?" Everett asked, gesturing at her horse.

"Sleipnir."

"Where'd you learn that name?"

"A friend."

When she didn't give any further details, he tried another question. "So, you do a lot of bounty hunting?"

"Yup."

Another few moments passed. Everett sighed. She wasn't a talkative one. "How long have you been a bounty hunter?"

Verai looked up at the sky for a few moments. "Nine years. Probably."

"Probably? How old were you when you started?"

"Nineteen."

Everett did the math in his head. She didn't look even close to his age, so he was surprised to find that she was only two years younger than him. He thought she was in her early twenties.

"And you?" she asked.

"Just started a few weeks ago," he said, a bit abashedly. He looked over at her to find her watching him with a patient expression, like a parent waiting for a child to confess.

But he was no child. He didn't particularly want to share the whole tale of why he suddenly decided to become a bounty hunter.

She eventually shrugged and looked away. Everett let out a small sigh. He wasn't going to get her to open up to him if he didn't do it first.

He wondered why he even cared.

The rest of the ride was made in silence until they reached the police station, nodding at the officers outside as they brought their horses into the courtyard. Dismounting easily, Verai moved to take the man off the back of her horse.

Everett quickly went to help her. "Let me…"

He trailed off as he watched her easily lift the man up into a fireman's carry and walk into the police office without breaking her stride. Following her inside, he could see the sheriff looking as if this was normal.

"Took a little longer than I thought," Verai said, dumping the body in a cell. "He's alive."

"I know, you're good about that." The sheriff opened a drawer and pulled out a wad of bills. "This is for you."

Verai took the money and counted it, then counted out a third of the bills and handed them to Everett.

The sheriff finally noticed Everett. "Oh, I see you ran into our lady hunter."

"Why didn't you tell me there was already someone after him?" Everett asked, trying not to growl.

The sheriff shrugged. "She didn't come back in the morning. Thought she might've died."

Verai let out a short laugh. "Please, you sent this greenhorn to me on purpose."

The sheriff grinned, like a kid caught with their hand in the cookie jar. "You never stick around, Ms Marcel. It was the only way I could get you to meet Mr Osborn."

"And why would you do that to me?" Verai asked with only a small quirk to her lips indicating her faint amusement.

Everett felt a little affronted at being talked about as if he wasn't here. He opened his mouth to speak just as the sheriff suddenly stood up.

"There's a group of men that need to be arrested."

Verai raised an eyebrow. "I'll just get–"

"No. It has to be with Mr. Osborn." The sheriff turned to Everett. "It concerns those slavers."

Everett's eyes narrowed. "How do you know–"

"Your pa and I go way back. He told me to keep an eye out for you if I ever saw you. So here I am, throwin' you a bone."

Everett glanced at Verai, who was standing quietly, listening to every word. "Why does she have to come?"

"Because she's familiar with this area, much more than you."

Everett couldn't argue with that.

Verai finally spoke. "Why do I have to bring him?" She nodded her head at Everett. "This tenderfoot will only get killed if this group is as dangerous as I think they are."

"I–"

The sheriff interrupted Everett. "He's experienced."

Verai and the sheriff quietly stared at each other. Everett sensed a silent battle of wills and wisely stayed out of it.

"Fine," Verai said after a while. Then she turned to Everett. "But this is my job. I'm taking point."

Everett furrowed his brow. "Listen, I know this group, I know how they operate."

Verai ignored him as she turned back to the sheriff and held out her hand expectantly. He wordlessly handed her an envelope.

Taking the letter without reading it, she used it to salute the sheriff and left the building, Everett nodding at the sheriff as he followed her out.

***

"So where are we going?" Everett asked, falling into step beside Verai as they led their horses out of the courtyard and onto the road.

"The hotel."

"I know we just met sweetheart, but I like your style," Everett teased, reaching out to touch her elbow.

Gracefully dodging his hand, Verai rolled her eyes. "I am getting some sleep because I've been up all night tracking that halfwit. You are going to get supplies for our trip."

"Now hold on, I'm not your servant–"

"I thought you would want to be efficient. Otherwise you can wait until I've had some rest, then we can buy supplies together." She gave him a droll look. "Up to you."

He couldn't say anything at all. She was right. "I'll get supplies," he finally mumbled.

***

Verai split off from Everett at the intersection; she was going to get a bath and sleep, while he procured supplies for the trip. She didn't need to read the letter from the sheriff to know where they were headed. Having heard whispers about men hiding in Roanoke Ridge, taking people into caves who were never seen again, she had a feeling they would be traveling north and would be up there for a while.

Paying for her bath and a few hours sleep, she made her way to the room in the back and waited for the bath lady to fill up the tub.

"Rough day, sugar?"

"Yeah. And the sheriff just partnered me with some novice on the next job."

The lady gave her a sympathetic smile. "Well, good luck out there."

Verai nodded to her as she left. "Thanks."

Removing her clothes and sinking into the warm tub, Verai let out a deep sigh. She didn't want to work with the man. Nothing against him personally, but when she had finally gotten a good look at him while she was petting his horse, she saw a resemblance to her former partner, and her heart had squeezed tight.

She could stare down ten bandits without so much as batting an eye, but when face to face with a man who reminded her of far too much, she had shut down.

“Don’t be weak,” she muttered to herself as she scrubbed herself clean, finally hauling her ass out of the tub, getting dressed, and heading to her room for a few hours of shut eye.

***

A light rapping on her door pulled Verai from her dream. Blinking away the sleep, she was surprised to find tears streaking down her cheek. She couldn’t recall her dream, just felt a deep sadness. Deciding to bury her feelings, as she always did, she sat up to face the day, or what was left of it. She looked outside to see the sun low in the sky; she had slept longer than she had planned.

“Ms. Marcel?” A deep voice came from outside her door.

“I’m gettin’ up, hold your horses.” Grumbling, she rolled out of bed, pulled on the rest of her clothes and her gun belt, grabbed her satchel, and opened the door.

Everett was leaning against the door frame, a smile on his face. “I was about to come in and wake you up, sleeping beauty.”

“And I would’ve punched you,” she said without missing a beat. “C’mon, let’s get out of here.” She walked past him to the front of the hotel. Passing the key back to the clerk, she exited the building and went straight to her horse.

“You’re not even going to ask about the supplies?” Everett asked, falling into step next to her.

“I trust you to accomplish at least that. Or are you saying that I shouldn’t?”

Everett shook his head. “You’re a tough one, ain’tcha?”

Verai checked the saddle one last time before mounting up. Turning to him as he did the same, she responded, “I’m not particularly tough. Just straight shootin’.”

She could hear Everett’s amused chuckle as they turned their horses towards the main road and started north.

***

“We goin’ to stop for the night?”

“The night is young. Best to get as far north as possible while we can.”

“We could’ve started earlier.”

Verai glared at Everett, who was focused on the road ahead, though his eyes did glance over at her before looking forward again. “I overslept. You could’ve left without me.”

“And leave a lady behind? Never,” he said, a little more seriously than she had expected.

Unable to think of a response, Verai just left it alone and changed the subject. “Let’s go a little faster then, if you can keep up. We’ll hit the border of Lemoyne and camp near there.”

Without waiting for a response, she urged her horse into a gallop and took off. Hearing the pounding hoofbeats of his horse behind her, she smiled.

***

They reached the border and headed off the main road towards a small clearing. By lantern light, they set up their bedrolls.

“Should we start a fire?”

“No.”

Everett looked at her, wondering at her terse response.

“Smoke will attract bandits,” she finally said.

“Oh.”

Verai considered Everett for a moment. “You haven’t been bounty hunting for very long. Have you spent a lot of time on the road?”

He nodded. “Yeah, I did. I guess I never really thought about bandits attacking me. Usually traveled with a posse.”

“I see. When you’re alone, you have to prevent anyone from finding you.”

“Is that why we’re in this circle of trees?”

She nodded.

Everett considered her for a moment. A woman, alone, bounty hunting. He watched as she switched off her lantern and plopped down on her bedroll. Following suit, he lay on his back, staring up at the stars through the trees.

“Ms. Marcel?”

“Yeah?”

“Sweet dreams.”

When she didn’t respond, he turned to look at her, only to find her staring at him blankly.

“What?”

“Been a long time since someone’s said that to me,” she said wistfully. “Good night.”

As she turned away from him and fell asleep, Everett watched her steady breathing and lost track of the time as he wondered how long she had been alone.

***

They got up in the morning and headed north once more. And once more, Everett tried to get to know his reticent companion.

“Why’d the sheriff stop you when you said you were goin’ to get some help?”

Verai shrugged at Everett’s question.

“C’mon, you can tell me, I can keep a secret.”

“More like you’re nosy.”

Everett shook his head. “Forgive me for giving a damn.”

Rolling her eyes, Verai decided to humor him. “I occasionally ride with another posse, but they’re… a bit wild.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. They’re good people, but wherever we go, there tends to be a lot of dead people in our wake.”

“Did those people deserve it?”

“Let’s just say that if I utter their name, other gangs steer clear.”

Everett wanted to ask more, but she was clearly protecting them. “They sound fun. Maybe you can introduce me to them some time.”

Verai laughed out loud. “Oh, no, they’d eat you for breakfast.”

“I am mighty tasty, you know,” he said, wiggling his eyebrows.

She delicately snorted. “Right.”

***

“You sure you want to stop here?” Everett asked as they entered Van Horn, the derelict buildings creaking with the wind.

“Just for a quick meal before we head on. We should hit Annesburg sometime after nightfall. Then it’s all wilderness from there.”

Everett eyed the people in town warily. If he were still a ranger, he would’ve kept going. A lawman seemed like the last person that anyone in this town wanted to see. Following Verai into the saloon, he took in the patrons as he always did, quickly judging who would be a threat and who was safe.

Three men at the back of the room had turned their heads when Verai had walked in and hadn’t looked away. His hackles raised, Everett stepped closer to her.

“Been a while, Verai,” the owner said with a smile.

“Sure has, Ms Dawson.”

“I told you, call me Josie.”

“Alright, fine, Josie. Two stews, please.”

“That’ll be six dollars.”

Everett leaned past Verai and slapped the money on the bar.

Verai glared at him.

“Just treatin’ a lady right,” Everett said with a wink.

The owner looked at Verai. “You finally got yerself a nice one,” she said, chuckling.

“No, he’s not–”

“I’m just teasin’ ya,” she laughed. “I’ll get you your stew. Go sit down.”

“Thank you,” Verai said as she turned to find a table. Everett followed her, and she couldn’t help but feel like he was following her a little too closely, like an overprotective dog.

Sitting down, she noticed that he kept glancing over her shoulder. “Ignore them,” she muttered. “There are always people like that.”

“I don’t like how they’re lookin’ at you.”

“Well, get used to it. I did.”

Everett looked at her, and the pity in his eyes both infuriated her and saddened her.

“Listen,” she said quietly. “I don’t want your pity, or your misguided sense of justice. There’s no point in raising a ruckus if it’ll just cause more misunderstandings.”

“But–”

“No buts. Just. Let. It. Go.”

Everett let out a breath and huffed. “Fine. But if they try anything, I’ll tear them apart.”

Verai sat back. “And why do you care?”

“Because you’re my partner. That’s all the reason I need.”

“Oh,” she said, taken aback. Surprised by his response, she could only look down at the table until the food arrived.

***

They finished their food quietly, with the occasional comment on the quality, and left the saloon satisfied.

"We're being followed," Everett whispered.

"I know," Verai whispered back. "Don't do–"

"What do you want," he growled as he turned around, addressing the three men from the back table.

Verai closed her eyes and sighed silently before she, too, turned around. Facing the three men, she assessed each one. The one on the left was shorter than the other two and had a bowler hat on. The one on the right was a little lanky, with an ill-fitting jacket. And the one in the center had unruly mutton chops and a wicked look in his eyes.

"This isn't ideal," she grumbled.

"Don't see many of your kind around here," the man in the center said as he looked her up and down, as if he was appraising a piece of meat.

Verai narrowed her eyes as a cold calm started to settle into her stomach.

The man chuckled. "Maybe we can take you for a ride."

Without warning, the other two men leapt onto Everett, taking him down. As they wrestled on the ground, the man with the mutton chops stalked towards Verai. He leered at her, licking his lips. "Never had one of you before. Bet you're a crier."

Then he lunged.

Verai swiftly dodged, spinning out of the way and using the momentum to roundhouse kick the man in the back of the head, knocking him to the ground.

"And you'll never find out," she muttered as she quickly drop kicked him in the head, knocking him out.

Turning to Everett, she watched him throw one man off his shoulder just as the other man threw a punch into his stomach. Coughing harshly, Everett grabbed the man's arm and tugged hard, lifting up a knee and delivering a hit to his stomach in return. Seeing the other man get up, Verai ran and tackled him just as he was coming back for another hit.

Knocking out his current attacker with an elbow to the back of his neck, Everett turned around to see Verai pummeling the other man until he was out cold. When she stood up, breathing heavily and wiping the sweat from her brow, she looked over at him and half-smiled, a quirk of her lips that made his heart stutter.

What a woman.

***

They left Van Horn quickly after that, not wanting to stir up more trouble. Riding hard until sunset, they finally reached Annesburg, a small mining town filled with run down buildings and run down people. Everett followed Verai as she hitched her horse next to a nondescript building, the green paint faded and peeling from the wall boards. To his bemusement, she walked towards the gunsmith next door.

"I already bought ammo," he said.

"We're not here for that," she said as she entered, the door creaking loudly on its hinges.

The man behind the counter nodded in greeting, glancing at Everett for a moment.

"Two baths and two rooms, please."

"Only have one room available."

Verai balked. Turning to Everett, she opened her mouth to suggest camping, but he stepped forward.

"We'll take the room," he said, handing over a dollar and two quarters.

Verai stared at him in shock.

"You'll catch flies like that," he teased as he accepted the key and two bath tickets from the gunsmith.

Quickly shutting her mouth, Verai shook her head as she snatched one of the tickets out of Everett's hand and left the shop, walking back to the first building.

“Thank you, mister,” he said over his shoulder to the gunsmith as he followed after her.

The inside of the puke green building wasn't nearly as shabby as the outside, Everett observed as he looked around in the little hallway between the bathroom and the two sleeping rooms on the other side. It was rather sparse, but it was tidy.

Verai handed her ticket to the bath lady leaning against the wall. As she went to fill the tub, Everett opened the door to their shared room and tossed his satchel in the corner. Verai stayed at the door, leaning against the jamb and shaking her head. The bed wasn't very large and the rug on the ground looked muddy. She decided on bringing her bedroll in here to sleep on the floor.

"Not even going to ask if I wanted to bathe first?" Everett asked with an eyebrow raised as he sat on the bed, groaning softly as the pain in his ribs made itself known.

Verai turned to him with a droll stare. "I already know you'd turn it down. I'm not going to waste my breath."

"How do you know that?"

She grinned knowingly at him. "Because you're not an asshole."

"Why, thank you." Everett then gave her his most charming smile. "C'mere," he coaxed, patting the spot next to him. "Sit with me."

Laughing, she shook her head. "Nope."

"Why not–"

"Bath's ready!" the lady called out from the hallway.

Verai waved goodbye as she walked away, shutting the door behind her.

"Dammit," Everett uttered under his breath.

***

“Your turn.”

Everett was sitting in the creaky chair at the small table in the room, cleaning his guns. Getting up, he let out a pained breath. The punch to his ribs was hurting more than he thought it would.

“You alright?”

“I’m fine,” he lied as he got up and walked past Verai. The fresh scent that was distinctively hers hit him as he walked past, and it took everything he had to keep walking, to not turn around, pull her into his arms, and bury his face into her neck. There was something about her that made him both calm and restless, as if something was just not quite right, but it lay just underneath her composed yet snarky exterior.

Heading into the bath, the lady smiled at him. “Need some extra help? Fifty cents.”

Everett looked at her, with her corset pushing up her ample bosom, her blond hair in ringlets around her shoulders, her red lips, her powdered cheeks, and her eyes lined with makeup. She smelled like roses and had a very cute smile.

And for the first time, Everett declined. “Sorry. Not this time, sweetheart.”

She pouted. “Too bad. Not often I get to see a fine man like yourself around here.”

Shutting the door behind her, he was left alone, wondering what the hell he was doing. He had always welcomed the warm touch of a woman, whether in bed or in a bath, though he was a little picky about his choices. But he had never gone long without satisfying his baser desires.

Was it because of her?

Taking off his clothes, he looked in the mirror and examined the bruise that was growing on his abdomen. The coloration on his skin made him raise an eyebrow. How hard had the guy hit him? Figuring that there wasn’t much he could do about it other than wait for it to heal, he sank into the tub and bathed himself, lost in thought.

***

“No,” he said matter-of-factly.

“What?”

Everett had come back into the room to find Verai sitting on her bedroll that she had laid out on the floor next to the bed, mixing some herbs with a mortar and pestle. The fact that she had assumed she would be taking the floor hurt his honor.

“You’re takin’ the bed,” he said in a tone that brooked no argument.

“You’re more injured than I am.”

Everett blinked. She noticed?

She sighed. “Lie down on the bed and take your shirt off.”

He smiled, his eyes softening. Taking a few steps closer until he was standing over her, he went down on one knee so he could look her in the eyes. “Sweetheart, been waiting all this time for you to say that to me.”

Verai reached over and pressed two fingers into his abdomen, exactly where he had been punched. He gasped and winced.

“Just do as I say,” she groused.

“Yes ma’am,” he said wryly as he took off his shirt and lay back on the bed.

He watched her stuff the herbal paste into a small muslin pouch and tie it off. Then she sat at the side of the bed and assessed his condition, observing him with a clinical blankness.

“What?” he said, his voice softer than he had intended.

She shrugged. “Just looking for other wounds.” Placing the poultice on his bruise, she flattened it out to cover more of his bruise and pressed down slightly.

“Hold this down,” she said, taking his hand and pressing it against the bag. “I’ll be back.”

“Where you goin’?” he asked as she got up and headed for the door.

“Need to stretch my legs, been sittin’ for too long, grinding those herbs for you.”

“Oh.”

She left before he could say anymore.

***

Verai quickly walked outside into the cold night air and took a deep breath. When Everett had walked in, his hair damp, his shirt half-buttoned and untucked from his pants, she had felt a heat in her body that she had not felt in a very long time. Very few men had this affect on her. The fact that he did wasn't lost on her. Old feelings were slowly being rewritten with new ones.

She did like him. She didn’t want to. But she did.

Taking another deep breath, she stared up at the night sky, the stars hidden by the gas lamps that dotted the road. Only the morning star and the waxing moon could really shine past the man-made illumination.

“What would you say, ài rén?” she whispered to the sky. When the morning star winked, she sighed.

I can’t let go of you. I won’t.

***

When Verai walked back inside, Everett was already asleep with the occasional light snore. She smiled softly at him, not understanding why she felt a fondness for him, only knowing that she did. His hand had slipped from his torso, so she quietly took the poultice away, setting it on the table to clean up later, and slipped the blanket over him.

“Sweet dreams,” she whispered before she crawled into her bedroll and closed her eyes, but her last thoughts were of the past, and as she drifted to sleep, she had a feeling that it would not be restful.

***

Everett woke up to the sounds of shifting fabric and soft gasping. Springing up, he hopped off the bed and knelt beside Verai.

“Sweetheart?”

As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he could see her curled up in her bedroll, shivering slightly. He touched her shoulder but quickly removed his hand when she gasped again.

“Ms. Marcel!”

Verai’s eyes shot open and she turned to him, her eyes wide. She was breathing heavily, her heartbeat audible in the silent night.

“It’s alright,” he murmured.

She swallowed and nodded. Slowly sitting up, she waved her hand in a 'don't worry' gesture. “I’m good.”

He held her hand. “You're freezing.” He leaned in closer. “You want to sleep on the bed?”

She shook her head.

“Even by yourself?”

She kept shaking her head.

He sighed. “Then I’m joining you.”

“What?”

Everett lay down next to her. Not touching her, he turned to his side and offered his back. “Use me for warmth,” he said softly.

He waited.

Then he felt her lay back down and curl up against him.

He smiled.

***

The next morning, Everett woke up alone. He bolted upright, looking for Verai. When he saw her sitting at the table, cleaning her guns, he breathed a sigh of relief. Wordlessly, he got up and got ready to go, tapping her shoulder when he was done.

She looked up at him and nodded.

Neither of them spoke as they headed out, mounted their horses, and traveled north.

He wanted to ask what she dreamed, wanted to ask if she was really alright. But seeing her, seemingly fine, he felt his heart squeeze tight. She was shut off tighter than a mason jar and no amount of cajoling was going to get her to speak.

So he'd respect her silence. If she needed time, he'd give it to her.

They reached a crossroads north of Annesburg, and that's when Verai finally pulled out the letter the sheriff had given her. Opening it, she read the contents and flipped the paper over.

Everett maneuvered his horse closer and looked over her shoulder. "What's that map?"

"It marks where people have been reported missing."

She pulled a pencil out of her satchel and lightly drew a line through all of the dots, connecting them into an oddly shaped oval. "The slavers are probably around here," she said, tapping the middle of the shape.

Everett looked at the map, then looked at her. "Alright. Lead the way."

"Not trying to take lead?" she remarked with a wry grin.

"I can admit when I'm out of my element."

"Good. I like people who are self aware."

"So you like me?"

Instead of snorting or laughing at him, she only turned away and urged her horse faster.

"I'll take that as a yes," he mumbled, suddenly feeling happier.

***

They searched caves and abandoned cabins all day, but couldn't find anything, until they reached a small road that had recent hoof prints leading up towards the cliffs. Dismounting, they grabbed their weapons and quietly made their way up the hill.

Spotting a couple of guards, they both nodded at each other and split up, sneaking up on them and knocking them out before moving onwards, all the way to the cave mouth.

As Verai began to step into the cave, Everett grabbed her arm. She looked at the offending hand, then up at him.

"I'll take lead from here," he whispered.

"Why?"

"Because the first thing they'll do is dispose of the merchandise."

Verai's eyes widened as she realized what that meant. Nodding, she gestured towards the cave. "Lead on."

The cave was damp and smelled awful, but it was relatively well lit with torches dotting the path. Everett had his trusty navy revolver at the ready, while Verai had her Schofield, aiming upwards in case they ran into a victim.

Down the tunnels they went until they came into an opening with several cages, all locked. Inside three of the cages was a person, some curled up in a ball, others sitting with their backs to the outside, slumped over as if they had given up all hope.

Verai tapped Everett's shoulder.

No guards? she mouthed to him.

He leaned closer to her and whispered quietly in her ear. "They went on another hunt. Let's free them before they get back."

Together they shot off all the locks and herded the kidnapped victims out of the cave. There was one girl, one woman, and one boy. Scared and shaking, they barely registered the fact that they had been set free. Verai could only watch as Everett quietly calmed them down and got them to move as quickly as possible.

Outside of the cave, both Everett and Verai whistled for their horses. Walking down the path, they kept an ear out for the return of the slavers, but there was no sign of them for the time being.

Putting the children on Everett's horse and the woman with Verai, they rode back to town and returned them to the sheriff's office, where they could find their families from there.

Everett looked at Verai. "We have to go back."

"I know."

"They’re not going to be happy with what we did."

"They won't be happy with what we're about to do to them."

Everett smiled. "I like you."

Verai smiled back. "I tolerate you."

Laughing, Everett charged forward on Ares with Verai following close behind, back to the cave to capture the criminals.

***

The slavers were further up the road to the cave just as they were riding around the corner.

"Should we just carry on and circle back behind them?" Verai suggested.

Everett nodded. "Good idea."

"Of course, I came up with it."

He chuckled as they rode on as if they were just two travelers, keeping one eye on the slavers just in case. They rode a little further before turning up the hillside and through the forest to come up behind the gang. Grabbing their rifles, they left the horses and snuck through the bushes to a high point where they could see the gang riding down the trail towards the main road. Verai counted about ten men on horseback.

Keeping her ears open, she could overhear just a little bit of chatter as they rode past.

"They killed Kenny and knocked out Jimmy, freed our merchandise. Follow the tracks, get'em."

Verai glanced at Everett. "You killed him?"

"Only good slaver is a dead one," Everett growled, a darkness in his eyes that Verai noted for later.

"So. Five for me and five for you. You got this?" she asked, getting her Lancaster repeater in position.

"Of course." He raised his bolt action rifle.

Together they whispered. “Three. Two. One.”

Together they shot their marks. Two men went down, and the other eight men immediately scattered, some hopping off their horses and ducking behind cover, others brazenly charging forward to flush out their attackers.

Verai went right while Everett went left. She took a pop shot at one of the horsemen, striking their arm. Dodging past some bullets, she found a good spot behind some rocks and waited for the hoof beats to get closer. As they slowed, she pulled out her Schofield and peeked around the corner.

The man was slowly coming closer, his rifle aimed in her general direction, but he still seemed unable to see her. She quickly got two shots off, one hitting the man’s forehead. With no time to waste, she moved onwards, using the horse’s panic as a distraction as she headed in the opposite direction. Diving behind a fallen log, Verai holstered her revolver and pulled her rifle out once more. Peeking up, she saw three men coming towards her, and ducked back down again. Taking a deep breath, she gripped her gun, counted to three, and stood up.

“There’s the bitch—”

Bullets whizzed by, but she was focused.

Three shots.

Three men down.

Letting out a breath, she felt the burn of a light graze on her arm. Counting her lucky stars that she had only gotten grazed, she hopped the log and kept moving towards the sound of gunfire. She came upon the road once more and quickly ducked behind a rock. She counted three men shooting towards Everett, who was standing behind a tree. He shifted out and quickly fired off three shots with his revolver, finally hitting one of the men with his last bullet in the head, his skull opening up like a glass jar breaking apart.

At the same time though, another bullet flew past Everett, blood appearing on his shoulder as he quickly hid behind the tree again, gasping.

“Everett!”

The remaining men immediately turned to her location.

"Shit," she snarled as she shot her rifle from the hip, her shots going wild. She moved backwards until she heard a noise to her left.

Another man, bloodied and angry, burst out of the bushes and tackled her, knocking the rifle out of her grip. Throwing her elbow back into his face, she crawled out from under him, scrambling away.

She leapt up just as he slashed at her back with his hunting knife. The blade cut through her shirt and into her skin, the sting making her wince as she stumbled away.

"Was goin' to grab ya and sell ya," the man rasped. "But maybe I'll try ya out first."

Verai turned and pulled out her revolver only to have the man charge forward and knock it from her grasp. He then wrapped a huge hand around her neck and squeezed.

So she kicked him in the groin, hard and with precision. The man gasped and went down to his knees, panting in pain. She quickly landed a hard kick on the back of his neck, the cracking sound reverberating through the trees as he went down like a fallen log.

She took a moment to listen for anything else around her. Upon hearing nothing, she picked up her guns and headed to the last position she had seen Everett.

She heard the sound of a very hard punch and saw several dead men up the road. Following the trail of blood and death, she saw Everett holding a man up by his neck against a tree, his fist held up, ready for another punch.

"Where is your leader?" Everett snarled.

"I told you, I don't know."

Everert dropped the man and promptly pulled out his revolver. Pressing it to the man's forehead, he glared with dark promise. "One last time. Where is he."

The man started to blubber incoherently.

Verai stepped forward and put her hand on Everett's arm. He twitched in surprise, apparently so intent on his interrogation that he had not noticed her approach.

"He doesn't know," she said quietly. "Let's take him back to the sheriff."

Everett looked at her, but not seeing her. She lowered his arm, the gun moving away from the man's head.

Then Verai quickly stepped behind the man and elbowed him at the base of his skull, knocking him out.

Everett was standing still, his eyes still blank, watching her as she pulled out a lasso and tied him up.

"Everett," she called to him quietly.

He blinked. "I, uh, I lost sight of the job."

Verai glanced back at the dead men they had left behind. "To be fair, they probably deserved it," she said with a wry grin. "At least, that's what I tell myself so I can sleep at night."

Everett smiled in return; he understood it was her roundabout way of cheering him up. Holstering his gun, he picked up the unconscious man and together, he and Verai walked back to their horses.

"You're hurt," Everett said when he saw the angry red line slashed along her back.

She waved her hand. "It happens."

He stopped himself from asking if she was alright. With the way she was carrying herself, she was clearly in pain, but holding it in, just like she did most things. He would wait until they got back to Annesburg.

Then he'd treat her right.

***

Dumping the unconscious man at the sheriff's, Everett explained the situation. Verai shared the letter and got his signature so she could take it back to the sheriff in St. Denis. By then it was the end of the day, the sun sinking into the water and coloring the sky with reds and oranges. They left the sheriff’s office and started to head back towards the gunsmith.

"We need to take care of your back."

“We?”

“Yes, we. You can’t reach back there.”

Verai suddenly looked away. “I… I suppose.”

***

Everett took charge, getting a room and a bath, guiding Verai by the elbow into the bathroom, with nary a peep from her, which was both gratifying and upsetting. He liked that she trusted him enough not to protest. He didn’t like that she was in so much pain that she couldn’t even snark back at him.

“I’ll turn around, so get in the bath. I’ll clean your back.”

“Alright,” she said, barely a whisper.

He heard her clothes drop to the floor, heard the water splash as she got in, and then a soft cough.

“Ready?”

“Yup.”

He turned. Seeing her curled up in the tub, her head on her knees, dried blood giving the water a reddish hue, Everett’s heart clenched. He swallowed hard and rolled up his sleeves, took a washcloth and sat on the edge of the tub. Gently cleaning the wound, he started humming softly, a melody from his childhood. Once she was clean, he handed the wash cloth to her, letting her wash the rest of her body on her own, while he turned away, giving her some privacy, but unwilling to leave her alone.

He suddenly felt her leaning against him. Turning his head, he saw her eyes fluttering shut, as if even sitting up was too much effort. She looked up at him as he reached out to touch her hair. He saw the bruises on her neck when her braid shifted over her shoulder and felt a rage that he quickly tamped down. Now wasn’t the time for that. Besides, the man who did that to her was probably already dead.

“...’Rett?” Her voice cracked.

“Hm?”

“I’m sleepy.”

Everett nodded and got up to grab a towel. He held it out and turned his head away as she pulled herself up and stepped out of the tub, letting him wrap the towel around her, drying her off.

“You lose a lot of blood?”

“Feels like it.”

He could only nod. “Let’s hop back to the room, I’ll bandage you up.”

“Lemme put my pants on, at least,” she said with more vigor than she had since they returned to town.

Everett chuckled. She must be feeling a little better if, even in pain, she was worried about little things like modesty.

***

Everett poked his head out into the small hallway. No one was around at this time of night, so he quickly ushered Verai out of the bathroom and into the bedroom, locking the door behind him. Without being told, she sat on the bed facing away from him.

He could see her back, covered in white scars, and wondered about her past. Gathering up the bandages, he started to wrap them around her.

“Don’t ask,” she said all of a sudden.

“I wouldn’t,” he said softly. “I’ll wait ‘til you’re ready to tell me.”

“You’ll be waiting forever.”

“If you ain’t ready, you ain’t ready.”

He saw her shoulders sag a little, realizing that she had felt relief with his words. Finishing up the bandage, he handed her one of his shirts. “Somethin’ to sleep in, since your other shirt is cut up and bloody.”

She took his shirt and eyed it suspiciously.

“It’s clean,” he said, affronted.

She smiled and looked up at him. “Didn’t think you’d be offended if I thought otherwise.”

“I wouldn’t offer a lady a dirty shirt.”

“Who said I was a lady?”

“I did. End of story.”

Verai laughed softly and shook her head as she pulled his shirt on. It was one of his favorite ones, a light blue shirt that was starting to become a bit threadbare with age. She buttoned it up and slowly laid down on the bed, positioning herself on her side.

“Thanks ‘Rett,” she mumbled as she closed her eyes.

“Can I sleep next to you?” he asked before he could think better of it.

“If you like.”

Everett crawled into the bed with her, facing her back, and wondered why, for the first time in his life, he had wanted a woman in his bed, but only to sleep beside and nothing more.

***

The next morning as dawn broke through the curtains covering the one small window in the room, Verai awoke, her muscles sore and her throat dry. Her neck hurt from where the man had dug in his fingers, but otherwise she was alive and mostly healthy. She pushed herself up slowly and turned her head.

Everett was still sleeping, laying on his back with one hand on his stomach, one arm hanging off the side of the small bed. She smiled at the scene; he had kept his distance, giving her most of the bed while he hovered at the edge, making sure she was comfortable.

He wasn’t a bad guy at all.

She carefully got up and saw his cutter hat on the table next to their gun belts. Taking the hat, she smirked and put it on before looking in the small mirror hanging on the wall. Looking left and right, she grinned.

“Not bad,” she mumbled.

“I agree,” Everett said, startling her.

“Dammit,” she grumbled as she turned around. “Now I have to steal it.”

He laughed. “I’ll tie you up if you do.”

It was her turn to laugh. “You’d have to catch me first.”

They looked at each other, their eyes meeting, and her laughter died as she caught something a little more serious in his gaze.

“We need to get back to St. Denis, tell the sheriff what happened. And deliver the letter,” she said, rapidly changing the subject as she removed his hat and placed it back on the table.

Everett nodded. “Well, let’s get goin’ then.”

***

They packed up and rode hard back to St Denis. Riding as fast as their horses could carry them, they made it back to the sheriff by sundown, handing over the letter and receiving the bounty, though it was greatly decreased since most of the men were dead.

“Personally, I think you did the world a favor,” the sheriff remarked as Verai counted the bills. “But rules are rules.”

Everett nodded. “Appreciate the sentiment anyway.”

Satisfied with the payout, Verai took half and gave the other to Everett. “See you around, sheriff.”

“Have a good evenin’, you two.”

***

“Where to next?”

Verai looked at Everett, a little surprised by his question. “I need to get back to my posse. It’s been a week, I said I’d come back by then.”

Everett nodded as he stepped a little closer to her. “I’d like to work with you again.”

Verai looked up at him, his natural smile more brilliant than the flirty ones that he had tried when they first met. Was it only a few days ago? She took a step back, but then held her ground. “That’d be good. Maybe in a week we can meet back here and catch another bounty.”

“Sounds great.” He took his hat off and placed it on her head.

“What’s this for?”

“Keep it. Looks better on you anyway.”

Verai smiled shyly at his words. “How about I just borrow it. I’ll give it back to you next time I see you.”

Everett laughed. “Alright, it’s a promise.”

“A promise,” she said softly, making his heart skip.

They mounted their horses and looked at each other as they started to head in separate directions.

“Can I call you by your first name?” he asked.

She smirked. “I suppose you can.” Patting her horse, she gave him a wicked grin. “Maybe one day, you’ll get to call me by my real name too.”

“Wait, what?”

“See ya!” Verai turned her horse and bolted out of town, laughing as she went.

Everett huffed and shook his head before chuckling. She left him with more questions than answers.

He wouldn’t have her any other way.

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

End Notes: Completely self-indulgent, I know. Hope you enjoyed it!

#everett osborn #verai marcel #rdo oc #oc x oc #rdo oc x oc #writing #fanfic #very long post #everett x verai

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ourladyofomega · 4 years

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Close to the end of the year, and also when the semester ended, I looked forward in selling my books after finals so that I would get money back. I’d get a friend together to take me to Tower Records in Huntington. In a matter of one hour, that money would be gone. Right now I’d be very excited about what I would find in those bins. But due to the pandemic it hasn’t been the case and the euphoria of being in a store, any store at midnight, has been absent. During the mid-00′s, Tower Records went under and currently co-opting the former Huntington location is a third-rate clothing store.

One day as I was driving to work, people stood on the sidewalks of Route 110 holding picket signs like it was the end of the world. First advertised on those signs were 10%-30% percent off all merchandise at Tower. When passers-by and sidewalk shoppers took a closer look, they ended up in shock as they realized that it was an end of an era of some sort. A few days later, the stakes went up. 40%-60% discounts finally garnered Tower’s final audience and rush of shoppers. The final swan song came when all merchandise was down to a whopping 70%-90% percent off. That was when they had their biggest ever turnout because no one wanted to pay full price for music. (Not then when downloading broke, and still not now.) Music collectors and fans were reluctant to buy any new release or any title that was full price. Now they all jumped at the opportunity to clean out Tower’s shelves with a steal. Buyers hovered and tracked entire sections looking for that one shining crown jewel that made their lifetime.

As a music fan for years, I couldn’t begin to tell you how much Tower shaped my taste in music and style. Unlike FYE and Sam Goody, Tower was the one commercial music chain that had a lot of artists and titles that no other commercial store had. Think of what was the Port Jefferson Music Den (closed in 2002) where they were the one underground record store that had everything other stores didn’t even come close to carry. I remember summertimes visiting the Massapequa location picking up rare CD singles and imports as well as other rare hard-to-find and ahead-of-release-date CD’s and artists I picked up such as Autechre’s LP5 (1999) and EC8OR’s World Beaters (1998).

And being a fan of print media and graphic design, I also bought stacks of magazines every week. The magazine selection in Huntington was unrivaled, measuring at least several rows of 60-70 feet of anything and everything you could think of: Industrial Nation, Punk Planet, The Wire, Disruptiv, Mass Appeal, Mean, Vice, YRB, and art design magazines like LoDown, as well as hardcore zines Short Fast Loud!, Maximum Rock And Roll, Under The Volcano and other cult magazines I happened to be lucky to pick up (Lisa Carver’s Rollerderby, anyone?). Every month went at least $60.00-$70.00 total on magazines alone.

Yet towards the end of Tower’s presence I didn’t pick up on music as much because just like other buyers, I had to stand back at the higher-than-usual prices for releases. Compared to discount chains like Best Buy and other record stores, it wasn’t unusual to find a new release with no-frills to be priced at $19.99 or even $21.99. DVDs I noticed were priced at times to be five dollars higher than their competitors. Maybe some shoppers felt the same sentiment as I did.

Not only that, the forces of internet piracy and MP3 downloading of recent years proved to be too dominant and powerful to be stopped, and is currently but begrudgingly co-existing with other existing record stores this day and age. Consumers then re-routed the system right to their own bedrooms with no price to pay for their music. These factors, plus incurring debt that led the chain to bankruptcy proved to be too much for them.

Without Tower Records, it was less convenient for me to pick up whatever artist or movie title I wanted right away right after work. When Tower closed down it took a bite out of some of the physical record collecting I had. Yet, only they could have given me these experiences: no more magazines letting me know what the latest art direction was or who was in the spotlight. No more frantically walking around with a huge stack of everything and more in my hands still looking for one more CD. No more back room full of posters, sheet music, jazz, classical, hip-hop, techno, and soul. No more silly Hollywood memorabilia and comic-book fantasy merchandise. No more video games, no more characters hanging out in the store wearing goth, back-pack indie, or hardcore.

No more attitudes from the employees who treated customers like nothing because they felt like it. That was really the only problem I had with Tower Records, mostly in Huntington. The cashiers pointed people out with a huff and puff because they were given more than enough change or money, or how they rang up a transaction without even making an emotion or saying a word. Some stuck female cashiers had that flat out know-it-all act for no apparent reason. Sometimes I even renounced the shop because of its sometimes poor service, but that was not the case in the end as the attitude did improve, thank you.

And no more of where I had my first date with my Peruvian then-girlfriend. I would never forget wandering in that Huntington store looking for the next purchase when she walked in, greeting each other with open arms. We left when a thunderstorm knocked the power out but we returned after dinner and had a fun time, the first of many for months to come. This was also where I met a pretty pale Irish ginger who I later met again into at community college the following year.

What is now left of the record store scene on Long Island? A few of them which existed when Tower crumbled are still around (Cheapo’s, Looney Tunes, Infinity Records) and even new ones popped up (High Fidelity and Record Reserve to naming two). Some opened and either re-located (Record Stop) or said good-bye by the time you read this (Permanent Records and Vinyl Paradise). The majority of shops in total are still around because internet opinion made their case about the lack of quality, esthetics, art, and ritual of having the physical thing that you don’t get from digital or streaming; and the classic ritual and synesthesia of experiencing a record store and handling the format makes the case of cherishing these shops. On the online circuit, some titles are now being released in very limited quantity, mainly in the low thousands or even in the mere hundreds. It’s a huge drop-off from what the millions in print runs used to be. Naming your own price for digital downloads, streaming, or even buying from the label or artist directly is the way to go nowadays.

With my radio show, Omega WUSB, I do most of my music testing at home. My habits have been ruined by MP3s and streams as acquiring music is of very low cost and extremely ubiquitous. After all that, it hasn’t stopped me from going to record stores or celebrating Record Store Day to find breaks, samples, or dollar music to win it all. Yes, I still very much prefer to go out of town to buy music with my money which I support the artists and shops I like. Even to this day, I’ll be very happy spending $200.00-$250.00 on music just to have the artwork, colors, lyrics, pictures, ink, liner notes, credits, barcodes, and the entire release itself, because later on I will turn a profit in style points as time goes by, just like when people are hoarding and sharing their vinyl and cassette collections now.

That November was my last visit to Tower Records ever, a few months after getting a substantial check from a near-fatal car accident. Acquired would be some titles that made my pre-Omega shows and would be part of some personal seasonal mixtapes. Prices were 40% off on music and that was when I decided to go and treat myself. There comes a time when you just can’t wait and risk a good sale on music before they’re gone forever. The total spent on my last ever visit there was $200.00 on music and the Andy Warhol book at $75.00, originally $125.00 (have you ever carried a book so massive and so heavy?) I took my bags worth of music and magazines with me to the trunk of my car, never to return to the Tower Records experience again.

On another note, I’m still friends with M-Ro to this day, a former manager there. He moved on to become a lead of Hicksville’s Utopia further west before becoming a ticket broker at an independent movie house. He once had a show on WUSB and was a major figurehead and darling of the Long Island punk scene. You might also know his brother J-Ro, a master archivist who still has his own show with us and is known as a major record collector by practically everyone on the island.

#omega #Tower Records #our lady omega #personal #Long Island #friends #music

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kelsmister · 5 years

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Rose City Comic Con Artist Alley Review 2019 RCCC Sept 13-15 Convention Center Portland, OR So, another con in the books. Another first time for me. Never been to any Oregon shows prior to this, still trying to make it into Emerald City, here’s hoping I hear back this next week about that! So, Oregon. Flying in wasn’t a big deal. Actually using the public transit wasn’t that bad either. Only like $5 for my mom and I, and around 30 minutes till we got off at the convention center stop. Our hotel was right across the street from the con, called The Inn at the Convention Center. (Yes it was called that). It’s a really old, like something from the 50s, style hotel, with some modern upgrades. The place was still tiny, had that old musky odor, and paper thin walls. Mom thought in advance and checked reviews, seriously always check reviews before booking, and asked to be placed on the quieter side, as one side of the hotel faces the said public transit and those reviews said you will hear it. I barely heard it from our room, so kudos on mom for that. Since it was just a quick hop each day to the con it wasn’t that bad hotel wise, I’d recommend again. Set up was Friday morning. Wasn’t too hard figuring out where to go, as the con did put up giant posters pointing which way to go. Never seen K-9s used as security, so that was different. Otherwise I wasn’t really bag checked like everyone else, wandered down, got my badges, found my table, and set up. Easy peasy. I did love the laminated badges, but the problem was they put the ‘show hours’ on the back. The vendor hall didn’t use those hours, as we tended to open about 1-2 hours past the opening for the main show. Wasn’t that bad, but had to remind myself not to rush in the mornings as again, we wouldn’t open until 10 or so.

Similar to Phoenix, this show does the rectangular pins for each artist, followed by blocking off the ends with mini pipe and drape on flimsy metal rods. No big deal, but they didn’t mark off any walkways behind the tables, so my neighbor, as did many others, crossed that threshold and made it impossible for those in the middle to escape. I was lucky being on the end, so I could escape easily. I also lucked out in that it seemed no one wanted to even try to escape through my exit, so no vendor booty bumping my display or anything.

Crowd level wise it was like any other show. Friday slow start, picked up around noonish, then trickled off until close around 8. Saturday slow start, then baam! Then sluggish, and Sunday slow, bit of a pick up mid day, then it stagnated until close around 5.

Food options at the con center were impressive. You had the typical stuff like pizza, burgers, etc. But, they offered unlimited refills for your soda throughout your stay. Mom and I decided on Saturday to keep my empty cup, refilled it Sunday to save some money. Seriously, $5 for unlimited drinks, win-win for me.

But, you’re probably wondering my pros and cons list, ok here it is.

PRO:

Tables reasonable priced, $275 for artist alley

Crowds are there

Nice weather

Amazing cosplays and crowds in general

Free refills on drinks

Tons of food options

HUGE vending hall

Public transit reasonable and easy to get to

Show hours reasonable and manageable

Easy to get badges/find tables

Rows numbered/labeled

Only 3 days

Got some good guests

CONS:

Hotels are not cheap, and sell out fast

Lot of homeless

Food options outside limited, and said places had super slow service

Side by side with your neighbor, little room to move, people going over their allotted spacing

Bathrooms were a disaster, always out of toilet paper

Artist alley hours not posted, but hall was open to public due to autographs being in same giant room

Slow start each morning

Bargain hunters, bring your cheaper wares/make deals

Rained a bit on last day, seemed to dampen crowds a tiny bit

Not many panels

No activities past show hours, such as the games room closed same time vendor hall did

So would I recommend Rose City?

No. I was told mixed things going in, and coming out I can say I did not make enough to warrant a return trip. For me. Now, let me say who I would recommend for this show.

First timers to comic cons this is a great show to experience the comic con scene. It heavily reminds me of Phoenix Comic Con (now fan-fusion), and likewise it’s a homegrown shown with locals to boot. If you’re local it’s perfect. If not, try to cut costs where-ever you can.

Airfare is the one you can’t really save much on. Hotel I recommend either staying with multiple people in a room or maybe going further away from the con and either staying at an Air BnB or again sharing space at another hotel.

While I did not drive, I did see the small parking options and I would not recommend driving there. Park somewhere further away and take the tram in, because parking options were limited and ran out rather quickly. My hotel, the Inn, had like 10 spots max and they were gone by Friday morning.

Bring snacks to tide you over. While the con center had food options they had huge lines. Coffee shop alone took around 30/40 minutes to get anything. Also, the local food places near by were not use to being slammed. Only one that managed was the Burgerville thing, otherwise Denny’s and Red Robin were atrocious.

Again anything expressed in my reviews is from my own perspective. If you feel differently you’re entitled to your own opinions, but keep in mind these are my own. I do this for a living and try to judge each convention fairly, but everything does contribute towards my final decision. This may also be on my own skill level and artistic craft as well, as my style may not appeal to all or my own charisma may play a part in selling my wares as well. Thank you for understanding and I hope this review is helpful in someway.

#rose city comic con #rccc2019 #artist alley #Artist Review #con #convention #comic #anime #manga #pop culture #cosplay #artist alley review

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howwelldoyouknowyourmoon · 4 years

Text

Japanese woman recruited and sold by the UC / FFWPU to a Korean farmer

▲ Seoul, South Korea, August 14, 2012: Japanese members of the Unification Church bow as an act of apology for the wartime Korean sex slaves conducted by the Japanese military. Liberation Day in Korea falls on August 15. It is the anniversary celebration of Korea’s liberation from Japanese colonial rule in 1945. This rally was held the day before. _____________________________________________

A 20-year-old woman was recruited by the Unification Church / FFWPU in Japan and was sold to an older Korean farmer in an “apology marriage”. He was NOT a UC member.

_____________________________________________

PLEASE RETURN MY SISTER WHO IS IN SOUTH KOREA

1. Ms. Nameless Posted: 01/10/25 ID:FFmOrZXZ

I want to write about my experience here as my serious warning to all Japanese women. Please note, everything I write about from this point is true!!

My elder sister, who was pretty and bright, got involved with a Korean woman and developed an interest in the country of South Korea.

Then she was taken away to South Korea where she became a virtual slave.

You might say “You are so silly!” But this story is true. The tricks used are surprisingly clever, and thousands of Japanese women have already been taken away to South Korea through this scheme.

Now, I want to reveal their dirty tricks. I want to bring this to the attention of all Japanese women, so they can be careful. And again I want to say that this is based on my actual experience. I would like to sincerely ask you not to interfere with the warning I am going to put on this website.

It all started three years ago.

“I met some Korean people and we became friends.” It all began with these words from my sister. She was in her junior year at university when a female Korean student sat next to her on a bench on campus and started to talk to her. The two of them soon became close friends. I also met that Korean student several times and I had a good impression of her. She was courteous and seemed to be a nice person. I heard that she was a member of a peace organization.

2. Now I really regret that I was not more aware of what was going on at that time. My sister had begun to attend “Culture Classes” given by the peace organization that she had been introduced to by the Korean student. According to my sister, the class was “to learn about peace”. In the class she watched many videos and then listened to lectures.

Although the name of the class was “learning about peace”, the contents were only about “how the Japanese tormented the Koreans”. After watching such videos for hours and hours, they then listened to lecturers from the organization – and the topic was always “How the Japanese people have never compensated for their crimes and always speak irresponsibly”.

One day my sister had a pale face. She explained to me “the Japanese army forced 150 Korean comfort women to stand in a line and they cut off their heads one by one. Then they made a soup from the severed heads – and forced other comfort women to eat this soup ……”

I was shocked by the story, but at the same time it sounded “exaggerated” to me – so I got suspicious.

While continuing to attend the culture classes, my sister’s attitude gradually changed. She began to repeatedly say, with desperate expressions on her face, “I’m so ashamed that I was born Japanese,” or “the Japanese people must make amends to the Korean people right now,” or “the current Japanese prosperity is founded on the sacrifices the Korean people [were forced to make during the Japanese occupation of their country].” She completely forgot about her university studies and started to study the Korean language.

▲ A poster promoting Japanese women available for marriage.

Translation of the poster (Korean on the left and Japanese on the right):

True Marriage to a Japanese Woman

Nonprofit community service organization: Registration No. 1300

♥ Junior college or higher educational background ♥ Healthy body and mind ♥ For a young man who has stable employment (around 30 years old)

(Previously married men and women, now single, must be aged 60 or less)

Ideal spouse with a chaste sense of values.

We will match you up.

True Family Practice in conjunction with ◯◯ Committee

Consultation phone Counselor / Consultation Staff

___________________________________________

The poster was affixed in a South Korean farming village. Marriages were then officiated by Sun Myung Moon in a mass marriage. The poster was found shortly before a Unification Church “Korea-Japan” mass wedding which was held in Seoul. The Korean men had to pay $thousands to get a Japanese bride. It was often a family investment, so the women’s passports were taken, and other measures, to prevent them from escaping. A United Nations report highlighted the cultural problems of these marriages. A substantial number of which ended in divorce. One main reason divorces were granted when requested by the women, was the fact of the FFWPU coercion the Japanese women had experienced to offer themselves in “apology to Korea marriages”. LINK

___________________________________________

3. Then my sister said, “I want to go to Korea to apologize to the Korean people in the Korean language”.

I did not think it was necessary for her to go, but on the other hand I thought it was good to make international friends. I didn’t take it seriously enough.

One day, my sister told me that I should also study the Korean language. I asked her why. She answered, “The Korean language will become the global language and is the most excellent language in all of human history”.

On hearing this I became more suspicious. So I secretly sneaked into my sister’s room while she was away. There I found books entitled “The Divine Principle” and “Apostate” and some brochures. I started reading them and was appalled at the contents. One item said, “Japan is a country ruled by the devil. It tormented South Korea which should be the country to lead the world,” another said, “Japan is the country representing Eve, and Korea is the Adam country. Therefore it is Japan’s obligation to work to serve Korea [to reverse Eve’s mistake in the Garden of Eden].” “After the unification of North and South Korea, the country will become the center of Asia and will then rule the world”. The literature was full of such crazy things!

I asked my university tutor about the information which had given me such an uneasy feeling. He told me, “Well, that is the Unification Church.” Then I researched into the Unification Church and discussed it with my parents. We all tried to convince my sister to withdraw from this Church. But it was too late. She took a hard line and decided to quit university and insisted on going to South Korea straight away.

We were desperate. We tried to stop her, but she swore at us angrily saying, “You people are all devils who want to insult the Messiah and South Korea which will lead the world!” We were horrified at the change in her. I cried, together with my parents.

4. Suddenly, my sister decided to participate in a mass wedding ceremony in Seoul and so finally she left our home.

I protested to the Korean student who had invited my sister to their meetings. This student completely changed from her previously polite demeanor. I asked her “You are a member of the Unification Church, aren’t you?” But she acted as if she didn’t know. “Eh? What is that?” she replied.

I said, “The founder of Unification Church is Sun Myung Moon; he’s really weird, isn’t he?”

My comment made her so upset.

“What did you say?!” She yelled like mad, spitting out her words, her face red with anger.

Although she had hidden this fact, she was indeed a member of the Unification Church!

My family was so sad, we all cried for a while after my sister left home. We all worried about her circumstances.

Soon my sister contacted us to say that she had got married to a Korean man and was living in countryside. For a time we felt relieved. Then she began to send frequent letters. She wrote “Please send money”, and “send electrical goods” and other things. It seemed that her Korean “relatives” in the countryside demanded that she get money and goods from our family for their sake. My parents felt that they had no choice but to continue to send money and goods as requested.

We worried what sort of life my sister had in Korea. I decided to go to there to see her and find out her situation. It was dangerous for me to go alone, so we had to make an effort to find an appropriate person to be my interpreter and bodyguard. We hired Mr. A., who was a Japanese exchange student living in Seoul.

___________________________________________

統一教会の日本人花嫁数千人が韓国農民に宛われた

Thousands of Japanese brides from the Unification Church were allotted to South Korean farmers.

週刊ポスト　No. 20 2010（H22) 年6月4日号 [雑誌]

Shukan Post No.20 2010 (H22) June 4 issue [magazine]

〈衝撃リポート〉〈Shocking Report〉

韓国農民にあてがわれた統一教会・合同結婚式日本人妻の「SEX地獄」見知らぬ土地での生活、貧困、差別に「故郷に帰りたい……」と

▲ “SEX Hell” of the Japanese wives who were allocated to Korean farmers in a Unification Church mass wedding ceremony

living in an unfamiliar land; poverty; discrimination “I want to return home …”

北海道大学教授らの徹底調査で判明した戦慄の真実

The striking reality discovered through an in-depth investigation by professors from Hokkaido University

▲ The matching – Mr. Sun Myung Moon decides couples. [Hak Ja Han is standing beside him.]

___________________________________________

5. Mr. A took me to the address which was written in my sister’s letters. It was in the Korean countryside.

The place was totally different compared to the general countryside of Japan. It was a pre-modern farm in a village with unpaved roads. We found my sister in one of the poor village houses. My sister seemed glad that I had come to visit her. Her husband was the son and heir of a farming family. He was an ugly and uneducated countryman. He seemed to be over 40 years old although my sister was in her early 20s.

Mr. A and I talked together with the poor family for a while.

I thought it was impolite of me to do so, but I gently challenged their marriage, and asked my sister to return to Japan.

Suddenly the interpreter became pale. He explained that my sister’s husband said, “I paid money!” and he continued with a vulgar smile “It was a good deal, ’cause this Jap girl has got a nice body.”

This made me so angry. I really wanted to kill him – but in this situation, I had to silently endure his comments for the sake of my sister’s safety. My sister also said, “the Japanese people must make amends to the Korean people.” She said she was working from morning to night. Listening to the family’s conversation, Mr. A whispered in my ear, “it seems she is almost a slave”.

6. There was nothing I could do for her, so I returned to Japan. On the way to the Seoul airport, Mr. A explained many things to me. For example, he said there was a strange group of Japanese women in Seoul – all Unification Church members – who worked all day from early in the morning. Those women often joined demonstrations and performances against Japan, or were perhaps forced to join in such activities.

In addition, when I spoke about the Korean comfort women, he said he had heard from an old Korean man, who had himself experienced the Japanese colonial era. The man had said, “the coercion story [of forced recruitment] is complete fiction”.

According to the old man, the truth was that poor families in rural areas sold their daughters to Korean prostitution brokers. It was a common solution in the Asian region, including in Japan, for such poor people to get out of deep poverty. “It is fiction that the Japanese Army arranged trucks to kidnap girls. Nobody ever saw such a spectacle and I never heard such rumors at that time”, the old man told Mr. A.

I then said to him “so the comfort women stories must have been created by somebody for a certain purpose.” He caught my drift that the Unification Church was using the comfort women stories. “I know a person who is close to a lawyer, Mr. Takagi, who is responsible for litigation in wartime comfort women cases. I will contact him to see if he knows something about this.”

7. I returned home with a feeling of deep frustration. I could not speak honestly to my parents about my sister’s situation. I had the impression that my sister had been sold to Korea as collateral, as a servant.

A while later, my sister suddenly informed us that one of her “relatives” was going to visit Japan and she wanted us to take care of him. My parents and I really disliked the idea, but felt we could not refuse.

A crude beggar-like young man arrived.

The Korean man had a featureless face with narrow eyes, just like pen lines. At first he seemed emotionless, but soon violent mood swings emerged. He would yell and his face then became the color of a boiled octopus. Especially during meal times he would sit at the table in a very rude manner. He ate his food making horrible noises. Not only that, but he complained saying “Why you don’t serve kimchi, huh?!”, “So bland taste!!” and so on.

Needless to say I really hated this Korean guy.

One day, he yelled at my mother. “The sauce for dipping the tempura is too bland! You’re stingy! Are you trying to belittle your precious guest?!”

I was reaching to the limit of my patience. I seriously thought about putting something like pesticide into his drink.

I felt he was always looking at me in a strange way.

One night, the man sneaked into my room and tried to rape me, covering my mouth with his hand. I screamed and scratched his face. He beat me with all his strength.

This made my father furious and he drove the man out of our house. Finally I could be reassured.

8. One day Mr. A., the student who was in Seoul, sent me some surprising information. The following is a summary of what he sent.

What I should explain first is that it was an organization called the “Hundred Members Committee” who raised the “Comfort Women Issue” for the first time. The goal of this organization was to “obtain official apologies and compensation [from the Japanese government] for the Korean people”. Some Korean members of this organization, and Japanese housewives, went to South Korea “to search for victims” suitable for starting a lawsuit. Kim Hak-soon, who was the “courageous first woman to come forward as a victim of the sex-slave system”, was just a Korean prostitute who made a lot of money from her prostitution business with Japanese soldiers. But the “Hundred Members Committee” searched for such kinds of prostitutes and had them appeal to the Japanese government. Then they started international propaganda about the issue.

Now, what sort of organization is the “Hundred Members Committee”? In fact, this committee was created by the “Asian Women’s Federation for Peace” and that is a secondary organization of the Unification Church! Besides, Kenichi Takagi, the lawyer who supported the prostitute lawsuit, and the Japanese housewives who went to Korea to search for “victims” are also all members of the Unification Church. (Of course they all denied being church members. This is the modus operandi of the Unification Church. Members are instructed to say “We are different” when they are asked “Are you members of the Unification Church?”) Their actions are based on their belief in the teachings of the Unification Church that “Japan is a country of the devil and must therefore act to make restitution for their crimes which plagued Korea, the country of the Messiah”.

9. After the rapprochement between Sun Myung Moon and Kim Il-Sung in 1992, the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan came to be involved in activities concerning the comfort women issue, and many North Korean “fake comfort women” appeared one after another. They circulated stories to the international community, such as “the Japanese soldiers cut off the comfort women’s heads with swords, and made soup with the heads which they then made us drink”.

Then what is the reason why the Unification Church fabricated the “sex slave issue”? The reasons are complex.

First, they wanted to diminish the credibility of Japan and the Japanese people, so that they can make the Japanese government pay compensation to Korea, and give advantage and political status to Zainichi Koreans in Japan.

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Note: Zainichi Koreans, also often known as Zainichi for short, (or Chōsen-jin) comprise ethnic Koreans who have permanent residency status in Japan, or who have become Japanese citizens, and whose immigration to Japan originated before 1945, from Chōsen (the old, undivided Korea), or who are descendents of those immigrants. They are a distinct group compared to South Korean nationals who have travelled to Japan for the sole purpose of employment or study. More details on Wikipedia: Zainichi

_____________

Secondly, they wanted to brainwash more Japanese women to set them up for “human trafficking” [as their duty or responsibility]. In the Japanese women’s minds they planted the consciousness that the guilt [or shame of Japan] should be expiated, or atoned for. These Japanese women believed that being in the same situation as Korean comfort women could be a way to personally go through suffering to compensate [for the suffering endured by Korean comfort women during the Japanese colonial period].

According to Mr. A, thousands of Japanese women had already been tricked this way, like my sister. Especially in countryside of Korea there is a high demand for these women. The Unification Church groomed the women for human trafficking to be collateral!

When I heard this story I was stunned.

I also heard from another person who was with Mr. A, that 辛淑玉, Shin Sug-ok, had a relationship with the Unification Church and she delivered lectures to Unification Church-affiliated organizations.

[ 辛淑玉��シンスゴ、신숙옥、女性、1959年1月16日- . とは、東京都生まれの実業家。のりこえねっと（ヘイトスピーチとレイシズムを乗り越える国際ネットワーク）共同代表、シューレ大学アドバイザー。東京都立第一商業高等学校卒業。在日韓国人3世。LINK ]

[ 辛淑玉, Shin Sug-ok, worked for the International Network to Overcome Hate Speech and Racism. She is a third generation Zainichi Korean. ]

I came to think I could not trust Zainichi Koreans.

Apparently the Unification Church believers, the General Association of Korean Residents, and human rights campaigners in Japan were all in one crony gang.

The reality is that they are despicable people who continue activities to prepare and induce Japanese women to become the slaves of Koreans – all behind a mask of justice!

10. Currently, a lot of Japanese women are being fooled by this Korean propaganda and support their activities. This it is totally wrong because it just helps the crimes of the Unification Church. I will say it again and again, so many Japanese women are sold to Korea as a “commodity” for human trafficking by the Unification Church, just like my sister. If you doubt my story, please take action and research what miserable lives those Japanese women have in Korea. You will find out those women are virtually enslaved. I don’t understand why the Japanese mass media do not report these harrowing tales. Why do the the so-called quality papers like Asashi shimbun, Mainichi shimbun or Yomiuri shimbun not explain to the public that right now such women are being trafficked ? Why!?

I simply want to ask why Japanese TV stations do not report the fact that Japanese women are victims like this? Why is this so?

Right at this moment, many Japanese women are brainwashed by this bad Korean religion and sold to Korea to be enslaved for their whole lives.

I want my sister back!

11. Now, I will finish my story about the miserable experience of my family.

I think our experience is hard to believe for most Japanese women, but it is true.

I think all Japanese women need to know the existence of this terrifying trap that leads Japanese women to such miserable situations. That is why I put this series of messages on the internet.

However, I do think most of the Zainichi Koreans in Japan, and the South Korean people, are good people. So please do not have prejudice based on ethnicity against all Korean society. But it is a fact that there are some crazy people who have done horrible, malicious and wicked things to the Japanese people, and they continue to do so. And they have no scruples about what they are doing. It is also a fact that such things have been neglected or ignored.

[Because there have been many instances of the abuse of foreign wives, the South Korean government introduced the screening of men wishing to marry them. There has been a gender imbalance in South Korea due to some couples having a preference for sons – they are more valued in the Korean neo-confucian mindset. In 2017 there were about a million fewer women than men in the 15-50 age group. This is one of the reasons for an increased demand for foreign wives, and it can present good business opportunities.]

Maybe there are some people who do not want to believe my story.

I don’t want to be hurt by heartless responses like “show the evidence!” or “don’t make up such a story!” So I will never come back here again.

Each person is free to believe or not. I cannot blame people who do not believe my experience. It has not been broadcast or well publicized by the mass media.

But anyway, let me insist again, the whole of my story is true! It is factual!!

___________________________________________

Notes

Sun Myung Moon was the founder of the Unification Church [now known as the Family Federation for World Peace], which is a South Korean based religious organization. [He claimed to be an] activist in the Korean independence movement during Japan’s annexation of the Korean Peninsula. After the independence of Korea, he established the International Federation for Victory Over Communism against North Korea. [Moon died in September 2012.]

Kim Il Sung was the former leader of the socialist nation, the Democratic Republic of Korea (North Korea). He was well known for his Red Terror with continuous blood purges to maintain his political power. Kim died in 1994.

There were Korean Comfort Women used by the Japanese military. There are testimonies and photographs, and there is a lot of evidence. However, it seems to be true that most of the recruitment of the women was done by Koreans, and there were even notices in Korean newspapers for Comfort Women (see example below).

It seems there are also fake Comfort Women seeking compensation. [There is clear documentation that Korean Comfort Women changed their testimonies over the years – and there is evidence that some were coerced to do that under threat of losing their accommodation.]

___________________________________________

『毎日新報』1944年10月27日付  『軍』慰安婦急募  一、行先　〇〇部隊慰安所  一、應募資格年齢十八歳以上三十歳以内身體[体]強健한者  一、募集期日　十月二十七日부러十一月八日外지  一、出發[発]日十一月十日頃  一、契約及待遇本人面談한後即時決定함 一、募集人員数十名  一、希望者左記場所에至急問議할事京城府鍾路區楽園町一九五  朝鮮旅館内  光③二六四五  （許氏）

Maeil Shinbo (Korean language newspaper, probably Seoul) Newspaper ad dated October 27, 1944 “Military” Comfort Women Urgent Recruitment Destination: Troop Comfort Station (location not decided) Employment Requirements: Age between 18 and 30; good physical health (robust body) Recruitment period: From October 27 to November 8. Departure date: Approximately November 10. Contract and Remuneration: Decided immediately after interview with individual Recruiting number: several dozen Aspirants should make urgent contact at the following location: Kyeongseong-bu, Jongro-gu, Akwon-jeong 195 [Seoul Prefecture] Inside the Joseon Inn Gwang (3) 2645 (Phone number) [Ask for] Mr. Heo 허 (name of the Korean person in charge)

___________________________________________

『京城日報』 “Keijo Nippo” 경성일보 Kyongsong Ilbo (Daily) newspaper. The paper was published during Japanese colonial rule. At this time (1910–1945), Seoul was called Keijo (京城); (Korean: 경성; Gyeongseong or Kyongsong, literally meaning “Capital City” in Hanja.)

京城日報』（1944年7月26日付）

慰安婦至急大募集 Comfort Women Urgently Wanted – Large Recruitment 年齢一七歳以上二三歳迄 Age: From 17 to 23. 勤先　後方〇〇隊慰安部 Place of work: Troop comfort station behind the front-line 月収　三〇〇圓[円]以上（前借三〇〇〇圓[円]迄可） Monthly income: more than 300 yen (advance borrowing of up to 3,000 yen allowed) 午前八時より午後十時迄本人来談 Individual client consultations from 8:00am to 10:00pm 京城府中* 新町四ノ二〇 Apply to: 4-20 Shinmachi, Keijo City [Seoul] 今井紹介所 Imai Agency (a private company) 電話東⑤一六一三 Telephone East: ⑤1613

These salary rates are huge. Women factory workers earned about 20-50 yen at this time.

Excerpts from Korean comfort woman Mun Ok-chu’s memoir

___________________________________________

The Comfort Women controversy

“About 100 Korean women were abducted by Korean prostitution brokers but were rescued by Japanese military police.”

_____________________________________________

Cult Indoctrination through Psychological Manipulation

In one of his studies, Nishida (1994) found that recruiters offer the targets a new belief system, based on five schemas. These schemas comprise:

1. notions of self concerning one’s life purpose (Self Beliefs);

2. ideals governing the type of individual, society, and world there ought to be (Ideal Beliefs);

3. goals related to correct action on the part of individuals (Goal Beliefs);

4. notions of causality, or which laws of nature operate in the world’s history (Causality Beliefs); and

5. trust that authority will decree the criteria for right and wrong, good and evil (Authority Beliefs) represented by: ▲.

Read a series of articles HERE

___________________________________________

Una mujer japonesa fue reclutada por la FFPUM y luego vendida a un granjero coreano

Mujer de 20 años reclutada en Japón por la Federación de la Familia para la Paz Mundial y la Unificación / la Iglesia de la Unificación y luego fue vendida a un granjero coreano en un “matrimonio de disculpa”.

“Please search for the 6,500 women missing from the mass wedding ceremony,” victim’s families appealed.

___________________________________________

Dae Mo Nim (Hyo-nam Kim) poured guilt on the Japanese

___________________________________________

Japan gave $800 million as reparations for Korean occupation

Asia Times Online December 2005

In 1965 Japan gave $800 million as reparations for the occupation of Korea, in a combination of grants and low-interest loans. This was part of the Korea-Japan Normalization Treaty of 1965. In January 2005 details were disclosed to the Korean public for the first time.

James Card: “Declassified dossiers revealed that Seoul demanded US$364 million compensation for individuals who died, were injured or used as laborers during Japan’s 35-year occupation on the Korean peninsula. Instead, the South Korean government received $800 million, in a combination of grants and low-interest loans, as reparations from Japan.

South Korean dictator Park Chung-hee agreed that after this payment, South Korean citizens would give up their right to make individual claims against the Japanese government. What the declassified documents revealed was that Park only paid out about 2.56 billion won ($251 million) to families killed by the Japanese and 6.6 billion won to owners of destroyed property. None of the thousands of South Koreans conscripted into the Japanese military and labor workforce received compensation.

The remaining money was earmarked for nation-building construction projects. Park’s often-criticized vision of linking Seoul and Busan in the south by expressway became a reality. He poured money into developing infrastructure and heavy industry, especially his favored state-owned business, Pohang Iron & Steel, which later became Posco, one of the world’s top steelmakers.

The Japanese reparation money, along with American foreign aid, was the gratuitous seed money that bootstrapped the South Korean economy into the industrial nation of today. Arguments in the winter of 2005 revolved around the wartime victims being sacrificed for the greater good of the nation and Park’s Japanese philosophy of ‘poor people, strong state’.”

James Card is a freelance writer in South Korea.

https://www.asiatimes.com/atimes/Korea/GL23Dg02.html

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South Korean forces killed more than Japanese killed in 36 years

In about 36 months in 1948-1951 South Korean forces killed more South Koreans than the Japanese killed in the 36 years of their occupation of Korea.

There were some 1,222 probable incidents of mass execution without trial by the South Koreans in 1948-1951.

South Korea Admits Civilian Killings During War New York Times (November 26, 2009) By Choe Sang-hun

___________________________________________

6,500 Japanese women missing from Moon mass weddings

Questions about the 1992 Mass Wedding in Seoul

UC/FFWPU “Recruiting unmarried men and women” just one week before 1995 mass marriage

韓国よ、私の姉を返せ！！Please return my sister from Korea.

Moon: “Women have twice the sin”

Why did a Japanese UC member kill her Korean husband?

Japanese member, Ms. U, married to a Korean man who beat her

Japanese member, Ms. K, was forced to marry Korean man she did not like

Yuka Nakamura, a Unification Church member in Korea, recently took her own life

The ‘True Father’ who could not forgive: “I haven’t been able to release my grudge towards Japanese people yet.” November 2011

Moon personally extracted $500 MILLION from Japanese sisters in the fall of 1993. He demanded that 50,000 sisters attend HIS workshops on Cheju Island and each had to pay a fee of $10,000.

FFWPU / UC of Japan used members for profit, not religious purposes

“Apology marriages” made by Japanese UC members to Korean men

The Atsuko Kumon Hong “suicide / murder” of August 2013

Annexation of Korea – some facts and a song

Top Japanese ex-UC leader, Yoshikazu Soejima, interviewed

The original Japanese text is here: http://mimizun.com/log/2ch/ms/1003978299/

#Sun Myung Moon #exploitation of Japanese #FFWPU of Japan #Hak Ja Han #manipulation #Divine Principle #Unification Church

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jonwongton · 5 years

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KCON NY 2019 Recap

Wow I was actually in New York for four days and four nights. When I first saw the fromis_9 KCON NY announcement I knew there was no way I wasn't going to go. It looks like they made some great memories in NY/LA and I wanted a part of the fun too. Plus I wanted to avoid some of the regret I had last year in that I didn't go to KCON LA 2018. I already got super invested in them through June/July but I don't think I was emotionally ready/mature enough to go on a solo trip like this by myself.

Friday, July 5th

So to start out my trip, my flight to Newark was delayed for four hours. At least at the airport, I met the most beautiful family and got to play with their kids for a couple hours. The kids went boy girl boy where the youngest boy was causing trouble (literally me since I’m the third child), and the girl had no concept of stranger danger so she told me a wide assortment of TMIs about her family. The lady sitting next to me (Annie!) on the flight was also the sweetest soul imaginable, so we chatted for a couple hours before both watching Crazy Rich Asians (I admittedly cried at the ending).

I arrived after 9pm (no chance for early check-in or Klub KCON though I didn't want to dance with 16 year olds anyways), and I get anxious af when I'm in a foreign place without knowing exactly where I'm going, so I mass googled/kept asking for strangers for help to get to Manhattan. After I got settled into my hotel, Maya met me outside we went to Times Square! I'm so glad she came out and saw me that night because 1) I haven't seen her since summer of maybe 2016? so I missed her a ton 2) I literally had no idea how the NY subway worked before she told me 3) I wanted to go Times Square at night and 4) I wouldn't have wanted to go alone. We caught up on literally everything and I went to bed pretty late considering I wanted to check-in early to sell my A1 artist engagement pack.

and our “first date” pose because we were standing so damn far from each other:

Saturday, July 6th

I got up at 6am EDT (so 3am PDT aka rip), and rushed over to the Javits Convention Center to get in line. I brought like literally nothing because I was afraid you couldn't bring food in or they'd throw away my hydroflask. As it turns it, the staff didn't care at all, and there was hardly any line. After checking in, I got my A1 artist engagement pack ($150) which had an AB6IX high touch, a TXT audience pass, and an SF9 audience pass.

I almost panicked because I didn't know how popular AB6IX was, and if I had gotten ATEEZ/TXT I literally would have made at least a $100 net profit. I sat in line with some new people before I summoned enough courage to go into the artist engagement mob. Almost immediately, a girl ran up to me and asked me if I wanted to sell my hi-touch. I wanted to gauge the "market price" a bit more because I was still early af, but since I was still kinda panicking, I sold it to her for $100 and her SF9 audience pass. I looked around and that's when I figured out all the girls were trying to trade their hi-touches for the groups they wanted and all the guys were trying to buy their IZ ONE/(G)-IDLE hi-touches (the only two girl groups doing an artist engagement since Everglow couldn't attend and fromis_9 wasn't doing one). For the eight groups there, I'm pretty sure the market price went something alone the lines of

ATEEZ >>>>>>>> TXT = IZ ONE >> (G)-IDLE = The Boyz >>> SF9 = AB6IX >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> VeriVery

where the ">" shows the relative difference between each group. I thought TXT would be up with ATEEZ but I was clearly wrong. That's why I was pretty happy to get the AB6IX hi-touch off my hands. VeriVery hi-touches were being sold for $20 and people were throwing away their audience passes. I heard someone bought an ATEEZ hi-touch for $550 lmao.

I sold my AB6IX hi-touch, sat back in line with my new friends, and traded my TXT audience pass for an ATEEZ audience pass based on my sense of how popular each group was. I made another lap around the mob and a girl bought my ATEEZ audience pass almost instantly for $40. I made another lap maybe ten minutes later and sold one of my SF9 audience passes for $30 (I'm pretty sure I ripped her off on this one really hard but oh well). I couldn't find a buyer for my other SF9 audience pass so I decided to hold onto it until tomorrow since that's when their artist engagement would be. At this point, I was already +$20 in profit and I still had an audience pass leftover.

All the trading chaos settled at around 8:45am, but the convention didn't start until 11am. I just talked with some 16/17 year olds that were ridiculously into ATEEZ and other boy groups (surprisingly not NUEST or Seventeen).

I was one of the first into the convention and I made a full lap to scout around before picking something to do. The Toyota booth snatched me first and when I told them I was legit gonna get a 2020 Camry they were !!! and made me play their game. You had to search the Corolla for four QR codes, and take selfies with the filter that's prompted after scanning it in 90 seconds. The iPad they gave me glitched the fuck out so I only got three done. They gave me a "The Boyz Meet and Greet" pass which would allow me to go to the front of the line when they made a "surprise visit" at the Toyota booth. I was being a nice guy and told some The Boyz fan about it nearby, so the girl did it, succeeded, and won a fucking IZ ONE hi-touch >.> (people were selling that for $150 minimum...) so yes I'm salty as hell.

At the official merchandise line, if you bought more than $100 of stuff, they'd give you a special merchandise voucher. If you took that voucher to the KCON Star Square, played the game they had every hour and won, you'd get a chance to meet a "surprise artist". There were some official fromis_9 slogan towels for sale for $25, but I decided not to buy it right then and there in case they wanted one big purchase totaling $100. But my dumbass was wrong and the slogan towels sold out 30 minutes later and to this day I still don't have one (they're beautiful). I was also too slow to pre-order it when I bought my convention pass because they closed the presale.

I did some social media sellout booths, wrote some fromis_9 support on the "message to your idols" board, and realized there was nothing to do after that.

I just stood at the Toyota booth where they'd play an entire song and anyone that knew the dance would go up and do it (note they played the ENTIRE song and not just the chorus so for songs that weren't super popular, the stage was empty for a solid two minutes each time). I was only there for maybe 20 minutes, but they played Love Bomb and to my surprise, 4 Walls (which I haven't heard in ages).

I walked around aimlessly for another hour before I realized I hadn't eaten anything for the whole day. I got some really overpriced convention food and sat with some girls I met in line because I was pretty lonely at that point. They were from Chicago and were also there just for ATEEZ. We talked for a bit before they went to line up at MSG for the concert, so I walked around aimlessly for another 45 minutes before I went to one of the panels.

The panel was "The difference between American and KPOP" and Andreas Oberg (wrote Young and Free by Xiumin and Mark, one of my favorite station tracks) and David Amber (wrote Love Bomb, Heart Shaker, Yes or Yes, and Love Bug) were there! The third guy on the panel was pretty annoying, but I'm super interested in how these guys come up with these songs and they shed a ton of insight about it.

They talked about how most successful kpop songs now are actually a combination of multiple melodies put together, which supposedly make the song more interesting. For their particular styles, they try not to repeat the melody between choruses because that would bore the listener and try to have super catchy parts of the song or even the chorus start the track. Something else I found out which was super interesting is how they tailored certain songs for certain companies and groups. Andreas said SM gave him a ton of freedom, but when JYP asked for a song from David, he needed to make the verses long enough for each member to sing (aka Twice needs more lines since there are nine members) and add in rapping parts if the group had a rapper. They had a Q&A section at the end where two people kinda pissed me off since they went up to the mic and made shameless plugs saying how much they adored Andreas/David and were aspiring song writers like them. I actually summoned the courage myself and asked the panel a few questions:

Do you have a good sense of whether a song you wrote will become super popular?

How do you feel about songs that you are very proud of writing that don't become popular, maybe because it was given to a group that isn't that popular?

Do you think composers deserve more credit for making groups popular? The example I used is Blackpink is SUPER popular but their entire soud is almost exclusively produced by Teddy, which almost no one knows about.

I thought they gave me really insightful responses too:

A little bit, but once the song is produced, it's in the hands of the company to promote it with the artist and the choreography.

They're sometimes really sad about songs they create that don't make it big, and Andreas told me he was very fond of Young & Free

David said it's fine the way it is now. The example he used is with movies where the actors/actresses will get all the credit + make the movie famous, but a huge part of the production of the movie is because of the director, who rarely gets any attention.

I walked around aimlessly for another thirty minutes before standing at the KCON Dance Studio to watch the random play dance. I always saw the youtube videos of them so I wanted to see it in person myself. It turns out there was a cluster fuck of people there and we kept getting pushed back so far I couldn't see anything. Two guys in line next to me had Fun Factory albums and fromis_9 posters, so I decided to strike up a conversation with them. It turns out they were also huge flovers AND buddies, so we ditched the random play dance and talked for half an hour about our overall love for kpop. They were also New York locals, and they said they would take me under their wing for the rest of the weekend T_T. We met up with one of the guy's aunts and head to ktown since it was within walking distance, the convention closed at 6, and they wanted something to eat before the concert started at 8.

I took the 순두부 짬뽕 I ordered back to my hotel and ate it while watching the live stream since I only bought a Sunday ticket. On the way back, I also stopped by a store called Koryo Bookstore which sold kpop stuff. I couldn't find any GFriend/fromis_9 stuff I wanted, so I bought a Harry potter book in Korean to practice before going back. The concert livestream was okay, and it felt even shorter because IZ ONE got an extra stage, which I presume was supposed to fill in for Everglow. I lost my shit when NUEST performed Love Paint and Look though because those songs changed my life summer 2016 (they almost made me wish I went). I was still kinda disappointed in them because they had a ton of fans, but they gave off the vibe they only came to NY just to do the concert and leave. I tried sleeping early but as I crawled into bed, I got a fromis_9 vlive notification and I kinda had to watch it in case they spoiled the activities of tomorrow. I saw on twitter they actually arrived on SATURDAY and just toured New York, so obviously there was no way they could be at Saturday's convention. I spammed in chat if they'd have a pinky promise event for maybe 15 minutes but they never saw the comment. I didn't hear any spoilers so I just went to bed tired af since I got like no sleep in the past two days.

Sunday, July 7th

I woke up pretty late on Sunday and bought an expensive ass fancy bagel before getting to the convention center, though I could hardly eat it since I have literally zero appetite when I’m in a foreign place.

I bought the official fromis_9 jersey to match my two buddies just so everyone would know we were flovers at first sight. I also finally took out my Saerom sign and carried it around the convention center. We watched the Sunday opening ceremony and met up with a third guy (a Wiz One) while we waited for the fromis_9 fanclub meeting at 1:30.

I also found a lady willing to buy my SF9 audience pass for $15, which is ridiculous because I saw people giving it away for free at this point.

The fanclub meeting was really interesting. I instantly locked eyes with a girl that had a Saerom sign and we took a few pictures.

We played bingo with a lot of the squares consisting of fromis_9 memes, and two kahoot games where we had to guess which member it was (the pictures were ridiculous) and name the song after only hearing 1 second of it. At the very end, we did the Love Bomb and Fun! fanchants, but it was nearly impossible doing them without already knowing them if you could read romanized hanguel fast enough. I still screamed my heart out though (seriously).

There was nothing interesting left on the schedule, so we walked around before deciding to go to the (G)-IDLE fanclub meeting as well. I missed most of it because I met up with the girl that printed the banners, but there was a really entertaining random play dance at the end. On the way to get the banners, I met the girl that had the Saerom sign during the fromis_9 fan meeting, so we chatted a bit and exchanged numbers (she was here just for fromis_9 and she came from SWEDEN, so I thought we could bond over that). We closed out the day by going to the "2019 Year of Girl Groups" panel.

The panel was really boring, one of the members kept swearing, and they just talked about which girl groups they thought were the most influential in the kpop scene. Personally, I thought the SNSD/f(x) answers were meaningful since Gee shook the world and f(x)'s weird sound + Amber broke down a lot of stereotypes at the time, but some of the Twice answers in the group were a huge stretch. Two fans kept talking about how much Twice meant to them and while that's great and all, I think the rest of the audience felt the same way as I did. At the end, they forgot to give away their prizes, so they basically asked us to walk up and convince the audience why we should get the prize. I walked up and told them I was disappointed I came all the way from California just to see fromis_9 but still didn’t get the chance to. That won me this:

It was like 5:30pm after the panel ended, so we (five of us total) went to ktown to get chicken and hype ourselves up for the concert. They were playing Chung Ha and so many other not as popular girl groups (Weki Meki, Gugudan, Cherry Bullet) that we ended up talking about that for the entire time.

We all split up after we got to Madison Square Garden (I had P1, the group of three had P2, one guy had P3) and had maybe five minutes before the concert started because we showed up so late.

We were all super sad that they started with fromis_9 instead of one of the other boy groups, but I fanchanted and danced my heart out during all the songs.

The people in my section were huge mood killers though. I was sitting in the Chase preferred section, so I feel like the people in that section either a) had their parents use their credit card to buy their tickets or b) got the tickets handed out at some event and weren't even invested in kpop. The two girls to my life were there for seventeen and got on their feet at the end, but the two girls to the right of me sat down and were on their phones for the whole concert.

I got so lucky during the concert. VeriVery covered 24K magic, AB6IX covered Attention, and SF9 covered Love Shot, all songs which I know and love. And a word about Seventeen's stage. I was clearly at KCON for fromis_9, but I also LOVE Seventeen. I didn't pay much attention to their most recent comeback home though since it was a much slower song. However, EVERY SEVENTEEN SONG THEY PERFORMED I ACTUALLY KNEW. They started with 숨이차 which I knew but was indifferent to, but then we got Good To Me, Adore U, AND 아주 Nice. The stadium was freaking shaking during 아주 Nice and when they came back for the surprise encore I think the entire crowd and I died.

I met up with my friends after outside the venue, but three of them had to leave because they had work the next day (locals). I was ready to go back to my hotel content with the concert but disappointed overall, but Sweden girl texted me and told me to meet up with all the other flovers we were with. I met the moderators of the fan club meeting and like ten people that were huge fans and traveled as far as I did here for fromis_9. None of us were tired so we went to ktown to hang out. We talked for two hours over girl groups, fromis_9, guessing each other's biases, and learning our own backstories + age. Like where were these people during the actual convention. Apparently they all knew each other, but because I don't have a twitter, instagram, or am on discord, I was the reason I couldn't be found. I invited Sweden girl to do touristy crap with me on Monday/Tuesday because our flights on Tuesday were at like the same time, but one of the guys there tipped us off for the fromis_9 flash mob happening tomorrow at Washington Square Park at 2:30pm. I personally didn't give a shit about touristy stuff and I only felt obligated to do it because I was in New York, but I clearly only came this far for kpop. We decided to meet up for lunch at like 11am and we all went our separate ways.

Monday, July 8th

We all met up at Chipotle and sat around talking about more kpop stuff.

It was raining surprisingly hard in the morning, so we were all praying the event didn't get canceled. We walked over to Washington Square Park at 1pm and camped out there full of anxiety. I’ll type up what happened at the flash mob in a different post, but in summary, it was the best day of our lives. A ton of flovers had flights to catch, so Sweden girl and got milk tea and just held our hands crying over the event we saw. We rewatched the videos like 15 times (not kidding), took the subway to the Statue of Liberty, took the subway BACK to Washington Square Park because we missed some closure pictures, and then went to Central Park to take more pictures, all while lugging around my silly Saerom sign.

Our heads were in the clouds the entire day so we just sat on a rock and watched the sunset. She met up with a friend from Michigan while I got Halal guys and went back to my hotel room super emotional over the days events.

My dumbass put too much of the red sauce in it which was spicy as HELL so I couldn’t even eat much of it.

Tuesday, July 9th

I woke up late because I wanted to stretch out the best day of my life (yesterday) for as long as possible, and Sweden girl convinced me to go to the airport to say bye to fromis_9 before our flight. I was late as hell, but I booked my ass over to JFK and got to see (G)-IDLE and IZ ONE at the airport (I have videos, not pictures). At the end of the day, fromis_9 wasn't even leaving New York that day so apparently the twitter source was wrong. I wasn't too disappointed though given Monday's events, so I said my good-byes to my partner-in-crime from the weekend and booked my ass to Newark (I was almost late for my flight because New York rush hour, will never underestimate again).

---

All in all, I give KCON a solid 3/10, but my overall trip was a 12.4/10 because of what happened at Washington Square Park. KCON has much better, ethical ways to suck the money dry out of the fans that are willing to pay. They announce the artist engagement schedule AFTER selling the packs, which baited so many Nuest and Seventeen fans. The layout of the convention was absolutely fucking awful too. They put the Toyota booth dance stage, the KCON stage, the cover stage, and the KCON dance stage fairly close to each other so the music was playing over each other, and the other half of the room had empty booths full of cosmetic products and studying in Korea which has an appeal to like 10% of the people there. They also checked our wristbands when moving between rooms in the convention center, which makes no sense since we needed our wristband to enter the Javits Convention Center period. And in general, there was nothing to do "long term" so so many people were walking around bored like me. The lines for the stuff that could actually be done were ridiculously long (maybe 25-30 minute waits for the free food but that's long enough to miss an entire panel/engagement). The cherry on the cake is they announced the KCON LA lineup today without any teasers (no consistency?) and almost every single artist that went to KCON NY is going to KCON LA. I personally trust KCON LA a bit more to not fuck up everything as bad as KCON NY, but it still feels pretty unethical considering how many of us flew ridiculous distances to NY just for the same line up.

I'm not the biggest fan of New York either. The city is super crowded, smells awful, and I don't feel safe on the streets at all (and I'm a guy). One redeeming quality is that the people that I met were unbelievably nice. I probably asked for directions eight times and every time, I got the most helpful/friendly response. An old white man even saw how I confused I looked an approached me asking exactly how he could help me get to where I wanted to go.

At least now, I think I have the confidence to plan my own solo trip to a faraway place. This was a fun one.

I hope we answered your promise Saerom!

#kcon

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maddiehstar · 6 years

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Ready To Comply

Prologue

New York City, 31st August 1942

“I can do this all day”. James was walking down the street when he passed a small alley and heard a voice he all too well recognised. He stopped and looked in, there his best friend was, Steve Rogers, getting beat up by some guy. ‘What the hell did he get into this time’ thought James, walking towards the two men. “Hey, pick on someone your own size”. James grabbed the guy, pulling him away from Steve. James dodges a punch from the man before landing one of his own, right in the jaw. A swift kick in the butt and the man was off. “Sometimes I think you like getting punched,” said James, walking toward his friend. “I had him on the ropes”. “How many times is this now?” asked James while he picked up a small paper from the ground. “Oh, you’re from Paramus now? You know it’s illegal to lie on the enlistment form. And seriously, Jersey?” James took a good look at the man in front of him. The two men were almost the opposite of each other. Steve was scrawny, barely reached 5’7”; James was athletic, strong and reached 6’0”. Steve had to look up when speaking to him. Steve’s clothes hung on him, slightly too big, and dirty from him falling to the ground, multiple times, and he was currently bleeding from his lip, his hair ruffled. His blue eyes met James’ while he got on his feet. Steve let his gaze fall, noticing his friend’s uniform. “You got your orders?” Hesitating for a second, cocking up his head James met his friend’s eyes once again. “The one-o-seventh. Sergeant James Barnes. Shipping out for England first thing tomorrow”. “Huh...”, Steve looked down, “I should be going”. James could see that Steve was hurting. He felt sorry for him; he knew all Steve wanted was to do his part in the war. The taller of the two let out a chuckle. “Come on man!” He grinned and grabbed Steve around the shoulders. They started to head out. “It’s my last night, gotta get you cleaned up”. “Why? Where we going?”. His voice was annoyed rather than curious. “The future”. Steve was handed a newspaper James has been holding onto. ‘The Stark Expo, of course’.

---

James had arranged for him and Steve to have a double date with two lovely girls that evening. However, Steve wasn’t in the mood, as usual. James remembered, the same week as America joined the war Steve had gone and tried to get enlisted, but with all his problems they didn’t even give him a chance. A scrawny man with asthma, heart problems and more so would never be considered. Steve had always wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps and become a soldier. Joseph Rogers had served in the 107th infantry regiment during the First World War and was tragically killed in battle. It had been hard for Steve’s mother, Sarah, to raise her son on her own and when she passed, it hit Steve very hard.

James was however slightly annoyed that Steve couldn’t cheer up for the night. After all, it was the last time they were going to see each other for quite some time, God forbid but maybe even ever. He understood that it had hurt Steve and once again reminded him of his rejection when he learned that James had gotten his orders, and even worse, gotten drafted in the same regiment as his father. The world could indeed be both funny and cruel at the same time.

“I did say a few years didn’t I folks?” said Howard Stark from the stage. James, Steve and the girls were watching his presentation of a levitating car. James had always been fascinated by technology and loved going to the Stark Expo every year. He turned around to say something to Steve, but the man was gone. James was confused at first until his eyes scanned the crowd and saw the “I want YOU” poster on a pillar at the back. He instantly knew where his friend had gone.

James had found Steve exactly where he expected to, the enlistment centre at the edge of the Expo. They had a heated conversation, not because either of them was mad, but because they both knew this was the last one they’d have in a while. James was worried about Steve; he didn’t want his friend in the war. He’d be dead before he even sat food on the battlefield. Steve wanted to serve his country, not by sitting in a factory making bullets, but on enemy soil.

“Don’t win the war 'till I get there”. James looked at his friend and saluted him. There was a sudden pain in his chest; it was first now that it hit him that this was goodbye to Steve. He let his gaze sweep over the blonde one last time, trying to imprint the way Steve looked into his brain. James took a deep breath, collected himself before he turned around.

“Come on girls! They're playing our song”, said James and walked towards the two girls. He laid his arms around their shoulders and started to walk off. Steve stood there as if frozen in place and watched his best friend walk away. James felt an extreme need to look back and take one last look, but he couldn’t. It hurt too much. For some reason, he felt like this was the last time he’d see the Steve he knew, and that was just too painful to process.

__________________________

London, 18th August 1942

“Lilliana Rose Nikolayevna Raskolnikov, welcome to the Special Operations Executive”. The older man, Major Clarke, smiled as he shook the young woman’s hand. She smiled back and straightened her spine. This was the moment she had been waiting for, what three years of hard training had gotten her. Lilliana was now a member of the SOE, a secret division of the British secret service, MI6, who spied behind the enemy lines. “Thank you, Sir”. “Please, miss Raskolnikov, walk with me”. “Certainly, sir”. “I’ve read your file; you seem to be a brilliant young woman”. The Major looked at her. He was indeed right. Lilliana had been studying at Cambridge University for five years before joining the army in 1939. “Well, I have studied yes, but one can always learn more”. Answered Lilliana and looked down. “There’s no need to be humble, a woman with a joint Master’s degree isn’t something you see every day”. Clarke chuckled and padded her on the back. “Well, neither Psychology nor Classical Arts are very academic subjects”. During her time at the university, she had had a hard time getting the respect she deserved. Most of the students and all professors were men and didn’t think a woman could succeed in academia. On top of that, both her subjects were still somewhat new and didn’t have the same credibility as Chemistry, Mathematics or Physics in the eyes of scholars.

The Major showed Lilliana to her quarters where she would stay for two weeks, preparing for deployment behind enemy lines. Her room was rather small, containing a single bed, a small wardrobe and a desk, all in matching wood. There was a small bathroom in connection to the bedroom. It was also plain with a toilet, sink and shower. “I hope this shall be satisfactory. First briefing at 0700 hours, sleep well” said Major Clarke, and with a nod, left Lilliana alone in her room. She sat her bags down on the floor and walked over to the small window. Below her, the street was almost empty. Baker Street was ordinarily quiet, and with the hour nearing midnight, it was deserted. Lilliana turned around and let her gaze go around the room. It was the right opposite of the bedroom in her apartment in Cambridge. Growing up as the daughter of a Russian diplomat, money was never a problem, even during the Great Depression with three children. Her apartment wasn’t anything special, but had the best view in town, overlooking King’s College, and was filled with beautiful oak furniture. Her new room was, however, better than her accommodation at the training camp. There Lilliana had shared a cabin with nine other women, and the only storage they had was a nightstand where they could keep personal belongings.

Lilliana decided to unpack her bags before going to bed. Not that it was much, but she’d prefer to do it now instead of in the morning. The next two weeks were going to be hectic. She’d have to learn everything about her new identity, who she’d be, where she’d be from, what her favourite food would be. She’d also have to memorise the mission, what do to, where to go. Two weeks wasn’t much when you were going to become a new person, but Lilliana would make it work.

---

The alarm clock rang and Lilliana bolted up from her bed. She quickly slammed her hand on top of it and picked it up.‘5:30 o’clock, lovely’. She put it down and fell back. It was incredibly tempting to go back to sleep, but Lilliana knew that she’d be late off she did. She dragged herself out of bed and looked out the window. The sun was rising and there wasn’t a cloud in sight. ‘Looks nice enough, maybe a quick run would wake me up’. Lilliana walked over to the wardrobe and changed into sweatpants, her Cambridge sweatshirt and put on her worn out Converse. She found a hair tie and tied her hair in a messy ponytail.

The air outside was crisp; you could feel that Autumn was on the doorstep. The leaves on the trees had started to change colour, and they were slowly but surely falling. There was a light breeze, which Lilliana was thankful for. Since the run was short, she had challenged herself and held a high tempo. When she came back to the office, she went up to her room and took a quick shower. When she was done she took a quick look at herself in the mirror. Her facial features were still the same, sharp and feminine, even after gaining muscle. Her long blond hair reached down to the end of her ribcage, now dripping with water. Her big grey eyes looked awake, the run had given her new energy. After drying her hair and putting on a simple dress, she sat on the bed and looked at the clock. It showed 6:40, which gave her just enough time to go down and get some breakfast before the meeting.

After downing some bread and a glass of water Lilliana made her way into what must have used to be the main living room, before the SOE moved in. Now it was the main meeting room where all major meetings were held. Lilliana sat down at the big table and looked around. A big map over Europe was spread out before her, with indications of where the allies and enemies currently resided. There was a few bookcases around the room, and in the corner a projector stood on a rolling cart. The room was filling up with people. Lilliana recognised Major Clarke from the night before, as well as two other women who she had had breakfast with. When all the chairs around the table was filled the Major spoke up. “Welcome everyone, to this first briefing of operation Heracles”.

____________________________

London, 1st September 1942

Two weeks had gone by way faster than Lilliana expected. Her days had been rather monotone, her activities didn’t vary much. She woke up at 5:30 o’clock, went for a run, got ready and had breakfast. After that she either worked with the adaption experts, making sure she’d be able to play her new role, or memorised the mission and key enemies. Lilliana also made sure to keep her fight training going, and sparred with the other women during the afternoons. Dinner was served at 19:00 and she was off to bed at ten o’clock.

At midnight Lilliana would leave England by airplane and before the crack of dawn she were to have landed deep into enemy territory. The SOE had arranged for her to see her family one last time before leaving, so around 5 o’clock Lilliana found herself outside of her childhood home in central London. She knocked on the door, and it didn’t even take a minute before her mother had opened the door and embraced her. “Mother, y-you’re crushing me” Lilliana gasped out. “I’m so sorry darling!”. Her mother let go and stepped back. “Please, Nicki, come in”. Lilliana’s family and closest friends had always used the nickname based on her middle name, Nikolayevna. No one could remember why, it had always been like that since she was a little girl. Lilliana walked inside the townhouse and took a good look, this could be the last time she ever saw it. It looked the same as always, oak floors and panelled walls, mahogany furniture, fine paintings and a flower in every corner. She made her way through the hallway into the living room where her father, two siblings and best friend waiting. “Nicki!” it was her brother, Victor, who first noticed her and got up from the sofa. He hugged her and lifted her up. “Vic, put me down!” “Nah-ah, this is the last time I see my little sister before she goes off to kick Nazi ass, I have the right to do this”. “Victor, let her go! We all want a piece of her”. This time it was Sophie who spoke, Lilliana’s closest and oldest friend. Victor let her down and the two women embraced in a hug. “I want a hug too!” Lilliana’s younger sister, Anastasia, squeaked. She was the youngest sibling, only just turned 20 earlier in the summer. “Calm down kids, Lilliana have time for all of us”. Her father, Nikolai, spoke with his Russian accent. “Elizabeth dear, can you please bring in the tea?”

Lilliana had a lovely time with her family and friend. They got to properly catch up; Lilliana learned that her sister-in-law was now pregnant, her younger sister had found herself a young suitor who against all odds got her father’s approval, and her goddaughter, Sophie’s girl, had learned how to walk and talk. They got to hear stories from training camp, about how Lilliana was picked to become a Special Operations Executive agent. She also told stories about how she was trained in everything from combat, to languages, to withstanding torture. Becoming a part of the SOE wasn’t an easy road, and everyone who was picked didn’t finish training, but Lilliana did. Women were needed as agents, since they could pass by the enemy easier and didn’t raise as much suspicion as men did. She was proud to have become and agent and to be able to serve her country, even if she were to lay down her life as she did so.

The time neared nine o’clock and it was time for Lilliana to leave. “Take care of yourself, I want Rose to have her godmother!” said Sophie. “Be careful Nicki, my child should grow up with two aunts, not just one”. Victor embraced her once again. “позаботьтесь о моей лилии” (“Take care of yourself my lily”). Her father usually didn’t speak Russian anymore, only in moments like these, when the situation was serious. “да отец” (“Yes, father”). “My love, do be cautious, we love you all too much too lose you”. Tears were trailing down Elizabeth’s face. “Of course”. Lilliana gave her mother another hug and saw her younger sister standing a few meters back. “Ana, come give me a hug! I’m going to miss you like crazy”. The younger girl made her way towards Lilliana and crashed into her as she started sobbing. “Aw, sis, it’s going to be okay, I will be fine”. Anastasia didn’t answer.

The group all hugged Lilliana a few times more before they let her go. She wiped her tears as she opened the door, turned around and saluted them. “God bless you, and God bless the Queen”. Lilliana lowered her hand, turned around and walked away.

#Winter Soldier fanfic #Winter Soldier #JamesBuchananBarnes #James Buchanan Barnes #Bucky Barnes #Bucky #Buck #Fanfiction #original female character #Bucky x OFC #Sebastian Stan #Sebby #SebStan #SebbyStan #SebastianStanFan #Captain America #civil war #infinity war

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prodigyduck · 6 years

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That Time I Almost Got Mercedes Lackey Killed...

So let me tell you about Gen Con 2018 and how I almost got Award-Winning novelist Mercedes Lackey killed...

To get the story started, you'll need to know that I am acquainted with New York Times Best Selling Novelists Larry Dixon and Mercedes Lackey. If you are unfamiliar with their work:

* Misty is the author of over 100 fantasy novels. She also has a successful superhero series under her belt. And despite being in her 60s, does not look like she is going to stop writing anytime soon.

* Larry is also an author, who has collaborated with Misty on several Valdemar novels. He is a fantastic illustrator. Both are avid bird enthusiasts. Remember the giant eagles from Lord of the Rings? Those are thanks to the film and footage taken by Larry. The same footage has been used by Weta Workshop to create the griffons in the Narnia and Warcraft films.

So, anywho...

Larry recently succumbed to an old shoulder injury he received during his days as a volunteer fire fighter. It was pretty bad. He had limited mobility, had to wear a sling, and could not lift more than 5 pounds for risk of tearing his shoulder out of its socket. As it was only three weeks from Gen Con, and they had already promised their fans they would be there, Larry asked if I could drive Misty to Gen Con and watch over her during the convention. They were also going to be sharing a booth space with my favorite independent film crew Zombie Orpheus Entertainment; for whom Larry has been doing script writing recently.

Previous to this, I was not planning to attend Gen Con this year. Financially, 2018 has not been a good year for me. I have been making enough money to pay my share of the household bills and groceries. But I have not been making enough to save up for extra fun things like vacations or conventions. Ah, the life of a freelancer! So, getting asked to go to Gen Con was made me very happy. Knowing that the room and expenses would be covered helped greatly! All I really needed to do was acquire a badge and save up as much money as I could for the next three weeks to have a little extra spending cash for the dealer room.

In the three weeks leading up to Gen Con, I had managed to accumulate about $300 of extra spending cash. Not bad, but not nearly as much as I usually have to spend in previous years. However, the week before we leave, Rogue Genius Games drops $1,500 on me for recent sales of my newly-released Super Powered Legends Sourcebook. Suddenly, all of my financial worries for Gen Con vanish! Yay!

Sunday -- four days before Gen Con -- my friends marc and Tom drop me off at Larry and Misty's home so I can spend the next day helping with packing and sorting. About 10 AM Monday morning, we have a tsunami roll through the area and it knocks out the electricity. Given the rural area, the power does not get turned back on until 4 AM the following day. Needless to say, we were able to get nothing done with no power available. Tuesday is a mad rush to get everything done that we had not done Monday. Books are packed, posters and art prints are signed, Larry is trying to put EVERYTHING in the Ford Flex -- and I do mean everything! He wants us to take a giant printer, camera tripods, and several Go-Pros for ZOE to use. My foot goes down at 3 PM. Nothing more is going in that vehicle and we are leaving. Larry is literally trying to give us more stuff as we are backing out of the driveway. Bye, Larry... bye!

Once we get on the road, everything goes smoothly! We have driven through St. Louis, Missouri around 9 PM and stop at a Motel for the night at 10 PM. The next morning, we awaken at 11, get some breakfast, and go. According to the GPS, we are only three and a half hours from Indianapolis. And, thanks to smooth traffic, we get there in that time. Check in to our hotel, I go and grab my badge from the VIG Lounge, deliver some buttons I made for BJ Hensley, and all is good!

Thursday, everything goes great. I escort Misty to all her seminars. At the first one, I get to meet the authors of the Expanse! When we get to her autograph signing time, she lets me know that I am free to do what I want for the rest of the day, and I go through the dealer room. First day of Gen Con done! That evening, Misty lets me know that she only has one seminar to attend at 4 PM the next day and that she will otherwise be at the ZOE booth until then. I am otherwise free to do what I want until 4.

Then Friday...

Misty's 9:00 alarm goes off and she re-sets it. But she does not get out of bed. Seeing she wants more sleep, I make quick use of the bathroom, dress, and make my way out. It's 10:00 Misty is still asleep, as far as I can tell. I am standing in line to sell some miniatures at the CoolStuffInc booth when Larry calls me at 11:30 to tell me that Misty has had a stroke and my stomach drops to my feet. She is currently at the hospital. I run back to the room, and try to answer all the doctor's questions that I can. I pack an overnight bag for Misty, which is grabbed by her ZOE handler, Judy, and taken to the hospital. Otherwise, I am in the hotel room alone for most of the day, fretting and worried. I get calls every couple of hours for updates. At 4, I am coaxed out of the room by Larry, who convinces me to put on my game face and help show the con that we are still there for the fans. The show must go on.

I still can't help but feel like shit because I was not there for Misty when she needed me.

I finally get some food -- my first in the day -- about 9 PM.

Saturday, I am awoken by a phone call. Misty is okay. I was NOT a stroke. In fact, it was a toxic reaction to the outgassing of the new room we were staying in. The hotel wanted to impress Misty with its newest-refurbished room, not realizing they needed to let it vent from all the paint and redecorating. And given we were 11 stories up, none of the windows are able to open for outdoor ventilation. But, Misty is otherwise okay. I am up and out to the ZOE booth. The show must go on. We are here for the fans!

I have a curtain call for the Gamers: LIVE! show at 11:40 AM. At 11:20, Misty calls me to say I should gather my things in the room, as the hotel will be moving us to a room that is not so... newly refurbished; one that has already undergone its full outgassing period. I am internally screaming my entire way to the room, throw everything into my suitcase on the bed, and run all the way back to ICC 500, where the show will be. I am pouring sweat from what should have been a 30 minute round-trip done in 15 minutes. But I am there for the show!

Obviously, I sucked, because I have no improv skills -- especially when compared to the comedy talent of the ZOE crew -- which is why I quit acting during my Jr. High School years. But where I missed out on improv, I excelled at artistic comedy; holding up quick illustrations of goblins going "pew-pew-pew" after Owen Stephens suggested the villain of the show was a space ("SPACE!") goblin. Close to the end of the show, Satine Phoenix and Rudy Rootenburg appear, along with the rest of the Maze Arcana crew, and steal the show. This is the first time Satine and I have meet in person. We have spoken many times over private chat; both being fans of tabletop rpgs and both being professional artists. She gave me the biggest hug.

At that moment, I realized something... I was no longer sweating (thank the gods!), but I was no daisy either. Also... Satine Phoenix is a fucking ANGEL! She just... radiates... positively, joy, compassion, love... all the things that are good and wonderful and being a human. I really hope I get to meet her again, maybe for more than 5 minutes.

After the show, I return to the (new) hotel room to find Misty there with several of her author friends. They are laughing and talking about the experience Misty just had. As Misty describes it: "I have never been to Woodstock, but last night I went to Woodstock! Those hallucinations were something!" She went on to describe seeing a woman with brown hair and an astronaut suit standing in between the paramedics who took her from the hotel room. She saw visions of the actors from ZOE, and all the different characters each of them played, having a rave. In the MRI, she saw a sheet of red blood cells covering her. As the MRI machine made a noise, the sheet got closer and closer to her face. Misty was aware that if she blew her breath at the sheet, it would be pushed away...

Yeah... she has new material for her next several novels.

By Saturday afternoon, Misty is back at the ZOE booth, signing books for fans and telling the story of what happened to her to each one. All of them are crying, glad that their favorite author is not dead. I am sitting next to Misty, putting on my brave face and trying not to break down, either... I still feel like crap for not having been there for her when she needed me. but she's safe. She's smiling.

The rest of Gen Con goes smoothly. The drive back goes so smoothly that we get Misty home in one day (apparently I have my father's endurance for long-distance driving). I call my friend Marc and ask if he is willing to pick me up. I really want to sleep in my own bed. It's been over a week, and I want to be home. Marc does, indeed pick me up, and I recall all of this to him on the three-hour drive home.

It's 2 AM on Tuesday when I get to sleep in my own bed. At this point, I am really glad that I had the forethought to wash my sheets before I left for Gen Con. I was tired of smelling my own body odor. I slept so good that night.

#Mercedes lackey #Larry Dixon #Gen Con #Satine Phoenix #Jacob Blackmon #Zombie Orpheus Entertainment #Dead gentlemen #ZOE #storytime #story

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erectionsandtea · 6 years

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100 Questions

Tagged by @mileven-and-contemplation (you gave me something to do today)

1. What is your nickname? Maddy is my nickname :P

2. How old are you? Too fucking old, okay

3. What is your birth month? August

4. What is your zodiac sign? Leo

5. What is your favorite color? Blue, any shade :)

6. What’s your lucky number? 13, lol

7. Do you have any pets? 5 mollys (1 adult and 4 babies), 6 tetras, and a black mystery snail (all freshwater fishies and creatures) :D

8. Where are you from? ‘Murica

9. How tall are you? Like 5′7″ or so ?

10. What shoe size are you? 9 1/2 ? Give or take

11. How many pairs of shoes do you own? A box-full, maybe...10 pairs if we’re including slippers? Dude, I’m not sure of anything, half of my answers will end in question marks :P

12. Are you random? You tell me

13. Last person you texted? The bf :3

14. Are you psychic in any way?

15. Last TV show watched? Currently rewatching American Dad, last show not rewatched though..the new season of Archer

16. Favorite movie? 12 Angry Men (and then How to Train Your Dragon)

17. Favorite show from your childhood? Depends on what constitutes “childhood”, but I’m gonna say The Simpsons and Futurama (basically Matt Groening was my childhood)

18. Do you want children? Idk, maybe someday

19. Do you want a church wedding? Sure, if I get married, but the church has to be by a beach

20. What is your religion? I identify as neo-Pagan

21. Have you ever been to the hospital? Once when 5 year-old me thought I broke my arm, and another time to the psych ward

22. Have you ever gotten in trouble with the law? Uhhh, I walked to the library once when I was like 10 without telling my parents, and a policeman picked me up, does that count?

23. How is life? A bitch, but sometimes a nice bitch, sooo basically normal

24. Baths or showers? Showers

25. What color socks are you wearing? I’m not wearing socks

26. Have you ever been famous? Briefly among Supernatural fans, when I wrote and performed this during the 2013 Mishapocalypse, I mean that’s the closest I’ve ever been (and probably ever will be)

27. Would you like to be a big celebrity? I used to think so, but imagine the anxiety, fuck no

28. What type of music do you like? Literally a little bit of everything, at least one song in every genre (but mainly I’m stuck on ‘80s jams)

29. Have you ever been skinny dipping? Not yet, lol

30. How many pillows do you sleep with? Four

31. What position do you usually sleep in? On my side or on my stomach

32. How big is your house? One story

33. What do you typically have for breakfast? I’d rather get extra sleep in the morning

34. Have you ever left the country? No, but that time is coming, soon I’ll have been all over the world!

35. Have you ever tried archery? Yes! Every year at summer camp for like...6-8 years? I was pretty decent, too.

36. Do you like anyone? My boyfriend and Anna Kendrick

37. Favorite swear word? FUCK

38. When do you fall asleep? After lying in bed for like, an hour

39. Do you have any scars? Yes, and let’s leave it at that

40. Sexual orientation? If I like you, I like you

41. Are you a good liar? Fuck no

42. What languages would you like to learn? I’d like to get better at ASL, and then I’d like to learn German (but I’m absolute CRAP at languages)

43. Top 10 songs? The only two that matter are Hooked On a Feeling by Blue Swede and Footloose by Kenny Loggins

44. Do you like your country?

45. Do you have friends on the web? Yeah

46. What is your personality type? The type that people eventually get sick of and leave

47. Hogwarts house? ‘Puff pride, bitch

48. Can you curl your tongue? Noooope

49. Pick one fictional character you can relate to?

50. Left or right handed? Right

51. Are you scared of spiders? Definitely not fond of them

52. Favorite food? Cheese, and then potatoes (especially cheesy potatoes!)

53. Favorite foreign food? Idk man, I just like food, I’m discovering new amazing stuff all the time

54. Are you a clean or messy person? I want to be clean but I’m too lazy and messy

55. If you could switch your gender for a day, what would you do? Be the sassiest, most fashionable, and most adorable drunk gay boy in the club (so basically be Eddie Kaspbrak)

56. What color underwear? Uhhh...commando?

57. How long does it take for you to get ready? 20 minutes if I actually care, 5 if I don’t

58. Do you have much of an ego? As a Leo, you’d think so, but the truth is, NOPE

59. Do you suck or bite lollipops? Suck first, then bite

60. Do you talk to yourself? Who doesn’t do this at some point?

61. Do you sing to yourself? Yesss

62. Are you a good singer? I like to think so, I know I’m not terrible

63. Biggest fears? Being alone

64. Are you a gossip? Not really..?

65. Are you a grammar Nazi? I wouldn’t be if people knew how to spell and use proper punctuation, etc.

66. Do you have long or short hair? Short on one side, shorter on the other :P

67. Can you name all 50 states of America? No, I always forget at least one

68. Favorite school subject? Choir :P (until college, then my favorite class was psychology)

69. Extrovert or introvert? An extroverted introvert

70. Have you ever been scuba diving? Yes, I took classes a year-and-a-half ago and we went to Monterey bay!

71. What makes you nervous? The better question is what doesn’t make me nervous?

72. Are you scared of the dark? ...yes. Sometimes.

73. Do you correct people when they make mistakes? I try to

74. Are you ticklish? Everywhere.

75. Have you ever started a rumor? Nope

76. Have you ever been our of your home country? Not yet, but soon

77. Have you ever drank underage? Yep, started trying things when I was 13

78. Have you ever done drugs? Yup

79. What do you fantasize about? My ships

80. How many piercings do you have? 6 lobe (3 in each ear), 2 helix (in my left ear), 1 tragus (in my right ear), and 1 nose piercing (next I’m planning to get a daith piercing, idk which side yet) (here is a chart for anyone who does not know the ear terminology)

81. Can you roll your R’s? I’ve done it 3 times in my life, all 3 were luck

82. How fast can you type? Super fucking fast, bro (and without looking at the keyboard)

83. How fast can you run? I haven’t’ run for like, 4 years, idk, but my best mile time was around 8 minutes in high school :P

84. What color is your hair? You tell me, I think it’s brown, but sometimes it looks different, like dirty blonde..?

85. What color are your eyes? Hazel :)

86. What are you allergic to? Probably dust or pollen, and my mom thinks I was allergic to our cat, but that was never looked into

87. Do you keep a journal? Tried, could never keep it up

88. Are you depressed about anything? EDIT: okay, mildly depressed, idk about what, I wish I did, but oh well, life fucking sucks that way

89. Do you like your age? ????

90. What makes you angry? Stupid drivers and people who are assholes to customer service workers

91. Do you like your own name? Uhh, it’s unique, so yeah I guess

92. Did you ever get a foreign object up your nose? Yeah, I once put a tiny plastic decorative berry up there just to see if I could, and it got stuck but I was able to get it out just before I had to go onstage for a play I was in :P

93. Do you want a boy or a girl for a child? One of each!

94. What talents do you have? If being mediocre at things still counts as talent, then I guess I can sing, play guitar, ukulele, and piano/keyboard, crochet, knit, rap, and write...but meh, I’m basically an expert amateur

95. Sun or moon?

96. How did you get your name? My parents wanted something unique, and they thought this name was elegant

97. Are you religious? Not at all

98. Have you ever been to a therapist? Yep, still seeing one now and planning on continuing in the future

99. Color of your bedspread? The one on my bed right now is red, but I also have a blue and an orange

100. Color of your room? White, but covered in posters and things

Idk who to tag, but if you want to do this, please do it, feel free! :D

Except for @killian-morelike-killingme and @textualselection, because I just feel like it xD

#maddy makes a post #100 questions #mileven-and-contemplation #can't believe I completed this but it was fun :) so here ya go

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misfit-among-the-angels · 5 years

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Do ALL the questions!!!! 😇

1. describe yourself.I hate to doing this because every time I have job interview they ask me pretty much the same :/ So yea, I’m not gonna do that sorry :c

2. if you could go anywhere for a week all expenses paid where would it be?Bavarian Alpes

3. do you have siblings?Yep, 7 years older sister

4. what is your favorite constellation, why?I don’t think I have one

5. favorite color.Black, red, green, purple

6. what kind of music do you listen to?Metal, classic rock, industrial, neo-folk, 80s pop, darkwave

7. favorite flower. (you can name as many as you want cause flowers are awesome)Tulip, forget-me-not

8. if you could do magic, what is the first spell you would learn?Hmmm, first spell, probably the spell that would help me to learn all languages that I wanna learn

9. favorite childhood memory.Countless trips all around my hometown with my grandma

10. have you ever been cheated on?Yep

11. if you could describe your perfect room, what would it be?Lots of posters on the walls, guitar in a corner, comfy bed, lots of CDs on the table. Idk, this sucks sorry

12. favorite animal.Wolves, big cats, horses

13. what was the last photo you took of?

14. do you believe in soul mates?Yep

15. do you hang toilet paper over or under?Over

16. your go to place to eat & your favorite thing to get there.Express pizza. Always ordering the spiciest pizza they have

17. do you believe everything happens for a reason?Kinda. Some things indeed happen for reason

18. guilty pressures?Idk if I even have them

19. favorite mythical creature, why?Dragons, because they are so damn awesome and powerful

20. something most people don’t know about you.People on tumblr probably know everything about me at this point lol. Idk, I guess some people don’t really know that 8 years ago I became a metalhead, but I discovered my first metal band 11 years ago

21. where did you grow up, what was it like?I grew up in the second biggest city in Lithuania - Kaunas. Idk, I barely remember things from my childhood

22. do you believe aliens exist?Ayye

23. what was your last google search? “phantom of the opera“

24. what did your last relationship teach you?Perfect relationships exist. Also long distance relationships suck ass

25. would you relocate for love?It would depend, but I guess yea

26. do you hold grudges or forgive easy?It depends what that person has done to me

27. favorite book.LoTR trilogy and tbh every J.R.R. book, It by S. King, The name of the Rose byU. Eco and many more

28. do you consider yourself an extrovert or introvert?Extrovert with some introvert traits

29. have you ever kept a journal, do you now?I have kept it when I was a teen, now I only have travel journal

30. top 5 favorite movies.LoTR/The Hobbit trilogyAtomic BlondeKill BillAs above so belowInterstellar

31. do you believe that everything happens for a reason?same question and same answer

32. what is your greatest fear?Spiders

33. favorite alcoholic beverage.Wine, beer, mead, whiskey

34. most embarrassing thing you’ve done.Wrote all those really creepy thirst tweets about Rammstein back when i had obsession over them

35. do you believe in ghosts?Yep

36. what is the best and worst part of your personality?Best - I’m out-going and I’m always ready to helpWorst - I can be really stubborn

37. should you split the dinner bill?Idk, should you?

38. are you a good liar?I guess yea

39. what keeps you up at night?My mind and my love for night

40. would you rather go without your phone or music?Phone

41. do you believe in god?I believe in gods

42. how do you relax when frustrated?Well, it depends on how I’m frustrated, but I usually listen to music or watch some vids on youtube

43. what’s something that offends you?Sexism

44. favorite foodPasta!

45. if you were on a 10 hour flight and could sit and talk to any person the entire time, who would it be?I wanted to write a very specific person, but let’s leave that person for another time. I think it would be Tuomas Holopainen from Nightwish

46. when do you feel the most confident?When I’m with my favorite outfit, or when my makeup is cool, or when my mind let’s me feel confident, or when I’m wearing something sexy

47. what do you do on your free time?Listen to music, watching films/tv series, tumblr, sleeping, fangirling, going to concerts/fllm festivals, traveling, photography, being with friends, being in nauture

48. is there anyone who has completely lost your respectYep

49. have you ever broken someone’s heart?Yep, unfortunately

50. did/do you play sports in school?I used to play sports in elementary school

51. when are you happiest?When I’m traveling or in a concert, or being with friends, or doing something creative, or being in nature

52. coffee or tea?Tea

53. what is one possession you own you wouldn’t want to live without?My camera (and my copy of Moonglow artbook)

54. what is the first thing you notice about a person?Their eyes, sometimes their hands

55. what is your favorite season, why?Autumn and winter. It’s just perfect weather and it makes me feel alive

56. what makes you laugh?Idk how to even answer this lol Good jokes, stupid/adorable things

57. are you a clean or messy person?Messy

58. what is important for a successful relationship?Trust, loyalty, being open and honest

59. what was your upcoming like?I don’t really understand the question tbh

60. favorite holiday?Christmas probably

61. what is the first thing you’d do if you won the lottery?Buy all the stuff I need

62. what’s the best pizza topping combination?Anything, as long as it is spicy

63. favorite outdoor activity.Going around the city or being in nature

64. how are you? honestly.I dunno, kinda good but kinda bad

65. would you rather go camping in the woods or stay at a beach resort?Camping in the woods of course

66. what is the most beautiful thing in nature?EVERYTHING!

67. favorite type of candy?Chocolate lol

68. if your life was a book, what would be the title?“I need to read what the shit is this” - or smth stupid I said once lol

69. what movie quotes do you use of a regular bases?I barely use them tbh, tho I do use “precious” a lot

70. what was cool when you were young but not cool now?Being emo

71. what’s the craziest conversation you have ever eves dropped on?I honestly can’t remember

72. what’s the most interesting documentary you’ve ever watched?Metal evolution

73. what’s the worst hairstyle you’ve had?I suck at describing things but nooo, i’m not gonna post a picture even tho I think I have few, but let’s say it was pretty bad

74. what do you like to cook?Pasta or basically anything that I can or want at that moment

75. what’s the coolest animal you’ve seen in the wild?Moose

76. what’s the funniest tv show you’ve ever seen?The Simpsons I guess

77. do you usually follow your heart or your head?Heart

78. what is your favorite quote? “Most books on witchcraft will tell you that witches work naked. This is because most books on witchcraft are written by men.” - Good omens

79. what’s the weirdest crush you have ever had?Idk, I don’t think I had any really weird crushes

80. what’s your love language?I actually went and did a test about this and so my love language is physical touch. I actually agree on this

81. do you ever feel alone?Almost always

82. ever been bullied?Yep

83. are you usually early or late?Sometimes bit early sometimes late

84. what kind of art do you enjoy most?Books, films, music, photography

85. what do you wish you knew more about?I wish I’d know more about filmmaking, photography

Thank you!!!! And sorry that my answers suck ass..

#anon #answered

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izzy18-blog1 · 7 years

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So, Indy PopCon. This weekend was easily one of the best weekends of my life because I was able to attend my first convention, Indy PopCon. I was lucky enough to be able to meet some of the people who have gotten me through life. Ever since I’ve started watching them, I’ve been so much happier. I’ve had something to look forward to after having a crappy day at school or just while being in a funk. These people have introduced me to some of my best friends without even knowing it. (Crankycarescrew you know who you are.) They’ve helped me through so much without knowing it. They’ve been there for me when no one else was. They make me smile wider and laugh louder than almost anyone else can. They don’t realize how much they mean to me and I don’t think I can thank them enough for doing what they do. I can’t thank them enough for making my days better. For making my life better. Saturday was the first day I attended popcon as I could not attend Friday. I was planning on attending the Saturday signing but wristbands sold out. When I saw that Indy popcon tweeted that the wristbands were sold out, my heart dropped and I basically lost all hope. It was a dumb thing to lose all hope because I can’t see into the future and yet I still tried to predict it. I thought I’d never meet them and I kept telling myself that and for what? Was I so nervous to meet the people who have changed my life for the better that I told myself I’d never see them? Apparently. But I did meet them. Awkward PopCon story 1: meeting @ogchanyt and @treasurextrove : Saturday, July 9th, 2017 I was walking the show floor with my dad when all the sudden he tapped me and said “hey it’s that pink guy” because G was wearing all pink that day. Haha. I was so nervous that my dad had to drag me over to G and ask him for a picture because I was so nervous that I forgot how to talk. G, of course being the nice guy he is, hugged me and that thanked me for my support and I was so nervous that I forgot to say a simple “you’re welcome.” So I got my picture with G but I also wanted one with Morgan. Then my dad went into the bathroom before I could have him take the picture of me and Morgan. So, there I was standing as awkward as can be in front of Morgan saying a bunch of “umm we could uhh I can umm maybe we could…” I was going to take a selfie of us but kinda forgot how my phone worked because I was so nervous, but then G probably saw how awkward I was being and was like “hey I can take the picture if you want.” By the way, thanks for that buddy. I probably would’ve just been a giant awkward mess if not for that. After the pictures were done and over with, my dad was still not back. So I, being the socially awkward mess I am, walked about three feet away from G and Morgan and turned my back because I didn’t want to bother them. That did indeed happen. Not necessarily awkward just kinda fluff popcon story 2: Saturday night/Sunday morning July 8th/9th So, today was the day. Sunday, July 9th, 2017. The day I meet my idols. I was so nervous today I didn't even eat breakfast or lunch. The fact that I would be meeting my idols in a fee hours comepletly freaked me out for more than one reason. Saturday night I was trying to get to sleep because I had to get up at 6:30 in order to be ready to leave for the convention center by 7:45. Everytime I would close my eyes and nearly fall asleep I would snap right back awake. I kept having this dream that when I got up on the autograph stage to meet the guys I had a panic attack. So, after having that dream a few times and my after my heart was done pounding out of my chest, I finally got some sleep. I woke up the next morning, you know as you do, and I felt much better. I was still very very nervous but less than I was the night before. So, fast forward a bit and I'm at the convention center waiting in line to get my wristband for the signing. That familiar feeling comes back. My heart starts beating out of my chest once again. So I'm waiting in line, talking to these two nice girls because I was alone since my dad went to the bathroom or something like that while I waited in line. Fast forward a bit again and I have my wristband and I'm ecstatic that I'm actually going to meet my idols. Now, we wait in line to go onto the actual showfloor. We have about a 35-40 minutes wait at this point and the entire time we waited, my heart felt like it was going to burst out of my chest. I kept popping my pop socket in and out and in and out and I kept spinning the charm on my necklace around and around just so I could focus on something so that I didn't have a panic attack in the middle of this convention center in front of at least 200 people at this point. All morning until the signing I was fidgeting and trying to breathe steadily and trying to practice what to say when I meet the guys because I had already forgotten how to talk when I just met G and Morgan, let alone all of them at once (except for Morgan of course because she wasn't at the signing). Awkward popcon story 3: meeting those crazy bois @crankgameplays , @girbeagly and @ogchanyt : Sunday, July 9th, 2017 So, here I am. I'm next in line. I'm about to meet Brian, G, and Ethan. I'm trying to keep my cool but am actually dying on the inside. I have my camera out and my fmgifts ready to be given. I'm so close to them. I'm so nervous. Flash forward to me walking up the steps and over to G, Ethan, and Brian. I'm there. I made it on the stage. So, they tell me "hi" as most people do and so I say hi back, you know as most people do. Then there was this awkward, what felt like 30 seconds but was actually like 2 or 3 at most, pause where we all kind of looked at each other awkwardly and then I finally say "oh yeah my name is Sarah." (I know my username is misleading. It's a nickname). So Ethan just goes "hi, Sarah!" And hugs me, as do G and Brian. Then one of them, G I believe, said they liked my hat. I heard them say it but I didn't really HEAR it you know what I mean? So, I didn't say a simple "thank you" which I kinda feel bad about. I was just so nervous that nothing was really registering properly. At this point I'm probably the most nervous I have ever been. So then I hand them my gifts I made them. The first gift I handed out was a bracelet I made Ethan which he put on right after I gave it to him. I didn't notice at the time that he did, but I noticed when I went through my pictures from the signing. Then I give them the rest of the drawings and paintings I made them and letters I wrote them. All is going well so far. So as they're looking breifly at the drawings I gave them G pulls his partially out of the plastic sleeve it's in and says "look it's the infamous mother's day selfie." Yeah I drew that one. It's a good picture though. Can you blame me? I think I might have said something along the lines of "well I can't draw faces all that well and you can barely see your face in it so..." I might have just imagined that part though. So after they look at their drawings and paintings a bit they all give me another hug. They give really really good hugs. Especially Ethan. He actually squeezes a bit when he hugs and it just made me happy. G of course was way taller than me so I kinda had to stand on my tippy toes. We ended up just accidently side hugging a bit I think. Brian and G both give soft hugs that are really nice. I did get quite alot of photos of me actually talking and hugging them at the signing thanks to the super nice volunteer that took my pictures. She was so great , as were the rest of the volunteers. So now we're about to get a photo together and I put one arm behind G and try to out my other one behind Ethan but he ended up being closer than I thought so I couldn't fit my arm behind him so I just kind of awkwardly shoulder him during the photo by accident. So, they say goodbye and I walk off the stage and take a few pictures for the girl who was in line behind me for her since she wanted to get an autograph as well. All the people by me in line were very nice. I actually knew one of them from school. Last little story thing which is kind of an extra thing: So as many people probably know, Brian and Ethan were roaming around the showfloor but were in disguise. And by that I mean masks and a volunteer t-shirt. I was walking around the showfloor over and over for an hour trying to find Ethan and Brian so that they could possibly sign my poster. Because they were in disguise, however, I didn't notice them. Once they tweeted out that they had been in disguise I didn't know what to feel. I spent my entire time looking for a head of blue hair and a head with a blonde streak. I never even thought of them being in disguise. Later on after I had left the convention I was messaging a friend I had met over Twitter who had also happened to be at popcon. He sent me a picture of him walking and Ethan was walking behind him. So just *naturally* I send "WHERE. TELL ME. HOW. WHERE." So I went to the area the photo was taken around, no Ethan. We were talking some more after and I was telling him how I was looking for Ethan and Brian for like an hour to an hour and a half to sign my poster and that I couldn't find them. So he happened to get Ethan s autograph on something (I'm not sure what) while he was in disguise. He texted me again later and told me that Ethan had been in disguise, standing next to me, waiting for me to talk to him. I'm so mad with myself that I was so focused on trying to look for their faces and hair, that I didn't even think to really look around me. I could be recognized their shoes to be honest. I'm so afraid that I might have said something so creepy while he was standing next to me though. Like what if he heard me say "I have to find him. I have to. I will find him. If there's one thing I'm good at it's stalking." (Of course the stalking part is a joke). So now here I am wanting to skao myself omfor not noticing that what I was looking for the entire time, was right next to me. If I would have just paid more attention. So, this is the end. I've told the most memorable parts of my popcon experience. This, being my first convention, has been such a great experience and I'm glad I chose popcon to be my first con. I'm so so glad I even got the chance to attend popcon. I hope to go next summer as well. Anyway, I guess this is farewell for now. If anyone reads this, hi, I'm sorry. -Izzy💙

#ogchan #girbeagly

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