#(gibberish while trying to explain her point but it made sense) I LOVED THAT VIDEO not only was it so funny but super inspiring to me! | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

babysprouseisart · 4 years

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Honestly more things are pointing to a permanent separation for SH. No indications of any reconciliation sadly. And it makes it even harder without the confirmation. I guess when they start to get papped with their new SOs will be the day that it is confirmed they are done. And I hope it is soon. This push and pull with them is exhausting

Good day, anon, and welcome to hell. Screams for help will not save you, alas, because when it comes to a topic in which I am 99, 9% sure, I have no equals. I'm sorry you probably got the wrong address, but it's too late. I am merciless and bloodthirsty with anyone who tries to contradict my faith, tries to correct my point of view and convince me of their own, although I did not give it a reason. Because it's my fucking blog where I for x-billionth time has already expressed my exact points and agreed with some people which think and proved the exact opposite to all that you are saying. So be prepared to be slowly but surely tortured by my long ass post.

So, let's start with what I said about my blog: only good vibes here. I am not interested/concerned about other opposite/negative feedings. I just don't want to make a big deal about it. Here, in my blog, we support Lili Pauline Reinhart and Cole Mitchell Sprouse in any case as couple as well as individuals.

This means that under no circumstances do we talk about them, their relationships, their projects, their family, or their decisions in a negative way. Yes, we may disagree with something they do, where they do it, and how they do it (what they post, what they like/don't like, write or repost, who they meet, with whom they decide to be, live and communicate with, what they archive/unarchive, and so on), but we do not have the right to judge them or decide how to act. We also can't control it and it's none of our business.

I repent if I once made the appearance of a person condemning one of them or their family for their actions and possible causes of the separation, it was only my objective external disagreement, points and thoughts aloud, nothing more rude, involved and inappropriate. And I think with many of my words said earlier (or the words of those I follow and reblog their posts) about the behavior of family/friends of Lili, Cole, and so on, people with brains and common sense could agree. Remember this, or write it on your forehead, so that the next time you write to me, you will see these words.

Moving on, taking into account all of the above, I would like to tell you that it probably won't be enough for one blog to explain to you point by point all my beliefs and points of view on this subject, to prove to you that every fucking word you say is illogical shit and the most real nonsense. It feels like you're an alien who fell from another planet and decided to crawl into our hole with your impressions of a newborn baby who doesn't understand much about the world and its creators. Although in this case, I'm more of the opinion that you are a little asshole, in which the vein of hatred is boiling and you like to come to this and some other blogs to tell us your agenda although we have no idea where you have such rash thoughts, perhaps you have an extra chromosome? Dude, treat your paranoia.

Further, given that I don't have much time and desire to describe all my points of view point by point, which, unlike your random set of words, really makes sense for hundreds or even thousands of people who have the gray matter to be able to think, I will attach my long - standing post, indicating all the facts at that time proving the opposite to yours. Although, I will try to supplement everything else as much as I can.

While, we all ( I hope) already realized and accepted that for many reasons, during this quarantine, Lili and Cole had some problems, were distant and ended up apart for a certain period of time, immediately after the end point of the explosion and informing us of all these public actions on social media (I hope you understand), then after a few weeks, they were already confidently moving towards resolution and recovery and that's why:

https://babysprousehart.tumblr.com/post/618026656780648448/hello-i-hope-this-doesnt-come-off-negatively

This was written long before, but still has many valid points and I just want to widen some of them.

Take a sit and follow me word by word.

I shall start my addition of evidence, based on all the guesses and great opinions of others, as well as hints from the Lili and Cole themselves. I would like to start with a significant event and the day when Lili posted a photo from the Antelope Valley on April 28th, well, or 27th, depending on where you are.

Perhaps we lose some missing pieces in this puzzle and forget about something that was done earlier, but I just want to start counting from this moment.

A few facts about this photo/photos:

1) It was posted exactly 3 years later from their famous photoshoot, when very, very, very many people, mostly in media, began to suspect that there is something between them in a romantic way. It was exactly in the same place, exactly with the same style, exactly in a similar image (waving curly hair, light flying dress, black and white effect) and even without a capture. The picture marked the anniversary and is very important for the two of them. An undeniable fact, beat me.

2) That photo was definitely taken by Cole. Why?

Here are a couple more facts in addition to the first:

They have the quality of captured on professional camera.

You can see, that Lili did not tag the photographer and said jokingly that the photo was taken by Milo, why would she lie, or hide that it was anyone else, because clearly she just hid that because it was Cole.

You may have noticed that Austin, when asked who took the photo, whether she took it and whether she is a good photographer, says no and her reaction with a grin and laugh is priceless. She also didn't tag nor the photographer, neither Lili in her photos from there.

You can watch the vlog in the Colleen blog and see there are very similar figures to Cole, Lili and Milo walking along the valley, because, duh, they were there.

You can view her post, where you can see Cole from the back (notice his dark clothing, the same as on one of his post in the profile, which he has already deleted, as well as his position from which the photo of Lili was supposedly taken and it is just in the same place).

You can observe his style of photography and how similar the theme is to the photos from 2017.

You can see the same poppy behind his ear in one of the past stories.

You may have noticed that the photo of Lili is processed with the same effect as several photos in Cole's profile, and I can tell you as an amateur photo editor that it is very identical.

Question: why arrange such a significant photoshoot with your ex after a few weeks of separation? Why is Cole smiling in a photo (black and white one with a mustache and black clothes) probably taken there? Why is everything so secretive if they broke up? Why even post a photo that your ex-boyfriend definitely took? How can you calmly go to this place, which reminds you of your joint travels with your former lover? Therefore, this photo and later another one from there were the first iron arguments in confirming the improvement of things.

I would like to continue with another ironclad proof.

Lili in early may very fiercely, after a few weeks of Cole's statements about slander and threats, which she did not respond to so clearly at the time, defended Cole and pointed out the private relationship and literally said that people should stop it and even though should hurt and bully her, but not him.

Question: did she defend her ex so publicly? Would Lili talk about a private relationship if that was the way her past relationship was most often? Would she have written anything at all if she didn't care about him and didn't feel something towards him? I don't think so, so it's gibberish to say so (about the break up) when it's the second unquestionable argument.

Next, we need to talk about the general activity of Cole and Lili in social media. I just want to list some observations, in different order, but it seems like everything we have now:

If earlier it was visible in the posts of Lili that it was clearly a show off, then over time and after the published photos, she began to behave more sincerely and tenderly, began to publish Milo less, began to say that there was only the two of them less, has stopped showing how good she is without certain someone, as if for Cole showing that she could cope without him, which was visible in the posts and stories, she began to talk more about improving her mental health as a result of training, spoke about how later she was feeling better and that she was grateful for those who were with her and difficult times and in light moments, that you just need to live and enjoy.

Additionally, I can say how she shone with each photo, and it was a natural glow of happiness and settling down. She no longer sang sad songs or posted sad songs, on the contrary, posted sexy, funny and relaxed ones. She appeared more in photos taken by paparazzi. She posted sexy, energetic, romantic movies, funny cartoons, watched funny clips, was excited about her project, laughed, danced with her dog, played with a dog with macaroni, cosplayed Willy Wonka (we all have a feeling it’s Cole’s thing, no?), playing with sand, puzzles, posted funny memes in story, which unfortunately coolly accepted as the opposite, posted a poem with a typo and funny answered to a fan who corrected it, told more about poems and attached a photo with a fragment of a poem about love from her upcoming book. She liked some photos from the anniversary of the last episode of the series, where we remember there was a hot scene of her and Cole's character, she liked a Bughead drawing. Yesterday, she actually posted one of the sexiest videos that will not be posted, being single and lonely, we saw that she actually spent more personal time with Cole (I am not saying they weren’t doing t back then), which was investigated thanks to many amazing people here, and even if they don't live together yet, they are more likely to meet and have met with each other, and more hints on sexy times (because, come one, maybe Milo was the one who left a hickey on her neck, huh?), which is undeniable, just compare the fact that she is no longer in the old rental, and he is not in Kj's house, she then posted a photo from some place, which is very similar to where Cole shot a video with Jimmy Fallon.

He also began to be more active in social networks, exactly after she started posting photos of the Antelope Valley, he posted a series of photos of the kissing couple, even if it was a gay drawings, they were filled with love, there was a photo of him with cattle with the sarcastic caption, then the photo about porn bots, with funny ask to leave him alone and saying it’s not allowed to be horny on quarantine, again a photo of himself with heart eyes that I talked about above, he posted a very funny video recently. There were more photos from the paparazzi after some time when Lili's usually flashed, and then it stopped, then his humorous photo in the washing machine appeared, which she probably had taken, and why so I explained in the attached post, he posted a photo from the walk, which was also probably taken with her, because again, she had a similar location, then he jokingly called Tommy ‘the’ muse, maybe roasting fans, but he didn’t use ‘my’, so, indicating he still has his own muse, then we saw him at that damn party, which caused people's panic, although he is an ordinary person and has the right to relax, and by the way at this party he was very happy and frisky, but nothing bad or shameful happened and he is innocent, then we even saw Cole, after Lili, delete many of the photos, although he had also unarchived some of them several times, as she had, which means that he did not delete them completely, but just removed many of them, leaving the most tender photo after or before the kiss at the famous moment when Lili wanted a toast and eggs at 1 am, or many photos reflecting her body, which also marks not a bad phenomenon, but a simple trolling from them. Proof of this trolling and unarchiving is on the vastness of other blogs and on Twitter, thanks to that girl's video.

The way their condition and activity on social networks have changed is very noticeable and is also third undeniable fact of denial of the break up. You can compare photos of Cole taken by Alex, where he is clearly very sad and depressed, because it was taken somewhere in the interval of their real breakup. And compare this with his smiling and playful state during the interview with Jimmy, where he also sparkled with happiness and fun, constantly smiling and seemed to be aroused about something (or someone). I think even a newcomer will notice a change in their mood and attitude. You will see the difference. And this does not happen when going through the break up after 4 years of deeply imbued with love relationships. Please understand, damn it.

I have listed alas not everything that speaks so vividly about things going in the right positive direction and is evidence that everything is getting better again, there will be only more I assure you and you will kiss my ass, as Cole said.

Execution cannot be pardoned.

You have one attempt to put a comma and decide your fate, but I think you’ll fail because you are a total sucker anyway.

Bye!

#cole sprouse #lili reinhart #sprousehart #sprousehart positivity #sh positivity #bughead #only good vibes here #positivity #anon hate #anon ask #ask #cole and lili #relationship #break up #not a break up #shut up dumbass

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entering-mymind · 4 years

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The Mandalorians - Season 2 Chapter 1

If you have not read my Season 1 of my Mandalorian fanfic I would highly recommend that first, would love to hear feedback! I do not own these characters, just having fun!

Season 1 Chapter 1 https://entering-mymind.tumblr.com/post/190778426753/the-mandalorians

Osa’s “Date of Existence” should have been special, celebrated until the night’s end, but instead other matters had to be addressed and questions would be finally answered.

Din entered the coordinates into the Crest while Osa navigated the route making sure their jump to lightspeed would have no interferences, plus she was always on the look out for any possible tails.

Osa gave the clear as the Crest made the jump heading to the planet Din believed he would never return to, let alone bring Osa back to; Tolarian.

Their journey didn’t take long and as they came out of hyperspace right directly in front of them was a large, grey planet that seemed dormant and vacant of all life. There was no operator coming over the Crest’s comms in order to guide them to a hanger. Actually there was no spaceport to harbor arriving ships because the planet had been owned by the Empire who kept the planet off astrological charts. Only certain scum and villainy knew about the planet and what it was truly meant for, Tolarian was used for something more as Din found that out years ago.

He let the Crest hover for a moment glaring back at Osa waiting for her approval. With a nervous breath Osa nodded her head giving her father the go ahead. Causally Din flew the ship to the approximate coordinates he could remember Anara giving him fifteen years prior, but the journey wasn’t smooth like before.

The atmosphere had gotten thicker, creating no clear visual with their decent while the ship’s consoles (which would guide them) began malfunctioning.

“My screen went black Papi,” Osa informed in a panic.

Din hoped he could somehow reboot the Crests system, but nothing seemed to be working because of so much interference, “Hold on, we’re flying in blind.”

Din kept his hands firmly on the wheel focusing with all his might when the child started making gibberish noises trying to get anyone’s attention. Osa realized her father needed full concentration so she picked the little one up when the two telepathically connected.

Instantly Osa understood what the child was trying to say, since he couldn’t convey words himself, as she became his voice. Like a shock to her system Osa could see what he saw and immediately yelled at her father, “Pull up, now!”

Never doubting her judgment Din complied and diverted from colliding into a mountain.

“Fly straight,” Osa instructed as the thick smog wasn’t clearing up the further they descended, “Veer to the left and make a hard dive downwards,” it was as if Osa could see where the Crest was heading, she just had to guide her father, “There,” she pointed when a dismal city was finally in view.

Memories from the past crept their way forward within Din’s mind but nothing appeared the same. Din put the Crest down just on the outskirts of what was left of the city. Buildings had been demolished, there was no sign of any life forms while an eerie sound of stillness filtered through the air.

Din attempted to get the controls working again but something was preventing the function. Giving up he powered down the Crest and instructed Osa to gear up. The three made their way to the lower deck where Din checked his weapons because a Mandalorian always anticipated a battle, when Osa strapped the child onto her back in the new harness she constructed.

Satisfied with all the artillery he was packing, Din lowered the platform but his daughter wasn’t by his side. He glared back seeing the stunned little girl he thought he helped break through. Without thought Din ran to her hoping she wasn’t about to have an episode but she was more frozen by terror.

“I don’t know if I can do this,” Osa honestly said.

“You don’t have to, I can go and find out what I can,” he encouraged.

“I’m not living up to the Mandalorian title very well,” she said lowering her head.

“Osa, everyone embodies the role in their own way, there is no set path because you mold it on how it fits you,” Din declared, “Fear only exists if we allow it, but you have every right to be frightened. I tried to take those nightmares away, envelop you with compassion, but I can only do so much Osa, it is up to you to conquer those fears,” Din placed his hands on her shoulders when she peered up and the two glared at one another through their visors.

“Thank you Papi, you are my strength,” Osa said in honesty.

“And you are my everything, Mi Pequeno,” he replied grazing the side of her helmet with his thumb, “Ready to tackle this together?” Din held out his hand and without hesitation Osa took it.

“With you, we can achieve anything,” when the three made their way out of the Crest to uncover more then what they bargained for.

* * *

The air felt thick, while the grey fog kept visibility hindered. Din and Osa stayed close attempting to use their heat sensor setting within their helmet to help lead the way, but everything had gone cold on the planet.

“Where do we even start?” Osa questioned.

“At the building where you were given to me,” Din informed trying to remember his exact route from before but nothing was the same, “Can you sense anything?” Din looked to Osa for guidance.

“I’m trying not to,” she honestly said.

“Fair enough,” he ventured deep into his subconscious trying to resurface any familiar surroundings.

Din decided to head inwards hoping for anything to jump out at him when something finally did. The insignia of the Rebels was painted on a crumbled wall, if the Rebels were here then they would have focused on taking down the laboratory Osa had been kept in.

In hope Din followed the debris and low and behold he was back in the same alley he had waited down fifteen years ago, but it was more of an open walkway now due to the surrounding buildings being destroyed.

“Stay close,” Din said out of habit.

“Wasn’t planning on venturing off,” Osa stated with a shaky voice.

The hole Anara blew open seemed to have been repaired because new destruction carved itself into the bricks. They walked through the newly developed entrance and carefully walked over uneven terrain due to debris covering the actual surface.

Upon entry the room was dark, only the dim natural lighting filtered through the cracks of the structure, painting unique streaks on the cold surfaces. Din and Osa ventured further when suddenly Din heard a soft whimper come from his daughter. He turned and saw her hunched over, hands on her knees, concentrating not to give in. The child cooed in sorrow like it was experiencing his own nightmares.

“Hey,” Din rushed to them, “Look at me, hear me Mi Pequeno,” he hoped he was reaching her while he stroked the child’s quivering ear.

“I’m okay Papi, we’re okay, it’s just the way the energy given off from this place, how I can see past events play out in this very room,” she tried to explain.

“You don’t have to put yourself through this, you have nothing to prove,” Din reassured her, “I took you away before.”

“No, there are answers here,” Osa glared past her father and pointed, “There.”

They walked over to a circular console with a hologram viewer directly in the center so any viewer could have a gander.

“Let’s hope this still functions,” Din said noticing the partial destruction to the unit.

He began flicking and pushing buttons, performing the standard protocol with any computer unit, the tricky part would be how to navigate the system and hope it wasn’t encrypted or erased, but to his surprise there appeared to be no tampering with. It seemed everyone associated with this building just abandoned it when the Rebels arrived.

Unsure on where to start Din began opening any file and following the bread crumbs of clues, in the mits of his search he opened a folder when several images of all different species of children came up on the screen, but over the image (typed in bold red letters) was one word: Failed. A sudden wave of emotion inflicted Osa knowing these children’s outcomes.

“Why? Why did they have to die and I didn’t?” Osa questioned.

“Don’t do this, you are entitled to your life, you cannot have survivors guilt. I could be doing the exact same by the loss of members from our covert, instead we must honor the fallen, live on so then they live on as well. These children’s stories will be eternal because of your survival because of his survival,” Din pointed to the child, “You have every right to be alive Osa.”

All she could do was nod her head in agreement while staying quiet, memorizing her fellow captives faces. Quickly Din began searching in other files when he stumbled upon one titled “Priority” but had only vague information. A headshot came up of a green creature while a list displayed itself of speculated facts accompanied by video clips of the individual in action.

“Papi that looks like,” Osa started.

“I know,” Din replied looking at the child.

“But older, who is this Yoda?” Osa questioned when she began reading, out loud, the file’s contents, “Name: Yoda, could be a first or last name. Gender: Male. Status: Jedi Master. Is Jedi another term for the ancient sorcerers the older Mandalorians compared me to?” Osa asked her father.

“I assume so,” Din replied remembering the Armorer using this terminology.

“Species: Unknown. Ya da ya da ya da, ugh this information is useless,” Osa was becoming frustrated believing all of her answers would be awaiting her in a nice package, “Why is there hardly anything on this Yoda?” Osa clicked on some of the footage showcasing the Jedi Master’s skills with a lightsaber when the child became excited.

“Do you think the little one recognizes him?” Din questioned.

“No, he thinks that’s him on the screen, wait,” Osa pondered, “Could it be?”

“What?”

“This footage was taken during the Clone Wars, could he be Yoda?” Osa pointed to the child who seemed to be mesmerized by the green figure who looked just like him but older.

“How?” Din asked hoping his daughter would indulge him.

“Wasn’t that the whole reason of the Clone Wars, was for cloning, what if he is a clone of Yoda? We have been to all areas of the galaxy and this is the second time in my life where I have seen his kind. What if his species was going extinct, why lose that kind of power?”

“Or someone else wanted that power,” Din began searching through other files when one called “Yaddle” surfaced but there was nothing in the file except for the word “Deceased.” Din continued on when he came across one about life expectancy, “It seems this little one can live for a very long time, about 800 years give or take,” Din read, “And has the highest midichlorian count among any Jedi, but most important can live on through the Force.”

“The Force? What’s that?”

“I can only assume it is a reference for your abilities,” Din speculated when he clicked on another file showcasing a dozen children with Osa in the mix.

“Hey that’s me, where are you?” she asked.

“In a file called Midichlorian Infusion,” Din clicked on Osa’s image when her file appeared.

“Name: Test Subject 25. Parents: Donors – Anara Xcee (part Changeling) partnered with Silent D (warrior),” Osa stopped reading due to a small chuckle she heard escape from her father, “What’s so funny, that you were put down as a warrior?” Osa laughed to herself.

“No, the silent D, Anara always goofed with me when we were teenagers about my last name. She said ‘what is the purpose of the D being there if it isn’t going to get pronounced in Djarin?’ Hence forth she would call me silent D,” Din reminisced.

“Oh you crazy teenagers,” Osa loved making her father squeamish and he only displayed it when talking about her mother.

Din quickly went back to over looking his daughter’s file when nothing appeared to be helping.

“Inquisitorius Program, what do you think that meant?” Osa pointed out on her file for future occupation, but Din kept quiet only hearing rumors about a select group who were governed to Lord Vader, “We’re getting no where,” Osa complained when Din looked closer.

“Not entirely,” he hovered over Subject 25 infused by Test subject “Y.” Hesitant Din clicked and was brought to several videos and a very small file about the child. Osa’s focus was so intent she didn’t even see her father delete the footage.

“Hey, what are you doing there could be valuable information,” Osa shrieked hungry for any intel.

“No there wouldn’t be, those videos only showcase torture, something I can’t bare to witness because I saw the repercussions,” Din referred to the terrifying night Osa fell ill and if not for Wildaldro’s father Din would have lost Osa.

“Papi,” her voice almost broke when she placed her helmet on his pauldron.

“Alright let’s see what the Empire has on this little guy,” Din stated when Osa straightened and the child’s ears pricked up.

“Do you hear that clinging?” Osa asked half turning around when suddenly a wire lassoed around her body, constraining her and the child, and then finally whipping them backwards.

An escaped scream exited Osa’s mouth as she fought to get free while being dragged across the floor like an untamed beast. Din immediately pulled out his Vibroblade and ran after the two but got slowed down by blaster fire. His beskar armor held up with each blow, but Din was propelled backwards inching him farther and farther away from his children.

Trying to take matters into her own hands, Osa attempted to use her abilities and propel anything loose towards the perpetrator, but the assailant was one step ahead and sent a huge electro shock down the wire and into her and the child’s bodies. Immediate pain surged through their frames instantly knocking them unconscious.

Now that the captives became dead weight this gave Din an opportunity to make his move. Din wished he had his jetpack on so he could reach them easier when instead he ran full force towards the enemy who (to his surprise) was another Mandalorian, but one he was not familiar with nor whom was apart of his clan. Mandalorian or not Din would protect his kin with his life and leapt into battle.

The two were well matched as Din could tell his foe had been in plenty of fights before due to the wear on the green and white armor. Din would add more scraps to the enemies Beskar but had, somehow, become bested.

The assailant threw, what appeared to be an orb filled with a liquid, when Din dodged the item but it bounced off the ground, ricocheted and magnetized itself to Din’s thigh guard. Instantly the orb erupted releasing a deadly toxin when the acid ate straight through Din’s Beskar.

In fear of losing his leg, Din drastically attempted to unclasp his thigh guard but the straps had become soldered together, practically sealing his fate. Din could smell and feel the acid eat its way towards his skin as there was only one venom he knew of that could penetrate Beskar and it came from the Sarlacc, but the erosion would take days where this was happening in seconds.

Somehow this Mandalorian collected Sarlacc venom and advanced it. Din had to think quickly in order to save his appendage and his abducted children when suddenly a female Mandalorian, in blue and white armor, entered the scuffle. She hovered in midair by jetpack while sending blaster fire towards the rouge Mandalorian.

In haste he threw another Sarlacc bomb her way, but she seemed to be prepared and released a hand full of powder dissolving the hazards orb. Hearing Din’s flustered cries, she landed by Din and threw a hand full of the powder on his leg to seize the acids chemical reaction. She pulled out a small laser and burned through the singed straps releasing Din.

Once he had become freed, Din immediately detached the Beskar but upon removal ripped a huge hole in his pants exposing redden skin. Luckily he only suffered minor burns instead of losing his leg.

“Damn, he got away,” the woman exclaimed in anger, running towards the entrance Din and Osa used earlier, pointing her blaster ready to end the rouge Mandalorian’s life.

Without thought Din went to Osa and the child identifying their status of injury, “Mi Pequeno can you hear me?” Din cut through the wire, releasing them from the bond.

No immediate response, he lowered his helmet hearing his daughter’s breath while he rubbed his hand gently over the child’s head. In unison Din received a groggy groan from the both of them. A sigh of relief washed over him knowing they were alive.

“Who are you, friend or foe, who was the other Mandalorian, and why have I never seen either of you before?” Din questioned almost in anger.

“I could ask you the same questions except I am aware of who the imposter is. No one steals Mandalorian armor and wears it without being sworn in to a Creed,” she spat, “And which clan have you sworn your allegiance to?”

“Which clan? There is only one, Clan Saxon,” Din informed.

“So the rumors are true, huh and he still believes he is the leader of the Mandalorians,” she said with acid on her tongue.

“If you’re talking about Tiber Saxon his leadership was short lived. The clan was inherited by his kin,” Din stated.

“I presume Starling Saxon took control?”

“She did, but in the efforts of keeping us safe and hidden she lost her life as did so many others,” Din lowered his head out of respect.

“And now?”

“Hard to tell, the leadership was between Ivee Saxon and Paz Vizla, but since she donned the role of Armorer Ivee out ranked Paz.”

“I have searched across the entire galaxy hoping to find any remaining Mandalorians but none were ever found until now, until a bounty was placed on both your helmets,” she pulled her blaster.

“Hey we’re not the enemy,” Din spoke with his hands up in defense.

“No, then why did the Creed vanish? Mandalorians aren’t frightened children who hide from the enemy, we are fighters until our end,” she spoke in pride.

“Starling wanted the Creed to live on so we took to the sewers on Nevarro where she only allowed two above at a time. We would live in secrecy so our numbers could grow once again instead of being hunted down and being eradicated, but even she couldn’t prevent that,” Din said saddened remembering the pile of armor back at the covert.

“How many are even left?” her voice almost sounded shaky.

“Hard to tell, we have become scattered again.”

“And is this the reason why you both are out here, trying to escape from the bounty placed on both of your helmets?” she questioned.

“No, a scuffle broke out between the Guild and I, resulting in the bounty but has now been resolved,” Din informed.

“It’s not the Guild who placed the bounty, a new order issued it, someone under the command of Moff Gideon,” she corrected.

“So is this your true intentions on why you helped us, in order to obtain us and collect your reward?” Din slowly reached for his blaster ready to battle again.

“If I was looking for a quick score I wouldn’t turn in someone from my own Creed.”

“But you were willing to end that other Mandalorians life?”

“Do not declare him as a Mandalorian, Boba Fett brings dishonor to our heritage, he is not apart of the Creed and shall not wear our armor. One way or another I will end him.”

“Then what do you want with us?”

“It is time for the Mandalorians to come out of hiding, you will help me find my people as we will unite once again,” she commanded.

“Who are you?”

Din was shocked and surprised by the woman removing her helmet as she revealed soft angular features, yellow greenish eyes, and red hair, “My name is Bo Katan, rightful ruler of Mandalore.”

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bastionkeeper · 7 years

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Taako somehow gets hurt and he's on the good shit. Taako just watches Joaquin play games usually because the colors are bright and pretty and the TV makes funny noises while he plays. Joaquin Doesn't mind, he however made the mistake of playing a Kirby game First. Joaquin had to drag Taako's giant Kirby pillow (basically a bed) down so he could give Kirby a hug while he played. Taako slept through most of the gameplay, but Kirby has good music, so when he was awake he liked it lots

2) Joaquin just pats Taakos head while he relaxes and saves dreamland. When he beats it he tells Taako Kirby wants to sleep for a while, and that pacifies him before he starts to ask questions. Honey is just sitting on Taako's lap, making sure they don't move too much and upset their stitches. Joaquin plays a lot of Overwatch too, and Taako just asks Joaquin why Kravitz is on the TV and so Grumpy. Joaquin fucking loses it and just quietly tells Taako "because he doesn't get any kisses"

3) Taako fully accepts that and asks Joaquin if he can tell Kravitz that he can have as many kisses as he wants when he gets home. Joaquin, trying to compose himself, just nods before going back to playing. They have lunch (stew for Taako, A couple of sandwiches for Joaquin.) and Taako just fucking sleeps for the rest of the afternoon after that. When he wakes up he's confused because he's hurting, but he's on his Kirby pillow? Joaquin is here? Why does he hurt????

4) (sorry for the gap) Honey just goes to get Joaquin, and Angus who's home from school now, and Taako is really confused because he doesn't remember getting hurt? Or anything from yesterday to be honest and that's worrisome to him because his memory is already fucked. Joaquin and Angus fill him in with what happened, apparently Taako fell down the stairs and Dex or not he had a nasty land and fucked up his leg. Kravitz gets home a bit after and is glad to see Taako is Lucid.

5) Taako however tries to still cook, Kravitz is all like "Dove, no, you're hurt please rest or at least sit down and watch me make dinner please?" Joaquin and Taako walk him through the steps, while Taako focus's more on helping Angus with his homework because this boy is smart but he worries about tests so much. Joaquin takes a picture because Taako's smiling happily and he knows Kravitz will want that for the family scrap book. It hits him that he's been adopted by a Wizard and a Reaper. Huh.

Sorry Honey didn’t make an appearance I forgot all about her until I was nearly done!!! :(

Not even cleric magic could completely cure a stabbing that bad. Luckily modern medicine was on the rise in Faerun, so after Taako was run through by a rather angry fighter, the moonbase medical team managed to get him stitched up in time.

Kravitz had been so angry hearing about the bandits that had nearly killed Taako just for a couple of his rings, that once he was sure Taako was stable and back safe at home, he rushed out to find the bastards and make them wish they’d never been born.

That left Joaquin with a rather drugged up elf with a gaping stomach wound who had strict orders not to leave the couch or bed unless absolutely necessary.

“Wh’sat?” Taako asked, leaning over Joaquin’s shoulder and gesturing towards the Earthen setup. The teen had brought his playstation and television from the plane of thought, something that was now possible thanks to Lucas Miller bringing electricity to most of the upper class.

“I’m gonna play some Overwatch,” Joaquin explained.

“Wha? Dude you’re....you’re speaking...wha’s the word....gibberish,” Taako groaned, rubbing at his temples. He slumped back onto the couch, hissing with pain and clutching at his stitches.

“Uh-uh, don’t touch those,” Joaquin pulled Taako’s hands away quickly.

“But they itch,” Taako complained.

“Do you want me to put you in a cone?” Joaquin joked.

“Cone of cold....s’level five evocation...” Taako murmured. Joaquin shrugged, the wizard wasn’t exactly all there at the moment so it wasn’t fair to expect him to make any sense.

He played his game for awhile, making sure to keep a glass of water where Taako could reach and ushering him back to the couch whenever he tried to leave, which wasn’t often to be fair. Taako was pretty tired, he dozed off more than a few times. It didn’t help that he was on round the clock pain pills that Joaquin guessed where the fantasy equivalent of oxy.

“Hey.”

Joaquin looked up. He was sitting with his back against the couch so Taako had room enough to stretch out. The elf was laying on his side, and had lightly patted Joaquin’s curly hair with one hand to get his attention.

“Yeah?”

“Wha’s Kravitz doin’ in your game?”

Joaquin snickered, this wasn’t the first time Taako had made such a joke about Reaper, but it was certainly the first time he’d actually believed it was Kravitz in the game.

“Oh you know, reaper stuff,” Joaquin said, casually using his ult as he explained. If he didn’t get play of the game for that one he’d sue. He was channeling wifi across the planes that alone was play of the game worthy.

“He looks so grumpy,” Taako hummed. “He gets like that when he’s hungry or when he’s tired.”

“Nah, it’s not that, he just needs kisses.” Joaquin said with a grin.

“Oh shit, dawg...listen...” Taako grabbed Joaquin’s cheeks, squishing them. “I can do that.”

“Yeph you shure cahn,” Joaquin said through squished lips.

It was at that moment that a portal opened into the living room and Kravitz stepped out, looking vicious with a glare and blood covered clothes. Joaquin shivered. It was easy to forget his two goofy fantasy dads were actually...you know...a powerful wizard and a grim reaper who killed people as easily as he killed video game characters.

“How are you feeling, my dove?” Kravitz asked Taako, running a hand through the elf’s hair. The other hand went to cup his cheek softly.

“C’mere!” Taako insisted, and Kravitz complied, kneeling down next to the couch and putting his face close to Taako’s. Taako immediately started covering the man in kisses until Kravitz was giggling and kissing him back.

“What’s this all about?” he asked.

“S’cause you were grouchy, nerd,” Taako slurred. “Lemme kiss the smile back onto ya.”

“Only if I can kiss you back,” Kravitz beamed, kissing Taako several times.

Kravitz went to change out of his bloodied clothes, meanwhile Joaquin paused his game so he could go and get Taako’s pills for the next dose. He was paused by a knock at the door which turned out to be Angus home from school.

“Do you knock everytime?” Joaquin asked as he let the kid in. He was pretty sure Angus was living with Taako and Kravitz now, whenever he wasn’t staying in the dorms or visiting Magnus and Merle.

“I just prefer being polite,” Angus said, blushing slightly. “Is Taako doing okay?”

“Ango!” Taako was at the door, silky bathrobe swaying like his usual trademark cloaks, dragon slippers shuffling on the tile. “Welcome home, kiddo.” He kissed Angus on each cheek and ruffled the kid’s hair. “After school snack?”

“I can make one for myself, sir!” Angus piped up. “You should really be resting!”

“Nah, ol’ Taako’s head is clear for the first time all day, I’m getting bored. Let me cook you something.”

“Taako, come on you know what the doctor’s said,” Joaquin said, but Taako was already on his way to the kitchen, humming happily.

Angus sat down at the kitchen table, emptying his bookbag and opening a journal that was full of notes way more complicated than anything Joaquin had seen in twelfth grade algebra. Taako appeared to be fixing up some grilled cheeses, and Joaquin guessed that was simple enough that it was okay for him to do it.

Kravitz disagreed once he came back downstairs and saw Taako at the stove-top.

“My dove, we talked about this,” Kravitz said, gently pulling Taako away from the oven. “I can make the meals while you’re recovering, okay?”

“Awww, but I wanna cook for my man and my boys,” Taako said, teasingly poking Kravitz with the spatula.

“Nope, you’re on bedrest, you shouldn’t even be up from the couch,” Kravitz took the spatula from Taako and took over the grilled cheeses. “If you take it easy I’ll let you stay in the kitchen with us but anymore rushing around and I’ll carry you straight up to bed.”

“Tough guy, huh?” Taako chuckled. “I don’t remember this concern when we first met and you tried to crack my head open like an egg.”

“There’s still time for that if you prefer,” Kravitz joked back with a smirk. Taako stuck his tongue out at Kravitz before turning to Angus.

“Whatcha got there, kiddo?”

“Oh, it’s theory of magic homework,” Angus showed Taako his notes, and the wizard nodded seriously at them.

“Here, this part, you’re overthinking it,” Taako said pointing to a sigil Angus had drawn. The rest of what he said flew right over Joaquin’s head as the two got into the magic talk. Angus scooted his chair up close to Taako’s and put his elbows on the table, leaning in close to the elf. Joaquin grinned and snapped a few quick pictures with his cell phone, he knew Kravitz would like to see them later.

It was a nice atmosphere in the kitchen, it had all the feeling of a lazy Saturday afternoon. Kravitz was humming symphony music as he served up sandwiches, Taako and Angus shared notes, Joaquin took pictures and interjected now and then with jokes and puns.

A couple hours passed before Kravitz insisted Taako get some more rest.

“I’m fine, y’treating me like glass...” Taako said, only to groan with pain as Kravitz helped him stand. “Okay....maybe...m’a little bit glass...”

“Come here, love,” Kravitz lifted Taako into his arms, careful not to brush against the stitches. “Angus, Joaquin, thanks for helping today.”

“No problem Mr. Kravitz,” Joaquin nodded. “Same time tomorrow?”

“I’ll be home tomorrow to take care of him,” Kravitz said. “....but, I could use some extra help. He is a handful when he’s ill.”

“I’m a handful all the time y’baby,” Taako stuck out his tongue, and then because he was still high as a kite and lovey dovey as always, licked Kravitz’s cheek and giggled. Kravitz gave Joaquin a deadpan look that seemed to say: you see what I mean?

“If you come back tomorrow, it’s my day off, you can teach me how to play your game!” Angus said excitedly.

“Oh hell yeah,” Joaquin said, ruffling Angus’s hair. “Same time tomorrow then.”

The three locals said goodbye to Joaquin (Taako gave him a peck on the forehead) and the outerplaner headed home, sure to come back to his second home tomorrow.

#blatantbalderdash #taakitz #angus mcdonald #joaquin #taako #kravitz #taz #the adventure zone #taz balance #the adventure zone balance #Anonymous

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sending-the-message · 7 years

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I am a caretaker in a mansion in Norway, and I am scared. by Jester_Snek

My name is Matthew, I'm a 23 year old guy and I'm a caretaker. Not really manly, I know, but taking care of people that couldn't take care for themselves makes me feel good about myself, and lets me cope with life. My parents are not exactly happy about it though, so my dad "pulled a few strings" for me to be working in this mansion in Norway. It's more of a castle than a mansion if you ask me, its absolutely huge, but the main thing it houses is a young rich girl named Stella that was a victim of a weird cult operating on some unpopulated island in Norway. I'm not really taking care of the girl though, I'm mostly being sent to clean one of the mansion rooms or feed the animals outside. Not really what I want to be doing, but it pays well, my dad says. And the girl can't do any of these things on her own, that is the thing that keeps me going, rather than the money I get.

This morning I got approached by one of the senior caretakers. "The girl asked for you to see her", she said. "She's on the 3rd floor in the left wing, just ask someone there for directions, you can't miss her." I nodded my head and went there. It was kind of weird of her to ask for me specifically, I don't remember ever meeting her even. I thought maybe she wants to fire the boy that is not doing anything special for her, or just meet the person skulking around in her mansion. Soon after I was in front of her door due to help from other caretakers around. When I went in I was immediately struck by what I saw. The windows were all open, and I could see a figure laying down in bed that is surrounded by some barely see-through cloth. The girl probably did not like people staring at her, but I had no idea about what injuries she actually had. "Hello Matthew.", She said with a calming voice. "Please sit, here is a chair." She continued as I went for the seat "You're probably wondering why I called you here, are you not?" "Yeah", I smiled. "I was not expecting this, but I am more than happy to help you in any way I can!" "You're sweet. I have a request, and it isn't really what you would expect, but let me explain, please. I called you here because I need someone to read a journal for me, and its easier if that someone is someone I don't know, someone I won't be seeing after. You see, it's my brothers journal. I was not the only one to go to that island, he was as well. He did not make it... He didn't see it. This journal on the table next to you is his. I can't use my eyes and read yet, not this soon after the surgery. so I thought-" "Say no more, miss. I'll be happy to do this for you.", I boldly interrupted her, after understanding why she needs me and not someone else to do this for her; it was way too personal. "Thank you, Matthew", she let out a sigh of relief. "I really appreciate this. Please, while you read... Don't stop. My brother died at that place and there could be nasty things written in there, it's a journal he was writing while we were on the island. I waited for the police to let me have it, since it served as evidence in their case." After a bit of more chit-chat and so, I made myself comfortable in my chair and started reading.

*** The Cave (For Stella) ***

I opened my eyes and way instantly greeted by the sheer beauty of one of the many Norwegian islands me and Stella, my sister, decided to visit and camp in. There's also Edward, a childhood friend that joined us. "Captain!" Ed called out to me. "We were just getting ready to go through the forest to the other side." Edward liked to call me Captain rather than James, my real name. It is a video game alias I used and it just stuck with us. "I'm surprised you didn't leave me behind." I laughed. "I wonder what sort of a natural heaven lies ahead." Stella was already packed and was waiting for us near the treeline, "Lets go!", she yelled back to us, "We need to get to the other side before nightfall." I quickly packed my tent and we set our foot into the forest, walking moderately slow but enjoying the scenery and the company. "Did you notice how there are next to no animals around here?" I asked. "Other islands seemed to have way more of... everything." Ed turned around. "Maybe they don't have that much food here?" "I don't think so." I looked under a rock and titled my head upwards "See? Even bugs are absent. In a forest, in the middle of nowhere." "It must be aliens!" Stella laughed. "Come on James, I think I hear a stream close by from the west of us. Can you refill our water cans?" "Sure." I replied before hopping over to the west. I love camping and hiking while those two were new to the thing, so I had no problems moving while they rest. After a couple minutes of walking I saw a clear stream and crouched down to refill our cans. As I stayed in one place I noticed how the only thing I could hear is the wind between the trees and the distant chatter of my 2 companions. It was eerie, but nice in a way. It was definitely different than the constant noise we heard back home. My daydreaming was interrupted by a scream, my sisters scream. I threw the water cans to the side and ran back. The log they were sitting on was gone, it looked like it rolled away on the downward slope on the other side. I rushed down in a panic and regretted my decision shortly after when I lost control of my body and rolled down, eventually falling unconscious.

When I finally woke up it was close to nightfall, but the sun still gave some light. "Oh fuck..." I sighed before checking myself and coming to a conclusion that I am extremely lucky for not getting a serious injury back there. "Stella! Edward!" I yelled while getting up and looking around me. The island gave off a different vibe this time of day. When I calmed down I heard them. Not Stella or Edward, but I heard others. Voices from random directions around me. This is mad, that fall must have hit me harder than I thought. I began ignoring the voices as much as I can and continued looking for my sister. "Stella! Stella!" She must be ok, she has Edward with her, I thought. He knows his way around in the wilderness. What scared me however is the fact that they weren't down at the place where the log fell. It's natural to wait for help given that I knew where they were, and they must have heard me fall too. Could these voices be real? Eventually I stumbled upon a crude stone statue that had a humanoid form but absolutely no characteristics but for the holes for its mouth and eyes that gave off the fact that this statue was hollow inside. It was kind of weird, given how I never heard of any ancient civilization having statues like this. "Show yourselves! What did you do to my sister?", I shouted as the last bits of my patience wore off and anger started piling up from all these voices around me that seem to be louder and louder the more I walk. Standing still and taking a break didn't seem like it was fixing anything either so I gave up on that idea and continued forward until eventually I saw one particular statue that seemed to be the source of the whispers. Desperate, I stopped trying to make sense out of the situation and yelled "Hey! You! What did you do to us? Where did you take my companions?", the whispering stopped. "Answer me!", I yelled at the top of my lungs. When I got closer I couldn't believe my eyes; I saw some red substance twitching and moving inside of that statue, and inaudible whispers coming from inside that were still too quiet for me to make out any words out of. I pressed my ear to the mouth hole of the statue, and I heard a previously familiar voice tormented by pain and despair "C...Captain... Help us, please..." I quickly backed off and felt pain in my leg as I hit a log on the ground and rolled down a small hill. I found the whispers. Everywhere I could look were stone statues in different holes, heights and positions, some old but some quite new and dripping with blood. The whispers muttered everywhere around me and I couldn't tell if they spoke in other languages or if they were just gibberish. I screamed and ran, tripping over bones of both animals and humans until I was finally hit in the head and knocked to the ground where I could see inside another statue. I only caught a glimpse of the hand that was lacking any skin before those freaks covered my head and my eyes with some sort of a bloody blanket. I screamed and fought blindly as hard as I could, panicked as dark images of waking up inside one of those bland statues flooded my mind. I was knocked unconscious soon after, and taken.

When I finally came to, I could not see much, but I realized I was tied down to a cart. The knots were pretty tight, so there was no way out. No time either, I heard some sounds behind me. I could not turn my head enough to see the person, but his torch gave enough light for me to see I'm inside a cave. Him pushing the cart revealed several other bodies strapped down to the cart, and the moving woke some of them up. Shocked and scared to death, they twitched around with all they might and mumbled through the cloth in their mouth. I guess I would have reacted like this too, if I didn't have a breather earlier. There were also those that never woke up. Stella was not among us, and I didn't know if that was for the best or not. I thought that the best course of action right now would be to memorize the path in case the cave branches out, and try to remain as calm as possible in order to run away if an opportunity shows itself. I must be strong, for my sister as well as myself. This cave was unusually big, however. We kept going deeper and deeper until we came to an abrupt end; a fall straight down into nothingness, the hole was too deep and I couldn't move my head to see the bottom. The person moving the cart stopped here, turned the cart sideways to the hole and used a knife to cut the unresponsive bodies and push them into the hole. At this point I was glad that I was startled enough to move a bit before, else I'd end up in there as well. I closed my eyes and tried not to think about what was happening right there in front of me. Stay calm, I kept repeating to myself. You will get out of this, one way or another. After this, the cart started moving again. This time we started moving downwards a slope, into the very hole we dumped bodies a minute ago.

As we moved down, I was able to not only see more inside the hole, but hear as well. The chants, the screams I now know all to well. It was all there, and it didn't make us on the cart any more comfortable. We finally came close to the end of the hole, and I, unfortunately, saw more. Altars and statues that looked way too grotesque to be from this world. The walls were lined with bones and gravel, and there were people in robes chanting, praying in unnatural and what I thought were impossible positions for a human body to be in. Furthermore, they themselves were... Transparent. All of this was too much to take, and everyone on the cart found themselves unable to move or make sounds of any kind. Right as I thought that this was it and that there was no way out, the cart started moving again. We started going even further down, below the transparent chanters. The stone humanoid statues from the surface appeared here again, But they were different. Placed in unnatural positions, tied to the ceiling, showing halfway through the wall, and such. The chants got silent, but screams got louder. We finally stopped descending and got to the bottom. By now I also managed to loosen the knot around my neck and head, and way able to move a tiny bit more freely. What I saw below us on the very bottom of the hole made me instantly puke a bit. Flayed bodies, fresh and old, alive and dead, crawling around, gnawing on the bodies we tossed from all the way up an hour ago. All of this was absolutely insane for me at the time, and I slowly lost any grip on myself I had. Breaking free and rescuing my sister became more and more impossible to even think of by the minute.

We that lived, 4 of us, were all dropped off onto the floor in front of 4 different doors in a big hallway. I hit a rock with my back when I was dropped down, but I realized this was a chance. I started grinding the rope on my hands against that rock, not freeing myself before the doors opened and I was dragged inside. I was placed on a chair that seemed similar to one of a dentist, and the cultist inside moved the cloth on my mouth away, letting me speak. He wasn't transparent like the ones before, however. He had a different looking robe, and it hid his face completely. "What are you going to do, where am I... Let me g-" "Shut up!" He moved the cloth back into my mouth and started talking. "You don't understand, I have to do this.", He was pacing around this small room, and here is when I noticed all the bloody instruments laying around. "If I don't do this, I won't get in. And, you can't get out from here, unless you go in. There is no other way. I'm not going to end my life here!..." He kept going and going, and I waited for my chance. My hands were completely free at this point, and when he approached to take one of the tools on the side, I picked up a hammer and hit him on his head as hard as I could. From there I cut the rest of the ropes on me, and stood on my legs for the first time in hours. "Okay, okay, chill down James, chill down. You need to find Stella, Stella... Right!" I took the now dead cultists robes and wore them. After taking a hammer and a blade, I left the room. I started moving further in, hearing screams from almost every door around me. Looking through the keyholes, I saw no trace of my sister.

Then I saw people from both in front and behind me, talking and moving in my direction. They didn't seem like they know who I am, however I certainly did not want to wait and greet any of them, so I went into a room I heard no screams from. This one was a bit bigger than the last, with a body strapped chest-down to a table in the middle in such a way that you can only see its back and arms, the rest of the body was trapped inside the table itself. Around it was a set of tables each with different tools covered in blood, and further away were walls made out of glass which let other people look inside. I moved a few feet in before the door behind me opened and people started taking positions behind the glass wall, while two of them approached me. "I will not fail you, sir.", one cultist was talking to another, transparent cultist. "I will find recruits for our cause. But, finding them is not enough. The will to serve Him is not enough. They need to be... Tempered, like steel. Their Conversion will be faster by undergoing my methods." "I know, Koran. Let us aid you. We will lend our prayers, lead your man through it, it shall be a learning experience for him as well. Maybe he joins us on that table in the future." "I assure you, that is but his only wish!" At this point I understood what they meant, they were talking about me. I was to do a procedure on this body on the table, somewhat of a recruiting ceremony. I did not want to do it, not by a long shot, but I did not want my cover to be blown. Maybe this is what the cultist I killed meant when he said: "you can't get out from here, unless you go in. There is no other way.", maybe if they think I'm a cultist, I can find my sister and make for an escape. This is where it began, as the cultist gave me instructions on how to flay this persons arm from the elbow down, all while the person screamed into the table, making extremely weird and disturbing noises. The chanting from upstairs became louder, and I would later learn that there were tunnels in the ceiling allowing for the chants to go through. After flaying the arm there was intense chanting by everyone present, all facing towards the ceiling and the Altars above. I did the same to not stand out, but the cultist that lectured me on the flaying pulled my sleeve saying: "Come, lets do the sacrifice at the stream." Not knowing what he talked about, I followed him into another room, which again looked different. It had no tables, tools or anything of the sort. Just a small stone altar with a baby on it, and a stream of water flowing deeper into the unknown. After standing over the baby and oiling its forehead, the cultist spoke to me: "Okay, recruit. Toss it into the stream. "I... I can't.", I answered, softly. I was not a monster, I could not let myself do such a thing. "That's okay.", He answered, to my surprise. "A lot of recruits take some time before doing this, surprisingly its one of the biggest obstacle in our pilgrimage. I will do it, but first, let us pray so the baby finds Him well." We tilted our heads up again, but while doing this a figure sneaked up on me from behind and pushed me against the floor. "You thought we wouldn't know, James? You thought we are blind? He gives us vision, He gives us clarity. It is you that is truly blind!" "Let go of me, you freak!" "So, now I'm a freak, am I? Tell me James, how did it feel 24 years ago, when you were eight and you tossed your friends puppy into the river? Was it the puppies death or your friends tears that gave you your fix back then?" "You fucking prick! I will kill all of you!" He smirked, and continued."Or maybe it was flaying your sisters elbow that gave you your fix..." "What did you say?" "Well, I thought a person like you, so desperately trying to save her, would spot her birthmark on her back. But, I guess not." After that, I went into a frenzy, and I don't remember much except screaming, crying, trying to fight. But I lost myself there, at that specific moment. After this, I was told that listening to their orders was the only way to keep my sister safe. They would not harm her if I listen, so I became one of the cultists in the brown robes, torturing, flaying, murdering innocents as they came through the hole above. I became a husk of my former self, desperately clinging to the fact that one day, help may come. And today, it did. It is too late for me, but not for my sister. I'm staying behind, writing, hoping that one day you will read it, Stella, and understand my actions. This cave is hell, it needs to burn, alongside with everyone and everything inside it. I'm not going to take care of you any more, I can't live with myself. Not after everything I did. I am sorry. Truly.

The End of the Journal

"T...Thank you, Matthew.", Stella answered through tears. "I'm sorry to put you through this, but you were the only one..." I closed the book and answered: "It's okay, Stella. I understand that you needed... closure." "I did, I needed to know why my brother did what he did. Maybe he thought that he was the same as the rest of the cultists... But he was not. He was never a part of it, a man doing those things solely to save a human is not someone worshiping... Him." "I agree", I said. "He had a good heart, despite what he did." "Can you... give me the journal? I can't see yet, need to wait a few more days to be able to take the blind foil off. But I want to touch it, it used to be a shared journal of ours, from before..." "Of course.", I agreed, giving her the journal through the cloth around their bed. What I saw is the reason I'm writing this on my computer right now, and putting it out there. What I saw was the hand grabbing the Journal, taking it by its cover. But I swear, I saw the title of the book through her hand, like it was... Transparent.

After speaking to Stella a bit more and saying my farewells, I started walking towards my room, where I am right now. Creeped out, thinking: "Could all of it be true? Could she be still practicing the cult ways?" No way, I concluded. I just got a bit spooked. But after staying in my room, typing this to you, I hear sounds. Whispers. Chants. Screams. This place is huge, its like a labyrinth. The air is moist, too moist. It almost feels like... A cave.

#reddit #nosleep #scary #story

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daebakinc · 7 years

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EXO’rDIUM Newark Fan Account

For some reason, this time round, Prudential Center did not have its shit together. They had moved the show up to 7:30 weeks ago, so we assumed we’d all be in by 7:00 tops. Wrong. My new friends I made in line (YAY) and I didn’t get in until 7:30, by which time we were a drenched, bedraggled looking lot. One of my friends almost didn’t have her ticket work it got so wet.

However, when EXO finally came on an hour late, it was like a flip switched. They made me forget I was hungry. That I was soaked through to my underwear and socks. That I was cold. EXO made me forget everything except how happy I was to see them.

I’ve got to hand it to the EXO-Ls there. We made sure they knew we were happy to see them. I’ve never heard fans sing along as much and as well as we did tonight. Well, I tried, but I was at a disadvantage since I primarily listen to the Chinese versions for practice lol.

The screaming and cheering started as soon as the lights dimmed, as if most of us hadn’t waited for hours in the rain. That said, this concert was also unique in another sense: EXO had so many more VCRs than I’ve seen. The opening VCR was the really cool mix of live footage and graphic novel style animated that introduced EXO with their powers as our protectors because we humans are dumb and keep hurting each other (there may have been a small commentary on American bombing during the Korean War but maybe that’s just me). The second was like a group date with EXO with Lay leading you between the members: you played darts with him, air hockey with Kai, an arcade game with Chanyeol, ate a snack&did a love shot with Sehun, watched a movie with Chen&Suho&Xiumin(who did aegyo!), watched Baekhyun make funny faces with a light stick, played a foosball game with Kai&Sehun, and then a dance party with all of EXO. The third had them all shrunken down and wearing those silly elf costumes with Chen, Suho, and Kai dancing around in a music room; Baekhyung and Xiumin working in a storage room with a very sleepy Kyungsoo who kept trying to nap; and Lay, Sehun, and Chen messing around in a sound room. So cute. The closing VCR was a kind of ending to the first.

EXO were a little out of synch dance-wise for the first songs, but after that they pulled together. I’m guessing part of it is the smaller stage and missing Lay (It was so sad, during the dance break for Wolf there was clearly a spot he was supposed to be). They did a good mix of group choreography and songs where they’d be spread out and do small parts of the choreography.

After the first three songs, all remixes, the boys gave their greeting. Everyone but Kyungsoo, who waved, bowed. I’ll go into more detail about their greetings, because they were hilarious, in their individual sections. Half of them reminded us to be safe though.

Through out the show, it was really awesome how much energy they all had, and how they interacted with each other as much as they did with us. There were tons of tiny interactions the whole time: Chen helping Suho when Suho dropped his cane during Playboy(THAT FREAKING PERFORMANCE!! OTL), Kyungsoo making Kai laugh when they were on the side of the stage together, Baekhyun and Sehun being distracted by a moving bunny toy someone tossed up at the end. It was a reminder that as much as they’re an idol group, EXO is also a group of very good friends. It gave the concert an intimate kind of feeling, if that makes sense. The fact that the boys were incredibly, and I mean extremely good, about rotating themselves so every side saw each of them for a good amount of time multiple times, also helped this.

They also did a few of their songs as acoustic versions and heaven help the souls of all of us there because it was some of the most beautiful things I’ve ever heard. Chanyeol played the guitar while the others sang, and Kyungsoo had hold out his mic so we could hear Chanyeol’s lines. Really though, I have video and y’all will see what I mean when I post it.

At some point, the staff gave them lightsticks to guide fans’ movements, and boy did they have fun dancing around directing us.

When they had to get changed, they took turns. Suho, Chen, and Kai were left on stage first and they told us about what they did in New York the day before. Chen saw Chicago, and wanted to give us the same feelings the musical gave him. Kyungsoo walked around and saw the play ‘Sleep No More,” which he suggested we go see but he was glad we were here instead of off seeing it. Silly. Kai went to Soho to buy shoes, then ate the third best pizza in the world, and bought medicine at CVS that he had trouble taking because the pills were big. Chen was adorable and kept repeating CVS because Kai was going on about how big the store was. Chen was also trying to amuse himself by trying to flip a bottle while Suho and Kyungsoo were talking. Kyungsoo also said he was tired because it was morning in Korea, prompting Chen and Suho to start yelling “Good morning” to us and making Kyungsoo laugh. Suho told us he walked around the city because he loves the movie “Birdman,” which again prompted Chen to be cute and pretend to fly, then sing “I Believe I Can Fly.”

While Chen and Suho were singing “I Believe I Can Fly,” Chanyeol came out and sung with them. It was so so pretty! Then Suho ruined it by asking “Was it a commercial?” to which Chen responded “Let’s move on,” and left lol. Xiumin pretended to kick them off. Chanyeol told us he went bowling, demonstrating by almost rolling his water off stage. When the others, Baekhyun was there too, asked him why do that when he can bowl in Korea and he said he just has bowling in his mind, but EXO-L in his heart. Cheeseball. Then, Baekhyun had to explain to us why they changed and this is where the little shit in him came out. He teased us for awhile asking if we were curious, then told us we had to help them sing the next song. He taught us the chant in Korean, then asked “When you’re dancing in the shower, don’t you naturally dance to the beat? I know I do.” He had such a smirk on his face. Dirty. He tried to get Xiumin to show us, but Xiumin said he doesnt’ really dance in the shower because it’s too slippery so he just showed us his upper body dance. Baekhyun then told us to not stop and bring out our secret dance. OTL

During the encore, the real one, people threw a lot of toys and such on stage. While it was fun to see the members play with them, I’ll also remind you guys to please not do this. There was so much confetti already on the stage and with the guys dancing, I was really scared they would fall and hurt themselves.

Now, on the members themselves.

Xiumin. My baby. I spent so much time watching him because he looked so healthy, and damn the man is gorgeous, and like he was having such a good time. I was so glad he was smiling so much. He reminded us to obey the rules for safety in his greeting and then did the EXO Showtime greeting. Got me right in the feels. He would do all these little dances in between songs or when they were just walking around, including some very unnecessary extra hip thrusts, and his singing and rapping was amazing. I was so proud when he got a mini dance solo during Transformer!! My boy needs more recognition for how good he is at pretty much everything. He also pointed a lot when he sang and got really into the music, and during Lucky he made a big heart with his arms. He walked around like that with this huge smile on his face. At the end, he tried playing soccer with some blow-up thing someone threw up with Kai, but gave up after it fell off stage. He blew a ton of kisses for us when they finally said goodbye.

Yes, Suho is an incredibly good-looking man(those tummy flashes we got during Wolf were no joke), but even more than that, he is such an adorable sweetheart. He tried to speak exclusively English for us through out, the dearheart, only reverting to Korean when he wanted to say something complicated. He also told us to be careful for our own safety and thanked us for waiting for them for a year. Once the concert started, he was all smiles and I do mean smiles. Unless the song was intense, that sweet smile was on his mouth. He also did a ton of little finger hearts and winks, enough to make any EXO-L swoon and spout gibberish. He accidentally called the tour “Exo’lucion” and got embarrassed, which is why he quickly moved on to the acoustic performances, which he called a “gift” for us. At the end, he thanked us for making the concert better than he’d thought and promised they’d be back after our collective groan of sadness they were leaving. He wanted to take a group picture with us after they said they goodbye, but Kyungsoo convinced him to wait until after Angel.

Chanyeol was, for lack of better words, Chanyeol. Equal parts a giant child and serious musician. He took his ear piece out to hear us scream for him during his greeting and promised to make it a “crazy night.” While he had his game face on during his parts and the choreography, in between the kid was all smiles. It’d get especially big when he’d be at the edge of the crowd waving. It was interesting to see the difference in him when he had the normal guitar and the electric guitars. He was all soft sweetie during the acoustics, though he did show off a bit, and then hot af rocker with the electric guitar. For real, I didn’t anticipate how sexy he gets when he’s rocking out, which continued when he moved into the DJ box. Towards the end though, he reverted back to being a little kid. He played with the streamers and then stood in front of the confetti gun at the very end until Chen had to come collect him for the group pic. He also had a very fun time playing with two of those squishy, spikey yoyo toys, one of which Kyungsoo tried to play with too, and he crossed the entire stage to give Baekhyun a plushie.

Chen, the flirt. As with many of the others did in the beginning, he told us to be safe, but he also told us he could feel our love directly. He was constantly playing around when the songs didn’t demand seriousness. Whether this was with his members or us, it didn’t matter. He joked around a lot with the others, and I kept seeing them smiling or laughing when he was close to them. He’d also get this huge grin whenever he was waving at us, and doing a cute little hopping dance while going so, or trying to get people to move their lightsticks a certain way. The little sweetie also made a neat pile of the toys at the end so no one would trip. As much fun as he had, he didn’t fail to impress me with his vocals. He’s already one of my favorite voices in EXO, but the different riffs he pulled off flawlessly just had me in awe. That’s besides the fact that he is also, very handsome, and the way his neck muscles and veins look when he’s belting out his notes is just... wow.

Baekhyun. First of all, I know we all secretly envy this kid’s looks with eyeliner but damn. It’s even worse in person and by worse he looks ten times more gorgeous. He may not have been as extra dance wise like I’ve seen in videos, but that doesn’t mean he wasn’t an extra tease. It started right from the get-go with his greeting where he told us this concert was for us to get closer and then go home. I already told you about the shower dancing, but goodness his tone and his smirk and the mischief in his eyes, what a little imp. Scamp Baek also came out during the group pic when Suho was telling everyone to do a cute pose and Baekhyun yelled out “No, sexy!!” All kidding aside, Baekhyun also really blew me away with his vocals. He was on key and hitting those notes and my ears were in heaven. That’s not to mention his dancing too, like the mini solo he had during Monster, which was so so good.

With Kyungsoo, even though he’s one of my top bias ruiners, I was in no way prepared. Honestly. When the camera panned to him my mind kind of blanked and then it went “His fucking face!” I feel bad for Xiumin, but my breath always caught when I saw Kyungsoo. Ok, moving on, lol. Handsomeness aside, he is such an adorable squish. So serious when it’s his line, but then a cute little smile always found its way onto his face as he looked out at the crowd. During his greeting, he asked if we were hungry and admitted he was too, bursting into laughter. He followed it up with “Ok, showtime!” Then during Lucky One he did the little head side bob thing with Chen all with a straight face. He also has a tendency to hold the mic with both hands when he does a power note that’s beyond cute for some reason. And he had so many perfect power notes he’d melt anyone who loves music’s heart.

Kai, I am convinced more than ever, is Johnny Castle in real life. There’s just something about his dancing/stage persona that just oozes sex. Whether it’s the smirk or the fluid power with which he moves, I don’t know. He’s pretty sexy on his own considering he had a bit of stubble showing and did little things like unbuttoning his shirt for Playboy. He even danced to Angel.Tonight was almost all Kai with little bits of Jongin. He did come out some, like when he did a little jump to be sure where the small ramp was or when he was playing with Kyungsoo and couldn’t stop laughing or when he played with a lightstick plushie and glasses or when he kept singing from backstage after their goodbye. As much as I love Kai’s dancing, those glimpses of Jongin just make him more endearing.

I’ll be honest: Sehun is the member I’ve always kind of glanced over. I don’t even know why and I feel really bad about it. I think part of it is that even though he’s an absolute puppy around the others, he’s very aloof on stage. I’ll admit, it does add to his cool guy sexiness. He is incredibly handsome, and I do mean like story book handsome. Especially in the VCRs. Seeing how good he’s gotten in his rapping and dancing, both of which were splendidly shown off during his rap/dance duet with Chanyeol, made me very proud as well. I think the best part of the night in relation to Sehun though was the small things that could easily have gone unnoticed. Like the little dances he did on the side when they were just walking around where he only moved his arms and lifted his feet. Or how he picked up a dog plushie, that looked like his dog, and carried it around for the entire encore like a real dog. The cool guy is actually a soft guy lol.

Even though Lay wasn’t there, I really hope EXO lets him know how much EXO-Ls screamed for him when he came on-screen during the VCRs. Seriously, that’s when we were at our loudest it seems.

Overall, this was a really, really fun concert. From start to beginning, EXO and all us EXO-Ls were having a blast and singing our hearts out. It also really meant a lot to me to finally see them, and to have their encore song be Angel. I don’t know if I’ve shared this on this blog, but when I lived in China, it was a really dark time for me and EXO helped get me through it, particularly EXO-M. At the time, I wanted to be a Chinese teacher, so I kept telling myself if EXO-M can live in foreign country and survive and flourish, I could too. I know EXO-M isn’t exactly what they were, but EXO as a whole stepped into their place in my heart and I love all of these boys so much for what they’ve given me (Angel is also my go to song when I’m having a panic attack to help calm myself down.) So to me, EXO is my Angel and tonight I got to give them a little love back.

#exordium #exordium in newark #exordium in north america #exo #exo'rdium #fan account #exo fan account

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ourlastbastion · 5 years

Text

Wild Fire Ch. 20

AO3

FFNet

What were the chances that the family that Maleko had found were, of all things, Acolytes? The same family the one that had shown him kindness, gave him food, shelter, and friendship, that the family he'd crashed into the yard of after almost being run over by were part of a cult. Followers of the cult that Kai Palakiko had made just a few centuries ago, followers who were now resurfacing, followers who were Maleko's only way of finding his mother.

Honestly, Maleko certainly wouldn't have believed it if Taka hadn't confirmed it for him. He'd been suspicious at first, rightfully so. Though he wanted so desperately to trust and believe them when Robert said that he would take Maleko back to Kai, he wasn't sure if he could or should trust them, they could just be lying, trying to get him to let his guard down so that they could take him back to the Academy, or somewhere worse. He had been ready to start running even after Robert had made that decision, even more, there had been something in the back of his mind urging Maleko to sink his claws in Robert's face for even trying to lie to him about this. It was the same anger and aggression, the need to hurt and maim that he had felt in the warehouse.

He had been so close to doing it, too, his claws had begun to form, his body tensed and his lips curled back. How dare Robert even try to lie to him like that, to try and bring his hopes with such cruel words.

"It's alright, little sun," Taka had assured him, and the anger, though it hadn't dissipated, not instantly, not completely, but Maleko had felt himself able to take a breath.

Then they had showed him their masks. They were similar to the ones the men from the warehouse had worn, not the same designs, not identical, but close enough that the moment he saw them, Maleko reeled back hard like he had been slapped. His mind flooded with the warehouse incident, the beating, the bloodshed, everything.

Those men in the warehouse claimed to be followers of his mother. Taka assured him that Robert was being honest when he said that he and his family were as well.

Maleko allowed himself to believe, to trust. If they were offering to take him to Kai… he had to take the chance, no matter how slim. And if Taka said that it was alright, then he was going to trust what Taka said.

He was going to let them take him to Kai.

When he'd decided to trust them, he had expected for them to go right away, to get in the car and start driving to wherever it was that Kai supposedly was. He'd been so ready, impatient, even. But, no.

As it turns out, it takes time to actually up and leave for other people. Robert had explained that they needed to make some arrangements before they headed out. Robert had to call other members to let them know what was going on, so they could meet them up on the way, Maggie had to work things out at Mickey's school since he'd be gone for a while, and the two of them had to do stuff about calling in to work, too. Then they had to pack, make travel plans, and a bunch of other stuff that he couldn't make sense of.

Not that Maleko could say he understood any of it. He hadn't had to put that much work into it when he ran away from the DWMA. Just pack a backpack and start running, even less work was done when he moved in with Kai. He just got some clothes at a nearby village and then was on his way.

No, he had to wait for the family to get ready, and the wait was driving him up a wall. They needed to pack, they needed to make calls. Maleko was an anxious, impatient wreck for the two days that it took before they actually left.

It would just be the three of them; Robert, Maggie and Maleko. Mickey had complained, he had thrown a fit over it of course. "Why can't I come along too? I'm just as much a member as you two!" he had stomped his feet and scowled, infuriated when his parents had told him that he would not be coming with them.

Maggie had given her son a placating look while hovering behind Maleko, changing his bandages once more from his fight with the Kishin egg. The injuries had healed remarkably face to the point that many were just angry red scratches, but she insisted on keeping several still bandaged just to be safe. "It's going to be dangerous, hun," she had told him, gently massaging some of that ointment cream into the cuts on Maleko's back. They were healing nicely but were still tender. "I'd sleep easier knowing you were safe. That's why you'll be staying with your grandparents for the time being."

That didn't seem to make him any happier, but he had conceded in the end. Like Maleko, all he needed to do was pack a few bags, tell a few friends that he was staying with his grandparents due to a family emergency and then he was done. So that meant that, like Maleko, he was stuck waiting for his parents to sort everything out before they left. Time that he made sure to spend with the boy.

The two kept playing Persona, getting as far towards the money guy's palace, whom Mickey said was a 'punk ass bitch'. But most of their time was spent watching recordings that other members of the Acolytes had taken of meetings with Kai, at his insistence of course. Maleko liked when they sat on the couch watching her on his laptop the most. Just seeing her, even if it was on a screen, just hearing her, even though it was through a speaker, it revigorated him, it breathed life back into Maleko.

He missed her so much that he started crying at one point and had to be held by Mickey until he calmed down.

After a few views, he'd started to notice things about Kai, the Kai in these videos, disparities between the one he saw on the screen and the one who took care of him.

When he thought of his mama, he saw someone warm, gentle, a big heart who was always there for him. He saw someone who was good and kind, someone who loved him unconditionally and who he loved more than anything in this world. He saw the greatest person there ever was, that's who his mama was to him, that's who Kai was.

But, the Kai on these screens was different. He hadn't noticed it at first, too wrapped up by being able to see her and hear her. But, now he did notice, he saw every little difference, every little change that he hadn't seen before now stood out to him like a sore thumb.

Her eyes were cold, there wasn't a shred of warmth in them when she talked, she frowned more, her smiles weren't normal, forced. He even saw the bags under her eyes, the stress and strain of exhaustion. Everything about the Kai he saw now on Mickey's laptop screen was cold and hard; unfeeling and remorseless.

She frightened him.

He didn't want to admit it, but this new Kai he saw, she scared him, she was so different that he was afraid. Would she still be like that when he finally reunited with her? Was she just as cold in person now?

No, no! Maleko refused to accept that. She was just stressed and sad and that's why she was looking like this. Once Maleko found her again, she'd be happy, she'd be smiling and there would be that pretty glint in her eyes again. He had to believe that, he had to believe that she'd still be the same mama as before once they were together again, because if she wasn't… if she wasn't the same… he didn't think his heart could take it.

Clinging to strands of hope was all that was keeping Maleko going through these past few weeks, it seemed. So, why stop now when he was so close to finally putting an end to this long nightmare?

Still, the excitement and fear had made it hard for Maleko to sleep at night, he spent his nights wide awake, staring out the window or pacing the halls anxiously, torn between waking the others to make them move or just to wait. He spent much of the night hours while the others were sleeping to talk to Taka. Sometimes he'd sneak outside just to get some fresh air for a few minutes, too.

He had introduced the family to Taka, too. They had been a bit surprised by the fact that he talked to a bird, but, considering he was a sorcerer, they accepted it rather quickly. They couldn't understand Taka, though, and so Maleko had to tell them what Taka was saying to them.

Eventually, it was time to go. Mickey had bid them farewell in the morning, taking his own car for the long drive to his grandparents house while Maleko rode with Taka, Maggie, and Robert the opposite direction.

It was going to be a long trip, they had warned. A few days at best. And when he had been placed in the backseat with some bags, snacks and pillows, when they hit the rode and started driving, he found they weren't lying.

The drive alone took forever. The first day alone was torture.

Several long hours that Maleko was spent cooped up with hardly a thing to do. He tried napping, but couldn't bring himself to sleep, he'd tried reading the numerous comics Mickey had left for him, but at the reading level Maleko possessed the words might as well have been gibberish. He tried drawing and coloring, but that was an impossible task with the numerous bounces and jerks the car caused.

It was horribly boring. Maleko wanted so badly to just be there by now, but nope. Nope, nope, nopity-nope.

Kai was really far away, so they had to travel for a very long time. Maggie had told him that they have to take the long way, because Death may be keeping an eye on travelers and if they're too direct with their journey, they may arouse suspicion. It made his blood boil, the DWMA was still keeping him from seeing his mother, even now, but he bit his tongue and let the anger simmer.

They made several stops, to refill the car's tank, to use the restroom, or even to eat. Maleko didn't like these, even if it was necessary, but he put up with them whenever they came to a stop and he had to follow them out of the car. He felt like this was just taking up time, making it longer until he could see his mama again.

Taka assured him that it would be fine, that he just had to relax. Relaxing was hard. At least there was comfort in knowing that Taka was riding in the car with him, that Maleko could find safety by keeping the bird on his lap and running his fingers through soft feathers.

He wondered how Mickey was doing, if he'd reached his grandparents yet. He wondered what Kai was doing all the way in the north, where it was cold and harsh.

By the third day, the plan was changed, just a little.

Maleko was in the hotel room with the others, just relaxing with Taka on his lap, or trying to relax. It was hard to when they were cooped up in the hotel room, but Taka told him that humans needed rest, that it was dangerous for all of them for Maggie and Robert to keep driving without sleep. But, it wasn't night anymore, they had gotten their sleep and the sun was making its way through the sky.

So, why weren't they on the road yet?

Maggie sat behind him, humming as she ran a comb through his hair and clicking her tongue. "Your hair is getting long, hun," she mused. Was it? Maleko hadn't really thought of it before, but, now that she mentioned it… his hair hadn't really been really short when it all started, it'd been a mess of white curls reaching his jaw. But now, his hair was almost down to his shoulders. Sure, it wasn't as long as it had been when he first met mama, but, it was getting there.

"Maybe we should take him to a barber before we head out," Robert said, poking his head out from the bathroom while his hands fiddled with the tie around his neck. "Put some dirt on him and he'd look right at home in the woods. I think it'd be good if he looked nice when we brought him back."

Would it? Maleko couldn't say he remembered Kai ever really caring about how he looked. Though she did make him get his hair cut off when they got home the first time, maybe she didn't like him with long hair. "Then we drive?" Maleko asked, face scrunching up as Maggie hit a stubborn knot.

Robert laughed, "Then we drive," he assured him.

In that case… okay. Maleko would be fine with a haircut. He wanted to make sure he looked nice when mama finally saw him again, maybe she wouldn't recognize him if his hair was longer. No, mama would still know it was him. She'd know it was him even if he'd dyed his hair black, or if he was all grown up. Because mama would always know him.

Thinking about her this time, Maleko wasn't anxious to get moving like he usually was. He just let himself lean back as Maggie worked his hair, petting Taka in his lap as he let his mind drift to how the two would finally reunite.

Though, he would admit that the trip to the barber wasn't entirely pleasant and that Maggie had tried to convince him to actually dye his hair black. Just because he knew that his mama would recognize him with dyed hair didn't mean he wanted to dye his hair. He liked his hair how it was.

At least Taka seemed to get a kick out of it. All Maleko could say that, after they had his hair cut short, he was glad to be on the road again.

----

Kai groaned, rubbing her tired eyes as she hunched over her desk, staring at all the papers, the documents and reports that had been coming in from every corner of the world, detailing plans and proposals to her about things that she couldn't give a single fuck about. She didn't care about isolated terrorist attacks, she didn't care about kidnapping and indoctrinating, she couldn't care less about the idea of catching weapons before they enroll at DWMA and turning them over to her side.

That didn't stop the Acolytes from pestering her with these ideas.

What wasn't helping her nerves was the fact that the numbers she had with her here in the artic was growing steadily each and every day. Their numbers ranged in the thousands now, which of course amazed Kai on one hand. It was strange to her how the cult had been able to grow and thrive through these few hundred years without her interference, but on the other hand, that part of her that absolutely loathed dealing with people and being around people was dying inside.

They were loud yet silent, always in the way even though they took extra care to give her as much space as she needed, and they were always looking to her for advice, answers, miracles. She couldn't bring herself to blame herself for ditching them the last time.

The only good news that had come so far was that Kom had confirmed to have finished his drug and had already begun mass-producing it with the help of a few dozen alchemically-talented humans and witches. It'd give them just the edge that they had needed.

"Because gasses may harm our own allies, and needles will be ineffective on a weapon in his or her combat form, we will use the meister," Kom had explained to Kai and the branch leaders—fools who were styling themselves as her generals—while holding up a vial containing a vomit-orange colored fluid. "We will put them in darts so that we can strike from a distance, just one dose should be enough for the average meister."

Yuri had crossed his arms over his chest, watching Kom carefully, "And how exactly will these drugs affect the weapons when we inject the meisters with them instead?"

For the first time in a while, Kai saw a familiar smile stretch across his face, the kind of smile he only made when he was particularly proud of his work and glad to talk about it. She rolled her eyes, just a little. "A good weapon-meister pair are able to synchronize their souls, and we will use that against them," he explained, loading a dart into a small gun. "It will go into the meister and the effects will transfer over to the weapon through their shared wavelength. In doing so, it will destabilize the weapon's wavelength, preventing them from using their weapon form to their full ability, preventing him or her from connecting with the meister."

"Death trains his little children how to fight using their weapons, many of these people may not be able to fight when that weapon is taken from them, and many weapons may not be proficient fighters on their own, too," Kai had spoken up, drawing the attention of all in the room to her. She stood up, walking around the table until she stood beside Kom and picked up one of his vials, holding it between two fingers and watching the way the light reflected off the liquid inside. "They're taught to work and fight together as one, and so we'll force them to fight on their own. It will give us an edge by limited what they can do."

Someone, a woman of sixty whose name Kai never bothered to learn, nodded her head approvingly. "I can certainly see how that will work in our favor," she said, speaking with a heavy accent that Kai would have placed as Algerian, maybe Morocco, could be from an entirely different nation for all she knew. Though, to be fair, virtually everyone here was from a different country and spoke with an accent, if they weren't relying on a translator to speak for them. "Yes, this is exactly what we have needed."

Kom bowed his head a little at her words while the other leaders began speaking up over one another, voicing their thoughts and opinions. Not that it was a subject that needed discussing, their hollow words only agreed with the plan to use the drug, supporting it only because Kai did, not considering any other possibility because, to them, why should they consider something that goes against what she said?

They were sheep. Unable to think for themselves. As useful as that unyielding loyalty may be, their inability to argue was annoying. Ideas were made and improved from discussion and disagreement. Once she took care of the DWMA and Death, she'd have to get them to work on that.

Though, even though they were unable to do much, she approved of the few dozen or so Acolytes who would be promised to Kom to help him mass produce as much of the drug as they could in their limited window of time. Not only did they need to make this anti-weapon drug, but they would need to distribute the drugs to their current base here, and to other branch leaders around the world. It had to be done fast and discretely. Constant travel to and from the arctic desert without alerting suspicion.

But, Kom seemed confident that they'd be able to make it work, so long as they had a good supply of the ingredients and that the ones who were being brought to his makeshift lab had a decent understanding of chemistry.

It hadn't seemed as though Kai's presence was necessary for the meeting anymore. Everything she had been invested in discussing was finished, and now it was just some smaller scale issues that Kai couldn't care less about, such as sleeping space, rations, patrols, the sort of stuff that she'd pass off to the others to figure out while she spent her time with something else.

That meeting, however, had been just a few days ago, and already Kom had been bringing in reports of the few dozens of crates that they had filled with their drugs. Kai was also getting reports from scouts and spies that the DWMA was getting ready for an attack, calling in their Death Scythes, a hustle and bustle to them that was clear they were desperately waiting to strike but didn't know where.

It was amusing, just a little. Watching them run about was like watching chicken without heads, so desperate to put an end to this but not knowing how, not knowing where. It was fun. For a short while, but soon even that grew boring for her.

She did what she could in the meantime, between meetings and planning, she searched for ways to keep herself occupied, to keep her mind occupied. It was the best way to get time to pass, to keep things moving. Kai didn't want to stagnate for too long, it'd let thoughts fester.

People continued to arrive, through small planes or boats, they'd come in small numbers and slowly swell the ranks more and more. More shelters had to be erected, rations distributed more carefully, but that was work for someone else Kai didn't care too much if they had the supplies to support the army, only that they had an army.

Days passed by, perhaps a week in total. Each day Kai worked, observed and then slept before doing it again the next morning. It was a simple routine, doing the same thing again and again while waiting for shit to hit the fan and the ball to start rolling. She was getting a tad impatient, but she did her best to not think of it too much, lest she might start lashing out at her own army. Kai need not do that.

However, after a full week, the routine had finally been disturbed.

Kai awoke from her sleep to a rather loud commotion outside her tent. The scowl fell right into place on her face as she rose from her simplistic and barely comfortable cot. People were shouting and yelling, it was hard to tell just what kind of yells they were. Were her followers so excited they went crazy with their drinks and were causing a riot, or was there a problem and everyone was panicking? Did it even matter which it was when they'd disturbed Kai's slumber either way?

She threw on her coat and slipped on her boots, the shouting didn't stop, but Kai could now make out a more frantic tone to it. Certainly not the screams of inebriated idiots.

Throwing open the door and walking out, Kai kept her back rigid and her face void of feelings. People were nervous and excited, that much she could tell from the way they shifted, the glints in their eyes, the hushed whispers. But, they straightened out, silenced themselves, and backed away when they saw Kai approaching, parting like the Red Sea had for Moses so that she may cross the crowds.

It couldn't be that Death's army had arrived, there would be more anger in the crowd. They'd be running back and forth to ready the weapons and get into position to attack.

"Kai," Kom was at her side, keeping up with her pace as they walked. "What's going on?"

Kai's scowl deepened, "I was hoping that you'd be able to tell me," she answered. Not even Kom knew the reason behind this sudden frantic energy among her Acolytes, and not one of the followers was stepping forward to tell her. It was frustrating, someone was going to end up dead at this rate.

"All I know is that we had a new ship dock with more members, and then the crowds went mad over it," Kom responded, flicking his tongue between his lips as his mouth twisted into a frown. "I can only assume there was some problem with the ones who've just arrived."

That was more information than she had a minute ago, but it wasn't enough to go by. Kai's face didn't lighten as they continued to march, reaching the end of their camp as the Acolytes backed away with hushed whispers of reverence and apology to Kai.

But, even as they reached the source, it was hard to tell what exactly the problem was. There was a group of Acolytes surrounding whatever it was, among them, she recognized Yuri and another higher ranked official. The others, she couldn't say she recognized their faces, but that could be said to about 95% of the people here. They had bags at their feet and some had masks hanging from their belts, clearly members of the Acolytes and not prisoners.

They were talking, hadn't even noticed that Kai was there yet. Their voices quiet, but fervent, something moved between them, shifting, and Kai thought she saw a glimpse of white, perhaps just a patch of snow seen between bodies. Still, she drew closer, waiting to see how long it would take for them to notice her, or if they would ignore her the entire time.

"This is monumental!" Yuri had said quickly and quietly, mesmerized by something. "It could change everything. You've done right by bringing him here, my children."

One, a middle-aged woman bowed her head. "It was an honor and a pleasure," she said, her hands on something in front of her.

Yuri continued talking, bringing a hand to his face, "With your magic and knowledge, you might just be the deciding factor in this war, little one. You're the only one here who knows who we're fighting on an intimate level. You—" he stopped, his body giving a jerk as he turned his head to see Kai. "My lady!"

With that, Yuri gave a deep bow, the members behind him gave gasps of fear and awe before dropping to their knees, following his cry of 'my lady' to her. She didn't care about any of that, ignored Yuri, ignored the others to let her eyes fall on the only one who was not bowing, the one who—

Kai's eyes widened; her voice caught in her throat. Was she still in bed, was she still dreaming? There was no way that this could be real, right?

"Mama?" Maleko asked, his voice quiet as he stared at her with wide eyes. He looked as though he had seen better days, covered in faded bruises and bandages. His hair was shorter than it had been when she saw him last, his eyes had bags under them much like her own. A bird was perched on his shoulder, eying her with its golden eyes.

She couldn't find her words, she could only stare at him in mute wonder and awe, trying to find something, anything that would alert her that this was a dream before the inevitable heartbreak. She opened her mouth, forcing the words around the lump in her throat. "Maleko? Is that, is that really you?

The boy let in a shaking breath and took a careful step forward, stepping past Yuri and away from the others. The hawk silently flew from his shoulder to perch on some crates. She watched as Maleko's nose twitched, sniffing the air, his eyes beginning to water.

With a choked cry, Maleko dashed through the last few feet, closing the distance between the two as he threw himself at Kai. "Mama!" He cried as she caught him, dropping to her knees and holding him tight against her. "Mama, it- it's you! You—you, found! I found you!"

"Oh, Maleko, I missed you, I missed you so much," Kai murmured, burying her face into his hair.

Kai didn't care that she was openly crying in front of her followers, she didn't care if this wasn't the sort of display of a 'God'. They didn't matter, their beliefs didn't matter. The only thing that mattered was that Maleko was here, alive and breathing in her arms. He was alive. Clinging to her as desperately as she clung to him. Warm. For the first time in months, she was warm. She was happy.

#Wild Fire #Soul Eater #Adrian's Writing #The one where it finally happens

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igsy-blog · 7 years

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reTHG: The Hunger Games - Chapter Three: Many partings

(Last week I forgot to respond to one of the more interesting prompts: how many times would my name have been in the reaping at age 16. I’m the oldest of six siblings, so my number is pretty impressive. I started to do the math on it then realized it was complicated because I had two siblings born during the ages of 12 and 15, so my numbers changed. Also, my birthday is July 30, so I would have just missed the reaping the year I turned 12; I had to factor my younger siblings into that equation, too (both siblings born in the latter half of the year, after the reapings). Anyway, I would have had 7 family members for the first three years of my reapings and 8 for the last four. By age 16, that would have meant (with tesserae) 8+8+8+9+9 ... 42.)

I’ve spent the first half of the week taking care of a sick hubby and the second half down with one of the most hellish colds I’ve ever had, so this might be a bit scattershot. I read the chapters in bed, trying to dictate notes on my ipad. LOL. My ipad understood me perfectly every time I called it a POS, but the rest is near gibberish. Let’s see what I can piece back together:

General musings on Chapter 3 - Why don’t more tributes try to escape? Interesting contrast between Prim, who can’t learn how to hunt and Madge, whom Katniss actually teaches to shoot, later.

I think that, because we were talking about how Katniss describes things - or not - her lingering over the velvet of the couch in the Justice Building stood out to me. Velvet is both a bit luxurious and, to contemporary readers, a bit old-fashioned, especially in terms of furnishings. But here it is not just an interesting tactile fabric - and comforting to her, because of its texture - but a reminder that Katniss’ impoverished life has meant she just doesn’t have the vocabulary for everything. Velvet - a remnant of her mother’s more prosperous past - is one of the only fabrics she knows by name. In Catching Fire, it’s also the first fabric she can call to mind when trying to converse with Johanna (CF Chapter 15). And then in Mockingjay there is a surprisingly similar scene (I hadn’t noticed the similarity before), in which Peeta bites down on a velvet pillow to manage stress (MJ Chapter 23).

Katniss’ feelings about her mother and depression is really better explored in more depth, but I always feel so much for them both here. Hits home.

It’s funny how both Peeta and his father sort of silently express unrequited love through carbohydrates. Though, if he’s carrying cookies around anyway … maybe to give to one of his sons in case they get reaped? (Or perhaps he had time to grab a few and run back over to the Justice Building? - although, no, presumably he said good-bye to Peeta first.)

Madge and Gale. These are the really interesting farewells from this chapter. With Madge’s good-bye and insistent gift of the pin, you get maybe the strongest hint that there is an existing rebellion and that the mockingjay is a pre-existing symbol for it, and that Madge has some knowledge of it. You can explain this away by saying that perhaps Madge just really wanted to honor the memory of her aunt, who died at the same age. But Rue’s response to it later (“That’s how I decided I could trust you.” THG Chapter 16), and the swift adoption of it by both the district and Capitol rebels hint at a deeper history. (Also, if I recall correctly, there actually isn’t any mention of Maysilee wearing the pin when Katniss and Peeta watch the video of the 2nd Quell.) But Katniss - reflecting on the anti-Capitol symbolism of the bird later - reminds us of the previous rebellion and the mockingjay being the literal child of this one failure of the Capitol during the war.

I love this part of the story, which touches quickly on a lot of different things that are going to be so important and/or meaningful later. We learn here about muttations, the genetic engineering of living creatures into weapons, and how the rebellion turned one of these creatures - the jabberjay, a distortion of the mockingbird - back against them. This is, in so many ways, what the Capitol keeps on doing to the district children in the Games - turning them into weapons against each other, and tools of oppression over their own homes. In turn, the Rebellion now takes the disfigured remnants - the Victors - and builds a resistance movement with them. It is without exaggeration that, eventually, Katniss and Peeta will recognize each other as tools for the warring sides and label each other mutts - and that they will both finally call themselves mutts.

I love the description we get here of her father and the lesson of the mockingjay - the resiliency of nature and the beauty of song. It is so sweet - knowing that Katniss figuratively becomes the Mockingjay - learning how fond he was of them, and in turn of their respect, reverence for them. At this moment, she conflates her father with the mockingjay, a protector … and the pin itself, against the dark green fabric, reminds her of the woods - the place both of safety and defiance; the place to feed oneself (to not succumb to prescribed hunger) and to shout about the Capitol. Katniss becomes the image of the pin that she initially imagines as her father and this is - not a hint - but another suggestion about the pre-existing rebellion and that Katniss may also be a child of it. (On more important matters, this sets up why Katniss is able to believe Peeta’s story, later, of how he came to have a crush on her.)

Briefly back to Madge - mentioned in another thread - whether or not she has an actual role in the current version of the rebellion, she fills an important role in the story as the carrier of the rebels’ symbol from one generation to the next.

Now to Gale. Here we can see the immediate effect of his introduction of a sexual component in their relationship (even if the suggestion is just in her head). She says that maybe there is nothing romantic between them, BUT … she steps into his arms and she describes him in sensual terms (in a similar scene in Mockingjay, this storyline will close). There are two small, equally important, separations that occur here. First, she separates from him bodily, even as she steps into his embrace - from thinking of him as her other half, as being one person with her in the woods - and this causes her to look at him differently. His body was familiar to her down to the sound of his heartbeat. Now that they are parting, she actually feels his heartbeat, lean and hard-muscled.

So, there is potential between them here; it’s been sparked into being on the very last day of her normal life. What happens with this awakening is that it becomes an early point of comparison between him and Peeta in her head. Long before she allies with him and plays her part of the star-crossed lovers strategy, she sees Peeta through eyes that have been opened up by her new understanding of Gale: “... I push the whole thing out of my mind because for some reason Gale and Peeta do not coexist well together in my thoughts.” (THG Chapter 15) That’s the moment she understands (on some level) that they are sexual rivals.

The other separation is the small crack that is now revealed between Gale’s and Katniss’ feelings about the arena (as she will later put it, theory that must be translated into actions). Gale encourages her to embrace her ability to win the Games, citing her prowess as a hunter. In a conversation that will become more weighted in MJ, he asks her how different it will really be to kill people instead of animals? She admits that it won’t be - if she could forget that they are people. Her “problem” is that she will not be able to do this. And this argument will widen into a gulf between them later.

Just a quick aside for a line I never really noticed before, but grabbed me this time: “We have to stand for a few minutes in the doorway of the train while the cameras gobble up our images.”

Headcanon about Haymitch. Before diving into Chapter Four … what is my favorite headcanon about Haymitch? Well … I think he was a very reluctant rebel. Not that he wasn’t loyal to it when it came to him, but he’s not naturally a rabble-rouser, nor one who would necessarily choose to work in teams. A drunk is a horrible liability to a secret organization; so much so, that sometimes I’ve contemplated that he really wasn’t. But there is too much evidence to the contrary. I do think that, having lost what he lost, he would have been perfectly content to drink himself into oblivion. I think the prior winner from District 12 was probably a fairly early winner of the Games and died within a few years of Haymitch winning. I think Haymitch made some game attempts to mentor his tributes for the first few years, but gave up when he sensed that he would never get a winner (and I think he was somewhat disgusted at never getting tributes who, like him, were “fighters”). I like to think of Chaff as the person who saved Haymitch from full-on, disastrous carousing in the Capitol after his tributes were dead.

#reTHG

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