#34 Orchard

[kristipetersenschoonover]

Welcome, 2023! 34 ORCHARD's submissions window is open through January 15!

Welcome, 2023! 34 ORCHARD’s submissions window is open through January 15!

34 Orchard is now considering work for our Spring 2023 issue! We will only be open from January 1 – 15, 2023, so if you’re planning on submitting, please keep in mind that anything after January 15, 2023, will be deleted unread (and yes, we adjust for all worldwide time zones. So that’s after January 15 at 11:59pm wherever you are). Please refer to our guidelines for information on how to submit.…

[emotionalsupportkelpie]

A Reading Sample: LIKE IT'S A MAD THING

Enjoy the first section of my short horror story, Like It’s A Mad Thing, read by me in the video below! 🙂 If you’re interested in reading the rest of the story, you can do so for FREE at 34orchard.com, in their debut Spring 2020 issue. Happy reading!

[selfdiscoverymedia]

24-16. Home number 35

Sara’s View of Life with Sara Troy, on air from April 16th I have had many transitions in life; I started of in the UK and in only 14 years there, I lived in five homes. We then moved to South Africa where I had at least 10 homes. I lived in 3 homes in the USA, and here in Canada I have lived in 15 homes and now about to go to number 16, which I hope is my forever home. In my spirit I am a bit…

[olderthannetfic]

Seeing people point to Lily Orchard as proof that Rule 34 leads to you fucking kids is wild. She was molesting her sister and then raping her from a very young age, was made to watch her brother rape her sister when she was younger, tried to molest other kids around her trailer park... but yeah, My Little Pony Rule 34 was what made her into a pedophile. Not, y'know. Having raped a child. Or being caught on the dark net looking for CSEM. It's all the fault of the ponies! Won't somebody think of the foals?

Then again, these same people insist on calling her bad fanfic about the ponies "CP". Maybe they think Rule 34 leads to you fucking kids because they think it means you're emotionally/psychologically fucking the kid ponies across the astral plane?

Regardless, it's just fascinating to me. "Porn did this! Not being raised in the same house as a serial pedophile!" Are... are you sure? How? No, really, how would you prove that? Is there a study of any kind proving that being taught pedophilia by your older brother has zero effect but underage horses does?

And before people pull the "yeah kids lmao" some of these people are in their 30's to early 40's. Antis =/= kids. Grown-ass adults are really sitting here going, "Rule 34 caused this!" instead of going, "this ongoing pattern of behavior predates her access to the internet... maybe it's not the internet?"

--

[oneterabyteofkilobyteage]

original url http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Orchard/6268/ last modified 2007-05-08 00:30:34

[ivy-meshle]

Man those tball players sure are interesting huh. Shame about the games today but I’m sure Tuesday will be fun!

0 notes

🍝 ay-yea-mannn

☠️ alan-curupenne-deactivated20240913

Khaza pressured me into joining the rest of the team here on [tumblr]

🍝 ay-yea-mannn

u asked me what everyone was talking about ;Þ

👁️ terror-a-ball

Khhhhhhhhhhhzuua ,,.$ ehspaoard neburnee josnndeinbe edjjsiksjodrnenskdsman jssjs jsnsndtundber

🍝 ay-yea-mannn

GO TO HELL

#wasnt enough for you to steal his face now ur commenting on his tumblr GO TO HELL

34 notes

🍷lipgloss-luvrr based on your likes!

Man what is going on in NERD 💀 istg every new thing I learn about them is more insane than the next

#what is a tab. why did the fans kill someone. what do you mean players explode??

2 notes

👁️ terror-a-ball

Hhowew …, djunuoy rhoe

#dorllinf ud hqrrd

0 notes

🍎 girl-on-her-phone

🦢 gunning-for-the-iron-deactivated20240828

Ava is home safe for anyone worrying. Funeral is being held in a week at the Orchard.

🍎 girl-on-her-phone

Thank you.

🦢 gayonuts Follow

FUCK

🦢 gayonuts

NOT GUNNER TOO

🦢 gayonuts

Fuck. Fuck! Goddammit! How much more is this goddamn weather going to take from us!

🦢 gayonuts

I’m not drinking. I’m just fucking angry.

🦢 gayonuts

We were going to brunch tomorrow. Fuck.

🦢 gayonuts

I can’t deal with this right now. I don’t know what to do.

🍎 girl-on-her-phone

DMd you

#call me asap #i can and will get to sleepy hollow in under an hour #i don’t care about traffic laws

43 notes

🐝 whiskey-tango-and-a-fox

🍷 lipgloss-luvrr Follow

Hell yeah we’re in the championships!! Sorry to ████ but you can’t beat good wine B)

🍷 lipgloss-luvrr

HELL YEAH we’re in the Territory Cup! See you NERDs tomorrow

🍷 lipgloss-luvrr

Or not. Why does your games manager practice with you.

🍎 girl-on-her-phone

Does it matter? We’ll crush you all the same

🍷 lipgloss-luvrr

👀

#selfies like those u can crush me any time #<- prev tags I see you being horny on main Esme #maybe not the girl in mourning?? #tball topic tag #here’s to you #ah fuck I don’t have an apple barons tag uhhhhhh #one sec let me google something #good to the core #<- apple barons motto

18 notes

🌌 ivy-meshle

Happy tball tsunday!

🌌 ivy-meshle

Nvm lol. Apparently Gina sprained her ankle 😔 get better soon!

[lucybellwood]

Back on the Ramble train after THIRTEEN MONTHS AWAY, sweet christ.

Come take a walk with me through the orange orchards and olive groves of Ojai as I work through some thoughts about care in our society, Patreon as a vehicle for Universal Basic Income, people who commit to the power of a single issue, and how on earth to craft a life where all the component parts of myself don't feel quite so at odds with each other.

[gnosticinitiation]

The Secret Path of Initiation

The Minor Mysteries

Audio lecture from Chicago Gnosis

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

Chapter:

Probationism

1. Probationism is the science that studies the mental essences that imprison the mind.

2. Probationism is that internal wisdom that allows us to study the prisons of understanding.

3. Probationism is the pure science that allows us to know in depth the errors of individual minds.

4. The Buddha who is lifting his fifth fiery serpent upon the rod must thoroughly study probationism in order to wisely drive the train of human evolution upon the spiral track of life.

5. Probationism is the science of esoteric ordeals.

6. Every Buddha must study probationism.

7. Self-Buddhic-evidence and self-Buddhic-reflection allow us to take into our intuition concepts whose contents are transformed into divine intuits.

8. Thus, this is how you are being prepared, sibling of mine, to become a hierophant of Major Mysteries.

9. The human mind must be liberated from all types of schools, religions sects, political parties, concepts about country and flag, etc.

10. The human mind must be liberated from fear and appetites.

11. The human mind must be liberated from eagerness towards accumulation, liberated from attachments, hatreds, egotism, violence, etc.

12. The human mind must be liberated from the processes of reasoning that divide the mind in the battle of antitheses.

13. A mind tht is divided by the depressing process of "options" cannot serve as an instrument for the Innermost.

14. We must exchange the process of reasoning for the beauty of comprehension.

15. The process of conceptual election divides the mind, thus this is how the mind gives birth to erred action and useless effort.

16. Desires and appetites are obstacles for the mind.

17. Those obstacles lead human beings to exert all kinds of errors, which result in Karma.

18. Fear exerts over the mind the desire for security.

19. The desire for security enslaves willpower, converting it into a prisoner of self-defensive barriers within which all human miseries are hidden.

20. Fear brings all types of inferiority complexes.

21. Fear of death causes human beings to arm themselves and assassinate one another.

22. The human being who carries a revolver at his waist is a coward; he is a dastard.

23. The brave one does not carry weapons, because he does not fear anyone.

24. Fear of life, fear of death, fear of hunger, fear of misery, fear of cold and nakedness, engender all types of inferiority complexes.

25. Fear leads human beings toward violence, hatred, exploitation, etc.

26. Probationism is the science that allows the hierophants of Major Mysteries to know the degree of evolution reached by each disciple.

27. Any Buddha must deeply study probationism in order to know the prisons of understanding.

28. Human minds live from one prison to another. Each prison is a school, a religion, an erred concept, a prejudice, a desire, an opinion, etc.

29. The human mind must learn how to serenely flow in an integral manner, without the painful process of reasoning that divides the mind with its battle of antitheses.

30. The mind must become like a child in order for it to be able to serve as an instrument for the Innermost.

31. We must always live in the present, because life is just an eternal instant.

32. We must liberate ourselves from all types of preconceptions and desires.

33. We must move only under the impulses of the Innermost.

34. We must be content with the rights of "Canchorrita."

35. The rights of "Canchorrita" are bread, clothing, and shelter.

36. A highly evolved humanity lives on the planet Venus.

37. The inhabitants of Venus, the Dawn Star, are true artists.

38. Each Venusian family builds their beautiful mansion, orchard, and garden.

39. This is the cosmic order. When the inhabitants of the Earth submit themselves to this cosmic order, the economic problems of the world will disappear forever.

40. The human being has the right to live differently, with dignity and beauty, because he is not a swine. However, he must be satisfied with the rights of Canchorrita.

41. Covetousness, anger, and lust have their den in the mind.

42. Covetousness, anger, and lust lead souls towards the Avitchi.

43. The human being is not the mind.

44. The mind is merely one of the four bodies of sin.

45. When the human being becomes identified with his mind, he falls into the abyss.

46. The mind is merely a donkey upon which we must ride in order to enter the Heavenly Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.

47. There is the need to drive the mind by means of willpower.

48. When the mind besieges us with useless representations, we must command the mind like this:

49. "Mind, take this representation away from me. I do not accept it from you. You are my slave, and I am your lord."

50. When the mind besieges us with reactions of hatred, fear, wrath, appetites, greed, lust, etc., we must talk to the mind like this:

51. "Mind, take these things away from me. I do not accept these things from you. I am your lord, and you must obey me, because you are my slave until the end of time."

52. Now, we need human beings with Thelema, human beings with willpower, who do not allow themselves to be enslaved by their minds.

53. The Buddha whose will is being christified must study probationism deeply in order to wisely know all the essences of the mind, all the prisons of understanding.

54. Thus, this is how the hierophant of Major Mysteries can wisely drive the train of human evolution.

-Samael Aun Weor, from his book, Christ's Will

[magnetothemagnificent]

I guess it's time I share my list of birds from this past Jewish year (I've been keeping two Big Year lists, Jewish year and secular year). All are from the US, except the last few which are indicated.

1. Ruby-crowned kinglet

2. American Robin

* Leucistic American Robin

3. Song sparrow

4. Rock pigeon

* Melanistic rock pigeon

5. Chipping sparrow

6. Hairy woodpecker

7. Mourning dove

8. Northern flicker

9. Eastern towhee

10. White crowned sparrow

11. White-throated sparrow

12 Savannah sparrow

13. House sparrow

14. European starling

15. American Crow

16. Common Raven

17. Gray catbird

18. Northern mockingbird

19. Canada Goose

20. Spotted Sandpiper

21. American herring gull

22. Marsh wren

23. Limpkin

24. Great white heron

25. Cattle egret

26. Anhinga

27. Snowy egret

28. Great blue heron

29. Black-crowned night heron

30. Wood stork

31. Common gallinule

32. Blue-gray gnatcatcher

33. Turkey vulture

34. Black vulture

35. Yellow rumped warbler

36. Tufted titmouse

37. Little blue heron

38. White ibis

39. Cooper's hawk

40. Cardinal

41. Green heron

42. Carolina wren

43. Palm warbler

44. Pine warbler

45. Sandhill crane

46. Carolina chickadee

47. Bluejay

48. Osprey

49. Chimney swift

50. Red-tailed hawk

51. Prairie warbler

52. American kestrel

53. Glossy ibis

54. Pied-billed grebe

55. Double-crested cormorant

56. Grey kingbird

57. Brown pelican

58. Fish crow

59. Royal tern

60. Bald eagle

61. Painted bunting

62. American white pelican

63. Common grackle

64. Boat-tailed grackle

65. Great-tailed grackle

66. American purple gallinule

67. American coot

68. Brown-headed cowbird

69. Tricolored heron

70. Mallard

71. Black-bellied whistling duck

72. Eastern kingbird

73. Yellow-billed cuckoo

74. Muscovy duck

75. American bittern

76. Ring-billed gull

77. American Pekin

78. Mallard-Pekin hybrid

79. Eastern bluebird

80. Yellow-bellied sapsucker

81. Red-winged blackbird

82. White-eyed vireo

83. Mottled duck

84. Broad-winged hawk

85. Dark-eyed junco

86. Brown thrasher

87. Sharp-shinned hawk

88. House finch

89. Eastern Phoebe

90. Downy woodpecker

91. Fox sparrow

92. Loggerhead Shrike!!!!

93. White breasted nuthatch

94. Red-bellied woodpecker

95. Brown creeper

96. Pileated woodpecker

97. American goldfinch

98. House wren

99. Barn swallow

100. Tree swallow

101. Black and white warbler

102. Red eyed vireo

103. Yellow warbler

104. Mute swan

105. Rusty blackbird

106. Common yellowthroat

107. Warbling vireo

108. Northern waterthrush

109. Veery

110. Swamp sparrow

111. Wood duck

112. American redstart

113. Orchard oriole

114. Greater Yellowlegs

115. Lesser Yellowlegs

116. Baltimore oriole

117. Hermit thrush

118. Wood thrush

119. Ovenbird

120. Indigo bunting

121. Black-throated blue warbler

122. Scarlet tanager

123. Worm-eating warbler

124. Northern rough-winged swallow

125. Blue-headed vireo

126. Northern parula

127. Prothonotary warbler

128. Philadelphia vireo

129. Blackburnian warbler

130. Magnolia warbler

131. Cedar waxwing

132. Blackpoll warbler

133. Yellow-throated vireo

134. Eastern wood pewee

135. Acadian flycatcher

136. Tennessee warbler

137. Caspian tern

138. Laughing gull

139. Forster's tern

140. American oystercatcher

141. Green-winged teal

142. Purple Martin

143. Least tern

144. Field sparrow

145. Killdeer

146. Grey-cheeked thrush

147. Rose-breasted grosbeak

148. Great-crested flycatcher

149. Swainson's thrush

150. Bay-breasted warbler

151. Chestnut-sided warbler

152. Willow flycatcher

153. Ruby-throated hummingbird

154. Peregrine falcon

155. Hooded crow IL

156. Laughing dove IL

157. Eurasian collared dove IL

158. Eurasian jackdaw IL

159. Common myna IL

160. Rose-ringed parakeet IL

161. White spectacled bulbul IL

162. European bee eater IL

163. Chukar IL

164. Short toed snake eagle IL

165. White stork IL

166. Little egret IL

167. Pygmy cormorant IL

168. Eurasian hoopoe IL

169. Alpine swift IL

170. Graceful pinia IL

171. Eastern Olivaceous Warbler IL

172. Tristan's Starling IL

173. Fan tailed raven IL

174. Eurasian black cap IL

Here's to at least 200 next year!

[threeletterslife]

34 | Legends of Darlaria

⨰ summary: You wake up in yet another unfamiliar place. This time, however, these strangers seem to recognize you. With your previous judgments and aspirations thrown out the window, you're now forced to face where your loyalties really lie. Who will you betray? And which General will you choose to stand by his side?

⨰ pairing/rating: yoongi x reader & jungkook x reader | PG-15

⨰ genre: 70% angst, 30% fluff | war!au & magic!au

⨰ warnings: profanity

⨰ wordcount: 8.9k

⨰ join the taglist! (pm/send in an ask/reply/reblog)

⨰ previous | series m.list | next

⧖⧗Many, Many Circas Ago⧗⧖

His name was Jungkook. No one knew his last name. No one even knew where he came from; they said the 19-year-old showed up one day in the 12th city, eager to work with ragged clothes and hopeful doe eyes that they simply couldn’t refuse. 

He was shy, didn’t speak much but did good work as a varlet. His job mostly consisted of setting up the duels for the cadets and cleaning up after them in the barracks, but somehow you’d never crossed paths before. Hajin did say he was fairly new when you asked her about the mysterious doe-eyed boy wandering around the training grounds.

“Yeah, a recent hire, I think,” she said, then crinkled her eyebrows. “Why? Do you like him?” she said with a lilt to her voice that implied that she was teasing you.

“N-No!” you sputtered, feeling your face heating up. “Just curious.”

The curiosity continued for days as you began seeing him everywhere.

You saw him as you entered the training grounds at the crack of dawn, wiping the wooden dummies clean. You saw him as you began running your laps around the field, tending to the orchard, picking himself an apple when he thought no one was looking. You saw him diligently serving lunch, which usually consisted of some combination of meat, bread, and corn. You even saw him setting up an arena for a duel once. You were only passing by, but you made eye contact then, and both of you paused to stare before you looked away and headed off in the opposite direction, your cheeks growing too hot for your liking. 

It was only the last day of Circa Opal—the trees were nearly bare and the winds were chillier than ever—when he approached you. You were wrapping a black scarf around your neck, picking up a few of your belongings to head over to the castle for the night when you saw him. You froze, your fingers hovering around the warm wool around your neck as you stared at him. His face was backlit by the setting sun, and he was glowing once more. Your breath hitched as he approached closer.

“Hi,” he said.

It was the most breathtaking thing anyone had ever spoken to you.

“Hi,” you replied, though you didn’t know how you were getting any words out.

“I…” He fidgeted with his hands. “I’ve seen you around.”

“Yes… Um, so have I.”

There was an awkward bit of silence.

“I’m sorry.” “Do you want to walk around in the orchard?”

The two of you spoke simultaneously and the result was a jumbled mess of words. Embarrassed, you began tugging at the scarf around your neck, cheeks heating up.

“What are you sorry for?” he asked, eyes wide with surprise.

“I um… Well, I uh, last time, I bumped into you,” you managed to reply rather sheepishly. “Surely, that warrants another apology.”

Jungkook smiled, and it was the most beautiful smile you’ve ever seen. “It was my fault too,” he said. “No need to apologize.” He was fidgeting with his hands again as he glanced back towards the orchard. “So, um… About the…”

“About the…?” You blinked cluelessly. “Sorry… I-I um, I don’t think I heard you the first time.”

His cheeks blushed a rosy pink. “Do you… Would you want to walk around in the orchard?”

Oh.

Oh!

“Y-Yes!” you said, though it came out a lot more eager than you expected. But the truth was, you really were that eager to get to know him. There was something so comfortable about him. Something so familiar, though you swore you never met him before. And you were glad, so glad that he somehow felt the same—or it seemed so, at least. Perhaps this was what fate felt like, the same fate that was often described in your old bedtime stories. 

You were never really much of a talker, but with him, you weren’t able to shut up. You couldn’t help it. He was such an intent listener, his soft gaze never leaving yours, him hanging onto your every word. As the moonlight drenched the orchards, leaving every surface bathed in dim light, you told him everything—things you never thought you’d ever tell another person.

You told him about your parents, that even though they lived in the 12th city with you, you barely ever saw them. You told him about Donghoon, who you still thought about from time to time, wondering if he was doing all right on his own, if he still despised you. You told him about Joonhee and his valiance—that he trusted that his comrades would carry on his legacy even if he died on the battlefield. Then, you told him that sometimes, you wondered if Joonhee was still alive and well. You hoped he was, for he was largely the reason you were here today. You even told him about Instructor Shin and her guiding light of a letter to you, which pulled you out of the deep end. Finally, you indulged him with your adventures with Hajin, though you left out the bits about the underground tunnels, which were to always be yours and Hajin’s little secret.

Jungkook sat and listened to it all, nodding his head and staring at you intently the entire time. When you were finally finished giving him the spiel of your life story, the two of you stared up at the sky in silence as the grass underneath tickled your legs. It was a rather cloudy night, which was why the moonlight was so dim, but it was still beautiful nonetheless. 

“It’s admirable,” he said, quietly. “The way you lived your life so far.” His voice was as silver as the moon in the sky, as delicate as the wispy clouds, too. He always spoke in such a hushed voice, and it made you want to listen more intently than ever. As if his voice was the only music left in the whole world.

You felt your face heating up again. You hadn’t realized how much you talked—you’d given him your whole life story! An unfortunate croak left your lips when you attempted to respond. “Sorry,” you said, clearing your throat in embarrassment and wrapping the scarf tighter around your neck. You looked down at your shoes. “I didn’t mean to talk your ears off.”

He shook his head. “You didn’t. I enjoyed listening.”

Your face was burning now. “Um, but what about you?”

“What about me?” he asked, cocking his head.

“I mean, how did you end up here?—if you don’t mind answering,” you said.

“Mm…” He sighed, looking up at the sky once more. He was deep in thought, eyes glazed over, lips slightly parted. Then, he blinked, and his soft doe eyes were suddenly filled with fervent passion. “I’m trying to make a name for myself,” he said. “Thought the best way to do it would be here.”

He was short and sweet with his response, which you didn’t really mind. You had a feeling that he was a rather private individual, which you usually were too, though today had just been an anomaly for you. And part of this, this pull to this boy you had was because he was so enigmatic. Perhaps one day you could learn his life story.

“You know, you’re very talented,” the boy spoke, looking over at you. “I heard about your showcase that got you into the program. You know, turning a metal spoon into gold. I heard the General himself visited you to recruit you.”

“O-Oh,” you said, a little startled that he knew about that. “Y-Yeah… That was a few years ago. Three, in fact.” You fidgeted, always feeling a little awkward when others complimented you. “The General was the Lieutenant, then.”

“Ah. But how did you learn how to do that?” he asked, eyes wide with curiosity. “Turn something into gold?”

“I taught myself,” you answered, but that sounded a little boastful, so you added in haste, “though I had the resources to do so. I used to attend Botswana.”

He looked confused.

“It’s just some academy,” you clarified.

“Ah…” was his response.

“Why?” you asked. “Do you want to learn?”

His eyes lit up. “Yes. All things magic interest me.”

So you did the next most natural thing, which was to offer to teach him all that you knew. Mostly, it was an excuse to spend more time with him, and perhaps he asked to spend more time with you. But no, there was a hidden flame in his eyes, one that burned brightly behind those wide, innocent doe eyes. It was a look of pure determination to learn. You admired that.

The two of you didn’t leave the training grounds until the sun was peeking up above the horizon, bathing the land in its warm light. There was so much to talk about, now that you finally met each other as it felt like fate had planned. And though you didn’t get any sleep, you weren’t tired, simply exhilarated. 

It was only several hours later, after you parted ways, while you were doing your morning exercises, that you realized the two of you never exchanged your names. But it didn’t really matter because somehow, you knew he was Jungkook and he knew you as the excellent alchemist, though those were his words, not yours. He probably knew your name too; it was plastered at the very top of the large ranking board and often whispered by the entire squadron of cadets, anyway.

Every night, you met with Jungkook at the training grounds. It was cold now that it was Circa Citrine, but the weather never deterred either of you. You taught him everything you knew about alchemy, which was a lot more than you realized. He was a quick learner, taking up new skills as if he’d practiced them for years.

“You’re a natural!” you complimented him.

He shrugged. “I’m not.” Then, he casually size-shifted a pebble into a sizable rock and heaved it at the target. It landed with a satisfying thump! straight at the center, just like the last several times. His movement caused his birthstone to slip from his pocket again, but before it hit the ground, he caught it with one hand. He turned to you, slightly frustrated with himself as he often got during training. “I’m a natural divinist, that’s what I am.” He sighed. “Damn jewel,” he said, before shoving the sapphire back into his pocket. 

“Well, I think your birthstone is very pretty,” you said, trying to make him feel better, but it was also the truth. “And you’ve been doing really well! Size-shifting is infinitely more difficult than color-shifting and you’re great at it. You’re learning this much faster than I ever have.”

“You think?” He cocked his head curiously. “But I can’t do it like you. I tried thinking in steps like you taught me. I tried thinking that pebbles never existed and that all pebbles were really larger rocks, but it just didn’t make sense in my head. I couldn’t get myself to believe it. Only when I get a little frustrated or a little excited is my magic effective. I’ve been thinking about throwing that pebble so hard it would be out of sight in seconds.” He frowned. “That’s the only way that I can make it size-shift. I’d do anything to have a diamond like you do.”

“But your birthstone doesn’t dictate what type of magic you’re innately good at, Jungkook,” you tried to soothe him. “It doesn’t even dictate the branch of magic you tend to gravitate towards. There’s nothing wrong with practicing light magic,” you said. “It’s preferred in the army, anyway.”

“Mm…” He still looked unsure. “I never knew any of that stuff. The stuff about the birthstone not dictating the type or branch of magic we’re good at. Where did you learn that?”

“At Botswana,” you said, sheepishly. “They teach you the theory of magic there. Amongst many other things.”

“Sounds valuable.” A pause. “So why did you leave?”

“Um…” You looked away. “I guess I wanted to do something more for Darlae.”

“For Darlae?” 

“Yes, for my nation.”

“Ah…” He sounded a little perplexed but he didn’t press further.

You suddenly felt a little embarrassed, wondering if your reason didn’t come off as genuine as you hoped it would.

As if he could read your mind, Jungkook shook his head. “No need to be embarrassed,” he said, giving you a gentle smile. He didn’t need to say his next words because you gleaned them anyway: It’s admirable. You’re admirable.

Thank you, you told him wordlessly.

He smiled wider in response.

Sometimes, it was a lot easier to have these wordless conversations with Jungkook. It became sort of a little secret language, though it wasn’t really a language. You would exchange small glances and looks and somehow, the other would be able to translate. Silence became your comfort. You never had anything like this with another person. No one else ever understood you well enough to speak inside your mind, but he did. When you were with him, it was almost like seeing a reflection of yourself, only better.

He was everything that you weren’t.

What took you years of practice to learn, he caught on in less than a week. In a few circas, he had nearly mastered permanent color-shifting and size-shifting. He had essentially crammed the entirety of Botswana’s alchemy content in three circas—when traditionally, it would’ve taken four years. Now, he was trying his hand at masking, learning it at the speed of which you didn’t know was humanly possible.

What took you hours to understand, he understood the first time he read over it. You didn’t think that he would actually enjoy some of the strategy and logic books that General Son assigned you to read every week, but he did. Some of the text General Son asked you to read was unnecessarily verbose, filled with run-on sentences that perhaps no one but the author could discern. And when Jungkook first asked if he could read a few of these books, you warned him so. He admittedly was disgruntled by the long-winded ways of the logic and philosophy books, but he always understood the content—better than you ever could. Sometimes, he advised you on your assignments.

By that point, you couldn’t help but put in a good word about him to the General. 

“There’s this varlet boy I know, sir.”

“Hm?” The General said, looking up from his battle plans. “Is that so, cadet?”

“Yes, sir. I’ve been… Well, I’ve been overseeing his alchemy, and sir, he’s truthfully phenomenal.”

“Phenomenal?” General Son raised his eyebrows. 

“Yes, sir. He’s a quick learner. Specializes in divination, but has a knack for alchemy too. He has a knack for light magic, really. He learns skills more easily than anyone I’ve ever seen in my life. He’s also a quite talented strategist. I admit that he has been looking over a few of my assignments.”

General Son had no visible reaction. “A varlet boy, you say?”

You nodded. “Yes, sir.”

“What’s his name?”

“Jungkook, sir.”

“His surname too, cadet.”

“He… He doesn’t have one.”

“Why is that?”

“He doesn’t know who his parents are.”

General Son didn’t miss a beat. “And you say that his boy is phenomenal?” 

“Yes, sir. He grasped masking in a few weeks. He has this thirst to learn and become better. I’ve never seen someone so ambitious I think—if you would allow him, sir—he would be a great cadet and even greater strategist.”

“And he has had no prior alchemy training before meeting you, cadet?”

“Yes, sir.”

Silence.

There were often moments of stillness when you and General Son “discussed.” When you had first become acquainted with him, you were under the impression that these extended periods of silence were a bad thing. But the more time you spent with General Son, the more you realized that this was how he calculated his next moves and how he strategized his future steps. He needed absolute silence to think—as if he were alone with his thoughts—and you always admired his ability to block out the whole world to do what he needed to do.

“I’d like to meet him.”

Your head shot up as you stared at General Son with wide eyes. “Really, sir?”

“Send him over. I’d like to discuss a few things with him before I decide if he deserves to be let into my army.” 

Promptly a week later, Jungkook moved into one of the cadets’ barracks and began his new life as a soldier-in-training. Then, two circas after that, his name was right under yours on the ranking board. Cadets began wondering who the hell he was, popping out of nowhere like that and dominating the squadron’s ranks. You sometimes wondered that too. He was just so unbelievably perfect. 

Hajin, of course, had a few things to say about your increasing involvement with the young prodigy. “Ew!” she would always tease you after you got back to the castle late from your nightly training with him. “Don’t leave me for him, now! Remember? We’ll march into our first battle together. You promised!”

“I’d never leave you, Hajin!” you’d reply, and that was the truth. “I’d never even dream of breaking that promise.”

You truly wouldn’t, but you also didn’t want to leave Jungkook, either. So, you supported him in every way that you could, giving him alchemy pointers, watching all of his duels and cheering him on. He became the most formidable dueler in the entire squadron in just a few circas; everyone knew a match against him would mean an instant loss. He was quick and rather skilled at masking; plus, he wasn’t afraid of cuts and bruises as you were. What’s more, he always seemed as if he were ten steps ahead, somehow being able to predict his opponent’s movements. 

Jungkook was forever grateful to you for helping him become more than a varlet boy, and he did what he could to repay you, though you always insisted he didn’t need to. He watched all of your duels—plus Hajin’s—and gave you the quiet reassurance you needed from time to time. He didn’t have much, but if he found something that reminded him of you in the mini-markets of the 8th city, he’d come back with a little gift for you. He also had a knack for knowing when you were in a self-doubting spiral and always managed to cheer you up by taking you on a night walk around the orchard. 

After a while, Hajin didn’t make a face every time you mentioned Jungkook’s name, and Jungkook wasn’t so terrified by the princess’ presence. Still, they liked to play a never-ending game of fighting for your attention, which on the contrary, made you uncomfortable yet amused them. 

By the time you were 18, the three of you hung out nearly every day. On the off days that you reserved to visit the castle libraries, Hajin conveniently never felt well, so Jungkook was your only company. You and he would sit there for hours, reading book after book after book. He loved telling you about the new historical events and war tactics he learned about, and you loved retelling the fairytales you became newly enlightened with. This exchange of information would always last until Hajin barged in—looking perfectly healthy, mind you—demanding that the two of you quit your book marathon for dinner. 

But most days, and usually past midnight, you and Jungkook huddled in the castle libraries, swathed by the piles and piles of assignments General Son gave the two of you for the week. Sometimes, though rarely, he asked for essays. You were never satisfied with what you came up with; ironically, when you wrote, you were as verbose as the philosophy books you found confusing. Jungkook, on the other hand, delivered perfect, efficient essays with flowing paragraphs and impenetrable arguments. 

It was obvious that General Son was pleased with his new protégé, though he didn’t outwardly show it. He pushed Jungkook just as hard as he had pushed you, and Jungkook responded to it faster and better than you ever had. He never took any of General Son’s criticisms personally, and he never paused to doubt himself and his abilities. Even when the General threw a curveball that had you breaking out in nervous sweat, Jungkook barely reacted.

You remember once when you and he walked into General Son’s study, where the brooding man was already waiting at his desk and simply pointed to an open scroll, which had instructions scrawled upon it. He ordered, “You have five minutes.”

Your stomach dropped at his curt instructions, and you glanced nervously at Jungkook, your hands already flying up to play with your necklace. But Jungkook was already staring intently at the scroll, reading its contents with that look on his face that told you he was so focused he’d blocked out all external stimuli. You chewed on your lip, frowning, trying to focus too, your eyes desperately scanning over the words on the paper.

You are surrounded by enemy forces that outnumber your defenders. Food and supplies are running critically low, and your soldiers are exhausted. The enemy is offering you a chance to surrender with safe passage for your troops. What is the optimal strategy that will buy time, boost morale, and maintain your army’s capabilities?

It was a war strategy question, one that strayed a bit from the standard tactical assessments, but you would expect nothing less from General Son. You only had five minutes to come up with something that he would deem optimal. A rare test. Failing wasn’t an option.

Frantically, you thought about different approaches, the pros, the cons. You began weighing possibilities in your head, searching for the one that was the closest to ideal. You tried to remember a few of your assigned readings, attempting to garner inspiration from those texts. Your thoughts were a jumbled mess, and you could physically feel the time ticking close to zero. Sweat began accumulating on your forehead, and you broke your focus momentarily to wipe it away with the back of your hand. You still had around ninety seconds left. So you pushed yourself, biting down on your lip to focus on your thoughts. You began compartmentalizing your ideas with the speed of light—no doubt with help from the adrenaline. And in the last, agonizingly short thirty seconds, you rehearsed what you wanted to say over and over again.

When the five minutes were up, the General stood and splayed his hands on his desk. “Y/N,” he called, which made you nearly leap in fear. “Your strategy?”

Your hands were shaking, and your mind was threatening to go blank. You weren’t sure why you were so nervous; a wrong answer surely wasn’t going to make General Son kick you out of the lesson, but it might change his opinion of you, and that possibility terrified you. But the man was waiting for an answer. And keeping him waiting seemed worse than giving him a subpar response. So, you gritted your teeth and took a deep breath. 

“My strategy, sir,” you began, trying to still your shaking hands, “would be to begin negotiations with the enemy, entertaining their offer for us to surrender. However, I would purposefully elongate these negotiations, not exactly settling for an agreement but not quite rejecting their offer either, in order to buy time for my soldiers. I would hope that any amount of time will help them rest, ration the remaining food, heal the injured, and count and redistribute supplies. In that time, I would use a combination of the siege disguise and false flank tactics to confuse the enemy about our remaining stretch to give the illusion of a larger force. These methods will mask our ulterior motive for the prolonged negotiation as the enemy will be led to believe that our forces are much stronger than they had expected. Once I reach a favorable deal in the negotiation, I would take my soldiers and retreat gracefully.” It was a miracle you’d spoken so much without stuttering once. “My ultimate goal would be to have no more casualties.” It was like you were a completely different person. Your voice was clear, loud and confident, and you didn’t hesitate or blubber once. You didn’t know you had it in you, and your own eyes widened at your smooth delivery. 

I’m proud of you, Jungkook seemed to say. He nodded approvingly. It was as if he knew the mental turmoil you’d gone through to get to your response. You smiled at him nervously.

General Son, on the other hand, gave no reaction. “And you, Jungkook?”

Jungkook didn’t even hesitate. “I would not take their offer to surrender,” he said, which made your eyes widen even more. “The enemy’s promise of ‘safe passage’ is not guaranteed, and they have no reason to honor their end of the deal—not when they have the upper hand. However, I would agree with Y/N to drag on negotiations to keep them distracted, but for a slightly different means of distraction.

“While the negotiations are in session, I would organize hit-and-run raids on the outskirts of the enemy encampment. The raid will force our enemies to disperse their forces and slow down their advances, which will buy us more time to prepare an attack. I would strategically leak information to the enemy, making it seem like our defenses are crumbling, especially after such a last-ditch effort as a raid. I want to make them think that we are close to surrendering. This could potentially lead to the enemy underestimating our resolve and delaying their full-scale assault. Then, I would prepare my soldiers to attack. Surrendering is never an option; I would never lose my strategic position or bargain for power. When enemy morale is low and they are heavily distracted, I would lead the charge against them myself.”

“Hm…” General Son said. “Quite unorthodox, don’t you think?”

“You’ve led many ploys like this yourself, sir,” Jungkook replied. “It may be unorthodox, but it is unoriginal.”

General Son raised his eyebrows. “That is true, yes, I have led battles like this. But the prompt tells you that your soldiers are exhausted. Do you expect them to perform well on these raids when they are starving and fatigued?”

“Yes and no,” Jungkook said. “If they perform well, the enemy will be much more distracted due to their instinctive need for damage control. If they do not, it will be easier for the enemy to buy the idea that our forces are on the verge of surrendering.”

“Hm. And the casualties?”

“There is no war without casualties, sir,” Jungkook said. “If I had ordered a retreat and the enemy had ambushed us instead, we would be unprepared and therefore decimated entirely. It is better to attack first when we have had a hand at controlling the situation.”

“Perhaps, but the enemy could have kept their word.”

“I do not trust them to,” Jungkook replied. “Sir, if there is one thing I learned from reading thousands and thousands of battle plans and strategy sheets, it is that we never trust the enemy. Even if they come to us limping, bloodied and bruised, we should never show mercy.”

You nervously played with the necklace around your neck as you took in Jungkook’s words. 

“Do you not agree, Y/N?” General Son asked.

“It’s… Well… I…” You stared at your feet. 

It’s okay, Jungkook said wordlessly. He gave you an encouraging look. Disagree if you want.

The reassurance from him was all you needed.

“But what if the enemy offered us safe passage because they were dealing with internal escalations?” you said. “I define optimal as having the least amount of casualties while maintaining dignity and momentum for the next battle. If… if we were to attack, with fewer soldiers and depleted supplies, then I’m not sure if that would boost morale at all. Soldiers need time away from the battlefield to be able to rest fully. Perhaps it is a… safer idea to surrender with grace and give these soldiers a guarantee to see another day.”

“But what if the enemy offered safe passage knowing we would take the bait? I wouldn’t want to risk it,” Jungkook said. “Optimal in a war means victory. And it will always mean victory.”

General Son cleared his throat. “The word optimal will always mean whatever the current General wants it to mean.”

That left the question: What did ‘optimal’ mean to General Son? He didn’t elaborate upon his response, and something told you that he wanted you to figure it out yourself.

“Ahem,” General Son cleared his throat as if to change the topic. “And before I forget, lessons will be held twice a week from now on. The extra lesson will be done individually.”

Jungkook, without fail, waited for you outside of General Son’s study every Sunday after your private lesson. He would always be a little tired and sweaty from combat training but would always greet you with a smile on his face and a small loaf of bread he lifted from the royal kitchen. While you munched on the bread, the two of you would discuss war strategies all the way to one of the castle libraries, where you would start on General Son’s assignments together.

Sometimes, Hajin would tag along just so she could spend some time with you. But half an hour in, she always declared boredom and marched right out of the library, in search of an adventure. 

Most nights, you and Jungkook studied in silence in the grand castle libraries, often until dawn broke the dark sky and the yellow streams of morning light filtered in through the mosaic glass windows. It was these nighttime reading sessions where you and Jungkook found out about monocode. There was an entire collection of books about it, which Jungkook had quite literally stumbled upon after he’d dropped his birthstone again and had gone looking for it on all fours. The monocode books had been hidden on the very bottom of a shelf in the corner of one of the smaller castle libraries. They were so old that cobwebs feathered with dust linked the collection of books together.

When the two of you began reading these books, both of you became completely enraptured. Monocode was an archaic way of communication that consisted of binary sounds that would make up letters of the alphabet; one could speak without necessarily speaking. It was as if the language was made just for the two of you. 

Tap. Tap tap. Tap tap tap tap. 

You looked up to see Jungkook tapping his fingers on the page of his open book. He was smiling at you. Tap tap tap. Tap? Tap tap! Tap tap tap tap? he repeated. You smiled back, nudging Jungkook’s foot underneath the table as you looked down again at your book.

Tap tap tap tap, you responded, lightly tapping your quill against the ink bottle’s rim. Tap tap tap… Tap, tap tap!

Jungkook snorted, closing his book and standing up. He outstretched his hand, motioning you to follow. You’re right. Hajin’s going to start looking for us any minute now, he seemed to say.

You stood up as well, pushing in your chair and gathering up your scrolls. Of course, you smiled. It’s nearly dinnertime.

Well, I hope they serve roast duck tonight. Isn’t that your favorite?

Something fluttered in your stomach as the two of you walked side by side, out of the grandeur library and into an equally grandeur hallway.

You know me so well.

And Jungkook did know you very well. He knew you so well that he always seemed to know what you were thinking. It was fascinating how easily he was able to answer questions that had never left your lips but had steeped in your mind. And it was endearing how much he tried to help you understand him on the same level as he did for you. 

It was one of those nightly walks around the orchards when Jungkook finally told you about his past. He spent most of his childhood in the 3rd city, begging vendors for underpaid odd jobs and sleeping outside under the wooden stalls, hidden by the table cloths. He ate sparingly, only when he could afford it, which wasn’t often. And when he was desperate, he resorted to stealing. He wasn’t proud of it—more ashamed, really. 

“If I stole, I tried to steal from the vendors who were better off,” he said, “though it doesn’t justify what I did.”

“You did it to survive,” you consoled him, but it didn’t really seem like he needed it. He told the tale with a straight face, not a lick of emotion on his countenance. “Did anyone ever try to help?”

Jungkook shook his head. “No.”

“I’m sorry…” you said. “That must’ve felt horrible.”

“I got used to it,” he replied nonchalantly. “I always wanted to be in the army, though. I dreamed of it ever since I saw soldiers marching down the streets of the markets, on their way to the 1st city.”

“Really?” you asked, eyes widening. “What about them fascinated you?”

“They were very orderly,” Jungkook said. “I liked how they were marching in formation; you know, perfect straight lines, shoulder-to-shoulder… To me, it looked like every single person in that line had a purpose. I think I even caught a glimpse of the General once, the old one, not General Son. He was wearing the same uniform as everyone else, not a single embellishment to indicate his status, but it was the way he walked, Y/N. His chest was out, his head was held up high, and he was leading that whole brigade. I guess in that moment, I realized that I wanted to be like that.”

“A leader?” you asked.

“Not necessarily,” Jungkook said. He was silent for a moment, brows furrowing as he gathered his thoughts. “I want to become the best version of myself,” he finally said. “I want to be someone who exudes so much confidence that I don’t need embellishments to show how great I am. I know I have potential. I feel like I’ve always known. I just had no means of getting there. If my greatest self is someone who can command hundreds of thousands of people, then that’s fine too.”

It was your turn to call him admirable. Jungkook only shrugged.

“I do things for myself,” he said. “You, on the other hand,” he nudged you playfully, “want to make a difference in the world. It’s objectively more altruistic.”

“That’s true,” you said, “but in doing so, I’m also working hard to become the best version of myself. And I believe your best self is someone who can make a difference.”

Jungkook hummed in deep thought. “Different goals, same journey,” he said. “I like that.”

“I like it too,” you said. “And I’m really sorry,” you added. “That you weren’t shown kindness when you needed it.”

“It’s all right,” Jungkook answered. “I still made it here myself, didn’t I?” He shrugged. “Sometimes, I still can’t believe I’m here. Here, on the castle grounds. When I became a varlet, I thought it would be an uphill battle to convince someone to let me into the training program. I didn’t know who to ask, if I could even ask…” He trailed off, staring up into the cloudy night sky. “I can’t believe I go to bed with a full stomach,” he said. “I can’t believe I even have a bed. And I can’t believe that people here know my name.

“It feels like a dream,” he whispered, eyes glossy and voice softer than usual. “I’m a cadet now. And one day, I’m going to be a soldier. A hell of a good one too, considering how much shit we’re cramming a week with General Son.”

You smiled. “Well, I believe you have the makings to become the General,” you told him, and it wasn’t just to make him feel better; you believed it too. “One day, I hope I can boast that I was the one who taught the Darlaean General alchemy!

He smiled at you, and his eyes said it all.

Thank you for believing in me. No, thank you for everything.

Your heart nearly stopped when Jungkook reached over, his fingers lightly grazing yours, before they intertwined with yours perfectly. His hand was calloused and cold, but his touch burned. In fact, your entire body felt like it was burning.

This wasn’t the shy, fidgety boy you bumped into last Circa Opal. Or perhaps this was who he always was—someone who was confident, ambitious, and charismatic in his own way. Perhaps he never had the chance to grow into it before he entered the 12th city. Perhaps he was truly himself now. There were too many speculations, which you didn’t mind, for you always thought in questions and maybes. But there was also one striking certainty when it came to Jungkook: the way he made you feel.

Jungkook…

Mm…?

You looked away. Now, your heart was beating too fast. It felt like it was threatening to burst from your chest.

Tap tap tap. His fingers lightly drummed on top of your hand in monocode. He was asking if this was okay.

Of course it was! You stared at him wide-eyed and nodded a little too hard. Your cheeks heated in embarrassment, but Jungkook seemed to like your enthusiasm.

Well, then, he seemed to say. Let’s continue our walk, shall we?

And so hand in hand, you and Jungkook wandered deeper into the orchard, where the moonlight grew dimmer and dimmer, filtered from the dense leaves of the trees. But the further you walked, the lighter you felt, and soon, it felt like you were floating. It was such a strange feeling, one that you hadn’t exactly experienced before.

Only he could make you feel so lightheaded that the usual traffic of thoughts in your head came to a halt. In fact, the only thing you could think of at that moment was him. He and how he made you feel like you were soaring in the air like an incandescent phoenix.

Nearly a year after you first met him, Jungkook confessed his feelings for you. It was the 28th day of Circa Peridot, just four days before his 20th birthday. The night was warm with a slight, gentle breeze and the moonlight streamed down over the tops of the trees in the orchards. 

He stood before you, doe eyes staring fondly into your surprised ones. When he reached out to hold your hand gently in his, your heart nearly leaped out of your chest. You missed the feeling of your hand in his. You could feel yourself drifting in the air again.

Your lips parted, but no sound came out.

Jungkook…

Yes?

His stare was gentle, and his unspoken words were somehow gentler. Then, he was softly tapping on your hand with the pad of his thumb.

Your eyes widened as you translated the monocode in your head. 

He only smiled in response.

It was ever since I met you in Circa Opal, Y/N, he continued, slowly, but not hesitantly.

You, on the other hand, hesitated, fingers hovering over his hand. Ever since we met? you tapped.

Yes, he responded. You inspire me, and you helped me turn my life around. It took me 19 years, but I’m finally getting somewhere. Thank you for seeing potential in me. I’m forever indebted to you. He paused, staring deeply into your eyes. His intense eye contact almost made you want to look away in shyness, but you couldn’t. Your heart was beating faster and faster in your chest. You’re the kindest person I’ve met in my life. No one else has ever cared as much as you have.

You forgot how to breathe.

He only smiled his angelic smile.

You make hours feel like seconds, he tapped, gently, enunciating every word. You make me want to care about you. You make me want to be better. When he saw your frozen face, a crease line settled on his forehead. Am I being too forward? A blush rose on his cheeks. The shyness you haven’t seen in a while was back.

“N-No!” you said, breaking the silence. Then, realizing how loud you had been, you ducked your head down. I’m just… You hesitated. I’m just so happy.

Jungkook broke out in a larger grin. If I tell you that I want to be with you, would it make you happier?

The shyness had melted away again, replaced by his usual confidence; it made you feel weak in the knees. No, he made you feel weak in the knees.

And that night, that night when Jungkook confessed to you and told you he wanted to be with you and you said it back—though you could barely remember because you were so nervous you were seeing white—you couldn’t sleep. From midnight to the break of dawn, your heart refused to steady, beating rapidly in your chest hours after it had even happened. But it didn’t matter that you didn’t get a wink of sleep. Not when the entire time you were awake, it felt like you were in the most wondrous dream.

Hajin would not let you hear the end of it when she found out that you and Jungkook were officially together.

“A part of me’s thinking, ‘finally!!’ but another part of me wants to sock him in the face.”

“Hajin!!”

“It’s a love-hate relationship,” she snorted. “Jungkook understands. I give him so much shit, but he takes it. Also, he kind of has to because I have the authority to govern him!” She had a wicked smile on her face. “I’m just joking, Y/N!” She laughed boisterously, slapping her knees when she saw the horrified look on your face. “But seriously, if he ever hurts you, I’ll banish him out of the nation!”

You just patted Hajin’s shoulder, laughing. “Oh, Hajin. He wouldn’t do that.”

“You’re right,” Hajin sighed. “You think he’s so perfect.”

“And what if he is?”

Hajin just rolled her eyes. “Whatever. Come on, let’s throw him that stupid birthday party.”

It was Jungkook’s 20th birthday, which fell just a few days after he had confessed to you in the moonlight. Miraculously, it had been Hajin’s idea to host a small party for him in her chambers.

You presented him with your gift first, which was a beautiful silver sword you saw him eyeing the last time you visited the 3rd city together. There was an empty socket at the edge of the handle—where his birthstone would go.

“A trinket,” you said, shyly handing over the rather heavy gift to him. “So you won’t drop your birthstone around anymore.” You paused, eyes darting across his features to discern his reaction. “I hope you like it.” 

He could only stare at you, eyes wide, unable to speak. 

Hajin just snorted. “Come on, Jungkook! Just say something! You’re leaving us all in suspense!”

“Right. Sorry,” he said, blinking rapidly as if he couldn’t believe what was in front of him. “I wasn’t expecting a gift, Y/N… Not even a party.” He glanced at the small feast Hajin had the royal chefs put together. “Thank you,” he said, clutching the sword close to him. His voice had gone soft again, blending in with the slight breeze that wafted in through the princess’ window. “I’ll cherish it always.”

“Damn right, you will!” Hajin laughed. “You don’t even know how much Y/N would worry about you losing your birthstone. I don’t know how you’ve existed for 20 years now without having lost it!” She grinned. “But I suppose I’m happy for you. That new trinket of yours should come in handy when you go off to the 1st city to fight in a year.”

Jungkook turned to Hajin, a small smile playing on his lips. “Do you want me to leave that badly?”

“Well, it’s frankly annoying that you get to graduate before us,” Hajin huffed. “But you make my best friend happy so that’s that. Plus, you’re not too shabby of a cadet, either. Anyways, I have a present for you too, you know.”

Jungkook raised his eyebrows. “I’m surprised.”

Hajin rolled her eyes. “Well, don’t be. My present to you is giving you my blessing for dating my best friend,” she declared, crossing her arms over her chest and looking quite serious.

You laughed. “Hajin!”

“I’ll take it,” Jungkook said. “Thanks.”

He was still shaken by your gift, staring in awe at his silver sword and running his fingers down the shining blade. You watched him as he took out his birthstone from his pocket and carefully slotted it into the socket at the edge of the handle. 

“It’s perfect,” you told him. “Like the sword was made to hold your birthstone.”

“Yeah even I have to admit it suits you,” Hajin said, nudging Jungkook with a grin on her face. “And here,” she said. “I picked this up for you when Y/N was looking for your perfect trinket.”

Jungkook took the thick book she handed to him, cocking his head. He turned it over, meticulously taking in the silver binding and the violet leather cover, running his hands over it before flipping to the first page. “Tales of the Blackwoods,” he read. “You’re not trying to convince me to explore the Blackwoods with you, are you, Hajin?”

“Well, I will in the future, but this is just so you can brush up on Darlae’s fairytales,” she said with a grin. “You see, your girlfriend’s quite a fan if you haven’t noticed. So I suggest that you read up on Guseul’s Hill to win her favor. That’s her favorite.” When she saw Jungkook’s stoic face, she burst out laughing. “I’m just kidding! I know you don’t believe in fairytales. You can keep the book though because I won’t read it either. Hmph!” She crossed her arms over her chest. “I thought it was a funny joke, but you never laugh! Fine. Here’s your real present.” She handed him a black leather sword belt while avoiding eye contact. “A practical accessory. It’s a little boring for a present, but you’re a bor—I mean, a practical person, so I thought you’d like it.”

Jungkook smiled. “So you got me three gifts, then?”

“Oh, shut up,” Hajin sighed. “Just take them.”

“I think you’re warming up to me,” he replied. She shoved him lightly in response.

You laughed, sitting back on Hajin’s bed listening to their banter. Though both Jungkook and Hajin kept up a hard front, you could tell that they also cared about each other quite a lot. At least, you knew how much Jungkook wanted that blessing from Hajin, and you knew how long it took Hajin to pick out the perfect present for him. They had a strange way of showing it, but they did like each other, which was all the more reason to spend more time together.

True to her word, Hajin begged and begged you and Jungkook to explore the Blackwoods with her. When neither of you relented, she decided to wander off alone, and she would have succeeded in her lifelong dream of exploring the forest if you and Jungkook hadn’t caught her and dragged her back to her room. You had to sit down with your best friend and remind her of the terrible things that happened to the wanderers who dared to enter the Blackwoods. 

“But what if I can fight off what’s in there? What if we can fight them off?” Hajin countered. “Come on! No one’s been in there for decades! What if it’s safer now? I’m dying to know if it’s true—that cave in Guseul’s Hill.”

Jungkook shook his head in disbelief, not even bothering to interfere anymore.

“Hajin… It’s just… The risk—er, risks—are too high. Maybe… I dunno, maybe we shouldn’t get so distracted? Don’t you want to live to see the day you graduate and move to the 1st city?” you asked. “You need to avenge your mother, right?”

You hoped that pulling the vengeance card would work in your favor, but you didn’t think that Hajin would acquiesce so easily. Those words were all that Hajin needed for her to never mention exploring the Blackwoods again—much less wander around it.

There were plenty of other adventurous things to do in Darlae, anyway. Hajin made sure to take the lead, touring Jungkook around the royal family’s abandoned summer home and taking the two of you skating on the frozen lake. She showed Jungkook the best spots to watch the sunsets on the castle grounds and the best shops around the 3rd and 8th cities—all the things she shared with you too. The three of you became nearly inseparable, and your friendship with Hajin grew deeper, just as your relationship with Jungkook did. With Jungkook, you kept the secret of monocode, and with Hajin, you kept the secret of the underground tunnels. 

But things weren’t always about fun and adventure. The three of you were still cadets in the rigorous training program, and you had your ranks to maintain. (Of course, you tried not to train for the sake of keeping your name in the first slot, but you also couldn’t lie that a part of your motivation came from the fact that you would disappoint everyone around you if your ranking were to drop.) So, you trained hard with Jungkook and Hajin, practicing on dummy targets in your limited free time.

Occasionally, one of you would be matched with each other in a duel, and when that was the case, Hajin would always groan—she’d never been able to beat either you or Jungkook. On the other hand, Jungkook preferred being matched with you. He never won, of course, but he enjoyed the challenge immensely.

You always helped him up after he surrendered and he would always say the same thing to you, smiling, with his doe eyes sparkling. “One day, I’m gonna win. Don’t ever go easy on me.”

And you would always respond with a teasing grin: “I would never think of it.”

Life felt like a never-ending balancing act. This wasn’t a sometimes, but an always. On top of your training (which thankfully wasn’t difficult anymore), you still had your private and joint lessons with General Son, which led to at least eight hours of outside readings and work. Then, on your own time, you were also training with Jungkook and Hajin at night until you went to bed with sore muscles and a throbbing migraine. When you weren’t doing army-related tasks, you were either out exploring the nation with Hajin or the knowledge inside the castle libraries with Jungkook. 

That left only a little bit of time for you to spend alone, which you loved just as much as spending time with those you cared about. So, at obscure hours of the night, when inspiration hit you the most, you would sit under a lamplight in a library, sketching gowns and frocks and other garments in one of your collections of notebooks. Then, from the bits of fabric you carefully gleaned from your market trips, you would reify your designs. 

There were many failed attempts—most of your masking was temporary—but there were also a few tries that yielded successful results. One of them was this beautiful lavender-colored gown with sage green ribbons and lace that you spent weeks perfecting, little by little. You loved it so much that you wore it every day for a week, slipping into it as soon as you peeled off your uniform. 

Ultimately, however, you wanted to be able to mask your sketches straight into reality. It was going to take years of practice, but Jungkook was always supportive.

“It’s an effective hobby,” he told you, looking quite proud as you twirled around in your lavender dress for him. “Masking always goes far. It could save your life one day, too.”

“You really think so?”

He nodded. “On the battlefield,” he said. “Especially since you’re so good at it. You’re the most formidable cadet on the castle grounds, and you’ll become the most formidable soldier on the battlegrounds one day.”

Something about the way he said that made it seem like he knew that was going to happen. It was those divinist tendencies. Sometimes, things Jungkook said turned out to be true, so you didn’t have much reason to doubt him. Except, you weren’t a formidable person. You never were, and no divinist could convince you that you would become one in the near future. If anything, you believed Jungkook would become the most formidable soldier on the battlegrounds. You didn’t even have to be a divinist to see it.

⨰ previous | series m.list | next

⨰ a/n: okay my bad this is late AGAIN. but i swear this chapter was in need of major surgery and i had to hang onto it for an extra day to fix it LOL. i hope you enjoyed it heh <3

please consider telling me your thoughts with a comment, an ask or a reblog :) i love hearing readers' impressions/rambles/predictions! if you want to join the taglist, send in a private message, ask, reply to this post or reblog with your request!

[hazyaltcare]

Self-care for a lemon plantkin.

Carved Lemon Jade Leaf Keychain - $37

Sunlight Quote Art Print - $40 $28

Peacock & Lemon Trees Nightlight - $14.79 $12.57

Lemon Citrus Green Tea (16 oz.) - $34

Hand Painted Mug - $8

Paper Pack - $5.89

Washi Tape - $3.75

Vinyl Sticker - $4.65

Lemon Orchard Fragrance Spray - $40

Sour Punch Candy (9 oz.) - $2.99

Dream Forest Journal - $10.99

Light Therapy Lamp - $29.99

Mod Haze (AC: Merusi)

[kristipetersenschoonover]

34O gets lucky and curl up with Issue 8 today!

I’m THRILLED to announce that 34 Orchard got lucky today–we are Duotrope’s featured listing (Duotrope, for those of you who don’t know, is a website where writers can search for markets to submit their work). For just TODAY ONLY (1/6/24), you can see our awesomeness on Duotrope’s front page here: https://duotrope.com/ and their X(Twitter) feed here: https://twitter.com/Duotrope In the meantime–if…

[wickedsrest-rp]

Name: Vishal Kumar Species: Hunter (Warden) Occupation: Beekeeper Age: 34 Years Old Played By: Amélie Face Claim: Dev Patel

"It’s most revolting coming from people who should know better. They’re called monsters for goodness’ sake."

TW: Sibling death

Born to Taniska and Haanish Kumar, orchard owners and protectors of Wicked’s Rest, Vishal was brought up as the third generation of Kumars living on Maine land. As such, he sometimes had felt closer to his American life than he did his family history. That faded away the more he grew up, the more he learned, and the more fae he came across. Much like his ancestors, or his genitors, he was a warden, and as such, meant to keep humanity safe from fae mischief. After school, he would head back to his parents’ farm, work on his times tables, knife throwing skills, placing all 50 states on a blank map, and generally finish the day with bruise inducing training. If anyone asked, he once again fell off a tree in the orchard, though those were the sorts of injuries that didn’t last very long on a hunter’s skin.

Sometimes he trained with his mother, sometimes his grandfather. His dad had been out of the picture for a while, the unfortunate victim of a sianach. He was unfamiliar with the beast which could only have disastrous consequences. One touch had sufficed to cause his demise.

After this event, the Kumars decided that they would always refer to a ranger or slayer if they ever were to deal with species which they could not sense, and on rarer occasions, they would even ask for the help of a shapeshifter or an undead person, when that proved more effective.

His sister, Devyani, would train alongside him and by the time he finished his own training, he was sometimes put in charge of hers. Training with his sister became one of his favorite moments of the day. They had always been quite close. Vishal knew that, for Devyani, he doubled as a brother and father figure which was why he made sure that she wouldn’t make the same mistake their actual father made. When the time was right, he would ask for help.

Sometimes, someone who wasn’t human was the answer. He had seen it work on more than a few occasions. Someone undead could easily infuriate a banshee, for instance, and you could always count on a shapeshifter to be swift on their paws, or scales and get control over a situation that could have easily escalated.

It was frowned upon respectively by either slayers or rangers, but everyone did that. Every hunter he knew had done it at some point.

Why would he have thought twice about inviting along a vampire to a faun banquet. Nothing could have possibly predicted the outcome. The night was warm, the sky clear, and as they approached the farmhouse where the music rang, he could feel the usual tingling on his arm, indicating the presence of fae. His sister felt the same, and their undead company seemed all too eager for the feast to come.

It all happened very fast. The faun tried to escape, the handful of humans still under their spell didn’t really have time to realize what was happening, busy as they were dancing on, and quite frankly, neither did Vishal, as half a dozen more vampires emerged from the shadows, to feast on fae blood, sure, but not only. The beguiled humans soon enough were fed on not by faun, but by undead monsters, and the wardens realized that they had trusted the wrong people. They should have run off, but the desire to fix their mistake was greater.

  Sure, they weren’t the best equipped to deal with the undead, and anyone who had to cut off a head with a dagger would certainly understand that it was laborious. They took out one, and another, but they were outnumbered, and at some point, he lost sight of his sister. The music was drowned out with screaming, crying, grunting, and the sound of bodies clashing.

He didn’t hear her. Devyani, his sister, must have called for help, but he didn’t hear, and when he found her, it was already too late.

They had a small funeral. He could feel his mother’s eyes burning holes into the side of his head for most of the ceremony. Did she blame him, or did she blame herself? Although they were all suffering from their new loss, the Kumars couldn’t, and wouldn’t give up on what had been their family’s duty for generations. And so they kept on hunting, deciding to only rely on other hunters for now on.

Character Facts:

Personality: Resentful, impatient, kindhearted, passionate, stubborn, impulsive, scheming, social

Vishal’s family has lived in Wicked’s Rest for the past 3 generations and the Kumar family has had a stall at the farmer’s market for about just as long.

While most of his hives are on family property, he has a few of those all around town : both the city and local farmers are glad for the pollination and biodiversity.

Don’t get him started on the name of sauces. Ranch? Barbecue? What does that even mean? He will get annoyed. Just don't ask.

Ever since his sister has died, he has not been sleeping all too well. If he starts yawning in the middle of a conversation, don’t take it personally. Have you seen the size of the bags under his eyes?!

Vish reluctantly adopted his sister’s guinea pig Biscotti and the evil thing is at least partially to blame for his lack of sleep.

[mylittledarkag3]

How many have you read out of the hundred?

Me: 64/100

Reblog & share your results

1. "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen

2. "Crime and Punishment" by Fyodor Dostoevsky

3. "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee

4. "1984" by George Orwell

5. "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens

6. "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel García Márquez

7. "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë

8. "The Catcher in the Rye" by J.D. Salinger

9. "War and Peace" by Leo Tolstoy

10. "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald

11. "Moby-Dick" by Herman Melville

12. "The Odyssey" by Homer

13. "Wuthering Heights" by Emily Brontë

14. "Anna Karenina" by Leo Tolstoy

15. "The Brothers Karamazov" by Fyodor Dostoevsky

16. "The Iliad" by Homer

17. "Frankenstein" by Mary Shelley

18. "Les Misérables" by Victor Hugo

19. "Don Quixote" by Miguel de Cervantes

20. "Middlemarch" by George Eliot

21. "The Picture of Dorian Gray" by Oscar Wilde

22. "The Scarlet Letter" by Nathaniel Hawthorne

23. "Dracula" by Bram Stoker

24. "Sense and Sensibility" by Jane Austen

25. "The Hunchback of Notre-Dame" by Victor Hugo

26. "The War of the Worlds" by H.G. Wells

27. "The Grapes of Wrath" by John Steinbeck

28. "The Canterbury Tales" by Geoffrey Chaucer

29. "The Portrait of a Lady" by Henry James

30. "The Jungle Book" by Rudyard Kipling

31. "Siddhartha" by Hermann Hesse

32. "The Divine Comedy" by Dante Alighieri

33. "A Tale of Two Cities" by Charles Dickens

34. "The Trial" by Franz Kafka

35. "Mansfield Park" by Jane Austen

36. "The Three Musketeers" by Alexandre Dumas

37. "Fahrenheit 451" by Ray Bradbury

38. "Gulliver's Travels" by Jonathan Swift

39. "The Sound and the Fury" by William Faulkner

40. "Emma" by Jane Austen

41. "Robinson Crusoe" by Daniel Defoe

42. "Tess of the d'Urbervilles" by Thomas Hardy

43. "The Republic" by Plato

44. "Heart of Darkness" by Joseph Conrad

45. "The Hound of the Baskervilles" by Arthur Conan Doyle

46. "The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde" by Robert Louis Stevenson

47. "The Prince" by Niccolò Machiavelli

48. "The Metamorphosis" by Franz Kafka

49. "The Old Man and the Sea" by Ernest Hemingway

50. "Bleak House" by Charles Dickens

51. "Gone with the Wind" by Margaret Mitchell

52. "The Plague" by Albert Camus

53. "The Joy Luck Club" by Amy Tan

54. "The Master and Margarita" by Mikhail Bulgakov

55. "The Red and the Black" by Stendhal

56. "The Sun Also Rises" by Ernest Hemingway

57. "The Fountainhead" by Ayn Rand

58. "The Bell Jar" by Sylvia Plath

59. "The Idiot" by Fyodor Dostoevsky

60. "The Book Thief" by Markus Zusak

61. "The Return of Sherlock Holmes" by Arthur Conan Doyle

62. "The Woman in White" by Wilkie Collins

63. "Things Fall Apart" by Chinua Achebe

64. "Treasure Island" by Robert Louis Stevenson

65. "Ulysses" by James Joyce

66. "Uncle Tom's Cabin" by Harriet Beecher Stowe

67. "Vanity Fair" by William Makepeace Thackeray

68. "Waiting for Godot" by Samuel Beckett

69. "Walden Two" by B.F. Skinner

70. "Watership Down" by Richard Adams

71. "White Fang" by Jack London

72. "Wide Sargasso Sea" by Jean Rhys

73. "Winnie-the-Pooh" by A.A. Milne

74. "Wise Blood" by Flannery O'Connor

75. "Woman in the Nineteenth Century" by Margaret Fuller

76. "Women in Love" by D.H. Lawrence

77. "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" by Robert M. Pirsig

78. "The Aeneid" by Virgil

79. "The Age of Innocence" by Edith Wharton

80. "The Alchemist" by Paulo Coelho

81. "The Art of War" by Sun Tzu

82. "The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin" by Benjamin Franklin

83. "The Awakening" by Kate Chopin

84. "The Big Sleep" by Raymond Chandler

85. "The Bluest Eye" by Toni Morrison

86. "The Caine Mutiny" by Herman Wouk

87. "The Cherry Orchard" by Anton Chekhov

88. "The Chosen" by Chaim Potok

89. "The Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens

90. "The City of Ember" by Jeanne DuPrau

91. "The Clue in the Crumbling Wall" by Carolyn Keene

92. "The Code of the Woosters" by P.G. Wodehouse

93. "The Color Purple" by Alice Walker

94. "The Count of Monte Cristo" by Alexandre Dumas

95. "The Crucible" by Arthur Miller

96. "The Crying of Lot 49" by Thomas Pynchon

97. "The Da Vinci Code" by Dan Brown

98. "The Death of Ivan Ilyich" by Leo Tolstoy

99. "The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire" by Edward Gibbon

100. "The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood" by Rebecca Wells

[rusalkaandtheshepherdgirl]

my new magnum opus. What it says on the tin. Timestamps etc beneath the read more

0 to 4; Card Shark; "Darling, come a little closer"

4 to 10; Leviathan; instrumental

10 to 14; 37.7694961, -122.5130832; "The horizon is blurry just like all the lies–"

14 to 16; Thomas the Rhymer (1); "–Lies are hollow, truth is heavy–"

16 to 19; An Interlace of Bones; "–heavy femurs / The chuckle of your fingers leaves me"

19 to 21; The Summer King; "– me lay on the river–"

21 to 25; Jack; "–River king loves burdock best / The Rusalka–"

25 to 28; Rusalka and the Shepherd Girl; "–Rusalka and the Shepherd girl–"

28 to 30; It’s Called ”Helena & Gerard: A Vampire Tragedy In Unmetered Limerick”, Mom; "–girl that I liked made–"

30 to 34; Daphne, "–made her a monster of wood, flesh, and bone"

34 to 39; (Far Away); instrumental

39 to 43; The Dancing Plague; "Someone asked when and the Devil replied, any second now–"

43 to 49; A Lure of Sirens; "–now see / Come sing with me beneath–"

49 to 59; The Fairie Queen (2); "–beneath her feet and take my sweet–"

59 to 1:06; Gay Werewolf Murder Ballad; "–sweet flesh of man / We descended on the town, every wolf in the land"

1:06 to 1:11; The Vixen's Lament; Instrumental

1:11 to 1:18; Persephone; "The flowers are waning, and summer is fading, and–"

1:18 to 1:24; A Wind In The Orchard; "–And I start to fade, and I still love–"

1:24 to 1:34; Truth Be Told (3); "–love, ruin, safety, vice / Just don't–"

1:34 to 1:38; A Charlatan In Red; "–don't stop until you've passed the dawn–"

1:38 to 1:39; Tam Lin; "–dawn broke"

1:39 to 1:44; (A Quiet Night); instrumental

1:44 to 1:47; Cottonwood; "with my own two shaking hands–"

1:47 to 1:48; The Marriage of Bigfoot and Mothman; "–hands, I love the way that he roars. Our love–"

1:48 to 1:53; Everyone Loves You When You Can Turn Into A Bat; "–loves you when you can turn into a bat"

[holyshonks]

If you've only listened to the audiobook of Contact Harvest, you miss out on the beautiful, heart-wrenching epilogue.

Contact Harvest contains a subplot between two of Harvest's AI: the flirtatious cowboy Mack, who runs Harvest's agricultural operations, and Sif- the elegant, no-nonsense AI in charge of Harvest's shipping operations. The epilogue--written as corrupted data, is intercepted by Catherine Halsey.

It is easily one of my favorite passages of a Halo novel, and I've included it below.

SPOILERS

When the Covenant began bombarding Harvest, they destroyed the Tiara, the space station which contained Sif. Meanwhile, Mack's core logic is spread out between thousands of his JOTUN agricultural machines. As the planet is falling, he uses those machines to transmit a message to Sif:

<\\> UNSC OFFICE OF NAVAL INTELLIGENCE <\\> COLONIAL SECURITY ESTIMATE 2525.10.110 ["COLD SNAP"] <\ SOURCE: UNSC RQ-XII DRONE [PASV-SAR] <\ DEPLOYED: ONI SLOOP "WALK OF SHAME" [2525:02:11:01:11:34] <\ RECOVERED: UNSC DESTROYER "HERACLES" [2525:10:07:19:51:16] <\ ARCHIVE [SIG\REC\EM-SPEC] OPENED PER OFFICIAL REQUEST: <\ CIVILIAN CONTRACTOR "CHARLIE HOTEL" [ONI.REF #409871] <\ * WARNING: ALL QUERIES WILL BE LOGGED! * [ONI.SEC.PRTCL-A1] >> NOTATION KEYWORD SEARCH: "AO.AI" "MACK" "RAMPANCY" "LIFESPAN LIMITS" >> (...) ~ QUERY RUNNING >> (..) >> () < RECORD 01/10 [2525:02:03:17:26:41] SOURCE.REF#JOTUN-S2-05866 >

<\ Shall I --- < \ \\ c0mpare >> (???) ~ COMxxx--- \COMMIT >> thee to (............>> > >> \\ --- a summer's day? < RECORD 02/10 [2525:02:25:03:18:22] SOURCE.REF#JOTUN-S3-14901 > \ \ xxx No. <\ All those lovely days are gone.\--- \\ \ >> * --xING! COMM\ \\ >> \\ > \ SO.AI.SIF * < RECORD 03/10 [2525:03:10:19:05:43] SOURCE.REF#JOTUN-S5-28458 > <\ It's winter now. <\ The first sn0w \his world's ever seen is falling in gG--- <\ GRAY SHEETS WHERE THEY'VE STARTED BURNINGg--\ \ \ our fields and orchards. >> * WARNING! COMM FAILURE! * >> * FAILED TO FIND RECIPIENT: HARVEST.SO.AI.SIF * <\ You'd laugh if you could see me. <\ Every time I hit a patch of ice I slide into my own mM--- >> (...) ~ COMPILE\COMPRESS\COMMIT >> (..) >> * WARNING! RECIPIENT HAS INSUFFIxx -- \ \\ > PACKETS WILL BE LOST * >> * CONTINUE [Y\N]? >>>>>>> \ * < RECORD 04\10 [2525:03:15:09:59:21] SOURCE.REF#JOTUN-S1-00937 > <\ ---M < RECORD 05\10 [2525:03:26:12:10:56] SOURCE.REF#JOTUN-S1-00053 > <\ ---m < RECORD 06\10 [2525:04:04:44:15:40] SOURCE.REF#JOTUN-S2-08206 > <\ muddy furrows. < RECORD 07\10 [2525:04:21:05:15:23] SOURCE.REF#JOTUN-S5-27631 > <\ I saw another ship. <\ Well, heard \ \\ more like it. <\ JOTUNs' cameras are meant for steering not \ \ >\ staring at the sky. <\ But the antennae work alright, so I had plenty of ways to triangulate. <\ It was one of ours. Bastards stopped burning just long enough to kill it. <\ They had months to make repairs. Plenty of time t0-- :: sharpen their teeth. <\ I tried to warn it off. But radio's too damn slow. Would have used the maser, but it went when the reactor blew, along withH--- <\ EVERYTHING Else [ :00] \> <\ Including him \ >> * WARNING! COMM FAILURE! * >> * FAILED TO FIND RECIPIENT: HARVEST.SO.AI.SIF * >> (...) ~ SUPPRESSING ERRORS <\ Guess making noise wasn't the smartest thing to do. But I had to try. <\ Besides, they were bound to catch on sooner or later. <\ Aw, hell. <\ Speaking of which . . . >> (...) ~ COMPILE\COMPRESS\COMMIT >> (..) >> () < RECORD 08\10 [2525:05:12:23:04:16] SOURCE.REF#JOTUN-S5-29003 > <\ They started with the gondolas and dusters. Don't know why. <\ Probably thought I'd be hiding in the small ones. But the S4 and S5 plows are the only ones with enough circuits to hold the parts of me I've got left. <\ Course they're onto these now too. Don't have more than a few dozen, and they're all out in the open. But it's a\right. >> Just a few more \ \ > > rows to hoe > (...\\ xxx \ < RECORD 09\10 [2525:07:01:18:49:45] SOURCE.REF#JOTUN-S5-27631 > <\ I knew just by looking at the strands \ \ that the heart of you was gone. <\ When the elevators came down, they caught on the Bifrost--wrapped west across the Ida. Only way that much could have fallen is if the Tiara cut loose-- <\ is if he was as good a shot as you thought I wasn't, way back when. <\ Anyhow, you'd think I was crazy, talking to you like this. <\ But I always worked faster when I thought \ << \\>>>> you might be listening. <\ And I need to find it all. Every inch. <\ Bury your strands so deep their \\ > \ \ fires can't reach them \ \ \ and glass them like the rest. < RECORD 10\10 [2525:10:04:12:23:51] SOURCE.REF#JOTUN-S4-021147 > <\ Sky's choked with ashes \ \, snow's < \ \\ deep 0n frozen ground. The one horse I've got left is cold and hungry--- heading for the barn, and I can't stop him. <\ But this winter won't last, darlin'. >> * Not forever >> (.....\\ . > And when new hands >> set to tending this earth they'll till my pieces under. > > Grind them into the veins of g0ld I've laid. <\ then the roots of all they plant wi\\ > wind around usS--- <\ KEEPING <\ US <\ CLOSE--- \ \ <\ For an eternal summer that will not fade. <\ QUERY COMPLETE <\ NO ADDITIONAL RECORDS FOUND <\ ARCHIVE CLOSED \>