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honey-dewey · 4 years

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The Story of how you Accidentally Married a Selkie

Pairing: Selkie Ezra/Reader

Word Count: 1,954

Warnings: None

When you met a handsome stranger with a fur coat in a coffee shop, you expected your one-time interaction to be just that. One time only. And then he shows up the next day with an engagement ring and things get a bit more complicated. (This is shamelessly based off that one Tumblr post about picking up a selkie’s coat and accidentally getting married to them.)

Permanent Taglist: @phoenixhalliwell

Living in a small town was, in your opinion, the epitome of living. Nestled on the seaside, the Green was a tiny spit of a town with all of two grocery stores, one bank, a single bar, three coffee shops, and maybe two hundred people.

So, yeah, it was perfect.

Nestled down in front of your favorite coffee shop, overlooking the crashing waves, you slowly worked on a writing assignment for your boss, typing away at your laptop and letting the lull of the ocean keep track of your time.

Eventually, once high tide came in and the salty water came spraying up onto the road, you decided to move inside. Abandoning the sun, you shut your laptop into your bag and drew your jacket closer around your body as you hurried into the coffee shop.

Waving to the sweet college kid behind the counter, you found your normal seat, tucked away in a corner where you could still see the ocean, but it wasn’t threatening to kill your laptop.

Halfway to your table, you stumbled over something thick. A beautiful pale grey fur coat, speckled with darker grey and so soft looking. It was ringed around a chair with someone sitting in it, so you assumed they’d draped it over the back of the chair and hadn’t known that it had dropped.

“Excuse me!” You said, scooping the jacket up and holding it out to the person. “You dropped your coat.”

The person turned, eyes wide with surprise as you handed him back his coat. He was attractive in an almost inhuman way, his eyes too big and his skin too soft. But you just chalked it up to the lighting and walked towards your table with a small wave goodbye.

The entire time you worked, the man stared at you, still looking shocked. When the college kid came around with your coffee, you grabbed their attention. “Hey, do you know who that is?”

They shook their head. “Apparently he’s a regular around this time of year. Story goes he’s just passing through to visit his family.

You nodded, wrapping your hands around your cup and turning back to your laptop. Now that you thought about it, that head of brown curls with the prominent blond streak was familiar.

Once the sun had begun to dip below the horizon, you headed out, bundling up and waving yet again to the pretty stranger. His wide brown eyes caught the light and seemed to almost glitter as you left the coffee shop.

That night was bizarre. The waves were almost violent, crashing against the shore with a strange urgency. The wind howled mournful words, as if someone was singing. You heard the soft barking of faraway seals, although that must have been stray dogs. The Green didn’t have seals. Rolling over in bed, the softness of that fur coat crossed your mind briefly before you slipped away into sleep.

The next day, you woke up to birds chirping. It was horribly cliche, but you did. Getting out of bed, you stretched, opening the curtains on a picturesque summer’s day.

“Thought it’d be stormy,” you mumbled to yourself, digging up work clothes and beginning your morning routine.

Most days, you were able to slip away during work hours and sit in the coffee shop, but today was too busy. Instead, you were trapped in the office, your only connection to the outside world being your open window. Occasionally, a warm breeze would drift through and you’d smell the baked goods across the street. It was awful to know that your sanctuary was literally twenty feet away, and yet you couldn’t visit until work was over.

At noon, you happily left work, waving to your boss and promising to get all the appropriate documents emailed to him by the time you went to bed.

The weather was warm, warm enough for you to leave your jacket draped over your arm as you pulled open the coffee shop door.

“Hey!” The college kid said happily. “You weren’t in for breakfast!”

“Work,” you explained, holding up your laptop. “Anyway, is my table open?”

They nodded, and you smiled. “Perfect.”

You were only settled down for a few minutes before someone sat across from you.

Looking up, you got a pleasant surprise. It was the man from yesterday with the fur coat. Said coat was currently draped over his body, overtop a black shirt and pants. Now that you could get a good look at him, you were able to commit his details to memory, like the unique slope of his nose and the way his deep brown eyes yet again seemed overly large. You were starting to suspect he really wasn’t human, which was a ridiculous theory, but it was either that or he had an incredible plastic surgeon.

It wasn’t until he fidgeted that you realized two very noticeable things about him. Firstly, he had no right arm. Secondly, he was holding a small black box with foreign words written in silver on the top. He held the box out to you, a clear invitation to take it.

You did, hesitantly opening it up. Immediately, embarrassment and surprise filled you. That was definitely an engagement ring, with silver swirling designs and a stone in the center that looked just like the ocean, a beautiful teal with just a touch of white. “This is,” you paused, suddenly unable to find the words. “Is this an engagement ring?”

The man nodded, his wide eyes filling with worry. “Do you like it?”

“It’s beautiful,” you said slowly, still enthralled by the ring. “Why are you giving it to me?”

“Oh!” The man went red, ducking his head down and smiling nervously. “I just figured, and pardon me if I got it wrong, but I assumed you’d want us to be married by human customs as well.”

That was where he lost you. His words snapped you out of your shock, causing your face to go cold and your voice to fail beyond one simple word. “What?”

The man faltered, his expression turning sour and almost broken. “I-“ he stammered, taking the ring and snapping the box shut. “I have to go.”

Before you could say anything, he was gone.

“Wait!” You shouted, following after the mystery man in a hurry. The issue was, you had no idea where he went. Looking up and down the street, you saw no indicator as to where he had gone.

“Dammit!” You yelled, heading down the street, towards where the road sloped down to the beach. It was your thinking spot, and you definitely needed to think right now.

When you managed to get down to the beach, you sat automatically on your favorite rock, the one with the jagged back and the small spot that was indented to make a seat for you. At high tide, it was partially underwater, so you had to wade out to sit down. Looking at the rolling waves, you breathed in the salty air. Technically, the entire Green was under the veil of ocean air, but out here it was especially prominent. It calmed you to your core, the gentleness of the water lapping at your ankles tethering you to the earth below you.

And then you saw him.

The fur coat yet again was the focal point, draped across his body as he lay in the sun not even twenty feet from you. He was breathing in and out deeply, eyes shut as he simply basked in the daylight, on his back in the sand. The ocean water occasionally soaked him, coming up as it hit the shore and covering everything from the waist down, reaching just high enough to wet his curls before it receded again.

You almost wanted to say something, anything really. He’d looked absolutely heartbroken when you’d recoiled from him, and it was a look that made your chest ache. And then there was the issue with what he said. Married by human customs as well. As well, two small worlds which implied that by some magical, non-human custom, you and him were married.

You watched the waves come up again, soaking the fur coat. As the water flowed back once more, you remembered an old folks tale you’d heard upon first moving to the Green. Something about the beach being a safe haven for Selkies during their migration. For five nights in the middle of summer, the beach filled with Selkies, who were allowed those five precious days to shed their seal skins and run around as humans. The seal skins, which turned into...

“Fur coats,” you breathed, whipping around to stare at the man. “And I returned his coat.” Which meant that, yes, by Selkie standards, you two were married.

“Hey!” Jumping off your rock, you fought the water as you ran towards the man, who sat up with wide and suddenly fearful eyes. “No! Don’t go!”

He tucked the coat close to his chest, holding it in place with his arm. “You.”

“Yeah,” you agreed, sitting beside the man, not caring if your clothes got soaked in salt. “Me. I’m sorry I overreacted in the coffee shop. I just, I didn’t think Selkies existed! This is kind of a shock.”

The man’s eyes widened. “I’m sorry!” He said, scooting closer to you. “I should’ve explained.”

“And I should’ve listened,” you replied, smiling. “I suppose we got off on the wrong foot. It feels horrible to be married, or are we engaged?”

“Married.”

“Oh.” You paused. “Okay. Married to someone who I don’t even know the name of.”

The man nodded, taking your hands in his. “I’m Ezra.”

You gave him your name, and he grinned. “Nice to meet you.”

“Right back at you,” you said happily. “So. Married. How does that work?”

Ezra pulled the ring out of a pocket in the coat and shrugged. “I’ve never been married before.”

You took the box, flicking it open. “So we’re winging it?”

Ezra smiled, putting his arm around you and nodding. “We’re winging it.”

-Two Years Later-

You hummed to yourself, flickering around the kitchen and making dinner. The window in the kitchen was open, and whenever you stopped to put a dish in the sink, you caught a wave of ocean air, pausing for a second before going back to whatever you had been cooking.

A wet sound on your back deck caught your attention, and you smiled, not pulling away from the pot of pasta. “Back door’s open!” You shouted, hearing the creak of the rickety sliding door being pushed open.

Ezra came up behind you, pressing a salty kiss into your skin, catching your lips the second time. “I missed you.”

“Ditto,” you said happily, watching Ezra out of the corner of your eye as he hung his coat up on its designated hook on the coat rack. “How was the migration?”

“Long,” Ezra groaned. “I’m glad we’re here though. Shame I can’t stay until the equinox.”

You shrugged, pulling the pasta off the stove and properly greeting your seal husband. “Damn shame. But that just makes the time we have all the more precious.”

Ezra grinned, long and lazy. “That is true, my love. That is so very true.”

Late that night, after dinner and after Ezra had given you a thorough hello, you lay in bed, curled around him, breathing in the ocean and dust smell. Both of your rings sat on the bedside table, glittering in the low moonlight.

Rolling a bit so you were facing Ezra, your head pressing against his chest, you were very glad, not for the first time and surely not for the last, that you’d picked up that Selkie coat.

#prospect #prospect (film)#ezra (prospect)#ezra x reader #ezra x you #Pedro Pascal #my writing

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roxannarambles · 5 years

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Fleeting Fireflies: Prologue

Title: Fleeting Fireflies

Author: Roxanna Rambles

Genre: Moomin/Deltarune Crossover, Snufmin

Rating: PG (depictions of mild violence)

Summary:

Snufkin and Moomin go out for a simple day at the beach. What they don’t expect is that they will end up on an adventure so grand, it will rival anything in Moominpapa’s memoirs.

Or,

What if Suzy and Kris didn't go to the supply closet that day in search of chalk? Would the lost prince of a dim kingdom ever find his champions?

Next Chapters: Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five

Notes: This story was written so that you do not need to know anything about Deltarune to enjoy this fic. However, you probably need to be at least a little familiar with the characters of Moominvalley to enjoy the story.

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Prologue

It was a brilliant morning. The sort of morning when you wake up full of energy, bound out of bed, throw open the window, and the sweet, cool air feels crisp in your lungs. Moomin grinned as he leaned out his window, spotting the figure down below and waving. Snufkin was already waiting for him. Oh, this was so very exciting. A trip out to Circle Island, just the two of them! Moomin tried to gesture he would be down shortly, and then quickly gathered up his things.

They'd planned it yesterday. While walking along one of their favorite paths in the woods and chatting about this and that, Moomin had started reminiscing about how much fun it had been the last time they had been there, and how he'd quite like to return someday. Then Snufkin pointed out that there was a very low tide early morning the next day.

The timing was perfect. They discussed it further and agreed it would be a trip just for the two of them, this time. Moomin was very interested in exploring the cave further and finding just how far it went. So they would pack a meal and get up at the break of dawn and take off for some spelunking.

After re-checking his basket and brushing his teeth (and glaring into the mirror for a moment at a little patch of fur on his head that would not comb down properly), Moomin practically leapt out the door and flew out into the front yard. He opened his mouth to greet his friend and only barely remembered at the last moment that he should be quiet, turning his shout into a hushed tone.

"Snu-- uhh, hi Snufkin!"

His friend smiled at him, an affectionate, amused little expression.

"You said we were to sneak out so that Little My wouldn't hear us."

"We are," Moomin answered in a whisper, glancing back nervously at the house.

"Moomin, your sneaking around could wake the Groke."

"Shhh. Look, nobody heard me, we're fine."

After briefly eyeing the quiet house with a raised brow, Snufkin answered good-naturedly,

"If you say so. Are you all set?"

"Yep! How 'bout you?"

Snufkin held his equipment aloft, an oil lantern and a length of rope.

"Oh, no fishing today?"

"Mmm, well, it doesn't seem terribly necessary when we have Moominmama's sandwiches for lunch."

Moomin smiled,

"Right! I hadn't thought of that. Well, shall we be off, then?"

Snufkin grinned at him and said pleasantly,

"We shall!"

The walk out to the beach was an easy and comfortable amble. Although this was much earlier than Moomin normally woke up, he was buzzing with energy. The two of them chatted about the local denizens as they wandered past the little houses, and then turned onto a favorite path through the woods that led out to the shoreline. The trees were bright with blooms and birdsong, at the height of spring.

Upon reaching the beach, it was clear how dramatically low the tide was that morning, with great big piles of seaweed, starfish, and other critters freshly stranded on the wide stretch of beach. Snufkin and Moomin walked right along the edge of the water, leaving a path of footprints behind them, and Moomin spent the time picking up starfish and other wayward souls to throw back into the sea. Eventually, the little patch of Circle Island came into view; a raised, almost perfectly round spot of land covered in dense greenery.

The pair made a beeline to the island and climbed the slope up onto the land's sandy soil. After finding a nice rock to stow their equipment at for the moment, they decided to spend some time along the beachline and the tide pools. There was a flock of seagulls picking through the area, taking advantage of the low tide, and Snufkin followed them out toward one of the larger tide pools. He watched them wrestle for a while with a sea cucumber before they took off, and then joined Moomin in marveling over the tiny microcosm of the tidepool. Much of the time was spent discussing whether the little shells were sea snails or hermit crabs, and then poking at them to find out which they were.

"Ok, what about that one?"

"Hmm. I think a snail. It's very still."

Moomin plucked the shell up gingerly and looked underneath it.

"Yup! You're very good at this."

Moomin dropped the little critter back in and pointed at another.

"And that one?"

"Another snail."

Moomin picked it up and tilted it over, spotting the teeny, dark red claw closing off the shell's entrance.

"Not this time, it's a crab!"

"Really? Let me see."

Moomin placed it on Snufkin's palm and then exclaimed with a little pair of antenna stuck out and the crab began to immerge.

"Oh, he's coming out! He likes you."

Snufkin smiled as the critter began to trumble along on his hand, dragging the borrowed shell along with it.

"Makes sense, though. You're basically a hermit crab, Snufkin."

His friend chuckled and asked,

"How's that now?"

Moomin pointed at the little black shell.

"They travel around all over, carrying their home on their back, just like you. And if they tire of that they can just change house."

Snufkin gently lowered the crab back into the tidepool.

"I see. That's a clever observation."

Moomin swished his tail back and forth, looking pleased. After a moment, Snufkin added,

"Though most of the crabs here seem awfully fond of using the snail shells."

Moomin gazed down into the pool.

"That's true. Perhaps they suit them well."

"Perhaps so."

The tidepool explorations eventually gave way to shell collecting, and once they had gathered a small horde, Moomin decided they needed to build a sand castle so they could make use of the shells. Snufkin commented he hadn't made a sand castle in a very long time, and this made Moomin all the more determined to make it an especially memorable one. They spent a long time hauling wet sand further in and crafting it, producing a multi-storied castle with many spires. Snufkin created a moat around it and filled it with seawater while Moomin decorated the castle with the shells and feathers. Eventually the castle ended up an enormous structure, ringed in its moat and seaweed, and including a courtyard in the center, a front gate, and several watchtowers. It was a glorious thing to behold.

"Little My could practically live in it!" Moomin exclaimed grandly, grinning at their beautiful creation.

Snufkin chuckled.

"Not quite, but nearly."

He put the final touches on the little black shells lining the castle's front gate.

". . . although if she were here, she'd just as likely kick it down then try to live in it."

"Oh, right. Hmm. I think I'm beginning to remember why we've never managed to build a sand castle this large in a very long time."

Snufkin brushed his hands off and stood back with Moomin to admire their handiwork.

"It is rather impressive, isn't it?"

Moomin sighed, eyeing the intricate decorations he'd inlaid into the castle, savoring the symmetry.

"I only wish it could last forever. One the tide comes back in, it'll all be gone. It's such a shame."

"Isn't that part of what makes it so lovely, though?" Snufkin asked. His friend looked to him.

"I mean, would we really appreciate it so much if it lasted forever?"

Moomin tilted an ear, thinking. He looked skeptical.

"I feel that I might. I think that it's the best sand castle we've ever built!"

Snufkin patted Moomin's arm, answering firmly,

"Then we'll just have to make an even better one next time, eh?"

Moomin stared a moment, but Snufkin's confidence and ease was so contagious that he felt immediately convinced it was possible. He beamed and agreed,

"All right!"

After all that time spent hard at work building sand castles, the two had lost track of everything else. They realized they had better stop goofing about if they wanted to get to their cave exploration before the tide returned. So, over a picnic lunch, they discussed plans, and then stowed the basket away again wedged between the rocks. Then they set out in the direction of the Hattifattener's cave.

Well, that is what they had been calling the cave, at least. Sniff referred to it as Sniff's Super Secret Amethyst Dream Cave and told everybody that no one else was allowed to go back in there until he returned and collected all the gems and got rich. He kept swearing he'd go back there, but he always ended up backing out at the last minute, nervous about possibly drowning or getting lost or maybe starving to death. It was partly this reason that Snufkin and Moomin made their return trip a bit of a secret now.

Of course, the boys didn't want anything to do with gathering up all the amethyst in the cave and getting rich. Their interest was purely for the adventure. After locating the small clearing with a tall rocky outcropping, they clamored around for the best entrance to the cave. Then they set about carefully anchoring their rope and dropping it down into the cave mouth.

"It goes down for quite a way!"

Snufkin lit his oil lantern and held it near the cave mouth. Moomin leaned in, squinting down into the black pit.

"Yep. Can't see the bottom."

Moomin straightened up and asked,

"So who should go first?"

Snufkin hopped up to the lip and took hold of the rope.

"I will. Once I've reached the bottom, you can pull the rope back up, tie the lantern to the end, and lower it down for me to grab. Then when you come down it'll be lit up down here."

Moomin hesitated.

"Are you sure? That means it's very dark for your climb down."

Snufkin nodded,

"Don't worry. I'd rather do it that way then awkwardly carrying the lantern at the same time. And you'll be up here with the rope, in case I need help."

"Ok. Just be careful."

Snufkin promised he would be, and then he began his descent. Moomin watched him closely, ready in case he slipped. Snufkin was a very spry creature, though, and an experienced one at that. He made it down inside the heart of the cave in almost no time at all. Once he vanished from Moomin's sight, and he could only track him by the tugging of the rope, Moomin would occasionally call to him and ask him how things were faring. After a few of those back-and-forths, Snufkin reported he'd reached what seemed like the bottom, and told Moomin to send down the light.

Moomin tied the knot extra-well and very carefully lowered the lantern down into the cave after Snufkin. It was a fascinating, almost eerie sight, that warm little orange spot of light dropping down into the darkness, reflecting all sorts of bits here and there from the crystals inside. Once Snufkin secured the lantern, it was Moomin's turn next. He gave the rope a good testing tug first-- knowing he was a weightier load than his light Snufkin friend-- then coiled a bit of rope around himself and rappelled downward.

Luckily, the rocks were not too slippery with water, and the climb was quite manageable. Snufkin was there to call out to Moomin the bits to be wary of, anyway. He made his way down in good time, and soon joined Snufkin at the bottom.

"Welcome!" Snufkin said, holding up the lantern higher and smiling at Moomin.

"Welcome? You sound as though it's your cave," Moomin quipped.

"I've decided during the five minutes I've been down here that it's mine now, yes."

Moomin put a hand on his hip and protested,

"Snuf--"

Snufkin laughed airily.

"Oh, you know I'm kidding. What a silly thought, owning a piece of nature. As if anyone could ever really do such a thing."

"True," Moomin said, taking the lantern from Snufkin. He held it up, and the glittering walls reflected the light every which-way, creating a dazzling chamber. Moomin drew in a breath at the sight.

"Besides," Snufkin continued,

"I'd like it to be our cave, if that were the case. Far more fun that way."

Moomin glanced to Snufkin, but as soon as he opened his mouth to speak, his friend had already melted into the darkness of the cave ahead of him.

"Wh-Snufkin! Wait up, I'm the one with the light!"

Rushing after him, Moomin had to stop short to prevent running into Snufkin when he found him again.

"Sorry. I'm just eager to see the place. I've never actually been inside."

"Me neither," Moomin said, peering up the walls of the cave.

"It's bigger then I realized."

Snufkin pointed out to parts of the cave wall.

"That must be where the water comes in at high tide. And there and there too. Then it's forced through that part, a bit like a bottleneck, and comes shooting out the top."

"Wow," Moomin murmured, studying the spots Snufkin had pointed out,

"Pretty neat how it's shaped perfectly to make a geyser."

Snufkin moved further into the cave again.

"All of these crystals are pretty neat too. I wonder why they're forming here, of all places?"

Moomin followed behind, holding the light close to the walls.

"I don't know. But there sure are a lot of them."

He was standing by a particularly large collection of the crystals-- long, beautifully tapered, deep purple things bristling on the walls, almost like some sort of alien plant life. They reflected the light of the lantern and almost seemed to glow from within.

"They really are beautiful. I guess I can see why Sniff is so obsessed with them."

"Mmm."

Moomin handed Snufkin the lantern and then reached into the collection of crystals, poking at them, noting they were smooth and cool to the touch.

"Maybe this entire place was formed from a volcano," Snufkin mused out loud.

"You think so?" Moomin glanced up from studying the gems.

"It might explain the crystals. I wonder how far it goes, though."

Snufkin moved a little further, trying to cast the light of the lantern as far as he could. The walls twisted and bended, so it was difficult to judge how extensive the cave system was. However, there clearly was more to explore.

Moomin's eyes grew a little as he imagined.

"Do you think it might actually go really deep into the earth? Maybe we should have brought more supplies. It might take a while!"

Snufkin tossed an amused glance behind at Moomin,

"Well, we can't stay in here for too long, unless we want to be shot out like the Hattifatteners did."

Moomin laughed at himself,

"Oh, right, of course."

Snufkin cautiously advanced, ducking under a patch of amethyst crystals hanging from the ceiling and scooting past them. From where Moomin stood, the visual effect was impressive, his friend standing behind a glowing purple curtain of reflecting shards. Moomin stood and stared awhile before realizing he was being left behind. Snufkin's voice echoed from deeper in;

"Moomin, come take a look at this."

Moomin squatted and pushed under the patch of crystals, but unfortunately his rear end was a bit rounder and larger than Snufkin's and it painfully dislodged some of the larger gems.

"Ow! Hold on a second."

He rubbed his sore bottom but there was no actual harm done, just a few fallen crystals. He picked up the largest one, which had a surprising heft and size-- easily long and large enough to swing about like some sort of bizarre purple sword. He took it with him as he hurried to follow after Snufkin, around a bend in the cave.

As he turned the bend, he saw Snufkin crouched by a sudden pit, staring down into it.

"What is it, Snuf?"

Snufkin glanced up at him.

"Oh, that's a nice one."

Moomin waved the crystal around.

"I know, it's enormous! I think I'll take it back with us."

Snufkin nodded as Moomin came to stand beside him.

"You might want to keep it away from Sniff, in that case. Anyway, the cave goes way deeper here. It's a narrow squeeze but you can see . . . well, that."

"Wow."

Through the sudden drop down, the cave then seemed to open up, and inside, the walls were absolutely brimming with the gems. In a bright tone, Moomin exclaimed,

"We have to go down there!"

Snufkin crossed his arms, thinking. He bit a little at his bottom lip.

"I don't know. The tide should be coming back in anytime now."

"Oh, but Snufkin, it looks incredible down there. Couldn't we just take a quick look?"

Snufkin was quiet for a few moments, obviously weighing the risks, but it seemed he actually was as keen as Moomin was to take a look.

"All right, but just for a little bit. It's not a very steep drop, I think we can sort of just slide down."

Moomin grinned.

"I can't wait 'til we get back and tell everyone about this. It's going to make for an exciting tale."

Snufkin went first, sliding down the drop as he predicted -- dirt and pebbles and so forth tumbled and rolled down with him, but it looked like it worked well enough for him. Moomin followed after him. It was slippier then he expected, but it was sort of fun, like a giant dirt slippery-slide.

When he landed on solid ground and looked up, he gasped. Snufkin held the lantern aloft; the cave was a huge chamber, glittering like thousands of purple stars.

"Snufkin . . ."

He turned to his friend, seeing he wore a similar expression of awe. Snufkin just nodded at him, as if to agree with Moomin's sentiment. They just stood there for a bit, taking in the sight and the atmosphere of the place.

Eventually, something seemed to draw Snufkin's eye, and he approached one of the cave walls.

"Moomin," he said quietly.

Moomin came over to him. He saw that Snufkin had found what appeared to be etchings on one of the walls-- like somebody had scratched something into the stone.

"What do you think it is?" Moomin said in a hushed voice, as somehow he felt compelled to keep his voice down in here.

"I'm not sure," Snufkin answered, quiet as well.

The etchings were not very complicated-- three little triangles and a circle. On either side of those shapes, it sort of looked like a crude depiction of a pair of wings. Moomin tilted his head and rubbed his chin.

"Hmm. Is it . . . pet . . . petrolif . . . petro . . ."

"Petroglyphs?"

"Yeah, that."

Snufkin stared at the wall, humming.

"Maybe. I'm afraid I can't tell how old it is."

Moomin squinted, trying to see if he could tell. It looked old, at any rate. Part of the etching was encrusted with a little bit of the crystals, in fact. Of course, he didn't know how long it took for crystals to grow.

"Hey, maybe the Hattifatteners made it?"

"Possibly. There's very little I know about the Hattifatteners, to tell you the truth."

After studying it further, Moomin was about to say something about what the shapes could possibly mean, but Snufkin interrupted.

"Uh. Moomin, we might have a bit of a problem."

Moomin glanced up and followed Snufkin's gaze. From the hole on the other side of the chamber they were in, the one they had slid down through, water was seeping in.

"Uh-oh."

Snufkin started back for the hole, saying,

"We'd better hurry, it'll come in pretty fast!"

Moomin hurried after him, making sure to grab his neat giant crystal before leaving, his paws sloshing through the shallow layer of water on the floor. Snufkin had already started climbing back up the slope toward freedom, although he was slipping and sliding a lot on the muddy, slick floor. Suddenly, the small fountain of water leaking into their cavern turned into a massive gush, blasting Snufkin full on in the face and knocking him back, washing him entirely down the slope and back into the middle of the chamber. In the process, the lantern was extinguished, the cave dropping into near perfect darkness.

Moomin yelped in shock, half-choking on water as he cried out, and shouted,

"SNUFKIN!"

A moment later, a reassuring voice answered,

"It's all right, Moomin, I'm here."

Moomin coughed and moved blindly into the darkness, wading through water that was already knee-deep, and yelled,

"What do we do? Ooh, I don't think we can relight the lantern. It's so dark!"

He heard a crash, and another wave of seawater poured through somewhere and dumped more water into the cavern, sloshing and bouncing off the walls. Over the rushing water, he could hear Snufkin.

"Follow the sound of my voice. We'll follow the walls and find our way back to the way out, ok? We'll need to be quick, though!"

Moomin tripped over a rock and landed painfully, cursing as he landed and getting a face full of cold seawater. As he struggled back up, another wave of water came roaring into the cave, hitting him in the chest and almost knocking him clean off his feet again. The water was screaming from all directions now, whirling around him, rapidly rising above his waist. He cried out for Snufkin, reaching out in the darkness, and startled when a hand landed firmly on his shoulders. It pulled him in and he felt the reassuring embrace of his friend.

"Come on, Moomin, this way."

Moomin grabbed hold of Snufkin's arm tightly and coughed the water he'd inhaled before saying roughly,

"Snufkin. Thank goodness."

Snufkin pulled the two of them along and up to a cave wall, where the flow of water wasn't quite so difficult to battle, and then they followed it along. Moomin's vision had adjusted to the dark by now, but all he could make out were still just a few dim outlines in the bleak, and not a whole lot else. The water had climbed quite high up his chest by now, and he knew this section of cave would be entirely submerged soon. Still, there was some time to get out, especially following the wall like this.

But-- but then they still had to make their way through the upper part, too. Moomin felt an awful weight on his chest at the sudden realization.

"Snufkin-- do we even have time?"

He felt a tug at his arm and Snufkin said in a clipped tone,

"Here, this is the spot. Get up there, Moomin, go!" Moomin felt his feet sinking into the silty muck of a slope as Snufkin pushed him in the direction of the exit.

"But--"

Before Moomin could even finish his thought-- and he wasn't even entirely sure what he was going to say, anyway-- another wave of water poured in, cutting everything off. Moomin's feet slipped out from under him and he tumbled head-over-heels; it didn't take long for him to realize he was entirely submerged. Turning about and kicking, he struggled to swim back up to the surface, but the current dragged him back. He twisted around and tried to fight it, but was pulled along the rough cave walls, swirled about, and pushed into a large rock. For a few brief moments then, the currents shifted, no longer yanking him about recklessly, and he was able to battle back to the top.

When Moomin popped back up, he sucked in a desperate breath of air and flailed.

"Moomin, are you there?"

Moomin yelped as his head struck the ceiling of the cave, and he realized their bubble of air wouldn't last long.

"Yeah, Snufkin, I'm here!"

He flailed his arms about and somehow, miraculously, his paws caught hold of the soft fabric of Snufkin's clothing. He pulled him close and clung on to him tightly.

"Moomin," Snufkin repeated his name, and Moomin struggled to tread water and keep attached to Snufkin at the same time.

"Moomin, we might have to let the current take us."

Moomin struggled to see Snufkin's face in the darkness, but his head kept bumping into the ceiling and water kept splashing into his eyes.

"Moomin, I . . . I'm sorry."

Moomin opened his mouth to tell him not to apologize, but a wave caused him to splutter instead, and then Snufkin cried--

"HOLD ON!"

Moomin barely had the chance to draw another breath before the undertow yanked at them again, and they were pulled into twisting chaos. At first, Moomin tried to control their direction by swimming with one arm while clinging to Snufkin with the other, but after several sharp run-ins with the cave wall, Snufkin was slipping from his grip. In the moment, Moomin couldn't imagine anything worse than letting him slip away-- even drowning didn't seem quite so bad. So he did as Snufkin said, and he did everything he could just to hold on.

It was impossible to tell anything in those next moments; what direction they were being tossed around in, what part of the cave they were inside, or even how much time had passed. Moomin, holding tightly to Snufkin, was only aware of darkness, swirling, noise, a fierce cold, and the occasional pang of pain as he knocked against rock. The currents seemed to be spinning from all directions, slapping them along for the ride. Moomin was completely disoriented, and could only focus on two thoughts-- trying not to inhale water and trying not to let go of Snufkin.

And then, at some point, around when Moomin thought he might faint from no air, he noticed a shift. He was still being tossed dizzily around by a freezing current, yet something was different. He opened his eyes-- which he realized he'd had tightly shut-- and still only blackness greeted him, but . . . Moomin gasped. He drew air into his lungs, not water.

The little Moomin was entirely confused, as it still felt as though they were being pushed by a wave of water . . . pushed upwards, in fact.

Oh, Moomin thought,

Are we in the Hattifattener's geyser?

But if that is the case, why is it still so dark?

Any other thoughts that Moomin may have had were cut off very short when he found his body colliding with something very solid, the wind knocked from his lungs and his consciousness fading out.

#moomin #snufkin #fanfic #mystuff #deltarune #crossover #WIP #snufmin #moomin fanfic

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cela-astral-projection · 5 years

Text

We'll laugh how things have changed You never dreamed we'd end up this way But I dreamed about it every day

18+ Under the cut. We’re still in Nopal!

The sirens call to idleness had long since faded. Celeste was up before dawn. The stars were still sparkling in the sky, but it was lightening, just ever so slightly. Muriel had stirred when she got up, and she had coaxed him back asleep, stroking his hair until he began to snore.

She wanted terribly to be whined at, to feed a chicken, take a wolf out for a run, have a snake criticize her cooking technique, tell a doctor that leeches were, not, in fact, a cure-all. She wasn't used to peace and quiet. The novelty had worn off.

They had effectively whined Asra into submission, and he was coming today. By himself. The girls would come later with Aisha and Salim. She didn't know how they'd quite manage seven people, even if the grandparents would only stay a day or so. But, magic covers a multitude of sins. Between Asra and herself, they'd figure something out.

She was in the back garden. It might have been Asra's retreat before, but she had made her mark on it. Every year, commissioning a new feature. Building on the garden, laying new paths. Putting in a pergola with a swing. A fire pit. A place for the girls to play.

It was still chilly. The desert, scorching hot in the day and freezing at night. Thankfully, it was a rather temperate night. She could stand to be outside in a pair of thin trousers and a sheer linen top.

She had thrown one of Muriel's furs on, eating her own words when she had chided him for bringing the hulking thing to the damn desert. It was easy to forget just how cold it could be. But, she also hated clothes in general, so she tended to tolerate the cold simply out of spite for having to dress appropriately.

She found a clear spot between flowerbeds and laid the fur down on the ground. She just needed to move her body, get out of her head. She stepped onto the material. Her feet were bare. The old fur was soft beneath her toes. Slick. Not an ideal surface for stretching, but, any port in a storm.

She lay on her back, staring up at the sky. She drew one knee up, and then crossed her other leg over the top, stretching out her hips. She regulated her breaths, holding the pose until she really felt the stretch burning through her thigh and into her back. She repeated it on the other side.

She took a good long time, shifting from pose to pose. Bending, pulling, extending. The sun was rising over the horizon now, and she could feel the warm tendrils pouring across the land. She also knew she was being watched. It had been foolish to think she could leave Muriel to sleep on his own for long. Maybe she wanted to be watched. Either way, he was no great mystery to her.

She was stretching her back and hips, ass well up in the air, hands on the ground. She had her eyes closed but felt the chill when his long shadow stepped into the morning light, blocking her from the sun. He grabbed her by the hips, pulling her back against him.

"Why are you stretching like you're getting ready to spar?" He asked. His voice was husky. She could almost chalk it up to being half awake. But, the way he pressed against her let her knew that he must not be that tired.

She made to stand up, but he placed his hand on the small of her back, keeping her in place. There was really no mistaking what he wanted. She turned her head as best she could, looking at him from the corner of her eye. "You wanna spar, old man?"

That sobered him a bit. He pressed his tongue against the inside of his cheek, amused and irritated all at once. "Old man? You are pressing your luck." He ran his fingers along her spine, below her shirt. Her skin was cold.

And his was a fucking furnace. It tingled and burned against the chill that clung to her skin. She shivered under the touch involuntarily. She swallowed hard but teased further, shifting her weight backward to press against his stiffening cock, straining against his threadbare sleeping trousers. "Oh, I think I could take you."

"Oh, you do?" he implored, incredulous, drinking her in. She had clearly stolen that shirt from Asra. It was low cut and gauzy. Sheer, and only more transparent as the morning light had crawled across her body. He could see the outlines of her breasts. Her nipples hard in the cool morning air, dark, and straining against the fabric. Every exquisite curve. The dark thatch of curls between her thighs thinly veiled. And that was what he could see from the fucking window. Now, that he was close, the ensemble was truly indecent. Thank the gods there wasn't another soul for miles. "I'm not sure that I'd call names, out here stretching, you old crone. Did you really need to limber up for Asra and I, Cela?"

Instead of pushing back, she dropped to her stomach, away from his touch, then rolled onto her back, all one fluid motion. Staring up at him. Muriel blinked. Didn't see that coming.

She folded her arms behind her head, and she trailed a foot up the inside of his thigh. Dangerously close to his cock. The corner of her mouth was turned up. She conjured an old voice. One he'd remember for the rest of his life. "How do you expect to fight Celeste like that?"

Muriel flinched. He hated it when she did that. Celeste had a knack for mimicry. That was Morga. Her green eyes even flashed yellow for a second. He wasn't sure if it was magic, or something else. For an instant, he was back there, on the night Morga had forced them to spar. The night he'd run, and that Celeste found him. The night Celeste had freed him from his bonds. It was an onslaught of emotions all at once and it sent him reeling for a moment.

Celeste didn't back down. Her eyes raked up his massive form, appraising him. He was softer in the middle than he once was. So was she. But, there was no doubt in her mind that he was every ounce as quick and strong as he ever had been. The light stroked across the old, silvery scars that marked him. His skin was gorgeous and warm.

He hadn't shaved for a few days, and his stubble was giving way to the ghost of a beard. He didn't wear one often, but when he did, it was all she could manage to keep her hands off him. And it was worse now that the whisps of silver had begun to creep into the thick, dark hair. After all this time, he would think she wanted him less. No. She was as ravenous as ever.

And, he was much more confident in his touch. He knew he didn't have to be gentle with her. That she wouldn't break. He loved the tenderness, but the idea that he didn't have to be so cautious and gentle with her, and could just let go of his apprehension? He would never have imagined he could feel like this.

He grabbed her ankle, and Celeste startled, making a noise of panic. She turned back over onto her stomach, making a feeble attempt at escape, but he was already hauling her up, dangling her upside down. He had nearly two feet on her five-foot flat frame. She wasn't sure what she had expected.

She awkwardly crossed her arms across her chest. A difficult feat while hanging upside down, she found. "Fine. You win." She said, pouting. But then, she was eye level with his still-half-hard cock...

"Nope," he said flatly, knowing precisely where her mind was going.

"You really are no fun," she shot back.

He awkwardly hauled her over his shoulder, her legs dangling down his back. She went limp, dead weight. He gave a snort of a laugh. "You are the worst sparring partner." He said, bending over to collect his fur from the ground. "Throwing my stuff in the damn dirt." He draped it over his arm and turned back to the house.

There, standing at the edge of the garden, was Asra, looking thoroughly amused.

"Hello," Muriel said, not entirely surprised by his sudden appearance. It seemed to be just about standard.

"Hello?" Celeste questioned, perking up. Her hair had fallen like a ridiculous curtain. She couldn't see a damn thing.

"Good morning!" Asra said, laughing.

"Asra!" Celeste said, using whatever core strength she could muster to escape Muriel's grasp. Her sudden movement setting him slightly off balance.

"I'm putting you down!" Muriel growled, but there was no malice in it. He leaned over to set her on the ground.

Celeste rushed into Asra's arms as soon as her feet hit the dirt, knocking his hat off as she crashed into him, kissing him over and over again. Asra laughed, holding her face in his hands, stilling her so he could catch her mouth and kiss her soundly.

"Throwing your things in the dirt, too," Muriel said, crossing to them. He wrapped an arm around the both of them, waiting patiently for his turn. When Celeste relinquished Asra's lips, he bent to catch them. Celeste rested her head on Asra's shoulder, smiling up at the two of them.

When they parted, Muriel murmured a quiet "We missed you." against his mouth.

Asra looked longingly into his eyes, bringing a hand up to brush across his jaw, though the wiry hair of his beard, hooking a finger under his chin. "Oh, and I missed you," he replied, his voice strained. He drew him back down for another kiss. Long, and slow.

Muriel pressed into Celeste's back. Celeste's hands smoothed up and down Asra's back. She moved her mouth to his neck, pressing her tongue flat against the skin, then her lips, suckling at the cool flesh. Asra made a quiet noise, and the sensation of it rippling through his throat, vibrating against her mouth.

Asra pulled away from Muriel. "Inside." He said, clipped. Muriel had him by the wrist, striding off. Asra grabbed for Celeste's hand, and she snapped the hat up as they dragged her along behind.

Muriel -- mostly undressed anyway, made quick work of his trousers as soon as they crossed the threshold. Asra threw his bag in the corner and shed his shirt, scarves and other accouterments. Celeste was behind Asra, arms around his waist, undoing his belt, her chin over his shoulder, whispering in his ear. Asra nodded along. She was being preformative, her tongue snaking out across Asra's earlobe as she spoke. So quiet, like a hiss.

Muriel took himself in hand, watching the two of them. He knew what they were doing. Playing both ends against the middle. Making a game plan. Celeste's eyes were locked with his, lust-filled. The whispers he could make out sounded filthy. Asra's eyes were on him, too. Years ago, he would have blushed so hard it would have burned him to his core. Now, the hungry look on their faces spurred him on. He stroked his cock, anticipating what was to come.

Asra kicked off his shoes. Celeste knelt behind him slowly, disappearing from Muriel's view. She assisted with the removal of his trousers, teasingly slow. She stayed on her knees, and Asra departed from her to Muriel. He placed a hand in the middle of his chest, pushing him towards the bed. Muriel sat, heavy, gathering Asra into him. Asra straddled him, gaining leverage.

It was one of Celeste's favorite sights. That mix of tenderness and passion. Muriel's dark hair, the darkness around his eyes. So big, heavy. Marred but still utterly gorgeous. Asra's pearlescent locks, his perfect, lithe frame, coppery skin. When they were locked together, her breath caught in her chest. They were fucking artwork.

Asra's fingers moved through Muriel's hair, tangling in, pulling his head back so he could kiss him deeply, his other hand at the base of his throat, snaking his nails down his chest. One of Muriel's hands was at Asra's hip, the other running up his spine. Muriel could feel Asra's cock swelling against his stomach.

Celeste stood and moved to the head of the bed. She knelt on the mattress, reaching over to the shelving on the far side. She found the little jar. A thick cream that turned to a slick oil when it warmed. She reclined against the pillows, still dressed. She enjoyed watching it. She would have her turn, of course. But, this would be enough. The fact she was lucky enough to be here for it never ceased to amaze her.

Asra released Muriel's mouth. "Move back." He commanded, and Muriel did as he was told, moving to the center of the bed, Asra following after. Asra extended his hand to Celeste, not looking away from Muriel. She uncapped the jar and handed it to him. He scooped some into his palm. It was firm. He handed the jar back to Celeste, and she put it away. He rubbed the cream between his palms until it loosened, and then he reached down to slick his own cock with it. "On your knees." He said, low. Muriel, again, obliged, turning under Asra, to face Celeste, on his hands and knees.

Celeste shook her head and placed her foot on his shoulder, pushing him up. Muriel perked an eyebrow, confused. "On your knees. Follow instructions, love." Muriel pushed himself up.

Asra stroked himself. "What we've decided is that you are going to fuck her throat, while I fuck you."

Muriel blinked at Celeste. That was a party trick she didn't pull out often. "Feeling ambitious, are you?" He said, playfully.

"I told you, I think I can take you. One way or another." She retorted, then licked her lips. "Are we all agreed?"

Muriel nodded. Celeste slid down onto the mountain of pillows. Making sure there was one braced against the headboard. She had played this game before, and ended up with the top of her head bruised from being bounced against the wooden frame a time too many.

Muriel moved above Celeste, straddling her chest. His cock at her lips. She ventured her tongue out, swirling it around the tip. He closed his eyes.

Asra closed the gap behind Muriel. His hands were still warm and slick with oil. He didn't know what Celeste made this stuff from, but it was amazing. He gripped one of Muriel's hips and moved his other hand along the cleft of Muriel's ass, finding his hole. He slicked his finger around the rim, and Muriel pressed back against him. He eased a finger in, slowly. Muriel shuddered, taking a shaky breath.

Celeste raised her hand to Muriel's cock, her fingers circling the base, drawing him back towards her. "Lean on the windowsill, love. He'll follow you. You come to me."

The two of them shifted forward, and Celeste took Muriel's cock into her mouth. She hollowed her cheeks, suctioning her lips around the head. She moved her hand along the length. It would be easier, once Asra was taking him. They'd fall into a rhythm. This part was mostly about keeping him hard until Asra could start to fuck him in earnest. She flicked her tongue around the head of his cock.

Asra slid his finger in and out of Muriel's ass, slow. His other hand smoothing up his back, soothing him, relaxing him.

Muriel hissed. He felt like there were tiny bolts of lightning running through him. Too slow. "Fuck's sake, Asra," he swore, low.

Asra rolled his eyes, and bit out a "Fine."

Like Celeste always said. Magic covers a multitude of sins. Like, an impatient husband who doesn't have the time to be properly prepped because his wife went and got him riled up at the crack of dawn.

Asra closed his eyes, focusing his magic on not causing any undue injury, and guided his cock into Muriel's hole. Muriel breathed a sigh of relief.

Slowly, Asra began to rock into him. Muriel's arms were crossed on the windowsill, his forehead pressed against his forearms, looking down on his wife, dutifully sucking at his cock. Her beautiful brown hair splayed out around her like a halo. His husband behind him, sliding his long, willowy cock into his tight hole.

As Asra gained speed, and Muriel found his rhythm, fucking Celeste's mouth. Shallow at first, then, she relaxed, taking him deeper, mouth still tightly wrapped around the shaft, sucking him in.

Muriel was fevered, but he could tell she wasn't moving. She generally touched herself. She was still dressed. She was just allowing him to fuck her like this, but not touching herself. Her hands had found his hips, and Asra's were covering hers.

"Cela, touch yourself," he whispered, trying to inspire her to action. She simply stared up at him, but there was a playful glint in her eyes. He didn't understand.

"Don't worry about us, dear heart," Asra said, breathy, between thrusts. "We have this under control."

"What the hell...?" Muriel said, still concerned.

But Celeste's face...looked orgasmic. Her cheeks were flushed, as was her chest that he could see in the deep v of the tunic. Her eyes were heavy-lidded. He could smell her want. She was getting off. He felt the pulsating at his hips, their joined hands.

Asra was sharing the sensation with her. The feeling of Asra's cock in his ass. The feeling of his building orgasm.

Celeste felt heat coiling and building in her stomach. It felt...different. Like, pressure. Tension. Restraint. Her cunt was wet. She pressed her thighs together, trying to fight for an orgasm. She felt like she was just on the brink, but Asra hadn't come yet, and she couldn't come either. She knew Muriel was close. His movements were slowing, his thrusts deeper, shakier. She felt the thick vein on the underside of his cock pulsating.

Her nails bit into his hips, pulling him in deeper. Such a big cock. She was grateful to her years of practice. She could take every inch, and easily. She loved his cock in her mouth. She loved when he watched her take his cock in her mouth.

Such a pretty mouth. Such soft lips. Such perfect teeth. A soft, pink tongue. So hot. So wet. So attentive. Perfect pressure. Perfect suction.

Asra's mouth was at his ear, nipping, licking. "Are you going to come for us, Muriel? Are you going to make her swallow your come? She'll swallow every drop. Just like she always does. She loves the taste of your come. Give it to her."

Muriel gritted his teeth. He seized, and he did spill into her mouth. She drank him greedily, still locked onto him. Each spurt dripping down her throat, thick.

When Muriel's asshole clenched around his cock, Asra cried out and fell forward, his chest pressed against Muriels back, spasming. He buried himself in his husband to the hilt, his release flooding into him.

From her place below, Celeste moaned, mouth still engaged with Muriel's softening member. Her eyes rolled back, and she tensed, her mouth falling open. She panted, sharp, short breaths, every muscle locked up. Her toes curling.

As they came down, they had to figure out the logistics of disengaging from their tangle. Generally, Celeste was in the middle, but Muriel had fallen at her side, tugging at her bottoms, pulling them down. She was oversensitive from the orgasm Asra had given her, but he had to touch her. His hand cupped her dripping sex. So slick, and so warm. He nuzzled her neck, pressing soft kisses against her skin.

Asra lay behind Muriel, stroking his fingers along his back. "Tell her how well she did, dear heart. Taking your cock like that."

"So good, Cela. It was so good." He said. His beard was rough against her soft skin.

She made soft noises, shifting towards Muriel. She wanted to be touched, but it was too much. She had never come like that before. It felt foreign. It felt...like too much. Good, but draining. She could generally go again, and again, but not after that.

"Don't...finger me. Don't touch my clit. I can't." She said, breathy. He nodded, kissing her cheek.

"Can I just hold you like this?" he said, stroking his long fingers along the outer lips, through the curls.

"Mmhm. That's fine." she murmured, turning her face towards his.

He kissed her, soft and slow. Asra pressed soft kisses against Muriel's shoulder, snuggling up against his back, and wrapping his arm around his waist.

They fell into an easy sleep in the midmorning sun. Happily reunited.

#arcana #the arcana game #apprentice x muriel #apprentice x asra #apprentice oc #apprentice celeste #apprentice x asra x muriel #fanfiction #mc #oc

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backtothestart02 · 5 years

Text

If Only She Knew - 1/? | [WiS]

A/N: Chapter 1 of many. Or a few. lol. I’ve been wanting to write this fic for a while, and it just so happened to fit one of the prompts written up for the ‘Westallen in Summer’ @westallenmeetupffe event. I hope you enjoy.

*Many thanks to @valeriemperez for beta’ing.

...

Synopsis: HS!AU - Barry, Joe and Iris go camping the year Barry hits puberty.

...

Chapter 1 -

Barry stood in front of the full-length mirror in his bedroom, the one that now cut off at mid-calf due to his recent growth spurt, and tried very hard not to be depressed. To put it simply, his summer body was not something to be desired.

He couldn’t gain weight if he tried. He was white as chalk, skinny as a string bean, and almost completely devoid of muscle on his thin frame. In recent weeks, he’d tried to take up running but found he hated it. He tried lifting weights after that but felt so embarrassed by amused glances from onlookers when he put the smallest amount of weight on the bars that he abandoned the effort to save his pride. Swimming he was okay at, but it seemed the pool was crowded more often than not. His long limbs had him always bumping into people. The stationary bikes upstairs in the gym had probably proved the most successful in his endeavor to get that long-coveted summer body, but in the end they only strengthened his legs, which made his upper half look more or less disproportionate in comparison.

All things considered, there was no way Iris would be seeing him the way he had started seeing her – and that was even without the summer body.

Iris was his best friend for as far back as he could remember. Maybe since 3rd grade? He’d moved in with her and her dad, Joe, after his mother had been murdered and his father unjustly convicted for the crime. He was angry, though not as much as he had been when he’d first arrived, especially not around Iris. She obviously couldn’t totally relate to his situation, but she understood. She’d lost her mother when she was young too. He felt connected to her, not just in that, but in everything. Which was kind of ironic since the only thing they had in common, besides age and loss of their mothers, was their passion for finding out the truth and fighting to prove it.

Iris said she didn’t know what she wanted to be when she grew up, though Barry knew she was secretly plotting to join the police academy just to mess with her dad. He’d been itching to tell her she should look into journalism, especially given how much she’d enjoyed that elective this past semester, but she wouldn’t talk about her future.

“We’re only in our second year of high school, Barry!” she’d reminded him. “We have our whole lives to figure out what we want to do!”

That seemed a bit reckless, if you asked him, but he dropped it. If she wanted to rebel against her dad’s stringent rules, he’d simply wait until the phase had passed and bring up the topic again once she started her freshman year of college. He knew how much she valued her education.

“Bear, you almost ready?”

Pulled from his thoughts, Barry looked towards the cracked door on the other side of his room. Then he looked at the two bags on his bed that were only half-filled and blew his side bangs out of his face.

“Bear?” Joe repeated.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m coming!” He hastily shoved the remainder of what he needed in the bags and just hoped he wasn’t forgetting anything. “Just give me, like, five minutes!”

He was almost out the door when he realized abruptly that the only things he had on were his blue-and-white striped boxers and his too-tall white socks. Turning a bright red at the possibility of running into Iris in the hallway looking like that, he dropped his bags and quickly pulled out the t-shirt and shorts he’d been planning to wear today.

“Baaarryyyy,” he heard from down the hall and hastily shoved his sandals into the bag that was still unzipped and forcefully stuck his oversized feet into his dusty old tennis shoes.

Iris knocked a couple times in a staccato motion, then pushed the door open. She giggled and leaned against the doorway when he turned to face her, still looking panicked.

“You ready, you big goof? Or do I have to tell my dad another extension is in order?” She raised an eyebrow.

“No! No, of course not,” he squeaked, and she covered her mouth to stifle another bout of laughter.

Barry cleared his throat. “I’m ready.”

He took the two steps to his bed to slide the bag straps of his duffels over his shoulder. Then he promptly tripped over the buckle from the strap on the third bag he’d opted not to use, sending his bags and himself flying.

“Oh, my God, Barry!” she cried, but she was giggling when she half-caught him and could do nothing more than make their landing a little smoother.

“I’m sorry, Iris,” he said, his voice muffled against what he suddenly realized was the fabric of her shirt just a few inches below her breasts. His heart started pounding and sweat beaded on his forehead. He could only be grateful that she wasn’t aware of his condition.

“It’s all right, Barry,” she said, playing with his locks for a minute before pushing them off his face. “I’m sure I would’ve tripped too.”

He cleared his throat and slowly sat up. “Right. Yeah.”

“Hey, guys!” Joe called from the bottom of the stairs. “Today? It’s a six-hour drive to Lake Muna!”

“Uh-oh, someone’s mad,” Iris snickered under her breath, but she took Barry’s hand firmly and stood to her feet. “We’re coming, Dad!”

“I’ll be in the car,” he said loudly. “Both your asses better be in there before I buckle my seatbelt.”

“Yeah, okay!” Iris called back and then took one of Barry’s bags as she headed down the hall moments after the front door shut behind Joe.

“Iris, you don’t have to-”

“What do you have in this thing? Bowling balls?”

His face went white. “I can carr-”

“Relax, Bear,” she said, looking back at him over her shoulder for a bit, batting her eyelashes as if to flirt, but Barry knew it was innocent. “All my stuff is in the car already, and I know for a fact you don’t own a bowling ball.”

“Right.”

He forced a smile, then followed her down the stairs and out the door, locking it behind him.

Going camping with Joe and Iris every summer was always a fun experience. He was sure he would enjoy it.

It didn’t matter that in the last two weeks he’d woken up to more than one erection or that he’d daydreamed about Iris naked. That had to be totally normal and wasn’t related whatsoever to the fact that he’d been in love with her since he’d learned what the word love meant. He knew sexual urges were inevitable as soon as he hit puberty; for any girl he was attracted to, not just Iris – and yeah, he took longer than most. But he hadn’t known exactly what to expect.

Surely, though, Joe had caught the signs. He was observant like that, being a detective and all. He wouldn’t make him do anything uncomfortable or unusual, especially when it came to Iris.

Right?

...

*Also posted on AO3 and FFnet.

#westallen in summer #westallen #backtothestart02 fanfiction #westallen fanfiction

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bitsby · 5 years

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caught blue-handed LL

Finished with caught blue-handed, my first RvB fic (aside from the ass fax meme and McD's stories used to cleanse my brain palette). There were definite high and low moments, but I'm pleased with the outcome overall.

As is customary at the end of any project, personal or work-related, I write out some "lessons learned" in order to reflect and provide myself insight for improvement. Meaning, I barf out a shitload of text to figure out how to be better at doing stuff. So if you feel like wasting 5 minutes reading some rambling, sMASH that link below.

caught blue-handed

Fun Stats

Runtime: June 17, 2019 - August 11, 2019

Word count: 30261 (4963 per chapter average sans 1st chapter)

Top 3 used words:

Simmons = 561 (That’s right-- 1.8% of the fic is reading Simmons’ name.)

Grif = 529

fuck = 180

Fun Stuff First (favorite moments)

Hands down, all the Grimmons dates in the Grif chapters, where the day/night/date continued as expected, mostly. Easiest, most fun, and most natural to write. This was probably due to the form being more back and forth described-but-unsaid dialogue, a breather from the one-sided "I AM GRIF/SIMMONS heRe aRE mY ThOUGhts hElp i aM in loVe" dialect I originally started with. I keep saying that I really wanna do comics of all the little scenes some time in the future, so I should do that. And tHEY KISS AHHHHHHH.

Creatrix's commissioned art for the beach date! She did a freakin' awesome job, I literally squealed and was grinning for like 10 minutes straight when I got it (just as I'm doing now that I'm looking at it again). Art is a magical thing. Always support your favorite and fellow artists in whatever way you can!

Grif's interactions with Lopez and Sarge in ch 3. I think how that tiny section was written was more true to canon voicing than any other part of the story, probably because I wasn't worrying about forcing Grimmons down everyone's throats.

Caboose liking Simmons because he's part robot.

The idea that Grif would ever get jealous of Caboose.

On the same vein, finding as many excuses to use Caboose in italics as possible (ex., "Did Caboose just call you a dick?", "You took relationship advice. From Caboose.", "Are you seriously getting jealous?! Of fucking Caboose?!”).

What Did Well (and what didn't)

Writing serially with your first chapter as a hard outline is both a blessing and a curse. I think the first chapter was voiced well, a good length to hook and let readers know what to expect for the most part, and provided a mini set of prompts for me to help set up following chapters. However, the skeleton plot I wrote caused me to freeze while starting a couple chapters because I had no idea on how to get from point A to B, feeling like I needed to be more creative to get there. On the opposite swing of the pendulum, it had me stuck creatively at times because of the mindset, "Well now I have to write about this."

Writing with swapping POVs is fun for character study and good (but difficult) practice for trying to maintain a consistent writing voice. I'm pretty self-conscious about how I tend to write (way too verbose/clinical at times, so much going back and deleting, as I'm doing right now). Going into this, I 100% thought that the Simmons chapters would be the easiest to write (as far as voicing goes because of inherent anxiety and my vernacular in general). And man, was I 100% wrong. (Except for that fake smut chapter which had me dying while coming up with cringey and cliched things for Simmons to think and came far too naturally which raises concerns for myself.) The other big problem with alternating POVs was that I didn't want to break the flow of thought by ending a chapter until it went to the other person. That resulted in chapters with 3 or 4 scene breaks in the middle, which felt dragged out sometimes and would have come off better as individual chapters.

Getting to Grif to realize he's crushing. Fuck dude, that was the hardest chapter, which is why it ended up taking longer than all the others (plus the fact that I just returned from a 10 day vacation at the time). I just didn't know how to pull it off convincingly, and it's most likely the weakest part of the whole plot. If I built up him thinking about it and persuading himself more in a less repetitive way, it probably would've been more effective. Or realizing that it's been going on/repressed probably for a decade and not on a whim like, "Oh hmm, I shall use my brain today, oops I am in love, when'd that happen?" I absolutely chalk this up to a trait of mine, where if information is discovered and is deemed to be true/factual in some way by my brain, then I switch gears completely (as Grif is projecting for me here).

Nice Try, Next... (takeaways)

Allow more leniency by not forcing a structure from the beginning (re: POV swaps and vaguely specific plot points).

Show what characters think through action rather than literally saying what they're thinking. (To be fair, gave myself an excuse with this 'cause of POV.)

Shorter chapters. Break when it feels right.

More drawing. Helped refresh my brain doing a different kind of creative thing in between bursts of writing. But uh, not too much drawing, because that created procrastination.

Less is more; clearer and more concise writing style. Try not to think about five things at once and repeatedly end up with the pattern of, "Grif said, 'This,' while doing that, and this is what he is admitting to thinking about himself doing that (but sometimes he thought about this other thing, too, not like he'd say it out loud)."

When writing POV specifically, careful about making too much content internalized thought. I get out of control and go on a neurotic rampage of "oh but they could be thinking this and this and this" and overanalyze things.

uhhhHHH THE END! See ya next time.

#me #fanfic #lessons learned

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c-j-writes · 5 years

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Fictober 2019

Prompt #4 “I know you didn’t ask for this.”

[Untitled Gay Mess]

Rating: T

Warnings/Tags: Will involve drug abuse in later chapters

Chapter Four

The field was bright and welcoming under the afternoon sun. I breathed in the fresh scent of cut grass, feeling the restless energy tingling in my feet and my legs. It had been too long since I’d been on a field- since I’d even played. Even when I’d spend days at summer school, I would go home and practice for hours. This summer was the first that soccer became less of a priority than it has been for the past half of my life. The first time in a while that I let something else be important to me.

Nonetheless, it was refreshing to be back. Not all of my teammates were stoked over the idea of extra practice, so I didn't make it mandatory. At least five of the girls still met me after school ready to run drills anyway. These were my favorite teammates. Not just because they showed up today. They're always here, always committed, just as much as I am. They're the ones who have the sport running through their veins and are ready to throw everything they've got towards it. At least three of them have been on the team since freshman year with me, so at this point, we're basically family.

Darian dropped the mesh bag of soccer balls that she had picked up from the equipment room in front of me. Her face split into a grin and she breathed in dramatically.

"God, I missed the sweet smell of sweat and dirt," she said, stepping over to drape her arm across my shoulders. "It has been too long, Andy, too long." I scoff.

"You say that every year, D," Kim commented as she picked up a ball and started juggling it with her knees. The rest of the girls shuffled forward, making odd comments about not having practiced for most of the summer.

"Andy's probably laughing at all of us, doesn't she always practice twenty-four-seven over the break?" Liv asked, bumping me in the shoulder with her own. I smiled, rubbing the back of my neck. Before I could correct her, Kim jumped in.

“Not just over the break, please, she practices morning noon night every day of the year. Why else do you think she’s so damn good?”

“Cause it runs in her family,” Hailey said.

With a laugh under my breath, I stepped in, “Actually, I haven’t practiced much since last school year. You know, took a summer off before the big year.” Sure, that wasn’t my intention. I had planned to practice at least three times a week for the last three months. I just got a little distracted and never seemed to get around to it. But this explanation sounds better.

“Wow, the King here hasn’t been practicing? Did the world stop turning and I didn’t notice?” Hailey snickered. Tanya, who was standing behind her, smiled a bit but stayed quiet.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever, let’s just get to work.” I rolled my eyes and picked up a ball.

We ran drills for about an hour before taking a break in the only shade on the field, underneath the bleachers. There were a few wooden crates that some seniors from a couple of years back had dragged under there and we rested around them. The sun peaked through a few breaks in the metal, enough to give us some patches of light. The wind blew aimlessly through some trees surrounding the field, making the leaves shimmer.

I sat on one of the crates with Darian leaning against it between my legs. She rested her head on my thigh and every once in awhile I’d drag my hand subconsciously through her hair. I wanted to try to french braid it, but I hadn’t done that in years so I wasn’t sure if I remembered.

Across the makeshift circle, Hailey sat with Liv, mirroring our stance. They were laughing over some stupid stories from their summer. Hailey glanced over at me and gave me this exciting look.

“Dude, we should have a team night at someone’s house and have a movie marathon,” she suggested. As much as I loved the idea of hanging out with the team, when I heard her mention a movie night, I tensed. Absently, I kept a smile on my face and nodded. My mind tried to drift back again, but I wouldn’t let it this time. Not here. God, definitely not here.

“Totally, we need to get together more, I mean for most of us this is our last year,” Darian said. I nodded again like I was some bobblehead just following along.

Liv leaned over and punched Tanya lightly in the arm. “Yeah, then we’ve gotta leave the team to you kids.”

“God, next year’s gonna be so weird, like you guys are my hookup to all the good parties,” Kim mentioned. I glanced over at Tanya, who’d barely said three words today.

“Speaking of,” I jumped in, “why hasn’t anyone informed me that T didn’t go to a single party last year?” She looked up, her eyes widening at first and then calming down, a blush creeping onto her face.

“What?” Hailey looked down at the younger girl. “I swear I invited you out.”

“You did, don’t worry, parties just aren’t my thing,” Tanya commented, looking down at the dirt underneath her.

“How can parties not be your thing, they’re like everybody’s thing?” Liv laughed.

“Honestly, like there’s so much to do and most of the time, you get free booze,” Darian said.

Tanya rolled her eyes, “I’d just rather spend my time hanging out with a couple of friends or the team than stand around some crowded house with a bunch of drunk guys.” She wrung her wrists between her fingers. “Plus, I don’t drink, so…”

“Wait, you don’t drink? Drinking is like the best part of high school, plus what are you gonna do when you go to college?” Kim asked.

“I don’t know, maybe focus on school. Hang out with friends?” Tanya’s face was getting pink from the attention being on her for so long. I felt kind of bad for throwing her to the wolves like that, but she was part of the team, she should be comfortable talking to us.

“Okay, you have to get drunk at these parties, once you get drunk, all the guys around here actually start looking cute,” Darian mentioned, drinking some water from her bottle. I chuckled along with the other girls, I’d never found any of the guys around town cute, but I also chalked that up to this town is full of ugly guys. College would probably be different. Tanya laughed, looking back at the ground again.

Looking at my phone, I figured now would be a good time to save T from further interrogation. “Come on, guys, let’s get back out there.” Darian didn’t start moving, so I stood up and let her head fall back and bang on the crate. She cursed at me as I walked away snickering. The girls followed me, all of us a bit slow from our bones settling into the rest.

Just as we reached the field again, I heard someone calling my name. Turning around, I found Coach Faye approaching the field, holding her hand above her eyes to block the sun. She waved me over with her free hand and started walking to the entrance to the gym, where her office was.

“Hey, I gotta go talk to Coach, take over for me?” I asked Darian. She nodded and I jogged to catch up with the woman.

When we reached her office, Coach had me sit down in the seat across from her desk. I’d been in her office many times, to discuss the team tryouts and plan events and even just to talk. The first time I’d been in there was when she asked me to be team captain for the first year. The room felt warm and welcoming. There were trophies and award plaques littering the walls and surfaces and team pictures dating back to the 70s. Everything was familiar. The only thing that looked any different was Coach’s face. She had a look that was something between a grimace and a stern face. It made me nervous.

“Andy, how have you been?” She asked. Her face softened, but not enough to make the tension in my shoulders lessen.

“Pretty good, I wanted to make sure and have some extra practice before the season, make sure we were all up to par,” I explained, thinking maybe Darian forgot to ask her if we could use the field and the training balls.

“Good, that’s good.” She nodded. “Listen, Andy, I know in the past you’ve had a bit of an issue with keeping up your academic life.” She shifted some papers around on her desk as if this was hard for her to talk about. I stayed silent, letting her finish her speech and get to the point. “And I know you put in a lot of effort last year to do so.” She had a habit of breaking up her lectures and taking pauses every few words. I don’t know if it was something they teach you in education courses or what, but I did know it was annoying. “I guess what I’m getting at is that I’m worried for you this year. With this being a very important season coming up, one that could decide your future, I just want to make sure that there won’t be any bumps in the road by the time we get to start practices.” Coach tipped her head towards me, which meant she was ready for me to reply.

“You mean my grades? Because I’ve never dropped below a 2.0, I swear.” I might not be the brightest kid, but I knew enough to make sure I could stay on the team.

“Yes, but I don’t think you’re considering that recruiters look at those grades as well. The athletic world is going through some changes since I went to college. They want strong and smart players, and not just on the field. I just want to make sure that you get every opportunity possible.”

My mind was trying to catch up with this new information. I mean, yeah, I knew that grades were a factor, they always are. I just didn’t know they’d be that big of a deal. I always assumed that I had the skill to not worry about the technical stuff. I mean, my performance has always spoken for itself. I’m the first sophomore in this county to beat out all of the upperclassmen for team captain. And I defended that position for almost three years now. I’ve led the team to nationals two years running and I’m planning on making it there again. My achievements should have been able to get me into the best soccer programs in the country. But now that could be for nothing because of some stupid math and science grades?

“I thought I was doing good?” My voice felt weak. I was trying to stop my head from spinning because this should be something I could calm down and deal with. If Darian were in this position, she’d be fine. She was always more level headed than me, that’s why we made such a good team on the field.

“Your performance on the team has been extraordinary and I’m sure it will continue to be this year. I just can’t be sure that it will carry you where you want to go unless you bring up your grades.”

“How am I supposed to do that? I busted my ass last year trying to boost my grades and I still just barely scraped by.” I was getting annoyed. My fingers started tapping on the arm of the chair. I tried taking a deep breath, but it just came out shakey.

“Well, there are a few options, but I think the best, for now, would be to sign you up for the tutoring program we have on campus.” My eyebrows scrunched together in confusion.

“We have a tutoring program?” Coach nodded, already clicking away on her computer.

“I can sign you up and get your meeting time and one of the tutors can sit down with you and give you someone on one help with your work. Sometimes a change of teaching style or simply a peer teacher can help you learn the information easier.” I wasn’t following everything she was saying, but I nodded along anyway. Whatever was easier I’d take, I didn’t need this to fuck up everything I’ve worked for. “There, you’re signed up, you’ll be getting an email to confirm and set up a time that would work for you and your tutor.” Coach stood up, so I did the same. My legs felt wobbly, but I tried to ignore it.

“Thank you,” I mumbled. I was trying not to look as shaken as I felt, but I knew it wasn’t working. Coach looked down at me and smiled, her eyes soft.

“Andy, I know you’re going to do great. Don’t let this worry you, you’re going to be fine. Your mother had the same mindset as you, who needs academics when the sport comes so easy.” Coach Faye had been coaching for decades. She coached my mom in her high school years. She was the one who pushed her towards professional soccer. Once I got to high school, she took me under her wing in a sense, since my mom hadn’t been there. It usually just made me feel like I was standing in shoes I’d never be able to fill, though. “I know you didn’t ask for this, sweetheart,” she said, lifting her hand to squeeze my shoulder.

My head was still spinning a bit and I didn’t trust my voice, so I just nodded. She let me out of her office to go back and practice. The air outside hit my lungs and I immediately felt just a bit calmer. That room had started feeling suffocating, so the fresh air helped.

When I reached the field, the girls were shooting penalties. I smiled at Darian filling in as goalie since ours was absent. For a second, I stayed on the sidelines and just watched. This team had been my pride and joy for three years. Every minute was spent thinking about the team and our strategies and our games. After this summer, I was already finding it hard to get my head back in the game for once. Now, this. It was like the universe was trying to make it as hard as possible for me to stay focused.

Kim scored and I could hear Darian’s curse from where I was standing. As the younger player jumped around in celebration, she caught sight of me and yelled my names, waving me over enthusiastically. I smiled and shook my head, jogging over to them.

“Hey, King, what’d Coach have to say?” Darian asked, carrying the ball over to the group of us.

As soon as I opened my mouth, I knew I didn’t want to tell them. I was the captain, I was supposed to have my shit together. I didn’t want to let them know that I was such a dumbass in class. “Just went over some scheduling stuff.” I smiled, but I knew it didn’t reach my eyes. I could feel Darian staring at me, she knew I was lying. Before she could call me out, though, I said, “Hey, let’s play a little two on two, yeah?”

We decided that being the only lower classmen present, Kim and Tanya would be goalies. Darian and I called each other as teammates, but the rest of the girls agreed that wouldn’t be a fair competition, so we split up. Tanya, Liv, and I made up one team, with Darian, Hailey, and Kim against us.

As soon as we started, Darian and I turned it into an all-out war between the two of us. We’d always been competitive on the team, being rivals in freshman year and having friendly games ever since. As soon as one of us had the ball, the other would block her. Liv had the ball for a few seconds and my mind came back to my tutoring situation. I’d never had a tutor before, but I always thought of it as a stupid arrangement. I’ll just get another kid who’s super smart to come in and tell me how stupid I am. I wasn’t looking forward to it.

Liv passed the ball to me and I took off with it when Darian blocked me and we faced off for a few seconds, she commented, “You look like your head is in the clouds, what’s up?” I didn’t answer her, instead, I took off around her towards the goal. Just as I was about to shoot, she came up beside me and stole the ball. In the process, I overestimated a step and stumbled onto my ankle.

I went down hard, feeling pain shooting up through my leg and back down to simmer where my foot met my calf. A strangled yelp left my lips as I rolled to my back. My eyesight was rimmed with white, hot pain. It felt like my ankle was on fire. Darian reached me first, kneeling down to grab my hand and check on me.

“Go get Coach Faye,” she yelled to one of the girls. I couldn’t tell which one, I wasn’t looking too far past my ankle. Darian squeezed my hand and I found her eyes. She was murmuring something to me, probably trying to comfort me. All I could focus on was the pain shooting from my foot and her voice somehow making its way into my ear.

#fictober19 #my ocs #original story #untitled gay mess #prompt 4

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chibinightowl · 7 years

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The Adventures of Sir Timothy Drake

Link to Chapter Two

Chapter Three: A Lazy Afternoon

Tim lounged on a rock in the bright afternoon sun, overlooking a small sun-dappled stream. His few clothes were freshly washed (as was he, again) and he simply basked in the sheer feeling of being alive. After all, he’d thought he would be dead by this time today. Never in a thousand years did he think the outcome of this adventure would end in anything other than his death. But Jason, and his odd proposal, changed all that.

For that matter, what was the dragon getting out of this? He’d stated he was doing it to give him a chance to live up to his potential, but after spending some time with him, he wasn’t entirely sure that was the whole truth. If there was one thing Tim learned from his mother, it was to not accept everything at face value. As the old adage said, if it sounded too good to be true, it probably was. Still, he knew it was best to observe and form his own opinion and one day was barely enough time to formulate a well-rounded one.

Part of that was his overall lack of knowledge on dragons. There wasn’t much information on them, aside from the fiery rampages they purportedly went on and their desire for gold and treasure. Myth had a tendency to be based in truth and Jason did have a hoard. A hoard of books. Either the stories were all wrong or the dragon he encountered marched to the beat of his own drum.

The latter seemed more likely, Tim decided.

His stomach growled and below him in the stream, Jason laughed. “Patience,” he called out. “I’d like to see you fish without a line.”

“I already told you I have a line and hook in my gear, but no. You just want to show off.” Not that Tim minded the view. Jason was as bare as he was, thigh deep in the water.

“Fishing is a skill, not something to fall asleep to.”

“Well, while you’re showing off your skills to the fish, I’m going to check on my horse.” Tim rose and put his boots back on. The pasture he picketed his lovely sorrel mare in earlier this morning wasn’t far from the cave entrance. She seemed no worse for the wear, nickering softly as he approached and nuzzling at his hand.

He led her upstream from Jason and rubbed her neck as she drank. “We’ll be here for a few more days. It’ll be a nice rest for both of us after a month on the road,” he told her.

“You always talk to mostly brainless beasts like that?”

Tim jerked his head around to see Jason leaning indolently against a tree. “An argument can be made for brainless,” he said. “But Robin here is one of the smartest horses I’ve ever trained.”

“All I see is dinner, but I don’t think you want me saying I’m hungry enough to eat a horse.” Jason grinned sharply, flashing fang as he did.

“I’d really prefer you not,” Tim replied, playing along. “I don’t feel like walking home. It took me a month of steady riding just to get here.”

“Maybe if you asked nicely, I’d let you hitch a ride.” There was a hint of a leer and Tim’s ears heated up as he made the connection that he’d technically already gone for a ride on a dragon.

Still… “You’re not eating Robin.”

Jason huffed, but it was plain to see he was joking.

Tim led Robin away from the stream and up the bank to her little pasture with the dragon trailing after them. “I guess now’s a good time to ask just how you plan on returning home with me. The nearest town with a decent livery stable is about five days ride from here.”

“More like a couple hours in the air.”

Distance and time calculations rushed through Tim’s mind and he gaped as he came up with an approximate figure. “You’re that fast?”

“In the air, yeah. It’s not as though I have to take time to safely ford a stream or go around that inconveniently placed rocky tor.”

Tim had so many questions he wanted to ask, the first and foremost being if Jason was serious about letting him go for a real ride on his back, which led into questions of what a saddle would even look like for a dragon and what kind of materials would it take to build one, not to mention what it would take to safely anchor a rider should said dragon go into a dive or even bank. But he took a deep breath and swallowed the urge, and focused on settling his horse, making sure she had plenty of line to move about.

He paused at a sudden thought and this time asked the question as it was actually relevant. “Is it safe to leave her outside?” he asked. “The weather’s fine, but are there any predators around I should be worried about?”

Jason grinned, pointedly revealing his sharp teeth. “Can’t get higher on the food chain than me. She’ll be fine.”

Tim accepted the fact at face value and they walked back to the stream. Checking his clothes, the leggings were mostly dry, so he started to dress.

“No need to put clothes on unless you want to,” Jason chimed in, following him on silent feet. “There’s no one else around here besides me and I sure as hell don’t mind.”

He kept his mouth shut and continued his battle with the leggings. Tim preferred trousers but these were easier to travel with. Besides, while Jason had no issues with wandering around bare as the day he was born, he did, even though that could be chalked up to cultural upbringing.

The dragon shrugged and knelt beside him, drawing up a thin line of already gutted fish out of the water below. “How burnt you like these?”

“Enough that I won’t get sick by eating them raw.” Tim cast about, looking for wood to light a small cook-fire with, but Jason waved him off.

“Watch and learn.” He removed one of the fish from the line, eyed it critically, and drew a short breath. A small jet of flame whooshed out when he exhaled. Tim stopped what he was doing and stared as the reality of the last day or so finally settled in. He was engaged to a dragon. A real, live, fire-breathing dragon.

“How’s that look?” Jason showed Tim the now roasted fish. All he could do was nod numbly.

Pleased, Jason set it down and picked up the second one, and then the third, roasting all three evenly. Tim forgot what he was supposed to be doing, entranced as he was by the flames. He started when he sat down and his bottom came in contact with cool stone. Jason watched him finish dressing with a bemused expression.

“How do you do that?” Tim finally questioned when his wits returned. “Is there some sort of gland that secretes a combustible oil that bursts into flame when it comes in contact with air? What about your throat? Or your mouth? Does it burn your skin at all?” Questions spilled out of his mouth, one after another as he tried to process what he’d just seen. It was all completely fascinating and he needed answers. His fingers itched for his journal to take notes, but he’d left it back in the cave.

Jason shrugged and sat back on the rock, draping his arms over his knees. “I’m not sure how it works in this form, but in my dragon form, the closest I can describe it for you is that I have a second stomach where the flame comes from. I can consciously control the muscle letting it out and how much air mixes in. The deeper the breath, the longer and hotter the flame.”

Tim scrambled over to kneel beside Jason and started poking at his mouth, prying it open to peer inside. He’d spent a good deal of time exploring it with his tongue earlier, but now he needed to see. “But the fire doesn’t hurt the inside of your mouth, right? Or your throat? How does that work considering how destructive it can be? You definitely have smoke breath though. Kind of like a chimney.”

Hands bat Tim away and he rocked back on his heels, realizing what he’d just done. He’d just stuck his fingers in a dragon’s mouth. Heat rose in Tim’s cheeks and he felt mortified. “Sorry!” he apologized. “I just…I get curious about things sometimes and can’t let go until I figure it out. I shouldn’t have done that, it was a complete invasion of your personal space and…”

Jason raised a long-nailed finger and rested it against Tim’s lips, silencing him. “Remember, it’s for that very curiosity that I’m marrying you in the first place. Just give a guy a warning next time you start shoving your fingers in his mouth, okay? At least outside the bedroom.”

Tim nodded, his eyes wide in relief as Jason didn’t appear to be upset with him.

“Good. Now eat. I can hear your stomach rumbling again.”

He was halfway done before he realized the dragon wasn’t eating. “Aren’t you hungry?” Tim asked, remembering his manners and offering up the remaining fish.

“All jokes about your horse aside, I don’t actually need to eat as often as you,” Jason replied. He’d been basking in the sun, stretched out on the stone as though he didn’t have a care in the world. “Finish your fish because I want story time.”

Tim mulled over his words while he ate. He’d put it off for as long as he could even if there wasn’t a lot to say, really. His parents were, well, his parents and trying to find the right manner in which to describe them to a third party who’d just as soon step on them as look at them was difficult. When he finished eating, he washed his hands in the stream, then settled in next to where Jason was still sprawled out. He purposefully kept his eyes on the slow moving water in front of him.

“My parents are rarely at home, always traveling or spending time in the King’s court in Gotham. They fancy themselves to be well-educated and to an extent, they are. But when it comes to me, they never seem to know quite what to do…” Tim spoke about his childhood, the multitude of tutors and instructors that made more of an impact on him than anything his mother or father ever did. It still didn’t stop him from trying harder and harder to gain their approval, to feel wanted and loved.

“I was eleven when Sir Richard arrived to teach me fencing. He was fresh from King Bruce’s court and had barely earned his spurs. But in my eyes, he was the most beautiful person I’d ever seen, both inside and out. He was the one who saw something special in me rather than just some nobleman’s son and became my first real friend.”

Sir Richard Grayson wasn’t the typical knight. For one, he was born a commoner, the son of traveling performers no less. But a tragic accident during a performance before King Bruce granted the young boy an opportunity to rise further than his low birth would ever allow and he took it. Dick was talented beyond belief and thrived when instructing others. Their friendship worked in both directions too, the small and bookish Tim instructing his mentor just as often as the older man bent him into a pretzel.

“When I was knighted by King Bruce, it was quite possibly the first time I’ve ever seen my parents appear proud of me.” Tim toyed with a small stick, twisting it around between his fingers as he remembered that day. His mother’s smile, a real one for a change that actually reached her pale blue eyes, so like his own. His father, his usual dour expression relaxed and a faint smile on his face. Neither were very expressive people, so this was joy and jubilation for them. “I was sent to war with Dick for a time after that, and later on a diplomatic mission to Kandor, accompanying the King’s Lord Marshal, Sir James Gordon. Dick had just married his wife Kori, so it was my first time out in the world without him.”

Kandor was where he’d met his best friend, Kon-el, the eldest son of the King of Kandor, Kal-el. The two young men became close friends during the extended visit, which became even longer when an early snow blocked the passes through the mountains, leaving the Gotham contingent stuck for the winter. It was with Kon that Tim learned he enjoyed the pleasures of a man’s body as much as he did a woman’s.

As he explained this, smoke started streaming from Jason’s nose, short puffs that hung in the still air. The dragon rose to his feet and paced around to disperse it, but Tim stopped speaking to wait him out. If he didn’t know better, he’d say the man was agitated.

“Something wrong?” he finally spoke up.

Jason waved him off, coming to a stop at the edge of the rock where it overlooked the stream. The intricate pattern of his tattoos wended their way over his shoulder blades, joining together seamlessly over the upper part of his back. Every time Tim’s gaze fell on the dragon, he appeared more wild and exotic than before. They hadn’t even known each other all that long, but Tim knew he was already entranced and under the dragon’s spell.

“It’s nothing,” Jason said flatly. “Keep going.”

Tim shot him another concerned look, uncertain exactly what it was in his story that set him off. If he knew, then he could avoid the topic in the future. “For the first time in my life, I truly enjoyed myself. The freedom of being a few hundred leagues from home was a heady rush and Prince Kon was determined to help me along that path every step of the way…”

The two of them became thick as thieves, but for all of that, they knew even then that they were better off as friends, especially since Kal was trying to arrange a marriage between his son and Helena, the daughter of Bruce and his consort, Queen Selina. Four years later though, the marriage still hadn’t happened, but Tim wasn’t at court often enough to find out why. All Kon’s letters would say was that Helena didn’t want to be married yet, which was fine with him, to which he’d then go on to wax poetic over the cousin of Queen Diana of Themyscira, Cassandra.

“That’s all well and good, but I don’t give a shit about court politics and intrigues,” Jason interjected, laying down again and shifting around so that his head was nestled in Tim’s lap. His eyes glowed blue-green in the daylight. “Even though your best friend better keep it in his pants unless he wants to accidently start a war over a spurned bride.” There was an edge to his voice, and Tim could tell he wanted to say something else but didn’t.

This didn’t start happening until he mentioned Kon. If Jason were human, he’d say he was jealous. But he couldn’t be. It made no sense at all, so Tim brushed it aside.

“I’ve warned him already. Kal, Bruce, and Diana are all friends, so I doubt it would come to that, but better safe than sorry.” He idly ran his fingers through Jason’s wavy hair as he continued with his story, the dragon already rumbling in contentment from the simple gesture. “Anyways, my parents and I didn’t see each other for a couple years and when I came home, they packed up and left almost a week after I arrived.”

The next few years played out much the same. Tim grew in status so as to be one of Bruce’s favored advisors as he didn’t have the same penchant as the younger knights to always rush into battle. But he preferred to be at home whenever possible, and so he took up the duties and responsibilities there that would normally fall to the Duke in his parents’ absence. His own desire to study and learn often took second fiddle to these and he grumbled, typically to Dick or Kori, whenever his parents would return as they were a constant source of frustration for him.

“It’s been a battle of wills these last few years,” Tim explained, the recounting of his story reaching its end. “I never seem to do enough in their eyes and I’m constantly trying to please them in order for them to acknowledge me. During my last argument with my mother, she informed me that I’d had my chance at court to make something of myself and further the family name, but all I was doing now was wasting it and dragging it through the mud with my scribbles.” The sour taste in his mouth that always accompanied his mother’s words over his studies was slightly mollified by Jason’s low grumble. “Before I left, I made it a point to hide all my old journal pages and sketches because on the off-chance I made it home alive, I didn’t think they’d be waiting for me. I still don’t for that matter.”

Jason’s grumble deepened into a true growl. “I already hate your mother.”

“Don’t. She takes out her frustrations on me and my father because neither of us have the desire to permanently move to Gotham and take up residence there. Seriously though, I think when we return home, I’m going to have her do just that.” Tim shook his head and sighed. “I almost feel bad for my father sometimes. He’s not a bad man, but he’s got a wife who’s a shrew.”

“Arranged marriage?”

“Yes. Just like the ones I’ve had contracts drawn up for, only for Mother to make Father back out at the last minute.” A fact he was rather pleased about now as he snuck a glance at the dragon still making himself comfortable in his lap.

Jason’s growl settled back into a low purr. “Good. Because I’d hate to have to share you with anyone.”

Tim laughed and tapped Jason lightly on the nose. “You do know that human marriages are supposed to be monogamous, right?”

“Emphasis on supposed to. I’m pretty sure I’ve bedded a few women who weren’t feeling satisfied at home,” the dragon snickered and opened his glowing eyes again. “But yes, I do. I won’t go fucking around on you while we’re married if you don’t. Not that I can see why you would, I mean, seriously. Look at me.” He stretched and arched his back, showing off the long, muscular line of his body, the thick thighs and strong calves.

“I haven’t been able to stop,” Tim admitted softly.

“I know,” Jason purred and reached up a darkly nailed hand to draw Tim closer to him. “Why don’t you come here and get a closer look?”

“Why don’t I?”

#chibinightowl writes #Tim Drake #Jason Todd #JayTim #Dragon!AU

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dougtfs · 7 years

Text

Sam's Story Ch. 1

Sam’s Story Ch. 1 **meant for entertainment purposes only, all persons depicted are 18 years of age or older. Enjoy your read! My name is Sam, and I am going to tell you about the day that my life changed forever. It was a normal day, I woke up to my alarm blaring, and my dad already yelling at me to begin taking care of my chores. When I went upstairs to the kitchen I saw both of my brothers helping my dad with breakfast. My father was a stern man, 45 years old and about 6'7, with black hair and brown eyes. Speaking of hair, he had a lot of it. His 56’ belly was engulfed by dark swaths of hair that seemed to expand evenly across his entire chest, back, arms and legs. His plump behind bubbled out and very noticeably jiggled as he walked, and although I hadn’t seen what was underneath his underwear in years, I assumed his hairiness extended there as well. My brothers, 18 and 19, were essentially miniature versions of my dad. Both roughly 6'4, they too had brown eyes and thick black hair that seemingly engulfed their bodies from the neck down. In fact, the only child that wasn’t almost an exact replica of my father was me. At the time I was 17, much like my father and brothers I had black hair and brown eyes, I was also nearing the height of my brothers coming in at around 6'3, but that is where the similarities ended. Firstly, I was extremely skinny, my belly was non existent and I could hardly put on a pair of pants without a belt to hold them up. Aside from the small tufts of armpit hair I had, my body was essentially hairless. Every time I would change in the school locker room, somebody would point out how skinny I was, or ask when my balls were going to drop. One day I was changing in the varsity locker room, when a few kids started making the usual remarks about my body. As I stepped out of my underwear, for some reason, one of the jocks in my P.E. class began to really lay into me. Growing up with brothers I had been forced to develop thick skin, and I tried to go about walking to the shower and getting on with my day, but he had other plans. “Look at this little boy, how did you manage to find your way into a Highschool locker room?” he declared for everyone to hear, “you’re about as developed as a 4th grader, and about as thin as a rail!”, five starring my ass as the last comment landed. I winced in pain but tried not to show it as he continued, “Look at yourself, you’ll never be a man, look at your brothers, you will never be anything like them!”. As I heard him say that I felt something snap in me, butt naked, my vision turned red as I turned around and swung with all my might at his face. But with the ease that people like him seemed to have with everything, he ducked my blow. I immediately knew I had made a mistake. Something in his eyes changed, no more was he just making fun of me to get through his day, now he was genuinely angry. He sucker punched me directly in my stomach, and while I was gasping for breath, shoved me into the shower where I slipped and hit my head as seemingly all the boys in school laughed at me. Curled up and gasping for air, I felt tears begin to roll down my cheeks. As the bell rang and the class left, I couldn’t bring myself to get up. He was right, I was just a scrawny wimp, I wanted so bad to be like my dad and brothers, and right then and there I decided that I wanted to become a man. That day when my dad came home from work I told him everything that happened, as he kept a somewhat emotionless face, I told him what I had decided earlier, that I wanted to become a man just like him. As I said the last part, his expression suddenly became very thoughtful, and after good few seconds he said, “You know what, today I’m gonna take you to workout at the club with me, hopefully I can get you on the right path.”. My eyes immediately lit up. I was finally going to start going to the gym with my dad just like my brothers did when they first started. After checking in at the gym, my dad and I put our change of clothes in the locker room and headed upstairs to the weight room. Although we began with what I assume was light dumbbell work, I was exhausted. By the third or fourth set, I think my dad saw that I was out of my league, and he told me that I was done for the day. He then said as recovery to grab a few glasses of water and hit the steam room. Once I entered the locker room again I noticed that it had filled up since we had first arrived. Seeing that everyone was unashamedly naked, I walked back to our locker and took off all of my clothes. As I walked to the steam room I began to feel out of place. It started to become apparent that not only was I the only person under 35, and the only person under 275 lbs in the locker room, that everyone seemed to be uncircumcised, and extremely well endowed. That combined with the fact that I was about the only one with out the body hair of a bear, made feel as if I was sticking out like a sore thumb. I rushed to the steam room area, grabbed a towel and entered. Once I entered, I laid my towel out on one of the benches and sat down. It must have been in between sessions, because the room did not seem to very hot, and I could still see relatively well. There were two very large, and very hairy men in the room with me, each sitting spread eagle, leaning back against the wall, chatting amongst them selves. I didn’t pay much attention to them and began twiddling my thumbs as I waited for a new steam cycle to start. Eventually the steam began dispense, and as the temperature rose and the steam began to engulf the room, I lost sight of those that were in there with me and I became lost in my own thoughts. The vapor continued filling the room until I couldn’t even see my own hand in front of my face. I was uncomfortably hot, and my entire body had a slight tingling feeling, almost as if my foot had fallen asleep, but all over. As I inhaled more and more of the steam I began to calm down. The tingling sensation almost felt arousing, and although I couldn’t see my dick, I assumed based on the bulging feeling I was experiencing that I had a massive boner. Once the first steam cycle was complete, and the room began to somewhat clear out, I again gained sight of the the two good looking, ball bellied men that were in the steam room with me. And for seemingly the first time they noticed me. They both smiled and then continued their muffled conversation. I looked down at my penis and noticed that my balls seemed to be hanging abnormally low, and for the first time noticed the first sprouts of a happy trail appearing. Chalking it up to a little bit of puberty finally happening, I began daydreaming again as the next steam cycle commenced. Once again as steam engulfed the room, I began to experience the now familiar tingling feeling. The sensation seemed to be tugging at my stomach and ball sack and once again I sprouted what felt like the largest boner I had ever had. I began to worry that it wouldn’t go away before the steam cleared, but as more vapor filled my lungs, I set the worry aside, leaned back and closed my eyes. When my eyes fluttered open, something felt strange. Although I was yet again engulfed by vapor, the tingling sensation had gone away, and in its place was the over whelming urge to take a piss. Seeing as how I had now been in the steam room so long I figured now was a good time to take a bathroom break and hit the showers. Once I stood up, everything felt off kilter. Thinking it was from simply being in the intense heat for too long, I deliriously made my way to the urinals, but when I reached for my usually minuscule cock, I felt much more flesh than I was used to, looking down I wash shocked to see that not only could I not see my penis, but in my line of sight was a hairy, enormous 54’ gut. Shocked, I quickly finished peeing and rushed to the nearest mirror. What I saw was not what I expected. Instead of seeing a scrawny, underdeveloped teen, looking back at me was a man child. My face had not changed, but my once scrawny frame was now replaced with something completely opposite. My gut had ballooned to a larger size than either of my brothers, perched on top of my tight beach ball resembling belly, was a set of moobs of the likes that I had only seen on my father and other men of his stature. My ass, which had always been non existent, was now replaced with an enormous bubble butt. Thick, black hair now carpeted my entire body from the neck down, spreading from my moobs, over my now very prominent belly, spreading up my back and into my armpits and in turn blanketing my ass, and my legs. But the most prominent change had happened below the belt. In the place of my once below average, circumcised package, was now an 8 inch penis, with a foreskin that had more than a few inches of overhang. My balls, once the size of prunes, were now hanging halfway down my thighs, replaced with balls that a bull would be jealous of, and blanketed with the largest bush I had ever seen. All of this should’ve had me in a panic, but instead it felt almost as if I had always been this way. And aside from the physical changes, mentally I felt completely normal. Smiling ear to ear, I sauntered to the showers, feeling my ass jiggle up and down the whole way. As I walked into the showers, I felt glances lingering on my behind, and for the what felt like the first time ever, I noticed how amazing all of the large, hairy men looked as they nonchalantly lathered their plump bodies in soap. The way that they ran their hands over their figures, how they flipped their cock and balls around as they lathered up, the way that their beautiful asses jiggled whilst they spread soap over them, and how appealing they looked bent over, running their hands up their cracks and down their legs as their balls swung back and forth. As I watched the 8 or so in the showers with me, I also began the process of cleaning myself. Rubbing my body wash filled hands across my vast torso, moving down to my now hardening cock, toying with my sack and bending over to spread it evenly across my legs and ass. I must’ve re lathered myself 3 times before deciding I had had enough, and while still erect I exited into the connecting room between the shower and the steam room to begin drying myself off. Once I was dry I decided to go look for my dad. Noticing that nobody else had wrapped themselves in a towel I walked toward the locker room lounge, still loving the way that my everything from my tits and belly, to my ballsack and ass seemed to bounce with every step that I took. Once I reached the lounge, I saw my dad, sitting between two of his buddies on a couch, stark naked for what was the first time since the days that we showered together. My dad’s flaccid dick, although not surprisingly, was even larger than my new and improved. About 10 inches, with even more foreskin overhang than me, was perched on top of the largest and hairiest pair of balls I had ever seen. His sack, almost the size of a cantaloupe, hung so low that it went over the edge of the couch. He saw me and knowingly smiled, he then motioned me to the only open seat in the room, between the two men I had first seen in the steam room. I sat down between the two burly men, who I was now larger than, and we began to talk about sports and how Highschool was going, although in the back of my mind I couldn’t help but think how amazing they both looked. I then realized that up until today, I had never thought about anyone but the popular girls at school and the hotties I saw online in that way. Just as I was realizing this, I felt a large hand grip my upper thigh. Then in turn, I felt another hand gripping my other thigh. The man to my left was about 6'2’, with blonde hair and blue eyes, and a belly the almost the size of my own. His curly, sandy blonde body hair carpeted him from the neck down, his uncut 6 inch penis, and saggy bull balls were engulfed by a very sizable bush. The man to my right was roughly the same height, with brown hair and brown eyes, following the trend of everyone in the locker room, he too was blessed with a furry ball belly, a sizable cock and a great set of balls, which were almost hidden by his illustrious bush. As both men continued messaging my thighs, I looked toward my father, who seemed to have moved spots. As the rubbing continued, I almost felt as if I should leave, but the men’s intoxicating touch was too much to think through. The man on the left slowly crept towards my cock, as he gripped my foreskin, pulling it up and down, as I became erect, my foreskin was still overhanging my now rock hard 12 incher. On cue, the man on my right gripped my chin, turning my head towards his own, and locked his lips with mine for what seemed like hours. Filled with lust, I turned to the man on my left, doing what his friend had done to me, pulled his head towards my own and began kiss him with passion. As our tongues went in and out of each other’s mouths, I felt his grip on my hard on loosen, as the man on my rights lips began to engulf my cock. It felt so blindingly good that I could no longer continue with my kissing. I began to moan as the man on my right, now on his knees in front of me, swirled his tongue inside my foreskin and around the head of my penis, making gagging noises as he attempted to deep throat my cock. Not wanting to be left out, the man on my left gripped both of my man boobs, and began to swirl his tongue around my nipple, while rubbing the other between his thumb and index finger. The amount of pleasure I was feeling was other worldly, but I wanted more. With the blonde still firmly attached to my nipples, i told the man sucking my dick to stand up, with a popping noise his mouth released from my penis, and grabbing him by the hips I turned him around and told him to bend over. Once he was bent I spread his plump hairy cheeks and began to flick my tongue in, out and around his moist man hole. His moans filled the air and he began to push his ass against my face, but I continued. Standing up off of the couch I bent him over on all fours, resting my enormous gut on his back, he moaned as my thick cock began to penetrate him, and eventually I sunk myself completely into him. His asshole tightened around my penis, gripping as I began to pull back out of him, but I pushed back in harder, his cheeks quaked with each thrust, and sounds of euphoria and stupor filled the air as I dominated him. Not to be left out the equation, I felt the blonde’s hand begin too massage hairy man hole as he gripped my sack. He then assumed a sitting position, putting his legs over the back of my calves, he ordered me to sit back, with which I complied. Firmly taking hold of my man boobs, he thrusted himself into me. Never had I felt my self be opened in such a way, as he pounded my prostate again and again, I began to bounce up and down, rotating my ass clockwise as he buried his manhood to the hilt in my furry ass. Still inside of my victim, I gripped his enormous gut, using it to slam myself into him relentlessly. As our collective climaxes approached, the intensity picked up, every thrust I made, in turn buried the blonde’s cock deeper into myself, and eventually I could contain myself no longer. With one last stroke, I began to explode into my brown haired lover’s luscious, hairy asshole until my own cum overflowed out of him onto my own body. This in turn created a chain reaction, I felt ropes of jizz pour into me and we collectively collapsed onto the floor. As I laid on my back, with semen leaking out of me, I suddenly was stricken with fear. What would my dad think? I didn’t have to wait long as soon he was standing over me, smiling ear to ear with his hand scratched out towards mine. As he helped me up he said, “You wanted to be a man, so I had it arranged, now let’s hit the showers again and head home, your brothers will be dying to hear about how it went.”

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the-pontiac-bandit · 7 years

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found a lot of love in this town

i,,,i don’t even know what to say here i wrote this thing on a plane and it’s incoherent fluff to the nth degree. i think i gotta blame @sergeant-santiago for this for screaming about peraltiago babies to me for like,,,all week now (title from city of angels, by the head and the heart)

Amy Santiago mutters a curse to herself. She’s in the back room of a wedding hall, swallowing down nausea and standing through dizziness, thinking to herself that the dark circles under her eyes most certainly don’t match her gorgeous powder-blue dress (she’s trusting that Gina will be able to fix it later, and that Gina will chalk up the circles to a perfectly usual lack of sleep). Her pantsuit had fit just fine this morning – maybe a little tight, but still zipping normally. Of course this dress, which had fit last month at the fitting, would be too small already.

Although, in fairness, a lot had changed in the last month, she reminds herself, a hand ghosting over her belly.

Rosa, leaned against a wall a few feet from Amy, looks up from the straps on her sandals at the muttered shit, and Amy regrets the noise immediately. It’ll probably zip with a little effort, after all. Or at least, she thinks with another tug at the zipper, her other hand stretched behind her to hold the dress closed, it had better zip. She can’t show up to her captain’s vow renewal in a work pantsuit (it would have to be a formal one, at least).

She knows rationally that Captain Holt couldn’t care less what she wears to his vow renewal, that he and Kevin would be proud to have her participate no matter what she was wearing, and that there are a million excuses in the world – other than the truth, which she can’t share quite yet – for why the dress didn’t work. But still, her breath is starting to quicken, and for some godforsaken reason tears are springing into her eyes because she’s only eight weeks in and has already lost control. Her body has always done exactly what she wanted it to, and she and Jake had talked about this eventuality six months ago when they first had this conversation. But now it’s real. There are thirty-two more weeks, and then the rest of her life, where she’ll never have full control again, but she thought she had time. She wasn’t ready for it to go to pieces today.

She’s growing a bit frantic, wishes she could go find Jake, likely standing with Charles and Terry in their suits in the reception hall, to hold her tight and whisper stories about cribs and stuffed elephants and toddler-sized Hogwarts robes and the sweet smell of baby shampoo like he did last time she panicked, staring at a positive pregnancy test and feeling this huge life change turn from hypothetical to tangible.

But then, she feels Rosa’s hands on hers, pushing them out of the way so that her friend can try the zipper from a better angle. She feels two gentle tugs. And then Rosa’s hands drop away, her clicking heels carrying her to Amy’s front, where she stops, arms crossed.

“Santiago,” she says, an ounce of reproach and a gallon of some emotion Amy can’t quite identify coloring her voice.

“What?” She tries for innocence, knows her poker face is faltering. She crosses her arms to mirror her friend, going for defiance but gratefully noting that the position prevents her hands from drifting to her stomach, as she’s noticed they have a new habit of doing.

“This dress zipped at the fitting last month.”

Amy’s jaw twitches. And then she’s babbling some incoherent response about hard work and poor nutritional habits and a lapse in her workout regimen and bloating.

And then Rosa’s holding up a hand, wordlessly telling her to shut up. Amy swallows a sentence about PMS, eternally thankful she was cut off.

They stand like that for a few seconds that stretch into eternity. Amy resists shifting her weight or breaking eye contact, knowing that both would be tacit admissions of guilt, but Rosa’s stern gaze makes her want to spill the truth out onto the floor of the dressing room, leaving it out in the open for her much calmer, much braver friend to deal with.

She can almost hear Rosa’s brain whirring as her friend puts two and two together. She can see Rosa’s eyes flit from her abdomen, up to the dark circles below teary eyes on her slightly fuller face, over to the coffee by Amy’s purse, with DECAF scrawled across the side. Amy’s sure she’s recalling a billion hasty trips to the bathroom when Hitchcock and Scully walk by with their lunch, and a trillion worried looks from Jake, who’s taken to hovering by her desk and volunteering for every single new case with a frustrated don’t-you-dare look at his wife, standing as a sergeant at the front of the room.

Before Amy can think of another excuse – something, anything, to throw her friend off the scent – understanding is lighting up Rosa’s eyes. A slight nod, and then her arms uncross, falling to a more relaxed position at her sides. She holds Amy’s gaze for a few more seconds, her expression shifting into something softer. If Amy didn’t know better, she’d call it affection. And then Rosa is moving back behind her, her hands finding the zipper and starting to work.

“So, you and Jake are getting…a puppy.” Rosa’s statement breaks the relative silence, rising over the faint white noise of chatter from the foyer filtering through the door.

Amy does her best to play dumb. She’s almost sure it’s not working, but it’s worth a try. “A puppy? God, no! Allergies! Anaphylaxis! Death!”

A sigh. A pause. “Fine. A monitor lizard, then.”

“Rosa, I’ve already told Jake no to that—I swear, if he got one—what do you know?”

She knows without seeing them that Rosa is rolling her eyes with such force it’s almost a physical sensation.

“Come on, Santiago. This dress zipped last month. Don’t play dumb. You and Jake are getting…some kind of appropriate animal this year.”

She remembers the last fitting, remembers noting the date for the first time that week, in the middle of a case that had given her tunnel vision and a bad case of the flu, and realizing she was late. She remembers the hope, the pregnancy test taken at five in the morning, long before Jake was awake. She remembers jumping on their bed, waking him up bouncing and hitting him with a pillow. He’d fought back, until he deciphered the laughter bubbling up through her lips as a barely-coherent we’re pregnant on loop, when he’d tackled her down to ask her really and are you sure and a billion other questions she’d answered by dragging him out of bed to the two pink lines on their bathroom counter. He’d tried to convince her to stay home, tried to say that dress fittings with Kevin Cozner were far less important than pizza-themed baby celebrations, but she’d reminded him about how important today would be and had dragged herself away with a huge grin on her face and a thousand promises to go as quickly as possible.

Behind her, Rosa tugs on the dress extra hard, a reminder that she’s still waiting for Amy’s answer.

With a sigh and a hard swallow, Amy nods, hoping that the bounce of her hair would be enough confirmation for Rosa, since Amy’s not sure where her voice went or when her throat got so dry.

Rosa pauses, her hands stilling against Amy’s back. Then, she clears her throat. “You…okay, Santiago?”

Amy’s not sure what about the sentence opens the floodgates. She’s not sure if it’s the concern in her friend’s voice, or the hand that’s gently resting on her shoulder, or the relief of having someone else know or some other thing she hasn’t begun to identify, but words are spilling out of her mouth before she can even figure out how to answer the question. “I mean—we’re thrilled—Jake is so excited—and I mean, I am, too, obviously—it’s just that—I don’t know—it’s all so real, so much faster than I thought, and I’m going to have to stop field work soon, and it’s on the calendar and we planned for every eventuality—or I thought we did, but this dress won’t zip and there are going to be a billion more things like this and—Rosa…what if I can’t do it?”

Her voice had been growing louder, more frantic, but the final words came out a whisper, a thought she’d been too scared to voice even to Jake. Amy’s knees are shaking, her shoulders heaving as she catches her breath. She can’t decide if the feeling in the pit of her stomach is fear of all the unknowns ahead, relief at finally having voiced her deepest fear, or simply nausea, which has become an almost-constant presence in her life over the last six weeks. As Rosa turns her around by her shoulders so that they’re face to face, Amy decides it’s probably some combination of the three.

Amy can’t bring herself to look her friend in the eyes, so her face drifts down. She notes the nude nail polish on Rosa’s toes, matching her shoes and complementing her dress, and occupies her brain with the thought of Rosa getting a pedicure – somehow, the idea of her enigmatic friend having her nails painted is so unexpected that it calms her, distracting her from her spiral. The back of her dress is still open, and she can feel the draft from the vent above her against her spine, but she resists the urge to move, knows that turning away won’t put off the conversation Rosa’s about to put her through.

“You idiot.” Rosa’s voice surprises her, its amused affection catching her off guard and drawing her out of her reverie. Amy’s face turns up, to find her friend staring at her with concern in her eyes but a smile gracing her face. “Do you honestly think you can’t do it?”

Amy shrugs. “I mean, I know everyone’s done it, and Jake and I are prepared, and I babysat, and we’re financially stable, and we’re ready for a family, but…what if I screw it up? This is someone else’s life, and you can’t plan for everything – I didn’t even think to plan for this dress.”

Rosa punches her in the shoulder. “Nerd. You’re going to be great. I promise. Your…pet—” she nods at Amy, “—is going to kick butt and start solving crimes as a toddler and probably skip ten grades. You can’t plan for everything, but that doesn’t mean you’re not ready for it.”

Amy’s wincing, rubbing her shoulder where Rosa’s knuckles made contact way harder than necessary, and slowly processing her friend’s words through a head full of swirling thoughts and to-do lists and mild-to-moderate panic.

“Really?”

“Santia—Amy, you solve crimes for a living. You’re smart, and you react on your feet. You and Jake are disgustingly perfect for each other, and you’ll be great parents…to whatever pet you’re planning on getting. Plus, you really think you’d be alone? You’ve got a huge-ass family to help.”

“No, I know, but my mom won’t be able to stay forever, and my brothers are so spread out, and—”

“You know what I meant.”

Amy smiles at her friend, and then, before she quite knows what she’s doing, her arms are around Rosa, squeezing her friend tight. Rosa stiffens for a second beneath the hug, but then her arms have wrapped around Amy, holding her back.

It only lasts for a few seconds, and then with a clap on her back, Rosa is extricating herself and moving to start fresh on the zipper.

“So, when are you due? Or—when is the pet—”

Amy cuts her off with a smile. “You’re good. Due the second week in May.” She can feel tension easing out of her shoulders, and the knots in the pit of her stomach are coming mostly undone (turns out that part of that feeling was just nausea, but the anxiety is ebbing away). Her lungs feel fuller, and her heart isn’t pounding quite so hard anymore.

Rosa keeps up the conversation, making small talk about names and plans and work and the impending ceremony all mixed together, for a few more minutes as she tugs at the zipper with increasing force, before muttering a curse in defeat and going off in search of Gina.

Fifteen minutes later – just in time – Amy has been lightly stitched into her dress, with a silver cardigan Gina stole off the back of a guest to cover the gap in the back. Gina doesn’t ask questions as she works, and Amy’s not sure what Rosa told her to enlist her help, but she’s so unbelievably grateful for the women bracketing her that she doesn’t bother asking.

She can see the question in Jake’s eyes when she emerges with Gina and Rosa nearly thirty minutes after she left to change, wearing a matching dress and a barely-too-small cardigan, so she whispers in his ear as she walks by, “Your friends are way too smart…and also, the dress maybe didn’t zip.”

He laughs a little against her neck, pulling her in for a quick hug as he whispers back, “They’re your friends, too.”

A grin stretches across her face. “Don’t worry – I know.” A brief kiss on his cheek, and then Gina is pulling her away with mentions of Kevin and tardiness and smoke machine timing.

Exactly twenty-nine weeks later, Rachel Rosita Peralta arrives, announcing her presence firmly with an early delivery and a cry louder than Amy would believe lungs that small could make. The nerves that have been a steady undercurrent for months haven’t disappeared, but the small bundle that she and Jake have been passing between them throughout the morning after the longest night of Amy’s life fills her chest with so much love she’s stopped noticing.

Rosa punches her in the shoulder when she hears the name, trying and failing to hide her smile and the shine in her eyes. As she stares down at her goddaughter, making wordless promises about hundreds of thousands of pushups and other sappy things she’d never dare say out loud, her only comment, directed at Amy, is, “You know, this is a pretty cute monitor lizard, Santiago.”

Amy’s soft smile quickly morphs into a disapproving frown as Jake pipes up from the corner, where she had been sure he was sleeping. “A monitor lizard? Ames, did you change your mind?”

#b99 #brooklyn 99 #my writing #jake peralta #amy santiago #rosa diaz #ray holt #kevin cozner #peraltiago #peraltiago fanfic #rey and eli #YALL RAE IS HERE #WOOHOO #AND ALSO ITS CHEESY AS H E C K #IM GONNA OWN IT #U CAME FOR THE FLUFF WELL HERE YA GO

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nsschaintale · 4 years

Text

Link 6: Justice For Some

Chaintale Extra

Chain Link: The Fallen Royal Scientist

Link 6: Justice For Some

It had been several years since the last human had fallen and things seemed to be calm. The Underground has seen some changes over the years including the induction of a new leader of the Royal Guard. A competition has taken place as the previous leader Keldin was retiring due to family and looking for a replacement. The one who came out on top was Ketju Acheris. With her strength and determination, she managed to outlast the other monsters and become the new Head of the Royal Guard. This had also inspired the younger monsters to join up and train hard so they might one day take over, should she do the same thing. This includes Catena himself, who enthusiastically trains at every waking hour in hopes of taking that position. Tether is happy that his younger brother got something to look forward to, even if it has him on wit's end with worry at the thought of a human who might come down and do harm to everyone. At least with the Royal Guard around, he shouldn't have much to worry about. Now about Gadwyn, Tether was noticing something off about him. Knowing that the Project Barrier Break is two humans away from completion, he had always wondered why he had come home late nearly every night or early morning. He always chalked it up to work holding the scientist at the laboratory, but even he would at least try to come home to rest. Perhaps he's using the lab beds? That's what he figured, but there was this nagging feeling that there was something else. Especially when he caught a strange look on his father's face a few times while coming across him. Remembering what Gadwyn told him and Catena years prior, Tether started to think that his father has a plan outside of the project and it may have to do with his hatred towards humans as evidenced by Percy's cruel death. Feeling like he's overthinking things, Tether got ready to meet his father at the lab for work. Apparently, there's news of a new intern joining up and he had to go meet them with the others. Tether spotted Gadwyn and the group near the elevator, standing by a chubby yellow lizard girl with her two front teeth poking out from her snout, and wearing black half-framed glasses, a white blouse with pink ruffles on the seams of the collar, sleeves, and bottom, a yellow line on the sleeves, a gold bracelet, and khaki cuffed capris. She had on a chain lanyard that has her photo ID that has “INTERN” on it.

Gadwyn: Everyone, I'd like you to meet Kusari Allori. She will be interning here for the time being.

Kusari (adjusts her glasses): H-Hi, it's nice to m-meet you all. (gives a little bow)

Gadwyn: You can do introductions on your own time, but for now, we need to begin our tasks for today. Tether!

Tether (jolts): Guh, yeah?!

Gadwyn: You will be helping Miss Kusari out by giving her a tour of the facility. Once done, bring her to us so we can teach her about the project.

Tether: Yes sir...

Once everyone dispersed to their places, Tether and Kusari began the tour by heading north of the elevator.

(Tether and Kusari walked down the hall past a few blank screen panels and entered the resting area where three rows of three beds are present; a pair of ficus plants are seen in the far bottom left corner, a small clock is hung on the right side of the doorway, and a panel with green lit letters are seen)

Tether: This is pretty self-explanatory, this room is where we sleep at if we're too tired to go home after working. It happens a lot.

Kusari: Won't they get disturbed while sleeping?

Tether: It depends if you're a heavy sleeper.

(Tether and Kusari exits the resting area and makes their way further past it, arriving at the mirror room; three full-body mirrors have two blank panels between them and five more mirrors are at the opposite end; across the first three mirror is a long empty table)

Tether: This is the mirror room. ...I actually have no idea what they do in here.

Kusari: Um, maybe it's for checking to see if your clothes are all right?

Tether (shrugs): I dunno. Maybe.

(Tether and Kusari exits the mirror room and heads up into the hall leading to the central laboratory; they arrive at the observatory of the central lab room where it has a large balcony area walled off by safety windows and double doors leading into the laboratory)

Tether: That's the central laboratory. It's where all of our experiments take place. Those of us not involved in the project can observe from the outside. Looks like they're about to start another experiment. You'll get to see it closer if you join us after your internship.

Kusari: Okay.

(Tether and Kusari exits the observatory and goes right, entering the fan room; past the blank panel is three rows of 8 giant fans and a control switch)

Tether: This is the fan room. It basically keeps the lab cool through the ventilation, since it's in a hot place.

Kusari: O-Of course!

(Tether and Kusari leave the fan room and walk past the lab; they arrive at the shower area, three separate doors has a male symbol on the first door, a question mark on the second door, and a female symbol on the third door)

Tether: This is the shower area. Men on the left, women on the right, unknown in the center. Plenty of showers inside. They're rarely used but again, they're here in case someone gets stuck here.

(Tether and Kusari leave the shower area and they arrive at the extraction machine; it's a large steel machine that looks like an ant's head in design, four pipes rise into the ceiling and two additional ones connect from the sides of the eyesockets to the mandibles; a large section of the floor is missing and they can see the rest of the lab on the lower level; a blank panel and a door is seen on the left side)

Tether: This is the extraction machine. We've caught some humans over the years, so we used this to extract essences from their Souls.

Kusari: Sounds dangerous...

Tether: To the humans, yeah. To us, I don't know. I've never messed with it myself.

Kusari: Why is part of the floor missing?

Tether: The machine lowers into the lab below when in use.

Kusari: Oh. (walks over to the edge and spots two monsters working on the machinery below before joining Tether again)

(Tether and Kusari entered the room by the machine and on the opposite wall of the room, they see a TV stand with a CRT TV on top, a shelf underneath with a VCR machine, and flanking the setup are two bookshelves, filled with books and VHS tapes)

Tether: This is the TV room. Nothing too interesting about it.

Kusari (walks up to the bookshelves): Hmm... What are these?

Tether (follows): Those video tapes? I'm not sure. I've never watched them, but Dr. Gadwyn said one of them inspired part of the Project.

Kusari: Oh! I-It must've been something amazing to do something like that.

Tether: Must be.

(Tether and Kusari exits the TV room and walks past the machine, arriving at the break room; the floor is blue tiled, 6 square tables are arranged with two pairs lined up to make two parallel rectangles and the other two are in opposite corners; five grey refrigerators line the back wall, the center one flanked by two blank panels and the fridge closest to them has a microwave in the wall by it)

Tether: This is where we take breaks. Plenty of fridges to put stuff in. Just.. (sighs in disgust) ..make sure you don't accidentally leave any food and side experiments in them.

Kusari: ...I...take it you know from experience...?

Tether (squints): Yeeaaah.... I may not have a nose, but the sensation of being near it was just.... (shivers in disgust)

Kusari: How b-bad was it....?

Tether: The entire facility was shut down for a week just to remove the fridge and clean the very spot it was on, then a month just make sure nothing was contaminated. Pa- uh, Dr. Gadwyn was absolutely livid during that time. I couldn't get the sensation out of my mind for a week, it was gods-awful.

Kusari: Th-That does sound awful!

Tether: Ugh, it was. We were all busy at the time for the project, so I figure someone left something in there and forgot it. Although....forgetting something for a year isn't exac-

Kusari: A YEAR?! How has no one noticed that?! Did no one check any of the fridges during that time?

Teher: I'm still wondering that myself... Come on, we better get moving.

Kusari: Urgh...

(Tether and Kusari backtracked to the elevator and went left; they arrive at the door to the power room and entered; it's a wide area where at the opposite end, a tall machine is hooked up to 9 pipes and the lights on the two headlights, the container, and the panel are glowing a soft red)

Tether: This is the power room. It may not look like much, but it's what keeps the place running using the energy gathered at the Core.

Kusari: Oooh... (walks up to the machine) Is there something in there?

Tether: I don't know. I never really go near it.

Kusari (backs away): Ah! M-Maybe I shouldn't go near it th-then..

(Tether and Kusari leave the power room and arrive at the infirmary area; to the left side of the five doors present are three sinks and the right side of the fifth door is a blank panel; the doors lead into rooms with medical beds and equipment)

Tether: This is the infirmary area where we take Fallen monsters into individual rooms and try to revive them.. Luckily, we don't use this place as much, but it's here just in case.

(Tether and Kusari went back to the elevator and went south; they arrive at what looks like a makeshift morgue, the right wall has several metal drawers with different labels on the front; the labels have the ID code for the humans marked; they stopped in front of the drawers)

Tether: This is... I guess this is where we've been keeping the human bodies...

Kusari: L-Like...actual human bodies, or...

Tether: Yep...

Kusari: ..They're actually in there...?

Tether (pulls open the drawer labeled “KI06”; the body of Kindel lay on the platform): This one's the last one captured.

Kusari: Whoa... (adjusts her glasses) This is what a human looks like?

Tether: There's different ones. (opens the drawers one by one, hesitating on PE05; pulls open the drawer)

Kusari: Oh, whoa! You're right! Th-There are different ones. Although... They look smaller than I imagined...

Tether: We suspect that they're younger versions of humans, kids maybe, but they did show powers stronger than our own.

Kusari: Ah, I heard! I remember hearing rumors of a monster helping a human years ago. Pretty silly, right?

Tether: Yeah, it is... (stares at Percy's body for a moment before closing the drawers)

(Tether and Kusari returned to the elevator and went up to the lobby)

Tether: Of course, you've seen the lobby. It's where the families and visitors of the scientists come to. There's a little play area for the kids to stay if their parents don't have babysitters.

Kusari: Oh, that's cute. (sees a multiple-eyed monster approach her and Tether)

Multi-eyed Monster: Ah, young Tether, it has been a long while. You've grown up handsomely.

Tether: Ah, Ms. Bakersol, it really has been a while. Kusari, this is Ms. Bakersol.

Kusari: Hello.

Ms. Bakersol: Ah, you're a new face, hello! Are you here for a tour?

Kusari: Oh, y-yes, I'll be interning in the lab soon.

Ms. Bakersol: How lovely! I hope Tether isn't causing too much trouble.

Kusari: Eh?

Ms. Bakersol: He used to be a little troublemaker, but I'm glad he's found something to focus on.

Tether: M-Ms. Bakersol...!

Ms. Bakersol: Ahohoho! Ah, how is your brother? Is he doing well?

Tether: Yep. Still doing basic training and errand work, but he's getting up there.

Kusari: Brother?

Tether: Yeah, younger. His name's Catena. He's a trainee in the Royal Guard.

Kusari: Oh wow! Wait, the Royal Guard, the one Ketju leads now?

Tether: The one and only. Why?

Kusari (blushing): O-Oh, nothing! Just wondering!

Tether: …?

Ms. Bakersol: Well, I won't keep you two long. I got some little ones to watch over. (a few eyes turn to look behind her at a little Loox Eyewalker monster) Ethan, what did I say about not sharing?

Ethan (startled then glances around sheepishly): To not do it again.

Ms. Bakersol: Yes, now play nice. (turns eyes back to Tether and Kusari except one) Ah, anyway, I'll let you return to your tour. Have fun and a pleasure meeting you, Ms. Kusari. Have a good time, Tether. (returns to the play area)

Kusari: Th-Thank you. ...You were a troublemaker?

Tether (flustered): W-We should go to the Core, yea?

Kusari: … (giggles)

(Tether and Kusari left the building towards a tall elevator north of the crossroad, going to Level R3; they were greeted by a few monsters who were leaving the Core as they crossed the bridge and reached the lit entrance; once through and after taking the elevator, they went left and arrive at the Core)

Tether: Welcome to the Core.

He had heard that the Core had sections that are interchangeable in order to confuse humans, and the duo got a demonstration of such a thing. Kusari was worried about the liquid running below the area, but Tether explained that it's a form of geothermal energy that is converted into electrical energy that powers the entire Underground. The safety railings along the paths are there to keep everyone from accidentally falling into the liquid. They noticed huge blocks of ice falling into it and Tether mentioned how the ice keeps the liquid cool. Kusari asked where the ice came from, and Tether had notice someone in Snowdin throwing ice into the river, so he assumed that was where the ice came from.

Tether: Now that that's done, let's head back so you can start your interning.

Kusari: Okay. Th-Thank you for the tour.

Tether: No problem.

(Tether and Kusari return to the lab; sees Gadwyn)

Gadwyn: Ah, there you are. I take it the tour went well?

Kusari: Yes sir! This place is really interesting!

Gadwyn: I appreciate your enthusiasm, Miss Kusari. For the time being, you'll be running errands for us, so there are some areas that are off-limits.

Kusari: Ah, I-I was wondering why there were places Tether didn't take me.

Tether: Yeah, can't take the new ones to them. Safety reasons.

Kusari: Oh, that makes sense.

Gadwyn: Right, well, let's get you set up for your first set of tasks for today.

Kusari: Yes sir!

Gadwyn: Tether, we've prepared for our next round of experiments to begin. (turns away) I expect you to be there.

Tether: Yes, sir...

Kusari: ….?

The next few weeks were spent by the scientists in conducting experiments and Kusari running errands. As Kusari was on her way to deliver some documents to Gadwyn, an alarm sounded.

Kusari (almost drops the folder): Wh-What is that?!

Scientist1: It's the alarm!

Scientist2: A human has come!

Kusari: A human? Ah, that must mean it'll end up like the others Tether showed me... (sees Gadwyn walking by) Oh, it's Dr. Gad- (sees a strange look on his face, like a twisted grin) That....was strange.

This human in particular is a dangerous one. Her green eyes were flaring in ferocity as she raced throughout the underground. She spouted demands as she faced the monsters. When she was chased by Darius, she managed to shoot him in the leg, taking him down. She was able to get through Snowdin into Waterfall, running into Ketju. Ketju faced the girl and told her that she must give her Soul up so the monsters can go free. The girl, Judy as she gave her name, answered Ketju with a shot, taking her left eye out. While Ketju writhed on the ground in pain, Judy made her escape to Hotland. This put the monsters in the lobby into a panic and they all went into the main lab area to hide until she passed through. Judy looked around to find the monsters, but found nothing and moved on. She continued on and ran into two Royal Guard soldiers. She faced off against them, firing a shot at one of them and escaping deeper into Hotland. She met Kæde and fired a warning shot, hitting a spider in the process. She managed to get far enough to enter the Core and felt like she was getting close until she heard the sound of wind pulsating. A large magic circle appeared before her and rings of chains pulsed around it a few times before Gadwyn appeared within, a Soul container tied to his hip.

Gadwyn (steps away from the circle as it vanishes): A pleasure to meet you, human, but I'm afraid your journey ends here. If you would be so kind as to give up your Soul-

Judy: Never! Now tell me where the missing children are!

Gadwyn: Oh? And why do you care?

Judy: Because their families need them back, and justice will be served to you monsters!

Gadwyn stared at Judy for a while before he scoffed at the answer.

Gadwyn: Justice, you say? (chuckles darkly) Funny you should say that. You say that justice will be served for the humans, but what about our justice?

Judy: Your justice? The monsters' justice?

Gadwyn: Yes. The humans attacked us first and took so much from us. Took many of our friends and loved ones. Took the life of a monster prince who only wanted to return the body of a human to the surface. Took away our hopes and dreams. Betrayed us all...

Judy: Well, what about the missing children? They did nothing wrong! I'm sure they only want to see what's down here!

Gadwyn: Really? I've no idea of what became of the monsters in the Ruins when the little boy arrived, but explain to me why a young girl punched her way through the snow fields, taking out any monster who faced her?

Judy: Because the monsters attacked her!

Gadwyn: The girl in the tutu who tried to buy her freedom with the truth of harming a monster?

Judy: I...well-

Gadwyn: The bespectacled boy who used his words to trick monsters to his side?

Judy: That's just-

Gadwyn: Or the boy whom I've heard ate a monster?

Judy: Guh, but that could be a rumor!

Gadwyn: A rumor? Oh, I'm afraid you're wrong. It may not look like it, but there are many eyes in the Ruins and one certain spider queen who has connections...

Judy: But-

Gadwyn: In addition! There are also the humans from centuries prior that were once our friends, but turned against us. Therefore, humans like you are not to be trusted. I almost lost one of my sons to one. I lost my beloved wife to the Seven Magicians from years ago. (muttering under his breath) Mu anamchara Alysída... (glares at Judy) Tell me, after hearing what I've said.. How does it feel to be an enemy of ours?

Judy: I... How am I an enemy to them? They're the ones who are our enemy! They know where the kids are, keeping them trapped for so long. Yet he says the humans harmed them first. That's not right, the monsters are the bad guys and bad guys need to be punished with swift justice! …..But if the humans really did do those things... (stares at Gadwyn) ...Is he like a hero to the monsters and am I...the bad guy...? (shakes her head) No, that's not righ-

Gadwyn: It appears that you are lost in thought. Allow me to give you a choice. Surrender your Soul and I'll help return your body to the surface. Refuse, and I'll have it removed by force. What say you?

Judy (aims her gun at him): I chose neither. (shoots at him)

Gadwyn (sidesteps, dodging the bullet): I'll ask again. What say you to my options? (approaches her calmly)

Judy (checks her gun, seeing no bullets in the chamber): Darn it, I'm out!

Gadwyn: You're out of bullets, it seems.

Judy (aims her gun): I gotta try...

Gadwyn (stops a few feet away): Human, don't make this hard for yourself. You do realize- (senses something) This feeling.... Magic? (notices something glowing inside the barrel) What is that?

Judy: Take this! (pulls the trigger)

To the duo's surprise, a bullet of yellow light shot at Gadwyn, grazing his right arm and startling him.

Gadwyn (grabs his arm): AAAGH!

Judy: Oh... OH! I did that? (gasp) Let me try it again!

Gadwyn (enraged; a pair of dark blue chain decals appear on his face, one running up the right side of his skull from his eye and one down on the left side from his eye to his mouth): You damned hell spawn, you've made your choice. (lifts his hand above his head) Vester!!

(a large lupine skull with a pair of wavy horns and chains attached to them appeared beside Gadwyn)

Judy (aims her gun at the skull): What-

Gadwyn (levels his hand with his glasses; closes his hand into a fist): Fire.

The pain Judy felt as the blast let loose by the skull hit her was immeasurable. Her screams were drowned out by the roar of the blast. Once it was over, Judy was on the ground, burned and bleeding. She didn't want to join the five children who fell before her. She was determined to live. Even through her pain, Judy aimed her gun. Even through her agony, she pulled the trigger.

Nothing happened.

She was really out of bullets.

And out of life.

Gadwyn (shivering): …...... (gasps sharply) I... (clears his throat and straightens himself up) That was...Well. I hope I didn't go too overboard. (looks at his grazed arm) That magic bullet she shot.... Could it be that-

CoreRoyalGuard1: Dr. Gadwyn!

CRG2: Are you all right!?

Gadwyn: Yes, I'm fine. It's just a scratch.

CRG2 (grimaces at Gadwyn's wound): Are you sure?

Gadwyn: Yes. (looks at Judy's body) Hmm, hopefully, we can get something from this one. (sees the yellow Soul rise from the body as he detaches the container from the chain; captures the Soul in it and stares at it, a crooked smile gracing his face) Just one more and-

CRG1: Sir?

Gadwyn (jolts): …..Right. One of you help carry the body to the laboratory, please. Carefully.

CRG1 (looks at the body then at his partner): You wanna do it?

CRG2: I'm not touching it.

CRG1: Well, I don't wanna either-

Gadwyn (glaring): Gentlemen.

CRG2: R-Right! (hurriedly picks up Judy's body with caution)

The trio made their way back to the lab through Gadwyn's teleportation circle. During this, the monsters in the lab had calmed down from nearly encountering Judy. As the monsters talked among themselves and leaving the main lab, the scientists were preparing for the arrival of Gadwyn and the body.

Kusari: Th-That was so close! We almost got attacked by that human! I hope D-Dr. Gadwyn is okay, right, Tether? ….. (looks around not seeing him) Tether? (walks off to find him, meeting another scientist)

Scientist: Oh! Kusari, Dr. Gadwyn just arrived and wants everyone to meet him in the lab.

Kusari: Okay! I'm g-gonna find Tether and tell him! (rushes off to find Tether; finds him in the morgue looking at a body) Eh? (watches him from outside of the door) What's he doing?

Tether (looking at Percy's body): Another human got caught just now... Just one more and we monsters will be free.... That would've been nice...if there was another way for us to go back to the surface without killin' anyone.. (looks away for a moment before looking at Percy's face again) If only Papa didn't kill you, you could've helped us tell our story like you wanted, the truth of the war... You could've...We could've returned home...to the surface... (sighs) When we get out of here, I hope King Kette will allow me to bury you somewhere, rather than have you locked up in this place. (moves a few loose strands of hair from Percy's face) I think it's time for me to go. I really don't want to leave, but I'll have to let you back in now. (moves to push Percy's drawer back in the locker; gets startled by Kusari's presence and the sounds of monsters moving around somewhere in the lab) Aah! H-How long were you there!?

Kusari: Eep!! S-S-Sorry! I was coming t-to get you because Dr. Gadwyn w-wanted everyone to meet up with him!

Tether: Ooh... I'll, um, be there...

Kusari: Eh?

Tether: What?

Kusari: Y-You have tears... You're crying for the human?

Tether: Huh? (rubs his sleeve over his eyes and looks at it, seeing blotches and smudges of wet spots on it) Ah... (roughly rubs his eyes and holds his arm behind his back) That's, uh, I had something in my eyesockets..

Kusari: Are you sure? You were talking to that human- (covers her mouth)

Tether: …...You heard that much...huh..?

Kusari: …. (nods) Yes, s-sorry...

Tether: ...It's fine. (looks back at Percy) His name's Percival.

Kusari: Oh? Did you name...him?

Tether: No, he already had that name. I don't know the others' true names since they were only labeled by their Soul Trait, like Percy's is PE05 for Perseverance.

Kusari (approaches the body, stopping by Tether): So, the humans have names?

Tether: Pretty much.

Kusari: What's special about this one?

Tether: He.......was the first human friend I had, as far as I remember...

Kusari (surprised): R-Really?

Tether: Yeah. Met him in the snow fields. I couldn't really place it, but I felt compelled to help him. Dr. Gadwyn told me that he could've had the ability to brainwash others, but I didn't feel any sort of magic being used on me that would cause that.

Kusari: Then...t-the rumors about the monster helping the human was...

Tether: Yeah, it was me...

Kusari: Oh.... Do you know why he came down here?

Tether: To learn about our history. He also found out that it was the humans that started the war years ago, not us. He was going to return to the surface and show others his findings. Even made a promise to do so. But....

Kusari: He got killed...

Tether: Choked to death. Saw it happen on the monitor.

Kusari: ….He sounds like a nice human.

Tether: ..He was. His words felt genuine. I felt like I could trust him. And it seemed like the humans only know one side of the story. If Percy was alive, he would be trying to convince people that we're not as bad as they thought. But at this rate.... (pushes the drawer close) ...they're likely to be closed-minded...

Kusari: Oh...

Scientist: Oh, there you two are! Dr. Gadwyn's looking for you two!

Kusari: Oh, were we gone that long?! W-We're coming! (rushes out with the scientist)

Tether (follows Kusari before stopping by the door; looks back at the locker): ….Sleep well... (leaves)

Once the duo managed to meet up with Gadwyn and the other scientists, they were promptly reprimanded for being late. Afterwards, Kusari was sent off to do errands and Tether stayed to help with the experiments. Judy's body was covered in burns and open wounds from Vester's shrapnel-laced blast. The group had to salvage as much of her as possible, but they did learn how injuries like what she has could be made. As they studied her body, there was a commotion in the main lobby.

Gadwyn: What in the Underground is going on?

When he and the group arrived in the lobby, they saw Ketju and Darius being wheeled into the ER area.

Tether: What the hell?

Kusari: Ketju!

Gadwyn: …..Right. Any healers that are present, please go tend to Lady Ketju and Darius immediately.

Kalina: Right away! (rushes off after the monsters taking Ketju and Darius)

Tether: I hope they'll be all right. Looks pretty serious. (glances at Kusari; notices her shivering) Kusari?

Kusari: …..

Tether (looks at Kusari): ...Kusari?

Kusari (has a worried, panicked look on her face): ….

Tether (touches her shoulder): Kusari-

Kusari (jolts): AAAAAH!! …..Uh...I-I'm gonna w-wait by the d-door.... (rushes off to wait by Ketju's room)

Tether: ….That was odd.

With Kalina and the other healing monsters' power, they were able to heal the wounds on Darius and Ketju. While Darius's leg wound has healed all the way, Ketju ended up having surgery. A few hours later, it was done. Even with healing magic, Ketju's left eye was gone, so there was no choice but to cover her injury up until it healed enough for her to wear an eye patch. Once done, Kusari was let in to see Ketju.

Kusari: Your eye....

Ketju (hesitantly touches her bandage): Yeah...I didn't think that human was that tough.... Judy, was it? It got a good shot at me... What happened to it?

Tether: She's being used in our experiments.. Well, her Soul, mainly.

Ketju: She, huh? So they got her? I'll have to be more vigilant and teach the others to be more careful...

Kusari: Y-You should rest, though!

Ketju: Yeah, I know. The others will be worried. Can you let them know I'm okay?

Kusari: S-Sure!

Ketju: Oh, I thought I saw Darius when I-

Darius (runs in): Lady Ketju!?

Ketju: There he is.

Darius (ears drooping as he approaches Ketju's bed): Are you all right? Ah! Your eye!

Ketju: Yeah, it sucks, but I'll live. Are you all right?

Darius: Yes, ma'am! Thanks to the healers here, my leg's feeling better!

Ketju: That's great!

Darius: I'm gonna tell the others you're okay! (rushes out)

Ketju: Darius and the sisters are a nice bunch. They really warmed up to me when I took over for Mr. Keldin. But man, if I ever see that human again, I'll ki-

Gadwyn (walks in): That won't be necessary, Lady Ketju.

Ketju: Dr. Gadwyn? Nice seeing you here. You said “That won't be necessary”. What, going after the human?

Gadwyn: Yes, as she had been dealt with.

Ketju: So you captured her. That's good. I'll need to take her to-

Gadwyn: That won't be necessary either.

Ketju: Buh, what does that mean?! What, did you kill her or something?

Gadwyn: Yes.

(silence)

Ketju: Ah...how?

Gadwyn (adjusts his glasses): With my weapon, of course. She shot at me, so I blasted her away. Very effective, but not one I'd use on a whim.

Ketju: That's some weapon you must have. Looking at you, I wouldn't have guessed you could fight.

Gadwyn: Looks can be deceiving, Lady Ketju. (heads to the door and stops by Tether) You'll never know what kind of person you'll meet until you get to know them. (side-glances at Tether) For better or worse.

Tether (slightly glares at Gadwyn before looking away): …..

Gadwyn (turns to Ketju): I must return to the experiment room to resume the tests. Good day and rest well. Tether, Kusari, come along once you're done. (leaves)

Tether: ….

Ketju: Yikes, was he always like that?

Tether: No. Not at the beginning, but....things in our past happened and...I don't think he's gotten over them. He throws himself into his work, more now than before. I've wondered what changed... Oh, I was wondering-

Catena (runs in): LADY KETJU, ARE YOU ALL RIGHT?!

Tether: And there he is.

Ketju: Y-Yeah, I am. Just lost an eye, but still alive.

Catena: THANK GOODNESS! EVERYONE WAS WONDERING WHERE YOU WERE AND GOT WORRIED! I'LL GO TELL THE OTHERS THAT YOU'RE OKAY! (sees Tether and Kusari) HI TETHER, HI NEW PERSON!

Kusari: I, uh, hi? I-I'm Kusari Allori.

Catena: NICE TO MEET YOU, KUSARI! I SEE YOU'VE MET MY BROTHER!

Kusari: Y-Yes, he's given me a tour of the area! Wait... Brother... Oh! So you're the brother Tether told me about!

Catena: SO HE DID!

Ketju: Huh, so you're Catena's brother. He always talked about you. Like, a lot.

Tether: Really? And I thought I was the one who always doted on him.

Catena: WELL, OF COURSE I GOTTA TALK ABOUT MY BEST BIG BROTHER IN THE UNDERGROUND!

Tether: Nah, the best big little brother has gotta be you, Cats.

Catena: Nyeh heh heh.

Kusari: Wait, Catena's the younger brother? I thought he was the older one. Y-You know...because of how tall he is..?

Catena: WE GET THAT A LOT, BUT NOPE! I'M A FEW HUNDRED YEARS YOUNGER THAN HIM!

Kusari: Whoa..

Ketju: Heh, that's pretty cool. If you two are brothers, then who are-

(door opens; Gadwyn and Kalina enters)

Gadwyn (looks around): ….I see you're still becoming acquainted with each other.

Ketju: Oh, back again, Dr. Gadwyn?

Gadwyn: Yes, just passing by with Kalina and letting her know you're up and chatting.

Ketju: Ah. Yeah, I got to meet Catena's brother for the first time.

Gadwyn: Well, I hope my sons aren't causing too much trouble as you're needing to rest?

Ketju: Nah, it's all- wait, sons?

Tether: You didn't notice?

Ketju: I mean... Catena looks a little more like him. You look like a different skeleton.

Tether: Trust us, we're all part of the same family, even if it seems... (glares at Gadwyn a little) ..different.

Gadwyn: …..Right. Well... (turns to Tether and Kusari) As I stated before, after you two are done, Tether, I want you to report to the central laboratory immediately. We will be resuming the experiments on JU07 and the Justice Soul. (heads to the door and stops; glancing back) And please refrain from making any side trips. (leaves)

Tether: …..

Catena: W-WELL, I'M GONNA GO LET THE OTHERS KNOW YOU'RE OKAY, LADY KETJU! GET WELL SOON! (dashes out the door)

Ketju (shivers): That was strange. Did it get tense all of a sudden?

Tether: Anyway, I guess visiting time is over?

Kalina: Yes, I'll be tending to Ketju's wound for a while, so I won't be joining up for the rest of the experiment for now.

Kusari (sighs in relief): Thank you.

Ketju: Yeah, thanks.

Kalina: No problem. You and Tether should hurry along before Dr. Gadwyn gets angry.

Kusari: Ah, y-yes! (hurries out the door)

Tether: …..Ketju.

Ketju: Yeah?

Tether: You were wondering how I look different from...Papa and Catena, yeah?

Ketju: Oh, uh, yeah, but-

Tether: I would guess it's from my mother. Papa told us about her. How she lived, how she loved....and how she died. (scratches the back of his skull) Sorry about that. It's been some time since I thought about it. (shrugs) I better move on then. Don't wanna deal with his crap the rest of the day. Nice meeting you, though, and thanks for taking care of Catena.

Ketju: Welcome..? (watches Tether leave) Huh, his mom must've had a really nice smile if he looked like her, right? (looks at Kalina; notices a confused look on her face) Dr. Kalina?

Kalina (flinches): Uh huh?

Ketju: ...You all right?

Kalina: Oh, uh, yes, of course, I'm fine! Let me...change the bandages out. (unwraps the bandages)

Ketju: …....So...how many more left?

Kalina: Huh?

Ketju: Of the human Souls, how many do we need?

Kalina: ….One more. (removes the pad and examines the wound)

Ketju: I see. We're getting close to freedom, huh. You guys are doing great.

Kalina: Thanks. Hmm.. Your wound's healing well, but it looks like you'll be left without a left eye. You'll have to wear an eye patch to protect it.

Ketju: Huh, all right. Hope it's a cool one!

For the rest of the day, Ketju rested while her injury healed. Meanwhile, more experiments were being conducted by Dr. Gadwyn and his team and Kusari continued her errands. They had a few failures, but they managed to come up with a combination to test out. This took them most of the day, so they decided to take a break before resuming.

Tether (reading over his notes while heading towards the break room): ...Seems to require a little of everything, but until we get the last Soul-

Valin: I just don't get what Gadwyn is up to. He's been acting strange lately.

Tether (stops outside the entrance; see Valin standing by the coffee machine and Minki moving to the fridge): ?

Minki (taking out his lunch from the fridge): Right? It's like he's become obsessed with how the experiments turn out. (closes the door) I know we're getting close to completing the project, but he makes it look like it's a life-or-death thing. (sits down at a table)

Valin: I mean, a lot of us did die down here, but not in the way he makes it feel like. (sips his coffee) It must be something to do with his wife.

Minki: His wife?

Valin: Yeah. That's right, you weren't with us when it happened. It was centuries ago, but Gadwyn developed a hatred for humans since she almost turned to dust. He pretty much snapped the neck of one a long time ago.

Minki: Yikes, really?

Valin: Yeah. PE05, I believe. Guess it tried to brainwash one of his sons, the eldest one, I think.

Minki: Tether?

Valin: Yeah! I'm curious as to how that human did it.

Minki: Wish we could've seen what the humans could do before taking their Souls.

Valin: Yeah. But hopefully the one we chose won't have an adverse reaction to the concoction. It'll be devastating if it didn't work.

Tether: ….. (steps in and goes to the fridge to get his lunch) Hey, guys.

Valin (flinches): !

Minki: Oh, hey, Tether! Joining us for break?

Tether: Nah, I'm gonna be meeting up with Dr. Gadwyn to discuss something. Maybe next time. (leaves)

Minki: All right. (turns to Valin) Valin?

Valin: Uh, yeah?

Minki: You looked scared, what's up?

Valin: Ah, n-nothing. I better go...do some tests.

Minki: But it's not time to go back yet.

Valin: Yeah, but I wasn't...uh..feeling hungry much. See you later, Minki. (dumps his coffee in the sink and rushes out)

Minki: …. (eats their sandwich) That was weird.

Tether (standing outside the opposite end of the break room; a written sentence showing “Almost turned to dust. Mom?” is seen): …..What did he mean by that...?

Once the break was over, everyone returned to their duties. They were able to gather enough Justice essence for testing before deciding to transfer it to King Kette. But when they were about to put the Soul back into the portable container, it managed to make its escape.

Valin: Ah!

Minki: Whoa!

Gadwyn: Don't let it escape!!

The group were making grabs at the Soul, but it kept shooting yellow bullets at everyone. Distracted, it was caught by Gadwyn's gloved hands.

Gadwyn: Got you, you little pest! (sees a glowing light peeking through his hands) What is-

Without warning, an explosion shot out from the backs of Gadwyn's hands. The Justice Soul blasted a hole in them to escape, and as it did, Gadwyn crumbled to the ground, screaming and writhing in pain.

Toroast: Dr. Gadwyn!!

Tether: PAPA!! (crouches by Gadwyn) Are you all right!?

Gadwyn (holding his hands under his arms): Forget about me! Catch the Soul!!

Minki: We're trying! (dodging the bullets) Ah!

Kalina (walks in and sees the commotion): What on earth!?

Valin: Close the door, you're gonna let it out!!

Kalina (sees the Soul flying towards her): Aaah! (shuts the door quickly as she ducks from the flying Soul; rushes over to Gadwyn) What happened!?

Toroast: I can't reach it!

Tether: Tch. (watches the Soul flying around as Minki, Valin, and Toroast try to catch it without getting hit by the bullets; looks back at Gadwyn getting treated by Kalina; has a thought) Maybe...I gotta try it! (holds his right hand out)

Kalina: Tether?

Gadwyn: What is he doing? Don't just sit there, help them!

Tether: I hope this works... Focus on the target.. (watches the Soul)...and... (his right eye glows an indigo purple and an indigo chain decal runs to his mouth and to the back of his skull; his hand glows and a loud PING sound rings out; the Soul is caught in a chain ring, glowing indigo) Ngh...got it!

Everyone was stunned at the sight. So much so, they almost forgot to contain the elusive violent Soul.

Tether: Gh..guys, get the thing.... (holds his wrist and he struggles to keep his hold on it) I don't know how long I can...

Minki: Ah! (grabs the portable containment device and rushes up to the Soul, catching and locking it inside)

Tether (deactivates his power, sighing heavily): Glad that's over.... Ah. Papa! (scoots over to Gadwyn) Are you all right?!

Gadwyn: I'm fine. But my hands....

Kalina (helps Tether get Gadwyn up to his feet): We're going to have to fix your hands up quickly. Come on!

Gadwyn: Damn it all!

(Kusari gets close to the door but jumps back when it swings open; sees Kalina and Tether helping Gadwyn to the ER area)

Kusari: Wh-What happened!?

Tether: There was an accident. The others'll fill you in.

Kusari: Wha?? (enters the laboratory; sees various bullet holes and smoking bullet marks on the walls, monitor, and floor; a few items were knocked over or broken; Valin and Toroast were sitting on the floor and Minki was sitting on a chair)

Minki: Kusari.

Kusari: I just saw Miss Kalina and Tether with Dr. Gadwyn!

Minki: Yeah, the Justice Soul tried to escape while we were preparing to send it off to King Kette. It was a disaster... Blasted holes into Gadwyn's hands when he caught it.

Kusari: Oh no! Will he be all right?

Toroast: We hope so. But Tether, he was amazing! He manage to catch it with his magic!

Kusari: He did?

Valin: Yeah, I wonder where he learned how to do that?

Kusari: Maybe he learned it from someone?

Valin: Maybe! If it wasn't for him, things would've gotten worse!

Minki: Ah, we better get to fixing this while Dr. Gadwyn gets healed.

Kusari: Oh, l-let me help!

As Kusari, Valin, Minki, and Toroast fixed up the lab, Tether sat outside the ER, hands clasped and left knee bouncing while waiting for the news. He had noticed his father's arm wound before, and now this injury with the hands. The longer he doesn't hear anything about Gadwyn, the more worried he got. This went on for a few hours as the skeleton went from just sitting to pacing back and forth. A few times, he saw the healers run by him from the ER to elsewhere, but with no news of the scientist's condition. By the time Kusari joined up with him with the other scientists, Kalina stepped out of the room.

Tether (stands up quickly): So?! Is he all right!?

Kalina: He is, thankfully. But...

Tether: But?

Kalina: ...It'll be some time before he can use his hands again. The blast from the Soul was so severe that we had to cauterize the holes-

Tether: Holes?

Kalina: Yes, he has holes in his hands now, and it's likely that they'll remain that way. We tried to find what's left of his hand bones, but with no luck.

Kusari: Ah, that's why you came back into the lab.

Kalina: Yes.

Tether: Can we see him?

Kalina: Not right now. When we told him what happened to his hands, he nearly flew into a rage, so we had to sedate him. I'll keep an eye on him and let you know when he awakens.

Tether: Okay...

Kalina: Of course, he did say for you guys to continue the experiments even if he's out of commission, so...

Tether (scoffs): Of course he did.. Thanks, Kalina.

Kalina: No problem. (walks back into the room)

Kusari: At least we know he's all right, but poor Dr. Gadwyn.

Tether: Eh, he may not look it, but he's tough.

Kusari: That's right, he took on a human, right?

Tether: Yeah. (sighs) I guess we gotta get moving. Don't wanna look like we're slacking off.

The rest of the night sees the scientists continuing the experiments until it was time to go home. Tether had stayed at the lab until Catena came by to check on Ketju when he heard about what happened to Gadwyn. This put the tall skeleton into a panic until Tether fully explained the situation.

Catena: THANK GOODNESS FOR THAT, BUT IT'S STILL WORRYING! WILL HE EVER USE HIS HANDS AGAIN?

Tether: I'm not really sure, to be honest. I know he won't be too happy about being away from his work.

Catena: WELL, I THINK HE NEEDS THE REST, WHAT WITH ALL OF THIS SCIENCE-Y STUFF YOU'RE DOING! EVEN THOUGH, THIS ISN'T REALLY THE WAY TO GO ABOUT IT.

Tether: Yeah. Oh, and uh, thanks for teaching me that Soul-catching skill. It really came in handy.

Catena: AH, SO YOU GOT TO USE IT! YOU'RE WELCOME! IT WAS SOMETHING WE LEARNED IN OUR TRAINING, SO I'M GLAD TO HEAR IT WORKED! I GOTTA TELL KETJU THE GREAT NEWS!

Kalina (walks out of the room): Hmm, oh? Ah, you're both here. I was going to contact you.

Tether: How is he?

Kalina: He just woke up. He'll be groggy, but still capable of speaking. (steps aside) Go ahead.

The brothers thanked her and entered the room, seeing Gadwyn lying in bed with a slight scowl on his face. To say that he looked unhappy about his predicament was an understatement.

Catena (rushes to Gadwyn's side): DAD! ARE YOU ALL RIGHT?

Gadwyn: Yes, yes, of course. At least... (moves his bandaged hands a little) ...most of me is okay. (glares) That damned Soul....thinks it got the last laugh. HA! I'm alive and the human's not.

Tether: Well, seeing as you're okay, we'll leave-

Gadwyn: You're all continuing the experiments, correct?

Tether: I- Yeah?

Gadwyn: Good. (sits himself up) I'll come and check on the progress.

Catena (pushes Gadwyn back to the bed): NO, YOU SHOULDN'T! YOU SHOULD LEAVE THAT TO TETHER AND THE SCIENTISTS! THEY CAN DO THOSE THINGS WHILE YOU REST!

Gadwyn: Nonsense. (tries to force himself against Catena's hand) I'm not going to let this keep me down.

Catena (uses the Soul Catch ability on Gadwyn and pushes him back down): NO, YOU MUST REST!

Gadwyn (struggling): I- What?! (stops) Ah, so this is what Tether used to stop that Soul.

Catena: OH, YES! WE WERE TAUGHT THIS IN THE ROYAL GUARD TRAINING!

Gadwyn: Well then. ...All right, you've convinced me. But do teach me that when I get released. It looks to prove quite useful.

Catena: OF COURSE! UNTIL THEN, GET YOUR REST AND GET BETTER!

Gadwyn: I will.

Tether: ...

Gadwyn promised that much, but his mind was still on his work. When Kalina went to check on him later that night, he was already awake.

Kalina: Oh, you're awake! I'm just about to-

Gadwyn: Kalina.

Kalina: Yes, Doctor?

Gadwyn: I want you to do a favor for me.

Kalina: Oh, yes. What would you like me to do?

Gadwyn: Follow my instructions precisely. I want you to get three vials of the Justice essence and take them to my house.

Kalina: What-

Gadwyn: Behind my house, there's a small building. I'll give you the key to it. (carefully digs in his top and pulls out a silver key connected to a silver chain necklace; takes it off and hands it to her) Don't lose it.

Kalina: But-

Gadwyn: Put them in the second drawer in the table on the left side of the room.

Kalina: Why do you need those?

Gadwyn: Don't..question it. Just follow those instructions. And whatever you do, don't let your curiosity get the better of you. And DO NOT LET MY SONS SEE YOU. They should be asleep or getting ready to sleep by now.

Kalina: I...Is this why you've been-

Gadwyn: Kalina, I can only trust you with this. Please do this for me.

Kalina: …..Yes, Doctor. Let me at least check your hands.

Gadwyn: Thank you...

After Kalina gave Gadwyn his checkup, she began to do Gadwyn's favor. She kept wondering why he would ask such a thing of her, but she had figured it had something to do with the scientist's behavior over the years. That twisted glee in the project being so close to being finished. Once she entered the lab, she went straight to drawing out the essences. Three vials she took and carefully placed in her bag. Kalina soon made her way out of the lab and to the River Person's location.

Kalina (climbs onto the boat and sits down): To Snowdin, please.

River Person: Tra la la. And we're off.

(the boat drifts from Hotland through Waterfall)

River Person: Tra la la. How would spiders wear pants with so many legs? Tra la la.

Kalina: Uh...

Kalina, and maybe many other monsters, could never understand the River Person's random musings. Before she could answer, they arrived at Snowdin. She made her way towards the house and looked for the building.

Kalina: Around the back... (sees a small building when going to the back; approaches the door) Ah! There it is. ….What could he be hiding in here? (enters the building) Huh, I thought this would be for his house.

She opened her way in, entering what looks like a small laboratory. To the left, there is a long white table attached to the wall, where it was covered with cork boards, whiteboards, a large flat screen computer monitor with a white keyboard, and papers neatly stacked on the right corner area of the table and pinned all over the boards. Next to the table was a tall, four drawer filing cabinet, across from it was a tall covered item that had a dim pulsating light, like something was on standby, and the opposite wall had a more cleaner table. She noticed various diagrams and charts that she didn't recognize from the experiments. Kalina wanted to look at them further, but she promised to not be too curious and went on with her task.

Kalina: Second drawer... Ah! (opens it; sees various empty vials that have traces of Soul essences and a red notebook) What? These are...Soul essences? (lays the full vials in the drawer and picks up a vial that has purple liquid in it) He's been taking extra ones? Is he testing something-

(a cracked groan is heard)

Kalina (drops the vial back in the drawer and slams it shut): Oh geez... What was that...?

(the groan is heard again)

Kalina (ears flatten in fear): H...Hello...?

???: Uuuh...aahahah.....

Kalina: It's....coming from...that covered thing...?

???: G.....G...uuh....G..uuh....

Kalina (shivering; slowly approaches the covered item): He..llo...?

???: …..

Kalina: Is..someone-

???: GuuuAAAAAAAAAAA!!!

Kalina: AAAAH!!! (trips over the rolling chair and falls while moving backward) Aaah! (scrambles to her feet and runs out of the building)

The fear that went through Kalina drove her to run, but not before remembering to lock the place down. She struggled with the key even if it was the only one she had. She can slightly hear the cracked groaning from behind the door, which sent her running again. Tether was jolted awake by this, which prompted him to look out his window.

Tether: What was that..? (looks around, sees nothing out of the ordinary) Hmm... Must be the neighborhood kids again. (gets back under the covers and goes to sleep)

As Tether went back to sleep and Kalina was speeding her way back to Hotland, neither of them heard the guttural sounds of the thing behind the veiled object in the back of the mini laboratory. Even the one word it managed to say...

???: G...aaa..d...y....

TO BE CONTINUED

#ABGadwyn

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putschki1969 · 7 years

Text

Kalafina concerts and the science of purchasing tickets

Well, well… @chibalein made a post about Kalafina’s upcoming acoustic live in Nikkō and since she asked a lot of questions, I thought I’d use this opportunity to talk a little about the science (YES, I do indeed consider it a science XD) of acquiring tickets for a Kalafina live. I feel like the below gif is an accurate depiction of most of us when we think about getting Kalafina concert tickets…

So without further ado, let’s get right to it 〈(•ˇ‿ˇ•)-→

Some basic infos in advance:

Here’s a rough overview on how the ticket sale usually works for regular concerts. First we have a preceding fan-club lottery, usually followed by another one, then we have a pre-order lottery for the general public (sometimes with more stages) and lastly, we have the general sale. Concerts restricted to fan club members obviously don’t stick to these steps, they will just have the fan club lotteries. Other special concerts or ones that are announced on short notice usually skip a few of these steps for various reasons or because there’s just not enough time.

There’s no way of knowing how many tickets exactly are reserved for fan club lotteries, how many are reserved for general pre-order lotteries and if there is a certain percentage that’s supposed to be left over for general sale. Those systems are complex and they most likely vary from concert to concert. There’s really no use in trying to figure it out. I’d say one thing is for sure though, quite a big amount of tickets is reserved for fan club lotteries and another big amount is usually reserved for the general pre-order lottery (in case there is one). Whatever is left gets to go on general sale.

Ever since the launch of Harmony, things have become even less transparent. Before we only had one fan club (FJC) but now we have two and that seems to have somehow screwed with the distribution of tickets. According to fans, chances of failing the ballot are much higher now. I hope this can all be chalked up to start-up difficulties, I guess we’ll find out in the future…

Seats are ALWAYS assigned at random. Being a fan club member sadly DOES NOT guarantee good seats (in some cases it doesn’t even guarantee a seat at all). As a fan club member you may still end up being seated all the way in the back whereas a random person who buys a ticket in the general sale might get a seat near the front. Is this a good system? Questionable...Personally, I don’t like it but I guess it’s their way of trying to be fair and equal...The only option you have if you wanna choose your seat is buying from the people on the auction sites (that’s why the re-sale market is such a lucrative business…desperate fans are willing to pay a lot for good seats).

Which brings me to a point I wanna address. I think no one should be blaming Kalafina and their management for the actions of these scammers who are making money by selling those tickets. That’s just par for the course and it happens with EACH AND EVERY concert/event on this planet (and tbh, things are pretty harmless in our little Kalafina world, I’ve heard much worse things when it comes to K-Pop). There’s VERY LITTLE a management can do to stop these things from happening. Even the best ticket selling systems have loopholes which certain people will use to their advantage. Obviously I condemn the actions of shady people just as much as the next person, I think it’s despicable charging horrendous amounts of money for tickets/merchandise, also, those people take part in lotteries which are meant for fans so with their participation, less tickets are left for actual fans... but truth is, the fans also carry part of the blame. As long as there is someone willing to pay these crazy prices, this business won’t stop, I am afraid it’s a vicious circle.

As for the popularity of certain concerts:

It’s simple math really… OF COURSE it’s easier to get tickets for tour concerts. First of all, they usually take place in big venues with LOTS of seating available. Second, there’s often more than one concert in an area which gives fans the option to choose between different lives. You mentioned the 9+ONE tour… fans living in the Tokyo area actually had SIX concerts in total to choose from (aside from the two lives at Tokyo International Forum, we had two concerts in Chiba, one in Saitama and another one in Kanagawa, all of which are places that are easily accessible when you are living in Tokyo). Then we had all those regional concerts in the different prefectures so fans living in those areas didn’t necessarily have to travel all the way to Tokyo to see Kalafina. This explains why it is much easier to get tickets for these lives and why they aren’t immediately sold out. Not saying that these concerts aren’t popular, in fact, most of them end up being sold old rather quickly too (especially since many hardcore fans try to attend as many of the tour lives as possible) but chances of getting a ticket are MUCH higher.

Now if we compare this to our Special World Heritage Acoustic Live in Nikkō, it’s really not surprising that tickets are scarce for that one. The area reserved for the concert in front of the five-story-pagoda is probably not very large. Even if estimations are right and the venue does indeed hold around 2000 people, it’s still a lot less than let’s say Tokyo International Forum Hall A which can seat up to 5000 people!! The Nikkō and Nara lives are not part of their upcoming Acoustic Tour, they are separate events and as such extremely exclusive, especially the Nikkō live since there’s only ONE, whereas there are two lives in Nara. It’s only natural that ALL Kala-fans want to make it to this particular event. A MAJOR part of Japan’s Kala-fanbase most likely took part in the lotteries for these events so of course not all of them were able to win tickets. First we had the Harmony lottery until July 24, then we had the FJC lottery from July 27 till Aug 7. Those who were not able to win tickets probably went crazy today once the general sale started which is how the Nikkō concert ended up being sold out so quickly. However, I think there are still tickets left for the Nara lives (at least last time I checked there were some left).

It has always been like that with more exclusive events, especially ones that are short notice. It’s the nature of such events to be sold out quickly. Tours are completely different as I have said before, there are more seats, more concerts to choose from and they are organsised very early in advance so there are usually more ticket selling stages (various fan club lotteries, pre-order lotteries for everyone, and eventually, the general sale; Note: I am pretty sure that the World Heritage lives didn’t have a pre-order lottery for the general public). Not all tours are the same though. Their 9+ONE Hall Tour can’t be compared to an Acoustic Tour which takes place at different venues with less seating available. But still, in general, chances of getting a ticket for tour lives are higher. That is why many fans managed to win tickets for the various concerts of Kalafina’s upcoming “regular” Acoustic Fall/Winter tour in one of the fan club lotteries or in the following pre-order lottery. Of course there’s a higher demand for certain concerts of the tour (like the one at Opera City in Tokyo so there were lots of people who didn’t manage to win tickets for that). Same goes for their Christmas Premium Lives. The general sale for all those lives has yet to start so we’ll have to wait and see…

I am very curious to find out how things will work with their 10th Anniversary Live. Let’s hope for the best! Whatever happens, fan club members will definitely be the first to try their luck at the lotteries and I hope that we are gonna be favoured for this particular live. Everyone else will get their chance later on.

#kalafina #reply #concert tickets #news #acoustic tour #acoustic lives #nikko #nara #world heritage sites #christmas premium lives #10th Anniversary

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olivereliott · 6 years

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The Story Of The First Ascent

You think that last pitch was tough? Do you know about the first ascent of this climb? Well, you’re in luck. I can tell you a little bit about it.

Gunter Bonattisini, the famous German-Italian alpinist, was the first to climb this route. Ever heard of him? I’m not surprised. This was 145 years ago this summer. He didn’t have a big rack of shiny cams like you did, because cams weren’t invented for another 100 years. He had three pitons, four carabiners, and 43 feet of hemp rope that he found on a sheep farm about 20 miles south of here, which he passed on his bike ride to the base of the climb. Which started at the flour mill he worked at 120 miles away, over three mountain passes.

He worked a double shift at the flour mill on Thursday so he could have Friday off to go climb. He left right after his shift and bicycled here in the dark, on a single-speed bike with a mushy coaster brake and no seat. He borrowed the bike from his boss’s young daughter, so it was too small. Anyway, he squeezed himself onto the girl’s bike, slung his pack over his shoulders, and pedaled over those three mountain passes in the dark. Luckily, it only snowed on him on one of the three passes, and the drifts were only two feet deep, so he was able to carry the bike through them on his shoulder while he postholed.

I seem to remember you were complaining of being a bit carsick on the drive here. Bonattisini didn’t get carsick, because he didn’t have a car. The Model T wasn’t invented until 1908, as you’re probably aware. Anyway, he wasn’t complaining about being carsick when he started out on the approach hike.

Also, there was no trail to the base of the climb, like there is today. So he just bushwhacked three miles in. He got to the base of the wall an hour before sunrise, so he decided to take a short nap before starting to climb. The rain woke him just after the sun came up, and the rock was a little wet, but he had ridden his bike all that ways, so he decided to start climbing.

He didn’t have fancy sticky-rubber shoes like you’re wearing. He didn’t even have hobnail boots, like the mountaineer in that last story I told you. He had borrowed a pair of dress shoes from a friend, and they were three sizes too big. But of course, sticky rubber hadn’t been invented yet, so he didn’t know any better, so he started to climb. He tied his rope around his waist and clipped his pitons to it, and began to link crack systems. About 30 feet up that first crack, he invented the hand jam.

Somewhere around the beginning of the present-day third pitch, the sun came out and started baking the rock. Bonattisini started to sweat, as the temperature had swung probably 20 degrees, and he had only brought one layer—a wool sweater he had been issued during his stint in the army five years prior. It was hot. I should mention that he didn’t have any chalk, because climbers didn’t really use chalk until later in the next century. Bunch a softies, we are nowadays.

About 400 feet up the route, just below the roof you were grunting and wheezing through a few minutes ago, he thought about placing a piton to protect himself, but figured the rope drag would be too much, so he just went for it. He had free-soloed the entire route up until this point, even though no one called it “free soloing” back then. It was just called “climbing.” Above the roof, he rolled and smoked four cigarettes and drank half a pint of brandy.

See the offwidth above us, that widens to a chimney and overhangs for 120 feet? Bonattisini wrote in his diary from the day that it “looked challenging from below but proved to be exhilarating, and the best part of the climb.” It’s rated at 5.12b nowadays. Also, take a good look at it—you’re leading it.

After the overhanging offwidth to chimney, the climbing was straightforward, if strenuous. Bonattisini wrote a long description of the technique he used to climb the corner, which today we call “laybacking.” At the top, he rested for a minute before scrambling to the summit. He ate a piece of bread and jam, the last of his food, and finished another half-pint of brandy. As it was dark at this point, he coiled his small bit of rope, lay down on top of it and slept until sunrise the next morning, waking up three times to clear a foot of snow from on top of his face.

In the morning, he did 135 rappels down the route back to the base, where he killed and ate most of a chamois, packing a section of it in a handkerchief for his bike ride back to his village. He rode halfway back over the first two mountain passes, stopping for the night at a farm where he was allowed to sleep in the barn in exchange for helping bale hay until noon the next day. After a hearty lunch with the farmer’s family, he pedaled the rest of the way to his village, stopping only once, to rescue a small child and three kittens from a house fire. He was back at work at the flour mill on Monday morning.

Anyway, here’s the rack. I think you’ll really enjoy that offwidth part.

—Brendan

The post The Story Of The First Ascent appeared first on semi-rad.com.

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flauntpage · 7 years

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DGB Grab Bag: The Ten Commandments of Replay Reviews and Challenges

Three stars of comedy

The third star: The Vancouver Whitecaps – They're the local MLS team, and they figured they could work a fun marketing tie-in with the city's NHL team.

Unfortunately, that team is the Canucks, and now that Brock Boeser is hurt they don't score anymore. That was kind of a problem, as the Whitecaps learned over the ensuing three hours.

Welp, indeed. Vancouver sports, everyone!

The second star: These two Wild fans – It's OK, they were distracted by the Canucks having scored a goal.

The first star: The Bruins/Hurricanes highlights – Carolina sportscaster Mark Armstrong is here to give you everything local hockey fans want to see, and literally nothing else.

Be It Resolved

Today, everyone hates instant replay challenges.

The offside reviews are tedious, nitpicky, and often appear to return the incorrect result. And right now, those are considered the good kind of review. The goaltender interference debacle is even worse. There's growing momentum to just get rid of them both, and leave replay review to the bare bone basics like whether a puck was over the goal line.

And that's all well and good. But that's today. Tomorrow, or the day after, or someday down the road, something's going to happen that will result in somebody calling for more replay reviews.

Maybe it will be a high-sticking call where the player was actually clipped by a teammate. Or maybe a puck-over-glass that was actually deflected. Or a too-many-men call where the sixth guy didn't actually hit the ice until his man had reached the bench. Or a crucial icing call where a team had maybe reached the red line.

Whatever it is, somebody out there will suggest we make those plays reviewable. After all, we have the technology. Why not get it right?

So today, I'd like to address those people. When the day comes that we get to meet them, feel free to cut-and-paste everything below and send it to them.

Hello, future hockey fans.

Boy, that sure was a controversial call. Those refs, am I right? You'd think there'd be a better way. Hey, why not use instant replay review? The coaches could decide when to challenge, we'd end up getting the calls right all the time, and then everyone would be happy. What could go wrong?

I'm going to stop you right there.

I come to you from the distant past of many years or months or days ago, and I bring a warning. We went through the same sort of controversy you're living right now with offside and goalie interference, and we, too, thought that replay would fix everything. It didn't. It made everything worse.

It will probably do the same for you, too. Not necessarily—there are cases where replay works fine. But over the last few years, us hockey fans of the distant past have learned a few hard lessons. You should learn them, too, before it's too late.

So be it resolved that we never again add more instant replay until we've acknowledged and accepted these important facts. Let's call them the ten commandments of replay reviews and challenges:

1. The missed call you're mad about probably happens so rarely that changing a bunch of rules is an overreaction.

2. If you give them a challenge, coaches will inevitably end up using it way more than you ever thought they would.

3. As soon as you make something subject to review in the name of "getting it right", fans will expect you to get it right every single time, and you won't.

4. If you think replay will only overturn calls that are obviously and indisputably incorrect instead of fixating on too-close-to-call nitpicking, prepare to be wrong.

5. Even if your replay system works and gets almost everything right, fans will still complain about every call that goes against their team anyway, because that's what fans do.

6. Don't tell yourself that the reviews will be quick. They're never quick.

7. The officials will hate them, and they'll make sure you know it.

8. It's never a good idea to train your fans to react to an exciting play by saying "Hold on, this might just get overturned".

9. You can avoid all these problems with one simple fix: Don't add more replay.

10. Seriously, just don't.

Thanks for reading, NHL fans of the future, and sorry about our haggard appearance. We know that we're a wretched, pathetic lot right now. But if we can be your cautionary example, then maybe all of this will have done some good.

Just don't ignore us. You know, the way we did to those fans from 1999.

Obscure former player of the week

So the Canucks haven't scored in three straight games, giving them a shot at setting the modern record. The key word there is "modern"—even though we're suffering through a two-decade Dead Puck Era, there was a time when goals in the NHL were even harder to come by. The low point came during the 1928-29 season, when the average game featured fewer than three goals. That season's Chicago Black Hawks managed just 33 goals in 34 games, and at one point went a ridiculous eight straight games without scoring at all.

So today, let's bestow obscure player honors on the man who finally broke that streak: Johnny Gottselig.

Gottselig grew up in Regina, Saskatchewan, but he was born in Klosterdorf, a small village that was then part of the Russian Empire. This fact isn't recognized in some history books, since he spent some of his youth pretending to have been born in Canada to speed up border crossings, but he was one of the first Russian-born players in NHL history.

He made his debut with the Hawks as a left winger for that 1928-29 season and scored just five goals that first year, which doesn't sound like much but was good for third on the team. Perhaps the biggest came one minute into the team's Feb. 5, 1929 game in Detroit, when Gottselig's goal snapped that eight-game drought. Like many goals scored that season, it held up as the winner in a 1-0 final.

Gottselig went on to play 16 years with Chicago. He recorded a pair of 20-goal seasons, finished third in Hart Trophy voting in 1939, and won two Stanley Cups. The second of those came in 1938, when Gottselig was captain, and he'd later coach the team for four years, making him both the first European-born coach and Cup-winning captain in league history.

New entries for the hockey dictionary

Lower standings injury (noun) – Hockey fans are familiar with the league's insistence on never telling us which players have which injuries. Instead, we get the "upper body injury" and "lower body injury" designations. Those terms are largely useless and they annoy you, but you're an NHL fan and the league hates you so screw you.

But these days, there's a far more important type of injury gripping the league. You can see them popping up in places like Buffalo, Arizona, Vancouver, and Ottawa. Montreal has a ton, including to most of their best players. It's the dreaded last-season injury that shuts a player down for the rest of the season, as long as that player happens to be playing for a team that's well out of the playoff race.

Nobody knows why so many of these injuries happen at this time of year, and only to the bad teams. Clearly it can't be tanking, because we've been assured that doesn't exist. So chalk it up to bad luck, I guess. Every year, some poor team that's already headed toward securing the best odds for the draft lottery suddenly has all their players get hurt. It can be a terrible thing—some of the dozen or so Maple Leafs who all suffered the same fate back in 2016 still haven't recovered.

The phenomenon happens often enough that it needs a name. So forget about the standard LBI and UBI—we're introducing the LSI. A lower standings injury is anything that removes a key player from a terrible team's lineup just in time for a late push for lottery odds.

(Incidentally, you may be wondering if there's such a thing as an upper standings injury. There is, although those tend not to be as serious, and only ever impact teams that already have their playoff seed locked up. For reasons nobody can figure out, teams fighting for a wild-card spot somehow manage to remain completely healthy.)

Researchers are working to find a cure for lower standings injuries. We're trying to get a few strands of Oscar Klefbom's DNA to figure out why he's the only one who's ever been immune to the condition. In the meantime, please say a prayer for all the LSI victims who've already been identified, and the many more we'll be hearing about over the next few days and weeks.

Classic YouTube clip breakdown

It's St. Patrick's Day this weekend. Say those words to most people, and they'll start thinking about green beer and leprechauns. But say them to old-school hockey fans, and they'll start thinking about the St. Patrick's Day Massacre, the infamous 1991 brawl between the Blackhawks and Blues.

Well, "brawl" isn't quite accurate. No, the Massacre actually refers to several brawls that took place over the course of the game. The most memorable of those is the one you're probably thinking of when you hear somebody reference the Massacre: Scott Stevens and Dave Manson squaring off at center ice for one of the great one-on-one showdowns in hockey history. We gave that one the YouTube breakdown treatment a few years ago.

But that fight never happens if it's not for an incident earlier in the game that set the tone for the rest of the night. So today, let's go back the most famous moment in the history of the Blues/Blackhawks rivalry, and then go back just a little further to the earlier brawl that set the stage.

This is, as will soon become clear, the local Chicago broadcast of the game. Our play-by-play voice is Pat Foley, and fair warning, he's going to get just a little bit homer-y here. Ordinarily that's annoying, but we can't stay mad at the man who gave us the wee-knee clip, so he's forgiven.

So we're just under six minutes into the game, with Chicago leading 1-0. In theory, it's an important game, with just two weeks left in the season and these two teams battling for the Presidents' Trophy. But as we're about to find out, the Blues have come to town with another priority in mind: dishing out some payback to Jeremy Roenick.

This all goes back to a game between the two teams a few weeks earlier, one that had featured a hard hit by Roenick on Bob Bassen. That had led to legendary Blues GM Ron Caron calling out Roenick as a dirty player in an epic rant that included lines like "He doesn't pick on someone who could beat him up, he hits you from the blind side and takes off," and "Because he's young, talented and cute, he gets away with that." Ron Caron was the best.

Back to the March 17 game, and our clip picks up in the aftermath of another big Roenick hit, this one against Harold Snepsts. We join the action right after, and if you watch carefully you'll notice something unusual at the 0:03 mark—a Blues player hops off the bench and joins the scrum. That turns out to be important.

Roenick's timing isn't great on this one, as the Blues have several tough guys on the ice for this shift. That's right, teams used to dress multiple enforcers for each game and play them on the same line. Why yes, the NHL was an interesting league to watch in the early 90s, thanks for asking.

One of those tough guys, the fantastically named Glen Featherstone, goes after Roenick, but Keith Brown steps in to save his smaller teammate. Within seconds, Featherstone's jersey is over his head and Brown's helmet is covering his face and neither guy can see anything. Do they stop throwing haymakers? [Checks notes that just say "It's the Norris Division."] No they do not.

As that fight is getting broken up, the Blues start chasing after Roenick. First it's tough guy Darren Kimble, and then Kelly Chase shows up. Chase had been called up for this game, pretty much for this specific purpose. He's also the guy who left the bench at the beginning of the clip, temporarily giving the Blues an extra man in the fight and earning himself a ten-game suspension. He doesn't really get to Roenick, but in the commotion Kimble circles back and starts throwing sucker punches.

Fun fact: Every 80s and 90s brawl features at least one player you recognize but swear was too young to be in the league at the time. For this brawl, the role will be played by Rod Brind'Amour.

The Blackhawks bench nearly empties, which would have been the first bench-clearing brawl since 1987. There hasn't been a full-scale version since, although we've had a few near-misses at the end of periods. I don't know what it would take to cause another one after three decades, but I'm sure Brad Marchand is working on it.

We see Kimble leave the ice, which reminds us of two things: his hockey hair was amazing, and it was completely insane that visiting players had to walk up and down a flight of stairs with no hand railing at the old Chicago Stadium.

"And now Snepsts is going to try to get at Yawney!" Admit it, for a second when you heard that you thought the Blues were trying to fight this guy.

The officials try to clean up the remaining scrums while Foley breathlessly vows that the Hawks can't be intimidated and Snepsts makes crazy old-man eyes at everyone. Meanwhile, the Stadium organist hits us with some Phantom of the Opera. Good times all around.

The two teams mostly behaved themselves for the rest of the period before resuming hostilities in the second, which is when the second line brawl and the Manson/Stevens showdown happens. What can I tell you, both teams had Sutters on the coaching staff, so this was all pretty much inevitable.

And that's about it. The second half of our clip is just a replay of basically the entire brawl, because back then you had to kill some time while the officials sorted out all the penalties. And there were plenty in this game—278 PIM in all, including 13 ejections. The league also handed out 22 games worth of suspensions. We all agreed that this was a terrible thing, and the NHL would be a far better place if this sort of nonsense never happened again.

[Spends the next three hours watching Norris Division brawls on YouTube.]

Have a question, suggestion, old YouTube clip, or anything else you'd like to see included in this column? Email Sean at [email protected].

DGB Grab Bag: The Ten Commandments of Replay Reviews and Challenges published first on https://footballhighlightseurope.tumblr.com/

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