#If he created Asher then he must be fine | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

robobirdie · 2 years

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Did a sketch plus another story short

Recently did a sketch of a few of the characters in my story that aid the Ninja. They are the Raven, Juib, Divayth, DJ and Kozac:

This short story is from part one. I’ve been working on it for some time but for the longest time could only get half way through unsure how to end it. I finally worked it out so here it is. It is a flushing out of a part mentioned in chapter Shadow over Life. The Story is called Dark Storm:

“Alright what are we dealing with?” Clay asked as the knights and ninja got off the vehicles the knights had with them. They had stopped on a ridge overlooking a town that had found itself in the midst of what looked to be a clearly unnatural and dark weather phenomenon. Red tinged clouds filled the sky and spiralled around a central part of the town and a blood red fog filled the town and surrounding area. The guard led by Tafari stood on the ridge overlooking the scene. They had several people and animals including wild ones lying about being treated. All had been rescued from the vicinity of the storm and all didn’t look to well. By the looks of it all were starting to fall victim to some sort of disease.

“A storm manifested by Ashers magic. We’ve confirmed there are Ashers present along with several types of monsters. Noctern Crows, Vulcaroths and a pack of Venom-fangs corrupted by their dark magic at the very least; possibly more plus there is a problem,” Tafari explained not looking away from the settlement as she perched on a cliff top staring down at it not wearing her helmet.

“Problem?” Kai inquired and Tafari explained, “This storm creates a magical field much like the fogs Ashers use to hide their doings and hinder their enemies. None of the guard can get too close to it. I can, I believe that is due to the Dragons Blood stone I bear within my breast. While I can enter I will not. It would not be wise to venture down there alone and I cannot leave those hear defenceless. The Ashers could strike and if they bring that storm with them I will be this groups only hope at keeping them safe.”

“Well if we can’t enter the storm than why are we here? Why don’t we just strike it as a loss and head home,” Jay proclaimed to which Aaron made a few cluck noises at him making some of the others quietly laugh, Jay not amused at the reference to events in the mine.

“Because some of us are wondering if you might be able to enter the storm unhindered and un harmed. All those both man and beast who enter that storm if not felled by it are stricken with illnesses like Poryphic haemophilia and poisonings of dark energies. If this storm spreads it could devastate not only the area but the realm, even your realms. We need to find a way to stop it. We need to figure out what is going on and if there are some ways to combat it. Because of your powers some of my men are wondering if you may be immune to its effects,” Tafari explained and Jay was quick to state, “enter a storm that could turn us into vampires or other dark monsters?! No way.” After a quick chat they all came up with the conclusion that they would give it a try. They would see if they could enter this storm and shut it down. If they couldn’t then the guard would have to look into something else. Despite Jays protests they headed down into the valley. At first they felt nothing but once they started to get close to the fog Axl, Macy and Lance quickly backed up starting to feel sick and getting affected by the fog. The ninja along with Clay and oddly Aaron were unaffected sparking confusion.

“Our powers must make us immune to this storms magic,” Lloyd noted and Clay agreed, “the same for my magic; Aaron why aren’t you being affected like the others?” Aaron had no clue but he felt and looked fine.

“Maybe because I’m right and he’s not truly human… did you think I didn’t see those weird glowing markings on your skin with your armour on?” Jay proclaimed taking Aarons helmet off surprising the others. He had glowing blue markings on his skin and his eyes had a weird blue iridescence to them. Aaron explained that he had been trying to hide it since getting together with the others knowing it would freak Jay out and wanting to remain professional so not to hurt their image. Before being called to the mission while out for a walk in town Aaron had been helping some folk from Knighton who were nervous of drinking a drink one of the natives had given them to lighten their mood. It was a drink known as Balmora Blue. The drink was like someone had mixed a milkshake with an energy drink. It was made from local ingredients like Kaguar milk, Buttercake Shrooms, Lunar Pods, Brightwood Cypress fungal symbiotes and Lunar Reeds and often flavoured with either vanilla, chocolate, or various fruit flavours; there were even meat and fish flavoured ones. The drink was harmless with the main effect being to give an individual energy and improve an individual’s mood much like a sugar or caffeine rush however it had the odd effect of creating glowing blue markings and blue iridescent eyes for several hours after drunk. To help the people out and show them there was no harm Aaron had some of the drink with them.

“Dude why are you so paranoid?” Aaron questioned taking his helmet back and putting it back on to which Jay chastised, “I am not paranoid! There’s something off about you. How come no one else sees it?”

“Probably because the rest of us are not crazy,” Kai stated and Clay declared, “we can argue later. We need to disrupt this storm before it gets out of hand.”

“We can’t follow you; we’ll head back and wait with the others. You and Aaron are going to have to work with the ninja alone this time,” Macy proclaimed before she Axl and Lance headed back. Clay was not too thrilled with that idea as while he respected the ninja they sometimes got on his nerve, some more than others, as they didn’t always listen to orders. He likened it to working with cats or wild dogs. They often did their thing and sometimes didn’t even listen to each other lending them to screw up or make a bigger mess. Out of all of them he didn’t have much trouble with Zane, Cole or Lloyd. All three could follow orders well and could get the task done while taking things serious and generally Zane and Cole were rather level headed and took their task serious unlike the others. Add Aaron with them and things tended to not go so well. Aaron wasn’t the problem. He would listen to orders and could get the task done even if things went wrong and for the most part knew when to take things seriously, something some of the ninja didn’t seem to grasp very well. Aaron was also able to work well and got along well with Cole and Zane and to a good extent Lloyd and Nya. The problem with Aaron was Jay and Kai didn’t have the best relations with him, Jay especially, leading to complications if paired to work together.

They snuck into the settlement keeping low to avoid getting detected. Some Noctern Crows and Vulcaroths were hanging around the edges of the town which consisted of only a few buildings which were damaged and one of which on the second story the Noctern Crows had made a nest in decorating the structure with shiny objects and dead animals. At the town center was a portal made of arched stone frames with a dark blood red glowing portal in the center where the monsters had likely entered the realm from and positioned by the edges of the settlement were three stone totems which were emitting the blood red fog. The totems had eerie glowing red carvings coating them. They hid in some shrubs just outside town to survey the goings on. There were three Noctern Crows. Two of which were looking through debris piles likely looking for shiny objects while a third was perched on a rooftop feeding on some fish it had dragged up there holding them down with one foot while tearing at them with its beak. The crows looked like they had been brought as back up if needed and were not there to actively get engaged or for scouting. The same could be seen for the Vulcaroths where there were two who looked like they were more happy eating everything edible from a merchants stall than actually helping out and the pack of five corrupted Venom-Fangs were sleeping together on an old mattress by the ruins of a house. The only ones actually doing anything was a group of about eight full blooded Ashers who were at the center of town with the portal. They were talking loudly clearly believing no one could get through their storm.

“It worked excellent and those pathetic guards can’t get in and there’s nothing they can do about it. Who can stop us now?!” one Asher proclaimed while another stated working on a clipboard taking notes, “yes but you shouldn’t get cocky. In time they could find a way past the dark magic of the storm plus this is a small town and not too big an area. We do not know yet how effective these storms will be on larger areas. We would need to do more tests with larger sizes to determine the effectiveness verses scale ratio to determine the ideal size for these storms.”

“I’ll leave that boring stuff to you nerds, just give me the thrills. Did you see how the storm ripped that farmers soul from his body, it was glorious and now his spirit serves us even better. I say we go bigger. Lets maybe hit a place with more too it. How about a coastal village, I could go for some rays on the beach with the smell of rotting fish filling the air,” the one Asher boasted while another declared, “these storms are not for fun. They are to be used to enslave mortal beings for our use and to ravage landscapes hindering the survival of all who oppose us. They are weapons not toys.” None of them liked what they were hearing. While they hid Clay worked out a plan. He had reason to believe the totems were what was powering the storm. They destroy those and the storm would end. The problem was getting near them. They wouldn’t stand a chance against the monsters and the Ashers at the same time.

Zane had an idea for the Noctern Crows. He was sure his time as one of them had left codes in his programming from the creatures nature that no matter how hard he tried he couldn’t get rid of. The codes at least didn’t cause problems but they did help him understand these creatures. He was pretty sure he knew how to keep them distracted. He headed off to collect anything the creatures deemed shiny. Lloyd didn’t think it a good idea they split up but Zane didn’t listen. Shortly later Zane went up to the two crows on the ground holding out some jewellery he found in the one ruined house. As he approached the crows instantly turned to him. To their surprise the crows didn’t call out an alarm.

“I bring shinnies as an offering of peace between the crows of the hunters court and my allies and me,” Zane stated to the creatures mimicking how the beasts spoke.

“A shiny skin brings us a gift,” the one crow which sounded to possibly be a female stated as she and the other looked over the jewellery. The crow on the roof just watched not wanting to give up its fish.

“It recognises our court, a rarity for mortals interesting,” the other crow squawked. The crows talked with Zane a bit before the one picked him up and put him in their nest. The crows gathered around him to chat. Zane seemed rather relaxed with it all and talked to the creatures who seemed rather friendly towards him the one even sharing some of its fish with him to which though not up to having some of the rotting fish Zane took some anyway not wanting to offend the crows. When the Ashers took note of their behaviour and unable to see that they were talking to Zane the Ashers inquired over what was going on to which the one crow cawed angrily ‘none of your business Ash heart’ while another cawed ‘this doesn’t involve you so flock off’. While the crows chastised the Ashers Zane told the others through his communicator that he had the crows dealt with, they could move on and deal with the rest. With the crows taken care of Clay tried to devise a plan. While he was trying to work it out noting the Vulcaroths which they had read could use fire Kai and Nya decided to try something so snuck off towards them. Cole followed wanting to take the cake they had in their pile of food preferring that he had it and not the monsters getting it. When they got there Kai hit the one creature with some fire while taunting, ‘hey flamey gator bet you’re not as hot as me, I’m the master of fire! You’re just a heated overgrown lizard.’ The Vulcaroths instantly turned to face him clearly annoyed. While Kai taunted them Nya hid out of the creatures sight waiting for the right moment to make her move while Cole snuck around to try and grab the cake while the creatures were distracted.

“Puny mortal think it a challenge?” the one Vulcaroth growled putting its face in Kais baring its teeth.

“I don’t think I am, I know,” Kai boasted causing fire to cover his arms, shoulders and part of his back.

“We’ll see; can you do this,” the Vulcaroth boasted heating up its lava like skin and creating fire across its shoulders and back. Kai made the fire on him grow bigger some spreading onto his hair and made his eyes start to glow with a fiery glow. The Vulcaroth made itself hotter increasing its flames so they grew onto the top of its head and down across the top of its tail with its eyes not only growing a fiery glow but having flames burst up from the outer corners of its eyes.

“Oh-ho impressive, let me think for a minute about what I could do,” Kai proclaimed with a chuckle. Apart from setting his whole self on fire making himself entirely of flame which he was pretty sure he couldn’t do he was pretty sure this creature had beat him. He wasn’t going to let the creature know that though and waited for his sister to make her move. Once his words were done she wasted no time in soaking the beast in water startling it. It quickly cooled down its fire dying and its skin losing its glow coming to look like cooled lava and smoking.

“That’s cheating! No help from a sea witch!” the Vulcaroth declared looking at Nya who was offended by its words, “Sea witch! I’m no witch; I’m the elemental master of water.”

“Same thing to us,” the other Vulcaroth declared before noting Cole secretly trying to grab the cake off the cart of food they had. It grabbed his arm and put its snout in his face to growl, “hands off that is mine!”

“Wouldn’t you rather bugs and rotting meat?” Cole offered unsettled by the creatures snout being so close to his head. It then surprised him by decreeing, “those are nice and all but a lady deserves to enjoy the sweetness of cake when she wants.”

“You’re… you’re a girl!” Cole exclaimed surprise and the Vulcaroth growled, “why does that surprise you?”

“Well you don’t sound or even look feminine… then again you monsters all look alike,” Cole commented and the Vulcaroth snorted in his face, “typical humans. Unless we look like you humans you can’t tell the difference. Let me guess you thought we were nothing but dumb reptiles too huh.”

“Well kind of…” Kai stumbled and the male Vulcaroth expressed, “simple mortals with your simple minds. We Vulcaroths are not simple uniform beasts like you.” The five got to talking Cole, Nya and Kai trying to defend their actions and come up with a way to negotiate with the creatures who wanted to eat them or at the least turn them into toys to chew and beat up. They were keeping the creatures at least distracted but Clay was starting to get irritated. The ninja weren’t listening to him and Aaron was being rather unhelpful. He was fidgeting and distracted; Clay had a feeling that Balmora Blue stuff had given him a sort of caffeine buzz like affect agitating him and making restless. Without warning Aaron proclaimed he would deal with the Venom-fangs. Getting on his hover shield he tossed a rock at the sleeping reptiles waking them up and catching their attention.

“Hey you bird-lizards who wants to go for a run? Come on which one of you can catch the shiny knight,” Aaron proclaimed to the creatures before rushing off to the outskirts on the opposite side of the town taking a path that skirted around the town on his hover shield. The Venom-fangs were instantly drawn to him and chased off after him trying to catch him.

“See something’s not right with him, why would you risk having those monsters attention and he looks to be enjoying himself too much to have them chasing after him! That’s not right!” Jay exclaimed about Aaron as he took off. Clay was left with Lloyd and Jay. He was fine with Lloyd not so much Jay who was beginning to babble about Aaron claiming he made Zanes strangeness seem normal and complaining that Aaron must be some unnatural being to have so little fear.

“Will you be quite we don’t want to drag attention to us,” Clay reprimanded holding his hand over Jays mouth to silence him.

“What do you think we should do,” Lloyd wondered waiting for Clay to give the orders. Looking around at what they had to work with Clay quickly formulated a plan. The monsters were distracted leaving just the Ashers to deal with. All of them were congregated together in the center of the town going over their work. They looked to have gotten cocky thinking none could challenge them and were letting their guard down. The totems were unguarded. He came up with a plan. They snuck around to one of the totems. They hit it a few times with their weapons and while it did leave some damages it was taking too long for Clays liking to take it down. Wanting to avoid being caught he wanted something quick to take it out so they weren’t in view for long. Thinking quickly Clay tried his magic using a light based spell. It began damaging the totem quicker and when Lloyd added a blast from his powers it was sped up and took no time to damage it. Once destroyed the storm made some noise and looked to weaken a bit. Once the totem was destroyed they wasted no time in rushing off to hide. The Ashers were quickly drawn over to the totem baffled over what had happened unsure how it could have been destroyed. The monsters did have their attentions drawn to the commotion but they clearly didn’t care over what was going on. With the Ashers distracted at the one totem Clay, Lloyd and Jay snuck up to the second one and using Clays magic and Lloyds powers destroyed it while Jay who was terrified they’d get caught kept watch. Once this one was destroyed they quickly hid again.

“I think we have intruders, I sense magic of the light here,” one of the Ashers stated as they investigated the damaged totem. They turned to get the monsters to search the area and were angered to see Kai, Nya and Cole talking with the Vulcaroths. The three were starting to get somewhere apologising for their behaviour to the creatures and working on coming up with an agreement to get them to abandon the service of the Ashers.

“You overgrown lava lizards why are you just talking with the enemy! Destroy those filthy dragons,” the one Asher ordered. His words offended the Vulcaroth to which the female growled, “overgrown lava lizards! How dare those scum call us such lowly names. We are Vulcaroths superior monsters to their dusty hides born of lava, flame, stone and darkness not lowly lizards!”

“Are you going to let them show you such disrespect,” Nya stated and Kai added, “you know if they have such disrespect to you then why are you aiding them?”

“They offered us rewards. Tasties, lava pools and a chance to destroy whatever we want,” the male Vulcaroth responded and Cole proposed, “obviously they’re just using you. If they’re just using you how can you trust they’ll give you what they promised? Besides we share more in common than they do. We know and understand the powers of lava, flame and stone.” Cole showed off his lava arms and Kai showed off his fire. The creatures looked at them intrigued that they shared powers and Kai offered, “How’s this we’ll let you take all the food even the cake…” Cole cut in to proclaim, “you know if you love cake then you can’t be all bad” Kai then continued, “you can take the cart as well. We’ll let you go free to head back to where you came from and you can destroy whatever you want on the way home. How’s that sound? All you have to do is take out some of those dusty skins. I’ll even offer some of my powers to restore yours to combat my sea witch sisters cooling on you.” Nya was not pleased by Kais description of her but the creatures looked pleased. Even without a conformation Kai hit the Daedcroc they had cooled with his fire Cole helping by touching his lava arms to the creature. It clearly enjoyed the warmth from their powers and heated back up.

“You share your powers with us even without our agreement. The burning skins would never be so kind. We will agree to your terms,” the male Vulcaroth declared before the two went after the Ashers. The Ashers were mad and tried to summon the Venom-fangs but they couldn’t find them.

“Where’d those lizards go?” the one Asher inquired and Aaron proclaimed as he rushed over on his hover board to hover above them and drop a bunch of meats on them from a crate he held, “looking for these?” The Venom-fangs were close behind Aaron rushing over to get some of the meat not caring if they bit, scratched or bowled over the Ashers in their attempts to get the food. The Ashers were angered and annoyed at some of their allies turning on them and the Venom-fangs clambering over them so they attempted to call the Noctern Crows to their aid.

“Why should we listen to you? We are of the Hunters court aligning with the Stag Prince not your foul master. We are free to choose who we obey and we told you when you summoned us this but you ignored it. While your offerings are agreeable they are not as pleasing as the shiny skins. He understands what it is to be of our flock. You are not our allies, the shiny skin and his allies are our allies,” the one crow declared as they came out of their nest the one carrying Zane down to place him on the ground.

“I knew those crows were a bad idea. We should have gone for ones from the Court of Shadows not the Hunters Court,” the one Asher proclaimed as the Crows joined the attack on the Ashers. With their allies turning on them the ninja rushed in to aid them taking out several of the Ashers. With the Ashers occupied Clay and Lloyd took out the last totem. With it destroyed the storm died and seeing their plans had been thwarted the Ashers that remained fled cursing the ninja, knights and monsters; their monsters staying behind.

“Well that didn’t go as planned but we got it done,” Clay stated as they gathered back together, “now what do we do about the monsters?”

“Nothing, I know I’ve had enough of these Ash skins,” the male Vulcaroth growled as he and his pal packed up their goodies onto the cart and the female agreed, “yha screw those charred hides. I think it’s time we have a vacation.”

“Where would a creature like you go for a vacation?” Aaron wondered and the male Vulcaroth regaled while the female breathed fire on the gem in the portal frame causing the glow to the portal to change to a fiery red orange, “volcanic zones are always a good spot, I hear there some nice lava pools and hot springs not far from the Red Mountain. I think we’ll enjoy some time there.”

“Here for your respect to us you can have some of this,” the female Vulcaroth proclaimed giving Cole a quarter of her cake using her claws to cut it out.

“Thanks,” Cole stated pleased to have a piece of cake. The two then went through the portal taking their cart of goodies with them and cursing about the Ashers planning on having some fun attacking the foul beings while on vacation.

“Okay what do we do about the others?” Clay wondered before the one Noctern Crow walked close to the portal and used a spell on the gem powering it causing the portal to turn a mix of black and void green. It then ordered the void cursed venom-fangs which Aaron had nicknamed Voidfears through the portal. The creatures willingly obeyed and rushed through the portal. The crow then used another spell to destroy the portals gem subsequently destroying the portal.

“Wait what about you?” Lloyd wondered looking to the crows who came to group together.

“The small bird reptiles are back in the void where they belong, we are staying in this place,” the one cawed and Clay countered, “I don’t think so. You’re a danger to the people…”

“We are not a danger, we serve the Stag Prince not the burning skins. We are going to aid those who follow our master mortals like you and protect them from the burning skins. We pose no danger to those who don’t deserve it shiny wearer,” the one crow cawed while the one of its companions stated to Zane, “if you ever need aid from the court you know how to call for it.” The crows then took off heading for a shrine to Storabek nearby that could use their aid.

“I don’t like letting those things go free,” Clay noted and Zane explained, “they won’t cause trouble. They are more like crows than true demons. Also the court those three are a part of align with mortals like us more than other monsters.”

“How can you trust such monsters? It’s because you were one of them for a while isn’t it? It messed with your brain,” Jay complained as they started to head back to the others and Aaron stated, “why don’t you chill bro. Those semi-bony bird dudes are kind of rad.”

“I’d say more of creepy,” Clay noted before Jay complained, “you only think they’re rad because you’re crazy!” When they got to the others they wondered how it all went. They had seen the storm get destroyed but had been hesitant to get close as the mist was still present though it was slowly dissipating. After they regaled how it went Lloyd having to constantly silence Jay who was trying to complain over everything Tafari wondered, “interesting… your powers must have kept you safe like we thought. What about that one the archer. How come he wasn’t affected? If what you say is true that he has no special powers then how could he enter the storm? If we could figure that out then our troops might stand a chance against them.”

“Because he’s crazy and thinks that Balmora blue stuff is fine!” Jay complained taking Aarons helmet off revealing to the others that Aaron still had the glowing markings and eye iridescence from the drink. To Jays dislike the others weren’t shocked or scared by the markings many instead being interested. Tafari wondered if something used to make the drink counteracted the magic used by the Ashers to make the storm. One of the mages among Tafaris troops inspected Aaron and proclaimed, “the Ashers used dark magic to create that storm, it radiated dark energies. Some of the ingredients used to make Balmora Blue not only glow from light but radiate energy of lightness. That energy must have counteracted the dark energies the Ashers were using keeping this one safe.”

“We’ll have to get some looking into this back in Balmora. If we can counteract their dark magics then they won’t be able to get an advantage over us and we can keep them at bay. They already have too many advantages over us we don’t want them getting anymore.”

To find previous and later chapters look here: https://robobirdie.tumblr.com/archive

You can also find a copy of the story written here https://archiveofourown.org/works/34894561/chapters/86888878 and here https://www.wattpad.com/1087355671-ninjago-the-oni-scrolls-foreword-important-info You can also find images pertaining to the story here: https://www.deviantart.com/nerdy-hyena/gallery/72478681/story-project

#ninjago #ninjago zane #ninjago cole #ninjago nya #ninjago jay #ninjago lloyd #ninjago kai #nexo knights #Elder Scrolls

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errthel · 4 years

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Route Two : Model Lucien (5)

Hello, wassup, yup, I don't know what other word to use- bonjour. That's it. So um, I hope you like Model Lucien... bcs he pretty hot cute

As always, a big thanks to @tri3tri for creating such wonderful yandere stories, my heart hurts, and for letting me and many others create stories based on her stories and AUs.

Alrighty so let's get to it.

The next day was tame and relaxed for the (h/c) haired boy as he continued on with his classes. He aced the chemistry test, did well in dancing and magic history all was doing alright-

"Luciiiiieeeennnn! You look so handsome in the photos!!!" Brier said skipping into Lucien's classroom right after the bell indicating lunch rang

"Ha?"

Brier showed his screen to the clueless boy, swiping each photo where Lucien looked hot as shit very handsome. The rest of his classmates congratulated him, patting him in the back, complimenting him, encouraging him, as he teared up and pouted.

"I look better than that photo..."

The black haired man looked at his phone in absolute awe, his son's magicam on full display.

Splayed on his latest post, a boy, with the most beautiful (h/c) hair, expressive (e/c) eyes, smooth pale skin, fine bone structure, pink lips, his slim body hidden by fine wool pieces signifying the autumnal season.

He wore a three piece suit consisting of a suit jacket, vest, and a pair of tailored pants. The wool was in a warm brown wool with a lovely. houndstooth pattern. He casually sat on a white chair with intricate patterns on it. Casual his pose may be, but God did it fit him.

This was the first time Neige has seen the boy in the post, but he was beyond curious, who was he? Where did he come from? If he was this handsome, no doubt would he have seen him earlier as a child model.

Lucien, that was his name, nothing in the description of the post said anything about where he came from.

"Mira, reschedule my schedule. I'm visiting RSA."

The blonde haired man, who finished a small workout, was checking his magicam while drinking apple juice from his friend's hometown.

His search didn't go far as he dropped his phone in sheer surprise.

His hands stumbled to snatch his phone off the floor, checking again truly showed that this boy was truly, truly like the epitome of beauty.

Vil, looked again at the boy who surprised him so much and studied him like a scientist does to his specimen.

(H/c) colored hair that was as silky as the finest silk, (e/c) eyes that gleamed like gems, pink lips that curled up into a smirk as he wore a black suit that fit perfectly. Vil couldn't help but remember from years ago, a special person. The potato from Ramshackle Dorm, the messy beauty who helped him out during his third year of high school.

Was he her child? There was only one way to find out.

"Mira, reschedule my schedule. It seems I'm going to RSA." Vil said seething a bit at the end

Vil typed in some numbers and brought the phone to his ear.

"Oui?"

"Rook, we're going to RSA."

Lucien looked at the envelope of cash Noel gave him and his eyes almost popped out of its sockets. Counting the money, he was able to deduce that what he had received was a staggering amount of money. They were currently in the ever busy Modeling Clubroom.

"Noel-senpai! This must be a mistake!"

"Eh? Is it not enough?"

"What? No!? It's too much for a high schooler to have!"

"Oh! That's your share, you were really popular you know, say, why don't you buy a phone and make a magicam with that money. I'm sure you'll be able to get more."

"That's not the point!"

A knock disrupted the two students as they looked at the culprit, Asher stood there clearing his throat.

"Heyya Lucien-chan~ you got some guests."

"Eh?"

"My, my, you look so much more beautiful in person Lucien-san."

"Hmph! I'd say there's a clear difference between a photo and the real thing."

"You must be Monsieur Lucien! Ah such beauty! I shall call you Le Prince Inattendu!"

"Who are these???"

(E/c) eyes observed the seemingly neverending grey sky that blanketed the Valley of Thorns. Those eyes looked soulless as they looked out to the distance from their window.

The owner of those eyes wore a soft nightgown made with what can only be imagined as the best silk money could buy. She sat on her comfortable window seat staring off at what ever caught her eyes on the palace grounds.

A knock on her door didn't faze her ministrations as well as the creak of the opening door.

"Your Highness, His Highness was worried that you didn't eat breakfast." her most trusted maid said with a deep bow

The queen reverted her eyes towards the maid and wondered why she still served her and not Bellatrix. Honestly she could have chosen to serve Bellatrix instead and have a friendlier and cooperative mistress, like a dog itching for attention.

"I'm not in the mood to eat any time soon."

"Then I will have your lunch be delivered to your bedroom Your Highness." swiftly replying, she left the (h/c) haired woman to let her further enjoy her peace

"..."

Glancing off into the distance, she saw in one of the many palace gardens, Bellatrix holding what seems to be a tea party.

Typical of her, after all she was rather childish and longed for praise and showers of compliments and if she couldn't get it from Malleus, she would have to get it from her fellow noble ladies of the Valley of Thorns.

"My love. I had heard that you didn't want to eat."

Ah, the person she least wanted to see.

"..."

"Please don't be like that my dear, it hurts me that you aren't talking to me." Malleus walked closer and closer to her sitting figure, trying to get her to at least talk

"..."

Malleus gripped her shoulders as he tried to get her to talk, saying words of endearment, cooing at her, he tried everything.

Dejected, he walked out of the room-

"I want to talk to my children, not you..."

Sharp (e/c) eyes stared right into the lenses of the camera, a hint of eye liner to make it a bit more mysterious. The owner of those eyes contorted his body to accommodate the two older models who was also staring into the lenses.

Clapping and praise came from the blonde haired man who stood beside the photographer, his enthusiasm was synonymous to what the whole room was feeling as they all, in their own ways, were at awe with the three attractive creatures in front of them.

The blond model was stationed on the left of the youngest and was exceptionally beautiful, no, a better word would be gorgeous. His energy and appearance gave a mature and somewhat devilish look to to the man. He was dressed in a lavish suit in a daring deep red color, his hair was slicked back to show off his perfect skin and structured face.

The man posed the right of the youngest was in an opulent deep yellow suit that rivalled the blond's deep red suit. He had an air of regality to him as he looked at the lenses. His dark hair was tousled and gave him a youthful look. If the blond model capitalized on immortal maturity, then this black haired one focused on giving the appearance of staying forever young.

The youngest drew a fine line in the middle of the extremes the men beside him were displaying. He had the aura of a mature man, with his suit being in a traditional dark blue color, inside the body of a teenager, which was shown through the fashion forward way in which his suit was constructed. His hair was unchanged from his usual style, the fringe staying to cover up his little secret.

The photoshoot went on for another hour and they soon started to finish up. Lucien, exhausted, accepted all the praise that was given to him with a bit of embarrassment. Neige clapped as he went closer to the boy, only to be stopped by Vil, who held Lucien's wrist.

Vil gave a charming smile before leading Lucien to a secluded table, far from any prying ears.

"Lucien, that's your name isn't it?"

"Mhm, Vil-san, why did you bring here?"

Vil stared hard into those eyes that shined as bright as the eyes of that girl from two decades ago, they were shrouded in a mysterious veil, Vil spotted it the first time he saw him in person and immediately became anxious. He was impressed with how well he hid it, but Vil wasn't idiotic enough to not see through it, he was Vil Schoenheit after all.

"Just a small question, I am wondering if you know anyone going by the name of (M/c) (L/n)? I realized that you both had the same surnames, so I was curious." polite and short

"... I don't think I ever came across someone who goes by that name."

"Is that so? I see, then good job today, you weren't half bad." Vil said as he left, not before his eyes trailed to look at Lucien's eyes

I hope you liked the little MC part =), so I just wanted to bring in some characters from the Valley of Thorns and others will have their own parts in the coming chapters so we won't focus too much on Lucien, to my chagrin.

Anyways, thanks for reading♡

Edit, I edited (Y/n) to (M/c) because while Y/n means Your Name, I don't think people like using themselves in these kinds of stories so instead I changed it to (M/c) to make it less akward, I hope you don't mind.

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whispersafterdusk · 3 years

Text

Lost in Time - ch 16

It was hard to take his eyes off the contraption attached to his wrist.

The Hi-Def was a tiny computer that was held to him with a comfortable canvas and leather wristband; the screen was two inches square, sleek and shiny, and edged with a polished steel casing. The device had two small buttons on one side but, as Eli was demonstrating, the majority of the computer's functions were controlled either by touching the screen, poking at the hard light projection that came from the screen, or using voice commands. So far the only button function he knew how to set whether the device operated exclusively with screen-touched commands, hard light commands, voice only, or any combination of any of them; that had been the first thing Eli had taught them, even before they'd finished the elevator ride down.

They were now all gathered within the facility, standing together around a computer console on what they considered the "ground" floor (which was the bottom-most floor the main access elevator could reach) and on the monitor was a larger image of the Hi-Def's screen. Eli was frequently switching between projecting out of her own Hi-Def and using the computer monitor, depending on what she was instructing them to do - it was a lot easier for them to see on the larger monitor than it was in the projection without crowding one another. ((Continued below cut))

"So here," Eli said, gesturing with her free hand at the monitor, "is the communications panel. You can set up a quick-response voice command to open it without needing to manually navigate here in the same area for all the other voice commands I showed you earlier. It's fairly self explanatory on this landing page -- you can see the list of Hi-Defs in range here. I've already programmed in the "names" of your Hi-Defs, using your names, to make it easier."

Asher looked down the list and could see his name along with Eli, Arlo, Sam, Remington, Adam, Mali, and Gale's name was there as well (though Gale wasn't presently in the room with them - his name was outlined in bright red). There seemed to be loads more empty spaces left but he knew Eli had only made nine of these so far...she must have thought ahead and programmed with the intent of making more in the future. Neat.

"I've set it so, by default, it'll always broadcast to all Hi-Defs within range. If or when I ever add more to the network I'll start programming in some set group defaults but for now we don't need that." Eli turned away from the screen briefly and rapidly navigated to the communication page on her own Hi-Def, then set it to project into the air in front of her. "If you aren't wanting to talk to everyone all at once you can select a specific person or group from the default list, or create your own personalized groups of people -- and, like everything else, you can set up voice commands to get here quicker. Anyway..."

He watched as she reached out and "tapped" (it was so weird to be tapping on light that was solid...) Arlo's and Sam's name, which highlighted them in a bright green.

"So I've got my recipients selected," Eli said, smiling a bit as they turned toward Sam and Arlo - her voice was coming out of their Hi-Defs now (it was a weird effect hearing her from multiple places at once). "All you have to do then is just talk. It's pretty decent at picking up your voice even if your hand is down at your side as well as filtering out background noise but there's still a chance other things might be heard through it so be mindful of that. You can adjust your incoming and outgoing volumes here-" she indicated a double pair of up and down arrows, "-and there's an element of proximity when it comes to outgoing broadcasts." She raised her wrist to her mouth then. "If you need to be very quiet, for example," she went on in a bare whisper, "just get it closer to your face if you can."

Asher couldn't hear the words coming from her lips but could hear her clear as day coming through on Arlo and Sam's Hi-Defs - a whisper that was coming through at a normal volume.

Eli then reached out to tap Arlo's and Sam's names again, returning them to the dull tan color they'd been before she'd selected them, then demonstrated sliding both incoming and outgoing volumes down to zero. "If a Hi-Def is out of range the name will be in red and if you try to select it it'll give you its best estimate as to how far away you are from being in range. This will be based on the last time you WERE in range, so it's not going to be completely accurate -- normally these would be tethered to a satellite and could give you measurements down to the inch but we're in short supply of those. One thing to keep in mind for the future is even if we get all the signal towers up there may still be areas where you're considered out of range because the signal can't reach. Places like being in deep valleys or underground, or if you're somewhere there's a lot of metal or 'things' between you and the towers like trees, dirt, concrete... Again, wouldn't be much of a problem if we had satellite support too but we'll have to make do."

"Can these be accidentally turned on?" Asher asked. He waggled his wrist slightly. "I'm not going to start broadcasting my snoring if it turns on while I'm asleep?"

Eli shook her head. "Accidentally? No. It can detect heart and respiration rates so if you hit a certain threshold it'll assume you're asleep or unconscious and will disable all outgoing broadcasts and turn on a tracking indicator. If I NEED to I can turn the outgoing back on from here-" she patted a hand on the computer console "-so we can get audio of your surroundings, assuming you're within range. Incoming broadcasts won't be muted if you're asleep or unresponsive however."

"Neat. Can we set up alarms on this thing?"

"You mean to wake yourself up, or to alert others?"

"Both?"

Eli pointed to a spot on the projection that had a large exclamation point on it. "That there will send out a distress signal by default if you double tap on it. If you press and hold..." She jabbed it with a finger and held it there; the button flashed from red to yellow, then expanded out into a new menu that was overlaying the communication page. "It opens up this secondary menu where you can set up custom ones with your own messages and sounds. If you're looking for an alarm clock that's in the clock and calendar functions."

"Wait, you said there's a tracking indicator?" Arlo interrupted. "Even if we're asleep?"

She nodded. "Yes. There's no way for these to tell the difference between sleep and unconsciousness so a tracking indicator will turn on no matter what."

"That's...a bit weird, isn't it?" Sam asked, looking between her Hi-Def and Eli.

"Is it?" Eli asked. "I know where you all live so I already know roughly where you sleep."

"...true," Sam replied. "I guess it's not so weird when you put it that way. Does it track you any other time?"

"Not automatically, and it's not something that just anyone would've or will have access to," Eli answered. "I can, from either this computer or my Hi-Def, track any of you at any time. Normally I'd have no reason to and there were really, really, REALLY strict rules on how and when you could use the tracking function and, if we were back in my time, you could be thrown in prison if you were found to have misused or abused access to it. It's meant to be a safety feature - if someone goes missing or silent unexpectedly I can look to see where you are and if need be we can head out to do a rescue."

"So not everyone will have access to the tracking thing but will WE have access?" Asher asked, gesturing to everyone standing about. "It's not much use if you're the only one who can and you're the one who goes missing."

"I'm giving you all permission to do so but only from here," Eli said, patting the top of the computer. "It's another security thing - if someone takes you out and gets your Hi-Def we wouldn't want them figuring out how to track the rest of us - which is also why I want you all to definitely set up the voice lock command like I showed you. That'll minimize the risk even further."

"Could Paulina do the tracking if asked?" Sam asked then.

Ha...Paulina. Pauline's successor, in a way. Technically Paulina was an altered copy of Pauline that didn't need a name (because it wasn't a living AI) but they'd all agreed to renaming the working console just so they could refer to it and have everyone know exactly what was being discussed. Paulina ran both the computer as well as all of their Hi-Defs - one big copy of Pauline and nine more tiny ones.

"Yes, and no," Eli finally replied. "I'd have to program her to be able to do that. As of right now no, that's not something I have her set up to do because of all the variables that would have to go in to it. She SHOULD, in theory, be able to do it just fine since Pauline tracked people within the facility but there'd be a difference between the check point sensors and signal towers that -- well. I'm not going to get into the technical aspect. Let's just leave it at 'yes, possibly' for now."

Out of the corner of his eye he could see Sam nodding, looking satisfied with that answer; he looked up again as Eli turned back to the computer.

"A couple other things here - this button will mute your outgoing, double tap it to quickly mute both incoming and outgoing, and then double tap it again to unmute them. This one here opens the menu to set up your own communication groups. Press, hold, drag and drop, then hit the title bar here and either verbally or manually name it. When you do that it'll appear here..."

Asher watched as she backed out of the new menu and landed back on the main communication page, then she gestured at a smaller button that had what looked like a capital V on it; when she poked at it another menu opened and it had blank text fields on it that looked identical to the ones on the main page.

"This is where your created groups will be stored - like with individuals you can set up quick or verbal commands to broadcast to a group." She let them all get a good look at it then closed it, and then quickly flipped all the way back to the main screen of the Hi-Def. "That's all for now - don't want to overload you all with information. Feel free to play around with it, there's nothing you can do to these that I can't reverse."

Remington tapped a few fingers against his screen. "How sturdy are these things? I'm worried I'll scratch or break it somehow."

Eli chuckled. "You'll probably break the casing its in before you actually damage the screen. I don't have access to the alloys the casings were originally made out of so they're not quite as indestructible as they used to be. -- but don't get me wrong, breaking them IS a possibility, just not a very high one. You don't need to treat them like spun glass but also don't be using them as hammers or whatever - just wear them normally like you would any other article of clothing and you'll be fine." As she spoke she set the computer into a stand-by mode; the screen went black but not the dark black that indicated it was powered off entirely - that had been another concept to get used to...a "black" that still put out light.

"So...how do we start mapping Portia?" Asher asked after a pause. "This thing has some sort of scanning function, right?"

She nodded at him. "It does but we're not going to worry about that right now. We only have two signal towers up at the moment - the one here attached to the elevator platform that's interfacing with the working sensors in the facility and one that Selene attached to the schoolhouse's roof that currently is too far away to communicate with anything here but will still work if YOU all are within its range. Until we get the other towers up and figure out how to power them you'll be relying only on your onboard storage and, when it comes to mapping, that's not going to count for much because the data that generates the maps -- ...ok, again, not going to get technical, but suffice it to say that it won't be possible until we get the entire thing up and running."

"Gotcha," he replied. Honestly he was most looking forward to the mapping part...it'd give him an excuse to pick a direction and start walking during those times he wasn't on guard duty.

Asher had been born in Ethea and raised in Highwind; in a few ways Portia reminded him of Highwind - of home - so he assumed that was probably why he liked it here so much, and why he was itching to go poke around. All the wide open spaces, the beach access and harbor, the neighboring desert...all of it was something he'd been hoping he'd get a chance to fully explore before he had to go back to the Pigs's headquarters in Lucien. Now that he was carrying a Hi-Def it seemed like he had a really good reason to stick around even longer - once he'd helped get this spy problem under control he'd then be free to help map out Portia and the surrounding region, and then if these things got expanded across the continent...

Eh, well. He shouldn't get ahead of himself. The only reason he even had one was because Eli had the parts to build it; they could cover the continent in the needed signal towers but that wouldn't make more Hi-Defs appear out of thin air. And if expansion was out of the question then he probably wouldn't get to take his Hi-Def out of Portia -- and even if he wanted to keep it and leave there'd be zero reason to since all the useful stuff he was excited over wouldn't work once out of range of the signal towers.

He tapped his screen to turn it off and looked around; the others were fiddling with their Hi-Defs and Eli was still sitting on a stool next to the main computer console - she didn't seem to be paying attention to anyone or anything in particular at the moment though she had one hand resting idly across her own Hi-Def's screen.

After a few breaths she looked up suddenly and met his eye - must have sensed he was looking at her, or something. "When do you think the rest of the towers will be up?" he asked.

She took a moment to consider, then shrugged. "Hard telling. Selene is having to make molds and cast some parts, then we'll have to test strength and durability. We could technically make do in the short term but we can't guarantee we can dig up the right parts forever. And I'd rather not have to dismantle a ton of things," she added after a moment, waving a hand around herself to indicate the facility. "I'd like to...actually utilize this place. Don't know what for just yet but..." She fell silent then offered up another shrug. "We were always taught to use whatever we had at hand if things went south...I'm as far south as someone can get but it feels like tearing my own house down. I want to keep this place standing - find a reason to bring life back to it."

"Maybe as a school?" Remington offered, without looking up from his Hi-Def.

"Nah. We're moving Stewart to the clinic, remember?"

Now Remington did look up. "I remembered, yeah, but medical stuff isn't the only thing folks could learn."

Asher looked between the two of them as they spoke and was able to watch the slow progression of Eli's expression from confusion to a guarded curiosity.

"What do you mean?" she went on finally.

"Well..." Remington started, drawing out the word as he closed all the menus he was perusing. "You're teaching all of us some ranger things, and fitness and strength training. And you know all about the Old World since you lived in it. I bet people would flock from all over the continent to meet and learn from you."

Eli's expression went neutral. "True. But I'm not exactly a school teacher. I'm a soldier, and I imagine your church would have more than a few things to say about my teaching anyone on a large scale."

"They don't hold any authority within Portia or the rest of the Free Cities," Arlo said into the brief pause that followed. "They can hold all the opinions they want but they'd be inviting a lot of trouble if they tried directly interfering in a town's business or with their citizens."

Eli shrugged again. "Even still, I'd rather not kick the proverbial hornet's nest. Just because they don't have authority doesn't mean they can't or won't try something, whether that "something" is them riling up the populace against me or directly taking action to remove me from the picture - which is what would have happened in my time, and often did if someone was trying to incite something without regard to the laws."

Asher clenched his jaw at that last part; the Church Enforcers were a...particular lot. They traveled around and destroyed relics they deemed dangerous (which usually meant ANY relic they could get their hands on) and had been known to get into conflicts with civilians on the regular. The conflicts were violent at times but not usually fatal on either side; he couldn't think of any accidental deaths that had happened within recent years but could see the potential for them if the Church thought Eli, her knowledge, and anyone she shared that knowledge with was a threat. If similar had happened even back in Eli's time when, as history detailed, the world had been living in what amounted to a utopia...guess humans really hadn't changed much in three hundred years.

"Yeah, well, we just make sure that doesn't happen," Asher found himself saying, and then immediately stopped as all eyes shifted to him. He'd...not actually intended to say that out loud since it was only a half-formed thought but too late now. "Not...not that I'm suggesting we pick a fight with the Church or anything. Or have a gaggle of body guards following Eli around-"

Eli snorted. "By the Three I'd hope not."

He grinned at that. "-BUT, what we CAN do is take some steps to make sure a confrontation doesn't happen, or doesn't have a reason to happen. That means keeping people away from places they don't belong - which is something we do now anyway - and also not turning a blind eye to churchfolks who like to make up stories about things or people. I know Arlo's dealt with that here already," he added after a breath, looking to the man.

Arlo in turn nodded and crossed his arms. "I have. Thankfully Lee understood early on exactly where Gale and the Civil Corps stood on the topic -- the few things he spread around were squashed quickly and, to my knowledge, he's back to his usual sermons without 'embellishing' them."

Asher looked back to Eli. "Yeah, that - squash the lies, and just be careful about things - Portia might have opened all her other ruins for exploring but there's a lot of them across the continent that're closed, period, because they're too fragile, dangerous, or too many people rely on whatever's in them to be fairly distributed. It'd be up to Portia to set rules on who gets to come in here and why but if you end up turning this place into something everyone can use then we'd know who's here and for what reason, and anyone without a good reason can be shown the door. An Enforcer is going to stick out like a sore thumb if they come anywhere near Portia anyway. And the Church HAS come around on stuff like water filtration, powered tools, electric generating gadgets...they're definitely trigger happy on everything they come across but even they can be made to see the benefit to things eventually."

"And besides," Sam picked up, "it's not like the enforcers are assassins or anything. At most they can arrest people in the regions they have jurisdiction in, and at best they get arrested themselves for causing problems."

Adam grunted. "Threat of jail hasn't stopped 'em from arresting in places they don't have power in. There's a lot of bullhonk out in the world that you lot don't see in a town like this. They're not friendly."

"They're NOT murderers though," Asher interrupted, shooting Adam an annoyed look. "But accidents do happen when they get a bit...overeager in their work and yeah, sometimes they do try to step out of bounds if they feel threatened or justified."

Eli looked between the two Pigs. "I think we need to have a chat on what these enforcers are, what they do, and what they're SUPPOSED to do. Are they reigned in by law at all?"

"Of course. Doesn't mean they stick to it," Adam answered. "Same as anyone."

Mali shook her head and gestured for Asher and Adam to quiet. "WE," she said, gesturing to the Pigs, "would be happy to discuss the politics and laws of the wider world. Whenever you'd like to just let us know."

Eli nodded. "I appreciate it. I'll be busy this afternoon so maybe later tonight, or even tomorrow."

Asher could see her glance over to Arlo and give him a barely perceptible nod; guess whatever she was up to this afternoon included him, or the Civil Corps, or both. After another pause in the conversation Eli stood up and again invited them all to play around with their Hi-Defs, reminded them to set their voice locks, then headed out of the room with Arlo following along a few moments later.

For one brief moment he contemplated following them; everyone else had their attentions back on their Hi-Defs so he doubted they'd even notice if he slipped out. But, it was pretty clear, when neither Remington or Sam moved to leave, that whatever Eli's plans were for the afternoon they included Arlo and just Arlo...if others were welcome she probably would have said something. He looked around at everyone again -- whether he followed Eli and Arlo or not he did know he wanted to get back out on the surface and into fresh air; the Research Center, with Stewart's help, had fully repaired the air system down here so he logically knew that fresh air was always circulating but it didn't stop the feelings of mild claustrophobia and stuffiness he got when he was down here for awhile. He'd give Arlo and Eli time to get back to the surface then would head that way himself and tuck himself into a quiet corner of the tent while he fiddled with the Hi-Def.

Asher flipped through the screens back to communication and sorted Mali and Adam into a separate group he labeled "Flying Pigs," and then slid all three of the Civil Corps members into their own group as well. Setting up the voice commands were easy ("call Pigs" and "call Civil" respectively, since Eli had suggested "call" as a command word to use) and then he found his fingers hovering over Arlo and Eli's names; after a moment to consider he slid the two of them into another custom group.

Adam and Mali might be his fellow Pigs but he wasn't especially close to either of them - before now he'd not even had a chance to talk to them much since they were always doing their own things; he was closer to Greg than he was to anyone else in the Flying Pigs but only because they'd shared a bunk room at headquarters up until Greg got married and moved in to a house with his wife. Arlo reminded him of Greg in a lot of ways and, despite having watched him fail the entry exam multiple times, Asher was still convinced that Arlo would make it eventually and was looking forward to being there when he finally did (and hey - he hadn't had a bunk mate since Greg moved out and Arlo would be expected to spend his first two years living at headquarters as a rule).

And, when it came to Eli... Well.

He titled their group "Buds" but held off on setting up a voice command. For now.

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

"Hey you!"

Harrison took a moment to reply (he hated being interrupted mid-sentence when reading) but found himself smiling up at Lily as she leaned over his pile of books.

"Hello there - I didn't hear you come in."

She giggled and patted a hand on top of what was basically a barricade of reading material lined up along the outer edge of the little table he studied at. "Gee, I wonder why."

He felt his face go a bit red but he laughed quietly all the same and quickly moved a few stacks of books down to the floor near his feet. "Sorry. What are you up to today?"

"I came by to ask if you had any letters or anything you'd like me to take back to Lucien."

"Back to Lucien?" he repeated. A sinking feeling hit him - she was leaving?

Lily nodded. "Uh huh. It's about time to head back home to check in with mom - I try to stay away only a couple months at a time. If I come home at regular intervals then she worries less." She paused and squinted at him, then waved her hands frantically. "But I'm coming back! I'm going to come back!" she added in a rush. "I just have to let her know I'm ok!"

"Oh," he said, letting out a loud breath. "Ok. Yes, that - that sounds like a good thing to do. Um..."

He'd had a pad of paper here somewhere... As he started sorting through the folders and remaining books on his desk Lily stood there and rocked back and forth from heels to toes, like she usually did when standing still (well, not STILL - she seemed incapable of not moving some part of her when standing around idle) and then she bent to yank something out from under a pile on the corner.

"Here you go-" she held out the writing pad to him with a grin.

"Thanks." He grabbed it and leafed through the pages inside; there was a half-completed letter in here somewhere...ah. Carefully he pulled the page free and flipped it around to show her. "I sort of do. When did you plan on heading home?"

"I'd planned on heading up to Sandrock today and catching the bus north but I can wait until tomorrow."

"I can have this done here in a few minutes if you really want to leave today."

Lily wrinkled her nose and sighed. "I don't REALLY want to leave but I have to. BUT, like I said, I'm going to come back. I even have a job lined up for when I come back, too!"

Harrison blinked at her. "Oh?" How long had she planned on leaving without mentioning anything to him...?

"Mmhmm. That old lady farmer is willing to hire me on as an extra farmhand to help with the spring planting and all the little baby animals that'll be born or hatching here soon. That'll earn me enough that I wouldn't have to worry for awhile."

"How long will you be gone?" he asked as he fished around for a pencil.

"I'll probably be back within a week." She hummed to herself for a breath, then spun on a heel to face the door. "I'll be back in a bit for that, ok?"

"All right."

Harrison watched her skip out of the clinic and huffed out a sigh. He shouldn't be too surprised or disappointed that she'd be going home but logic and sense rarely went hand in hand with... The "L" word felt a bit too much at this point but he was definitely interested in her, and she in him. It was highly unfair for him to expect her to stay here, just because he was here, without giving any thought to her own needs or obligations.

Quickly he skimmed over the letter; he'd been halfway through detailing everything he'd done so far in Portia - this wouldn't take long to finish.

Not long after Lily had left the doors opened again; Dr. Xu came in leading someone with a heavy bandage taped to their chin. Harrison paused in his letter writing and watched as Xu led the man over toward the Uplifter, and lifted the machine's dust cover while directing the man to pull over a stool.

"Would you like a hand, Dr. Xu?"

"That would be welcomed, Harrison, thank you."

He got up and came around to help the patient position the stool in front of the Uplifter. "Here, just sit here and -- yes, like that, and sit up straight. Dr. Xu will lower that part there that looks like a plate and adjust it near your face."

"And this thing'll be able to fix it?" the man asked. His voice was obviously pained and also slurred, as he didn't seem willing to move his mouth and jaw more than he had to.

"It'll close the wound and there shouldn't be any scar visible, yes," Xu answered. "Go ahead and take the bandage off while I get the last few steps completed. This will sting briefly as it starts up but will numb soon after-"

Harrison looked from the man to Dr. Xu as Xu cut off mid-sentence; the doctor was patting at the side of the machine and looking confused. "What's wrong?"

"Hmm. The manual for it isn't in its usual slot. Have you seen it?" Harrison shook his head and Xu hummed to himself. "Well. I have the steps memorized but I had wanted you to follow along in the manual as I worked."

"Perhaps it accidentally got mixed in with Phyllis's things when she moved to her new practice?"

"It's possible," Xu replied, nodding to Harrison. "When we finish here would you mind walking out there to check?"

"I need to finish something quickly before that but otherwise I don't mind at all."

Xu smiled and began to input the commands into the Uplifter's computer panel; Harrison leaned over to help the man on the stool remove the bandage, and then winced when he saw the injury -- it was a deep wound, with jagged edges, and he could see the white of bone beneath it. Once Xu had all the commands in place he settled the headpiece of the Uplifter over the man's head fully and hit the Start button.

"No talking," Xu said then. "This will take several minutes."

Harrison could see the man flinch as the machine whirred to life but afterward the man sat calmly, unmoving, as the Uplifter did its work.

Since there would be some time to kill while the machine mended the injury Harrison returned to his table and went back to his letter. Assuming there weren't any other emergencies or distractions he should have this done well before Lily came back for it.

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

"How many keys were on the keyboard I was using?"

"Fifty six. Fifty seven if the secondary power button counts."

"Good. How many birds over there?"

"Fo- no, five."

"And what are they?"

"Sounds like common house sparrows."

"Right. Cows in the field?"

"Unfair question - McDonald said one was in labor."

"Assume the calf hasn't made an appearance yet."

"Fourteen."

"Horses?"

"Three. The rest were in the barn still."

As they walked along Eli nodded approvingly at him; these early techniques she was teaching him were hard to describe but when put into practice Arlo found they weren't so impossible as he'd initially thought.

"How far off is the Dee-Dee?"

Arlo paused; he was certain he hadn't seen or heard the Dee-Dee that ran between here and town yet but if Eli was asking, then...

All right, so maybe he shouldn't feel so confident in himself just yet.

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

Harrison's letter was safely in her pack; he'd written out his parent's address and on the back of the envelope he'd even given her a crudely drawn map of how to get there from Lucien's town square.

It was going to be a really simple matter to find his family.

The bus had dropped her off at the stop just outside of Lucien's border; a group had gotten off with her and as they all filed through the little turnstile to get off the platform Lily tried to tamp down her irritation at being jostled by all the careless people around her.

And then finally she was out into the night, and free. No one in the near vicinity, and no one paying any attention to her when she passed.

There was a run down shed on the northern side of Lucien that held old, rusted gardening equipment. The padlock looked equally as rusted but she knew that was just for looks; her key turned soundlessly in it and, after making sure no one was around, she slipped inside and picked her way among the clutter until she came to an empty workbench with a heavy burlap rug pinned underneath the bench's front two legs. She flipped the rug aside to reveal a trap door and used a second key to open it before sliding down the ladder and into a cramped, barely lit tunnel that led to a considerably more comfortable room with padded chairs, a few bunk beds, and a tiny kitchenette.

Normally there would be three or four people here, waiting; tonight there was only one - a dark haired man, short and squat, with a ruddy complexion and face dotted with pimples and acne scars. He was listening to a small radio and when Lily stepped into the room he spun around with one hand going for a gun holstered at his side. When he finally registered who she was he visibly calmed, then an instant later growled at her angrily.

"What are YOU doing here? Captain Xan didn't-"

"Shut up," Lily snapped. She stomped in and yanked Harrison's letter out of her pack before letting the bag drop to the floor. "Through sheer dumb luck I stumbled on something that we can't pass up. Call him down here."

Grunting and puffing the fat man got up out of his chair and shoved passed her to go back up the tunnel she'd just come from. Lily yanked the envelope open, took the letter out and flattened it across a table, then carefully opened the envelope's seams so it too could lay flat.

She waited longer than she wanted to but soon the scarred man came back, huffing and puffing and with his face even redder with exertion; behind him trailed a rail-thin man with a shaved head, seven piercings in his left ear, and what could be mistaken for smile lines at the corners of his mouth and eyes. He was dressed in old, stained clothing, and had a heavy apron tossed over one arm -- it would seem Xan was still working his cover job as a butcher over on the southern side of Lucien's market district.

"What brings you back early, Lily?" Xan asked. His tone was smooth and calm but Lily could tell by the way his jaw bulged a bit that he was gritting his teeth -- she didn't know what he'd been told by the fat messenger but it was clear he was mad at her.

"An opportunity fell into my lap," she answered. With a light touch she turned the letter and envelope with its map around to face him, then pushed it across the table toward him. "There's a doctor in Portia, with a student who sounds just like him. And that machine we've heard of exists and does exactly as rumored - I have the manual to prove it. Doctor and student are roughly the same size and height as well."

Xan's face broke into a cold smile as he gingerly picked up the envelope and studied the map; that was one thing Lily liked about Xan -- he understood her ideas and plans without her having to painstakingly spell it out for him. "Have you acted on it?"

"Not yet. I think it best if we have some bargaining chips first. I've charmed the student so it won't be odd for me to be seen in and around the clinic -- and besides, the lock on their doors as well as on the doctor's desk are ridiculously easy to pick. We can take out the doctor and force the student to replace him once we have the appropriate motivation in place for the student."

Xan nodded slowly, tapping the edge of the envelope against his lower lip as he thought; it was several minutes before the man spoke again. "We'll prepare a place to hold everyone -- we will, after all, need ready access to the doctor so we can feed information to the student, so that the illusion holds. When will the All Source be moved into the clinic?"

"That I'm not sure. I found all the information about their plans to expand the clinic but construction hasn't started yet, nor was there any hint as to when it would."

"Wait until construction is under way, then you may act," Xan ordered. "I'll send Marcus and Evangeline to back you up directly, and will have others standing by to get the All Source secured and away when the time comes. Leave the hostages to us."

"What do you want me to do in the meantime? They know someone has been keeping an eye on the facility."

"Do whatever you have to to keep your current cover intact," Xan replied. "Is the suit secured?"

Lily jerked her head toward the pack on the floor. "I need a few replacement wires - one of the Flying Pig bitches shot me in the arm."

Xan turned around toward the ruddy-faced man. "Tell Steven we need the filament wires, immediately." When the man nodded Xan turned back to her. "You've done exceptionally well -- I'll make sure you get a bonus. Take some time, rest - actually visit your mother if you so choose. Leave the suit here for Steven though."

Lily nodded. "Understood. Is anyone staying here tonight?"

"Just Howie," Xan said, gesturing toward the fat man. "-who SHOULD have already left to fetch Steven, yet here we are."

At that Howie about fell over himself to scramble from the room again; Xan let out a short chuckle that trailed into a sigh.

Lily wrinkled her nose and picked up the letter, offering it to Xan who took it and carefully folded it with the envelope. "I will go home then. I'm in no mood to share a space with an ugly idiot."

"Fair enough. Tell your mother I said, thank you for the chamomile. It made a very pleasant tea."

"I will. You know where to find me."

Wordlessly Xan nodded and turned to leave; Lily gave him plenty of time to have disappeared into the night before she too left the underground hidey hole and headed out into the evening air. Steven had repaired the suit before so she wasn't concerned about leaving it behind.

She took her time walking home and stopped at the front gate to take a steadying breath and get her mind back into "happy go lucky airhead Lily" mode. It was so exhausting to keep up that facade but knew if she didn't play the right part then her mother would ask questions she'd rather not answer.

With an inner grimace but an outward smile Lily pushed the gate open; the front windows were open to let in the night breeze and the lights were still on. "Moooooom," she called out as she walked up the path toward the front porch. "I'm hooooooome!"

#Lost in Time #lit #Lost in Time - ch 16 #Arlo #Sam #Remington #Mali #Dr. Xu #Duvos #Lucien #My Time at Portia

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concealeddarkness13 · 3 years

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WHG Post Games Nesri Part 2

Tagging: @ratracechronicler (also thanks for Rebecca!), @maple-writes (also thanks for Cirrus!), @nightskywriter, @rhikasa, @pen-of-roses, @aeslin-writes, @the-moving-finger-writes, @knmartinshouldbewriting, @makeitmonstrous, and @timefirewrites!

I pounded my fist on Zenith’s door. He had been in there for two days now. It was time to make him leave. Cirrus and Rebecca had decided to join me.

When there was no answer, I growled and knocked harder. “Hey, you loser! Stop hiding in there and tell us what’s going on! Why did you sneak out, and what happened that made you ask Asher to knock you unconscious? What kind of reckless shit did you get into?”

There was a groan on the other side of the door, but that was it. I scoffed, crystallized water from the drink I was holding, and cut through the hinges with it (the crystals are stronger than diamonds). I kicked the door open and walked in with my hands on my hips.

Zenith had been lying down, but he scrambled up when we walked in. He glared at me. “Leave me alone.”

I grabbed him by his shirt collar. Why was his seclusion making me so pissed off? “Like hell I will! Tell us what’s going on!”

Rebecca spoke up. “Yeah! We’re not getting any younger here, and Lynn and Lynne aren’t getting any freer!”

He bowed his head so that his eyes were shadowed. “I went to go see my old team.”

Before he could continue, I tightened my grip on his collar and shook him. “You fucking idiot! Did you sell us out to them? Do they know where we are?”

Rebecca looked around as if she could see hidden cameras, and Cirrus crossed his arms. “How do you know they didn’t follow you home? Clearly they aren’t on our side.”

Zenith took a deep breath. “I was able to convince them to trust me, at least a little. And I would have been able to sense them following me. I’m not that incompetent. I sought them out because they had already sent me a message saying that they were looking for me. If I hadn’t met with them, I know they would have found us. So, I took the chance.”

I still didn’t let go of his collar. How many supposed friends who had the magic had promised me that they wouldn’t hunt me after I ran away? And they did anyway. “Forgive me for not having as much faith in these Capitol idiots as you do. I guess I can trust that you would have been able to sense anyone following you, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t still looking for us, no matter what they told you. That was such a stupid fucking move.”

Cirrus nodded. “And what if it hadn’t worked? If Asher hadn’t managed to knock you out? If something went wrong?” His voice dropped low. “Don’t think for a second I wouldn’t have killed you if it came down to it.” Despite the anger I felt, a rush of excitement passed through me. I had to get him to spar with me. Rebecca’s eyes widened, and she tried to stay out of Cirrus’s line of sight.

Zenith looked him dead in the eyes. “I would have wanted you to.”

I let go of his collar. He had done something stupid, but yelling at him wouldn’t really help. Even if it did make me feel better. Instead, I grabbed his arm and started pulling him out of his bed. “You’re going to make it up to us by watching the special program the Capitol is hosting. You even have to make the popcorn for us.” I tried to make my voice sound happy, but I couldn’t keep out the anger that I still felt. Hopefully, no one noticed.

“And keep your senses sharp for those possible, y’know, spies,” Rebecca added.

Zenith didn’t say anything as I monitored him while he made the popcorn and drinks for us. Hey, since we had someone to bully, we might as well make the most of it. So, we just settled down to watch the program, and when Zenith tried to retreat, I glared at him until he sat down next to me. I did text Shine to keep an eye out for any hidden devices that could spie on us.

The TV flickered, and a close-up of Caesar Flickerman’s ugly face showed up, but I didn’t even have it in me to throw popcorn at him. My blood was still boiling.

He laughed at us. “We have a special program for our dear watchers tonight! A special division of the Capitol is pleased to announce a new recruit to their ranks. She even received the prestigious magic as well!” He gestured to the side, but I didn’t even react as Lynne walked on stage. I was frozen. No. No, no, no. This couldn’t be happening. The Shades. They had gotten to her. It was obvious in how she walked, even with a radiant smile on her face. She was still in pain from the “ceremony”.

I barely heard Rebecca say anything. “Magic? Isn’t that maybe a good thing? Or…” Zenith glanced back and shook his head. But I couldn’t tear my eyes away.

Caesar clapped Lynne on the back, and she almost fell. Another sign that she was in pain. She should be fine in high heels. “How has your time with the Shades been? I bet the magic is amazing!”

She laughed, and it was clear that it wasn’t genuine. “I have not been able to practice with the magic much yet, so I cannot say for sure. But I did meet someone because of the Shades, and for that I am happy. The victor, Hugo Atwater, was a lot of help. I want to thank him, personally, for his help.” She winced, and her hand went up to where the shocker was.

Caesar just laughed and gestured for something else off-stage. Churi (with his usual long, silver hair and red eyes) walked up as two Avoxes lugged a basin of water toward Lynne. I clenched my fists so tightly that my knuckles turned white as I stared at Churi.

Caesar grinned at him. “Could you give us some more specifics on this brilliant magic while we get set up?”

Churi nodded, smirking. “This magic is difficult to transfer and can cause severe pain during transfer, which is why we usually use children for the transfer, since their bodies are normally more willing to take the magic. It is a testament to the strength of Ms. Marne that she was able to withstand the transfer. The magic allows the user to create crystals that are harder than diamonds out of any liquid that is within a certain radius from the user. Activating the magic allows the user to glow and float because of the outrush of power. It is a strong power, as you will see from this demonstration.” He gestured over at Lynne as the Avoxes set the basin down in front of her.

“Wait, that’s what you did—with the hinges,” Rebecca said. And then a delayed, “Are you okay?”

Zenith was eyeing me, but I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the screen, couldn’t even respond. Churi snapped his fingers, and Lynne flinched. She raised her hands, and she started to float, while multi-colored light danced on her skin like fire. She gritted her teeth and waved her hand, and some of the water in front of her jumped up and transformed into sharp pieces of crystal. Tears started streaming down her cheeks as she waved her hand again, and the shards slammed into the Avoxes’s arms, and they fell down, their expressions twisted in pain. She deactivated the magic as the audience applauded, and the camera turned back to Caesar and Churi. In the background, Lynne was running to the Avoxes, crying even more, but then she collapsed with a whine and curled up on herself.

Churi looked fake concerned. “Unfortunately, the magic can be overwhelming, but I think that was a good demonstration, don’t you, Caesar?”

He laughed. “Simply magical.” He grinned at his own joke as the audience actually laughed. “Ms. Marne should be applauded for her bravery in volunteering to receive this magic. That’s all for—” I shut the TV off, cutting Caesar and his stupid laugh off.

“She should’ve just hit Caesar with it if they were gonna make her do it anyway!” Rebecca.

Cirrus was hissing under his breath.

And I just sat there, staring at the blank screen. How? How could they? I closed my eyes, but screams and fear and pain and bright rooms that they swore weren’t for torture but totally were and dark alleyways and rain and lightning and panic and…

I opened my eyes, breathing heavily. I…I had failed. They had hurt her. I clenched my drink too tight, and power rushed through me, and all of the drinks in the room crystallized. Zenith put a hand on my shoulder, but I just shook it off.

“Those bastards hurt her.” A whisper first but then louder. “Those bastards hurt her, and we let them do it!” I was shaking. “I…I’ve been so scared to go back to them, but they took her, and they’ll probably take us, and there’s nothing we can do about it.” People sneaking up and pointing guns at me, just saying that they wanted to keep me safe from myself. “There’s no running from them. No escape. They always told me that, and like an idiot I didn’t believe them. They’ll never let up. They’ll—”

“Nesri!” Zenith. I gasped and shut up.

Tears fell down my cheeks and a sob wracked my body. “I can’t go back to them! I won’t! And they have Lynne, and I can’t imagine what they’re putting her through!” Churi smirking at me as I screamed. “I…I can’t… Not again.” Someone put a strong arm around me, and I sobbed into their shirt. It was too much. And I condemned Lynne to the same fate.

When I opened my eyes, Cirrus was handing me a glass of milk. “They’re not going to get to you, you’re safe here, okay? If they want to get to you, they have to go through all of us.”

I sniffled and took the offered glass. “I need to spar you now so I can let off steam.”

He scoffed. “What you need is to sit down. You can’t kick my ass if you’re crying.”

I sighed. “Later then.” I glanced over at Zenith. He looked baffled about what happened. He must not have been used to dealing with something like this. “You’re my witness that he agreed.”

He grumbled but stayed close as I took deep breaths and relaxed. Rebecca spoke up. “Hey…those people…I’m sorry about what they did to you. And Lynne. But we’re gonna set this right. It’s gonna get better, okay?”

“Thanks.” I sighed and closed my eyes. I was safe, and I was around friends. Everything was fine. We just had to make sure we stole the Lynn(e)s from the bastards now.

I sat on my bed, my head in my hands. If I tried to fall asleep, I would just have nightmares. Whenever I closed my eyes, I could still see flashes of my time with the Shades.

There was a soft knock on the door, and when I didn’t say anything, the door opened to reveal Triel. She didn’t have her hat or coat on, and she walked lightly over to me. She had a blanket and two mugs of tea balanced in her hands. She handed me one of the mugs, wrapped the blanket around me, and snuggled under it with me.

She leaned against my shoulder. “I heard what happened this evening. I’m sorry.”

I took a sip. “I should have known that they would take her. What if they can control her better than they can control me? What if she is not able to fight their control? Will we have to keep her locked up the whole time?”

She kissed me on the forehead. “We’ll figure something out, love. But I wasn’t talking about her. I was talking about you. I’d prefer to not see you stay awake all night.”

I took a deep breath. “I’m fine. I just can’t get them out of my head…”

Triel hugged me tightly and kissed my cheek, lingering and snuggling her nose into my cheek. I closed my eyes and leaned into her embrace, but then Churi’s face flashed in my mind, and I tensed and sat up again.

Triel kept hugging me. “What are the laws the Capitol, in all its wisdom, came up with after the Shades pushed them to?”

I frowned over at her. “Are you trying to distract me?”

She smirked at me. “Could it work?”

I shrugged. “The Capitol made laws to control the people who got the magic. They can’t use their magic except when they are contracted by a citizen or at the command of the Shades. They actually can’t do anything except when a citizen contracts them to do something. And they can’t have children.”

Triel nodded. “Well, I thought I could distract you with my backstory.” I frowned. She had never wanted to tell anyone, even me, about her past. “The Shades are concerned that people born of the ones with magic will inherit the magic. My mother has the magic. The person she loved didn’t have the magic, but they were able to meet in secret, and she hid that she was pregnant. But when she had me, the Peacekeepers came and took me away from her. They put me in a small boat and put me out to see as an infant. I guess they couldn’t bring themselves to kill an infant, for some reason. I was supposed to die, but Nora, Captain Skeates, found me and took me in. All I have from my mother is this necklace.” She pulled out the necklace that she always wore from under her shirt. It had a tiny crystal in the shape of a heart attached to it.

I stared at the necklace. It was a very intricate use of the magic. “I’m so sorry. I never knew.”

She scoffed. “I wasn’t telling you this because I wanted you to be sorry for me. I knew you had been curious about my past for a while.” She winked. “And they were right. I do have a diluted form of the magic. I have a smaller radius that I can use liquid to make crystals, and I can’t float, but I can glow. I haven’t showed off my magic since I don’t want the Shades to know about me. But I have enjoyed experimenting with it in secret.”

I grimaced, flashing back to the Shades. Triel snuggled closer to me, and her movement snapped me out of it. I took a shaky breath. “The Shades have hurt so many people. And they continue to hurt more people. And they give us this cursed magic.”

Triel set down her mug and held my face in her hands. “This magic can be passed down. That means they can’t control it. And we’re out of their control too. We have defied them, and we won’t let them take us back. They’re not as powerful as they seem.”

I nodded, and she let go of my face and leaned against me again. I closed my eyes, but instead of seeing the Shades, I just focused on Triel. We sat together until I fell asleep.

#writeblr hunger games #whg #writeblr

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maple-writes · 3 years

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WHG 14: Post Games 2??

I lost count so I’m going to call this 2

tag list whg tag list: @ratracechronicler (Thanks for Rebecca) @concealeddarkness13 (thanks for Zenith and Nesri), @nightskywriter , @rhikasa , @the-moving-finger-writes , @aeslin-writes @knmartinshouldbewriting , @pen-of-roses @timefirewrites

###

“Asher what the Hell?”

Zenith was on the ground, completely unconscious with a broom sitting abandoned nearby. I’d heard a thump from the other room but I hadn’t expected this. Asher jolted from where he crouched beside him, snapping his gaze up to face me. I looked between the two of them, trying to piece together what could possibly have happened. Neither looked injured, Asher looked alert…

Asher got up from the ground and started towards the open door. “I don’t know, but he said something about magic.” He stuck his head out the door, looking both ways down the hallway before shutting and locking the door. “He said I had to knock him out or he would think we were all enemies. Whatever it was, it seems to be gone from him now so I guess it worked.”

He came up to my side, joining me in staring down at Zenith. I frowned. What was he doing going out by himself anyway? Where the fuck did he go to get a spell or something cast on him? Surely that kind of stuff wasn’t exactly common here, was it? I nudged his side with my foot. Nothing. Out cold.

I glanced at Asher. “How hard did you hit him?”

“I don’t know!” He shook his head. “He said as hard as I could and I just did it!”

“Really?” I rolled my eyes. “All that training and you resort to beating him with a broom?”

He sighed, letting his head fall forward. “It wasn’t like anything I’d seen before. I took his word for it.”

Fair enough. I crouched down beside his head, reaching out to give him a sharp shake to the shoulder. Still nothing. Maybe whatever it was made him tired. How long was he going to be out for? I stood again, a weight starting to settle over my chest. Striker would know what to do but Striker thought we were dead.

“Do you think you can bring him back to his room?” Asher’s voice shook me from my thoughts. “I want to sweep the apartment in case anything’s still lingering.”

I nodded, and he disappeared into another room. He must have been feeling better if he were up to that. At least that was good news. I reached down and grabbed Zenith with my arms hooked under his and started dragging him across the floor. All dead weight, he better be grateful I didn’t change my mind and leave his heavy ass lying in the middle of the living room for anyone to stumble across and start making up rumours about what it might have been that put him there.

Two days later though, and Zenith hadn’t left his room. He probably wasn’t dead given that his door was now locked from the inside but two days was a long time to wait for answers so it didn’t take much for Nesri to convince me it was time to make him explain.

She pounded on his door loud enough I hoped the walls were thick enough not to tip off any of the other tenants on the floor, but nothing from Zenith. I glanced at Rebecca standing expectant on Nesri’s other side. Part of me wondered if she’d only come along to satisfy her own curiosity, or if she’d just gotten bored waiting around the apartment for something to happen.

Nesri knocked again. “Hey, you loser! Stop hiding in there and tell us what’s going on! Why did you sneak out, and what happened that make you ask Asher to knock you unconscious? What kind of reckless shit did you get into?”

On the other side of the door, Zenith groaned, but didn’t answer. Further proof he was indeed alive and just ignoring us. Nesri scoffed and snatched the water from her drink into some kind of solid crystal. I blinked, staring as she sliced through the door hinge like a knife through a single sheet of paper, my own confusion mirrored in Rebecca’s face. I didn’t have time to ask anything though before Nesri kicked the door open and stormed inside.

Zenith scrambled up from the bed with a sharp glare. “Leave me alone.”

Nesri grabbed him by the collar. “Like Hell I will! Tell us what’s going on?”

“Yeah!” Rebecca leaned in. “We’re not getting and younger here, and Lynn and Lynne aren’t getting any freer!”

He didn’t answer right away, looking down and hiding his face. “I went to go see my old team.”

“You fucking idiot!” Nesri shook him. “Did you sell us out to them? Do they know where we are?”

I crossed my arms, anger starting to coil up around my chest. “How do you know they didn’t follow you home?” Whoever these people were, how could he trust them if they sent him back under some kind of curse? “Cleary they aren’t on our side.”

Out of the corner of my eye Rebecca seemed to be looking for something, scanning up and down the walls of the little room.

Zenith took a long, deep breath. “I was able to convince them to trust me, at least a little. And I would have been able to sense them following me. I’m not that incompetent.” But incompetent enough to be afflicted by some magic shit. “I sought them out because they had already sent me a message saying that they were looking for me. If I hadn’t met with them, I know they would have found us. So, I took the chance.”

“Forgive me for not having as much faith in these Capitol idiots as you do,” Nesri growled. “I guess Ican trust that you would have been able to sense anyone following you, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t still looking for us, no matter what they told you. That was such a stupid fucking move.”

I nodded. He should have at least talked it over with someone first, taken someone to shadow him, fuck, anything else. I clenched my teeth. He didn’t know how lucky he was that Asher was alright. If he was still recovering, still struggling to keep himself under control and he’d come in like that?

“And what if it hadn’t worked? If Asher hadn’t managed to knock you out? If something went wrong?” I glared. If he hadn’t been able to tell him what he needed, if he’d been influenced to goad Asher into attacking… Any other day he would have been fine but now? Now that everyone was exhausted? Or if Zenith had ended up seeing Asher as an enemy he wouldn’t have a chance. He could have killed Asher if something went wrong. I narrowed my eyes and dropped my voice to a threat. “Don’t think for a second I wouldn’t have killed you if it came down to it.”

He looked up, meeting my glared head on. “I would have wanted you to.”

I held his stare. Noted.

Nesri let him go, taking hold of his arm instead and pulling him out of the room. “You’re going to make it up to us by watching the special program the Capitol is hosting.” She faked a cheerful tone. “You even have to make the popcorn for us.”

That was it? I blinked, watching as they disappeared into the hall. That was it?

Rebecca followed them out, adding, “and keep your senses sharp for those possible, y’know, spies.”

I took my time rejoining them around the tv. Among everything else I’d almost forgotten about the so called special broadcast until now. It seemed to start like any other, with lights and cameras and Ceasar on stage.

“We have a special program for our dear watchers tonight! A special division of the Capitol is pleased to announce a new recruit to their ranks. She even received the prestigious magic as well.” He gestured to the side stage as Lynne entered.

She walked too stiff. Nesri stiffened too, eyes widening in horror as she watched, popcorn untouched in her lap.

“Magic?” Rebecca mumbled. “Isn’t that maybe a good thing? Or…” She trailed off with a glance at Zenith and I could almost see the gears turning in her head.

Ceasar clapped Lynne on the back too hard, nearly toppling her. If he cared or noticed he didn’t show it. “How has your time with the Shades been? I bet the magic is amazing!”

She laughed, her voice raw as if she’d been screaming. “I have not been able to practice with the magic much yet, so I cannot say for sure. But I did meet someone because of the Shades, and for that I am happy.” Probably a lie on the happiness part, at least to some degree. “The victor, Hugo Atwater, was a lot of help. I want to thank him, personally, for his help.” She winced, a hand to her shocker.

I couldn’t move, glaring at the screen with my arms crossed tight. What kind of empire was this? Did no one else notice she was in pain? That she looked all but tortured? Did people actually find this entertaining? I swallowed, guilt and shame simmering in my gut. Was there a time I would have agreed with them? I hadn’t been that cruel, had I? I pushed the thought away. I didn’t want to think about it.

Magic wasn’t often something that took well to a human body. Too much to be contained in such a small vessel, such a limited frame. At the same time though… I swallowed. I missed my powers. I missed shifting the wind under my wings, gathering rainclouds, flying through my storms…

On screen, Ceasar laughed and beckoned forth a man with long silver hair and haunting red eyes, followed by two avoxes. One of them looked familiar. It clicked and I couldn’t look away. That was her, the girl from our floor. She and the other carried a heavy looking basin of water and it was clear they were struggling. It would have been heavy for anyone, let alone an underfed slave.

Ceasar ignored them, gesturing instead to the man. “Could you give us more specifics on this brilliant magic while we set up?”

He nodded. “This magic is difficult to transfer and can cause severe pain during transfer, which is why we usually use children for the transfer, since their bodies are normally more willing to take the magic. It is a testament to the strength of Ms. Marne that she was able to withstand the transfer. The magic allows the user to create crystals that are stronger than diamonds out of any liquid that is within a certain radius from the user. Activating the magic allows the user to glow and float because of the outrush of power. It is a strong power, as you will see from this demonstration”

The two avoxes set the water down in front of Lynne.

“Wait, that’s what you did—with the hinges,” Rebecca pointed at Nesri. “Are you okay?”

The man snapped his fingers and Lynne flinched before raising her hands and floating off the stage. Lights danced across her skin. She gritted her teeth, waved her hand and called the water up and into sharp crystal shards. Tears streaked her cheeks as she sent the crystals into the avoxe’s arms. They fell, curling around their wounds as they started to bleed deep red as the audience cheered. Magic vanishing from her skin, Lynne tried to help, tried to run to them, but didn’t make it before collapsing in pain.

Ceasar and the man spoke again, but I didn’t hear a word they said, staring at the three of them on the ground. The girl especially, gritting her teeth and trying not to show pain, to show defeat on the camera. Did she still have a family? Were they watching her right now? Was someone just now finding out what happened to their daughter, their sister, their friend, and old classmate? The screen shut off, replaced with our stunned reflections in the glass.

Rebecca seethed. “She should’ve just hit Caesar with it if they were gonna make her do it anyway!” She waved her hand dismissively, but her face said otherwise.

Nesri stared at the dormant screen, then shut her eyes tight for longer that she should. Her breath quickened and her knuckles turned white around her drink. She opened her eyes and every cup of water froze over in wicked crystals. Zenith offered a hand to her shoulder, but she pushed him off.

“Those bastards hurt her.” Her whisper grew louder with every word. “Those bastards hurt her, and we let them do it! I… I’ve been so scared to go back to them, but they took her, and they'll probably take us, and there's nothing we can do about it.” Her eyes widened and she shook, trembling and scared. “There’s no running from them. No escape. They always told me that, and like and idiot I didn’t believe them. They’ll never let up. They’ll—”

“Nesri!” Zenith cut her off.

Her eyes watered and tears tracked down her cheeks as she started to cry. “I can’t go back to them! I won’t! And they have Lynne, and I can’t imagine what they’re putting her through!” She gasped against her sobs. “I... I can’t… Not again.” Her face twisted, staring at something only she could see.

I uncrossed my arms with a soft sigh. My heart fell and I looked away. I’d seen that look before. She was scared. She was spiraling. I’d seen it enough times with Asher. Whatever this was all about, it must have been bad. Quietly, I slipped around the back of the couch into the kitchen for a glass of milk with a little bit of honey stirred into it.

Unsurprisingly, Nesri hadn’t moved in the time I was gone.

I offered the drink, bending down to her eye level. “They’re not going to get to you, you’re safe here, okay?” I spoke quietly, but kept a firm edge. “If they want to get to you they have to go through all of us.” We were in this together now after all and I’d be damned if she thought we’d just let someone walk in here and take her after all she did to get us out of the games.

She sniffled, but took the glass with a shaky hand. Good. She was moving again. She took a shaky breath. “I need to spar you now so I can let off steam.”

I scoffed. Trying to backtrack as if everything was okay. Typical. “What you need is to sit down.” There was nothing she could say that would convince me she was suddenly fine. I’d heard it all before. “You can’t kick my ass if you’re crying.”

She sighed. “Later then.” Sitting back down on the couch she glanced up at Zenith. “You’re my witness that he agreed.”

Fine, whatever. I huffed and complained as I dragged over the blanket folded over the other end of the couch for her. She didn’t seem to want to talk any more about it, which was fine enough by me. I probably wouldn’t know what to say anyway. Instead I took a seat on the other end of the couch with one of the books off the shelf that looked half interesting as she drank her milk and started to calm down. When she left for her room I half considered following her, but decided against it. She would have stayed if she wanted company.

I put the book back. It wasn’t that interesting after all.

#whg 14 #writeblr hunger games #cirrus

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asher-jones · 4 years

Text

Time after Time

weeks have turned to months and your journey to olympus, your acceptance of your life as a demigod, has lead up to this moment. it's been brutal, wrought with pain and close calls, thick with loss, but you've endured. as you begin to get ready to sleep, winding down for the night, something inside of you feels different. there's a strength that grows that you only dimly knew was there before. you feel stronger, faster, more attuned to your senses and your own inner power. if you ever doubted that you might have divine blood in your veins before, now, more than ever, you feel it.

as soon as your head hits the pillow you fall fast asleep, exhausted from the events that have lead up to this point. who knows however long later, you "awaken". you're not where you fell asleep, there's no familiar body curled beside yours, nothing is as it was when you slept. you have to blink a few times but you realize that you're in a place that seems familiar to you. describe this place? what does it look like, sound like, smell like?

There’s a swelling feeling in the pit of his stomach as Asher wakes up. Instinctively he reached to his side for Dane, expecting his boyfriend to be there, but when there is nothing, not even the tent he’d fallen asleep in. He darts awake, eyes, ears, senses alert to put together the pieces. He wasn’t in the Underworld anymore, that much he could just feel. He was somewhere else, back in New York.

Rich, honey brow eyes took in the area around him. He could smell the rich mahogany of the stage, each step he made echoed, carefully created acoustics magnified every step, every breath. He was in the middle of a stage, in an auditorium, empty. In the dark, he could just barely make out the stadium seats that splayed in front of him. He knew exactly where he was. A Broadway stage just a few miles from his penthouse apartment in New York.

the lights of the stage beam down on you, almost blotting out the rows upon rows of seats from your vision. you have to strain your eyes just to see them behind the threshold of the stage and the brilliant lights above. but it feels almost like home, a familiar sense of stability wafts over you in waves.

you take in the sights, the smells, the feelings that this place brings you and then, out of the corner of your eye, almost like flickering lights, you notice that there's someone or something watching you, standing off to the right. you turn to look at them and the large spotlights move to cast them in brilliant luminescence.

you can see the figure now. what do they look like? are they familiar to you? who or what is it? describe what you see.

There was a moment when all Asher wanted to do was close his eyes, take in deep breaths, savor the smell earthy aroma of the wood, revel in the echoed acoustics on stage, maybe belt out a showtune or two for old time sake. BUt there was something in the pit of his stomach that told him there was more to this. So, when he saw that flash of white off of the corner of his eye, he pulled himself back to the moment.

“Hello...” he trailed off, blinking in the bright light of the spotlight cast on him. As he moved toward the figure, he felt the light follow him, as if he were still the center of attention, that the empty seated audience had was directed to watch him. As he moved closer to the creature, he could see the flecks of snow white, glisten, even in the shadows of the wings of the stage.

A large wolf stood, now in it’s own spotlight, staring at him with interest. Asher didn’t recognize him, had never seen him before, and it was clear just from the juxtaposition of something that looked so fantastical and out of place on a broadway stage... that things weren’t as they seemed. “Who are you?”

the wolf sits still as you approach, snow white coat almost shimmering as the spotlight dances over its coat. large, dark eyes stare, transfixed, on you as if waiting for the show. when you speak, it simply lilts its head to the side, large head twisting before it leans forward.

it bares its teeth toward you in what could be mistaken as a smile and then it looks as if it's about to howl.

but instead of the cry of a wolf to the moon, you hear what sounds like a muffled voice. even with you standing closer, the voice is almost like it's trapped behind a glass display or maybe underwater. it's hard to distinguish what it's saying and, shocked, you find yourself straining your hearing to make out the words.

you focus and after a moment or two, you hear the voice, clear as day. "the question is not who am i, but who are you?"

before you answer, what does the voice sound like? is it a familiar voice to you? male, female, animalistic? how does hearing the voice make you feel? describe it in as much detail as you'd like.

The voice that rings through to him smooth, mature, wise. There are parts of Asher that can’t help but recognize that voice intimately. The clear annunciation, the dialect, the way he spoke, it almost reminded of him of his own voice, though much older, fuller, even warmer, as if time had shaped it, experience had warmed it to something far less exuberant and insecure, and almost more powerful. The creatures voice gave Asher a sense of anxiety for sure, it was a talking wolf for the gods’ sake, but there was a confidence and warmth that settled him.

“Asher Jones,” he answered back, as if that much was obvious. “You’re in my dream sequence, shouldn’t you know who I am?” He quipped back with almost a playful smirk. “Son of Cronus... demigod of time.”

the wolf only shakes his head, the voice of wisdom parting it's large canines once more. he stares a fixed, confident gaze on you, as if reading your soul.

"who says this is a dream, asher jones, son of cronus, demigod of time." he says it like a title, though his words also drip with something else, as if titles mean nothing here. then, he moves, standing on all fours and he's taller than you are, his large head looming over your own. he walks around you in a large circle, his white coat radiant and beautiful.

"i do not care for your name, demigod. who are you?"

His back stiffened up straighter, his posture morphed into something more defensive as the wolf stood and walked closer. “Clearly this is a dream. Last thing I remember I was going to bed in a tent in the Underworld, Sir. Now I’m in a theater on Broadway, talking to a magical white wolf?” Not that Asher would not have loved to be out of Undertown so easily. “Those eggs Dane gave me must have gone bad,” he winced, rubbing his stomach a bit, as if he felt nauseaus.

He felt fine. Better than fine if he was being honest with himself. It was clear in the falter in his gaze that he had his doubt that things were that simple.

He opened his mouth to answer the wolf’s question, as if it was a quick quip. When nothing came out, he closed it again. Who was he other than his titles? His accomplishments? His birthrights. “What do you...” he frowned. “I don’t understand the question.”

the wolf growls at your words, teeth bared, head down and ears back. "you speak as if you know what is real and what is not. you are the son of time, are you not? you understand how time can be effected so easily." the wolf continues to circle around you, your own matured voice being thrown back at you almost makes you unfocused, like you don't know what to believe.

he stands behind you now, large maw hanging just behind your ear. you can feel the wolf's warm breathe on your neck, on your back.

"who are you, really? inside. not a name. who are you at your core?" he explains, his voice almost a low growl.

There was a silence that fell over him as he watched the creature circle him. The growl should have terrified him, should have put him on alert. Instead, the voice that followed elicited a sinking feeling a shame in himself, as if he was letting himself down, not some magical mysterious wolf. "So I'm in another timeline? Another dimension or something?" he repeated, though he had a feeling he was drifting off the point.

Head tilted up as the wolf stalked behind him, the breath against his neck eliciting a shiver up and down his spine. "At my core?" he repeated, letting that point sink in. It was a question he never really asked himself, at least not outright. "A leader," he said instantly, like the word spilled out of somewhere. "But... flawed." He bit his lip, "I'm a controller, a manipulator, a performer," he closed his eyes for a moment as all of those words came out, and he had more still. "A hero, a selfish villain," he was a lot of things. He turned around to face the wolf, brown eyes locked onto the creatures with sapphire blue ones. "At my core though? A source of power, of change."

"are these who you are or who you have had to be? are they costumes you've put on in a show or are they really who you are?"

the wolf turns away from you now and walks to center stage. the lights go dim around the amphitheater, casting the rows of seats into darkness. the only lights that still shine brightly are the two spotlights. one on the wolf and one on you. his large, snow white tail wraps around him as he sits, his maw out toward the crowd.

"you wish to harness the power of change, a true manipulator. time, as you know, is a source of all change—both miniscule and finite, large and small. time causes things to live and die, start and stop; it is mutable, forever changing."

the wolf's head turns toward you now.

"are you strong enough for that power?"

Where typically Asher would have something snarky or sarcastic to throw back, he fell silent this time. Was he just a product of his surroundings? Was he more than just a manipulative socialite? Was that a role he'd just been casted for? If it was, surely it grew into a type cast as time went on. He left that question unasnwered for now. He didn't know how to answer those.

As the stage lights dimmed and the spotlights brightened, he felt that familiar fire in his belly, one he'd only ever gotten when he was in that very spot. On stage, with a spotlight on him, ready to perform for the world. A confidence surged through his viens as he turned to face the wolf. "I was born to wield it," he answered back. "If you asked me a few months ago I would have been terrified of it. But... my connection to it. How I can manipulate it to manipulate the world around me. There has to be more I can do with it."

"there is." the wolf states plainly, still gazing toward you.

the large wolf hits his large paw against the stage and three runways appear in the lights. one ot the right, one straight down the middle, and one to the left. he motions with his head toward each of them.

to you, they look like more of the stage, though you can see flickers of something at the end.

"you may look down the stage to see if you can decipher what you see or you may plunge into the unknown without knowing what lies ahead."

he stays where he is, looking forward now. "which do you choose?"

The second the paw hit the stage and the runways outstretched, Asher's gaze left the wolf, to peer out into the distance. "You know, at one point I might have just said fuck it and picked one without thinking," he mused, half to himself and half to the wolf. "I've seen too much, gone through too much to just rely on luck." Instead, he narrowed his eyes to see what lay at the end of each runway. "Are these three choices I have to make?" He asked the wolf, "What am I choosing between?"

"look and find out. the answers are before you."

the wolf says no more, just stands and watches you silently.

As instructed, Asher took a few steps to the edge of the runway, walking a little bit down the middle one first, studying intently what lay on the other side. It would seem that his wolf guide wasn’t planning on giving him any hints. So instead, he took matters into his own hands, and studied what lay at the end of the runway, what he’d be walking into.

PLEASE MAKE A PERCEPTION CHECK IN THE CRONUS CHANNEL. as you walk down the central runway, the lights begin to flicker in and out until they cast you in darkness. the spotlight above you is no longer there and, instead, you struggle to see your surroundings. then, there's something almost like a screen that looks like it's fading in and out. you squint your eyes, standing where you are, and focus.

slowly, the pieces begin to make sense to you.

you see the present. yourself among the demigods, somewhere outside of the underworld, you think. things look unchanged, for the most part, but you notice subtle differences. the small, mutable things that can be exploited in a current situation for you to gain favor in the end, for you to come out on top.

you take a step back from this path when the picture fades away.

which do you choose next?

Asher bites his bottom lip. "Manipulating time in the present," he said to himself, a tempting a choice, something he'd had been so tempted to focus on when he was first working with his abilities. Taking a few steps back, he moves to the far right runway. He moves halfway down and stops, peering to see what lay at the end of that path.(edited)

the wolf watches you as you move from one stretch of stage to the next, carefully considering your options. he almost looks pleased by it.

when you move a few steps down the far right runway, things take a surprising turn as you notice the lights speeding by you. it is a blur of motion, a blur of color that all meld into one like paint mixing together. you struggle to see glimpses of what is real and what is not.

there's you, standing victorious, a little older and looking wiser. there's you as an old man. there's you moving too quickly to be humanly possible but, somehow, you don't seem to be hurt or running into anything.

it begins to get confusing to you, as it all melts into one and you take a step back from the stage.

do you go to the last runway?

"The future," he says to himself. "The perks of seeing into the future... maybe getting to the future faster, moving faster..." it was another tempting route, one he had wanted when he'd first started all of this. Things they could accomplish if Asher had a clear reach to what was happening next, much like Dane had. Being able to see the future, move faster. He could see the allure, especially when it came to working with Dane's connection to foresight.

Tapping his chin, he moves the far left and last runway, and tries to peer past to see what lay in store for him.

you walk along the last runway and you feel as if you're walking forever. it's only been a few steps but it feels as if time itself has slowed around you. peering ahead, you notice images flashing before you that seem to take minutes to change from one slide to the next.

you lift your hand up, but you notice that your body doesn't react the same here. it's like moving through molasses, through mud. slow, painfully slow.

your stuck looking at the same thing for far too long, but you notice how other things, too, seem to have a difficult time. you see things missing, things veering off course because of the slowness, things more susceptible to change.

you turn and, after what feels like years, make your way back to the center stage with the large white wolf.

"do you understand?" he asks you, voice calm and collected.

The experience was jarring. From seeing things moving at such a fast paced speed, the jumble of lights and visions moving too fast to really comprehend, to this. Things so low, so heavy, so easy to see as they moved by him, it took him a moment to realize what was happening. "Slowing things down, creating more time," he reasoned out loud. "I can only go down one path?" he glanced asked, moving to stand beside the wolf, arms crossed over his chest as he regarded each path.

the wolf seems to almost hum at your question. he thumps his paw against the stage once more and the lights fade and the runways disappear.

"you have the power to do as you please, son of cronus. that is your gift." he starts to move again, this time back and forth across the stage, eyes focused on you as if he's watching prey.

"do you ask for permission or forgiveness? do you do what other's expect of you or what you want to make you happy?" more questions for you to think about, more thoughts that press into your mind.

"you can have it all or nothing or one of each. the choice is yours. but all choices, like time, have a consequence."

There was a nod of aproval to the wolf's statement. That was the answer he wanted to hear. "Forgiveness, if I'm being honest," he quipped back, sending his guide a half smile. Though once he gave it more thought, he tried to figure out where he stood with each decision. He knew that manipulating the present was the closest thing to meld with his strengths. That was what he was initially drawn to, and that was what felt right. But still, he couldn't get his mind off of the speed, and the freedom of the far right path. "I want the middle path, and the right path," he announced abruptly. "The last one, being slowed down, watching everything go down by so slowly just didn't feel right. So show me the path leading to a combination of the other two, please."

the wolf stares at you as you speak and then walks closer to you. his large body looms over you as he cranes his neck down and presses a wet nose to your forehead.

"i cannot show you that path, demigod. i can only be there with you as you write it yourself. i will lend you my power and we will meet each other again, soon."

there's a rush that flows through your veins and it feels like you're burning up from the inside out. you go to scream but instead, you wake up!

dane is still laying beside you, eyes closed and almost undisturbed by you sitting upright. you feel like you're burning up and exhausted, like you've been moving too fast for too long. he lay back down, trying to get your breathing to return to normal and it takes you a while. your thoughts go to what the wolf might have meant.

after too many minutes staring at the tent ceiling, you curl back against dane and fall asleep.

when you wake up, you feel more rested than you've felt since becoming a demigod. there's a new power thrumming through your veins and you can't wait to wield it.

#&.it is what it is #&. trial

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timelock97 · 5 years

Text

Love Without A Name

Prologue: One Date Too Many

Word Count: 1991

Masterlist

Warnings: Language, sexual references

A/N: Tom does not PHYSICALLY show up for a few chapters, he is in here, just not how you think at first. ENJOY!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I shift my bag back into the crook of my arm, mail pressed against my chest with my right hand while I flip my keys around my fingers of my left. An 'ah-ha' falls past my lips as the apartment key lands between my thumb and index finger, shoving it into the lock and turning. The door bangs against the wall as I walk in, a sheepish smile falling across my lips as I mumble a silent 'sorry' for no one but myself. I use the heel of my shoe to grip the bottom of the door, shutting it behind me on my way to the too small kitchen to dump the contents of my arms onto the counter. "Fuck!" my hand flies from my chest, mail scattering to the floor in the process of me rescuing my keys before they fall too far into the nearby sink and into the garbage disposal. I let out a sigh of relief before muttering, "Why are you such a mess, (Y/N)?"

The sound of a small meow and bell causes a smile to appear on my face. Turning, I spy my small, calico cat beelining for my legs, coiling between them and rubbing against my scrub clad calves. "Hey there, Phoebe, how's my baby?" I coo as I move away from the counter and finish shrugging off my winter coat and scarf that were damp from the early winter weather. I listen as she purrs loudly around my ankles before I turn to lean down and pick up the scattered mail on the floor, only to giggle when the calico nuzzles my hand with her head, begging for attention.

Setting the mail back on the counter, I reach back inside my bag that is haphazardly leaning on the counter I rummage inside until my fingers brush against my phone. A message illuminates the screen, a confirmation text for my date with my latest Tinder match. "Maybe this'll be the one, huh Phoebes?" I turn my head and look at the cat at my feet before padding down the hall and typing out a quick response to "Luke" telling him I couldn't wait. Honestly though, first dates were the absolute worst when you barely know the person.

The plum dress hugged my body perfectly, showing off my natural curves. I stood outside the usual bar waiting for my date with Tinder open on my phone in one hand while my other hand fiddled with the buttons on my black wool coat. Glancing at my phone for the umpteenth time, I notice that the time he and I had agreed on had ticked past about a half hour ago, and my nose was starting to go numb from standing outside in the cold.

With a huff, I typed a quick message that I would be waiting inside at the bar for him before I waltzed in through the door and to my usual place.

"Another date, (Y/N)?" The bartender, Sam, asks as she pours a drink for a small group of people at the opposite end of the bar.

"Not if he doesn't show up." I state as I shrug off my coat and place it on the back of my chair before sitting down. Jared, the other bartender hands me a glass of Sprite, knowing I wouldn't drink until I had confirmation that I had been stood up.

Another five minutes pass before someone taps my shoulder, "(Y/N)?".

"Luke?" I turn and smile at a man with a full, but trimmed, black beard and bright blue eyes.

"I am so sorry I'm late, traffic." He states, moving to sit beside me after shrugging of his coat.

"I figured, it's fine." I notice Sam walk back down and smile at us, "Let's get a drink then order, that okay?" I tilt my head to the side, hair falling from behind my shoulder as I flash a small smile at him.

He nods, eyes crinkling in the corners, "Sounds perfect."

As the conversation continues, I can tell that this date would end one of two ways: he would rather be friends, especially when being only friends usually lead to never speaking again, or he would want to take this date back to his place. Neither were what I was looking for, but from the way he had been trying to place a hand on my knee and drawing shapes into it and trying to inch his hand higher, I could only assume the latter.

"So, what are your intentions?" I ask point blank, moving his hand for a third time as it tried to slide up further on my thigh.

"What do you mean?" He laughs, placing his head into his hand that is propped on the counter and laying his other arm on his leg again so just his fingers just brush my knee.

"I mean, all the signs say you want sex, which you won't get." His fingers pause their dance, "What are you thinking?"

I watch as his face falls still, no smile. "Well," his hands withdraw from their place and he straightens his posture. "I had been hoping to have some fun tonight, but now I know that that's not going to happen." It doesn't surprise me when he stands and begins collecting his coat.

"So that's just it, that was all you were hoping out of this was sex? Nothing else?" I ask honestly, it always made me curious with how some people saw relationships these days.

"Well, honestly yeah." He pauses to look at me, annoyance evident in his facial features. "You seemed like the type to be into that, you lead me on-"

"Nope, didn't lead you on. We've been talking for what, three weeks, and you ultimately thought that I was only in it just for that?" I watch as he shrugs, causing me to shake my head, "You really must be thick. Either way, I hope you have a safe drive hope, thanks for keeping me company, having dinner, and letting me pay for half. Have a nice life."

I watch as he begins to float around the bar, flirting with other women in hopes that he can maybe not go home empty handed.

"I actually thought he was going to be it tonight, (Y/N/N). Sorry that didn't work out." Sam's voice carries from across the bar as she sets another drink in front of me while taking the two empty glasses.

"It was at least nice conversation before he decided to get handsy." I hum before I take a quick sip of the alcohol in my glass. "I think I need to try something new; I can't seem to do this right."

"Nah, dating in this day and age just isn't very fun anymore." Sam states, wiping her hands on her apron. "You gonna hang for a bit longer? I have my break in ten and we can talk more."

"Yeah, I'll be here." I state, smiling at her as she walks off to take someone else's order. I run my fingers through my hair and pull my phone out of my coat pocket, seeing that I had several new messages from not only Tinder, but a few other dating apps waiting.

I was sick and tired of all the guys who lead on that they wanted a relationship, but in reality only wanted a booty call or rebound; if I were to be so unlucky, by the end of the third date they stated they just wanted to be friends and then end up never messaging back again. I was tired of hoping fate would just finally say 'yeah, she's waited long enough' and dropped someone in my lap; but, no, all I had to show was the unopened messages haunting me from Tinder with an abundance of dick pics that were so unattractive that they could be mistaken for, well, anything else.

"You need to get off those apps, or make a new account." Sam states as she settles down next to me on a barstool.

I fold my arms over the bar, leaning over them. "What do you have in mind, Sam?"

"I'm so glad you asked, because I ran your dilemma by my sister, Carly, and she told me she might have the perfect solution for you."

"And that would be?"

"Heart Haven." Sam states with bright eyes, smiling happily at me. I raise an eyebrow at her as she looks at me for any sort of recognition of the name, she finds none. She rolls her eyes, "It's basically a matchmaking service. Her and Josh met through them. She can get you a free consultation."

"Sam, is this even a good idea?" I groan, "I don't wanna look like a loser telling them that I have been on so many dates and have only managed to get the guys just looking to get their dick wet."

"Y'know, for someone who says she's super innocent, you don't act like it sometimes." She laughs before pulling her phone out of her pocket and typing into google. She pulls up their website and hands it over to me.

Heart Haven, creating matches made in heaven. We as a company take into account that the world is a busy place, and going on date after date can lead to a whole world of self-doubt that a lifelong partner is so far away. We want to help you find your happy ending. With the assistance from our sister locations across the U.S. and around the world, we are able to not only find someone for you to love and cherish, but someone who will do that in return. Your consultation appointment to help us get to know you is absolutely free, and if you're worried about paying for our services, we can talk prices. If interested, call (***)-***-**** or email us at [email protected].

"Do you really think this could work?"

Sam shrugs, taking her phone back. "Well, I guess I can tell you tomorrow. I meet my match tomorrow."

"Really?" I look at her excitedly, smiling at the way her cheeks flush and her smile becomes shy.

"I'm so excited, I have a good feeling about this." She grabs my hands gently, "Go home, think about it, and text me tomorrow night. I'll help you get ahold of my counselor, she's amazing."

I nod, taking one last sip of my drink before sliding it closer to the opposite section of the bar and handing Sam my card. She stands and walks around to charge me, handing the card back once she's done. "Call me after your date tomorrow, I wanna hear all about it."

"Will do, see you later, (Y/N)."

Saturday evening had rolled around too quickly, as had an invitation to a family-friend's wedding. I had been sitting on the couch, reading over the Heart Haven website for the past few hours; checking statistics, prices, and stories of new-found love.

I pick up my phone and text Sam, hoping she had a great date, and wondering if I could get the number for the counselor she had been hyping up. It only took a few minutes before her message comes through,

------

Sam

Still with Asher, Hazel's number is (***)-***-****.

Make sure to tell her that Carly and I recommended the place.

You won't regret it.

Get ready, girl. Love is just around the corner.

------

I smile at the message, dialing the number and getting sent straight to voicemail, I take a breath as it cues me to leave a message. "Hi, my name is (Y/F/N), I was hoping to set up a consultation with Hazel. I heard from Carly and Sam Simmons that she's the best. You can reach me back at this number, hope to hear from you soon."

I smile as I end the call, maybe love was just around the corner.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Here is the PROLOGUE! I am so happy with how it has all turned out and I cannot wait for you all to get into it! Thanks so much for reading! Let me know what you think, like, reblog! Let me know if you want to be tagged! You’re awesome!

Chapter One

#cg writes #love without a name #tom holland x reader #tom holland fanfiction #strangers to lovers #arranged marriage #husband!tomholland

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whiskeysighs-a · 5 years

Note

Kid Meme: Betty/Asher

Name: Austin, and it’s just Austin.

Gender: Male.

General Appearance: Austin is an average looking man. He’sfine with that. He isn’t short, nor is he tall. His body shows signs of a lifeof hard work. His hair is a dark brown with curls from his mother, tied up in abun.

Personality: A loner. Austin doesn’t hate people,but he’s more at ease when alone. It helps him think. He’s cordial and politewhen spoken to (if a person can get him to speak in the first place) –grandfather Graham’s doing, no doubt. Sitting still isn’t in his nature. He needs to be moving, doing something. Hisheart melts for the oddest creatures. First impressions might make a person thinkhe’s a pushover. And it’s true (until you threaten something he values).

Special Talents: Tearing up old machines, picking outthe best parts and using those to create something new and exciting – Austinkeeps his body and mind busy by doing this. His home is a tinkerer’s dream,filled with all sorts of pre-war electronics. How did he get them? It’s easy todo if you’re immune to radiation.

There’s acertain path you must take to get to his front door. What happens if you don’ttake that path? Well, it isn’t pretty.

Who they like better: He’s spent time with both of hisparents and he likes them an equal amount; however, it’s his ‘aunt’ that hespends the most time with.

Who they take after more: Neither when it comes to his personality,but he bears a striking resemblance to Asher.

Personal Headcanon: Austin knows that his birth wasn’t plannedor expected, and he’s accepted that (after all, it hasn’t changed a thing forhow his parents treat him). He also knows that his parents don’t really care to be around each other.They (or his mother, really) tolerate each other.

It was alittle chaotic.

Thankfully,his grandfather and ‘aunt’ were there to offer a little stability. And it washis grandfather that got him his traveling companion. Denver, the highlymutated mule, is the one Austin relies on to transport his scavenged goods.

#;child meme #whatwastelanders #whataradscavver

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paulbenedictblog · 5 years

Text

%news%

New Post has been published on %http://paulbenedictsgeneralstore.com%

Bbc news Las mujeres de GB ganan 4x400m de bronce en el Mundial para terminar el Campeonato con seis medallas

Bbc news

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Toby Harries fell as he tried to pass the baton to Rabah Yousif within the males's 4x400m

Britain ended the World Athletics Championships with five medals - their worst total since the three they obtained at Helsinki 2005.

It regarded as if they would match their tally from 2017 when the ladies's 4x400m team had been upgraded to bronze after Jamaica's disqualification.

Nevertheless it modified into as soon as overturned on allure because the final day ended in GB disappointment.

Their males's 4x400m team had earlier did no longer enact their bustle after a changeover error.

The United States obtained the bustle as they done top of the medal desk with 14 golds.

Golds for Dina-Asher Smith within the 200m and Katarina Johnson-Thompson within the heptathlon, plus a silver for Asher-Smith within the 100m and two 4x100m silvers intended Britain done sixth within the desk.

The 10-day match, the build the highlight has fallen onsome low attendancesand theban for coach Alberto Salazaras essential as on the wearing action, ended by being hailed asthe "easiest now we admire ever had"by manner of athletic performance by IAAF chief Lord Coe.

Re-are living coverage of day 10 at World Championships

BBC to air next two World Championships

Calamity strikes British males's quartet

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Baton anguish for GB as USA clutch 4x400m gold

Britain admire historically obtained medals within the 4x400m relays at World Championships, however that spin got right here to an stop on Sunday.

The British ladies, medal winners on this match within the past seven editions, struggled within the final.

Laviai Nielsen modified into as soon as fourth when she took the baton on the final leg and must peaceable no longer terminate the outlet on Poland, Jamaica and runaway leaders USA, who took gold.

Britain had been temporarily moved into bronze station when Jamaica had been disqualified for a relate in terms of their changeover station, forward of that resolution modified into as soon as reversed.

"We ran our socks off this day, each and every single thought to be one of us. We wanted that medal so, so badly," said third-leg runner Emily Diamond.

"That is the fastest now we admire spin in many years, it surpasses the Olympics, and I train we are going to provide the chance to be jubilant with ourselves."

As for the British males, their final modified into as soon as over when Toby Harries slipped over as he tried at quit to Rabah Yousif on the third leg. Jamaica took silver and Belgium obtained bronze.

"Or no longer it is a exhausting capsule to swallow having medalled within the past," said Yousif.

"It modified into as soon as the upright time to aim something new, it is a exhausting lesson to be taught however we pass on from right here."

Cheruiyot on hearth in 1500m final

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Cheruiyot romps house to settle 1500m gold

In other locations at the Khalifa Global Stadium in Doha, Germany's European long jump champion Malaika Mihambo added the enviornment title with a blinding third-spherical effort of seven.30m - the 12th longest distance of all time.

Ukraine's European silver medallist Maryna Bekh-Romanchuk got right here second with 6.92m and Nigeria's Ese Brume, fifth at Rio 2016, leapt to 6.91m to train bronze.

Briton Abigail Irozuru, who returned to the game final season having retired three years ago, done seventh with 6.64m. Team-mate and Beijing 2015 silver medallist Shara Proctor got right here 11th.

Timothy Cheruiyot, 23, claimed 1500m gold with thought to be one of essentially the most efficient performances of these championships.

The Kenyan, who has obtained 11 of his final 12 Diamond League races, moved to the entrance within the hole lap and held that result in settle in three minutes 29.26 seconds.

Algeria's Taoufik Makhloufi took silver and Poland's Marcin Lewandowski situation a national yarn of 3: 31.46 as he done in bronze station. Norway's European champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen modified into as soon as fourth.

There had been non-public bests for fifth-placed Briton Jake Wightman (3: 31.87) and his sixth-placed compatriot Josh Kerr (3: 32.52). Wightman's station modified into as soon as the most life like likely a Briton has done on this match since Steve Cram and Steve Ovett in 1983. Neil Gourley modified into as soon as 11th.

"I train I must peaceable be celebrating and no longer disappointed, however I train it modified into as soon as plenty nearer than I thought it modified into as soon as going to be for the medals," said Wightman.

"It would possibly possibly presumably perchance well admire taken actually a tiny petite bit bigger than I had, however that's essentially the most efficient I would possibly presumably perchance give this day and I'm jubilant with ending fifth peaceable in that extra or much less field.

"If you spin a PB you can't whinge because I've delivered my easiest performance at the excellent time, so I will happily clutch that and work into the iciness into next season."

Grenada's Peters wins gold as Kirt retires

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World Athletics Championships: Joshua Cheptegei wins 10,000m gold

USA's Nia Ali, silver medallist at Rio 2016, claimed 100m hurdles gold with a non-public easiest of 12.34 seconds. World yarn holder and compatriot Kendra Harrison clinched silver forward of Jamaica's Danielle Williams.

Grenadian 21-yr-gentle Anderson Peters took javelin gold with 86.89m. Pre-match current Magnus Kirt, who has twice thrown further than 90m this yr, took silver. The Estonian retired afflict forward of his sixth throw.

German Johannes Vetter, fourth at the Rio Olympics, obtained bronze.

Joshua Cheptegei, second to Briton Mo Farah at London 2017, obtained 10,000m gold in 26 minutes 48.36 seconds.

The Ugandan obtained the easier of Ethiopia's Yomif Kejelcha in a jog enact. Kenya's Rhonex Kipruto clinched bronze.

USA dominate the medal desk - and the sprints

With fine 9 months to pass till the Tokyo Olympics, the united states enact these championships with four extra gold medals than they obtained at London 2017.

Their 14 golds had been 9 bigger than second-placed Kenya and their total of 29 modified into as soon as nearly three events bigger than any various nation managed.

Among the many highlights modified into as soon as Dalilah Muhammad bettering her bear world yarn within the 400m hurdles - which BBC pundit and outdated skool Olympic champion Michael Johnson said modified into as soon as his current second of the championships - and sprinter Allyson Felix breaking Usain Poke's yarn for just a few World Championship gold medals.

Felix obtained her 12th within the 4x400m combined relay and her 13th within the ladies's match - even supposing she did no longer truly bustle in Sunday's final - all 11 months after giving starting up.

After picking up fine one one gold medal within the males's sprinting events in London two years ago, the Individuals head house with five out of a that it is likely you'll presumably perchance train of seven golds.

It modified into as soon as the excellent tally since the six sprinting golds obtained by the US at the 2007 championships in Osaka, a yr forward of the begin of Jamaican Poke's decade of dominance at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Christian Coleman, who obtained the males's 100m, and 200m winner Noah Lyles build apart in performances in Doha that suggest they'll be the ones to beat for some time to advance in a sport that's peaceable trying to obtain the athlete who will clutch over from the charismatic Poke as its leading gentle.

'Assign judgement till after Tokyo' - diagnosis

BBC Sport's Saj Chowdhury in Doha:

Sure, that is the worst performance at a World Championships in 14 years, however it undoubtedly modified into as soon as arguably worse two years ago when Mo Farah modified into as soon as the order particular particular person medallist as Britain done with six medals.

Dina Asher-Smith and Katarina Johnson-Thompson had been touted as medallists - they delivered and extra. Had Laura Muir averted injury all via the season then who knows what she would possibly presumably perchance need done within the 1500m.

Then there modified into as soon as the unsuccessful allure to overturn Gash Miller's capacity medal-worthwhile 'no throw' within the hammer, Holly Bradshaw's fourth station within the pole vault and Adam Gemili's advance miss within the 200m.

For British Athletics it is all in regards to the Olympic cycle, so set judgement till after Tokyo.

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'Favourites create no longer continuously bring' - Ali wins 100m hurdles gold

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ambitionsource · 4 years

Note

Say something nice about your classmates

All of them? Sigh. Fine, I guess I signed up for this.

Riley - She’s a genuinely nice person and makes an effort to be friends even when you’re being a little bitch. Also honestly the sole reason the A class is still functional; she played emotional mechanic at more than one critical moment. I don’t think she realizes her importance, though.

Maya - She’s got so much talent and drive, but also beneath that she has a good heart and actually cares about some people. Thankfully, I’m one of them. Also, you have to admire her ruthless ambition.

Zay - He’s an incredible dancer and is very passionate about his craft. Everything he does is just cool. I suppose he’s like, nice to most people too.

Isadora - I’ve always known she’s strong, but these past few months have shown it to the fullest degree. She’s able to command a room with her mere presence, both while performing and directing.

Charlie - Does he still count as a classmate? Charlie’s humble and always friendly; I didn’t expect to become as fond of him as I did, but I’ll miss him in the halls of AAA come fall. I hope, surprisingly, that I’ll still see him around.

Lucas - If Riley can find something to like about him, there must be something behind that bastard aesthetic. He’s certainly skilled in whatever the technicians do, and he made a good stage manager when Isadora took to the stage. Also, he is obnoxiously attractive. That just needs to be stated.

Asher - He’s always well dressed, perfectly polished and immaculately groomed. You have to admire that. His sets are pretty nice too -- would be nice if he wasn’t so fussy and obsessive about them (or the prop loft, I thought he was going to pitch me off of it when I accidentally knocked over those props during culture swap week).

Dylan - His backflips are a sight to behold. From what Isadora tells me, he’s very emotionally intelligent, too, and she values him a lot as a friend.

Nigel - His passion for Shakespeare is unparalleled, and his ability to totally become a character and embody who they are is impressive. He also is quite laid-back and flexible, which I’ve recently learned is an enviable trait.

Jade — I truly do not know how she manages to create so many costumes for the entire A Class. Good costumes, at that. You have to admire her extreme work ethic, and patience being willing to put up with us performers.

Yindra — She’s one of the most talented people I’ve had the pleasure of working with. I’d bet a large amount of money that she will succeed in the future, regardless of how the rest of us do.

Yogi — He resurrected the audio-visual program at AAA, which is no small feat. He’s also got the best humor and spirit out of all of us -- that is to say, he’s not depressive like the rest of us.

Clarissa — She’s quite a strong instrumentalist. I think I’ve heard Haley say she wants to be a music teacher, and I think she’ll be good at that. Believe me, some people are not meant to be teachers (AAA has their fair share...)

Haley — She seems nice enough. I admit we don’t really interact beyond assignments or productions. I presume she’s kind of what Riley seems like to people who aren’t close to Riley.

Darby — She fascinates me, because I feel like she is one inch away from losing it and having a total mental snap. I would know, I’ve been there. She’s nice and everything, and has a decent voice, but she never gets to use it and people are always stepping on her or shooting her down. I dealt with that for less than a year and wanted to kill myself. So I’m just saying.

Sarah — She is... opinionated.

Nate — He has a big personality.

Jeff — He’s a valuable member to the technician team, I assume. The lights always work, so must be doing something right.

Dave — He certainly is good for a laugh. Sometimes. When he’s not completely baffling me.

#ct: farkle minkus s3 #s3 ct #answered #a class #Anonymous #ask and you shall receive

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sadstoriesbook · 7 years

Text

Chapter Two...

Here I am, writing the second chapter on the same day. Call that productive or whatever; I call this therapy session on a rainy day that is slowly turning back into a hot summer day with a beautiful caress of middle-temperature wind.

You can smell the beach in the wind, and if you lick your lips, you can almost taste the salt on them, hair flying all around my face, almost preventing me from seeing my computer screen. This morning the sky was full of clouds, there was this fresh air, and you could smell the rain, but now it’s like nothing happened, like it never rained, like thunder never screamed last night, like lightning never lighten up the sky.

Rainy days always inspire me; there is this nostalgia, memories coming back. I always find rain soothing. So on this beautiful Sunday, I’ve started a new book, called “Thirteen Reasons Why” by Jay Asher.

This heartbreaking story. I’m sure you’ve heard about it, probably from the Netflix series, but this book was there way before, it has been praised by everyone, Association of Booksellers for Children, American Library Association. It won a Heartland Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature. Florida Teens Read Award, California Book Award, Kentucky Bluegrass Award, Barnes & Noble’s “top Ten Best for Teens.” Book Sense pick, international reading Association’s “ young adults choices” finalist. Borders Original Voices finalist. Chicago Public Library’s “Best of the Best Books,” Kansas State Reading Circle’s “Recommended Reading List,” New York Public Library’s “Book for the Teen Age.”

16 state Award Master lists.

“Thirteen Reasons Why is a mystery, eulogy, and ceremony. Twenty or thirty times, I snapped the book shut when a sentence, an image, or a line of dialogue was too beautiful and painful.–”

I relate a lot to this first part of praise. There are so many lines, thoughts from the protagonists that break my heart. Especially this sentence. “And yes, Clay–I’m sorry, too.” If you read the book, you know why this sentence is strong, powerful and full of emotions and is so meaningful.

“–But I, afraid and curious, would always return to this amazing book. I know, in years to come, I will often return to this book.” - Sherman Alexie, author of “The Absolutely True. Diary of a Part-Time Indian.

I would close the book because a sentence hurt me, or because I related too much to the current situation but find myself opening the book two minutes after because I needed to see how the characters reacted, would they act the same way as I did when I was in this situation? To be honest, and don’t get me wrong, I love this book, I do not agree with some choices that some of the characters made, but that’s what makes this book so realistic, you don’t agree with everyone’s choices, it’s not yours to make.

”Every once in a while you come across a book that you can’t get out of your mind, one you have to rush back to if you must put it down for some reason. Jay Asher’s Thirteen Reasons Why is one of those books, and is at the very top of my personal Must-Read List.“ -Ellen Hopkins, bestselling author of Tricks, Identical, Crank, Burned, Impulse, and Glass.

Even after ten years, this book still has this strong impact on the ones who read it. And even to the ones who didn’t but still heard from it by their friend or online. This book created, opened a conversation that needed to be.

”Very clever premise, strong voice, perfect suspense. This one will keep you reading. Jay Asher is a fine storyteller.“ - Chris Crutcher, author of Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes, Whale Talk, and Deadline.

While reading the book, I sometimes had to remind myself that the author who wrote this book somehow found a way to put himself in the skin of a teenage girl who’s turning into a young woman and has to go through the looks and expectations of everyone. He did it, and some of you might think "well he’s an author,” I’m sorry but many failed at this. When you read this book, you tend to forget that it’s not a young woman who’s writing this book, who’s telling her story, it’s an amazing and talented man.

“A spectacular first novel. Jay Asher tells his story with such honesty and simplicity that the tragedy feels shatteringly real.” -Gordon Korman, author of Son of the Mob and Jake, Reinvented.

“the tragedy feels shatteringly real.” Well if I’m going to be entirely frank with you, Gordon Korman, these things do happen in real life! There might not be someone who does thirteen cassettes to tell their story, but it does happen. Some people can push others to kill themselves.

In this chapter, I might hurt some people and perhaps get some haters.

I’ve been bullied and on the verge of killing myself. People are mean enough to push others to kill themselves because they are different, not like them. Some people will beat, and some people will use words.

For my part, the worse was the words that were said. Bruises, I mean physical injuries heal, but words stay, words remain. You can cover scars with tattoos or even jewelry, but you can’t cover internal and mental scars, it’s just not possible.

I don’t really know where to go with this chapter. I just don’t. I’m mad whenever I think about those who hurt me but even more to those who saw and did nothing to help.

There is this quote “It only takes a little push to pull on through” - All-Time Low, “Missing You.”

I remember when I read online the negative comments. How the book tells too much or even the series shows too much, I got mad, and he asked me what was going on.

“Just some stupid people that are afraid of life.” I spat, anger dripping in every word I say.

“If you care about everything that everyone says, you’re screwed you know that?” He answers.

I shut my computer and look at him.

“Those people are similar to the ones who hurt me. They caution this behavior. ” I said. I didn’t understand why he was telling me this. He knew my story.

“I know. What I meant was, you cannot leave one single negative comment to hide two positive ones.” He adds.

“There is way more than one negative comment. That’s the problem. They refuse to see the truth! Thirteen Reasons Why shows this truth, and they don’t like it. Words hurt, actions have consequences. People decide to hate the truth because they know that they have things to be guilty of doing or saying! They criticize the victims, I mean, yeah sure it’s easier. But the fact is the less famous version of it all, the less attractive. You can’t gossip about the truth. ‘Oh well, they killed themselves because they are weak.’ They killed themselves because they were strong for too long. And when they’re dead, they cry, they don’t cry because they’re sad they are gone, no, because they’re gone because of them. They cry because they realized what they just did. They killed someone; there’s blood on their hands.

But then what’s following could almost be mesmerizing. They can’t blame themselves, I mean, this won’t be fair, so they blame the victim, say that it was just attention seeking, they keep on putting down the victim, they soil the memory of the victim. What they don’t even realize is that by killing them, they’re killing their family, too. This book and the show prove that, and it tells the truth, and they don’t like it because people don’t like the truth.”

Once again he didn’t answer, he knew better. And he knew I was right. Jay Asher did a fabulous work on this book, and as a bully survivor, I thank him for writing this book, and I thank Netflix for creating this show.

Truth needs to be said. And for my part, when I will have children, I will tell them about the book and the show, I won’t force them to read it or watch it, but they will definitely know about it.

The best way to stop bullying and hatred is to educate the ones that will soon rule the world, the next generation. Everything starts with them; things can only change with them.

Values are something important, something that some people lack, some people are degrading, some people don’t even care about it. Sure it’s easier to be bad than good; you have to fight to be good, you have to fight to keep up with your own expectations. It’s always easier to take the wrong road, but always harder to stay on the good one, you have to look for indications, ask for help when you’re lost. It’s a constant fight, but in the end, it’s worth it because when you arrive at the end of the road, you remember the ones who helped you, the ones who let you down, and the landscapes you saw.

Everything matters, everything has consequences, everything has an impact, minimal or not, it does matter, so make the most of it.

Don’t wait the next day to say you’re sorry; there might not be a next day. Don’t wait until it’s too late.

As I love to say, don’t live with regrets and do not leave with regrets.

#chapter two #new book #book #book lover #read #tumblrbooks #sad stories #supremacy #writing #bookstagram #bookshelf #booksofinstagram #books #artists on tumblr #writeblr

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cromulentbookreview · 5 years

Text

Monster Island*

And by that I mean: Song of the Abyss by Makiia Lucier!

So I absolutely loved Makiia Lucier’s Isle of Blood and Stone, so when I heard there was going to be a follow up book, I was immediately there for it. I was there for it last March, and the wait has been...uh...unpleasant, to say the least.

Me, waiting for any book I want.

Remember Reyna, everyone’s favorite little badass from Isle of Blood and Stone? Reyna is the granddaughter of former Royal Navigator Lord Silva, and she’s the one who discovered the map who set off all the action of the first book. Well, Song of the Abyss takes place eight years after the events of Isle of Blood and Stone. Reyna is now seventeen and well on her way to becoming a Master Explorer, in spite of St. John del Mar’s institutionalized patriarchy. Reyna is on her way home from a year of exploring and creating gorgeous, painstakingly detailed maps when her ship is attacked by pirates. Never a good thing. These pirates speak a language similar to that spoken on the island of Coronad, and, of course, their ship has no identifying markers. Somehow, with the help of some pied-piper-esque magic, the pirates manage to take Reyna’s ship without a fight. Reyna just barely manages to escape, hitching a ride with some friendly sea worms to the nearby Isle of Lunes.

Lunes is having it’s own problems at the moment: the king has just died and his eldest daughter Vashti is now queen. The queen has two younger brothers - Levi, a dashing sea captain, and Asher, a lovable, but clueless college student who is bad with money. When Reyna arrives, soaking wet, on Lunes, literally the first person she meets is Levi, drowning his sorrows after the death of his father. Reyna just wants to find the first Del Marian ship she can and get the hell out - Lunes and St. John del Mar are allies, but they’d gladly stab one another in the back at the first opportunity. If the Royal Family of Lunes finds out who Reyna is, well, they’ll make her turn over her precious, precious maps. So Reyna ditches Levi, hops on a ship and heads back to St. John del Mar.

Everything’s fine now, right? Nope. Soon after Reyna gets home, Queen Vashti shows up, Levi in tow. They want to figure out what is up with these pirates - turns out these weird maybe-they’re-from-Coronad-but-not-really type pirates are really from a place called Miramar. Miramar is an isolationist nation that rarely ever admits foreigners. The Del Marians and Lunesians don’t really know all that much about them, except that they sent all their convicts to Coronad, Australia style, hence the similar language. Few Miranese ever leave Miramar...so why are bands of Miranese pirates suddenly raiding the seas and kidnapping sailors? The Lunesians want to know because, well, poor dumb Asher, after learning of his father’s death, hopped on the first ship he could find and ended up disappearing. Soon after, Reyna’s friend and mentor, Lord Elias, along with her childhood friend Jamie, also disappear. They’ve all been taken without a fight by these Miranese pirates and now everyone wants to know a) why; b) how; c) what the actual hell; and d) are their friends and loved ones still alive?

To find the missing, they must have an adventurous Master Explorer and a daring Sea Captain sail across the sea to the mysterious nation of Miramar to figure out what the hell is going on. So Reyna and Levi head west on Levi’s ship, the Truthsayer, to solve this mystery and definitely not fall in love or anything like that. Nope. Not gonna happen. They just want to find their friends and loved ones, that’s all.

An accurate depiction of how I viewed Reyna and Levi throughout most of this book.

Since I absolutely loved Isle of Blood and Stone, it almost goes without saying that, yes, I absolutely loved Song of the Abyss as well. We get to see more of the world Lucier introduced us to in the first novel, plus we get an entire story dedicated to the now all-grown-up Reyna, who was one of my favorite characters from the first book. If you haven’t read Isle of Blood and Stone, then you definitely want to do that, especially if you’re a fan of action/adventure YA fantasies with lots of political intrigue, ghosts, monstrous sea creatures and a leprosy subplot. If you go into Song of the Abyss blind, you might feel a little lost, but if you’re already a fan, then you’ll absolutely be in your element. Song of the Abyss starts out exciting and then just keeps going. At no point does the story drag or feel tedious - there’s a good balance between all of the action and the quieter moments in between. The romance between Reyna and Levi is sweet and develops naturally, but everyone’s main focus is on finding out what happened to their friends. The setting is, again, fantastic - the whole world of St. John del Mar definitely sounds like somewhere you’d want to visit (though maybe skip Miramar...). Also, I am just so fricking happy that Reyna got her own book - she’s a tenacious badass adventurer who isn’t about to let pirates or the patriarchy or feuding royals get in the way of her desire to be a Master Explorer.

My only complaint is that, after Song of the Abyss, we won’t be getting any more. According to the Word of God, this is to be our last foray into the world of the Tower of the Winds. Fingers crossed that maybe, just maybe, we’ll get a third book? Maybe?

RECOMMENDED FOR: Fans of YA fantasies featuring awesome female explorers, fans of Isle of Blood and Stone.

NOT RECOMMENDED FOR: Sea monsters, totalitarian isolationist regimes, people who have something against women being awesome.

RATING: 5/5

Wow, I’ve really been on a roll when it comes to picking books to read and review for this dumb blog of mine - I’ll read anything if it catches my fancy, but the past few books I’ve read have really exceeded my expectations.

RELEASE DATE: August 27, 2019

MONSTER ISLAND PENINSULA:

#song of the abyss #makiia lucier #tower of the winds #young adult fiction #young adult fantasy #ya fantasy #book review #reyna #st john del mar

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thornstocutyouwith · 5 years

Text

Betrayal

10:32 AM] Karma:

As Sean had gone farther into the woods, away from the rest of the kingdoms and civilization of Wonderland, into the unknown. Which had been hidden in dying trees and purple mist. Often too dark and mysterious for most to enter. That is where Sean had found it, the place which certainly must have held Seti in it, as well as many others. All dressed up in suits and masks that looked the same, every last one of them looked like perfect copies of each other. And as Sean had seemingly so easily made his way into the long forgotten old hidden castle that had been lost to time within the woods, it was going to be hard for the other male to see that what he may have been stepping into, was almost a trap. One set up to capture those who pressed too much on the business of others. And as Sean watched, the suits shifted around, silently, ominously not talking to one another, just following orders of some kind or another. And somewhere inside this old castle Sean had found himself in was the boss, a older woman who had been sending suits off to complete mission after mission. One of those suited men stood at her side as others were being given orders, a sort of constant protection for her as she moved around exacting her plans and terror onto Wonderland.

[8:04 AM] Soup:

He should have brought Shay. Alexander. Tristan. Even Darius. As things were now, even with his little training sessions the last few days with Shay, he was outnumbered – and who the bloody Wonderland's was that woman he saw? Why did she remind him of his once step-mother, the one that William had killed a few years before meeting his death himself? He didn't have a good view of her but his mind had almost wanted it to be her. The evil woman responsible for William ripping the heart out of his mother's chest – he never told Seti how that story had gone. Celeste Heart. The Queen of Hearts, a terrible tyrant of a woman. She had fallen in love with William, and William had only pretended to fall in love with her so that he could become King. It was when William had become King that he had fallen in love with Sara, Shay and Sean's birth mother. There had been two men. William, and Jonas, the three of them had a sort of threesome relationship. Two men that loved his mother and two men that had loved eachother. Shay and Sean had been born in secret. Shay, a child of William's, and Sean three years later, a child of Jonas. Celeste never learned about their existence until years later but she had learned of the affair much earlier. Right after Sean had been born – and she had forced William to rip out Sara's heart. That moment had changed William, who was once a kind and good man, until the monstrous and cold King he had become – the man who became known as the Heartless King.

[8:04 AM] Soup:

--- but that woman couldn't have been her. It was impossible. Not unless she figured out a way to bring herself back from the dead. For Sean though, even the memory had been enough for him to want to change his game plan. He had needed help, if he was going to free Seti and the others also hidden away in that mansion. A mirror had been created and Sean had stepped through it – his first stop was back to Alexander. His second stop had been to Shay, who had told Tristan, and the third stop was to someone he wasn't sure he could convince to help – Darius. “So you are telling me that you want my help in a fight that doesn't concern me? You want me to risk my life against a woman who has been forcing your husband to spontaneously knock off denizens of Wonderland? You don't even know her ultimate goal and you are expecting me to what, care? Bloody Hell Hare, you must be desperate to come knocking on my door.” Darius had arched his brow as he stood in the doorway, he hadn't even bothered to invite Sean in.

[8:04 AM] Soup:

“---believe me. You are the last person I wanted to come to for help. But this will eventually affect you as well Darius, if this woman is who I think she is.” Sean was shaking inside, swallowing his pride as he gritted his teeth and looked off to the side. “If she is who she says she is, her goal is to retake the crown of Hearts. The last time she was the Queen of Hearts ---” Darius had interrupted him. “I heard. Her reign would be troublesome, for every other Kingdom. I am not going to do this for free Sean, what are you going to offer me in return? You have nothing to offer me. Unless you are going step down from the emotion dealing business, supply the emotions to me for free and allow me to be the only dealer in Wonderland.” Darius had waited with a baited breath for Sean's answer.

[8:04 AM] Soup:

“Fine. You join this fight, you help me rescue Seti and whoever else has been caught in this tangled web, and you can have the emotions. I won't deal a single drop in Wonderland.” Darius's dark eyes had lit up at that moment, a smile tugging at the corners of his thin lips. “It's a deal. Who else is joining us?” Sean had swallowed hard, running slender digits through his messy hair. “Shay. Alexander. Possibly Tristan.” Darius had laughed at that moment. “The Dormouse? What could he possibly do? Hide in a corner and eat all of the woman's cheese? Bloody Hell Sean, you -are- desperate. Fine, I'll talk to Asher. I'm not speaking for him, if he decides to help as well it will be his decision. Where is everyone meeting?” “--- the castle Spade.”

[6:09 AM] Karma:

Asher had been busy with his kingdom for the past while. Making sure that things were going much more smoothly after his parents executions not too long ago. See, Asher was absolutely terrified to have his head cut off, so he wasn't looking forward to instigating that in the least. Grinning a bit as he was listening to yet another complaint from one of the people of his kingdom he gives a sympathetic nod " Of course. I will see if the kingdom of Clubs could spare you a few more live stalk for your farm." He had been stuck doing things like that for the majority of the day. It had been like that most days, since he had taken up being the king. By the time it was seven in the evening Asher had finally been allowed to stand up, and leave " That will be all for today, we will continue this all tomorrow. Have a good night." Staying until all of the villagers had finally left, Asher started to step down the stairs leading down from his throne. Only he stopped mid step, the color suddenly washing from his face. Shaking his head however he continued.

[6:09 AM] Karma:

A maid had come up to him then offering him a drink and something to snack on before telling him that the chef's were finishing up his dinner. Asher gave a nod " Okay. Has anyone seen Darius lately?" Asher had asked then, before being told that Darius hadn't been in the castle at all, but had been spotted doing some sort of work outside and around the kingdoms, from what some spies had gathered. Not that they were specifically keeping and eye on Darius. But it was hard not to see someone who had been such a frequent visitor of the castle of Diamonds, and more importantly, it's king. Letting out a breath then he grinned a little bit " Well I'm sure i'll see him again tonight. Must be doing some work, i'd get bored too just waiting around for me to not be busy and spare him some attention." He and the maid had made their way down the hallway, Asher sipping at the water in the cup on the tray as he took a few pills that had also been laying on the plate that was on it. The maid had been telling him what courses he would be having " Ooo, I'm always a fan of seafood." He chirped, the maid bowing her head and blushing with a nod.

[6:09 AM] Karma:

Entering the dining room he takes his seat. Soon scarfing down one course after the next as if nothing at all were different or going to be bothersome. Until seeing Darius come in " Oh! Darius! You're finally back. Come on, eat with me. I miss hearing about your misadventures." He gestured to the spot next to him before waving one of the servants to go grab Darius a plate "In all seriousness, though. What have you been doing all day. I need some stimulation after the day i've had." Being half bored out of his mind and practically stuck in the same spot for nearly eight hours a day was going to drive him mad. Staring down at the food on the table that was being set up for Shay's dinner Tristan blinks, he was nothing more but a dormouse. A poor not special dormouse, who Shay had so kindly offered a job and helped him to bath, recently. Swallowing thickly he watches as a plate of cheese was set on the table " That looks so good." He mumbled staring over it before tilting his head " How much longer till Shay gets here?" Reaching out a hand he moved to grab one of the cubes of cheese, only for one of the servants to slap his hand and tell him to go wash up and by the time he had come back Shay should be there. She then handed over some, what she called 'proper dining attire' before pointing out that his 'rags' were filthy and unfitting " Mmrmrm Fine." He grumbled before standing and walking out of the room. Moments later he had been standing in a plain black loose long sleeve shirt and leather pants with medium black boots. Looking at himself in the mirror in the bathroom he narrowed his eyes " Hm, this will do for the time being." He then walked over to the toilet pulling up the lid and unzipping himself before starting to pee.

#Seti #SetiPara #Tristan #TristanPara #SeanPara #ShayPara #DariusPara #Asher #AsherPara #OfWondersAndHares #WonderlandAU #AU #WonderlandTristan #WonderlandAsher #AsherAU #TristanAU

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