#am ill drew this last year completely forgot

[jestroer]

Girls night

[theendwhereibegin]

Universally meant. Earthly bound

This update took longer than expected, but for a good reason. I had a lot of work to do and then I managed to sneak away and see my family for a week and then back to crazy town with work.

Another thing that really threw me off was Matthew Perry`s death which I really struggled with.

I am terribly sorry for keeping you waiting for so long.

Here is the latest part of this story.

Part 7

*Olivia`s POV*

Pedro left to get ready at his place while I was debating what to wear. It took me 30 minutes and it usually doesn`t take that long, but this time it was different.

Sure Oscar and Elvira wont know that me and Pedro are dating, but I know that and I didn't want to look like a complete weirdo on our first outing as a couple. Ill scare him off further down the line with my weird fashion sense, but until then I want to look as put together as I can. It can`t get any worse than my house slippers.

I chose my favourite jeans, my Star Wars hoodie and a comfy pair of sneakers I actually forgot I had. Once I was all sorted the clock read 4 pm and my breath started catching in my throat. I was suddenly very self aware and feeling very uneasy and scared.

3 hours ago we were making out on my sofa and now I felt like I didn't deserve to even have him look my way. I felt like I wasn`t enough for him.

Get yourself together Olivia! He is your chance at happiness and you will not screw this up because you are overthinking something as beautiful as love. Wait, did I say love?

*Pedro`s POV*

The shower felt refreshing and my smile wouldn't leave my face. Ever since I met Olivia my mood has shifted dramatically and I really hope I can get it under control once we are all together at Oscar`s.

It`s not that I am embarrassed of being with her. God knows I won the lottery by running into her, but I just want to see how far would Oscar and Elvira go for us two to actually go together.

Oscar has been one of my best friends for ages and he knows how much I struggled with relationships. Its not that I was incapable of love but I never seemed to have enough time to dedicate myself fully to any of them and it didn`t seem fair to do that to them. I wanted to be all in but my crazy schedule never allowed me that so I chose to give them the freedom they needed in order to find that one man that could offer them all the attention and love they deserved.

Olivia appeared at the right time. She appeared when I decided I needed to pace myself a bit after all the attention I got after the Mandalorian and The Last Of Us were released. I love what I am doing and I have worked so hard to get to where I am now, but I always felt like something was missing. I always felt like I was the odd one at dinner parties. You know, the only single one without kids. I longed for that. I longed to have a family and little ones running around the place. I`ve always wanted to be a dad, instead I got to play all these father figures. I wanted it to be real.

Then she appeared in her house slippers and something drew me to her instantly. It was like all the walls I have built along the years came crashing down the moment our eyes met. For me, Olivia was the one.

Wait what?

Normal POV* (Olivia`s)

I was minutes away from Oscar`s house. At this point I felt like my knees would give in.

As we agreed to not show up together, I knew that Pedro was already there.

Once reaching their door I didn`t even get to knock as the door flew open with Oscar and the two boys hugging me.

"Auntie O!!!!" screamed the boys.

With that I could see Elvira and Pedro turn around from their seats on the sofa with both of them smiling widely at me.

"If it isn`t my bestest friend in the whole wide world" said Oscar while taking my coat and backpack.

All I heard was a loud and offended "Hey!" coming from the living room.

"Ohh stop pouting Pascal. She holds a very special place in my heart and you know that".

So they`ve talked about me to Pedro before? Wow, this keeps getting more interesting by the minute.

"Wait a minute Oscar. Hand me the backpack."

Once I had my backpack I started searching for the sweets and toys I had for the boys.

"If you are pumping sugar in my boys again O, I swear you are the one putting them to bed tonight!" shouted Elvira who has now moved to the kitchen trying to prepare snacks for the game.

Pedro was looking amused at the exchange me, Oscar and Elvira were having about the boys. It was like I was family to them and in a sense, I knew I was.

"I am so not doing that. Look, it says natural flavours on the package." I said in a failed attempt to look like that one aunt that would get her nephews only healthy sweets.

"Enough of that. Olivia, I want you to meet someone"

With that, Oscar took off towards the living room with me following him. I felt like my heart was about to beat out of my chest.

"Pedro, this is my dear friend and sister from another mister, Olivia. Olivia, meet my best friend Pedro." he said while stepping aside from between me and Pedro, as he was now standing in front of me.

He extended his hand and I extended mine while looking at each other knowing full on well that this will be a hard task.

"Lovely to meet you Olivia. A beautiful name for a beautiful lady."

"Likewise, Pedro. I mean not the part with the beautiful name for a beautiful lady. Obviously." I said while shaking his hand.

The moment our hands touched I swear I felt a surge of electricity going through my body, and by the look on his face so did he. Oscar was now awkwardly standing looking at us and he eventually cleared his throat.

"Okay, so now that the meeting happened let the games begin. I mean game. Let the Monopoly game being."

With Elvira, Oscar and the boys sitting on one side of the table, me and Pedro were sat together on the other side. It was torture not being able to kiss him and touch him and I knew he felt the same.

Once the game began we were all in deep thinking trying various strategies in order to win the game. Soon enough it was only me and Oscar left playing the game as both Elvira and Pedro cashed out.

"They are so competitive. Its like they are actually brother and sister. They will not let this go so buckle up Pedro, its going to be a long night." said an amused Elvira.

She witnessed enough games to know that me and Oscar would not forfeit in any way, shape or form.

"Hey! You took more money from the bank!" said an annoyed Oscar.

"I did not! I took 100. See...20...40...60...80..100. How could I possible take more? You made Elvira the bank!" I said in an exasperated tone.

"You took 10 more. I know you and Elvira are in a secret girl team!"

"Oscar you are losing the plot! I swear to God. Fine! I will hand 10 back to Elvira but only because I don`t want you all dramatic for the next 3 months telling everyone I cheated on Monopoly which..." and I looked over at Pedro and Elvira while handing the 10 back to her " I DID NOT DO!"

Pedro got up from the table, most probably to escape the madness me and Oscar playing a game together creates and I felt my phone buzz.

"You are not to take calls while we are in the middle of a game!"

"I am not taking a call. Its a message! What if its my mom needing something? Jeez Oscar chillax mate!" I said while opening the message. Sure enough, it wasn`t from my mom, but from Pedro.

*I don`t know how much longer I can keep this secret from them baby. I want to kiss you so bad and hold your hand and have you snuggle into my chest while playing this game.

*20 more minutes baby. I will beat Oscar in this game and then we`ll find a way to drop the bomb on them. They have tried so hard to get us together. Let them enjoy it a bit more*

With that being said Pedro returned to the table looking at both me and Oscar while sipping his beer.

I was so concentrated to beat Oscar in Monopoly I didn`t even feel Pedro`s hand that lightly brushed my back while getting back to his seat. This man will be the death of me.

Sure enough, 20 minutes later Oscar was defeated.

"You are an evil Monopoly genius and I hate you for that O!" he said in a very frustrated tone.

"Yes I am and no you don`t."

After the game we all fell into a comfortable conversation and then decided to move the drinking and snacking to the sofa.

Pedro, being a gentleman let me choose the seat first and once I did his eyes went wide.

"Uhmmm, Olivia, not to be a weirdo or anything, but you are sitting in my spot." he said while scratching the back of his head.

Oscar and Elvira stopped dead in their tracks while backing away for a bit to see the interaction between the two of us.

"Are you pulling a Sheldon on me Pascal? Your spot? This has been my spot for ages. I, in fact, chose this spot because it has the best view of the TV and it`s close enough to the heater to be warm in the winter, and also, close enough to the back garden door to be nice and breezy in the summers. "

"Well then we have an issue, cause that is why I chose that spot as well! Oscar, please tell your friend to move from my spot!" said Pedro while winking at me. That`s how I knew we were about to shock the hell out of them.

"I cant really do that P. She will have my head on a silver platter if I do. Can`t you choose the spot next to her? I mean it will still be on the same sofa."

"Choose another spot? Nonsense. You know what. I`ll get my spot back and she can have her spot too. We just need to figure it out, don`t we Olivia?" said Pedro while moving towards me.

He didn`t even need to tell me what to do. It felt like everything with him was like a second nature to me, so I got up from the spot and let him sit. My next move is what made Oscar scream and Elvira nearly pass out.

Instead of leaving and choosing another spot, I went and sat on Pedro`s lap while my arms were draped around his neck.

I swear Oscar`s eyes were about to pop out of his skull.

Pedro`s hand was on my back and his other was on top of my knees while his nose was pressed above my ear and his lips inches away.

"I told you. I can`t stay away from you for a second" Pedro whispered in my ear sending shivers up and down my spine.

"How? What? Why? Who?"

"Oscar your questions do not make sense at all" I said while laughing lightly.

"No, but how? We have tried to get you guys to meet for about 3 years now. " said Elvira while taking her place on the sofa in front of us.

I looked at Pedro and Pedro cleared his throat while preparing to speak.

"Remember the Grogu house slippers girl I told you I ran into at the coffee house?"

"No way! No way! No way! I was close to dragging you both to this house to make you meet and you are telling me you met Olivia in a coffee shop? Wait! Why were you even in your house slippers?" asked a dumbfounded Oscar.

"Breathe Oscar! Long story short, I was late for work didn`t realise what I had on my feet and just left the house. The whole day was a disaster, that`s until I properly met Pedro hours later at the studio. We clicked instantly and it just went from there."

"I knew they would click. I knew it!" said an excited Elvira. "So that means from now on you`ll actually be joining us for dinners? Valid for both you! You both started saying no around the same time"

The look in Pedro`s eyes was different. He looked at me like he has found his purpose in life. He looked at me like I was what he needed in his life. I understood right then and there. I loved him and there was no backing out, because he was the one I was meant to meet all along.

"We sure will." we said at the same time. I swear Oscar and Elvira were on cloud 9 at this point.

We chatted a while longer, mainly about me and Pedro. They fought on who is the captain of the ship, to which me and Pedro both laughed at. They agreed they need to share the captain role and named us Pedrivia but then realised Olidro would be an option too.

It was funny seeing our two best friends acting like teenagers in high-school.

"Right guys, it`s getting late and I have a huge photo-shoot to take care of tomorrow. I need to be on my A game otherwise we might lose the contract with Netflix. "

"What do you mean lose the contract with Netflix? You are the best photographer ever!" said Oscar.

"Remember I was away for a week about two months ago?" he nodded to that. "Well, because I wasn`t in Graham had to hire another photographer and Alexis told me he was very bad. I can`t remember the name of the actress, but I was told the guy was very rude towards her the whole time and the photos turned out bad. This is a remake for that so I will try my best to mend the relationship in between Graham`s photo studio and Netflix."

"Do you know who the photographer was?"

"I have no clue, nor do I want to know. I do know that Graham will never hire anyone else without me giving my opinion on the person and their way of behaving. We can`t lose our contracts. He won`t say it, but I know the studio is struggling at the moment. When I found out Disney + was looking for a photographer long term with a studio, I went and bargained with Netflix because they didn`t want to let us do this. So basically I am the one that made Pedro`s photo-shoot happen. I am glad I did" I said while pressing my lips to his cheek.

" Is there anything we can do to help the studio?" asked Elvira with Pedro and Oscar joining her concern.

"There`s nothing you can do. I am basically trying to keep it running as best as I can. There are so many good people working there, people that rely on those jobs in order to keep their families afloat. I have managed to get some money in, from my own gigs. Half of what I made with National Geographic was put in new backdrops, equipment, paying for one of our colleagues maternity leave. Whatever I can get, half of it will always go there. Graham has been my light at the end of a very dark tunnel and I promised myself I will always have his back." I didn`t even realise that there were tears in my eyes. I felt Pedro`s hand lightly brush a tear of two off.

With that I made my way to the door as I really needed to get some sleep. Pedro followed me and we parted ways with Oscar and Elvira.

While walking to his car, he stopped which made me stop as well.

"Why didn`t you tell me the studio is struggling?"

"Because it`s not your battle to fight baby. It`s mine. I will figure it out. The fact that we have the Disney contract now will help the studio and I still have some gigs lined up for the next few months."

"You are too good for this world. But, please let me help you. You are not alone anymore. I will be here with you every step of the way. I`ll be here even when you will get tired of me, because, baby, I know it`s so early in our relationship, but I can`t see myself without you. "

His hands were on my cheeks and my arms were around his torso. I never wanted the moment to end. The way he looked at me right there and then, it`s something I have always dreamed about. And just before he kissed me he said something that will stay with me forever.

"Liv, you are the one for me and I will do everything in my power to keep you happy and loved. Always and forever."

I was never the one for anyone, and now my Chile trip was playing on my mind over and over again, because whatever the old lady said back then was happening now and I couldn`t believe that it was.

Hope you enjoyed it !!!

Part 1 , Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5 , Part 6

[mask-of-prime]

Summary of Art - 2022

This year felt like two years long and like it shouldn't already be December somehow

Anyway this year has definitely been more of adventure for my mental health and place in the world more than it has been for my art I think. Well, I mean I have been making art, LOTS of art, actually. Believe it or not, I've been making more art than I've been posting, such as practice sketches/paintings, visual development for upcoming projects I want to introduce, and numerous major-related classes in college demanding different art projects at once.

I will say this was way better than last year, I finally took it upon myself to get counseling and am learning to control myself better! I forgot I wrote that down on last year's summary. I really fulfilled that! Another biggie is the fact that I finally discovered what my major was gonna be (Graphic Design in Digital Illustration).

On counseling: It comes with the cost of me being SO aware of my mental health that it's actually distracting from both work AND personal projects . It's weird, like it's helpful but SO destructive to find out why you are the way you are, and what with those posts everywhere online talking about "red flags" that aren't researched by professionals and whatever sorts of means to turn people against each other, it made me so self-aware that I've wanted to implode several times. The more aware of toxicity and mental health I am, the more I see it because therapy and mental illness is starting to become something just about anyone can easily fake. I just don't know what's real anymore and the pandemic (that's. still. going.) normalizing being cooped up on Zoom all the time is perpetuating that idea to not go outside and check that everyone is perfectly normal and civil.

On my major: While art is a straight-A for me and something I know like the back of my hand, I made the decision to take several at once because I just want to take care of school faster, it took up my weekends frequently, and knowing how long I take to switch my mind on working on homework and art, everything took really long to produce once the semester began. Get ready for this: I'm... taking slightly more art classes this upcoming semester because again I want to complete my tenure in community college quicker. We'll see where homework production vs personal project direction goes then ;))))

So this means I did live up to the resolutions of finding therapy resources, I learned to drive... a little more, the place I want to work at finally opened so I will apply soon, made friends at college and had a blast hanging with them, spent more time outdoors on long walks, and I drew a few more non-TLK posts I think. Honestly, I think I fulfilled all of those, didn't think I would 👏

Resolutions this year? I'm seeing my counselor again next semester, hoping we could go more in-depth with stuff. I really want to introduce more projects, and I hope to have Vitani's Guard finished. I think VG is estimated to be almost a year-long project, so we're like a tad over the halfway point. But yeah anyway because I posted more than I produced, my "summary" of art looks more like I just posted basically all I really made this year lmao

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[therenlover]

The Bay (A Helmut Zemo x GN!Reader Drabble)

A/N: I wrote this on vacation while I was getting emotional about Lake Michigan and completely forgot about it... oops! Enjoy this shitty rushed love letter from my heart to both Helmut and my great state <3

Synopsis: You and Helmut enjoy the final evening of your vacation on the dock overlooking Grand Traverse Bay. 

Tags: Tooth Rotting Fluff, Kisses, General Pretentious Michigan/Great Lakes Experiences, Overly Floral Prose, Mosquito Bites

Rating: T

Warnings: Minor Mentions Of Casual Drinking, Slapping Mosquitos But Like... Not In A Violent Way

Word Count: 1100~

“Have you ever seen anything more beautiful in your entire life?” 

Your question was rhetorical at best. Of course, Helmut had seen things far more beautiful than the sight you’d set before him. He was rich and affluent, a man with ties to royalty and a private jet that would happily take him wherever he wanted to go, but still, you hoped he could humor your small-town sensibilities a bit longer as you enjoyed the final evening of your spur-of-the-moment weekend holiday. 

Before you, the Grand Traverse bay stretched out into the distance, glassy and still save for the gentle ripples made by your dangling, frozen toes. 

The sun was still relatively high up in the sky, nowhere near the horizon, but you could just begin to see purple streaking through the sky. Soon the sky would be filled with colors; red, yellow, orange, purple… a sunset more spectacular than anywhere else in the world. For the moment, though, the sky was still its usual cornflower blue. You wouldn’t have it any other way. 

Helmut hummed from his spot on the dock, reclined on a colorful beach chair, his latest book in hand. “It is… unique, in the best of ways,” Then, he grinned. “What’s so funny?” 

He chuckled a bit to himself before lifting up his sunglasses and smiling down at you. “I am simply enjoying the view,” 

“I thought you said it was unique,” 

“Perhaps, but I was only referring to the scenery. When I include you in the picture, though, any view automatically becomes the most beautiful I have ever seen,”

Despite the fact that you’d known Helmut for years, your cheeks still heated at his endless flattery. “Stop that, you know I was talking about the lake!” 

With little more than a thoughtful hum he slipped from his seat and kissed you softly, the knees of his pants scuffing against the wood of the dock as the pages of his book, abandoned beside his glass of white wine on a small folding table, fluttered softly in the cool, late-afternoon breeze. 

Your combined laughter carried all the way up to the rental house.

You stayed that way for a good, long time. In fact, by the time you thought about anything besides the feel of his plush lips on your own, the mosquitos were out in full force, and a soft purple dusk was settling over the sky. 

The pair of you were squeezed onto the colorful beach chair as the sun descended, falling below the treeline across the water. Neither of you really knew how you’d gotten there exactly, not that you minded the closeness. His natural warmth meant you didn’t have to break away and retrieve your sweater from inside. He definitely wasn’t objecting either if the way his arms snaked around your waist was a good indicator. 

You broke the silence after pressing a soft kiss to his cheek, voice joining the chorus of frogs and grasshoppers alike. “I think I’ll swim tonight before we sleep. You can join me if you want to, but I get it if you’d rather stay inside,”

“I’ll consider it.” His hand fell away from the meat of your side after giving it a soft squeeze, reaching for his glass. “I don’t quite understand your obsession with torturing yourself in 45-degree water, but if it’s important to you, you know I will partake,”

That earned him a soft snuffle of your face against the warmth of his pulse. As he leaned into the touch, the last of his wine slipped sweet and cool down his throat. When you lifted yourself up to kiss him once more you could taste the last of it wet on his lips. 

“Should we turn in for the moment?” Helmut’s voice was soft, almost reverent against your flesh.

“Why would we? It’s gorgeous out here,” 

“Schatz,” a light smack against your flesh punctuated his sharp words, “you’re practically being eaten alive,” Sure enough, a quick glance at your stinging skin revealed a tiny crumpled mosquito, crushed beneath the weight of his palm. A sheepish sigh was the most you could offer in retaliation.

“Alright, alright! You’ve got a point. I just… five more minutes?” 

Helmut tensed, prepared to put his foot down in the very special, gentle way that only he could, but, unlike almost every other moment in your whole relationship where he insisted to know what was good for you, he relented, settling back down into his chair with little more than a smile and an apathetic shrug. “Five more minutes. Then we’ll find some bug repellant and we can get ready for our evening swim,”

Your eyebrow raised slightly. “Our?” 

“Did you think I’d allow you to be alone out here in the dark, falling prey to these blood-sucking fiends?” 

Once again, Helmut slapped your flesh and his hand came away with the telltale red smear of an unlucky bug. You were already starting to itch despite the relatively early hour, which was honestly to be expected so close to the still, marshy water’s edge the swarms of irritating monsters called home. Perhaps, if you were lucky, the chilly waters would numb your senses to what was sure to be an unpleasant amount of bites. 

Even if they didn’t heal your ills, there was something captivating about the seemingly endless waters that awaited you. The curved trees that drooped and swayed above and the blooming lilies that cradled the sunset below and all the endless ebbing, flowing waves that crashed against the pebbled shore in a whisper singing sweetly no matter where you rest- Come home to me! I waited for you! Do you recognize me? You’ve grown!

You’re home. 

The realization doesn’t come all at once. No, it’s a slow thing. The waves crash and the mosquitos hum and Helmut rubs his hands, cold with condensation from his glass, down the soft exposed flesh of your arms. Ever so slowly but all at once, the final piece clicks, and you smile. 

Somehow, you know you’re where you’re meant to be. 

The world would turn, that you were sure of. You’d wake in the morning and pack up your bags before running to wherever Helmut saw fit for your next worldly excursion, and that was fine. You couldn’t stay rooted in one place forever. Still, though, at that moment, you were sure you had found the path you were always meant to find. 

With that in your mind and heart, you leaned closer to Helmut and drew him in for one more soft kiss. Neither of you tried to pull away for a good long while. 

You wouldn’t have had it any other way.  

[ryctone]

Okay but with all the hype for the new event I forgot I made a Dark Choco & Croissant fic based on @the-wereraven's Golden Child!AU lol;;

Srry if the pace is weird I wrote this when it was late and I just wanted to write fluff of these two; Also Raven, I put some of my headcanons in these hope u don’t mind TwT.

(Warnings: Fluff, so much fluff and Dark Choco being a good older brother for a sick lil Croissant. YOU’VE BEEN WARNED.) enjoy!

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The prince carried himself with elegance and grace. So much in fact, that his metal shoes touched the yellow-stone flooring with utter gentleness, soft and delicate as a trail of kisses. Despite the circumstances.

He didn't expect to receive a letter from the Cheese Kingdom that day, even less being informed that Golden Cheese's daughter; his pupil, was sick. Dark choco just had to see for himself, specially after how... peculiar this sickness was. He just wanted to make sure she was okay.

The guards at the door were already familiar with the heir of the Cacao Kingdom, since both their rulers are very close allays and knew he'd do no harm to the already i'll princess, granted him access to pay her a visit.

He entered the room and was greeted by-

“Hi, Choo.” came a little voice, muffled by the many blankets covering it before slowly revealing a little freckled face with golden eyes. Dark Choco paused mid-step, then smiled to himself.

Princess Croissant Cookie wasn’t just any cookie, that was certain. In the years since first being instated as his pupil of the throne by Golden Cheese herself; to show the young princess of Cheese Valley the ropes of ruling when the times comes; she had gone onward and upwards in proving her virtue and worth at such a young age, making for herself a dear place in the prince’s heart.

“Yes, it’s me. Hello Croissant!” The long haired prince proceeds to sit at the edge of the sumptuous bed.

“It’s really nice...that you’re here.” It was not the usual voice the little cookie addressed him with. Not the un-selfconscious, innocent delight and adoration of Croissant’s voracious curiosity. Rather, this was the voice that croaked and groaned, miserable enough to get the week off from school and not even enjoy it, though being Croissant, fell a little short. She had never enjoyed missing out on learning for anything, as Dark Choco well knew.

It hadn’t been the first time the prince had nursed his student through an illness, though it had been a while since the last time, and the fact this wasn't a normal sickness.

“I’m really glad you’re here. Thank you.”

The innocent sincerity touched Dark Choco, as it always did. “Of course, Cross. Your mom sent word to me as soon she knew too. You were quick to figure it out.”

The sick golden child made an aimless, sweeping gesture with her hand. “The first hundred degrees I went above normal were a bit of a clue. Candyneritus!” she suddenly exclaimed, knocking a few beetle and bird plushies about the floor.

“Candyneritus!” the little cookie cried out again. “Candynnnnnerrrrriiiiiiitus!” Dark Choco feared his student slipping into a moment of delirium. “I’m sorry,” Croissant said sullenly. “Is mom okay? I hope I got away from that sick cakehound quick enough.” She groaned and turned over.

“She is. She doesn't seem to have any symptoms according to the nurses. But is best to keep her out of your range until you’re feeling better and it can be disinfected completely.”

The freckled cookie nodded. “I hope she’s not worried...” she worried aloud.

“Only as much as you are.” Dark Choco said warmly.

“How do I even catch a Cakehound disease anyway? I’ve never heard of it happening, or read of it, or even read a story about it! Even for you, Choo, this has to be a first.” 

Dark Choco accommodated the shifted blankets to cover his little student. “Indeed it is, I’ve never heard of it, let alone seen it happen.”

Croissant gave a throaty chuckle, which quickly descended into a cough. “It shouldn’t even be possible. It’s too terrible to be allowed. I’m all achy and dizzy and shakey...and that’s not even a real adjective! Or is it an adverb?” Croissant grumbled and kicked some of her blankets off. “...I’m cold now,” she intoned quietly. “I’m sorry, choo.”

“Don’t think anything of it, Cross. You’re not well.” the prince said as he tucked her in with her blankets once more.

“I know. I’m trying to think straight, but I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired.”

“If you’d rather sleep, I could—”

“No! Please, stay?” Her winged form scrambled and scooped her way through the blankets and pillows until she was more or less grabbing Dark Choco's arm. Her wide, wobbling eyes pleaded wantonly. She shivered, then buried her head in the remaining cushions that weren't on the floor to keep warm.

“Croissant. It’s alright. I'm here.” He said in a reassuring tone, seeing her act like this breaks his heart a little.

“I think it’s my high magic quotient,” she said irritably into the fluffy pillows. “Anycookie would be immune, because cakehounds are really magical too, so any flu that targeted them would have to be adapted specifically for that. The Candyneritus thinks I’m a cakehound, so now my body thinks it is one too, and is fighting it that way. My magic is tricking itself.”

Dark Choco paused, then looked back to his student. “That was surprisingly succinct.”

“Well, I am sick, but that doesn’t mean—” She sneezed. The thick, viscous kind of sneeze perpetrated by only the true mucous exporter. Right in Dark Choco’s face. Croissant looked more sheepish than an actual cotton candy sheep. Dark Choco just casually whipped it out with a gloved hand; he has to remind himself to clean up later.

“I was actually considering much along those lines as well.”

It might have just been the fever, but Croissant’s eyes took on a particular shine. “You mean it?”

“I do.”

“I think like you do? I always,—I mean, I wondered and maybe, maybe I hoped that...I’m glad.” Her head and eyelids sank respectively. “Choo?”

“Yes?”

“I know...I know I’m not really thinking straight, and I’m kind of scared and everything’s still hurt, but...but...”

“I love you.”

Dark Choco drew a gasp. Suddenly his poise and calm were fleeting things before him.

“I love you. You’re like the brother I never had. And...and...and usually I’m so worried about one thing or another, or thinking things through so much, but...but, I can barely hear myself think right now. I’m just babbling, but it’s nice for once not thinking and just saying.”

“Cross.”

The winged child found the strength to dredge her head up from the pillow. “I love you, and I don’t say that enough and maybe no cookie says it enough even though we mean to, and especially not enough to you because you’re so much, so amazing, and for everything I’ve done and been and learned... Everything I’ve learned, and I find out there’s two more things I didn’t know and-”

“Croissant.”

“...and how much you’ve done for me, because maybe a tower full of books is what I used to think was the biggest gift to me you ever gave, but I’m just a silly, sick cookie and when I’m better I’m going to be so embarrassed but I want to say it anyway, because it wasn’t the tower or the books that means so much; it’s every time you make me smile, or inspire me, or challenge me to grow, and I realize now that you’ve been treating me my whole life as... Me, and not just a spoiled lil' princess to put in a pedestal and I love you for everything and why am I crying and smiling at the same time?”

Exhausted, Croissant dropped softly to her caramel-colored bed. The occasional tear going down her cheeks with a sniff. “And now I’m scared,” she whispered. “Because I don’t know what’ll happen once I’m through the fever or if I’ll even—”

“Cheese Croissant Cookie” Dark Choco said, being firm yet gentle with his tone. “It’ll be okay. I’m here, and I won’t leave you. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

“But how—”

“Don’t concern yourself with that. You just get some rest and I’ll be right here.” Croissant sniffled and shivered. “Just sleep now.”

“I think...” she mumbled as her eyes drooped. “I think I can, now. I’m not so afraid with you here. I’m glad I said what I said.” 

“Sleep, Cross. I’ll watch over you.” Croissant murmured something as she sank softly into sleep. After a little while and in the privacy of the utterly spacious room, Dark Choco smiled.

“I love you too.” He whispered to the sleeping little cookie before him. Dark Choco listened to Croissant’s breathing and, in the glow of the setting sun outside the window, felt himself richer than all the marbled cheese towers.

[shiramoonshadow]

This is the second part of the last post.  

What is your favorite moment in the show? Rhona, and then Omari, and then Paula and then Jack.

Omari: I don’t have a moment but I think like whenever I see and hear Harrow speak I get emotional because I think of myself as a kid and seeing this like honorable, powerful king who happens to look kind of like me, I just think I didn’t really have that often on animated shows so I get...I get emotional. Again, you’re talking to a guy who every time I watch Spider-man into the Spider-Verse I cry while they’re talking like I...It just affects me on a deep level.

Paula: For me it’s an episode and it’s 2x05, when Viren is trying to convince the council to go to war and Queen Aanya is not having it, that whole episode I just love it and Jason was just talking forever and it was great, even being in the room for that episode was amazing. Just love it.

Jack: Ezran ascending to the throne. I just think like a shot of him entering the throne room and taking that on, I think it’s just one of the more well-earned and beautiful, like whoa, him leaving the journey to go back take on that responsibility, I think is just incredible.

Rhona: I think another special moment was just the first time seeing Amaya sign. That was really a special moment, you know, it felt like having black royal family, groundbreaking, and having a character sign, groundbreaking.

Mental illness representation, Callum’s anxiety...oh, okay. What do you guys think of the kind of ever present discussion of people dealing with “are they capable?” Because both Rayla and Callum are very much open and honest with like “am i a failure?” (This was mine!)

Omari: Oh, it's great to see characters that are, you know, lack confidence and struggle with these real things that I'm sure a lot of viewers do as well."

Jack: I'm a person with generalized anxiety disorder, it's what it’s been called to me, and I struggle with anxiety a lot and it's a big thing that I connected to with this character and it does feel like the show explores it in a way that isn't like…. Sometimes it’s in like, sometimes it’s in a character description as just like “anxious” just like “Oh, that’s just like a trait” as opposed to a like... a part of this person and a struggle that they're facing and I think Callum really does read to me as a person with an anxiety disorder and they really like, you know, he is really grappling with it and working through it and the dark magic coma scene that I’ve talked about a bunch because I just love it. I love that, you know, to unlock the person that he needs to be, it's stuff that I do to work on anxiety where it’s like “oh he's gotta calm down and channel his breath and think and focus on just the thing in front of him”, like those things, I think that's beautiful and I love it. Love it.

Was there a point in the story that really surprised you? Like, I did not see that. (I already wrote Paula's answer and Jack's reply, twice because I'm stupid and tumblr hates me)

Jack: I just said it, but truly, Ezran leaving. I think was a real like...It’s just so not in the outline you think of this journey when you look at the beginning of the series. You go like, oh these three kids who are like going off to meet the dragon queen and this is the one who can, this kid can like talk to animals, so he’s going to be there to talk to the dragon queen, and the fact that “no, it makes more sense that he has to go back and do the adult thing" even though he’s an 11 year old. I think that’s a really logical plot decision that is, I think, completely shocking from just a genre perspective of like, you know, this is the show where it’s about kids on an epic quest, the main kid doesn’t leave in the middle of the epic quest to go home and do a job. That’s weird, but I think it just really makes sense and it’s really cool.

Paula: What you said (about Rayllum) it’s kind of funny because I think her..for me, in terms of the relationship with Callum, for Rayla it was like “oh, this annoying guy that I have to take care of and I’ve got to explain everything to him”. Well, that does sound like the start of all my relationships so...I don’t know why I didn’t see it coming.

Omari: For a selfish pov just, you know, Corvus going from tracker to a protector, an ally. It was a great story and we talked about it on the previous one, just spoke of the brilliance of the... just the nuance of the storytelling, constant twists that are really surprising and fun.

Rhona: I feel like I want to use the same moment, just the first time I saw Amaya sign and I think the show approaches so many issues with such respect and it’s not made this big deal of... and I loved also that there wasn’t a translation. I think that it really blew me away to see that and, you know, we mentioned in our panel last night how there are fun little signing easter eggs left in there. I don’t know, I just loved that moment.

Who’s the most likely to break character and laugh during the session?

Paula: Jesse.

Rhona: Oh, he’s not here to defend himself.

Paula: Jesse and Racquel together.

Jack: Yeah, the combo.

Last question, what movie or show would your characters be a fan of? (This was mine too)

Rhona: Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Like getting in there, stealing precious artifacts, going on adventures....

Omari: Terminator 2.

Paula: I think Rayla's pretty into sports, if she’s gonna watch a movie might be something like Tomb Raider, something with a girl.

Is there a sports woman movie?

Jack: Hold on, what’s like a hard-edged female sports movie…

Rhona: I, Tonya?

Jack: There’s a Drew Barrymore...roller derby movie? (Whip It) (About Callum) I was trying to think if there’s like an animated thing because he’s so into drawing, so I was trying to think if there was like an animated...Um…

Rhona: The Last Airbender.

Jack: The Last Airbender, yeah. He’s really into The Last Airbender. He has a big connection with boomerangs and he doesn’t understand, I think that’s perfect.

Edit: sorry I forgot to say that I didn't write any questions about through the moon since none of them have read it yet, but Rhona has started a free webinar series called Mistressclass and Omari's been one of the few men that they had on their platform. It's to learn about the industry from mostly women to voice over, to on camera, to commercials, to head shots to agents. They are going to have one about audition nerves and anxiety if you're interested!

[singtotheskiies]

an intervention was needed // thor x platonic!reader

request: Hey hey! I hope you're well & safe ☺️ can i request a fluffy but more platonic thor x reader, it's kinda specific: the reader is an asgardian and she's bff with Thor, basically like a sister. So he finally comes back to fight in Endgame after being depressed and shutting her out, and they reunite and there's a lot of feels and he just feels like a disappointment and a mess but she's like.. aw my sweet asgardian boi :( ill take care of u now, and oof i got carried away 😅 ty in advance hun!!

summary: after the fall of asgard, thor shut you out from his life completely. five years later, when that life is in danger, you take it upon yourself to fix things—if you are able.

words: 1497

warnings: infinity war/endgame spoilers, angst (sO much angst dude i never write it but this time,,,, i did), fluff at the end tho;)

a/n: i am SO sorry for the delay in writing this imagine—school has been very tough recently because teachers still feel the need to assign hours of work every day. however, this was a wonderful request, and i am absolutely loving writing, so please keep sending ‘em in!!! i love you all💕

✖✖✖

There were plenty of upsides to being Asgardian—increased reflexes and fighting skills, the ability to down enough liquor to make mortals stare, and of course your special power—the ability to heal physical wounds. Due to your fighting and healing abilities, the Avengers had taken you on as a valuable asset to their pursuit of justice. You had been on Midgard for a few years, now, and while it gave you great joy to be able to help, it was also the root of many of your problems.

You hadn’t been there when Asgard was ravaged by Thanos. Instead, you had been with the rest of the Avengers, discussing a possible threat in Seattle. You had felt the devastating pull in your gut that alerted you of something wrong in your home world. Instantly, you bolted to your feet, screaming for Heimdall to transport you so you could help in any way you can. You shouted your throat ragged, but you learned three unbearable days later that there was no more Bifrost tower and no Heimdall to defend it.

To make matters worse, you suffered not only the loss of your homeland, but also the presence of your best friend Thor. He had entered your room after those three days a broken shell of a man. You had tried to get through to him, to connect and mourn over your losses, but he had been nothing but cold to you.

“You cannot understand my grief,” he told you in a cold, distant voice you could barely recognize as his own.

“We are both Asgardians, Thor!” you cried. “We mourn for the same land—the land of our fathers and mothers before us.”

“And where were you when that land needed your help?” he snarled, turning and glaring at you.

“I screamed Heimdall’s name for an hour,” you spat indignantly, tears beginning to burn their way down your cheeks. “No one was there, it wasn’t my fault!”

“I had to watch my own brother die,” Thor choked, unable to control the tears welling up in his own eyes. “Thanos murdered him like he was merely an insect—but he was my brother. Do you have any idea—“

“Loki was also an acquaintance of mine, and I view his loss with no small sorrow. I cannot imagine the pain you must feel, my friend.”

“Friend,” Thor spat. “I hardly think so.”

“Please, Thor, rid yourself of this anger—I do not recognize you.”

“Perhaps it is for the better.”

With that, he spun Mjolnir and flew to gods-knew-where. You were so numb that it took you hours to notify Tony of the gaping hole through the building.

✖✖✖

You stood stock-still, emotions swirling from shock to embarrassment to pure confusion as you took in the man in front of you. He hadn’t shown his face on Earth the whole five years, and you were completely shocked at what he had done to himself. “Thor?” you breathed. “Why are you—um—well—“

He looked down his nose at you, tilting his sunglasses down with the hand that wasn’t holding a can of beer. Squinting, he tried to realize who he was speaking to. His realization was so slow that you could literally see it blooming across his features. When he recognized it was you, he merely turned around, mumbling something about wanting a Bloody Mary. You stared blankly after him as he stumbled out of the room, your mouth hanging open.

“Not sure what happened there,” Steve said as he came up behind you. “Clearly he hasn’t been taking things well.”

“Yes, I can see that,” you managed.

“Are you doing okay? I know you guys had a fight of some kind the last time he was here.”

“Yes, yes. I’m going to see if I can talk to him and find out what’s going on,” you decided. “He cannot fight like this.”

“I agree,” Steve said, wishing you luck as he left to confer with Natasha.

Although you tried, you had no luck throughout the day in getting Thor alone—mostly due to the fact that you were in meetings nearly constantly, and he seemed to be in a drunken stupor for every single one. It was sort of the elephant in the room for everybody, and you could tell more than a few of them were wondering if he was even capable of fighting in this state. Even you had your doubts about your former friend, so you decided to take matters into your own hands.

As it happened, you didn’t get your chance until late that night, when most of the Avengers were in their rooms thinking about the subjects of the day’s meetings. Taking a deep breath, you set your jaw resolutely and made your way through the numerous corridors to Thor’s room. Your heart pounded, but you furrowed your brow defiantly. You were Asgardian, and you definitely had the strength to help Thor out of—whatever this was.

At least, you hoped so.

You knocked on the door and were met with silence for several moments. Raising your knuckles, you were just about to repeat your action when you heard a faint mumble.

“‘s there?”

“It’s me.” You inhaled deeply, praying you wouldn’t be electrocuted on the spot. There was another, even longer silence, before—

“C’me in.” You were floored at his response, but recovered and turned the doorknob softly. The sight you were met with broke your heart.

Thor sat on the floor, leaning against his bed with tears tracking their way down his face and into his beard. Cans of alcohol littered the floor, and you could smell the sickly-sweet stench from where you stood. You forgot the five years of silence in an instant and rushed to his side, sitting down next to him.

“Thor?” you managed, and he turned his tear-filled eyes on you. As he took in your worried face, his own crumpled and he began to sob anew, nearly falling into you as you wrapped your arms around him. You simply let him cry for a while, rubbing soothing circles on his back with your thumbs. Eventually, he sat back up, his motions slow and sad. “What is it?” you ask.

“Seeing my brother die—my home laid waste—how do I move past that? How can I live knowing what has happened? I was unable to save Loki or Asgard,” he said, his words falling with deadly conviction. His voice lowered even more as he finished. “I couldn’t—I couldn’t even save myself.”

“Oh, Thor,” you whispered. These five years must have been pure hell for him. His eyes were tortured as they looked into yours, and without thinking, you took his hand as you spoke.

“What you have witnessed will no doubt haunt you for the rest of your life. I say now as I did five years ago that while I mourn with you, I cannot fathom how deep your sorrow must be. I can tell it has plagued you these last five years, and I only wish I had tried to fix things earlier. Thor, you could not have done anything more to save our world and everyone in it. You may be a god, but that does not mean you do not have limits. You fought hard, my friend. And I am proud of you. I am.” He was watching you intently as you spoke, tears renewing themselves as you went on.

“But this—“ You motioned to the alcohol scattered around the room. “This is not like you. You do not deserve to fade away into nothing, brought down by your own devices. Instead, you must take your grief and rage and use it as motivation, use it to heal. Only then can you find within yourself what you so desperately need. And I will be here every step of the way to help you through.”

Thor’s eyes overflowed again, but this time you could sense relief radiating off him. He drew you in for another hug, and you held him tight, knowing this is what he had needed to hear all this time. “Thank you, my friend,” he whispered in your ear.

“I am happy to do it, Thor. I would do anything to help you,” you told him sincerely.

“I must also apologize from the depths of my heart for shutting you out. The only thing my actions accomplished was create more hurt for both of us. I needed you by my side and instead I pushed you away.”

“It was only natural, Thor. You were grieving and were unsure of how to handle yourself. All is forgiven now,” you said, smiling at him. “Now, if you feel able, shall we go to the kitchen? I find that Midgardian food is most helpful in times like these.” You stood up, extending a hand to him.

And for the first time in five years, Thor felt hope coursing through him and found that he, too, was able to smile.

[speaknowslut13]

Hello honey bunches!

I am also dead after yesterday’s announcement akdhskhska Red was not at all what I was expecting to come next but I’m so excited! Red holds such a special place in my heart ugh 🥺 which songs are you most looking forward to??

Gross, I’m sorry to hear that the fire season is already bad there. It’s predicted to be a bad one in my home state too, but it usually doesn’t come in full force until august. I do not miss the smokiness at all. It hasn’t quite hit triple digits here yet, but close, and it’s so humid, I feel like the air is sticking to me. Hopefully it cools off just a bit soon for both our sakes!!

Awe that’s so cute! 🥺🥺

Well maybe I’ll take a dive into black panther this evening while I lay in front of my fan hahaha. Oh I didn’t realize Deadpool was marvel! I love that movie, Ryan Reynolds is *chef’s kiss*

The answer is NEVER to downsize books oml 😶😶 I have four bookshelves at my parents house, one at my friends house where I lived for five summers, and one where I currently live. Someday they will all be back with me, but that day is not today sadly

Awe okay love that! I’m happy for you that you’re all close 🥰 I don’t remember if I’ve mentioned but I have one younger sister and I miss her terribly.

Ohhh interesting! Coding goes way over my head, I’ve tried a few free online courses to like learn the basics but I just can’t quite seem to get there. I love watching resin pouring videos, it looks so cool! WhT kind of stuff would you want to make?

Okay but like it’s a fun poem. And that last stanza is really touching! Honestly if it speaks to you, why not want to have it read? Ahh sonnet 130. We spent probably too much time analyzing it in my Shakespeare class but I still can’t hate it because it’s so beautiful. I just finished “The Carrying” a collection by Ada Limón that was pretty good! Quotes from her work sometimes float around on here.

Satire is good when I like it and bad when I don’t, hope that helps 😌 A Modest Proposal is always a fun one to read, and as far as contemporary stuff goes, every once in awhile reductress has something good. That’s so funny about your husbands reaction tho hahahaha would’ve loved to have seen his face.

Ohhh that ones had been on my TBR for awhile, I read Daisy Jones & the Six by that same author and loved it, so your recommendation may have just bumped Seven Husbands up on the list!

What have you been up to over the weekend? And what’s your favorite flavor of ice cream? 🍦

Thanku for the flowers omg sunflowers are my favorite 🥺 here’s some back to you 🌹🌷🌻

During the actual school year, I work part time as an assistant English teacher at a high school/English lecturer at a college, right now I’m doing online tutoring! I definitely want to stay in education long term.

Sending you big hugs! Xoxo 💖 Drew

Hey Drew my dear! I’ve had time to process red being announced. I’m a little bummed because we have such a long wait. I fully anticipate being a complete wreck when it drops. I love almost all of red. I’m looking forward most to the unreleased tracks and that ten minute song we all know is all too well.

It was funny in ironic way that she described red as a heartbroken person. I was baffled when the academy told her it wasn’t cohesive enough to win Album of the Year. I’ve always argued that they missed the point. That grief isn’t traditionally sonically cohesive and that’s why it actually is sonically cohesive. Just not in the way they expect. She said it way better than I ever could though.

Ryan Reynolds is top tier amazing. Any movie he’s a part of I instantly like. I’m pretty sure Chase and I would both leave each other for him if he asked. No questions. And we’d both understand entirely. 😂

I need to get my hands on a copy of Daisy Jones and the Six. I want to read that one. But unfortunately, the public library and I aren’t on speaking terms and going and buying a book recently hasn’t been exactly easy. I can’t wait to go into a half price books again. I’m just waiting to do all the non necessary shopping. My daughter obviously isn’t Vaxxed yet. I’m hoping they approve the vaccine for her age group soon. 🤞🏻. I’m nervous to send her back to school in August. But it’s important. She’s on an IEP. So this last year has been rough on all of us. Now the district won’t offer online again so it’s in person or not at all.

Yay America! 🙃

We spent the weekend doing errands and swimming. I have a job interview this week. I haven’t worked in years but I feel like I need to again. There’s just multiple complicated facets to my life that I’m not sure how to juggle. Hopefully I will figure it out. Or it’ll be all for naught.

So I have a few favorites. Like coffee, orange sherbert, and chocolate. But I can’t eat any of them anymore. I have to avoid dairy. I can have a little dairy here and there but milk and ice cream irritate my digestive system too much anymore.

I love food. Love it. Salsa is amazing. Pizza. Wonderful. Spaghetti and marinara dishes are my entire world. Do you know what all that has in common? 🍅 in the last couple of years I’ve not only developed a slight dairy intolerance, but a tomato allergy and a gluten intolerance! I’m sad 😞 Tomato is in everything though. It’s like I can’t get away from it. It really sucks.

I 100 percent don’t recommend chronic illness. If I was leaving an Amazon review it would be one of those “have to give it one stars but it’s really zero” reviews.

Bless you, Drew. I admire anyone who educates. It’s a skill set that I have very little patience for. So anyone who can is like a god to me.

So my little ADD brain almost forgot to talk about the resin! It’s a cute little idea we have for Dungeons and Dragons. But I’d also like just to create all kinds of different things. Plus it’s an excellent reason to acquire a 3D printer.

Chase and I are trying to learn how to play DnD. He’s always been interested and I’ll follow him anywhere 🤷‍♀️ plus character creating is fun! When it comes down to the actual playing, I don’t know if I’ll enjoy it or not. But I’ll try almost anything once.

I hope your weekend was splendid and I can’t wait to hear back from you soon!

[rwbyremnants]

WARNINGS: anal plug, strap on sex. FALLINGPETALS(CinderRuby): making out. Aftercare cuddle puddle.

Hey all! Decided to update both this and "Princess And The Dragons", partly because PATD wasn't even updated correctly last time lol and partly to make up for not posting at all during November. More to come much sooner, we promise! Please visit our Carrd to stay up to date with us!

=Chapter 6

Seeing that her little puppy was spent, Winter grinned down at her. "So… did you have a good climax, Lady? Feeling all tingly?"

Very slowly, Ruby began to nod, grinning to herself contentedly. In truth, she was still seeing stars as she came down, and continued to bathe in the afterglow. Couldn’t even speak.

"Good. Now…. you can help me if you want or just relax and listen, but…" She bit her lip. "I'm not supposed to do this; it's not recommended for a Dom to confess to a sub, but I really need to get off. Immediately."

Even though she was still recovering, Ruby heard the plea. In fact, it filled her with delight, making her grin mischievously as she looked up to her Dom, and then reached out for the bag of goodies. "Let's see what we have here to help…"

A breathy little laugh escaped Winter as she watched Ruby inspecting the contents. "Oh, you might not even get that far; I'm pretty wet." Still, she was curious, so she only watched and waited to see what Ruby might come out with.

"Huh… You brought a few things tonight," she commented. One thing she brought into view for a moment was the choke collar, which was no doubt for her if they continued their pet play longer. Though she then placed that back down to bring up the other few items, such as a vibrator, then a glass tapered dildo, a regular dildo…

"Y'know what would be really cruel?" she asked, smirking lowly. "If there was a chastity belt in here…"

At that, Winter laughed, though her need still shone through the laughter. "Didn't think we'd need it here. And… I wouldn't let you put it on me, anyway. Remember, I… may be letting you get me off once, but I'm still the Dom tonight. I don't flip mid-scene."

"Fair enough…" The attempt at winding her up further was fruitless. But that didn't mean she was going to give up. She was going to help Winter, just like she first said she would. Looking back at the glass tapered dildo, she brought it into view. "These ones are more for butts, right?" she asked. "It’s so thin…"

Winter glanced at it, then laughed and fell backward. "Oh, I'd forgot I grabbed it! Yes… yes, it's for butts." Then she looked down at her again, curiously. "Did… you really want to stuff me? I was kidding before, but if you want to, by all means."

Ruby could only bite her lip nervously, looking back at the dildo again. It was certainly a lot harder than anything she had seen, completely solid. Even if she hadn't seen it herself, she was fairly sure Winter's backside could weather the treatment. After all, she said herself she had endured a lot of extremes.

"Do you want to?" she asked, holding it still. "I mean, you said you liked it."

"I do," Winter said, reaching down to slide off the bottom section of her outfit. She could have just shunted the crotch to one side, but it would have given too much interference. "Just remember how I… prepared you, and do the same for me."

"Like with the finger?" she asked. Although in that moment she looked back in the bag again for one important item. Something Winter remembered, but only seemed to have one pair of. "Oh… Gloves. Should I go bare?"

"You can reuse the other one of mine." She pointed to the pair lying on the floor. "It's only the outsides that have lube on them, so the insides should still keep your hands clean enough."

Picking up the one that had no lube present on its outside, Ruby soon slid it onto her left hand. The next task was to fetch the tube, and squeeze a small amount onto a couple of her fingers. "Oh… Do you want one or two to start? You're more used to it after all."

Both of Winter's eyes shot wide as she looked down at Ruby's face. "I… okay, you're new, it's fine. For future reference, though, you, um, can't really start with two. Or at least, it would be a pretty unique ass that could take two from the beginning."

Blushing up a storm once again, Ruby continued to coat just the one finger for a moment instead. "See, this is why I ask! I dunno if people can handle big things right away or need time, or what!"

"That's why all plugs taper," Winter laughed, but with Ruby, not at her. "To gently widen the sphincter. I mean, you can of course just ram anything in there regardless of size, but that leads to… well, let's not go down that road," she finished quietly, as if it were one she already had been down herself.

"Alright alright. Well… I think I'm ready, anyway." She displayed the thoroughly lubricated finger to get her attention again, shuffling toward her to sit at her side. "How are we gonna do this? Do you want me to sit by your side?"

"Wherever's comfortable," Winter sighed as she settled onto her back, easing her thighs apart so that Ruby could get a good view.

"Okay, right here is good." Looking down to the view below, Ruby was blushing at the sight. Winter was so wet! No wonder she was so desperate to finish, Ruby's actions had wound her up so much! Shuffling that bit further forward, she eased the finger inward…

Until it hit home, and began to circle the small ring just as she did. The effect was immediate; Winter sighed, stretching her limbs and allowing her eyes to close, obviously enjoying the advances. The muscle itself spasmed in response to Ruby's finger, a reflex more than a conscious action. In almost no time, Ruby was noticing her opening up. So much quicker and easier than she did. No doubt the sessions of doing this with other men, or even in her own time, helped. Testing the limits, she slowly pushed the finger inward more and more, testing her reaction.

"Mmmmhh, yes," she breathed softly. It wasn't quite the voice she had used when Ruby was going down on her, not that aroused and wanton, but darker, deeper. This was a woman who was most definitely at home enjoying the benefits of that orifice.

"Am I doing okay?" she asked, allowing the finger to delve in even further. What else did Winter try? That's right; she wriggled her finger as well. Curling her finger on occasion, she tested to see what effect it would have on her, lightly biting her lip in anticipation.

There was a shaky sigh this time, and Winter's stomach obviously flexed. "O-ohh, that's… well, look who's getting more adventurous!"

"So I'm doing good? That's… that's good." She grinned, now beginning to draw her finger back very slightly again. Once it was nearly out, she pushed it back inward again, at a slightly faster pace.

"Ohhh, YES! Ruby, you… really do learn fast, don't you?" Her thighs drifted yet further apart, prepared to weather the rough treatment from her sub. The smile on her face was elated, satisfied; there was no pretense about how much she wanted this.

Continuing to push her finger in and out, Ruby watched the reactions of her partner. She was so much more sure of herself than Ruby was, so much more pleased by everything. Pure entertainment.

After another minute or two, Winter licked her dry lips and breathed, "You… could either use two now, or… move on to that glass plug. Whichever you're more interested in."

But Ruby was still mesmerised by how easily her finger went in and out. It was oddly hypnotic to watch how the skin moved around her digit, dragging slightly with each exit. Eventually, she drew her finger out… only to add a second finger with it, gradually pushing it inside with her first one, and watching again how the skin adapted.

"A-aaaAAAHH! Oh yeah, wow, that's so much! Mmm…" Though she had seized, she then quickly fell back with her eyes half-open, just letting the sensation wash over her.

"Oh Winter… You look so good," she encouraged, continuing to push in and out of her body and widening her all the more. "How does this feel? Like… d-does it feel good?"

"It really does," Winter said in a voice of ill-concealed desire. "I've… loved having my ass played with for… years now." Then she smirked at the sub. "How does it feel for you, doing it to me?"

"It feels tight," she described to her, continuing to thrust her fingers in and out. "So very tight… No wonder you like this so much."

The Dom nodded down at her, flexing her hindmuscles around the two fingers so that Ruby could feel. "It's a powerful sensation… not quite like having my cunt touched, but still interesting. Still enjoyable for me."

"Like you have to tell me, after today!" She smiled, finally beginning to draw her fingers out slowly as she looked back to the glass tapered dildo. It was time. "Okay… Want me to do what you did? Quickly replace my fingers with the plug?"

"Yes," she said immediately. "The ass begins to close up if you don't act quickly, so then all that work your fingers did would go to waste. That's why I did it the way I did."

"Alright then. Let me just…. uh…." That was a dilemma. While she was holding two fingers still inside, she only had one hand to work with. And realised she had forgotten a crucial step. "I forgot to lube the dildo…"

Smiling sweetly, she said, "It's alright. Since we're not having a hardline session or anything, I can hold it while you lube it up. I don't mind."

Her hand raised, waiting. Passing it over to Winter, she took the lube in her hand once it was free, instead. With her help, she was able to squeeze a healthy amount onto the length of it, trying to coat as many of the ridges as possible. But that didn't mean she was going to stop teasing, and she began to wriggle her fingers inside the muscle again. Which nearly made Winter drop the implement, but she didn't; she was able to writhe under Ruby's ministrations and maintain her grip at the same time. Truly a woman who knew how to multitask.

But Ruby only smirked mischievously again when seeing how Winter was starting to struggle. Setting the lube to one side, she took the dildo from her. "You're really eager for this… Is it just because my finger is in your butt? Or me in general?"

"A… little of both," Winter replied breathlessly, smiling up at her sub as she began to shift her hips from side to side, just enough to increase the sensation. "You're learning so fast…"

It slightly tugged at Ruby's heart strings to hear. Especially when she had plans to be moving on soon to find a different Dom. She was yet to tell Winter that step. But she had to admit… "I have a great teacher." With another wriggle of her finger, she held the dildo close. "Okay, I'm gonna switch soon, ready?"

Nodding, the Dom looked up at her, eyes almost as challenging as they were full of desire. "I can take it."

"Okay. Here we… Go!" Within a few seconds, she drew her fingers back out again, and suddenly pushed the dildo up against her muscles instead. Just as easily, Winter’s body took it, accepting the first inch into her ass with no resistance. Just up to the same amount as her finger was in for now.

"OHHH!" It was almost more of a growl than a moan, and Winter sucked in air through her teeth afterward. But then she relaxed, eyes heavy-lidded as she grew more accustomed to the size and shape of it.

"There we go…" Mesmerised once more, Ruby watched as she pushed more of the object in, observing as her skin adapted to the various ridges of its shape. Once past the first one, she continued to push more, watching it widen over the changing surface .

"Oh… This is so weird… How does it feel? With all those waves?"

Tossing her head back and forth, Winter finally managed to concentrate enough to whisper, "So good… I… love this one." Her legs raised up, and one of the boot heels balanced on Ruby's shoulder, helping to open her up more to the efforts.

Grinning to herself, Ruby only continued to push it in further, watching in amazement as it went in and out, in and out. No wonder she liked this one, with the amount of ridges her body had to adapt to, it must feel a pure delight. With her free hand, she slowly stroked Winter's legs, trying to entice her all the more.

"W-wait," Winter breathed with a shaky laugh. "Mmm, that's really good, but… when you're through teasing me, you sh- you should leave it in."

"Leave it- o-oh…." Pausing for a moment, but still holding one end to make sure it didn't go anywhere, she double checked. "Are you sure? I mean, what if it gets stuck or something?"

Again, Winter laughed. "That's the idea. It's called a 'plug' for a reason, you know." Then she licked her lips. "And I can get it out later, don't worry."

"Oh… I'm an idiot," she quietly chastised herself, looking downward in embarrassment. But thankfully, Winter never held it against her, so she simply got right back to work. Pushing the end of it further and further in, she watched the rest of it's length sink inside, until…

It was fully inside, sitting easily within her. The sigh was not just one of relief, it was also full of a deep contentment. This wasn't strange to Winter at all; she felt fully at home with a length of glass holding itself inside of her back door. Resting there, refusing to budge.

"Yes, Ruby… thank you."

"Wow… you took it so easy…" Though realising that could possibly have a rude implication, she suddenly stuttered instead, holding a hand up. "I-I mean as in, you must really enjoy this! Gosh… do you prefer this to the… status quo?"

"Not necessarily," Winter sighed, shifting her hips from side to side. "But I do enjoy it quite a lot, to be sure. It's… comforting, and exciting at the same time. That probably sounds ridiculous, though."

"No no, I think I get it…" Though she tilted her head, observing the flared end of the plug that was still poking out of her. "At least… I might get it. Eventually… I'll bet if you said it to Blake or whoever else goes here, they'll get it." Unable to help herself, she reached down toward the base again. And gave one end a rather firm poke. "So you don't want it going in and out?"

Though Winter did shiver, she answered easily enough, "Not now that it's firmly in there. Although… I wanted to ask if you wanted to try something else. You can say no, if you like; not a problem."

"What is it?" She tilted her head, curious to see what else Winter had planned for their venture.

"Do you want to fuck me?"

Although her cheeks flushed red once more, she had to ask, "That's not what I'm doing?"

"Well, you are," Winter went on, hips still shifting back and forth slightly, the wetness of her lower lips catching the light. "But… I meant with either one of those dildoes, or the strap-on. Really fuck me hard. I'm primed and ready, and this will be an easy opportunity for you to check this experience off your list."

Suddenly the poor sub’s eyes snapped open wide. Winter hadn't even used the strap on for her at all yet, but now she was asking Ruby to use it? The tables really had turned this evening! "Wow… I-I mean… I would but.. a-are you sure? Can you handle that?"

All Winter did by way of response was raise an eyebrow.

"Well… Okay so you've handled more than that… dumb Ruby." But again, Ruby hesitated. She only looked at the bag for a while longer, continuing to debate. "Are you completely sure? Cause I mean… I'm a sub, doesn't this change the role?"

"Haven't you ever heard of a 'power bottom'?" Winter laughed. "But honestly, I'm just… so hot right now, I couldn't care less. Plus, the whole point of this arrangement is to show you how things work. Even if it's by you being on top. We can switch roles another time."

"Wow… you really want me to do this." She looked down at Winter's form again, and to the wetness between her legs. It was true, she was truly aching to be fucked, and fucked hard. How could she ever resist? So Ruby fetched the bag, rummaging through the items to pull out the strap on. "Well, guess I can't disappoint!"

The grin from the Dom was wide and eager. "Ohhh, yes. Yes, that definitely won't disappoint me in the slightest." Then she said much more reasonably, "And you won't, even if you're 'not good' at first; this is a teaching session now. I'll help you learn what to do and where to do it."

"Well, I'd better get this on, then." Giving herself a small nod of reassurance, she slid her legs through the straps, pulling the device up her legs as though it was a pair of underwear. Once at the top, she reached to tighten it in place, and then sat back to look at the new, large presence between her legs.

"J-just so you know…" She swallowed. The sheer size of it! And Winter wanted her to use this on her! The tables truly had turned completely, and Ruby's cheeks only got brighter. "I mean, it's probably obvious, b-but I've never used one of these before."

Since they had already discussed Ruby's inexperience, all Winter did was let out a small gasp of mock-surprise, one dainty, leather-covered hand at her mouth. To which in response, Ruby scowled, pulling up the sides again just to make sure it was fully in line.

"Ha-hah, very funny." Gently lowering Winter's leg from her shoulder, she shuffled over to change her position. Instead, she climbed on top of her, lining up the end of the shaft with the entrance to her sex. And for a moment longer, she teased again, brushing it right against the folds.

"Ohhhhh," Winter cooed, reaching up to perch her hands on Ruby's shoulders as she was ground against. "Mmmm, yeah, I'm so ready…"

"I can almost feel you." And she could. The way the length so easily slipped and slid over the folds could be felt against the base, right up against her crotch. Winter was ready and waiting, and she didn't want to disappoint any longer. With one hand, she supported herself against the ground, making sure to keep herself a comfortable distance. And with the other, she held the length, moving and adjusting it until it lined up with her entrance.

And once there, she pushed it in.

"Mmhhhhh!" Winter moaned, back arching off the floor as she was breached, feeling it slide in fluidly all the way to the hilt. Ruby was certainly wasting no time! Her eyes flew wide open as she weathered the intensity of the sensations, felt her body stretch to readily, thirstily accept its entirety.

It was a strange sensation. Even though she couldn't feel the warmth around herself, it was almost as if she could feel how accepting Winter was of the length from how easy the movement was. Drawing her hips back once more, she pushed forward again and again, staring down at Winter's ice blue eyes to watch her reaction.

"F-fuck… FUCK!" Winter gasped as she was entered over and over, head thrown back and eyes wide. "I'm s-so… full! There's so much inside of me! Ruby!"

Ruby could only move her hands to Winter's shoulders instead, holding her in support as she continued to fuck her harder and faster. Now that she knew Winter could handle all this, and practically feel herself that she was welcoming it, she was confident enough to pick up the pace. Already her own breath was peaking as she grinned; she knew she was doing a good job.

Very quickly, it became apparent that the Dom was becoming a complete mess. Thrashing back and forth, legs widening and breath coming faster. Even her tongue was hanging out by that point, so complete was her inability to articulate what was happening to her at her apprentice’s whim. And Ruby noticed, and could only smirk to herself. No wonder this was a position of power that Winter enjoyed on a few occasions; seeing someone come undone through the mere movement of her hips was astounding.

Testing how far Winter would let her get away with it, she whispered, "Look at you… pretty much sweating bullets down there." She leant in toward her further, continuing the brutal pace. "I'm driving you crazy, aren't I? Crazier than you've ever felt?"

The smile she shot Ruby was a deeply satisfied one; a fierce look of pride. Then she moaned, "Ohhhh, YES! Driving me insane! And I want more of it - more of you! Torture my cunt, it n-needs you!"

It was so strange to hear Winter talking so unhinged and eager. Especially when before she was so calm and composed in comparison. The fiercely blushing Ruby could only give in, trying to give her exactly what she wanted. Using Winter's shoulders for leverage, she pushed her firmly against the ground as she gave it her all, continually pounding that tight sex of hers with as much energy and speed as she could muster. She was determined to get Winter off no matter what.

Again, her head fell back and she allowed her mouth to hang open as Ruby ramped up her speed, as the friction inside her wet sex grew until she couldn't stand it – and she put up with even more, let her keep going. The climax was nearing, it was almost there! Meanwhile, her other two hands came up to touch lightly against Ruby's forearms, as if completing a circuit between them.

"Don't hold back," her sub begged, continuing to thrust hard while panting for her own breath. "Come… l-like I did for you! I wanna… make you come!"

All Winter could do was nod, not even able to form a coherent response. Digging in with her nails, she moaned, arching her back…

And felt pleasure explode within her. The twin sensations of being rammed into over and over while the presence in her ass maintained itself were too much, and she felt it running from tits to toes, screaming so much that it mixed with the echoes of the previous screams.

Incredible! Ruby could even feel her clamping onto it through the harness! Finally, she was sure she had given Winter an orgasm just as powerful as the ones she had given to her in the past, and all thanks to a simple plug in her rear end.

Talking of which; while she was still high from her gradually fading orgasm, she reached down to give it a very small tug against the muscles, hoping it would not only help loosen it for later, but make her high last that bit longer.

"O-ohhh!" Winter gasped out in surprise, spasming all over. "That's- Ruby, you kinky little puppy! Shit, that's so good, mmm…"

Not only did it make her sex clamp down again, but clearly, her hindmuscles were flexing against the other implement. Tugging at it yet again, she smirked. Having slowed her thrusting down to a complete stop, all she continued to do was tease with it, pulling and twisting in various ways. "Want me to take it out, Mistress?"

And her Dom smiled up at her, and delivered a somewhat unexpected response: "No."

"…Huh?" Immediately she tilted her head and raised an eyebrow, slowly bringing the length back out of her at least. Releasing the plug, she asked, "How come? I mean… you got what you wanted, right?"

"Because I want to wear it," Winter half-sighed with a small shiver from being exited… in one area, anyway. "It's… a symbol of pride, I suppose; from my sub's first time on top. Besides the fact that I enjoy the sensation, even beyond this main session."

"I… o-oh." Completely red, Ruby looked down at Winter wide-eyed. It had more or less become a souvenir of sorts, a symbol that Winter wanted to keep a part of her even when the session was over. That filled Ruby with more joy than she cared to admit in front of Winter.

But as well as that, it made what was possibly coming harder. When she had been so sure she was going to leave Winter tonight, try out a new Dom, she was now unsure. Everything about their evening had been wonderful, and she wasn't sure she would ever get that treatment from another. Nor did she want to hurt her Dom's feelings. Deciding it best to say nothing for tonight, she simply looked down at the harness, asking, "Then, do you mind if I take this off? It's… weird seeing myself with a dick."

That caused Winter to giggle, and she said, "Of course not, silly! And… we don't have to put it on you again, anyway. I just thought you might want the practice in case you were asked to in a future encounter." Sitting up at last, she added with a smirk, "And might I say, you did very well your first try. Very, very well."

The smile on Ruby’s face never faded, even as she slid the harness down her legs and off completely. Once that was done, she could finally zip back up the open bottom of her outfit, sealing it off completely from any potential further contact. She had been sated.

"I'm glad," she spoke with glee, holding the harness in her hand. "Is there anywhere we can wash this? It's obviously kinda… soggy."

"Oh, um, I usually have some grocery bags in there for that. You know, to keep whatever toy from dirtying everything else until we can wash it." Her smile turned cunning, even if clearly only teasing. "We could put the tail in there, or… give it another try…"

Right away, Ruby's face went red again. Eyes widening, she began to stutter all over again. "I-I… Uh…"

"Kidding, kidding! We'll try it again someday." Picking up the tail herself, she nipped it into one of the previously-crumpled plastic bags and tied it off. "There. Out of sight, out of mind."

Put at ease by Winter's insistence, she smiled joyfully, grabbing one of the bags for herself to put the harness and strap on inside and nip it back into the bag of tricks. "So, I was thinking about having a look around… like, get to know a few more people, maybe even some of the other subs?"

"Oh?" Winter looked vaguely disappointed, but not to the point of sadness or anything. Smiling, she picked up the sack as she pushed to standing, wincing a little from the plug still lodged in her body. "Y-yes, that's fine. I might see about joining Glynda in the tub, or just look in on the other rooms. Um… can you hand me the bottom half of this getup? Bending over right now would be… difficult."

"Huh? Oh! Right." It was very tempting for Ruby to simply ask her to bend over regardless, but that would be too cruel. Fetching the leather underwear from where she threw them, she assisted in putting them on so she wouldn't be too uncomfortable. "Are you sure you wanna walk around the club with… that in you?"

"Wouldn't be the first time," she chuckled, adjusting the garment and shivering now and again. "Mmhhh… yes, that's quite nice." Noticing Ruby's dazed expression, she dipped her head slightly. "Sorry, you… I suppose you didn't want to see your Dom doing anything subby, did you? That's my fault. But once you didn't want to take the plug, things sort of naturally became less about scenes and more about just, playing around. Right?"

"Yeah… Yeah exactly." And she had to admit, although it was unusual to find her Dom in such a reverse of circumstances, it did get her rather hot under the expensive collar. Which made her remember, she was still in the pet play outfit. "Am I allowed to walk around like this if I'm not playing?"

"Of course! Whatever makes you comfortable." Then she shrugged and added, "It's not as if you have anything else to wear in here. So, unless you're ready to go streaking…"

"NO! Nope, I-I'm good! I just… yeah, just wondered." Shrugging herself, she headed to the door instead, holding her hand on the handle to be ready to leave. "I guess I'll meet up with you later when it's time to go?"

Waving with a pleasant expression, she replied, “Yep! I’ll see you around the club!”

"Have fun with Glynda!" That was the last thing she said before she shut the door behind her.

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

Well, you wussed out of that one…

That was the unfortunate train of thought Ruby was riding once she started to head back down the stairs to the main scene room again. She didn't even check to see if anyone else had left the viewing windows open just yet, as she was more interested in finding someone else to play with. Something to distract her from thinking she had failed.

Maybe it'll be easier to tell her over lunch or something, she thought, re-entering the scene room. Probably for the best, then there's no awkwardness of doing it right after we screwed. Like, who does that, anyway?! Super mean!

However, that train of thought was cut off when she thought she heard someone calling out to her, and glanced around. “Yoohoo!” called the raven-haired woman from earlier, locks swooped down to cover one of her eyes as she waggled her fingers in Ruby’s direction. “Little puppy!”

Curiosity resurfaced again. Winter said she wasn't overly fond of this woman, and she had no idea why. But that didn't mean she couldn't be polite, at least. Smiling back warmly, she made her way across the room toward her, giving a shy wave back.

"H-Hi!"

"Are you lost?" One hand reached out, caressing Ruby's neck teasingly before it trailed down to lift the little metal tag to get a better look at it. "'Lady'? Where's your master?"

Ruby couldn't help but shudder at the soft fingers caressing her so soon after her orgasm. This Dom was very confident, possibly even moreso than Winter herself. Swallowing and trying to remain just as confident, she said, "Our session finished, so I guess I'm just… wandering around."

The woman smiled, and it was both indulgent and sinister in the same moment. Amazing how she could pull that off. "Your master seems to trust her puppy. Either that, or she doesn't take good enough care of you." Her index finger slipped underneath her sparkling collar, tugging Ruby forward by force. "I'm Cinderella."

Uncertain eyes stared back into the fiery amber ones of 'Cinderella'. She had to resist the temptation to quiver; that would be giving away too much of her personal feelings. "Nice to meet you." She tried to keep smiling, even though the woman could probably scent her fear. "I-I'm… Well, my name seems to be Lady right now."

"Yes, it is." The hand then ran down Ruby's chest, gliding over her hip and lingering there. "Lady, would you like to play with me? If your master is… otherwise occupied."

Her breathing had began to hitch up already. The overwhelming confidence was both scary… and very, very attractive. Cinderella was certainly going to throw her into the deep end, it seemed. That was what she wanted, right? Winter had 'trained' her to be ready for others, others who would be rougher and harsher. And there couldn't be a safer place to try in the middle of the Clamp.

"Y-Yeah," she at first muttered, but then instead spoke louder. "Yeah, why not?"

The woman's firm-looking lips stretched into a smile. "Good." Then she pulled her entire body close, flush up against her own. Her expression remained unchanged, as if she had done nothing out of the ordinary. "Do you do kissing in play?"

Kissing was something she knew how to do, and something she had the most confidence in. "Yeah… I can do that."

As it turned out, Cinderella didn't ask twice. Her lips crashed into Ruby's a moment later, kneading and suckling at the bottom one. They were far hungrier than Winter's tended to be, moved faster, pushed in harder.

"MFF!" Forced into a deep kiss, Ruby made sure to give back as good as she got. Gnawing and biting at times, she already felt the woman's tongue brushing against hers. The hands grasping at her shoulders pulled her in tight, and Ruby felt all of her methods of escape disappearing.

But it seemed this wasn't going to be a brief contact. The kiss stretched on for another ten seconds before a tongue began to press in between Ruby's lips, using no small amount of pressure to let its presence be known. Ruby only continued to try and give back, trying to grasp at her temporary partner's shoulders for purchase; that was until Cinderella grabbed them just as hard, pinning her hands down and out of the way so she was helpless. There was no stopping her tongue, it seemed, which slid between Ruby’s teeth and sought out her own, sliding over it greedily and taking as it pleased. The Dom’s body began to rub up and down very gently, the studs belting the woman’s slight bosom gouging at the sub’s through her furry suit.

"Hmmm… Mmm…" It was difficult to figure out whether or not Ruby was moaning in pleasure, or grunting from the sheer overstimulation. Probably both. Still, she was in no mood to fight it, and only continued to kiss back and indulge in the moment.

Little did she know their moment would be witnessed.

"Listen," Cinderella cooed at last when she drew away from Ruby's mouth, both of them panting. "If you don't have to go wag your tail for your owner, why don't you come upstairs with me? I bet I can housebreak you."

Wow, that was quick. Ruby was impressed with herself; she had managed to get herself another Dom to play with right away, and not even half an hour after her session! And yet…

Something was holding her back. She didn’t know why, but 'Lady' couldn't shake the feeling in her stomach that something was wrong with this sudden arrangement. While she felt needy and eager for the rough treatment, she was just as equally troubled by the actions, unsure of whether or not to take the offer. To disregard Winter’s warning.

"U-um… Well, I guess I c-could…"

The woman's smile was dark and pleased. "Excellent. I still have a room prepared from my last appointment. Care to step this way?"

But as they turned toward the staircase, they hadn't made it more than a single step when they saw both Winter and Blake Belladonna barring their way. The latter was wearing an outfit not unlike Ruby's, though it seemed to be that of a black cat with a grey underbelly, and black high heels with tufts of fur on top rather than paw-socks. A large golden jingle hung from her red collar. Somehow, none of that took away from the commanding, displeased expression on her face.

"Lady, heel," Winter commanded, pointing down at her own boots. She didn't take her eyes of Cinderella.

Ruby looked back and forth between her temporary master and Winter, with widened eyes and a slightly more fearful expression. Not from what Cinderella was about to do this time, but from fear of disappointing Winter herself. She didn't know what to do other than stand here, looking back and forth between the two.

"Clearly, she doesn't belong to you anymore," her new Dom purred silkily, reaching up to caress the back of Ruby's head. "Poor Princess… can't keep her pets in line."

"Lady," Winter said again, voice quick and razor-sharp, like the crack of a whip. "Heel."

Clearly this was more serious. Although she didn't want to insult a potential new Dom, she didn't want to anger Winter any further than she already was. Giving a pained smile to Cinderella in apology, she stepped forward to Winter – and as commanded, sank down to her knees once at her side.

"Good girl," she murmured. Then her eyes, flinty hard, raised up to glare at Cinderella, who was frowning with her arms folded over her chest now that she had lost her new plaything.

"What?"

"You know ‘what’. Sub-poaching is a pretty deceptive thing to do, and even worse when you know the other Dom wouldn't take kindly to it in this case."

Cinderella laughed, a low chuckle of derision. "And what makes you think you own this sub? What right do you have to her? We all know you're a mediocre Dom, at best; and she's a free woman."

"If being a mediocre Dom means you don't leave your subs in the cold when they need aftercare," Blake shot at the woman, "then I'd rather a mediocre one like Winter be on top of me than you any day."

Ruby was listening all along. Sub-poaching? So Winter really didn't want her to find anyone else from the sounds of it. Even if she wasn't feeling completely at ease by this mysterious woman's intentions, Winter wasn't even going to let her try for herself. They would be discussing that later for sure.

But when she heard the latter part, she froze up again. No one would really be that cruel, would they? Even though Ruby enjoyed cuddling after a session, surely not everyone wanted the same, right? It had to be a misunderstanding.

"H-hey, it's my fault. Don't blame her, I just wanted to see what she was doing."

"There, you see?" Cinderella agreed with her, spreading her hands wide. "Your little dog wanted to enjoy a turn with a more competent master, that's all. I wasn't going to steal her fro-"

"You were, and you know it," Winter growled, vibrating with anger even as she brushed her fingers along the crown of Ruby's head. "Everyone knows about your oily way of turning subs against their other Doms if you take a shine to them. You'd start small, just commenting on how I don't do this well, or how I'm 'too this' or 'too that', but… Lady, after a few sessions she would be telling you how I can't do those things at all in comparison to her. And before you know it, you're all alone in her house, sobbing because she pushed you somewhere you weren't ready, and all she'll do is order you to leave before you 'stain her carpet with such ugly tears'."

Beginning to listen that much more seriously, Ruby seemed to sink closer to the ground, hunching her shoulders again as she looked back to Cinder from Winter. While she wanted to experience another Dom, it seemed she had chosen the wrong one. The last thing she wanted was a session where she would be kicked out before she was ready.

Already feeling nervous again, she looked to the ground, and instead muttered, "I wanna go home now."

"We'll all go," Blake spoke up softly, still glaring at Cinderella.

"Fine," the raven-haired Dom snapped shortly. "She seems weak, anyway. You always prey on the weakest. I expect more strength from my subs - more than this, anyway." Turning toward the rest of the scene room, she cast back over her shoulder, "Let me know if you ever grow a spine, Lady."

That comment made her feel smaller than she could ever make herself physically. And it showed. All Lady could do was continue to stare at the ground with shrugged shoulders, unable to even bear looking up toward her master or Blake. She felt too humiliated.

The two upright women led the forlorn Ruby down the stairs and into the landing. However, instead of turning toward the bar, they went back to a door that was just past the two for the restrooms. Another set of stairs there led down into the basement - or, as Winter had called it earlier, the "recovery lounge".

"We'll spend a little time down here," Winter more muttered than said. "As long as we need."

Now that she was on her feet again, Ruby took a moment to take a good look around. The best word to describe it was soft. From one corner to the next, the ground was lined with mattresses and cushions, a softer, more welcoming service for people after a particularly hard session. On the floors were a few beanbags for people to sit and chat if a plush bed wasn't their preference. Thankfully, there were only a couple of people in the room to one side, so the area was mostly private.

"Anywhere you like," Winter said, standing just behind Ruby, a hand on her shoulder. "Take one of the beds, they're quite comfortable."

Ruby still wasn't up for speaking. She instead just nodded, wandering slowly toward the bed on the furthest side from the couple already present. There was plenty of room. Winter and Blake joined her, sitting on either side of her and gradually leaning her backward with their hands, supporting her back all the way until she was laying down. Then they curled around both of her sides, hands rubbing in small circles on her stomach. Neither of them spoke, only giving Ruby quiet comfort.

Though it was appreciated, Ruby still said nothing. She only continued to stare at the ceiling in deep thought. In a small amount of time, a lot had happened. She had a session, had been about to have another, only to learn that she had narrowly escaped a possibly scarring experience from a cruel Dom. But the thing that bothered her the most wasn't something that either of the two women would expect.

"Am I spineless?"

Both of them began to whisper and murmur things like "No, of course not" and "You're just fine" at once, neither of them making their voices very loud. It seemed to be that this wasn't their first visit to the lounge, and they had done similar for someone before – or had it done for them. It was a very comfortable atmosphere, with or without the two there to comfort her. That was probably why they were keeping their voices down, to maintain the soothing atmosphere.

Taking that into account, she continued in a much more hushed tone, "But… Cinderella said I was. Shouldn't I have just gone with her to prove I'm not?"

"Don't think that for a minute," Winter whispered softly as Blake snuggled her face between Ruby's neck and shoulder. "A spineless sub wouldn't have resisted the plug upstairs. You wanted to go with her to see what she could do for you, and… I'd like to think you didn't because you trust me more."

"I do trust you. But…" Seemed there wasn't much hiding of it anymore. Sighing, Ruby eventually looked down up at her. "Wasn't the point of our sessions that it’s training? Working myself up to more intense sessions so I'm ready for different Doms?"

"Of course. It's my fault for not elaborating when I told you she wasn't one you wanted to 'test' yourself with; I was hoping just telling you she was less than ideal would be enough, but from your perspective…" She sighed, snuggling closer. "I'm sorry."

"Is that stuff true?" That was something she wanted to get out of the way first. The other woman didn't exactly defend herself when the accusation was brought up, nor did she accept it fully. But still, Ruby had to know in a way that wasn't biased. "If I picked some other Dom and went upstairs with them, you would have been okay with that?"

Winter looked at her in some surprise at the near-accusation. "I would have. We always discussed that you would look around for more Doms, from day one. I think we did today, in fact, didn't we?"

"Well… I mentioned about coming downstairs to look around, but…" She found herself shrugging her shoulders. This was a slightly more awkward subject with Blake keeping them company. But she had to try her best. "I wasn't gonna tell you outta nowhere because I didn't know if you'd be offended if I did look…"

Even with Blake right there, she kissed Ruby's cheek tenderly. "I'm sorry if I made you feel that way, even inadvertently. Our agreement all along has been for me to train you, get your pretty feet wet. I…" Sighing, she glanced at Blake, indecisive for a moment, then went on boldly. "Perhaps you and I were doing a lot of sessions together, and I got used to having you around. Started thinking our arrangement might continue – but I didn't mean for you to think we were exclusive, or that I would stop you from trying out other Doms. I promise!"

Finally Ruby was starting to calm down again properly. Hearing that she hadn't offended Winter was such a relief to her that she couldn't even describe. And then there was how she felt about things. Winter clearly wanted their play to keep going, and enjoyed Ruby's company. She went out of her way to protect her, something that most Doms with their arrangement might not do. And even after she went against her wishes and approached Cinderella, she was still cuddling her, still kissing her face.

If she didn't know any better… she would consider Winter perhaps felt the same as her. Unable to help herself, she finally allowed herself to nuzzle against her master's side.

"There, there," Winter whispered, kissing the top of her head as Blake automatically curled around Ruby's back. "You haven't done anything wrong. I just had to order you back to me so you'd know I was very serious, that you needed to get away from her immediately so I could have time later to explain why."

Softly sniffling, Ruby pressed her face right into Winter's neck. While the furry outfit was warm enough, the warmth from the two women wrapped around her was more comforting than anything else she could think of. If only Penny were somewhere in this cuddling mix, then she would truly be in heaven.

"Is that what she did to you?" Ruby asked quietly. "I know you said you go for male doms, but… how do you know this?"

Winter grew silent. After a moment, Blake took up the slack, her hand coming up to caress Winter's shoulder as she spoke; offering comfort to two of them at once. "Most of us subs or switches have been burned by her at some point. If Glynda's upstairs, you should talk to her; she got a lot nastier with her than she did with the rest of us."

"You too?" Ruby managed to turn slightly to ask, blinking in surprise. So this woman had quite the reputation for wreaking havoc on her subs, and Blake and Winter had managed to spare her that fate. Still looking down toward bottom of the bed, she tried to look on the more humourous side. "Out of all the people here, I have to go and pick Cinderella, huh? Typical me."

The two taller women exchanged a glance. Then Winter asked very delicately, "Did you pick her, though? Did you really?"

"Well…" Looking back up nervously again, she shrugged her shoulders. "She called 'Puppy' and I came, I guess?"

"Exactly. Cin's always on the lookout for new subs; she knows no one here is going to recommend her to a sub. So she has to keep her eyes open, find one who looks new or inexperienced."

"A classic predator," Blake breathed. "And honestly, there are worse Doms, ones who don't go by the book… she's just too emotionally detached to be trusted."

Ruby squirmed. "So she does go by the book, is what you're saying? Just she misses the aftercare part?"

"That's about right," Winter said. "So if you're a five-star sub with a dozen years of servitude under your belt, you'll probably have a great experience with her. Otherwise…"

"Otherwise you'll find yourself sobbing on her doorstep if you ever have a moment where you can't continue," Blake said. "She's fine if you tell her you need a moment alone, even though she acts like you're 'weak' for doing so. But she will leave and come back. If you need the session to stop…"

"Prepare to be kicked out of her home, or the room if you're here. She's not kind about it in the slightest."

"That's putting it lightly."

The last words didn’t come from anyone in the bed. Those three were so busy in their cuddling they hadn't noticed Glynda was stood at the end of the mattress. Now dressed in a more suitable skirt, shirt and jacket combo, she had just come out from the changing rooms. Given that her hair was still wet, she hadn't long ago gotten out of the tub.

"If you're talking about who I think you're talking about," she added.

"Queen Bitch herself," Winter sighed, nodding both left and right. "Pick a side, any side."

"I'll stick with you, Princess. Not that I dislike you, Blake; very nice outfit, by the way." Setting her bag of belongings down at the end of the bed, she climbed onto it just behind Winter. Joining in with what seemed to be becoming a cuddle pile, she allowed her hand to slide across Winter's stomach as she nuzzled up to her from behind.

But as Ruby remained in her position, still occasionally pushing up to Winter while also smiling at the closeness of Blake, she tried to look to their new addition. What sort of stories could she tell? Did she even dare ask?

"You can have a turn now, if you want," Blake prompted with a slight smile. "We weren't going into detail. Or you don't have to if you're not comfortable, Snowmane."

"Yeah, they said you got burned more than they did,” Ruby uttered. “Did she just leave you without doing aftercare?"

The nervousness in her voice was something Glynda could clearly detect. Ruby didn't want to be asking her this anymore than she particularly wanted to answer. "Cinderella is a manipulative, unfeeling sociopath who gets a kick out of seeing others suffer. Both physically and emotionally. And while some people like to be on the receiving end of that, she has no respect for boundaries. She'll keep pushing and pushing and pushing until you're forced to use whatever humiliating phrase she gives you to make it stop."

The hand that wasn't on Winter's stomach took a handful of the plush surface on top of the mattress. All the other girls could do was listen. Blake and Winter had both heard the story before, but this was all new for their youngest friend.

"If she even acknowledges you say it. Sometimes, when you're at her house, she can have very selective hearing… It can take quite a few tries at saying ‘Uncle’ before she actually realises you can't go on anymore." Looking down in shame, she took a deep breath. "It took its toll on me, I couldn't come back into this building for weeks, let alone allow myself to trust another Dom after that."

"Which is why she’s been after me to Dom her for so long," Winter whispered, reaching over her shoulder to caress Glynda's head and cheek. "I have sort of a reputation as a 'soft Dom', that I don't push enough, don't get rough enough. That's fine with me, since I prefer being a sub in the first place, but… I expect that she wanted someone like me to help her get past the fear."

"In the end, it was you that convinced me to come back, and you recommended me a few other, more reputable switches later. Now I'm more or less back to how I was - a little wiser, of course."

What was more surprising for Ruby wasn't what Glynda had gone through, as unfortunate as it was; it was how Winter had seemed to go the extra mile to get her back to herself again. This time a few years ago, she and Blake saw firsthand what Winter's own actions almost did to a member of her family, who was also a member of the queer community. But now, in direct contrast, here she was getting involved with all different people, helping them heal from the scars that others had left them. It was a truly pleasant surprise, and one that could only make her smile.

"I'd rather have someone who knows what it's like on the sub-end than someone who's purely a Dom, anyway," Ruby whispered. Winter smiled down at her, kissing her cheek tenderly. Almost affectionately. Before she could speak, however, Blake cleared her throat.

"You know… I don't think I could do anything sexual, because of my past with your sister. But if you just wanted practice being a pet, um… I could take your leash a couple of times."

Managing to turn slightly just so she could look at Blake, there was a small, yet mischievous grin on her face. "Really? Wouldn't a cat walking a dog just be like, against some kinda natural law?"

"I didn't mean today," she chuckled, smiling fondly at her. "But hey, it's up to you. Just thought I'd offer."

"Or I could walk both of you," Winter said easily, purposefully tracing her index fingertip over both of their cheeks. "Has been quite some time since I've been in charge of more than one sub at once. Which, I know, defeats the purpose of you finding new Doms; just sounds like potential fun."

Yet again Ruby's cheeks were lighting up. There was the possibility of a threesome now? She didn't know how, if at all, she could handle that. Rather than give a straight answer, she instead nuzzled her head forward into Winter's neck, groaning in embarrassment.

"That is true," Blake said in a reasonable tone of voice, as if they were discussing the weather. "I said I wouldn't be too comfortable banging Ruby, not that we couldn't both be banged by the same person…"

Winter kissed Ruby's cheek again, very lovingly and sweet, even as she said, "Strap-on for her, my tongue for you… could be interesting. I do enjoy the occasional pussy."

Against Winter, Ruby could easily be heard chuckling faintly. It wasn't until Winter leant in to listen she could hear Ruby mumbling, "You're giving Yang a run for her money with that pun."

[neptuneskies91]

August third Prompt Serene.

EDIT: I completely forgot to add ages. Luna is 25/26- asra 23/24. Not gonna lie, I don’t know what the cannon ages are for Asra - some say he is like 26/28 at the beginning of the series and I am going with that cuz I write about adults.  A/N: This is set in pre-canon. The Prompt Serene.

No major triggers just the mention of minor characters fate's. This is domestic fluff with an ominous ending. (spoilers ((kinda?)) if you have not finished any routes). Rating is M for language, sexual themes, and minor character death. This is asraxmc (my mc Luna) Summary: Luna and Asra love each other and such love cannot even be stopped by death, right? “Fuck!” Luna keened as she finished her orgasm. She was on top of Asra, who beneath her was a panting mess of a person. His face flushed like hers and his breaths shallow as he praised her with breathless admiration. He finished a short minute later and sighed with her sweet nothings echoing in his mind. She got off of him and they got themselves under the sheets and Luna laid her head on his chest. Asra kissed the top of her head as they caught their breaths.

The outside world didn’t exist when she was here in her partner’s arms. The sun had begun to set, warm colors of the ended day streamed in through the hastily closed curtains. There was a serenity in their breathing syncing. The silver of her laugh and the gold of his smile. She was his moon and he was her sun. Why not have a little star or two around?  Their serenity happily broken by the pitter patter of little feet. Or the sticky fingers that poked their faces and smelled of the honey jar they stole into when their parents were occupied. Luna’s smile caused her cheeks to hurt. 

“The Masquerade is soon,” Asra broke the silence with his tender voice. “What should we dress up as this year?”

Luna was silent for awhile before she said her peace, “Actually, before we discuss this there is something else I- I have been meaning to ask.”

The stammer prompted Asra to rise onto his elbows and Luna sat up. The linen blanket pooled at her bare waist. She tossed back her long black curls and didn't dare meet him in the eyes. Asra frowned, “Luna, is everything alright? You're not shy.”

They both shared a chuckle. He took her fidgeting hand in his and rubbed the palm of her hand, he waited for her to be ready. Luna took a deep breath and said at last, “What if I didn't drink the tea?” she lazily pointed at the lukewarm tea nestled cozily in the saucer. “What if I didn't drink the tea for the next few times...what if I said I wanted to grow our family?”

Asra's face journey was a short one. There was first confusion, surprise, fear, concern and then excited. “Is this what you want?” He asked with a content smile, his warm skin tone contrasted beautifully with her cool skin tone as he cupped her cheek. She had averted away from him during his processing. They met again, purple with blue. “Yes, Its taken me several months- but you're all I have Asra. My aunt is dead- my sisters and brother are gone and probably dead, my parents as well- if I have anyone else, I wouldn't know. And you- well, hopefully they can get out soon.” Luna chewed on her lip, they didn't like to talk about Asra's parents.

Asra's gaze shifted to their hands between them in their laps. Their knees touched and her head went to his shoulder. He embraced her and rubbed her back, “I think, I might need some time to think about this, is that alright?”

Luna glanced back up at him with a shy smile, “Yes, I think that's fair- I did kind of spring this on you.” Luna reached over and drank down the tea in two long drinks and placed it back down. “It's not that I don't want a family, Luna, its just that I have not spent months thinking about this- I swirled it around once or twice but I never thought hard on it.”

Luna chuckled, “I think it's because I am a little older than you.”

“By a few years.”

“Ah, yes, but it can still make a difference.” “We will readdress this after the Masquerade.” They laughed, Asra laid back down and began to list off the animals they could go as this year. Even throwing in that Muriel might need help with his costume. His voice faded from her ears, becoming almost white noise, she looked at her deck. The Arcana was whispering to her. They sounded like they were fighting, some calling out for her attention and others bickering amongst themselves. Her eyes went back and forth from Asra's relaxed frame, his hands behind his head and eye dancing with delight and the ever growing noise from her deck.  Then she heard it. The skittering of ….beetles? Red began to grow in her peripherals as she stared at her deck. Her vision tunneled and all she saw was red seeping in around her deck. Her pulse quickened she smelled smoke and tasted iron. Asra's voice disappeared completely under the cacophony of the cards. Absentmindedly she rose from her love nest and went to the dilapidated dark stained wooden dresser and reached for the top of the deck. The MOON frowned up at her. She inhaled sharply- illusion, deception, difficult times, fear and hidden things. She was compelled to flip the next although she resisted but nonetheless she flipped over the next Card. The TOWER. Her hand shook above it. Tears welled in her eyes and cast off hotly down her cheeks. Danger, crisis, sudden change and destruction was all it said to her.

Luna hyperventilated. She resisted but her hand drew one last card. DEATH. She knew it didn't mean physical death but illness it said- an end and a failure. It was unbearable, she peeled herself away after she scattered the three cards. She turned away as the two cards on top of the deck called to her. She hit something warm that smelled of green and ginger tea. Asra, naked as the day they were born, held her close.

“Luna, you frightened me, what did they say.”

Luna shook her head in his embrace, his words were golden notes that cut through the skittering sounds of beetles and screams. She just buried herself into his embrace and he shushed her comfortingly.

[moononmyfloor]

Review: The Tyrant's Tomb by Rick Riordan

Thoughts on The Cover

Well, if you've seen my previous posts by now you'd know that I'm not a big fan of loud and action-packed covers. I prefer classy, if not always subtle. But you might like it! See, Reyna is owning the bigger portion of it, which is a nice change. :-)

Ok to Low Points

Halfway through the book, I was STILL unable to "get" into the story

Literally, not much was going on for 2/3 of the whole book, which is very surprising considering:

The time between the release dates of The Tyrant's Tomb and The Burning Maze is the longest as of yet. Whereas other books within a series have come out within twelve months of each other, these two books will be released within eighteen months of each other.

.....and that even the most boring books by Uncle Rick had some silver linings here and there to keep you engaged. Even The Dark Prophecy had the gang arrive and settle in Indianapolis, visit the zoo and free Griffins and REVISIT the emperor. Here? Apollo and Co. escorted Jason's hearse into Camp Jupiter in a frankly insulting manner(more about that later), Apollo got sick, we see that the noble prophecies are being tattooed on Tyson's back, Apollo and Co. went on a lil' trial quest and returned, Apollo got more sick.🤷‍♀️ I was so confused I opened the previous books to see how far those stories had progressed by midpoint.

It got slightly better later on, but it doesn't change the fact throughout the 1st half of the book I just kept on turning pages SIMPLY because I wanted it to get it on with and finish the story. Sad.

2. The so-called Tyrant

I didn't see much tyranny, like...only 3 pages were spent in the Tyrant's Tomb and his company, bad old Commodus and Caligula had more appearances than Tarquin who re-appeared in the very last chapters only to get immediately vanquished courtesy of Diana.....yeah. That's that.

3. How Jason's final voyage was depicted

Uncle Rick doesn't write emotional crying scenes well.

People talk about peeing and pop chewing gum bubbles while delivering the hearses of valued, honored characters.

And I seriously wonder in what position and condition poor Jason's body was after all the drama his coffin underwent.

And based on the spoilery lines(which sadly turned out to be not spoilers at all) we saw in the Magnus Chase series I thought we'd at least get a Percy-Annabeth cameo in this, that Jason will have more of his closest comrades mourning and sending him off. Nah. Nada. Not even a mention of Annabeth. Then why did Uncle Rick mention things like Annabeth and Percy being at California and even Magnus joining them at their time of crisis? Utter puzzlement. And we were also robbed of Nico's reaction to Jason's demise, considering how much Nico valued Jason as a brother-in-arms and a friend. Let's not even talk about Thalia. Why, Uncle Rick? :-(

Which brings us to...

4. Plot Inconsistencies

Why do I have to talk about this in each and every book? :-( Seriously, why would you write about Percy and Annabeth going to New Rome to attend college and being broken hearted over Jason DURING the period of Demigod communication malfunction, only to have us know they have YET to travel across the country and when we meet them again it would still be at New York? And now the communication is working, proving that Uncle Rick conveniently forgot about the clues he conveniently dropped.

AT LEAST I'm glad one thing is consistent in the Trials of Apollo series, that when Zeus decided they'll stop meddling too much in demigod affairs at the end of Heroes of Olympus, he meant it and now it's super duper hard to seek a god even for dire needs, no matter how wonderfully (ill)timed that decision was, costing lives of valued heroes.

5. The Haiku-titles weren't amusing at all this time.

I found one fun haiku .

O, blood moon rising

Take a rain check on doomsday

I’m stuck in traffic

6. The whole Apollo-Reyna debacle.

I would say Uncle Rick pulled a clever twist by turning fan theories on their heads here, but it too way more plot space than needed and when he got to the "Gotcha!" part, I was not feeling it. For YEARS now, we heard abut this no-mortal-no-demigod thing over and over, and fans predicted it might mean Apollo's the one for Reyna. And when it initially seemed like it was the route that Uncle Rick was indeed taking, the only thought that circulated inside my head was; "Reyna doesn't need this completely random and unwanted baggage! Give the girl a dam break!!" But then he was like; "Lol nooo. You kids are wrong", but STILL I was not happy...well, for obvious reasons.

What's the point of this whole plotline? So unnecessary. I mean, the fans always wondered WHY exactly would Reyna think she needs a partner in her life, but now I see Reyna might not have had time to contemplate her personal life logically like WE had what's with her dramatic life. Of course the shallow gods would think her heart was something to be "cured" and Reyna never stopped to think that it's quite the opposite till Apollo provided her with a breather and reason. And to answer why din't she choose to join Amazons instead of Hunters is probably that she wanted to be her own person and not be under her sis the Queen once again. She'd indeed have the freedom, calm and few friends so she wouldn't feel lonely and bored with the Hunt. She might even choose to leave Hunters after she found herself in her own time. I get it. But the way it was dragged and executed was meh.

If Uncle Rick intended this plotline of Reyna to be empowering for female readers, in my opinion it was not. Yes, even a badass girl could have weaknesses, not enough self-confidence and wobbly life choices, but Reyna took too much time with her "Eureka!" moment.

It was funny while it lasted, at least.

“Lester.” Reyna sighed. “What in Tartarus are you saying? I’m not in the mood for riddles.”

“That maybe I’m the answer,” I blurted. “To healing your heart. I could…you know, be your boyfriend. As Lester. If you wanted. You and me. You know, like…yeah.”

HAHAHAHA. That Totally came from the left field Lester, even for you.

“Your girlfriend was pregnant when you had her killed?” Reyna launched another kick at my face. I managed to dodge it, since I’d had a lot of practice cowering, but it hurt to know that this time she hadn’t been aiming at an incoming raven. Oh, no. She wanted to knock my teeth in.

“You suck,” Meg agreed.

I mean, if THIS is not the ultimate deal breaker then what is? Apollo might have changed for better by now, but it doesn't mean we can overlook what he did. I for one certainly don't need a loveline for him in this series. I'm glad Uncle Rick drew(or at least seemed to have) a clear line here.

High Points

It took half the page count even for Uncle Rick's special brand of snark to return. Nonetheless I managed to find some good ones. Which is what matters, right?

1.

“So,” I said, making a second attempt at nonchalance, “are you and Thalia, er…?”

Reyna raised an eyebrow. “Involved romantically?”

“Well, I just…I mean…Um…”

Oh, very smooth, Apollo. Have I mentioned I was once the god of poetry?

Reyna rolled her eyes. “If I had a denarius for every time I got that question…Aside from the fact that Thalia is in the Hunters, and thus sworn to celibacy…Why does a strong friendship always have to progress to romance?"

Preach, sister. But then again I would have to ask did YOU have to swear to celibacy to prove your independence....which is sort of the point🙄..

2.

Even when I was a god and could speak any language I wanted, I’d never sung well in Italian. I kept mixing it up with Latin, so I came off sounding like Julius Caesar with a head cold.

LOL

3.

It was time to be helpful. I needed to be repulsive for my friends!

Which you're most of the time...the latter sentence I mean.

4. Don't we all relate? 😂

“O protector of Rome!” I read aloud. “O insert name here!”

5. And one more.

I bet Gregorix was wishing he’d pursued that business degree his mom always wanted him to get. Being a barbarian bodyguard was mentally exhausting.

.

Heartrending quotes.

1.

This was the source of all our communications troubles—one sad, angry, forgotten little god.

2. This was the wisest quote I saw in the book. The simple indescribable deepness of letting go.

“Good-bye, Apollo,” said the Sibyl’s voice, clearer now. “I forgive you. Not because you deserve it. Not for your sake at all. But because I will not go into oblivion carrying hate when I can carry love.”

Even if I could’ve spoken, I wouldn’t have known what to say. I was in shock. Her tone asked for no reply, no apology. She didn’t need or want anything from me. It was almost as if I were the one being erased.

3. I was saddened to learn about Julia's untimely loss, but I'm sure everybody had a meltdown moment at the following scene.

The old god’s face hardened a bit more, which shouldn’t have been possible for stone. “I see. Well. I’ve concentrated the last bits of my power here, around Julia. They may destroy New Rome, but they will not harm this girl!”

“Or this statue!” said Julia.

4. Honestly? I too forgot until Apollo pointed it out and then I had *shivers*! They're one immediate family, grieving over one loss that affects all of them in various ways, and having mixed reactions about each others the members who survived!

I shivered. How easy it was to forget that this young woman was also my sister. And Jason was my brother. At one time, I would have discounted that connection. They’re just demigods, I would have said. Not really family.

Overall Conclusion

This is the most bored-outta-my-mind I felt after reading a PJO universe book. Am I finally growing out of the Percy Jackson and the Heroes of Olympus fandom? Oh dear, I hope not. I can't imagine living without it and I'm SO not happy with this new development. Just as I feared, Uncle Rick couldn't keep it up after the excellent Burning Maze and now.....please, for your fans' sake who had been loyal for years, I hope at least the final book delivers. Just so we could at least part ways/go dormant with pleasant sentiments and a content heart.🙆‍♀️

[uniformbravo]

a bunch of winter 2020 anime first impressions from Me

Koisuru Asteroid / Asteroid In Love

ok ive already professed my love for this one so i wont get too much into it but basically it’s Extremely cute & im way invested in the two (HOPEFULLY romantic) leads bc their relationship is so sweet so far aaaaaaa

like do u SEE this shit im actually tearing up hgnfhrognfghdjfnjg

this show is Pretty and Cute and Space-Themed and Probably Gay what more do u Need. i love it 10/10

Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!

so fucken good, this is the one i was most excited for based purely on the art style/animation and god did it deliver, everything is such a treat to look at i fuckin LOVE a setting w/ just as much personality as the characters

and My Goodness the Characters, 3 distinct girls w/ strong designs & personalities that aren’t like super moe/catered to cishet dudes heLLO

we Love a gremlin protag & her chaotic neutral best friend & the “fuck you dad i want to make anime” dreamer they meet........

also HELL YEAH it’s about making anime and they don’t even use that as a gimmicky set piece, the art is a huge part of the story and the detail with which it’s explored in the first ep gives me high hopes for the rest of the show aaaaa so excited to see where this one goes after that BANGER of a first episode

Jibaku Shounen Hanako-kun

switching gears to a less great one lol..... so the thing is this show’s visual aesthetic absolutely fucking slaps in a way that’s so rare to see in a sea of samey anime art styles, like the character designs are unique and everything is so damn colorful, the backgrounds alone blow me away w/ how fuckin Pretty they are??? LOOK at this shit

and just. this show has a lot of stylistic flourishes that make it like 100/100 Certified Good-To-Look-At Anime

which makes every other aspect of the show that much more disappointing lmaoooo like ok i can deal w/ a mediocre story if the visuals slap, which they Do, but also these characters look 10 & we’re doing the whole sexualizing minors thing which fucking BLOWS it’s so uncomfortable to watch........... i feel like it’s one of those things where they’re trying to justify it by being like “o well hanako’s like a thousand year old spirit or whatever so he’s not REALLY underage” but fuckin. fuck off he looks and sounds like a Young Boy yall know what ur doing ugh

it’s not a thing that happens Constantly throughout the episode, really just a few moments here and there, but it is in the op pretty prominently so i feel like it’s gonna be a Thing that keeps happening so idk if i’ll stick w/ this one in particular which is a Damn Shame bc it really is such a gorgeous looking show im mad

number24

ok ngl just from the character designs alone i rly didn’t think this one was gonna make as good a first impression as it did??? i guess the huge ensemble cast of pretty boys reminded me of last season’s actors: songs connection, which uh. was Not great,

so i went into it totally expecting it to be all shitty but it rly surprised me, i found it so intriguing? the characters are actually really endearing so far...... i love how it doesn’t try to shove the entire cast in our faces in the v first ep but instead starts out w/ a small handful and lets us spend a lil time w/ them while only giving assorted Hints and passing impressions of the others, that was nice

also love how very not “generic sports anime” it is right off the bat by dropping us right into the middle of these characters’ story instead of doing the whole “bright-eyed first year joins the team and fights his way to the top” sorta deal- which you’d think would be a confusing and awkwardly paced approach but in this case is handled surprisingly well, especially because it seems like it’s gonna have a lot more elements of a character drama than a straight up classic sports anime (which i am Super here for)

(there is a lot of rugby in the op though so we’ll see how things go, it’s only been 1 ep after all)

the air drop into the characters’ established lives makes introductions a lot more organic as well; since the characters are already familiar with each other we don’t have to sit around watching everyone introduce themselves to the protag, we get to infer their relationships and general opinions of each other through their various interactions & it’s a thousand times more engaging imo!!

i mean we do have this other first year joining as a manager and our protag did deliberately say he learned everyone’s names/info after deciding to become a manager so im sure we’ll be getting those character introductions anyway, but well. we’ll cross that bridge if/when we come to it

also i believe this takes place in college rather than high school?? i couldn’t pay attention to every detail but i definitely got that kind of vibe in which case Hell Yeah another welcome deviation from the norm babeeyyyy (i just checked and it Is college yeehaw)

basically what im saying is im tired of tropes & number24 just no clipped past the first 25 chapters of the sports anime formula and also it’s set in university AND it seems to be character-driven & im living thanks thank u

Pet

ok ill be honest i completely forgot that i watched this one lmaooo (which should give u a hint as to what i thought of it *thinking emoji*)

the art style’s whatever and the animation’s whatever, nothing special there. the show is like, dark?? more stupid than dark idk it feels a little bit “welcome to my twisted mind” but the twist is homophobia w/ a mild side of ableism, and also an entire episode of suspense wondering if im gonna have to watch this black side character die (he doesn’t, so there’s that at least)

honestly i cant even remember what drew me to this show enough to put it in my plan to watch, i guess the premise sounded interesting enough (something about controlling minds and erasing memories?), but mature psychological shows usually aren’t really my scene, especially when they’re executed.... Like That. i did kind of enjoy the twist at the end, mildly, though i feel like it was pretty obvious in hindsight and the only reason i didn’t see it coming is bc i can be astoundingly shortsighted when it comes to things like that (aka im DUMB)

since it took until the very end of the episode to Really introduce our dynamic duo tho, i feel like this ep was more of a prologue than anything and the Real show is gonna begin in ep 2, which is great n all but uh. idk if i care enough to give that a watch tbhhhh. i might just to see what the show has to offer but really truly honestly cant see myself sticking this one thru to the end lmao rip

--

hate to end on a bummer note like that but hey that’s all i got for this post ! i have more shit to watch so i’ll probably end up making like a part 2 w/ more impressions but this is getting long enough that it’s becoming kind of a pain to keep adding more so thats it for now boiyoeiyeoii

[chilly-territory]

Uchouten Kazoku 2, chapter 1 (part 3 out of 3)

This was chapter 1 out of 7 in total. As should be clear, the anime did make some changes; they’re not plot-impacting, but the novel definitely feels ‘fuller‘ and clearer, if you will. And yeah, I’m absolutely loving this novel, the writing style, the characters, everything.

The Eccentric Family: The Nidaime’s Homecoming (Uchouten Kazoku: Nidaime no Kichou) by Morimi Tomihiko

Chapter 1 (part 3/3, pages 52-67)

〇

I set my mind on visiting Akadama-sensei, currently working hard at his training, and delivering him some mamemochi [*1] as a sign of support.

That said, Kumogahata was awfully far away.

I planned to borrow my eldest brother's automated rickshaw for the trip, but my stingy brother just wouldn't give his permission. His reasoning was that Akadama-sensei in his seclusion was bound to be in a rotten mood, and it would be too late to cry if his precious rickshaw was to be accidentally smashed to smithereens in a misdirected explosion of sensei's anger. With no other choice, I went by bicycle, forced to pedal all the way, but the road was so long that soon I got fed up with it almost to death. I had lost count to how many times I had wanted to just wolf down the gift mamemochi and turn back as if nothing had happened.

Still, clenching my teeth and following the winding mountain trail, at long last I had arrived at my destination.

Since there was a tengu secluding himself in the mountains specifically to train, I was prepared for some great rumbling and shaking in the region, but Kumogahata's settlement looked peaceful as ever. Rays of the early summer sun shone through fresh verdure that the mountain hamlet was buried in and illuminated the vicinity, the old building of an elementary school and stone walls included, with the only loud sound coming from the water flowing in the irrigation channels leading to the plots of cultivated land. Time flowed sluggishly, like syrup.

I came as far as the branch office of the Kumogahata ward office and, slumping in the shade of a tree, took some rest.

Suddenly, a voice came from overhead.

"My, my, if it isn't Shimogamo Yasaburou."

I looked up in surprise and found a genteel elderly man in a white shirt coupled with a bolo tie sitting on the small concrete overhang of the branch office and slowly drinking grape-flavored Fanta. He was one of Akadama-sensei's few friends, Iwayasan Kinkoubou, running a used camera shop in the Nipponbashi neighborhood in Osaka after retirement.

"Oh, Kinkoubou-sama." I rose and bowed my head to him. "Did you come to see how Yakushibou's doing?" "Yes, sir. Seeing as I've found myself with a lot of free time on my hands." "Hahaha. Such a kind-hearted pupil, as always. Then let's go visit him together. We can climb to the tengu training ground from here."

In front of me were the steep stone steps leading to Kouunnji temple.

Following Kinkoubou, I started climbing them.

Rather than entering the temple's grounds, Kinkoubou proceeding along a small waterway on the left, setting foot in the mountains. Passing through a grove of trees glistening with new green, the waterway soon dived into the chilly cedar forest. Wherever you looked, all you would see were towering deep black cedar trees tearing into the very sky itself. The more the tranquil atmosphere of the small mountain hamlet receded, the more the solemn tengu presence grew.

A small gourd, dark brown in color, that hang at Iwayasan Kinkoubou's waist produced adorable little splish-splash sounds.

"It contains dragon water."

I knew that the area around Iwayasan-Shimyouin temple was the source of the Kamogawa river, but the fact that a few dragon stones were buried in the surrounding mountains was new to me. The liquid that seeped out of those stones was called dragon water and it was beloved by tengu and habitually used as an energy and vitality booster. What was in the gourd was collected for Akadama-sensei who intended to challenge the Nidaime to battle. It appeared that Kinkoubou had no slightest intention to try and stop this ongoing fight between Yakushibou Sr. and Yakushibou Jr.

"Tengu are creatures who know not how to settle things peacefully." "Good grief, both the father and the son are so equally difficult and ill-natured that I'm just stumped." "I'm thankful that you're worried about your mentor, but there is no need for tanuki to go as far as rack their brains on how to settle the fight between those two. Just let them do as they please."

We walked for about 15 minutes along the waterway until numerous fallen cedar trees, quite big at that, blocked our way on both sides. It was clearly a tengu's doing. Kinkoubou drew a seal in the air with his fingers and chanted some incantation, then made a gesture as if to open his linked hands, and the fallen trees rose one by one, clearing the path in front of us.

On the other end of the opened path was the tengu training ground.

On the clearing shaped like a footprint of a giant, in the part where the arch of the foot would be, there towered a lone enormous cedar with its top stabbing the sky. Beneath it was laid out the stale bedding specially brought here from the apartment behind the Demachi shopping arcade. Akadama-sensei, hugging a daruma in his lap, puffed on his tengu tobacco. For someone who had taken pains to seclude himself deep in the mountains, this sight hardly bespoke of any changes for the better.

Accepting the gourd with dragon water from Kinkoubou, sensei glanced at me.

"Yasaburou, what are you doing here?" "I was searching for tsuchinoko and got lost. This is mamemochi, a small present for you." "All you ever do is play around without a care in the world, huh."

At this point, sensei must have been aware that I, while knowing perfectly well about the Nidaime's return, had feigned ignorance. But with all the time that'd passed, he didn't throw a fit about it now.

"So... what is he up to?" "He keeps to himself at a hotel in Kawaramachi-oike." "Probably devising schemes upon schemes on how to cut off my head while I sleep. Mickle fails that fools think [*2]."

Akadama-sensei uncorked the gourd, gulped down the dragon water and wiped his mouth.

"That accursed fool. I see his bad habit of worrying about trifling things and straying off the path of sorcery is incurable. Nyoigadake Yakushibou neither hides nor runs! Time to do battle has cometh! Hi-hoo!" "He is not the same anymore, Yakushibou."

When Kinkoubou said that quietly, Akadama-sensei snorted and fell silent.

Back when I was a tiny little furball, Akadama-sensei would announce a so called extracurricular lesson, round up his tanuki pupils, toss them in a handbasket and fly to this tengu training ground. While the tanuki played in the grass-covered clearing, sensei smoked his tengu tobacco on the top of the massive cedar and amused the little tanuki by setting weirdly-shaped cloud afloat in the sky.

Seeing this cedar after such a long time made me feel nostalgic, and I slowly circled it. Because of its massiveness, the top was well out of sight. On its thick branches senjafuda [*3] were pasted here and there, as well as various other things lost or forgotten by tengu, such as sake bottles and onigawara tiles [*4] probably collected as a joke, with a discolored hand towel caught on a branch fluttering in the spring breeze.

When I was little, once, Akadama-sensei lost his temper and tied me to the top of this cedar as punishment. Forgetting all about me, sensei left, and I was left behind to sulk silently at the top of the cedar until my eldest brother came to get me.

When I narrated these memories, Akadama-sensei said, "Oh, I forgot that, I completely forgot that." "How awful of you to forget, sir." "Well, I used to tie up your father and before him his father, too, so how can I remember every one of you little critters?"

After a few moments, Akadama-sensei got up from his stale futon, gave the gourd a shake and approached the base of the cedar. Turning the gourd upside down, he let the dragon water flow until the gourd was empty.

"Are you sure?" asked Kinkoubou. "I've known this cedar for many years, so why not give it what's still left," sensei replied.

Sensei's profile as he poured the dragon water onto the roots of the cedar was full of dignity befitting a tengu by the name of Nyoigadake Yakushibou. It vividly reminded me of what sensei looked like in the past when he still reigned over Nyoigadake and spat on the world below in its entirety.

Pushing the now empty gourd back to Kinkoubou, Akadama-sensei took out a letter from his breast pocket. At first I mistook it for a love letter, but only until I saw the words 'letter of challenge' on it.

"Take this to him. Know that this is a honorable task."

I accepted the sealed envelop and prostrated myself.

"I, Shimogamo Yasaburou, am honored."

〇

I handed over Akadama-sensei's letter of challenge to the Nidaime in the lobby of the hotel in Kawaramachi-oike. Even as he accepted such a disturbing thing as the letter of challenge to an all-out duel from his own father, the Nidaime didn't so much as bat an eye, his face calm and indifferent as if what he'd just received was a routine mail order.

"I might go. I might not," the Nidaime said. " I would prefer for you not to assume I will."

In contrast to the Nidaime's apparent lack of motivation, the tanuki world met the news of a tengu duel with wild enthusiasm. Would Akadama-sensei win, like those hundred years ago, and kick the Nidaime out of Kyoto? Or would the Nidaime emerge victorious, carving a path to a new era open for tengu? Tanuki waited for the day of the duel with batted breath.

To begin with, tengu had always been creatures that peered down at the whole of creation from the pinnacle of haughtiness.

They were great because they were tengu, and tengu because they were great. According to the logic of tengu who carried all before them, the likes of tanuki were but furballs, the likes of humans but naked monkeys, and even all the other tengu but oneself were but paper tigers.

The only being of any importance between Heaven and Earth was oneself - that was what tengu were.

Consequently, a father was greater than his son, and a son greater than his father.

There was just no way this conflict could ever be settled peacefully.

〇

On the night of the duel, Akadama-sensei crawled with wobbling steps up and onto the main roof of the Minamiza theater.

From his wearing a hachimaki headband and a tasuki sash, it was evident that he was brimming with fighting spirit, but his swaying form crawling up the roof on all fours had not a drop of anything that made tengu tengu. To put it mildly, choosing the main roof of the Minamiza theater from which he had kicked down his son a hundred years prior as the location for the duel was a rush decision on his part. Still, sensei kept crawling on with indomitable drive, finally making it to the rooftop somehow.

"Freely flying through the sky is what defines a tengu, but... good grief."

Akadama-sensei sat down cross-legged and wiped the sweat, then lit up his tengu tobacco.

The night wind, cool and pleasant, dissipated the tendrils of the thick smoke.

From that spot, if you looked to the east, you would see the lights of Gion-Shijou stretching in a line like some sort of a night festival, and if you looked to the west, the radiance of Shijouoohashi and the downtown high-rise area would come into view.

From the rooftop of 'Restaurant Kikumi', located on the other side across Shijou-doori street, the night wind brought the delicious smell of cheerfully sizzling roasted meat. Its beer garden, illuminated with paper lanterns, was reserved exclusively for the Kurama tengu tonight, and it looked like the conference they were holding there, themed 'How to thoroughly mock and make fun of Yakushibou', had already opened and was well underway. They obviously planned to enjoy the show that was the duel between Akadama-sensei and the Nidaime from their box seats with a beer mug in hand. For to tengu, strife and duels were the best snack to go with their beer.

The Kurama tengu, bending over the railing of the beer garden and leaning far out into the space over Shijou-doori street, brandished folding fans and even a megaphone. "Yakushibou, fight without reserve!" "Leave it to us, we'll pick up your bones for you!" "Yeah, pick them up and throw them into the Kamogawa river after!" As they shouted these cheers no one asked for, the Kurama tengu clanged their beer mugs together, scattering beer foam and jeering loudly.

"You stupid little mountains acorns... Just you wait, one of these days, I'll drown you in Lake Biwa," sensei cursed through clenched teeth.

As a matter of fact, the Kurama tengu weren't the only ones burning with curiosity.

The area around Shijouoohashi bridge was teeming with innumerable tanuki who, shapeshifting into regular drunkards, gathered to watch how the duel would unfold. Even the Nise-emon Yasaka Heitarou accompanied by my brother Yaichirou were standing by somewhere in the vicinity of the bridge. Worth of mention was also the roof of 'Touka Saikan' on the opposite shore of Kamogawa shining bright with hanging lanterns, where Iwayasan Kinkoubou waited for his old friend's duel to end while drinking some aged Lao Jiu wine [*5] all by himself.

In due time, black from head to toe, the Nidaime descended down from the dark night sky, as if a drop of ink from a fountain pen. Putting a hand to the brim of his silk hat, he gave a shameless little bow to Akadama-sensei in greeting. And then spoke up in a manner of a total stranger just passing by.

"Good evening, elderly gentleman. What might you be doing in a place like this?" "I'm expecting some company." "What a coincidence. I am also expecting some company here." "...Who might you be waiting for?" "Someone quite worthless. I'd rather not speak of him." "Oh? Isn't that quite the coincidence. I'm waiting for someone equally worthless myself."

Akadama-sensei put out his tengu tobacco and stood up, wobbling precariously. Back still bent, he glowered at his son, laying eyes on him for the first time in a hundred years.

"That fool was my son and my student, but now he is neither. Barely halfway through his training, he did something as stupid as wasting time on a love affair and even defying me. How utterly deplorable for the man who was to eventually succeed someone as grand as myself and hold the world in his grasp, to be played by some little lass and stray from the path of sorcery. Since then he had disappeared without a word from him for all those years, and now, after all this time, he's suddenly back. Figuring he won't even have enough courage to show his face at my place, I took the initiative and sent him a letter of challenge. Thinking I might kick him down from here again," Akadama-sensei provoked, but the Nidaime said nothing, remaining unfazed.

The tengu father and son didn't move, only kept glaring at one another.

Soon, however, the Kurama tengu in the beer garden got tired of waiting. "Come on, come on!" "Hey, get to it already!" "Don't tell me you've made up!" "What friendly father and son!" they jeered and mocked.

The Nidaime raised a hand in a leather glove and took off his glamorously glittering silk hat.

Holding it to his chest, he made a quick motion that took only a moment, like praying to Heaven; without skipping a beat, he turned with a cold expression, facing the beer garden where the Kurama tengu were partying, and hurled his silk hat with ferocity. Apparently, that silk hat of his, intended for self-defense, was fashioned out of a shell for a cannon used in World War I. The silk hat smashed into the tables with deafening rumbling in its wake, silencing the Kurama tengu in one blow.

The Nidaime turned back around, tilting his head a little and fixing his hair with a theatrical gesture.

"If you think you can kick me down, by all means, try." "Rest assured, I shall. Prepare yourself."

What Akadama-sensei took out from his breast pocket then was the Fuujin-Raijin folding fan [*6].

〇

The Fuujin-Raijin folding fan was such a peerless fan that if you waved with one side of it, you could summon a gale, and if you waved with the other, you could produce a thunderstorm. Formerly, it was one of the seven tools of Nyoigadake Yakushibou, but in defiance of its value, sensei treated it roughly. When he presented it to Benten as what he called a 'commemoration of love' gift, he seriously pissed off both the tengu and the tanuki worlds, but last year, after much ado, the fan had returned to his possession.

As Akadama-sensei was at the present, he had no power to summon tengu winds. Even if he tried, pouring all of his might in it at that, it would be something like a spring breeze streaming across a field of blooming lotus flowers, capable of only gently fluttering the Nidaime's bangs at best. However, as long as he had the Fuujin-Raijin fan with him, even sensei could blow off the Minamiza without much trouble despite his old age.

"Say your prayers!" Akadama-sensei let out a thunderous shout and raised the fan overhead.

Only, the fan suddenly slipped out of sensei's fingers and flapped through the space toward the Kamogawa river. No matter how powerful a fan it was, it was completely useless unless you waved it. Akadama-sensei, panicking and trying to catch the fan that was being swept away, grabbed only at the empty air, losing his balance, falling with a thud and slipping off head first. The fan kept rolling down nimbly.

At this rate, the Fuujin-Raijin fan and our former mentor's life both would be in danger.

Appearing out of the dark, I dashed along the roof and, catching the fan, shoved it in a pocket, then took a firm hold of sensei and checked his slide.

Akadama-sensei got up silently and sat down next to me, crossing his legs.

There were tears in his eyes as he held his nose that he'd hit hard, but he didn't seem to have suffered any other injuries.

From above us the Nidaime's stern voice rained down.

"Is that you there, Yasaburou-kun?"

I immediately prostrated myself on the edge of the roof. "Shimogamo Yasaburou, at your service."

"What are you doing in a place like this?" "...Following the call of my idiot blood, I'm afraid." "So you came rushing to the rescue, huh," the Nidaime sighed. "Good grief, how truly foolish creatures tanuki are. I will admit that they are charming, but the fact that they are fools still stands irrefutably." "That is a rather tengu-like thing of you to say, Nidaime, sir." "I am not a tengu. What is a tengu? It's that senile old fool right there." The Nidaime pointed to Akadama-sensei with his chin. "After all his big talk, throwing his weight around and bragging about his magical powers, in the end, unable to even defend his own territory, he had been run out by the Kurama lot and forced to seclude himself in a filthy apartment for the likes of humans to live in. I'm sure even now he thinks of himself as great, when in reality he's but a laughable naked emperor. Incapable of making a single tengu whirlwind do his bidding, he can't even fly through the sky properly. What is he even capable of anymore? What truly meaningless and risible last days. This, however, is what a tengu is. What a tengu's ruin is. ....Aah, still, even knowing that, what a positively pathetic sight this is. To think you would still choose to live reliant on the pity of creatures such as tanuki." The Nidaime knitted his beautiful brows, gazing down at Akadama-sensei with cold eyes. "You should be ashamed. For shame!"

Probably unable to stomach the Nidaime's words, Akadama-sensei wobbled to his feet, pushed me aside and tried to crawl up the roof. Although slipping and sliding, after a few tries he managed to hold on feebly, then made another attempt to climb to the high place where the Nidaime stood.

Out of breath and with his white hair disheveled, he groaned out, "Don't you run away, just wait right there. I'll kick you down once again."

What the Nidaime haughtily peered down at in those moments from his high vantage point was not only his father frantically crawling up the roof, but also myself watching with batted breath, the city below and the masses wriggling and squirming in it - overlooking all of that at once. The only being of any importance between Heaven and Earth is I alone, his cold eyes were eloquently expressing. And I was enchanted with those glimpses of a dazzlingly blazing tengu beneath the veneer in the Nidaime who insisted he was 'not a tengu'.

Letting his white cheeks stretch in a derisive smile, the Nidaime said, "Oh, are you still not dead, father?"

Akadama-sensei replied through grinding teeth, "...If you want me dead, then try and kill me."

The Nidaime snorted with laughter at that. "You're not even worth killing. You can die in some ditch on your own somewhere, for all I care."

Not waiting for sensei to finish crawling up, the Nidaime jumped off the roof.

Easily leaping over the Kamogawa, he gave a slight bow to Iwayasan Kinkoubou sipping wine on the roof of 'Touka Saikan', then flew off into the sparkling night city.

Akadama-sensei could only watch him go with a gaping mouth.

And that was how the curtain fell on the tengu duel.

〇

"Good grief, he ran away again. What a pathetic fellow."

Akadama-sensei sat cross-legged in the middle of the roof and smoked his tengu tobacco, pleased expression on his face as if he'd just successfully finished a difficult task. I sank down to sit beside sensei, gazing absentmindedly at the brilliant radiance of the night city where the Nidaime flew off to and playing with the Fuujin-Raijin fan.

In due time, Akadama-sensei opened his mouth to say in an exasperated manner, "My goodness, what a tanuki you are, you seem to be positively everywhere." "I take the duty of being elusive and unpredictable close to heart."

Out of the blue, sensei asked, "Well?" and nudged my flank. "It's my victory, isn't it?" "...E-Erm, how did you come to the conclusion that you won, sir?" "If you can't understand, then there's no point talking to you."

Sensei watched the Kamogawa river beneath as it carried its waters from south to north, while puffing on his tobacco with satisfaction.

By the river, the noryouyuka cool-floor [*7] opened for operation, its night illumination casting phantasmagorical lights on the black surface of the water. It was a scene of a nighttime amusement that would suit Benten's taste perfectly.

My and sensei's thoughts seemed to coincide at that moment.

Looking toward the Kamogawa, sensei murmured suddenly, "I wonder where Benten is and what she's doing." "When she gets back - things will turn fun, for sure." "... Now, of all times, is really the time when that beauty should be here more than ever."

Sensei stared at the moon glittering in the night sky and said on a sigh, "How I want to see Benten. Oh how I long to see Benten."

T/N:

[*1] Mamemochi (豆餅): a rice cake with beans. Why did Yasaburou choose to bring mamemochi? Apparently, there is an old and popular wagashi shop (that is, specializing in traditional Japanese sweets), Demachi Futuba, located in the Demachi neighborhood which, in turn, is not far away from Shimogamo shrine. [*2] Mickle fails that fools think (下手な考え休むに似たり): this translation is not a widely used one, so just to elaborate a little if this is your first time seeing this proverb: basically, the sense here is along the lines of 'They to whom only bad ideas come might as well be asleep' and 'Inadequate ideas are worse than none at all'. [*3] Senjafuda (千社札) lit. thousand shrine tag: a name tag originally posted on shrine pillars by pilgrims (wiki) [*4] Onigawara tile (鬼瓦) lit. demon tile: ornamental roof tiles with oni/demons (wiki) [*5] Lao Jiu 老酒: a variety of rice-fermented traditional Chinese wines, a subtype of Shaoxing wine (wiki) [*6] Fuujin-Raijin (風神雷神): fuujin is lit. wind god and raijin is lit. thunder god [*7] Noryouyuka (納涼床): a wooden platform, a type of restaurant balcony overlooking the river for enjoying cool breezes, mainly in the evenings, laid out in summer (jp wiki)

[missnight0wl]

The class on Boggarts

Summary: The alternative version of the class from Y5Ch8.

Words: 1175

Autumn, 1988

When Rakepick called Helena to demonstrate Riddikulus charm, the Ravenclaw felt ill at first. She was fully aware that there’s no serious need to worry about Boggarts, however, the experience was still far from being pleasant. Nevertheless, she couldn’t refuse the challenge in front of everyone. Especially that it was just a regular Boggart – easy-peasy, compared to what she had faced in the Vault of Fear.

She stood up from her desk, tightening grasp on her wand. She pointed into the wooden chest and cast the spell: Alohomora! The lid opened immediately, and the Boggart emerged from the inside, quickly taking the form of Helena’s worst fear. She was expecting to see the Dark Lord, just like it had been during her third year, though this time it appeared very different.

A couple of feet in front of her was standing a boy, maybe a bit older than her. He was much taller, and his facial features were slightly sharper, but other than that, he and Helena looked quite alike. They had similar dark brown hair and exactly the same green eyes. The unsettling thing was his torn clothes, along with dirt and blood on his body. He was staring at the girl without blinking.

“It’s your fault, Ellie,” he said in a hollow voice.

All of that lasted probably just seconds, but for her, it seemed like an eternity. She was completely petrified. She forgot where she was and what she’s supposed to do. Before she knew it, the redhead Curse-Breaker stepped between her and the boy, which brought Helena back to the reality. She didn’t notice what happened to the Boggart afterwards, because she ran away from the classroom as fast as she could without tripping.

She shut the door behind her and tried to get possibly far away, yet she slid on the closest bench instead. Her body was shaking. She pressed her hands to the mouth to keep from retching. It was the first time she had seen her brother in over four years, first time so… closely. She knew it was just projection, but it still felt more real than her dreams or photographs.

As she was trying to calm down, she heard a familiar sound of heels in the corridor.

“How you’re feeling?” asked Rakepick with unusual concern in her voice, sitting next to her.

“I’m fine,” she replied huskily, staring at the ground.

“You should go to the Hospital Wing,” the professor remarked, but Helena shook her head. “Very well, then I’ll write you an excuse note for the rest of the day.”

“There’s no need, I said I’m fine.”

“I’ll give it to Miss Khanna so she could pass it to your teachers. Does it sound good?” Patricia ignored her protest entirely. She exhaled deeply and made a longer pause. “Go to your dorm, Helena.”

Madam Rakepick rarely used her first name, so it drew her attention. She looked at the teacher who got on her feet and simply walked away, leaving her student speechless. The girl hated to admit it, but for once she felt grateful that something was forced on her. She probably couldn’t face her classmates right now, not to mention focusing on the next Herbology. She was fairly sure Professor Sprout would understand her absence.

When she finally managed to reach the Ravenclaw Tower, she went straight to bed. She didn’t even bother to change her clothes or cover herself with a blanket, she just lay down on the back and closed her eyes. She might even fall asleep at some point, but then a memory of Jacob’s face came back to her. She lost track of time until Rowan eventually entered their room.

“How you’re doing?” she asked softly, sitting at the foot of Helena’s bed.

“Better.” The girl didn’t get up. She still felt weak, so she only curled up to see her companion better. “Were people talking?”

Rowan hesitated before answering. “You know how it is… But don’t worry about that,” she added hurriedly. “Rakepick told us that if we have any questions about this class, we can discuss it with her. And if she finds out that anyone talks about what happened, she’ll personally explain to them why discretion is essential in some situations. Poor Barnaby was upset that we won’t be able to do homework together.”

She smiled weakly, although it looked like her friend had only partially heard her. They both were silent for a while.

“He was right, y’know…” Helena said eventually.

Rowan glanced at her, confused. “Barnaby?” she asked dubiously.

“No, Jacob.”

“Helen… It wasn’t him, not really…” the fellow Ravenclaw started awkwardly.

“It’s all my fault, Rowan. Everything that’s happened with the Vaults since I got to Hogwarts, what’s still happening.”

“It’s not true. Come on, you can’t think like that.”

“Penny does,” Helena stated grimly.

A short nervous laugh came out of Rowan’s mouth. “What? What are you talking about?”

“She blames me for Beatrice. I saw it in her eyes after we found the portrait that night.”

“No,” Rowan shook her head firmly. “She was shocked and scared, it was her instinctive reaction. It doesn’t mean she blames you.”

“But she does, and she’s right.” Helena’s voice began to tremble. “I still see it every time she asks me about our progress and I don’t have any news. And it’s killing me how helpless I am…”

“Helen, just stop. You know it’s nothing like that, we all know that. Every time, it’s someone else tampering with the Vaults in the first place, and you’re the one saving Hogwarts from the curse…”

“Who exactly am I saving?” she interrupted sharply, much louder this time. She finally got up, sitting with her legs crossed, gazing at her roommate. “I took you to the first Vault when we were just twelve and totally unprepared! Then I put Bill in the same danger after barely meeting him! Ben went through hell because of me, and I didn’t even notice that something was wrong!” Helena was yelling at that point. “How can you say it’s not my fault?! If only I ignored that bloody ice as I was told, nothing of that would’ve happened!”

She hid her face in the hands, sobbing and shivering again.

“Yet, we’re still here,” Rowan said quietly. “Because it’s our decision. We want to help you, plus we’re doing something good for the whole school in the end. And you do it all to save your brother, doesn’t it matter anymore?”

“HE CAN BE DEAD BY NOW, ROWAN!” she cried out, raising her red eyes.

For the first time, she said those words out loud. It was painful and terrifying how probable they became because of that. None of the girls dared to speak afterwards when suddenly, the door to the dormitory opened once more. This time it was Tulip who entered. Judging by her expression, she had heard a big part of their conversation.

“Would you forgive yourself for giving up if he’s not, Helena Ellis?”

Of course she wouldn’t.

[shasta627]

Ship Appreciation Week Day 4: OTP ft. Gababel

So I realize Ship Appreciation week on Discord ended a few days ago, but because my profs like to give abundant amounts of homework, I haven’t been able to work on anything fandom related and am just now getting around to posting content. So without further do, here’s my late Valentine’s Day fic (inspired by a discussion I had with my gal @lovelyrugbee) about my favorite ship 😜

~♡~

The first wave of nausea hit before Isabel had even opened her eyes.

Her head was spinning the moment she sat up, and as soon as her feet hit the ground it was a race to the bathroom before her stomach decided to empty the contents of last night's supper out onto the floor. She reached the edge of the bathtub just in time to avoid having to clean up another revolting mess, unlike the first time this had happened.

Once her stomach had stopped flipping and trying to jump out of her throat, Isabel lifted a shaky hand to wipe her mouth, leaning back on the floor and resting her head against the cool wall.

She’d been getting sick like this for nearly a week now. At first she thought it was just a stomach bug, maybe food poisoning at the most, but other than the occasional dizziness, fatigue, and strange aversion to the smell of cheese, she was completely normal.

Well, except for the vomiting almost every morning.  

Isabel squeezed her eyes closed and tried to take a deep breath. Her stomach started turning again, but this time it wasn’t from the nausea. She knew the symptoms all too well, having read so much about them plus watching her sister go through it three times. The dizziness, tiredness, queasiness, late cycle, aching skin… Isabel had it all.

She took another deep breath. In through the nose, out through the mouth, she recited to herself, trying to calm her internal turmoil at the inevitable truth of what she was experiencing.

She tried to convince herself that she wasn’t pregnant. She couldn’t be pregnant. She wasn’t ready to have kids yet. She and Gabe had only been married for one month, and had been taking precautions against this very thing. How could this happen? Why was this happening? And to her, of all people?

Isabel furiously blinked her eyes, turning her gaze towards the ceiling as her hand subconsciously rested on her flat stomach. It wasn't that she didn't want kids, but there were so many things going on in her life, she didn't know if she could handle the responsibility of being a mother on top of it all.

Or if she would even be a good mother.

A small sob escaped Isabel's lips and the tears came soon after, painting her cheeks with wet streaks. She pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around herself, all her fears of being a parent finally bubbling up and spilling over the edge.

Ask her about the inverse function of the quadratic formula or the angle of the sun during the summer solstice and she could formulate the answer in a heartbeat. But when it came to raising kids? She could read every book on parenting ever written but still not know a clue about how to be a mother. It wasn't a skill she could study; it wasn't a problem she could solve with a little science, math, and ingenuity—and it truly terrified her.

And what would Gabe think?

The thought brought on a whole new onslaught of worries. It was always right after he left for his Captain of the Guard duties that she ended up getting sick, so he still had no clue about her predicament. Would he be disappointed? Happy? They had both agreed on having kids someday, but what was he going to think about having them so soon?

Stop worrying, this is ridiculous! Isabel mentally berated herself, hating at how pitiful and selfish she was acting, but the thought of her pathetic behavior only distressed her more, and she couldn't help but cry harder.

Her emotional breakdown lasted for only a minute before she heard the door to the bedroom open, and then it was only a matter of seconds before Gabe rushed into the bathroom, his expression panicked.

“Isa!” he exclaimed in concern, dropping to the floor beside her. “Isa what's wrong? Are you hurt? What happened?” He ran his hands over her, as though checking for wounds before he noticed the vomit still in the bathtub. “Oh, cariña, are you sick?”

Isabel shook her head no, then nodded, then shook her head again. She swiped furiously at her tears and tried to compose herself. “I'm—I'm fine,” she lied. She wasn't expecting him to find her like this, and wasn't sure if she was ready to tell him. She was still having trouble accepting it all herself.

But of course Gabe could tell something was off with her. He gently tucked her hair behind her ears and brushed away a few remnant tears. “Isa, what's wrong?” His voice still contained a hint of panic. “How sick are you?”

Isabel's stomach was turning with uncertainty. She had to tell him eventually, but was now the time? She evaded the question by asking him one instead. “What're you doing back here? I thought you left for work.”

“I did, but then forgot I was taking some new recruits out on horseback today and came back to our room to get my riding boots and heard you crying. Now Isa, please, what's wrong? Do I need to call a doctor?” He stood up as though he was going to run off and do just that.

Isabel quickly got to her feet and shook her head furiously, which then brought on another wave of nausea. She fell back onto the ground and threw up into the bathtub again, Gabe holding back her hair and gently rubbing her back the whole time. When she was done she gratefully accepted the clean towel he gave her to wipe her face, and then before she could think she blurted out, “I'm pregnant.”

Both of them froze at her words. Isabel bit her lip as she watched his face morph from confusion to pure shock.

“For—for real?” He finally managed to say, his eyes as wide as saucers. “You're, you're…” he trailed off as his eyes landed on her stomach, as though he'd be able to see a baby bump already.

“Yes,” Isabel confirmed, and then burst into tears again.

Gabe looked thoroughly alarmed at her reaction, but gently took her by the arm and led her out of the bathroom and to the edge of their bed. “Hey, hey, what's wrong? Isa, this is….amazing! Why are you upset?”

“Because we're not ready!” she tried to explain, cursing her wayward emotions. “We had a plan! Wait two years then we'd have kids. And this—this isn't going to plan! It's sudden and unpredictable and, and…” Isabel swallowed and took a deep breath, trying to steady her voice. “Gabe...I’m scared. What if I'm a horrible mom?” she admitted, meeting his eyes and revealing to him her most vulnerable fear.

“Isabel…” Gabe began, his voice soft and reassuring. He stepped forward to completely envelope her in his strong, secure arms, and Isabel sank into the hug, burying her face in his chest and squeezing him as tight as she could. She felt him press a kiss onto her hair, and the deep rumble in his chest as he spoke comforted her. “It’s natural to be scared, but don't think for a single moment that you're going to be a horrible mom.”

“But I already am,” she whispered, tears gathering in the corners of her eyes. “What kind of mother has an emotional breakdown at the realization that she's pregnant? I should be overjoyed, but I'm not because apparently all I can do is worry about myself!” she quietly sobbed, her voice muffled into Gabe's shirt. Though just saying the words and admitting to him her darkest thoughts offered her a bit of relief from the guilt that had been building up inside her all morning. She just hoped he wouldn't think too ill of her at her divulgence.

Gabe tightened his arms around her and began gently stroking her back. “Mi cielito, that doesn't make you a terrible mother—it makes you human,” Gabe assured, slightly pulling away and tilting her chin up so she could look him in the eye. “It's natural to be scared, but just because you're concerned about yourself and the future doesn't mean you'll love our child any less.”

He smiled widely, his eyes suddenly shining. “Our child,” he repeated softly, cupping her face with his hands. “Our child, Isa, we're—we're going to be parents!”

His excitement was infectious, and Isabel felt some of her apprehensions slowly fade away.

“Yeah, we are,” she quietly agreed. “But...what if something goes wrong with the pregnancy? What if I mess something up? What if—”

Her questions were cut off by Gabe’s lips pressed against her own. When he finally drew away he gently caressed her cheek, his forehead still pressed against hers. “It's okay. I'm scared too,” he told her. “But I promise, we're going to do this together. You won't be alone, mi amada. I'll be with you every step of the way.” He was staring at her with such a tender, affectionate expression, Isabel couldn't help but blush.

“Okay,” she said, more to reassure herself than to him, but he kissed her again anyway, an ardent kiss full of passion and happiness and excitement and every other unspoken emotion the two of them were experiencing.

“I love you,” Gabe whispered once they parted, planting a soft kiss on her cheek. “I love you,” he said again, kissing her nose this time. He proceeded to pepper kisses all across her face, and by the fifth ‘I love you,’ Isabel found herself grinning from ear to ear. Tears still coursed down her cheeks, but now they were from anticipation and happiness rather than just fear.

Gabe was right. She shouldn't worry so much. Sure, they were both scared and new to it all, but they would surely have help from Elena and everyone else to give them support.

They were in this together. Plan or no plan, as long as Gabe was by her side, she realized everything was going to be alright.

~♡~

8 Months Later…

“Twins! Twins! Who would've thought?” Elena quietly exclaimed in amusement as she stood with Mateo by the doorway. Both of them were watching Gabe and Isabel with fond expressions, remembering exactly what it was like to be parents for the first time.

Gabe was curled up next to Isabel on the bed, one arm wrapped around her shoulders while the other cradled a small bundle of blankets to his chest. Isabel was holding a similar bundle as she leaned into her husband's embrace, both of them completely enraptured by their two new baby boys, Dante and Damian.  

Mateo draped his arms around Elena from behind and rested his chin on top of her head, smiling at the happy couple. “If anyone can handle twins, it'll be them,” he reassured her with confidence.

Elena watched as Gabe leaned over to press an affectionate kiss to Isabel's forehead, quietly whispering to her before they shared a teary smile, turning back to gaze at their newborns with looks of pure love and adoration.

“Yeah,” she agreed, leaning back into Mateo's arms with a teary smile of her own. “They're going to be just fine.”

[ovmatt-blog]

Chapter 3-4. The Final Test

The Shard started exploding, its upper sharp petals blossoming out… I blinked, the Shard was an unblown bud as before. It must have been a trick of the heat – it was abnormally hot for September.

At six a.m. that day, I stepped off the coach’s last footboard and took a deep breath of London air. Having left the carriage, passengers were hurrying to the Tube. Smog-filled morning air was an intoxicating air of freedom for me. Varied smells, unfamiliar and habitual, of vapour and leather trunks, coal tar and cinnamon buns, rubber and expensive scent fragrances – all soared in the air and twined into one bewitching smell of railway station, which excited the passengers and promised to them the fulfilment of their secret wishes and hidden desires…

It was my first time in London, and as I had plenty of time before noon, I hung out in the centre, mingling with the crowds of tourists, gawking at the Eye, Big Ben and the Cucumber. Eating ice-cream, I let the Indian summer sun burn my arms.

I was hiding under the trees and squinting at the sun through the crown of green leaves, sitting on the grass in the park, when somebody said from behind, “I’m homeless!”

I jumped and spun around ready to face a filthy and smelly tramp. Instead, on a yoga mat, sat a guy in a neat business suit, gesturing heavily while talking to somebody invisible. Evidently, he was under constant pressure at work and removed his stress, talking to himself.

“Do you remember? Last April I was placed on a consulting project that required me to be in Edinburgh Monday to Friday every week for six months. Since then I was spending around 18 hours in my apartment in London every 30 days and it cost me over £2,000 a month! I decided to give up my apartment. And I don’t regret –”

I pricked up my ears. Consulting? And this is consultants’ habitual way of life?

He fell silent as if listening to somebody and after several seconds went on, “Because in summer I also didn’t leave in London. All the overtime that I did during the year equalled three months of vacation which I spent in Thailand.”

I twisted my head round. He wasn’t talking to himself? But to whom? And what device did he use?

“I can’t quit! If I leave in the middle of the project, my project manager would blow my brains out!” At that moment he lifted above the grass for an inch, still sitting cross-legged.

My jaw dropped. He’s levitating! Yogi! Illusionist!

Meanwhile the guy burst with anger, “But this nomadic life isn’t so very convenient! I have no place to stay in bed while I’m ill! And I have to store my personal belongings with friends, in my friends’ cars, in the luggage lockers at railway stations. Even my clothes are distributed among dry-cleaners throughout the country for storage…” At this place I stood up and relocated, as I couldn’t stand listening to him anymore…

…At a quarter to twelve I got off at Canary Wharf station and found myself in a world of glass. Reflecting the torrid sun’s rays, the crystal towers rocketed to the sky, higher and higher, their dazzling pearl spears tickling the bellies of fluffy clouds, casting jet shadows down on the stone pavement.

I needn’t have asked the way to Wight Tower. It stood out against the other skyscrapers with its white glass panes without any metallic shine, looking as if it had been enamelled. A few transparent exterior lifts were sliding along its convex smooth side, and white marble stairs, embedded between the lifts, were glittering under the sun, encased in glass.

I bent my head back and started counting the floors as I always did when I saw a skyscraper, “One, two, three, four, five, … , fifty!” Really, it was the tallest building I’d ever seen in my life. When I approached the glass doors, they opened automatically in front of me and let me in.

A gigantic oval lobby, all shining with white mat glass, marble and enamel, was absorbing a huge amount of light. The floor in the centre of its immense space was tiled in twelve concentric circles. I slowly moved across the complex pattern at the floor to the incredibly long crescent-shaped receptionist’s desk, occupied by three gorgeous receptionists. The ten yards high wall behind their backs was spotted with the posh nameplates of the companies that rented offices in the building.

I rapidly scanned the plates– there was only one name beginning with “M”, and it read MAGI. Standing there stunned, I was nearly gasping for air. MAGI! Unbelievable! Absolutely incredible! One of the Big Three! I remembered I had read about it in the Financial Times “…considered to be the most prestigious employer in the management consulting industry.” It couldn’t be true! Though… “MAGI was the first management consultancy to hire recent university graduates, rather than experienced managers.” But I had never graduated from university, still maybe the requirements for interns were different… The clock was ticking, noon was getting close and it was time to put my thinking cap on. I flickered diagonally over the nameplates once again. The names were arranged in alphabetical order, there was no place for mistakes… My heart thumping hard, I swallowed and took several steps forward, choosing the receptionist girl with classic��blond updo, dressed in a snow white blouse and grey office jacket.

She looked up when my shadow touched the tips of her fingers, fluttering above the keyboard.

“Hello, I’m Robin Orion, I came to…” I stumbled over the word “MAGI”. I would be making a fool of myself if it turned out I had completely misheard the name of the company. But the girl came to my help, “Do you have a meeting arranged?”

“Yeap, with Cassandra Lime.”

“Interview with MAGI HR, I see. One instant, Mr. Orion.” I couldn’t believe my ears. “Please, head to the lifts and go up to the 50th floor,” the girl took a plastic badge from her desk and handed it to me, “This is a guest card, put it close to the red circle of a turnstile reader. It will turn green and let you through.”

I went past security guards who kept loitering around, evidently having nothing to do. The waist-high glass turnstile gates slid open, letting me in and snapped locked again. Soon I found myself in the lift, crowded with people. I forgot to enter the necessary floor on the panel in the lobby but before I could start worrying about it, the sight of the open world took my breath away. I was like a dove, spreading its wings in flight above London – domes, roofs, globes, glass and stone, smooth glistening water surface… Was I the King of the World at that moment?

“At an OPEC meeting in Vienna, oil ministers decided to remove about 1.8 million barrels per day from the market… Yes, they will extend the cuts in oil output... I suppose, they should do this… When the members of the cartel use their foreign-currency reserves to plug holes in their budgets,” the voice of the oil broker intruded into my fairy flight. The doors imperceptibly opened and closed, letting the brokers, investment bankers and consultants in and out. Curiously, the MAGI office was located on the last floor.

Up, up we went and after we had passed the 45th floor, there remained only two of us in the lift, myself and a short robust fellow – blond-haired, blue-eyed, with a little blush in his cheeks, he was smiling permanently. He drew out of his pocket a striped handkerchief and wiped the droplets of sweat that clung to his forehead. Smiling to me, he asked, “Are you going to the 50th floor?”

“Yeap, to an interview at MAGI,” I answered automatically, all of a sudden having caught the glimpse of a ruby and a small metal ball, spinning slowly in the air near the corner of my eye. But when I turned to get a better look at them, they had vanished.

“What was it?” I asked the blond lad.

He looked to where I was pointing, “What do you mean? I see nothing…” and added, “by the way my name Celestine Clementine, but friends call me Tin-Tin.”

“Robin Orion. Pleased to meet you…”

But we were distracted from discussing flying objects, as the lift doors slid open, revealing to our eyes the white reception area with the MAGI name, designed in golden graceful letters on the wall, flanking the reception and shielded by the thick glass doors.

We knocked on the glass door, making the female receptionist raise her head and press the button at her desk. Glass doors clicked open and we entered. Celestine headed straight to the open-doored room where many young lads and ladies were already sitting in the row of chairs set in semicircles. In front of them was standing an almost bald man, crowned with two clouds of white hair on both sides of his bald patch. Round saucer-like eyes, dimples in his cheeks, a beak-like nose – he was the spitting image of Uncle Goose. He clicked his “beak”, stretched his neck and said, “My name is Mathew Johns, and I am the MAGI Managing director. You were invited to our premises to take the final test…”

I must get this job… I can’t lose it… It is the chance of a lifetime… If I fail to become management consultant…

I looked at my watch. Two minutes past twelve. Feeling really sick I staggered to the reception desk and asked the girl with diamond earrings and impeccable makeup, looking almost invisible, “Excuse me, can you show me where the men's room is? May I use it? I just need to go there.”

She raised her eyebrows and said, “Well, certainly, second on the left down the hall.”

I sprinted down the corridor and burst into the toilet… Soon I was washing my hands under the golden tap, looking in the mirror, foiled with leaves of gold and reflecting the pink marble sink and all the gorgeous luxury of the men’s room, when I heard strange subdued sounds, resembling howls. Hastily I pressed the tap and rushed out of the toilet…

Flakes of ash flew into my face and my breath grew heavy in my lungs as the heat was unbearable… And then my legs became rooted to the ground because a wall of fire was raging in the conference room packed with the candidates! Frightened to death and howling with pain, they were darting past the fire, trying to flee the blazing arms of … the flame ghosts! Grabbing the candidates by their hair, they were pushing them away and then chasing again those darting youngsters, burning their heels, outpacing them…

Unable to move, in deep shock I observed those fiery creatures, their plasma-like faces with distorted violent traits, changing constantly as the fiery waves ran across their bodies and stripes of white, red and orange flames wrung into tight knots at their solar plexus, their beefy torsos – the extensions of the flames. I was in a dream… A fantastic, irrational scene…

The receptionist girls typed on their keyboards, staring at the faint blue glim of the monitors as if nothing was happening. Meanwhile, the candidates were breaking through the fire cordon, elbowing their way to the lobby door which was flanked with MAGI consultants who were throwing pink and yellow soap bubbles, the size of footballs, into the runaways.

One of the consultants, a blond athlete, noticed me and shouted, “Why on earth do you stand there like a frozen statue? Don’t you see we can’t cope with them?” I turned my eyes to him.

“Yeah, you! Come on, come on! Run over here and help us!”

Staggering, I approached him. The athlete hastily shouted instructions to me, “Seize an oblivion sphere and throw it at a runaway! One for each of them! Or they will tell the whole world that they were offered a job at the company, that uses magic in consulting, and that they rejected the offer!”

Tottering woozily on the spot, I snatched a passing bubble and… A fuzzy figure of miniaturized Mathew Johns rose out inside it. I held it to my face and heard him speak in a ghostly voice, “Your result is thirty two marks, while the passing rate is thirty six… You can apply to MAGI again next year…”

Scared, I dropped the sphere and it slightly hit one of the runaways in his head. And in the twinkling of an eye, the fellow broke from a gallop into a trot and reached the exit at a steady pace, though looking a bit depressed. I looked around and noticed that after the bubbles hit their heads, the candidates changed from darting to draggling themselves to the lifts with downcast faces. Well, I could only guess that the soap bubbles were some kind of brainwashing tool.

The blond athlete who had engaged me in this brain-wiping, tapped me on my shoulder, “You must have been one of the summer interns, kid? There were fewer cowards among your fellows. These autumn recruits are more similar to a bunch of snot sprogs than to future Wizards and Fays.” He abruptly turned to the side and cried out, “We’re done, Mathew!” and waved his hand to the Director who nodded in reply…

Everything was finished. The river of multi-coloured soap bubbles was flowing across the white floor, extinguishing the last flamelets. Celestine, his eyebrows and hair singed, was standing in the doors of the conference room with the most stupid expression. It seemed he still hadn’t realized what had happened.

Mathew put his heavy arm on his shoulders and said, looking at me for some reason, “Okay, guys, congratulations on making the right decision and passing the final test! I don’t doubt that joining the ranks of consultants is the start of your great careers at MAGI! I won’t go into detail, but you’re tough. Not being afraid of fiery beasts, that means a lot… Let me shake your hands, lads… Don’t forget that tomorrow you have a meeting with our HR, er, to sort the formalities out…”

The soap bubbles were soaring in the air and the receptionists were turning them into balloons with a wave of the hand. Soon the multitude of pink, golden and silver balloons were squeezing tightly beneath the ceiling and all around the hall. More and more consultants were arriving to the floor, clapping and shouting cheers. Soon, a celebration party was in full swing and Celestine and I were surrounded by a mob of people congratulating us. The din was deafening. From all sides wafted the names of our newly-acquired colleagues: “Colin”, “Isabelle”, “Ray”, “Timothy”! Guys were shaking hands with me and girls were patting me on my arm. Squeezed by the crowd, I stood on tiptoes and twisted my head round, looking for the Apollo-like guy who had helped me so much. But I could not see him.

Crystal glasses were hovering under the balloons and champagne sparkled inside them, frothing up and overflowing the glasses. Mathew raised his glass to us, and everyone shouted to us a triumphant “Cheers to the newcomers!”

 Chapter 4. Bilberry Queen  

A double-decker bus arrived at the bus stop near Wight Tower and people, dodging from the blasts of wind, streamed inside its warmth. The faces of the passengers were blurred by the rain, trickling down the glass windows, illuminated by the interior light. At last the bus left, leaving me again all alone at the stop. I had been sheltering from the wind behind the glass side of the bus shelter for already an hour, not knowing where to go and slowly freezing.

Cassandra must have confused the dates of the meeting with MAGI HR and, correspondingly, the question of the relocation allowance disbursement remained in the air as unsettled. Consequently right now I was facing a very tricky issue – where to go with five pounds in my pockets. The scenes flickered in my eyes – flick – a railway station, flick – a round-the-clock supermarket, flick – an internet cafe. I could not choose among the options or determine the best one and then the scenes again were flickering in my eyes. I had to spend the night somewhere, as tomorrow I would get the relocation allowance.

You will ask me, why haven’t I slipped off that madhouse which was concealing hind the golden letters of MAGI name? What were they? A secret sect of exotic fanatics and slick illusionists performing neat tricks in the astonished public eye? Or did they really know something beyond ordinary human consciousness? But in fact I didn’t care. I was in need of a job. And I got one. And whatever tricks they were inventing there, it was fine by me…

It was drizzling all the time, the staccato of the rain pattering the water in the puddles and the gusts of wind spilling the puddles from their borders. The dusk was advancing on steadily when a young lad in a grey hooded sweatshirt and a red baseball cap casting a thick shadow over his face, broke my solitude.

We were the only two at the bus shelter, the lad looking now and then at his watch, shifting from one foot to the other. After twenty minutes of waiting he muttered under his breath, “Why, the bus to Norchester must have been cancelled,” and went along the pavement. But then all of a sudden he turned around and said to me, “They have cancelled the last bus to Norchester. Do you have somewhere to go?”

I hesitated for a split second, deciding whether I could confide in the stranger. And then I mumbled, “I am out of money and I have no place to stay.” Then he waved his hand, as if ignoring all my troubles, and said, “You may stay at my house, come along.” And he strode on, showing the way. What should I do? Go with him? Or stay at the stop? His back was moving away. The point of no return soon would be reached… Before he turned round the corner I ran after him…

We walked down the wide street. The flaring neon boards of restaurants, pubs and boutiques glared in my eyes, overflowing the dull light of the streetlamps… Soon, we approached the city park. We passed the park entrance in the form of a white marble arch and the noises of the city faded. Shuffling ankle-deep through the withered leaves, we walked up a long and straight park alley, where bright yellow crowns of maples and pale green tops of oaks arched to shape a tunnel. The wind had gone, and in the utter silence, a bright yellow leaf slipped from a twig and slowly glided down. I watched its flight until it fell to the stones with a slight rustling. The wind returned, swaying the crowns of the trees, rippling the puddles. I looked at the alley – my guide’s back was already far from me, moving off, so I ran to catch up with him.

Brown trunks of fir trees, greenish with age, were rising along both sides of the alley. Their mossy and moist branches tangled, forming fantastic patterns. It seemed that if the trees parted to let us pass, we would behold the castle of Sleeping Beauty in the park’s depth.

While we were advancing, it grew darker and for some strange reason – warmer. The alley narrowed and changed to a country lane, overgrown with brambles that were fringed by brightly glowing dots –fireflies. In their light, I sighted ripe wild strawberries at a moss-grown lettuce glade. I bent forward to pick them and then I caught a glimpse of a smooth white-stone arch, twice the height of a man, standing some fifty yards away from me. The air near the arch rippled, the flashes of invisible flame playing on it, vanishing and appearing again as a reflection in the water. 

Taken aback, I turned to my companion and squeezed out in a husky voice, “What is this? Where have you brought me?” He turned to me, and in terror, I observed the rough wrinkled face of a very old man, wrapped in a hooded cloak, his long white hair and white beard hanging down below his waist and his bright eyes blazing under his hood. In a clear voice he replied, “I brought you to my home, to the wonderful country of Elfland, which gives shelter to those who have nowhere to go. The land of the lost, who once left their home and have never returned. The valley of joy, where there is no place for sorrow. Glance through the arch and you will see all with your own eyes…”

With rigid legs I approached the arch. What was its nature and structure? I put my head through and cautiously peeped in.

From the opposite side the arch was standing at a narrow ledge on top of a mountain ridge, near the narrow track, wandering steeply downwards to become untraceable in the distance. From this lookout point I had a magnificent view of a valley, laid out at the foot of the mountain.

The dark green velvet of the grass was spangled with millions of light green fireflies, glittering mysteriously in the utter silence. Amazed, I stared at the enchanting view and then, as if out of the air, human figures started popping up – one by one, in pairs, in groups, wrapped in grass-green cloaks and hoods and holding flaming torches. And soon there were hundreds of torches, and hundreds of fires had been lit by magic. Men were embracing and clapping each other on the backs as if they had not seen each other for ages. The maids threw off their hoods to let loose the waves of blond hair, which fell over their shoulders along their backs to the ground, bound round with circlets of golden leaves.

I noticed among them a maid of such great beauty that my breath was taken away. With dimples in her cheeks, and being so jolly, I at once got an overwhelming desire to touch them with my fingers; a pair of eyes as brilliantly green as water in a clear deep pool, edged by pines, shading and sheltering its green from the sun’s rays that pierce the pond water to the bottom; a smile being as sunny as the star of the most lovely day in a year; and the stature of the most graceful form I had ever seen. She was clad in a tunic of the purest white silk, edged with gold, and from a great flashing jewel in her brow sprung a bright clear jet of pink light. I called her “Greeneye”.

I made out that all the visitors of the valley were very young and of remarkable beauty. They were chatting and laughing merrily and drinking ale and honey, but all lapsed into silence when a very young man with majestic manners in a simple golden hoop, crossing the brow of his remarkably bright face, stood up from his place near the biggest fire, holding a golden harp in his arms.

When he touched the strings of the harp, the golden sounds streamed into the warm night air. Every creature – grass and trees, flowers and leaves, fireflies and butterflies, lads and maids - whirled round and round in the rings under the moonlight upon hearing the music. And then the Harper sang and the words of a song flooded into my soul:

 When the day equals night,

Yellow leaves fall and die,

Fire-flies dance in rings,

Blossoms Bilberry tip.

 Drink it every ten years,

And Eternity nears,

That who finds the Star of Pink,

Would become Elphyne King.

And the song had such a powerful appeal that I had already raised my foot to step through the arch, when Greeneye looked up straight into my eyes and though she was far in the valley, her voice whispered straight into my ear, “Robin, tomorrow at 8 a.m. you should sign the contract with MAGI in London!”

So unexpected it was that, taken aback, I lost my balance and fell on my back and hit it hard against the ground. The arch vanished. Pitch darkness covered everything, severe north wind swooped on, howling and shrieking and then, at once, dead silence fell. I brought my hand to my eyes and still I could not see it. I was in the deep wood all alone, my senses making out nothing.

Then, as if by magic, the rueful face of the moon showed from behind the clouds and bathed the whole scene in uncertain pallid light... I made out that I was standing in a country lane, bordered by dark mountainous silhouettes of the 100-year-old pines. The cloud obscured the moon’s doleful countenance. And the thick darkness came to reign again.

Were the pines drowsy or did they hide ill-will in their tangles? I was stunned by the silence. And when under the feeble breath of the wind a twig stirred, it rang in my ears. I heard the air, clean and cool… I heard the smell of pines…

I stood still, until my legs grew numb, pondering intensively on the issue of whether to go to the right or to the left… By sheer instinct I turned to the right and set off along the lane. In half a mile the lane turned to an alley, bordered with lampposts, set at equal intervals. Pines changed to firs, towering so close to each other that I could hardly discern anything behind their thick tangles.

Drip-drop. Several drops fell on my lips. It started to rain. Soon huge hail drops were beating hard and cold on my back. The wind raised. Its severe gusts made me halt and turn to it with my back in order to get my breath again. Standing under a lamppost I observed the light spot shift in a strange way at the ground under my feet. I looked up – this was not a lamppost!

Sometimes moments occur that are best forgotten in order that they don’t return in nightmares that would torment you over the rest of your lifetime. This was a moment of that particular kind… A Tyrannosaurus, fifteen feet tall, was sitting at his powerful hind legs, holding his touchingly short fore limbs in front of his chest. Stricken, I made out that instead of a massive head he had a little bright electric lamp, emitting the brightest white radiance. Paralyzed with shock, I stood there, rooted to the spot, and then I turned my neck – it was not the only one! the Tyrannosaurus wasn’t alone! I observed Tyrannosaurus lining up along the alley, their long necks arching above the pavestone, and their bulbed heads shining through the rain. Then, the Tyrannosaurus I was standing under, reared, and the only thing I remembered afterwards was that I ran…

I ran hard, and my yells mingled with the howls of the wind. And then the blizzard swept down upon me. It was the shower of ice needles, pouncing upon me. The snow, raised in waves by the icy blasts of the wind, was covering my bare arms below the short sleeves of my T-shirt. My arms grew numb. The wind was blinding, suffocating. Beaten by the storm, I staggered along the paving stones, trying to breathe. When I was nearly losing the force to move, all of a sudden the strangling gusts of the wind were gone and the snowflakes ceased falling.

I don’t remember for how long I wandered in the chill solitude, but at last the wood thinned out and through the gaps between the firs, approximately a hundred yards away, I made out the roadway! And then in front of my astonished eyes a bus glided by and halted at a stop…

I may confess I had never run so fast in my life, my head squeezed with fear… Fear? Up until that moment I had never known what fear was. But it was gulping my soul.

I remembered how once, returning home from my Granny, who lived in another town, I mistook the bus. My Mum, who was to meet me at the bus stop, waited for me in the darkness, freezing with each passing minute and going over in her mind, what had happened to me and that maybe I would never return home. Her eyes were slowly filling with tears because of her feebleness. Sharp talons of inconsolable despair were tearing at her heart, and still the hope that I would do everything right glimmered in her soul…

Miserable, lost, dispirited a minute ago, now I was breaking through the tangles in a sprint, a spark of hope igniting inside me, though suppressed by the ever-increasing gloom that I would miss this bus. I was swinging my arms and shouting, “Wait, wait!” And as if by a miracle, the bus did not start, but waited obediently for. When I jumped on the running board, the doors shut closed behind me and the bus set out.

It was a moment of pure happiness. When recovering my breath, I doubled over, clutching at the handrail near the driver. He nodded to me and I said, “I got lost in the park or in the wood, we are somewhere in the London suburbs, yeap? How much would it be to get to the Isle of Dogs?”

His eyes almost popped out of his head when he stared at me, “I can give you a lift to the madhouse that you have escaped from, lad – if you wish – but you’d better go and sleep a little. Next stop will be Dublin, in two hours, and we will be in London in the early morning. Take a tip and don’t drink so much while in Ireland."

Really feeling myself drunk, I staggered along the passage and collapsed into the armchair behind the driver…