#destined for time travel which is why I accept time travel to get home in Endgame

[thresholdbb]

Janeway hates time travel and all but Voyager starts with:

Getting flung so far across space that it’s essentially time travel

Time travel with a quantum singularity

Time travel with cool outfits fractures in time

(Stolen lungs)

(Hurting a tragically coffee-free nebula)

Time travel with a wormhole

[sena-shi]

SAGAU but with Scheming Creator!Reader Imposter AU

PT. 2

Lmao, honestly, I dunno what title to put in this one soooo, just let it stay like that I guess?

*ੈ✩‧₊˚⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

You kept running and running; you travel to wherever destination the wind was blowing you to. In spite of the fact that Venti is the Anemo Archon, it seems as though the wind favors you more than it does him. You are grateful for this, as you are able to consistently enjoy a decent night's sleep without getting stabbed.

You get a considerable amount of pleasure out of playing with them, even though it may be rather exhausting. Although your new body is one that is gradually becoming endowed with divine energy, you are nevertheless able to experience tiredness, but it is manageable.

Your next objective should be the land of contracts, which is home to the Geo Archon, given that the entire city of freedom is actively pursuing you at this point.

You can't help but wonder if Zhongli will make an effort to eliminate you as well.

You are always excited by the prospect of encountering something new.

Even though they had been given orders to execute you on the spot, Venti was the one leading his nation in the pursuit of capturing you alive and bringing you back to their city. Why? Maybe for his own personal gain.

Even though he managed to cut your arm with the razor-sharp edge of the wind that he controls, you have a sneaking suspicion that he isn't actually interested in hurting you.

When you locked your disappointed and betrayed gaze with his, you did notice how he flinched and appeared to be considering whether or not to continue.

However, you were also able to observe the frightening gaze that he cast in your direction the moment he first laid eyes on you. It infuriated him to think that someone would break into the holy grounds while dressed as his creator and even wearing his creator's skin.

Even then, he was still fairly alright in the head and was not yet an idiot who would unhesitatingly pounce on someone just because their master commanded them to do so.

In this world, the existence of gold blood is not anything that can be considered extraordinary. Even though it is extremely uncommon, it can still be seen on a few persons who are believed to have been blessed by the creator.

The substance that emerges from your wounds is not blood but rather star glitters. And as if the world were devoid of gravity, it will not drop on the ground but gradually ascend towards the heavens until it is once more reunited with the stars. It was believed that the creator carries the universe within them, and some people may even speculate that you are the universe itself, and that Teyvat is just one of the many lucky worlds that you have created.

It was also said that the creator once shed a tear, and that tear took the form of a dazzling crystal as it fell to the ground. It was brilliant and untainted, much like you are. Even if it is stunning and would like to see it in person, they will never be able to find it in themselves to bring another tear to the eyes of their maker.

They would never stop listening to you soothe them with your gentle voice, especially the vision holders. And when you had finally descended, the Teyvat itself did not rejoice, despite the fact that the Archons and their people did.

You were humming softly, and the stars in the night sky seemed to glow even more intensely in response to the sound of your voice. The wounds that you have sustained have at long last healed. You honestly made sure that all arrows launched towards you would hit your body, and you didn't dodge anything, not even the sharp cut of wind that Venti would inflict upon you, nor the scorching heat of the fire that grazed your skin. You made sure that every arrow will hit your body.

Whatever it is that your children present you, it goes without saying that you will gladly accept it with open arms. Having said that, you do harbor the hope that when the time comes for you to eventually decide to pay them back, they would likewise accept it with open arms.

“Mm. They move exceptionally slow, don't they?”

As you moved to a position on top of the tree in Windrise that was more comfortable for you, your melodious voice echoed throughout the surroundings. The wind encircled your body as though it were trying to reassure you, that they will come soon, and the rustling of the leaves on the tree generated a soothing swishing sound. You moved your feet around gracefully while the wind played with your long hair and made it dance.

As soon as you heard the sound of footsteps coming towards your location, a sly grin spread across your face.

They discovered you seated on a branch of the tree, gazing down at them with a melancholy expression plastered across your face.

Jean, Diluc, Kaeya, Lisa— and won’t you look at that? The Anemo Archon himself.

You observed as Venti appeared to take a breath in deeply, as though he was appreciating the wind. Indeed, Venti was reminiscing; it seemed like an eternity since the Windrise had experienced a moment of tranquillity. Because this is the location at which he had his initial encounter with the voice of the creator, it is and will always be for him a place of great serenity. But, as is always the case, it does not feel complete; rather, it gives the impression that something is missing.

But today, he seems to have a feeling that his soul is whole. To the point where he feels like his heart is going to explode from its own fullness. But why is that?

You couldn't help but crack a fake smile when you saw Venti in such a relaxed state. It's probably about time that he finds out the truth about who you truly are. The moment is drawing nearer when he will start seeking you.

However, when that moment arrives, you will make it sure that you are unreachable and far away from their grasps filled with desire.

Desire for you, and only you.

“Imposter.”

You did not speak as you quietly observed them.

“Although we have received the order from her grace to kill you on the spot, we will be lenient and hand you over to our divine creator instead,” Jean said, the disdain in her voice was not really new to you, but you did not really know what to make of it.

But they are aware that the reason is not because they want the divine creator to settle their differences with you personally. Something itches well down in the depths of their hearts, but they are unable to identify the feeling that they are experiencing. Is it because your appearance is so similar to their creator? However, considering that you are an imposter, this would make complete sense, but still— they can’t—

Their visions trembled as if they were resonating with the bearer's genuine emotions and attempting to draw closer to you, but none of them saw this.

On the spur of the moment, the wind appeared to be suffocating. The abrupt change in the wind caused Venti's eyes to widen, and the others' facial expressions toward you became increasingly hostile as they frowned.

The wind is going mad with rage, seeking retribution for the fact that it has angered their creator; it wants to suffocate them, it wants to—

"The Divine Creator..." You mumbled.

Then it stopped.

The tension was finally broken by a gentle voice, and the wind quickly returned to its previous state.

“Are you—" You were on the verge of laughing at the amount of garbage you had heard, but you managed to force it all back down.

Your looked down at your hands resting on your lap as you spoke quietly, “Are you replacing me now?”

“Ha! And here we are offering you the opportunity to maybe continue your life under her grace, and you had the nerve to imply that you are going to be replaced?"

"How can we worship you as our creator when you were never our creator? An imposter being delusional, I see."

When they saw the pained smile that formed on your face, their hearts all ached. But none of them paid attention to it. Perhaps they are experiencing these emotions because, ever since their creator descended, her grace has never given them a glance that is so heart-wrenching that they feel as though they will suffocate from the amount of guilt that it causes. Their divine creator, who is seated on the throne, experiences constant joy without any of the slightest bit of suffering, as she ought to in that position.

“I see…” You whispered to yourself as you slowly released a trembling breath.

Is that all there was to it then? When they have reaped all of the benefits that your grace and blessings have to offer, they will simply find someone else to fill your place? Even more so, with a face that look exactly like yours?

You couldn't help but laugh on the inside as you played out your part as a discarded creator, someone who was simply substituted for another.

You are quite interested in performing the final play that you have written, but not just yet. It is still necessary for you to invite the other nations to participate in the game with you all. At this very moment, they are most likely looking for you as well. However, waiting can be extremely taxing, so instead of waiting for anything to happen, why don't you go out and get it for yourself?

You just like seeking death, don’t you? Your actual life was comprised solely of boring and unimpressive things. Nothing will ever make you happy or give you the satisfaction you crave.

"However, I am not attempting to impersonate your Divine Creator. I only wish to be left alone to live my life in peace, can I not stay in this world?" You uttered your words in a soft tone as you kept your gaze fixed onto them with a kind expression.

Your ears suddenly filled with the sound of a low chuckle, but it was not one of amusement or any other emotion. It seemed as if they were making a mockery of you when you said that.

“Not imitating, I see.”

At this point, you are feeling exhausted, and it does not appear like they will allow you to live in peace within the world that you have created.

"If that is what you want, then I will remove myself from your line of sight,”

You spoke as the wind wafted closer to you and your surroundings.

You fixated your gaze on each of them, attempting to make a mental note of the surprised emotions on their faces.

But Venti. Oh, your poor Venti. He must have realized everything by now.

It is possible that you will run into him again sooner than you had originally anticipated since he appears to be normal enough and is not acting like a crazed dog that is barking for the person they call their true divine creator.

"However, I will not allow myself to be handed to your creator.”

The previously pleasant voice that greeted them when they arrived had become ice-cold and emotionless in its tone by the time it was their turn to speak.

“You—!” Jean let out a yell while she stood there with her hand on the hilt of her sword.

“Wait—!” Venti yelled and made an effort to approach you, but even his own wind repelled him and kept him at a distance.

And just like that, you were gone, like a breath of fresh air.

Venti was only successful in grabbing a handful of wind from the location where you had been previously. The feeling of completeness that he had experienced once more before had begun to dissipate completely. At this given moment, the wind in Windrise is behaving exactly the same as it does on any other day.

It is true that there is peacefulness.

But once again, there is something missing.

Venti collapsed to the ground, and he experienced a sudden weakening in his knees. When you spoke to him with a harsh tone in your voice, he was not able to bear it. It seemed as though the absence of you caused him unexplainable anguish in his heart.

It was much like those other times, whenever you give words of comfort to him. It seems as though he is only a few steps away from you but is unable to approach you. However, now that he had the opportunity to touch you, he let his ignorance get the best of him, and as a result, he lost everything.

Truly, it hurts more when you yearn for something that you cannot have anymore.

Far away from the Windrise and away from the city of freedom, you, who stood serenely on top of the Guyun Stone Forest, patiently waited for the new danger that is about to come.

Your beautiful appearance was not diminished in any way by the tattered dress that you were wearing. You almost look like the loving, benevolent, and holy creator that you are. Except for the fact that there was a look of amusement on your face at the same time. Like some divine being that was taking joy in watching their creations rushing up to worship at their feet.

The ground violently shook, and everything that Teyvat has to offer their one and only creator is ready to protect you from any potential threat that may appear anytime soon.

And indeed, he did not fail to live up to your expectations; there behind you stood the Geo Archon himself, scrutinizing every aspect of your being. His glare was aggressive, and it appeared very much as though he wanted to force you into going to the ocean floor with Osial, where his divine creator won't be able to look at such a revolting imposter as you.

You slowly turned your head to look at him with the same tenderness and warmth in your eyes that is currently the reflection of the night skies above you. You appeared to be delighted to see him by the way you stared at him, but then you pretended to be astonished by the way he was glaring at you. You blinked your eyes pretty slowly, giving the impression that you were really hurt and surprised by the way he welcomed your return.

His glare wavered, and he began to relax his stance, as though he were thinking back to the days when his divine creator had not yet descended to their world.  Those moments when you would only communicate with him from above.

Having witnessed his behavior, you almost found yourself amused at how soft Zhongli can get when it comes to you.

Good child, you didn't disappoint me.

One wonders what sort of surprises he would bring.

*ੈ✩‧₊˚⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

;; peh, why beta read when you can just drop a bunch of sentences and post like boom boom bakudan

[mrsrookhunt]

Not me forgetting its Mermay until the last day of May. Anyway, idk if it really counts but now I don't have time for plot planning so have an Azul X Reader.

I really love the idea of present day chubby Azul. Maybe he gained weight over stress, I'm not sure. But you still think he's more than adorable when you see him again a year later.

Leave Me Be

Chubby!Azul Ashengrotto x Reader

Warnings: Angst, Self-shaming, Depression, reader is probably also chubby but maybe I'm just projecting

Traveling to the deepest depths of the Coral Sea was less than easy. Honestly, the amount of potions and formulas you had to drink from weaker mages made you feel like shit. Azul could've done far better for you, but upon your accidental return to Night Raven College through some portal you'd found in a puddle, you'd found that he'd left the school and decided to take a year for himself at home.

You were shocked, but there wasn't much you could do; he wasn't returning your messages. You waited a couple of weeks for school to let out, and had Jade and Floyd take you to his home.

You quickly found out that Azul had moved out of his family's home, into the outskirts of town, apparently, according to the rumors, depressed and ashamed of himself.

Alone, with Jade and Floyd already gone to their own destination, you swam unguided to where you hoped was at least the general direction of his new home.

The other Mers had said his home wasn't easy to miss, but for someone as unsuited to water as you, particularly in these dark depths, a serious worry that you would get lost ruminated in the back of your mind.

Around 30 minutes of aimless swimming later, you saw a dim light in the gloom.

It seemed to glow a dim purple, somewhere off in a hole in the side of a massive rock formation.

Bracing yourself to swim upwards quite the distance, you realized just how massive this wall of rock and sediment was.

It was just a guess.

No one had mentioned Azul's home as being on the human equivalent of a mountainside. But then again, it didn't seem like many people had visited him. They spoke strongly of his gloomy, irritated demeanor, and unwillingness to use his magic anymore. It seemed that shortly after he moved, he began rejecting visitors all together.

You pulled yourself along the rough rock wall with your hands, following the light, which became clearer and brighter the closer you swam.

It was just a guess, but you were certain if there was any place the Azul you knew would hide, it would be far away from others, holed up in a spot where he'd be safe and unbothered.

The relatively small opening to the cavern you were less than a few feet from fit the definition to a tee.

Maybe 12 feet across both directions, the mouth of the cavern felt tucked away.

You took in a deep breath when you reached the edge, seeing the gauzy purple light brighten from within, relishing the strange feeling of water filling your lungs instead of air.

"Azul?" You called out, unsteady and feeling small in the vast ocean around you, hands still tightly gripped on the rough rocky surface.

A small flurry of bubbles, and the light turned off with a tick.

"I'm not accepting visitors at the moment." A voice called from within, annoyance pricking every syllable.

You sighed and valted yourself into the entrance of the cave with relief, not going any farther.

"Did you not hear me? Step out of my home, I have not invited you here!" His tone was sharp and outright angry.

You couldn't see a thing in the dark now, but you could feel the soft swish in the water of Azul's swift movements nearby.

"Zullie, it's me." You called into the dark, feeling unsettled.

A silence seemed to fall over the small space.

"...Yuu?"

His voice shook, a little weaker than he had clearly intended it to come out.

"I've missed you." You said tentively, hoping he would turn the light on already.

"Why are you here?"

His voice was composed and sharp again.

"W-well," it was your turn to stutter. He seemed almost angry that you were here. "I found a portal back to school and.. I found out that you had left, and I just..." Though you tried to keep yourself together, tears began to flow freely into the ocean. "I couldn't leave you alone. The first person I went looking for when I came back, was you."

You could hear the heavy breathing from what you could now identify as across the room.

That swish of movement again, and--

"Leave me be."

"What-?"

"You heard me." He sounded solemn. "Go, Yuu. Go back to school, or go back home." His voice was softened and shaky; you could hear small sniffles.

"Azul, please, I've missed you so much!" He must have heard the panic, the hurt in your voice, but he only sank deeper into the depths of his cave.

"I don't want you here." He mumbled. "I don't want you here, and I'm not coming back to school either. Don't wait for me."

"Zullie, please! What happened? What's made you like this?"

"You have," He grumbled into the waves.

Your voice dropped to a whisper. "Me? What did I do?" You sat at the edge of the cave.

He didn't respond.

"I'll sit here until you tell me," you warned, in a voice softer than you thought you could manage.

The silence answered you.

"Azul.. I'll go. Just, listen for a moment. I'm sorry if I hurt you... I.. I really missed you. I'm so, so sorry, I'm--" You were crying into your hands at this point.

A single tentacle wrapped around your arm and gently tugged it away from your face.

"It's not your fault.. I shouldn't have hidden it from you. Yuu.. there was something I neglected to tell you before you left. I.. love you. And I didn't tell you. And I've regretted that every day since. I didn't think I would ever get the chance to tell you again."

The tentacle tightened around your arm.

You wiped your tears away, a wry laugh escaping from your mouth amongst the remnants of sobs.

"That's.. what I regretted too. I didn't tell you either.. I love you too, Azul."

You crawled closer to embrace him.

The tentacle rapidly whished away, and you heard him scoot back. You stopped in your tracks.

"..Azul?"

"Yuu.." You could hear the pain in his voice. "It would still be better if you left."

"Absolutely not! You can't j-just confess and expect to escape it now!" You protested. "I've missed you for far too long. Please, I don't want to leave you right now."

You grasped in the dark, coming into contact with a tentacle you gently pulled toward you, sensing Azul moving closer with it.

"You.. you won't like me anymore." His voice is breathy and he sounds pitiful.

"Who said that?"

"You don't understand... I'm not.. what you remember."

"What does that mean?"

"I look different."

"Your mer form, you mean? I've seen it before."

"No.. I looked different in.. other ways."

"...What do you mean?"

The air that hung between you was dampened by the cold, lonely feeling of sadness.

"I used to be fit, and beautiful, for a time... but I couldn't keep that up after you left. Now I'm just a disgusting remnant of who I was when you knew me. I've done nothing but indulge myself in treats, forgotten all about ideal caloric intake, I've not exercised or--" His voice was tangibly anxious, fast and unstable. You could guarantee his eyes were glazed over with tears.

You squeezed the tentacle you were holding tighter, watching him quiet as he wrapped it around your hand, shaking and softly crying.

"Azul, are you trying to tell me that you've gained weight?"

"I look disgusting."

You cast your eyes downward with solemn understanding. "I doubt that, Zullie. I can't imagine you could ever look anything other than perfect in my eyes." Your voice was whisper quiet, but his breath still caught at the sentiment, whimpers lessening as you gently ran a finger back and forth over his suckers to calm him.

"Don't hate me." He muttered, suddenly pulling away from you and shuffling to the other side of the cavern again.

Click

The light revealed your beautiful octo-mer, still as wonderfully entrancing and gorgeous as you'd remembered.

He took your breath away. You could hardly even see any imperfections, even now. His stomach was rounder, his arms were less toned, his jawline was softer and his tentacles looked more full than before. But he was still the most beautiful man you'd ever lain eyes on.

His icy blue eyes were filled with tears you couldn't overlook, and before he could say another word, you launched yourself upon him in a tearful embrace, soothing him with soft whispers while your tears intermingled with his into the open ocean.

His tentacles wrapped against you, words of love and passion falling from both your lips.

You put your hands on each side of his face, guiding him to look into your eyes.

"Azul, I don't see any difference. You're still you. And I love you because of the Azul up here--" you pushed a finger at his forehead. "Not because your body has changed. I love you, Azul. And I won't leave you again."

He buried his head against your neck.

"I love you, I love you so much, Yuu..."

"Zullie.. I'm here to stay. Do you hear me? I'm never leaving you again."

He pulled you tighter to him, sobbing once again.

"Thank you... thank you for coming back, Angelfish."

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May 31st, 2023

Yeah, this was healing, I know I'm not fat but damn I feel horrible about my body :(

-Kaori

[hermannsthumb]

9 / 13 / 27 for the prompt fills? 😮

9. Stargazing + 13. Family Reunion + 27. Power Outage

from summer prompts meme here

looking back at some old unfilled askbox prompts and went and took some generous liberties with this one......

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

It’s been kind of weird not having shit to do. That’s not technically true, because Newt and Hermann have plenty of shit they could do, but none of it is particularly time-sensitive or, like, interesting—a lot of paperwork, sleepovers at Shatterdome medical to get prodded and poked at, and mandatory meetings with PPDC higher-ups. No glamorous magazine spreads just yet. Newt’s holding out hope for those, though. Specifically they haven’t had shit to do in the lab, other than packing up their (newly defunct?) research in moving boxes, final destination still currently TBD. No magazine spreads, but plenty of universities begging and outright bribing them to set up shop on their campuses. Newt’s still not totally sold on returning to academia yet, but he's been enjoying feeling like homecoming king.

Basically they can afford to take a few days off. To Newt’s surprise it was Hermann who brought up the topic of vacation in the first place (would you be inclined to join me in Germany for a week?), and though it’s unfortunately not the luxury spa resort he had in mind (and that he would’ve found an excuse to charge all the expenses of to his PPDC-issued travel card), Newt’s game. He's game for anything that gets Hermann to unwind a little. He was less game when Hermann revealed the reason—a reunion dinner with his family (three terrifying siblings and two terrifying parents) at Hermann’s childhood home in the countryside, something which Newt can’t imagine going well for anyone involved.

Still, it’ll be fun to see where Hermann grew up, and they’ll have a whole bonus six days over there to do anything else they want. Hermann also seemed mildly terrified at the thought of going alone, and Newt definitely owes him one after the whole drifting with a kaiju thing. Possibly those aren’t comparable sacrifices. Newt’s basically a saint here.

They rent a car to drive from their hotel to Hermann’s house themselves instead of calling a cab like Hermann wants to do. A rental car gives them more freedom, Newt argues, and Hermann reluctantly accepts, too grumpy from the flight over to put up an argument of his own in return—they can take a longer route and see more of the country, make a fun little k-science road trip out of it.

The idea seemed more fun at the time. It's summer! People take road trips in the summer! Newt and Hermann have spent five long years crammed into a damp, chilly basement together, and they earned some open roads and open skies. Take in the natural beauty of the world, still standing as it was against all odds. Or something.

"Are we here already?"

"No," Hermann says. "I don't know why we're—did you fall asleep? You're meant to be navigating."

"Jet lag, man," Newt says, and yawns into his elbow. "I'm stupid sleepy. You sure we're not here?"

"Does it look if we—? Oh, I don't believe it," Hermann snarls as the car wheezes to a halt. "Now?"

Newt started getting the impression the second they left their hotel that Hermann doesn’t realllly want to go. And why would he? By all accounts his family dynamic kind of sucks and they most likely only invited Hermann as some weird hand-wavey apology for all those years of—uh, well, kind of sucking. We’re really sorry about the whole wall thing, Hermann, but now that you’re all famous and have an incredibly hot boyfriend, won’t you please show your face around us again?

Newt’s flattering himself here. He wasn’t actually invited. He has a distinct feeling he was the opposite of invited. When he asked Hermann about it (you sure it’s cool if I come?) Hermann just scowled and said something to the effect of they should expect that I would bring you, it’s only natural given that we are— and then pretended to cough a bunch. Newt politely handed him a glass of water and didn’t press him further. They are something! They’re k-science, Newt and Hermann. Good enough for Newt.

He loves a party. He’s not sure he’ll love a Gottlieb party, but he’ll make it work, even if Hermann wouldn’t let him bring his guitar or buy fun booze or dress in anything but his most formal pair of slacks. My family isn’t that lively, Hermann said. He bought Newt three depressingly boring non-skinny ties to choose from and spent the week leading up to their flight subtly hinting to Newt that he really ought to get a haircut. Hermann knows a fellow at the Shatterdome, even, who will do it for pennies. Make him look nice and presentable. If that’s who does your hair, man, I really doubt that, Newt said, and then Hermann threw several pieces of chalk at him and definitely-not-deliberately knocked Newt’s iced coffee over onto his pants on his way out of the lab.

It gets Newt so hot and bothered when Hermann resorts to petty stuff like that. He got the haircut.

“You were supposed to fill the tank!” Hermann shouts, smacking his hand against the dashboard like it’s going to help. His palm is conveniently covering the fuel gauge, and Newt nudges it away until they can both plainly see they have almost three-fourths of a tank to go.

“I did, you dick,” he says, and Hermann shuts his mouth real fast. “The engine’s probably busted or the battery’s dead or something. Dude, they totally gave us a crap car just because we wouldn’t take the cybertruck.”

“Rubbish,” Hermann says under his breath. He turns the key in the ignition twice, and the engine makes a few pathetic stuttering noises. The car doesn’t budge.

Newt shakes his head. “No good. Cybertruck revenge. Switch it off, I'm gonna take a look under the hood.”

“Oh, and I suppose one of your doctorates is in mechanics, then?”

Newt ignores him and gets out of the car. Mildly annoyed as he is at Hermann, he’s still careful to roll up the sleeves of the button-down Hermann picked out for him and twist his body as far away as possible from the car as he pops the hood and squints inside. Hermann will be very sad if he gets his clothes dirty.

Truthfully, not that he's going to admit it to Hermann, he doesn’t know what he’s doing. His dad tried to teach him once years back, but Newt lost interest once they took the engine apart and he realized it was much more fun to try to rebuild it into something else entirely, like a robot or something. Not that he succeeded there either.

“It’s definitely not working,” he decides.

The other car door slams, and he hears Hermann shuffle off to the side with a loud, disgruntled sigh. Newt shuts the hood and taps at his cell phone fruitlessly. No reception out here on his shitty roaming data, and even if he did have any he’s not sure where they’d find, like, an actually certified mechanic willing to drive all the way out to the middle of nowhere to tow them to Hermann’s parents’ in time for dinner. Maybe in time for lunch tomorrow, but that’s still kinda pushing it. He doesn’t bother asking to try Hermann’s—he left it back at the hotel, allegedly by accident, but Newt has a lurking suspicion that it was subconsciously in the hopes of something like this happening. Oops, sorry, no way to get in touch with anyone, looks like we won’t be able to make it tonight after all.

If they pick a direction and start walking now they might be able to get some cell service or at least find a hotel nearish-by with a phone they could borrow. Maybe some quaint and eye-wateringly expensive Airbnbs. It seems like the kind of place they would have those. On the other hand, wandering around in the German wilderness (relative wilderness, anyway) at dusk is maybe a bad idea. Cliché horror movie shit.

He catches a whiff of stale smoke and whirls around to stare incredulously at Hermann. “Where the hell were you hiding those?” he says.

Hermann, scowling around a cigarette, shrugs one shoulder. “Sock,” he says. “Only three. You know how they are, my family—I felt I may need to invent an excuse to duck outside. Oh, fine.”

He takes one final drag of the cigarette before flicking it to the ground and grinding at it with the end of his cane until it’s nothing but a flattened smear of paper and tobacco ash in the dirt. He thumps his cane at it twice. Then he smacks his cane against the front tire of the car with a metallic thud. Newt perks up in alarm. “Cool it, we didn’t get the insurance.”

“Bloody piece of trash,” Hermann says.

He slumps against the side of the car, smearing grime and probably some smashed bugs all over his clean shirt, and rubs a hand down his face. Newt hesitates a few seconds to make sure he’s not about to start swinging again before sidling up next to him cautiously. He wonders if he should try to give Hermann a hug or an affectionate pat on the shoulder. It’s not something they usually do, affection in general, but Hermann might appreciate the gesture. “It’s just dinner,” Newt finally says. “I didn’t even think you wanted to go.”

“I don’t,” Hermann says.

“Okay, then this is a good thing, right?" Newt says. "We didn’t even have to make up an excuse. This is legit, man, and I mean, it’s not like I was dying to spend some quality time with the in-laws.” Can Newt say that? In-laws? He and Hermann aren’t married or anything, but he’s not sure what else he’d call Hermann’s family that doesn’t sound like he’s deliberately dancing around saying in-laws. “Basically, we’re in the clear.”

Hermann says nothing.

“Wait.” Newt frowns. “Did you think I wanted to go?” The idea hasn’t occurred to him until now (because, like, why would it?), but with Hermann being all weird like this…

“Of course not,” Hermann says. There’s an unspoken but there. Hermann hesitates. Newt waits. The sun is almost finished setting, and under different circumstances he thinks it would actually be a pretty nice night out, like the ones they spent back on the Shatterdome roof bitching at each other and sharing shitty takeout dinner and squinting up at the sky to try to see stars through the light pollution of the city. He wonders if pointing that out to Hermann would piss him off more.

Hermann finally sighs. “I suppose I wanted to introduce you to everyone, is all.”

Newt knows Hermann’s family. Newt actually knows Hermann’s family famously, or maybe he means infamously, and maybe he also means that they know him, thanks to the unfortunate combination of his less-than-stellar professional reputation, his widely-ridiculed televised appearances shortly after the first kaiju made landfall where he pushed the whole extraterrestrial origin angle, and the extremely dramatic, uh, everything he’s had going on with Hermann for well over a decade now. Also, Newt spilled wine on Hermann’s dad at fundraiser once, and the resulting shouting match got them both (plus a not-very-innocent-bystander Hermann) thrown out. The verdict is still out on whether Newt did it intentionally or not. “I think they know me pretty well, dude,” he says.

“Introduce you,” Hermann continues, forcing the words out through gritted teeth, “as my…partner.”

They know we worked together, Newt almost says, and then he thinks ohhh. “Ohhh,” he says.

“Not that I desire their approval for our relationship,” Hermann adds quickly, “or have desired, ever. In fact I rather hope they don’t approve. It’s just that I…” He lifts a hand towards Newt’s arm, stops, grazes his fingers against Newt’s sleeve, and drops away. His teeth are clenched so tightly Newt wonders if he’s going to induce a migraine. “I’m—content with you. With how things are. I, well…” He makes another weird face, and slumps his shoulders forward.

“Content,” Newt says. “Aw, Hermann, that’s really romantic.” The worst part is that he means it. This is the most emotional candidness he’s gotten from Hermann in a very long time of knowing him, and he’s over the moon about it. “I’m cool with how things are, too. I like being your—” He can’t bring himself to say partner. Too academic of them, given their professions. It doesn’t feel gay enough. “—uh, guy. That’s stupid. Your significant guy. That’s stupider.”

Hermann’s mouth finally twists up into a little smile, which was exactly what Newt was going for. He nudges Hermann with his elbow and grins. “Anyway, what I’m saying is you have pleeeenty of time to show me off.”

“Your arrogance is one of your more attractive traits,” Hermann says.

It’s dark enough now that Newt can see the pinprick lights of stars in the sky above them, clear and unobscured by clouds or city lights. Newt thinks he would go nuts if he had to live this far out in the middle-of-fucking-nowhere 24/7, and maybe some of Hermann’s sexier issues make sense now that Newt’s seen his hometown, but a visit is somewhat worth it for this. “Hey, look,” Newt says, pointing and nudging Hermann with his elbow again until Hermann finally rolls his eyes and looks up. “Let’s worry about the phone or flashing S-O-S with our headlights or whatever later, we can actually see stars out here. You wanna give me an official Dr. Gottlieb astronomy 101 course? You know how hot it gets me.”

Hermann gives him another little smile, and Newt takes that as an invitation to throw his arm around Hermann's shoulders and yank him close. “I suppose,” Hermann says.

[platinumrosetail]

Yandere Seth x female reader.

Warning: after Seth's punishment is over. Lectora's brother, Horus, ascends the throne. After Reader marries Seth, thinking that her life is finally happy, everything falls apart when fem Reader discovers that she is destined to die, so she sadly decides to abandon Seth, and also before leaving, she erases Seth's memory. Some time later, Lectora returns home and discovers that Seth is trying to improve his relationship with Nephthys. The fem reader just has to accept that he has lost his only love, he only has a few days left until the terrifying prediction comes true. The fem reader decides to move further away from Seth, she says goodbye to her mother, her brothers and her aunt, and her uncle who was previously her lover. Seth doesn't remember any time with her, he doesn't know that he was in love with her, he just thinks that fem Reader is his different niece. But for some reason he starts to remember her. Another movie scenario, the reader is about to leave Egypt, but out of nowhere a chariot appears from heaven.

Finally: Seth tries to talk her into coming back and asks her why she did all that to him, but she insists on getting away from Seth, so the reader fights him to escape.

Sorry if I overwhelmed you with details, sometimes when I ask for requests for other accounts, they don't understand or don't have an idea.

Thank you very much for serving me

Oh the angst, I’ll try my best on this.

Warning: noob author, female reader, yandere romantic character, and others.

Character: Seth.

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

Your little brother had been announced king which had everyone both gods/goddesses and humans celebrating. Your fathers crimes was brought to light and so was punished severely, you thought that this will finally be the end to all the chaos that had happened in the past and it was….. until it wasn’t.

You were destined to die and you knew there was no way of stopping it as far as you knew. You didn’t know how to tell your family so you decided to leave so as to not have them go through the trouble of feeling the pain of a lost daughter that they couldn’t save, you made Seth forget his love for you as well and made him believe you were just his niece and not his lover, you made sure that your family went along with it as well of course they didn’t know why but went with it as they’re sure they’ll find out soon enough though ra and sekhmet were hard to convince and you had to bargain with them in order to get them to agree.

The reason why you had made him forget you were his lover and only remember you as his niece is because he’s been through a lot of pain and you didn’t want him to find out that you were destined to die and he couldn’t do anything about it so you did what you did so that he would hurt and feel the pain of losing you.

Seth didn’t know why but when he woke up he felt like something or someone is missing but decided to not dwell on it as he’s sure it’ll come to him when the times comes.

He noticed that a lot of his family members were acting weird but couldn’t figure out why that is but left it as is until he can find more clues about why he has these random feelings he’s been getting all day. He was also informed that his niece will be traveling around and that the family is to see her off and wished her safe travels, and again the same weird feeling started as she keeps on looking away from him and not maintaining eye contact like she had usually do before she went off on her travels after the goodbyes.

It has been weeks since you left and you were feeling homesick but you knew you couldn’t go back especially after half way into the second week you found out that Seth was trying to improve his relationship with your aunt; Nephthys, you were definitely jealous and had almost turned back until the fact that you were destined to die came to you which made you stop dead (pun intended and not intended lol 😂) in your tracks, you shed many tears that day as you knew you wouldn’t be able to get back the days where you could spend time with your love who previously knew that you were his lover.

You came up with the decision of just leaving Egypt entirely so you didn’t have to suffer more and maybe die in a beautiful meadow if you still have time to come across one. What you didn’t expect was a flying chariot that had what looked to be flying crocodiles made of sand which you soon realized is what Seth usually use for his chariot. Seth had came closer and began asking why you had his mind erased of how you two were lovers and what was the reason for you to do that instead of not talking it with him.

You tried to escape but he caught you after dodging your attacks, sadly your magic that you inherited from your mother is slowly draining as you grow closer to the destined day of your death and so it was easy for him to capture you into his arms and demand that you explained to him why you did what you did, you explained were destined to die and that you didn’t want him to feel sad especially after all that he went through. He didn’t say anything before hugging you tightly and telling you that he’ll never let you leave and will find a way to make sure you don’t die even if he has to go to Osiris for help if it means he can find a way to have you live for eternity with him, you notice a dark look in his eyes as he says that, before you know it you’re both in your rooms.

Apparently ra gave you that vision on how ‘you were destined to die’ as she was testing you and wanted some amusement as she liked the chaos, ra and sekhmet admitted that the two decided to pull that prank on you to see the reaction on everyone which proved to be amusing even if it didn’t turn out the way they thought it would. Let’s just say almost; aka minus ra and sekhmet who both were still laughing, facepalmed and all thought ‘like mothers like daughter.’

(A/n: hope you don’t mind the ending 😅 I thought it would be interesting if that’s what it was plus thought it was fitting, anyway hope y’all like it and hope y’all have a wonderful day/evening/night!!)

[bluestar22x]

The Cottage

The Journey - The Cottage

Summary: When an attack derails your journey, you get closer to Pero

Pairing: Pero Tovar x F!Reader

Rating: 18+ series

Warnings: Descriptions of injuries, violence, detailed rough smut, mentions of domestic abuse, mention of reader having hair, and imperfect cleaning of wounds (it’s practically ancient times)

Word Count: 5,696

Author’s Note: We’ve arrived at the part of the story that I wrote the whole thing for but there’s still one more chapter to go.

xxx

After the kiss Pero became closed off to you, making a point to only talk to you when necessary. He didn’t even let his eyes linger on you whenever he was forced to look in your direction. It was how you knew he liked you as much as you liked him - the fact that looking at you tempted him so much that he was actively trying to avoid it.

Whenever you pondered about it too long, at night, before you drifted off to sleep, it set a fire in your belly. And some nights, when you weren’t forced to share a room, you let your hand wander down into the space between your thighs, imaging it was his hand there, rubbing at your clit, until you reached your release.

A week and a half had gone by like this, and you’d come to accept that it was going to continue to be like that for the rest of the trip because as long as you were to be married, he would not indulge himself with you. You were disappointed, but not surprised. Pero was a mercenary. They got paid for a job and they did it, nothing more, nothing less. Professionals through and through. At least all the ones you’d ever met. Which weren’t very many, you had to admit, but still.

“Five days and we should reach your betrothed’s village,” Pero informed you one evening, as the sun was about to set behind some hills in the distance.

You’d left the mountains days ago, the landscape a lot less steep and much easier to traverse. You were traveling through villages and towns much more frequently, so you were sleeping less frequently outdoors, but that night seemed like it would end up being one under the stars. There was nothing but forest and empty fields on that day.

“Not bad,” you had dared to say. “Ignoring those three men who tried to kidnap me, it’s been pretty uneventful. I was expecting worst.”

You might have as well jinxed yourself. As soon as the words fell out of your mouth, a pair of men around your age, in more advanced armor than Pero’s, emerged from the trees along the trail, swords drawn, dark bay mounts restless. The one with shoulder length hair drew a sword to your throat before you or Pero could react.

You gasped, heart nearly stopping in your chest. You thought you’d been afraid when you’d been ripped off your mare’s back by the three terrifying large men, but it was nothing compared to having a blade against your neck, one easy slice away from opening up your jugular.

“Hand over all your money,” he ordered, “Or I will cut her.”

“Coward,” Pero hissed, his hand on the hilt of his still sheathed sword. “You’d rather threaten a woman than fight for it?”

“You want to fight?” the second one laughed. “It’d be two to one.”

“I like those odds,” Pero declared.

“Ah, you think you do,” the first man said. “Because you’re a mercenary and are probably well experienced in the art of battle, but you have not been trained by a royal guard.”

Your eyes widened at the reveal. They were soldiers. What were they doing trying to steal from you then?

“Why are soldiers behaving like bandits?” Pero inquired.

“We are a long way from home,” the first man explained. “We need coin to finish the trip.” He said it so simply, like it was the most obvious choice, to steal from a merc with a civilian in tow to get to their destination. Like they couldn’t find work to get the coin they needed. No, that would take too long.

“Still want to duel with us?” the second asked, mouth pulling up along the edges like he’d want nothing more.

“It is not like you have given me much choice,” Pero grumbled. “We need the coin as well.”

And no mercenary would just let someone steal from them.

All three men dismounted their horses and you sighed, temporarily relieved that you could no longer feel the tip of a blade pressed up against your skin. It was a fleeting emotion, replaced by fear once more, this time for Pero as he raised his blade against the two men.

They dodged him, to and fro, never a pause to their footwork, which meant Pero had little time to block their attacks, let alone turn the fight on them. Defense was all he was permitted.

He managed to slice the second across his stomach, just under his armor, but the man kept going, fueled by pain and adrenaline. He slashed Pero on his right side, a weak spot in his light armor, just under his ribs, as he was backing off. Pero grimaced, but like the second solider he refused to let the pain bring him down.

They moved faster. You had a hard time figuring out who’s sword was whose, and who was getting cut when blood flew, and it was horrifying to witness, but you couldn’t look away. Not when Pero was in danger, especially since it was because of you. He wouldn’t be here if your father hadn’t needed him to protect you on your journey to your new home.

Finally, the second solider dropped, spewing blood from a slash on his neck, and Pero and the first solider circled each other. The remaining soldier had a deep gash on his shoulder and a cut on his left cheek, while Pero didn’t seem any worse off than he’d been after the dead solider had cut him.

Their swords met with a loud clanging sound, and they were locked in battle, seemingly of equal skill, for different reasons. The soldier had clearly trained a lot, but Pero was less of a stranger to actual battle than he was. Countries weren’t always at war. Mercenaries meanwhile, fought for every coin they pocketed.

You gritted your teeth, praying Pero would get this man too. You wanted to be sure he would, but the fight was too even to bet on it. You worried it might come down to shear luck.

The soldier swung his sword low, along the exposed part of Pero’s thigh, and Pero grunted, stumbled, before bringing his sword up into the soldier’s head, through the gap in his neck armor. The soldier’s eyes went wide then blank, and he flopped to the ground.

You’d have been relieved it was over if Pero wasn’t bleeding as profusely as he was. The cut just under his ribs wasn’t so bad, definitely not as deep, but the blood pouring out of the leg wound was not sustainable. He’d bleed out fast if it wasn’t stopped quickly. 

You jumped off your mare and ripped a sleeve off your blouse. “Sit down against the tree.”

Pero blinked at you, confused. “What? Why?”

“Because you’re going to bleed out,” you declared impatiently. “And I can help slow it down.”

He limped over to the nearest tree and slid down onto the ground, his hurt leg stretched out. You squatted beside him and tied the fabric as tightly around his thigh as you could, just above where it was bleeding.

“That should keep you alive until we find someplace to shelter and I can properly treat your wounds,” you told him.

Hopefully wherever you went you’d find medical supplies.

“How’d you know to do that?” Pero inquired as he pushed himself back up onto his feet with a pained grunt. 

“My grandfather was a doctor,” you explained. “I used to sneak into his library and read his medical journals. My parents had taught me to read, but I wasn’t allowed to read anything remotely scientific. I loved it enough to break their rules.”

Reading about how human bodies worked, how diseases spread, how to heal the injured, had been fascinating to you.

You never had actually thought you’d have to put the skills you’d learned into practice.

“You need to get up on your horse,” you told him. “That won’t stop the bleeding completely. I need more supplies.”

Pero gave you a nod and limped over to his stallion, mounting him on the right side so he wouldn’t have to use his injured leg to hop on.

You were back in your saddle before he was. “Any idea where we can hole up?”

He huffed. “No place with medical supplies. But I’ve passed here before, a few times. There’s an abandoned cottage up the path. I’ve never explored it. Maybe there’s something useful there?”

“Worth a shot,” you decided, frowning. Again his fate would depend on luck. “Where is it?”

“Not far,” Pero answered as he collected his reins. “Probably a ten minute ride from here if we get the horses moving fast. Can’t miss it from the trail.”

You nodded at him and dug your heels into your horse’s flank. She bolted into a canter, and you led the way to the cottage, Pero’s horse not far behind.

You regularly checked behind you to make sure Pero hadn’t fallen from his horse. The pace couldn’t have felt good with that injury on his side, and his blood loss could have led him to getting lightheaded and falling off his horse. He had already appeared too pale for your liking.

You both arrived at the cottage safely before anything of the sort could happen. He was leaning forward, grasping his horse’s mane tightly to keep himself centered, but Pero was hanging on.

You allowed yourself to briefly to scan the cottage, studying the beautiful gray stone covered with green - some kind of plant with vines having taken over much of the building. It was beautiful like that though. It looked peaceful.

And it’d be more than useless to you if it was empty.

You and Pero both slid off your horses as soon as you were at the hitching post next to the front porch, and he nearly fell to his knees, so weakened from blood loss he’d have full on collapsed if you hadn’t been there to catch him.

You slung his left arm over your shoulder and supported some of his weight as you guided him into the shelter, thanking any god listening that the door hadn’t been hard to open even though it clearly hadn’t been in a while.

The inside of the cottage was dingy and dusty, but you could’ve cared less. Your only concern was for the man fading next to you.

You helped him take off his armor and led him to the bed pushed against the far corner of the open space and had him lay over the covers before you began your search for anything that could help you treat his wounds, checking every storage space, every overturned item scattered in the place. You tried not to think of why the previous owner’s items seemed to be scattered everywhere. None of the scenarios that popped into your head were good ones.

You did not find a kit for treating injuries, but you did find a few useful items. A bottle of unlabeled liquor, kitchen bowls, and cloth that seemed dusty but otherwise clean.

You fetched water from the well in the back of the cottage and used one of the old bowls to soak a few of the cloths.

You then knelt beside Pero, offering him the alcohol to chug for pain relief, and got to work. You started by cleaning the blood from around his leg wound and wrapping it tightly with the fresh, flexible cloth you’d found. Then you removed the piece of your blouse that had cut off the flow of blood and hoped that the new, more proper bandage would be enough, knowing that keeping the old one on would’ve eventually cost him the leg.

You moved onto the wound on his right side, and did the same, wrapping the cloth around his entire middle, trying not to stare at his smooth abdomen, which already carried a couple aged scars. He groaned when you put pressure on the wound but did not complain otherwise.

Once you were done, his eyes drooped, and he let himself doze off. You knew it was just sleep, not something deeper, because he was softly snoring, but it still worried you. It was still early in the day and Pero never slept before nightfall. The blood loss had taken a significant toll on him.

But as long as he didn’t get an infection, he’d be alright. If he didn’t.

You chewed on your lip and covered him with one of the spare blankets folded on a shelf next to the bed, trying to keep your mind occupied. There was no use worrying about something you couldn’t prevent.

You tended to the horses after, untacking them and letting them feed on the grass along the edge of the cottage, before you collected more water from the well and headed back indoors. You drank some and curled up on the unoccupied side of the bed, careful not to disturb Pero.

He looked so peaceful when he slept, and you couldn’t help but watch him for a time, studying his most prominent features. His curved nose, his soft lips, his patchy beard, the long, narrow scar over his left eye. You silently wondered how’d he got it. Certainly from a fight with either knives or swords, but when and with whom? It wasn’t the first time you’d had that question. It had been a while that you’d mulled over it, generally wanting to know more about him and his adventures. The things he’d had to do to survive.

You promised yourself you’d ask him someday, before you parted.

For now though, you let him rest, falling asleep beside him.

x

For a few days you lived in a state of anxiety while Pero slipped in and out of sleep, slowly beginning to regain his strength. At first he mostly stayed in bed, only getting up to tend to his bathroom needs, a task you needed to help him with, to his dismay.

By some miracle his wounds didn’t get ugly and inflamed, and by the fourth day it was clear they were knitting back together on their own. You replaced the cloth covering them every night, when you took time to also wash his face and hands.

On the seventh day you made him take a bath in the cottage tub, no longer able to withstand sleeping next to him without one. The summer heat making his stench unbearable.

However unpleasant his scent had been, you’d discovered that watching him strip out of his dirty clothes was anything but. You’d been in the kitchen, about ready to prepare a meal of berries and oatmeal for you both when he had given into your demand, and you nearly dropped the bowl in your hands as he limped over to the tub and pulled his black shirt up over his head, tossing it to the floor. He was facing the tub, turned away from you, so you had a great view of the flexing muscles in his upper arms and his expansive shoulders as he did so. 

There were more scars on his back. As far as you could tell, all caused by a blade. You felt an urge to kiss them but didn’t give in to temptation, staying locked in place instead.

And then he tugged off his pants and his undergarment, small round bottom completely exposed for your eyes to feast upon.

“Enjoying the view?” he asked you knowingly.

He must have eyes behind his head, you thought, averting your gaze as your cheeks heated. 

He craned his neck to glance at you over his shoulder and grinned before he stepped into the tub, grimacing as he bent to sit down in it. You couldn’t help but glance at him a few times out of the corner of your eyes as he did so.

“Your spare clothes are on the chair by the bed,” you told him as you got back to your task of mixing the oatmeal and berries together.

“I saw.”

“And the food is ready when you are,” you declared, placing the two bowls on the table with spoons. You began chowing down on yours, starved. You hadn’t been eating a lot the last few days, trying to preserve what little food you both had left. You’d have to try your hand at hunting tomorrow if Pero still wasn’t healed enough to do it himself. He’d brought a bow and arrows with him on the journey, and you’d taught yourself how to use one of your older brother’s bows when you were a teenager. In a pinch your skills would be enough to bring down a deer.

“Thanks,” he said to your back. You’d refused to sit in the chair that would give you a full-frontal view of him, knowing you’d lose what little composure you had left if you saw him on full display.

You swallowed the mouthful of oatmeal you were chewing on and smiled though he could not see it. “You’re welcome.”

“For everything,” he continued. “I know I wasn’t the easiest patient. I do not like feeling useless and weak. Needing to be taken care of.”

“We all need help at one time or another,” you told him. “There’s no shame in it.”

“In any case, that’s done with,” Pero informed you. “My wounds should be healed enough not to open with movement anymore. Tomorrow we will ride out. There’s a town not far from here. We need the food. You haven’t been eating enough.”

“You noticed?”

“I did,” he confirmed, his voice underlined with disapproval.

You could hear sloshing as he stood from the bath and you could almost picture what he looked like as he dried himself off, gleaming with water, thick dark hair curly and dripping wet. You squeezed your legs together, trying to soothe the ache that flared between them.

He dressed in his clean clothes and you both finished your meals at the table in an awkward silence. Awkward for you anyway, after getting caught ogling him. You felt like a horny teenager all over again.

After the meal Pero excused himself to get fresh air on the porch while you cleaned up. When the bowls and utensils were put away, you stepped out too.

It was evening, but dark like midnight. A storm was brewing, dark clouds gathering in the sky, and you could hear a rumble in the distance as the wind picked up.

“Probably going to be a nasty one tonight,” Pero guessed.

“The wind feels good, at least,” you said, closing your eyes to focus on the feeling of it brushing against your face, drying the sweat off your forehead. It had been miserably hot the last couple days. The air completely dead.

When you opened your eyes, you caught Pero staring at you. He played it off like he was just taking a glance, but his eyes had darted away too quickly to convince you.

There was another crack of thunder, and as if the sound had opened the heavens, rain began to pour down.

You observed it as your thoughts wandered. Tomorrow. He wanted to continue the trip tomorrow. That meant that in five days you’d reach your destination and go your separate ways, pretending like you’d never met.

But you had. You’d been each other’s only constant companion for weeks, you’d saved each other’s lives, and you both were clearly attracted to each other. You’d shared nothing of the sort with your previous husband, and you’d share nothing of the sort with your betrothed. Yes, he’d been nice enough, but he was nothing like Pero. No matter what he did, you’d always compare him to Pero, and you knew he’d always fall short. You had bonded with Pero in a way you’d never be allowed to again. Nor did you want to.

“Pero,” you said, turning to him. “I don’t want to say goodbye.”

“It’s the only way,” he told you, as if he truly believed it.

“No it isn’t,” you refuted.

“What would be your suggestion?” he inquired, folding his arms as he faced you.

“We run away together,” you postulated. “Find a piece of land far from my father and anyone else who would tear us apart and settle down on it. Grow our own food and live the rest of our lives out peacefully.”

“You want to make me a farmer?” He chuckled.

“You really want to wander around all your life fighting battle after battle for profit until you’re too old for it and die?” you asked him.

“I don’t do domestic,” he stated, glowering at you.

You huffed. “You can’t know that if you’ve never tried it.”

“I do know, and I won’t try it.”

You glared at him. “Stubborn man. What has made you so fearful of an average life?”

“I’m not afraid,” he declared, eyebrows narrowing. “I would be bored. Tending to crops all day long, staring out at the same patch of land every night.”

“Even with me?” you inquired. “Do you think you could get bored of me?”

Your breath caught, afraid he’d say yes, but he fell silent instead, and his jaw worked.

“I highly doubt that,” he finally admitted. “Not when just looking at you entertains me.”

Your cheeks burned and you glanced at your feet before meeting his eyes again. “Then give me a chance.”

His intense gaze after your plea made your body flood with heat. His want so close to the surface you felt like a lamb that had stumbled into a wolf’s den.

“Please,” you begged.

There was a bright flash of light in the sky accompanied by another boom and the next thing you knew he’d pitched forward and pulled you in for an open mouth kiss with one hand at the base of your neck. You’d moaned into his mouth at the intensity of it, and he had ripped his mouth away from yours as quickly as he’d melded them together.

“Are you sure about it?” he questioned, chest heaving. “You want to be with me? Marry me? It would mean never seeing your siblings again. Your father.”

“My father got rid of me,” you replied harshly, “And my siblings did not protest when he announced that I would be marrying a man several countries away. They don’t care. And I can’t find it in my heart to care about them either, not anymore. You however, you I care about. Please tell me you care about me too. That this isn’t just...tension between us.”

He stared into your worried eyes and ducked down to kiss your lips sweetly. “It’s not just tension,” he assured you, resting his forehead against yours. “I have never felt this way with any other woman I’ve been around or bedded.”

“Show me then,” you demanded breathlessly. “Don’t just bed me. Make love to me.”

He cursed under his breath and his lips crashed into yours as he finally gave into his desires. A particularly loud thunderclap made you flinch, but you ignored it, latching onto his shirt collar and dragging him off the porch, into the cottage. He slammed the door behind you and immediately reached for the laces on your leather vest, desperately tugging them loose. The vest rolled off your shoulders, onto the floor, and he eagerly lifted your blouse up, over your head.

He made no effort not to stare at your bare chest, eyeing your breasts with a feral hunger you’d never witnessed before. You reached out for his hands and pressed them to your bosom, eyes never leaving his, and with a growl he dipped his head to nip at the top of them. You moaned at the pinching sensation and rolled your head back. “Pero,” you whimpered. “Get on the bed.”

You could feel him grin against your chest. “You first.”

“I don’t want you to reopen your wound,” you explained quickly. “Lay back. Let me lead.”

You could hear him grumble between wet kisses to your collarbone, but he obeyed, pulling you towards the bed and falling back on it. You took a moment to remove your riding pants and underwear then crawled up, over him, slotting his still covered thighs between yours, and pinning his arms to the bed by his wrists, bending to give him a quick peck on the lips.

He jerked his arms out of your grip to intertwine the fingers of his left hand with yours, while his right hand cupped your face, watching as your face was lit up by the lightning that flashed outside the nearby window. “Downright angelic,” he murmured, studying your face with wonder, and he pulled you in to meld your mouths together again, slipping his tongue inside.

You hummed happily before sitting back up on your knees, running your hands down the center of his broad chest, over the slight curve his soft stomach, and curling your fingers around the edge of his riding pants, just above the button. You smirked playfully down at him, and he grunted. “Angel of death.”

You beamed at that, prideful of the need in his voice. You unmade the button of his pants and jerked them down, along with his underwear, exposing his already half-hard cock. Despite the temptation presented before you, you took the time to completely remove his clothes then made your way back up, taking his length in your hands gently. 

He lifted his head off his pillow and groaned loudly, hands grasping at the sheets underneath him as you began stroking him, giving his length a twist on occasion. Once he was firm and solid in your hands, you lined him up with your entrance and sank down on him with a cry that was muted by another roll of thunder directly above the cottage. You could’ve sworn it shook the whole building, but your focus was entirely on the feeling of the stretch as he disappeared inside you.

“You’re so tight,” Pero grunted, brows furrowing as you squirmed around so he’d bottom out in you. It took patience, but you got there.

“You’re so big,” you finally panted out. “You feel amazing.” You’d never felt so full before with him fitting inside you so snugly. You allowed your body a moment to adjust to his heft before you started rocking against him, dragging yourself over his length until he was almost out of you before easing yourself back down, allowing him to fill you up again. He reached up to hold onto your sides as you moved over him, and he observed your pleased expression with half lidded eyes. 

“You’re perfect,” he hissed. “You going to come just like this?”

You had never come by your first husband alone. You had always had to help yourself get there or take care of yourself after he was satisfied, more often than not. But your first husband had been nothing like Pero. He had never praised you, never touched you like Pero. Never looked up at you in reverence like Pero was. Never hit perfectly against that spot inside you that knocked the air out of your lungs.

You nodded at Pero, eyes squeezed tight. “Almost.”

He grabbed onto your buttocks with one hand and shoved you against him unexpectedly, sending himself deep inside you. The suddenness of the motion had you crying out loudly over the sound of the pounding rain outside, and you clenched around him as your orgasm overtook you.

You were still shaking from it when he sat up with a wince and banded an arm around you, flipping you onto your back with ease. “My turn,” he rasped in your ear.

“Your wound,” you protested, chest heaving. “You’re going to hurt yourself.”

“The only pain I’m going to feel now is the good kind,” he promised, guiding himself back into you and pushing himself in as deep as he could go. His arms braced your hips securely against his and he kissed you breathless as he began to pound into you, chasing his own high with a ferocity that had you clinging to his arms for dear life.

You couldn’t believe it, but you felt the coil in your belly tightening again, and you knew there was a chance you’d be able to climax again, if he could hold on long enough.

“I’m going to come again,” you announced to him between gasps, in hopes that he could hold himself back.

He gritted his teeth. “Tell me what you need, angel.”

“Just this,” you whined, nails digging into his back for traction.

He moaned and there was a hitch in his movements before he resumed his unforgiving pace and deep thrusts.

You felt his hips stutter a few times and you were afraid you wouldn’t get there before him, but it ended up being perfectly timed, you screaming his name just as he lost it, groaning lowly into your ear as he spilled inside you.

He found your mouth again, as soon as he’d caught his breath, and kissed you so softly you could barely register that he was. It was so sweet tears stung your eyes. You had never received that kind of affection before.

He slipped out of you afterwards, dropping down beside you on his back, and he raised an arm to wipe the sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand as his body went limp.

You rolled onto your side to face him, casually kissing his shoulder as you did so, and he turned his head slightly to nuzzle your delicate nose with his, enjoying a simple, intimate moment with you. Your pulse calmed at his gentle gesture, like the pattering rain on the rooftop. The worst of the storm was over.

Pero eventually palmed your face again. “Are you alright?”

You grinned at him and covered his mouth with yours briefly before answering. “Never better.”

It wasn’t a lie, though you could tell you’d be sore in the morning. For the first time in your life, it would be more than worth it.

“You sure about this?” he asked, concerned. “About us? What this means?”

You rolled your eyes at him. “Did you not get enough oxygen while I was kissing you? I already said I am. And I have certainly not changed my mind after that.”

Pero chuckled and tucked a stray strand of hair behind your ear.

“And you?” you prompted.

He smiled up at you, eyes warm. “I wouldn’t dare.”

“Good.”

You turned away from him, ready to sleep, but he shuffled behind you and sucked in a deep breath.

“Who did that to you?” he growled on his exhale, outraged.

Your eyes widened when you realized what he’d seen, and you rolled back over to face him. He was sitting up in bed, a lit candle and its plate in one hand, lighting the immediate area up with a soft orange glow. You couldn’t recall ever seeing so much fury in his eyes before.

“My husband,” you replied quietly, feeling ashamed, though you knew you shouldn’t be. “He did not like my willfulness like you do. He used to...whip me sometimes when I tested him too much.”

Your lip trembled at the distant memories of stinging pain, though you’d tried to be stoic about it.

Pero worked his jaw. “That bastard better be rotting in Hell.”

“It doesn’t bother you, does it?” you inquired hesitantly, placing a hand on his chest. “That I’m marked?”

He huffed and leaned in to kiss your forehead gently. “Of course not. It only bothers me that he harmed you. It’s barbaric.” He jerked away to point out the scar over his eye. “Does this bother you?”

You smiled at him almost shyly. “No. I actually kind of like it. I am not glad you have gotten hurt in the past, but I am glad you survived, and your scars are just permanent reminders of that.”

“It’s the same for me,” he assured you, dragging you closer so your legs intertwined with his and your breaths mingled. “No scar could make me think of you any differently, angel. You are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever had the pleasure to lay eyes on. And I can’t wait to marry you.”

You beamed at him and got to your knees, throwing a leg over his waist so you could sit on his lap, careful not to hit his healing wound. His makeshift cloth bandage wasn’t bloody, so that was a good sign that the night’s activities had not tugged on it too much. 

His eyebrows shot up as he watched you settle down. “You want more?”

You ground your core against his cock experimentally and to your pleasant surprise, you felt him getting hard again.

“I like when you talk about marrying me,” you admitted. The warmth that had flooded your chest when he said marry you was only second best to the warmth he had caused when he was inside you. Just one more time, you thought. And then I can sleep.

He smiled and brushed his lips against yours, wrapping you up in his arms again, his rough hands gentle on the marked skin of your upper back. 

Silently, with a smoldering look in his eyes, he gently turned you away from him, guiding you down onto your knees and elbows, and you covered your mouth with the back of an arm when you realized he was going to take you from behind.

He worked his fingers over your clit first, drawing low moans from your mouth and wetness from your core before he slid back inside, more easily than the first time, but you were still just as tight around him. You clutched at the sheets and focused on the filling sensation and his firm grip on your hips.

He pumped into you at a steady rhythm, his belly pressed against your ass, and his lips found your scars as he covered you, kissing them like his mouth could magically heal your past traumas.

And it occurred to you, maybe he could.

xxx

Masterlist

[ntls-24722]

ok so i feel like it's about time i've talked about the weird, convoluted headcanon lore i've made for DJMM. everything i leave in my head for too long gets distorted and unrecognizable from.the source

ok so i think a lot of DJMM enjoyers have seen this tweet and while it's fake, because there's like 5 sentences alluding to DJMM in the entire game i've accepted it as fact and I went so overboard with the detail that it says home language. Not like, "original language" or nothing like that, home language

So, alongside the fact that DJMM has a couple things implying that he wasn't originally from Fazbear Entertainment (why would fazbear entertainment issue a warranty... to themselves?...), and that there also just happens to be a wedding dj company called The Music Man IRL that I found by accident, I kind of just made this whole weird thing that before he was bought by Fazbear Entertainment he was a Wedding DJ in Japan.

Alongside being able to set up practically everything, clean up afterwards, and cater to guests in all sorts of ways, he was also made to be able to just... hit the town and stroll down to his destination instead of being directly shipped to or brought there. Imagine being some little kid watching this giant spider thing stroll down the street.

Hold on to that visual, actually, because that brings me to why he considers Japan his home rather than just his... place of origin.

So his bouncer mode. It actually wasn't experimental but rather a very often-used mode of his since I imagine he's attended many weddings were someone has had to be... forcibly escorted out. But what the problem is with it is that during that mode, he is essentially given no restrictions on what he can do and has just been activating it so he can go against orders.

He's big, but he's travelling on hand, hulking around a big bag of supplies on the way, it may take a while for him to get from headquarters to his destination, maybe even days. But what his creators don't know is that he's been taking detours and entire days off to bond with civilians that have been fascinated by him, originally just children marvelling him, but he grew closer to them and becoming much more like a weird uncle to them, growing a bond with a rural community to the point even their families know of him and see him as a friend, and it's this bond that starts to bring problems.

DJMM starts to demand things that robots don't really get to demand, like days off and privacy, which concerns the company as for why he'd even need that. He starts committing outright fraud to insert legally insert himself into society and starts taking tips or some of the profit to spend for himself. He starts tearing out/ sabotaging GPS systems, or disabling microphones so they can't figure out where he's been going or what he's saying. It gets to the point where he outright threatens employees' lives and keeps some hostage to force them into allowing him to do what he wants.

The arms race between DJMM and his creators comes to a close when his creators decide to sell him off to Fazbear entertainment, sieging him and choking him of his battery life before doing a factory reset and sending him off, finally getting rid of him (also voiding Fazbear's warranty on him if his bouncer mode is ever activated again)

While he was able to secretly save his memories, it's not much use now that he's in a whole new country. He's still figuring out how to reconnect with the kids he practically watched grow up but he's also still getting up to trouble in America. we stan a dude who commits... all of this

His design is, now that i realize it, very much inspired by Moguro from the Laughing Salesman. Also he's got the fun eye liquid swirlies from DJMM's Beta design

which, speaking of DJMM's weird design elements. ✨weird things i've noticed about DJMM's design✨

Weird long hole things in the sides of him??? I've seen NO-ONE talk about this

Those aren't speakers. I thought they were, too, for the longest time, but while staring at his ass for a particularly long time I realized that A. They don't have the texture of his other speakers and B. They go in?

Second, he has a gummy smile. It's not shown a lot since i guess his default position is just an agape mouth but in the rare occassion he clicks his teethplates together, or this one Particular render, he's got gums for days

also what the freak, anytime i try to look up a specific facial feature for reference im always finding procedures for removing it!! i'm sick of it!! it popped up when i was looking up cleft chins for Music Man and it popped up for gummy smiles! we can't have SHIT in his household!! goddamn!!!

[echantedtoon]

Waning Obsession(Yandere Kokushibo x Reader) Ch4 To Go Back

(Warnings: Some drinking in the background.

Yes. Kokushibo is demon while the rest of his family is human. In this timeline one of their ancestors was demon and Michikatsu just happened to be the only one who inherits it, which also implies to any further children he might have.

EDIT: Spelling errors are fixed plus I have changed how Yoriichi acts towards the end since I was told he does act a little ooc near the end.)

Step after step. Day after day.

His legs carried him closer and closer towards the destination of the festivities. Music played. Many people celebrated. Lots of guests coming forth to celebrate the creation of a new union. The birth of a new family soon. The joys of holy matrimony and true love.

"Shameful behavior."

He commented to himself watching as one of the men drunkenly pulled his laughing wife into his lap, giving her a big kiss to her cheek, and holding up a large mug. "TO LORD TSUGIKUNI AND HIS NEW WIFE!! MAY THEY BE HALF AS HAPPY AS ME AND MY BEAUTIFUL LITTLE LADY HERE!" The wife busted out laughing high pitched giggles in her husband's lap as he pulled the mug back chugging down the sake.

A loud laughing fit emanated throughout the crowds followed by wolf whistles as the man went back to smothering his wife back with affection as she just laughed. It made his eyes roll and a sigh escape his lips at the sight. Truly degenerate. Now he remembered vividly why he preferred staying away from celebrations and festivals if he could help it. However this one time he couldn't stay away. It was required for him to at least make one appearance. If he didn't then he'd be looked down upon and get punished later by his father. Although by the scent of alcohol in the air as the sights of his father's men acting like drunk idiots everywhere, he already was being punished.

He wanted to arrive the day before the celebration but he had underestimated how long the woman with turquoise eyes would take and despite him hurrying, he was too late. He heard the sounds of loud laughter a mile before he even saw the outskirts of the city and was hit with the reek of alcohol long before he even stepped foot inside the city and made his way quickly through the throngs of people and towards the center. His senses were attacked by the strong smells to the point he had to place a cloth around his nose and mouth in a dire failed attempt to fill it. The crowds were terrible. Pushing against his body uncomfortably so and bumping his arms annoyingly so. And his father wondered why he preferred meeting outside his home city.

He was hoping to at least wait until the day after the official celebration but he knew lateness would also be frowned upon if he didn't have a good excuse for it and unfortunately he had none. So he'd have to brace himself and push through it like every other uncomfortable experience of his. The bright lights sent his eyes' sensory vision haywire with all these lanterns hung about so he only had the middle pair open for now. He'd deal with the headache later.

Although he supposed he should be grateful that he made it on time considering it took him a few days travel to get here. The small village was one he discovered on his way back home from the latest battle grounds, and honestly he hadn't known that it was even there. Didn't know it even existed until he made camp one night and had been disturbed by a woman with big turquoise eyes bumping into him in the middle of the night. The plan was to originally arrive a few weeks early in the city, find a gift that was acceptable quickly, then deliver it to his brother with a quick congratulations and leave right after to see his father for future battle plans against the Kibutsuji forces. However his plans changed when he stumbled upon the small secret village in the forest pass. Why stay longer in the city he hated when he could just buy something from the village and present it to his brother and leave right after? Even if he was a little late he could avoid the stupid crowds for a while longer. However he would no doubt he dealing with the aftermath of a massive headache later.

The loud laughter, music, and other blurring noises blending together from the crowds was mixed together in a vile assortment of stupidity. The only thing to remedy this would be to seek shelter at the one place he was dreading a lot because of a certain burgundy haired man the same height and weight as him. He always hated his meetings with family. Always so...

Self depleting. Tiring. Dreadful.

With a sigh he pushed through the crowds faster, pushing a drunk shoulder aside harshly as the idiot tripped and fell face first into the dirt, his comrades howling in drunken laughter at the sight. He hated this! Despicable behavior. And most of these men would be troupes in the upcoming years if his father's peace talks with the head of the Kibutsuji Clan failed once again like it had a couple months ago. Dammit. He should be back there accompanying his father instead of wasting time with this stupid celebration. He almost wished someone had struck down the messenger bird that carried the news about his brother getting engaged. He had been annoyed with the news but his father had been down right furious.

Furious at all of them.

Furious at his brother for getting engaged without his permission or even consulting him. Furious at his mother for going ahead and giving his brother permission as the matriarch of the Tsugikuni Clan. But most of all furious at him. For not already being married before his younger brother even got engaged. He was the eldest. He should've already been married off with at least one child on the way. As heir to the entire clan he should've been doing these things. To succeed. To excell long before his brother did. However the long and hard war had taken up much of the time he had for the last three years. It was his existence and trust his father had in him that called him to the war. His brother was left to train the troops and only be called to the battlefields if both of them were preoccupied with important matters or needed the extra back up. Otherwise it was training or going back to spend time with their sickly mother. He didn't want to be here. He should be at the peace talks to balance his father's temper but-

"Go home! See what Yoriichi has been doing while we're out here bleeding in the dirt!"

"I would be more use to you here."

"DO NOT ARGUE WITH ME, BOY!! You will do as I tell you without question! I won't have the entire Clan humiliated by having people think I can't control my own sons and wife! Go see to that message and make it seem like I had a say in it!"

"Then would it not be more effective if we both attended the engagement ceremony?"

"I have to attend the peace offering Kibutsuji extended. If I left then I'll be seen as weak, and I am not weak! Go attend and see what treachery is going on there without me. If neither of us shows up, then I'll become a laughing stock in front of my own people! I will not have it!! ......And check on your mother while you're there. If your brother is neglecting her needs while running whatever fantasy he's dreaming of, there'll be hell to pay."

"Of course."

If nothing else he's only here for his mother and nothing else there. Yes. He'd see what was going on here, but then he was leaving right after. The closer he got to the main building, the more annoying things became. Possibly because of the pounding headache he had now. Which was why he was glad that at least the guards stationed at the entrance of his home weren't drunk and complete stone faced and serious. A perfect result of his brother's hard training. Which both angered and relieved him to no end. It took no time at all for them to recognize him even before he lowered the cloth over his face to stare at them.

"Open the doors."

They did so immediately, silently without even saying a word. One guard giving a specific coded knock on the door before a loud clicking noise of a thick lock undone before the thick doors was opened from the other side allowing him in and away from a lot of the noise. Not all but a good portion of it was blocked by the fifteen foot walls and the distant smell of alcohol was slightly dulled by the lush gardens stationed in and maintained throughout his home. Beautiful flowers blooming everywhere, some exotic and only grown within the confines of his home. Some relief flooded out of him but there was still the lingering dread of what was to come. A half growl left his lips.

"Let us finish this."

The hat above his head was removed allowing him some freedom from him for a while. Six eyes popping open one after another in view of everyone and everything around him. Terrifying to most anyone who saw him. And most did cower or look away from him as he began walking straight through the garden and towards the main building. More guards were stationed around the estate or walking around on patrol. Most bowed as he walked past trying their best to not look him in the eyes. Good. Meant he was still largely received as stronger than them. Let them be afraid. He paid no attention to any of them making his way inside the building in search for his mother.

His brother could wait.

The large man caused many a servant and guard to keep to themselves as he made his way through finely furnished walls filled with paintings and other fine things only they could afford. Fine life for him to live outside of the battlefield. The only thing he could do for now was make his way to his mother's bed chambers and push open the door once he arrived there. The door creaked open loudly as he looked into the room...

Empty.

The bed laid bare and empty. Neatly made blankets covering the soft futon. It had looked completely unused and unslept in. It looked like his mother was up to her habits again and not resting like she was supposed to, and his brother wasn't doing anything to make sure that she did! Again! His anger rose as his soaring headache throbbed from his head, although he did not show it outwardly.

"Where is my mother?"

A passing servant girl no older than sixteen jumped in shock at his sudden voice looking wide eyed in fear at him. She had been trying to just speed walk by without him noticing looking down at the basket of laundry she held but it seemed she'd be spoken too after all. Her eyes shrank as a hard gulp swallowed down her throat.

"Answer me."

"L-Lady Akeno is in the west garden w-with Lord Yoriichi, Sir!," the girl squealed out of fear like a mouse trembling like she had been dunked in ice water.

His body stiffened up. His fist nearly crushing his hat from the sudden revelation. "...I see."

The girl whimpered out in fear, curling up on herself more as the man turned silently and stiffly walked out of the room and down the halls. Of course she was there. Of COURSE HE was with her. OF COURSE HE HAD TO RUN INTO HIM SO SOON!! He felt dread and anger filling up his veins like boiling water the closer and closer he walked towards the west garden. The west garden was the most beautiful part of the giant garden surrounding the estate with a large koi pond and a few statues, so of course his mother would choose there to relax. Where else would she be but there?! With every step closer and closer to the west garden, he became more and more angered. His father would be seeing a lot more blood shed from him on the battlefield after this! His anger would be taken out on whatever unfortunate enemy soldiers that crossed his path later-

"Aniue?"

He froze.

...no...No. NO!!

"Michikatsu, my son. Is that you? I fear my sight might be going too."

He didn't move. Didn't blink....But he had no choice in the end not to look. His head turned. Three wide eyes stared. Pupils shrank. Before he snapped his head away, two pairs of eyes closing and disappearing melting back into flesh and disappearing from view.

"It's been so long. Come here and greet your mother."

He could hear the smile in her voice. The happiness of seeing him after months on end in the battlefields. That's why he granted her the comfort of a normal face. It would put her more at ease. Her comfort was something that he wanted especially now. So when he turned to her, a face of a normal man now, he tried his hardest not to make his anger known outright.

"It's been a while..Mother."

An older face smiled at him. Her soft features worn and tired with wrinkles and eye bags showing her age. Her long black hair already leaking grey strands through them. Yet despite all of that, she was still one of the most beautiful women he'd ever seen. Her long silk robes trailed the floor and pooled around her feet as she smiled at him. On either side of her was another younger woman around his age...and another man whom bore a striking resemblance to-

"Elder brother!"

A soft smile on a face mirroring many of his own features smiled back to him in the same happiness as their mother. Plume red eyes softly crinkled up in a smile as burgundy hair the same shade as his own framed them handsomely.

Yoriichi Tsugikuni.

It's no wonder why many women fawned over him more than himself. His soft nature, and handsome features was a more desirable one compared to his usually frightening one. Now thinking about it, it's not a surprise that his younger brother actually managed to get engaged first. His earrings swayed annoyingly as he tilted his smile at his brother. His hands held their mother's body up on her left side while the strange woman he'd never seen before stayed next to her right doing the same.

"I'm so happy to see you here, Michi!," Yoriichi greeted.

He bristled up at the nickname before frowning. "Don't call me that."

"Are you still insisting on being called 'Kokushibo' outside of the battlefield as well? The kanji for that is blank death, and that doesn't suit my aniue at all." He smiled warmly at him making an embarrassment arise in him.

"If I had it my way, you'd call me by my fighting name."

"Enough." Their mother wriggled one hand out of the woman's before motioning for him to come closer with a smile. "My son. It's been too long. What brings you back home?"

Despite his body screaming at him to stay away, he approached anyways and took the hand extended to him. "I returned to check on your health while Father attends the peace talks. You should be in bed resting instead of walking around this late." Yoriichi should've made sure of that!

Her expression soured before she sighed. "That man. All he ever thinks about is his own wants. It's a miracle he hasn't died from his blood pressure yet. I'm perfectly fine to walk around my home as I please. I'm sick not dead."

"You should listen to Father and the doctors. You'll only get worse pushing yourself. He won't be happy to know you aren't obeying them."

"Well you let me worry about your father." And he often wondered why Yoriichi didn't listen to him. "Did you just come home to see only me?"

Ah. She must've been referring to the hell storm outside. A.k.a Yoriichi letting the entire city get wasted for this stupid celebration. He stiffened up his jaw but held his composure in front of their mother.

He nodded. "Yes...Father insisted that I come and see who Yoriichi decided to wed." His hardened gaze finally looked into the patient eyes of his brother and his anger flared anew. "He was very displeased by the sudden news. Strange you never mentioned anything about this before."

"Not true. I told him that I was in love but he dismissed me as he usually does," he spoke calmly with that smile, "I took that as he wouldn't care if I married her either, but it's customary to let all our family know about my engagement."

"And you'd let out people get drunk and act like fools?" He challenged with a deeper frown. "It's a disgusting and disgraceful sight out there! Our men acting like vile pigs! What if there was a surprise ambush? Or an emergency that called for more troops being called out? They wouldn't be able to do anything being more useless than a blinded three legged horse!"

Despite his anger cracking through, his brother's smile never wavered. "There's no danger right now, Michikatsu. Everyone has been so weary and tired from all this fighting. They can use one night of celebration and joy after three years of war. Besides we have something worth celebrating don't we?"

Aren't you happy for me? That's what his words and eyes were secretly asking him but he wouldn't give him that satisfaction.

"One night is all it takes for us to lose everything! Do not allow something like this to happen again." His brother's smile wavered. "You still haven't even told me who you intended to marry. Father would like to know at least that fact."

"You've already seen her." Yoriichi's head turned. His head turned. And both stared at the woman beside his mother he hadn't recognized. "Michikatsu, this is Uta. I've chosen her to be my bride."

The woman seemed to look slightly nervous when he stared at her but smiled nonetheless. "Hello! You're Michikatsu! Yoriichi's told me so much about you. I'm so glad we could finally meet."

This woman...This woman was both what he DID ...and didn't expect Yoriichi to fall for. Didn't expect her because judging by how she looked, she was a mere commoner below their social status in her plain clothes. Something their father would NOT be pleased with or would have permitted. Did expect because honestly...he absolutely looked like someone his brother would fall for. Someone not bound in politics. Her big dark eyes made her face look cute and the cloth tied around her head gave her a soft of homey look that could get someone to relax easily.

He couldn't help but sneer at her in his mind and think of how much more prettier she'd be if she had more color in her eyes. Turquoise to be exact. That was such a lovely and unique color. With rosey cheeks and a polite smile and an attitude that could put him in his place politely without losing her cool and didn't treat him differently despite being a demon-

He shook his head upon realizing the strange looks he was getting from the three of them before clearing his throat. "I see..And where did you meet her?"

"We met two years ago." His brother smiled fondly at the woman, Uta, in front of him. "Kibutsuji's forces had wiped out most of the east side of our territories. Uta was one of the survivors we brought to the city for sanctuary. We've bonded since, and fallen in love."

He could almost gag on how sickly sweet this was. Nothing like he'd ever interact with his wife whenever he did get married as heir to the Tsugikuni Clan.

"Dear, have you visited a bakery before coming here?" He hummed looking back at his mother. She gazed at him in a confused manner. "You smell strongly of foods."

Foods? What could she- Oh. Oh right. He's almost forgotten about the entire reason why he was here. Silently he reached into the folds of his haori coat and pulled out a small cloth bag before bracing himself from anger and held out the bag to his brother who blinked in surprise.

"Here. An engagement gift to you and your bride. You'll find it acceptable."

Yoriichi gained a look of surprise but then smiled widely at him before taking the bag from him. "Brother...You got me a gift."

"It would've been improper of me if I didn't give you a customary gift." He bluntly said. It's nothing more than a mandatory custom to be upheld to avoid any unwanted drama.

They all watched his beaming brother just smile fondly at him before opening the bag and reaching his hand inside. The strong smells of cinnamon and mint rolling through the air as his hand grabbed something and pulled out a green object. They watched as Yoriichi held up the green rose shaped object that smelt like mint instead of a rose.

"How curious."

"What is it?," Uta asked taking it from him to ponder in her own hands. "....It smells of mint but looks like a green rose."

"It's a carved soap," he explained making them all look back at him. "I came across a carver whom carved soaps and candles into interesting shapes. I thought it'd be appropriate for a small gift."

"Aw. It's cute," Uta gushed looking at the little mint rose as Yoriichi went back to curiously rummage into the bag.

His own eyes widened when a wave of cinnamon hot them pulling out the red candle and pausing as the carved in pattern of the sun. Yoriichi stared at the object in his hand for a long while before dropping the bag and reaching his other hand out to run his fingertips delicately over the patterns. No doubt taken aback by the detail of it.

"Yoriichi?" Their mother questioned turning her attention to the candle he held and was also taken by the sight of the beautiful sun pattern. "Oh my. How lovely, and what a pleasant fragrance."

"It's what they call a 'scented candle'. Apparently they mix oils and spices into the wax in order to produce a desired aroma. The carver whom carved the soap also carved artwork into candles. I had her customize it just for the occasion."

His mother looked back to him blinking. "She? Are you telling me a woman made these?"

"Yes. Two women, but the only one who deserves praises is the one whom carved them into artwork. The other...was highly unpleasant."

His mother hummed. "Strange. Usually you don't see young women doing such work-"

"I love it." All looked back to his brother as he looked up with a bright, fond smile. "It's beautiful, Michi. I'll cherish it always."

He had to force his eyes away from the softness of his eyes before he could be embarrassed. "Tch. It's just a candle and some soap. Don't treat it like gold."

"It's better than gold. You obviously put a lot of thought into these. I'm so lucky to have you as a brother."

He didn't dare look up at him. He wouldn't allow himself to be embarrassed anymore than he already was. He fulfilled his obligations, and he would leave right after he made sure his mother got back to bed. His mother however was still looking over the candle in fascination, Yoriichi letting her run her own hands across the carving. So pretty. Such detailed work.

".... Michikatsu." He looked back to his mother. "Who's the name of the woman who carved this?"

"I do not know. She didn't say and I didn't ask."

"She does fine work. ..Do you perhaps think you could get me some like this? I think they would look so lovely decorating the book cases. I've never seen anything like this before and they would be such a nice addition to the home."

He blinked. His mother..wanted more of these candles as well? He continued staring at her for a long moment before nodding. "I can certainly get you as many as your heart desires, but it's getting late. You should be getting back to bed."

His mother sighed. "I swear you boys worry too much about me."

"And you worry to little." His eyes narrowed down to his brother despite Yoriichi never loosing his smile. He loathed absolutely everything he allowed to go on. Disgraceful. "...I will send you a report later after I alert Father of my visit here." He turned without another word placing the hat back on his head. "Get this city straightened out or else it'll be your hide to be hung out to dry."

[phanfictioncatalogue]

hi! last anon here who asked abt the time travel thingy, would also like to hear your all time favorite fics! im a bit overhwlemed with the so many fics i could read so a small list to start with would be immensely helpful 💗

All admins feel free to add on! But off the top of my head, here’s some of my favorite longer fics! Lmk if you want shorter recs too!

A Stolen Ring (ao3) - orphan_account

Summary: Dan’s not normal. Why?

He's not human, he has a mysterious ring, and he hates Phil Lester. They have a strange past, one filled with bullying and avoidance, but when Dan turns into an incubus, everything changes. He struggles with his identity and cries himself to sleep most nights, yearning to be normal. And somehow the universe makes it worse by bringing him and Phil together - in the most literal sense.

(TW) Absolutely Lovely (ao3) - Autumn_Kismet

Summary: His friends and family think he's acting strange, they're worried that he's depressed again, but Dan doesn't see it. The only thing he sees is the new guy at school, the quirky one with the black hair and stunning blue eyes, and that's bad. So bad... because he likes him, and Dan can't like him. Dan can't be gay. He'll lose his family, he'll lose his friends... he'll become just like his father, and that's the last thing that he wants in the entire world. It's a scary thought that he doesn't think will ever go away and if there's the possibility of that happening, of him becoming the disgusting monster that his father was, or is, then maybe the world is better off without him, regardless of what PJ's dad, his mum's new husband, has to say.

Believe in Me (ao3) - Elleberquist6

Summary: Dan Howell is living at home while he’s saving money for college, which isn’t easy since his parents don’t understand him. Unlike them, he loves dogs, is a vegetarian, has no interest in the family business, and he despises the supernatural. He struggles to accept things that are illogical, even though he is a kitsune. Kitsune are foxes whose powers involve the ability to cast illusions, but Dan just wants to be normal. Phil Lester has just moved to London, where he works as a dog walker. When his path crosses with Dan, Phil is eager to get to know him. Unfortunately, Phil soon finds that being friends with Dan is far more complicated than he could have imagined.

(TW) Break Me (ao3) - MySecretsX

Summary: In this world, you're marked with black. That's if you have a soulmate at least. Everyone is destined to cross paths with the one who is meant for them, at least once in their lives.

When you and your soulmate meet, you will touch, if only briefly, and the exact area of skin you touch with the other turns from black to white, with streaks of blue, purple, yellow, all marbled in with each other.

Daniel Howell is well-known in town. People cross the street if they're approaching him and newcomers to the neighbourhood are warned about his presence. Exactly like the Lester's were. But Phil Lester has other ideas, he saw the pain within the boy, how bad can he really be?

Bury Your Flame (ao3) - worriedpeach (skeletonflowers)

Summary: After receiving a dragon egg when his grandfather passed away, Phil is forced to ask for help from the local dragon tamer. As he soon finds out, Dan Howell is nothing he’s been expecting. Infuriating, ludicrous, and completely lacking respect, Dan is everything Phil hates. But Phil will do anything to make his grandfather proud, even if that means getting help from the local cluck.

Cat and Mouse (ao3) - jilliancares

Summary: Dan Howell is the Panther. He's evil, nefarious, ingenious, and good at coming up with adjectives for himself. The Raven is a nuisance, but he's definitely the most fun part when it comes to being a villain. As a child, Dan had been scared of his powers. He'd been weak. He'd become strong, though. Strong enough to torment the city; strong enough to annoy the Raven with every opportunity he got.

Phil Lester only had one goal these days. To become strong enough to defeat the Panther.

Desires (ao3) - A_Million_Regrets

Summary: What would you do if you were suddenly hauled from your inauspicious life and dumped into an unforeseen catastrophe with your worst enemy?

Dan Howell and Phil Lester completely and utterly hate each other. They fight every time they meet, and all of their friends are tired of it. But one day, these two hot-headed, reckless men stumble through a secret passage in a mysterious old house and wake up on a strange island uninhabited by other intelligent life forms. They only have each other and no way to escape. Will they fight to death, or will they learn to trust each other in a world where no one else exists? Can they put aside their mutual hatred for each other to survive this misfortune?

(TW) Get Out Your Damn Umbrellas (ao3) - llamalamp

Summary: Phil's only gone for one weekend.

Apparently that's all the time it takes for everything to fall apart.

(TW) Head Down Low (ao3) - Rhensis

Summary: Dan isn’t right. He’s not like most of the others, he’s not genetically pure. He has no destined path, he has nothing going for him in life. He’ll be lucky to get himself a job in a fast food kitchen, and everyone looks down on him like he’s a piece of dirt stuck at the bottom of their shoe. Except one person: Phil Lester.

The Colors in You (ao3) - Phandiction

Summary: Dan is a dragon with scales as black as a moonless night. Part of the Dark's, he’s not supposed to get along with the colorful Chrome dragons from the other side of the island. But after seeing a Chrome for the first time in person, he’s transfixed by the rainbow of colored scales and against his better judgement rescues the dragon from a group of Dark’s seeking to kill it. Now responsible for hiding and protecting the Chrome dragon named Phil until he’s recovered enough to return to his home, Dan questions the laws that's kept the two species from each other for centuries.

The Slave Boy (ao3) - Phandiction

Summary: On his eighteenth birthday Phil receives a quiet and timid slave boy as a gift from his father. Phil intends to make Dan his friend more than a slave but social status and pressure from his father forces the two to keep an emotional distance when it comes to being in public. Behind closed doors though the Master and his slave become close. Phil is expected to take over his father's business and marry a prestigious young girl but this isn't what the young Master wants. What he wants is something he can't have in his world, his slave boy.

(TW) Those Who Trust (ao3) - theshyauthor

Summary: Dan used to be a submissive and now he’s just a broken shell of a man.

Thyme after Thyme (ao3) - chisomo

Summary: Dan Howell runs an apothecary shop in the heart of London, a city wrought with rising tensions between witches and normal humans. Dan tries to ignore the daily instances of prejudice towards his kind and keep his magical abilities a secret, but his life is irrevocably changed when a garden shop is opened next door by a certain sky-eyed young human.

Trust Me, I'm Broken Too (ao3) - natigail

Summary: The Lesters – the royal family of his homeland – was nothing like Dan thought they would be. Well, the King was just as horrible as he had heard but the King’s brother’s son, who was third in line for the throne, was nothing like Dan thought he’d be. Dan had been adrift for three years going from one “place of employment” to another, only his life was seen as worthless and he was more property than an employee. He had never imagined he’s end up as the property of Prince Philip.

The Prince had no intention of ever taking on a personal servant, which was a fancy name to disguise the fact a law essentially enslaved people. Phil often had to do things he didn’t want to or risk being removed from the succession to the crown. If that happened, who knew who his tyrant of an uncle would pick as a successor? When pressured into the choosing, he’d wanted to go for the most innocent, young girl, but hard brown eyes caught his attention instead.

Weather With You (ao3) - Evening42

Summary: Phil moves to an isolated cottage to start his dream of writing a novel. He meets a mysterious silent stranger on the beach who has a tragic history.

-Rae

[rayezaeri]

Am very much not loyal to one book, will read multiple books at a time, hence why I have 4 other bookmarked books alongside The Raven Boys, it was 5 but I finished one today.

The book is called Sabriel by Garth Nix.

It is great. The main character (who funnily enough is called Sabriel) is an absolute disaster of a person.

Within this world there are these people called Charter Mages who practise Charter spells which is basically just magic, and as most worlds with magic do they have necromancy magic. However for quite a time in this world there has existed a generational title of Abhorsen which sounds similar to abortion, and given the nature of the Abhorsen it just turns their duty of keeping the dead, dead funnier. And Abhorsen’s purpose is essentially just making sure that the dead don’t return to life, as they are extremely dangerous.

Sabriel is the newest Abhorsen and also the most unaware, she was kept in the modern side of the world instead of the old kingdom where an Abhorsen’s duty typically lies. So when it comes time for her to venture their and take on the title of Abhorsen temporarily, she knows nothing, well that’s a lie, she knows the basics, and thank god she has common sense.

From the moment she steps foot into the old kingdom til the end of the book she is a complete disaster, doesn’t really know much about the previous Abhorsen’s and the only person capable of telling her anything, is a weird sassy free spirit cat who enjoys toying with her. His name is Mogget and I love him, not just because he takes on the form of a cat most of the time.

She barely sleeps, when she first enters the old kingdom she has to find Abhorsen’s house which she wasn’t really told how to do so she has to summon a dead spirit to give her directions, which attracts the attention of a really dangerous dead being who spends the rest of the book hunting her down. When she gets to the house she gets one night of rest before setting off again in a weird plane thing controlled by your own wind magic. She crashes it into some sort of ancient “grave” sight, almost gets killed by Mogget for reasons I will not explain because spoilers, and then brings someone back from the dead who had been turned into a ships figurehead. His name is Touchstone and unfortunately, no one makes use of the pun potential of that name.

Then she travels to a village ravaged by dead where she is almost killed again by the living residents. She gets a decent break through a 5 day journey at sea and a nice hotel room to stay in at their destination once they reach it. The following day however.

Breaks into a 200 year old ruin to rescue someone, gets noticed by the big bad of the book who uses his dead minions to give himself a grand entrance because why not. After spoiler events happen she and Touchstone bolt it out of the ruin, almost dying. Sabriel gets shot with an arrow. Is given another magic plane to fly which she doesn’t crash this time. Goes back to her home and essentially convinces people that she needs to dig up a coffin to destroy a body. I will not explain what happens after, go read the book.

I will say that towards the end of the book I was kind of expecting the author to start referring to Sabriel as Abhorsen, throughout the book she’s very much like, Abhorsen is not my title, call me Sabriel, and almost everyone calls her Abhorsen. But towards the end she starts accepting the title and was kinda expecting the author to just start using the title instead of her name, but who knows, maybe that’ll happen in the next book. There was a nice little moment between Mogget and Sabriel where he actually used her name, despite constantly telling Mogget to call her Sabriel, he doesn’t and uses Abhorsen except for that one time, which to me felt like a mini moment of Mogget showing respect to her.

Anyways, that’s Sabriel, go read the book, it’s beautiful.

Also Sabriel’s hot, am very gay for her.

[animanganerd]

Everything Annoys Me And I’m (Too) Hot - Chapter 24

The Untamed / Mo Dao Zu Shi Fanfic

Ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/47881336/chapters/131719762

All chapters: here x

Chapter 24 ❖ Lin Yue (Part 1)

The papers Lan Xiaoli and Mu Chun had stolen from Murong Zheng’s home proved to be quite useful indeed. Using the information contained in the documents, the party quickly mapped out a route to follow Murong Zheng’s trail.

The town mentioned in the most recent letter, Tianxuan, was about two months away. It was too far to travel on foot, so the group once again hired two carriages with an additional horse for Mu Chun. As before, Zhang Chengling led the carriage with Wen Kexing and Zhou Zishu while Lan Xiaoli led the carriage with Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian.

Mu Chun rode his horse confidently beside Lan Xiaoli. Despite feeling Lan Wangji’s eyes throwing glares at him like daggers, which he ignored as best as he could, he continued to take every opportunity to shamelessly pester Lan Xiaoli.

Lan Xiaoli, on the other hand, dismissed his advances as inane banter. He’d thought a lot about Wen Kexing’s explanation the other night, and while he’d briefly considered the possibility, he’d come to the conclusion that it must be nonsense. Neither he nor Mu Chun had these kinds of feelings for each other.

He also had to admit that he was afraid of reading too deeply into Mu Chun’s actions. It would be far too humiliating to fall for his stupid jokes and allow himself to get hurt when Mu Chun clearly had no such intentions toward him.

All things considered, Mu Chun himself had made it obvious that he just wanted to tease the apology out of him. And since Lan Xiaoli was so easily flustered, it was all the more fun to bully him.

But even though it seemed no one had ever taught Mu Chun the concept of personal space, he never did anything truly despicable. So, while he made sure to keep Mu Chun at arm’s length to avoid any further misunderstandings, his rejections weren’t as firm anymore. Instead, a small smile would play around his lips.

In the end, Lan Xiaoli interpreted his own newly found affection toward Mu Chun as admiration. Although he’d never say it out loud, he was genuinely impressed by Mu Chun’s skills and truly appreciated his help.

They advanced a lot quicker on horseback, but it would be weeks before they reached their destination, so they still needed to rest. After leaving quite some distance behind, it was time to take a break. Not only to eat and drink, but also to stretch their legs.

While the others built a small campfire and stocked up on water and such, Lan Xiaoli settled the horses. Once he was done, he took a well-earned apple from one of the bags attached to Mu Chun’s horse. Just as he was about to bite into the juicy fruit, he saw Mu Chun lying on the ground, leaning leisurely against a rock. He was fiddling with his many rings and seemed to be deep in thought.

Munching on his apple, Lan Xiaoli watched Mu Chun for a while, then slowly approached him and gave him a gentle kick.

“Maybe you should take them off. They are a bit tacky. It does not really suit a servant,” he teased.

Mu Chun was slightly startled by the kick but then looked at him with a small smile. Without responding, he lowered his lashes and slowly began to remove his rings, one by one.

“Are you going to keep them for me?” Mu Chun asked with a grin.

Lan Xiaoli was stunned for a moment, then held out his free hand to accept the rings. When Mu Chun handed him a particularly striking signet ring, he said, “I don’t care much about the others, but make sure you don’t lose this one.”

Lan Xiaoli held it between two fingers to examine it. Upon closer inspection, he noticed that the embedded gem matched the one in Mu Chun’s hair crown – a dark but vivid green, engraved with a coiling dragon.

“Why? What makes it special?”

“It’s all I have left of my family,” Mu Chun replied.

“Oh…” It was the first time Lan Xiaoli could relate, so he didn’t retort anything. He simply nodded before taking another bite of his apple and pointing out, “You are still wearing one.”

Mu Chun fiddled with a plain looking silver ring on his right little finger, his smile pensive. “It feels wrong not to wear one.”

Lan Xiaoli raised his eyebrows. “Why keep this one though? It does not look…” he paused briefly, glancing at the signet ring while searching for the right word. The robes and jewellery Mu Chun usually wore gave the impression that he was prone to extravagance. This ring, however, had no engravings or incorporated gems of any kind, which surprised Lan Xiaoli. 

“...fancy,” he finally said.

“Exactly,” Mu Chun lifted his eyes again, “It’s the most believable one for me to wear.”

Lan Xiaoli was stunned once more. It was meant as a joke, but Mu Chun seemed serious about maintaining his role as the fake servant. So much so that he even considered the accessories he could wear.

In the end, Lan Xiaoli just shrugged and mumbled, “Suit yourself.”

With that, he turned on his heel and walked back to the carriages. They soon resumed their journey, but came to another halt about half an hour later when they reached a fork in the road from which three paths diverged.

Mu Chun hopped off his horse. “This is it,” he said.

They had not yet reached Tianxuan, but the group had incorporated a small detour into their planned route. The three pathways before them branched toward villages that had required Murong Zheng’s assistance in the past. Their aim was to find out what had happened to the villages for them to need support in the first place, and what role Murong Zheng had played in their restoration.

Each of these villages was about the same distance from this fork in the road, so they’d decided beforehand to split into three smaller groups for their investigations. The groups consisted of one couple each, and the youthful trio.

Seeing Lan Xiaoli about to get off his horse, Mu Chun stepped beside him and held out his hand in a helping motion.

“No need. I got this,” Lan Xiaoli said, waving him off.

However, when he swung his leg over the horse to dismount it, his other foot got stuck in the saddle and he almost crashed to the ground. Mu Chun was still in position to catch him, and Lan Xiaoli fell right into his embrace.

Lan Xiaoli had convinced himself that there were no deeper feelings between them, yet every touch of Mu Chun felt so electrifying that it made all the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. Suppressing the urge to squirm, he quickly pushed him away.

“Stop it with your dirty tricks!”

Mu Chun innocently held his hands in the air, “Always a pleasure, Young Lord.”

Wei Wuxian suddenly erupted in laughter. “Young Lord?! Hahaha!” He hugged his stomach with one arm while he held onto Lan Wangji with the other, still laughing. “I like that one!”

“Shut up!” Lan Xiaoli snapped and stomped away. Rubbing his arms to get rid of the goosebumps, he randomly stormed down one of the paths. Zhang Chengling and Mu Chun promptly hurried after him.

About thirty minutes later, the three arrived at what appeared to be a quaint fishing village. All houses were constructed from dark wood, some of which perched gracefully on sturdy stilts above the gently lapping waters.

A narrow limestone path meandered through the heart of the village, leading to the village’s small harbour. A handful of weathered boats, their paint worn by countless voyages, bobbed languidly on the water’s surface.

The smell of freshly caught fish lingered in the air, carried over by a crisp breeze that gradually helped Lan Xiaoli’s mind to cool off. He was ripped out of his racing thoughts for good when he heard a threatening voice bark, “Yo bitch, where’s our money? Our boss has already given you a two-week reprieve!”

A gang of rowdies was surrounding a girl, and the thug that threatened her was caging her with one arm braced against the wall.

Lan Xiaoli abruptly stopped in his tracks. “We need to help her.”

Mu Chun crossed his arms. “You got the sword. You go and help her.”

Lan Xiaoli gave him a look. “They are just mediocre gangsters, I cannot raise my sword against them.”

To avoid being caught between the fronts, Zhang Chengling took a step back to stay out of this quarrel.

“...” Mu Chun sighed and approached the group. “Leave her alone.”

The thug that stood closest to Mu Chun turned around. He sized Mu Chun up, then sneered. “Or what?”

Mu Chun returned the sneer with a mirthless smile. He cocked his head and taunted, “Why don’t you come find out?”

Now he had the attention of the entire group. It was five guys in total, all putting on their most dangerous faces. From the visible scars on their skin and their generally deformed features it was obvious they liked to brawl. The gang members slowly started to close in on Mu Chun. He, on the other hand, remained unfazed, hands clasped behind his back.

It wasn’t until one of the rowdies threw the first punch that Mu Chun showed off his skills. And for that, he didn’t even need to move a muscle.

Fresh leaves that had been plucked from the trees by a spring breeze and lay scattered on the ground around them began to quiver, then suddenly shot up all at once. The leaves acted like sharp blades, smoothly severing the hand of the bravest ruffian, stopping his strike mid-swing. Before anyone could react, the leaf blades swiftly surrounded the gangsters, coming to a halt mere inches from their eyes.

Mu Chun’s gaze wandered lazily from gangster to gangster, as if daring them with his eyes to make another move.

As soon as shock gave way to realisation, the now one-handed rowdy seized his own arm and started to scream as blood gushed from his stump. Scared witless, the other gang members quickly took flight, leaving behind their friend… or colleague? Either way, he didn’t seem to hold it against them. Though he looked like a corpse with all the colour drained from his face, he still had enough life in him to run away as well, followed only by a trail of his echoing screams.

Lan Xiaoli and Zhang Chengling both gaped at Mu Chun with eyes and mouths wide open. But not because he had just casually sliced off a hand – they had both seen more horrifying things in their lives already.

Lan Xiaoli was the first to snap back to his senses. “You can use spiritual energy?! Why did you never tell??”

Mu Chun shrugged. “It wasn’t relevant.” He nodded at the girl. “Hey, are you okay?”

With the shadow of the big gangster out of her face, the soft and beautiful features of the girl, who seemed to be about their age, were revealed. Her skin was smooth and fair, and her long black hair was tied up with lots of small braids woven into it.

Though she had a small frame, there was nothing delicate about her. Instead, she gave off a rather barbaric air, which was emphasised by her crude clothing style. Wrapped around her head was a simple headband, and she was layered in robes of vibrant red and blue linen. The small brown leather accents that ran through her outfit rounded off her distinctive style.

She was definitely a fighter – this much they could tell.

The girl didn’t look at Mu Chun. Visibly sullen, she rubbed a bloody cut on her cheek which one of the gangsters must’ve inflicted on her. With a grim expression she replied, “I’m fine.”

Mu Chun’s eyebrow twitched. “...you’re welcome.”

The girl languidly moved her eyes towards him and spat, “For what?”

“We just saved you.”

“I didn’t ask for your help,“ the girl objected.

Mu Chun’s eyebrow twitched even more. “Did you have time to ask??”

The girl acknowledged her mistake and adjusted her wording. “I didn’t need your help.”

Mu Chun’s face dropped. “What’s up with this generation!? Everyone’s so ungrateful!“

“Nah, you just do not deserve our courtesy,“ Lan Xiaoli chimed in.

The girl pointed at him. “Exactly. Thank you.“

Mu Chun twisted his neck back to face Lan Xiaoli. “Are you fucking kidding me? You told me to help her!”

Lan Xiaoli waved him off and addressed the girl, “Do not listen to him… However, there is something you might be able to help us with!”

Mu Chun and Zhang Chengling could almost hear a wink in his voice; he’d never acted so smooth before.

The girl eyed him sceptically. “With what?” 

“We have a few questions about the history of this village,” Lan Xiaoli replied.

The girl didn’t answer right away, weighing the pros and cons in her mind. “Fine,” she said at last. Wanted or not, they had helped her after all, so there was no harm in answering a few questions.

“Thank you. My name is Lan Xiaoli by the way,” he introduced himself. “And the others are Zhang Chengling and Mu Chun.”

The girl nodded. “I’m Lin Yue. Follow me.”

Lin Yue led them to a tavern where they ordered a few drinks before interviewing her.

It turned out that a broken dam had flooded her village, and Murong Zheng just happened to be close by. As with Linguang, he had used his own resources to help the villagers rebuild their homes. In gratitude, they had presented him a medal for his selfless support, a small mansion with a bust of his head at the front to commemorate his bravery, and some sort of high rank.

“I don’t remember his rank,” Lin Yue said, “but he’s rarely on my mind in general. He’s hardly ever here, visiting maybe once every other mon–”

“LIN YUE!!” A man bellowing at the top of his lungs interrupted her explanation. An instant later, the door to the tavern was kicked down and a mob of gangsters burst in.

The owner of the tavern brandished his cleaning rag at them. “Hey!! You keep your business out of my establishment!”

Lin Yue was already on her feet. “Sorry guys, but we have to continue this another time,” she said and dashed off.

She leapt over the counter and ran through the kitchen door to escape out the back exit. The mob of gangsters dismissed the tavern owner and followed her.

The tavern owner clicked his tongue and whirled his cleaning rag in the air as if to shoo them away. “Whose tab should I put the broken door on?!”

Lan Xiaoli and company also wanted to follow, but angry as the owner was, there was no way he would let them pass through the kitchen as well. Instead, the trio left through the front door and hurried around the building, but it was too late. Neither the girl nor the mob were still in sight.

“Do you think we should wait for her?” Zhang Chengling asked.

The interview was all they needed and they got the answers they wanted, yet it felt wrong to leave just like that. Lan Xiaoli nodded, his face solemn. “Yeah… let’s wait.”

Since they didn’t know when Lin Yue would return, Lan Xiaoli decided to pay Murong Zheng’s mansion a visit to kill some time.

“I’ll come with you,” Mu Chun said.

“No need,” Lan Xiaoli replied.

“Then I’ll come too!” Zhang Chengling piped up.

“Guys, someone needs to be here in case she returns. You both stay.”

The other two exchanged a glance but ultimately let Lan Xiaoli leave on his own. 

As Lan Xiaoli made his way toward the mansion, a soft evening breeze swept through his hair and robes, sending them aflutter.

The mansion sat at the end of the village, where a small footpath branched off the main road, leading up to the house. Unlike Murong Zheng’s main residence, it wasn’t guarded. He probably didn’t hide anything of value in his secondary homes, so there was no need to arrange for guards.

The bust Lin Yue had mentioned stood on a small pedestal at the intersection. Lan Xiaoli scrutinised the bronze head, tracing its facial features with his fingers, then gave it a firm slap.

It wasn’t as satisfactory as he’d hoped it would be.

He shook his hand and blew some air into his palm to ease the stinging pain left by the slap. The house in the distance stood desolate and vacant. It was rather plain, much less pompous than his courtyard house. With the woods towering behind it, it almost seemed haunted.

Lan Xiaoli clasped his hands behind his back and wistfully stared at the house from afar. The thought of burning it to the ground briefly flashed in his mind, but he quickly abandoned the idea. Losing a small house probably meant nothing to Murong Zheng.

While Lan Xiaoli was away, Mu Chun and Zhang Chengling booked rooms at the tavern to get some rest. To make sure they didn’t miss Lin Yue, they asked the owner to let them know in case she returned. With the right amount of money, the owner happily complied with their request.

The sky had already turned dark when Mu Chun heard a ruckus outside his window. Though he couldn’t make out what was being said, he could tell that the voices were furious. It was a young, clear voice against a deep, grumbling one. Mu Chun didn’t even need to check to know Lin Yue was involved. A quick glance through his window proved him right.

Outside, in a dark, narrow alley behind the tavern, Lin Yue and a huge, burly man were engaged in a brawl. Mu Chun didn’t recognise him as a ruffian of the groups that had surrounded and chased after Lin Yue earlier.

She managed to keep him at bay for a good while until he seized her by the neck with one of his large hands and lifted her into the air.

Her legs thrashed about and she managed to plant a solid kick to the man’s abdomen, causing him to stumble backwards and loosen his grip. The moment she freed herself, Mu Chun appeared in the alley.

The man was about to lunge at her again, but Mu Chun knocked him out with a deft and powerful chop to the neck.

The man’s eyes rolled back in his head and he collapsed. As he toppled over like a freshly felled tree, Lin Yue appeared behind his large body.

She was sitting on the ground, rubbing her ankle. When she had broken free of the man’s grip, she had fallen awkwardly and sprained her foot. Mu Chun wanted to help her up, but she slapped his hand away.

“I don’t need your help,” she grumbled.

Mu Chun rolled his eyes and sighed. He crossed his arms as he watched her pitiful attempt to get up. The moment she put some weight on her injured foot, she faltered. Mu Chun wasn’t in the least surprised and caught her fall.

Frustration washed over her, and in response, she grabbed his sleeves, burying her head into his chest with gritted teeth. Tears welled up in her eyes. She despised feeling this vulnerable and helpless.

With one hand firmly on Lin Yue’s elbow for support, Mu Chun patted her head with the other. “Who are these people?” he asked.

Lin Yue’s grip tightened but she said nothing, biting down on her lip to stifle her tears.

Just then, Mu Chun locked eyes with Lan Xiaoli, who at that moment happened to pass by the alley. When he spotted the two of them in their embrace, Lan Xiaoli halted for a second, his expression indecipherable, then quickly moved on.

“...” Mu Chun let his head fall back in exasperation. He gave Lin Yue a firm pat on her back and said, “Come on, let’s get your ankle cooled.”

She pulled away from him, angrily rubbed the tears from her eyes and nodded her head at the unconscious guy. “What about him?”

Mu Chun didn’t even spare him a look as he walked past. “Don’t worry about him.”

The two of them entered the tavern and Mu Chun briefly scanned the hall, but Lan Xiaoli was nowhere to be seen.

Mu Chun then helped Lin Yue onto a bench. Sitting to her left, he took Lin Yue’s sprained foot and placed it on his lap after removing her boot. The tavern owner brought them the jar of wine they’d ordered and some wet rags, which Mu Chun held to Lin Yue’s ankle.

“Now, who are these guys?” he asked again.

Lin Yue gnawed at her lower lip. Mu Chun applied some pressure to her ankle.

“OW!”

“Speak.”

Lin Yue glared at him but complied nonetheless. “I owe them money.”

“Why?”

“None of your business.”

Mu Chun applied more pressure to her ankle.

“Fuck! You really suck at this!” She sighed. “My mum is sick, so I’m in charge of our family.”

“Ever thought of getting a job?”

Lin Yue jerked her leg in an attempt to kick Mu Chun, but he had a firm grasp on her leg. “Who do you take me for?!”

“No one really. I don’t know you,” he replied flatly.

“...” Lin Yue crossed her arms and averted her eyes. “Of course I did. But no matter what job I took, it never paid enough. I needed quick money, so I borrowed some.”

“What about–”

“My dad is a gutless runaway. Don’t mention him.”

Mu Chun stared at his lap and nodded in understanding.

She didn’t need to say it, but her situation was hopeless. If the money she had honestly earned wasn’t enough to live on, how would she be able to pay back the money she had borrowed within a set time limit? And would the people to whom she owed the money not charge interest, adding to her debt? Apart from that, she’d soon need more money to buy more food and medicine.

In order to afford all this, wouldn’t she have to borrow even more money and end up in a vicious cycle?

All she could do was fight and run away until her mother died or her siblings were old enough to help earn some money. But there was no way the debt collectors were going to wait that long. If she couldn’t pay them back, it was only a matter of time before they’d collect something else as her debt.

“Hey, why is he staring like that?” Lin Yue asked, ripping Mu Chun out of his thoughts.

[evening-winds]

(for context: the design on archaludon's front is giving massive hammerlocke gym uniform vibes....... which, obviously, got me daydreaming about raihan's surprise appearance in the sv dlc with his new evolved ace......... which resulted in this)

~

the kitchen table was scattered with travel brochures, each of them advertising a different location with bold colors and excessive superlatives. beach resorts, nature trails and tourist attractions from all over the world were vying for their potential readers' attention.

instead of comparing possible travel destinations like he was supposed to, raihan found himself transfixed by only one brochure, wistfully gazing at the page with the picture of the paldean evolution of duraludon.

"pining for archaludon again?" his husband chuckled, peeking over his shoulder.

raihan sighed, not bothering to deny the obvious. "i kinda want one," he admitted and accepted the hot mug of tea leon was offering him.

leon sat down on the chair next to him and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "there's only one thing you can do, then," he said. "you have to go to paldea." he neatly stacked some of the brochures to make room for his own mug and a plate of scones with jam. "take on the gyms and become a champion while you're at it."

raihan groaned into his tea. the joke was old, and he had never found it particularly funny. he had never wanted to take on another region's league, even though he had all the skill needed to become champion anywhere else, because of leon. because why would he give a hoot about a championship if his one true rival, the love of his life, wasn't there? if anyone knew his stance on the matter, it was leon. "oh, come off it, you - -"

"i'm coming with you," leon interrupted him matter-of-factly. "naturally."

the paldean system, with the possibility of multiple people being able to hold the champion title simultaneously, was like the polar opposite of what the galar league had been during leon's at the time unbeatable reign. he had gained more self-awareness since his loss; the stagnation had been unhealthy, for both galar and himself. so maybe the paldeans were onto something with that system of theirs. whatever the case, we wanted to see and experience it for himself. he wasn't all that interested in being a champion in two regions (well, ex-champion in the other, to be precise), but everything that came before the so-called champion assessment appealed to him – for obvious reasons. despite enjoying the gym challenge, he had never had the chance to do it again, having won the first championship cup he had participated in and now having his hands full running the battle tower.

all of this leon explained to raihan in between mouthfuls of scone. "and don't try to pretend you're not interested, too," he concluded with a knowing grin. "i know you, darling. you live to compete, and you love a good challenge."

again, raihan had no room for argument. he couldn't help the smile breaking out on his face. "you're right." he gave the brochure one more once-over. "so you'd be okay with it?" he asked, turning his eyes back to leon. "going to paldea?"

leon's grin only widened. "i'll catch you a third applin once we're there," he announced blithely, slipping his arm around raihan's middle, "so you can get its paldean evolution, too."

raihan's heart swelled with affection. how could he say no to that?

and so, on their next wedding anniversary, instead of the usual week-long holiday, they took a longer leave of absence and went to paldea to take on the league, just like they had done back home as kids some twenty years ago...

[alln64games]

Getter Love: Panda Love Unit

JP release: 4th December 1998

PAL release: NA

NA release: N/A

Developer: Hudson

Publisher: Hudson

Original Name: Getter Love!!: Chō Renai Party Game Tanjō

N64 Magazine Score: ?? (their score in their review box was “??”)

I’m an avid board gamer and one important aspect of them to me is choice. One game mechanic that removes a lot of choice is “roll to move”: roll a dice and move that many spaces. Unfortunately, most video games that take on the board game concept use this method, which is why the game itself is more of a way to pad out time between minigames.

I was surprised, then, that Getter Love appears to be a game with rather complex board game mechanics.

Getter Love is a Japanese exclusive digital board game with a dating sim theme. Thankfully, there is a complete English fan translation, so I can understand the game. A group of lads have challenged themselves to get a girlfriend, with a time limit of six weeks. You do this by chatting to one of the available girls, going on dates with them and “confessing” you love for them and having them accept you – if you have enough love points.

It sounds a bit skeevy, yet the game manages to not come across as such when you play it, with an almost childlike view of dating and romance of simply getting to know each other and talking.

The game takes place over a maximum of 14 “days” with each having three turns: Morning, Evening and Night. You start each turn by picking a destination, and you will start travelling there. Timing is very important, as you sometimes need to get somewhere before characters, and sometimes after. Everyone moves at the same speed, but you have to uses of “speed up” and “slow down” per turn to try and time when you reach somewhere.

The girls of the game have schedules while other NPCs also move around. You can get given hints as to where some will be, or they’ll phone you and let you know if they like you. Once you’ve arrived at your destination, any relevant events will happen and then you can choose an action – usually talk to a girl if one is there. You can also ask them out on a date where you can pick a time and a place – you’ll need to try and remember when other players have dates with them as you want them to be free.

On top of managing your time, you’ll also need to keep track of style, stamina and money. These can be increased by going home and washing, sleeping or working.

There are luck-based elements. One of the roaming NPCs will give you advice and a free card (which grants you a one-use power), while Reika will cling to you, spread lies about you and chase other girls away. There are other random events, such as a man in a superhero costume challenging you to a fight, a very aggressive cat and an older women who offers you money for something which is censored (after which, bad rumours spread about you).

Of course, there are also minigames, but these are attacks on other players. There are only four of them: a quiz (about the people in the game), a basic first person shooter in a level that looks a bit like Block Fort from Mario Kart, a phone where you’re fighting for control of a microphone and a 3v1 game where three players spawn “thugs” to ruin the other person’s date. To activate these, you must be in the same place as another player and choose to battle – they’re not a common occurrence like Mario Party.

Meeting up with a girl, going on dates, giving presents and choosing the right dialogue options and even talking to their friends will get you love points. If you think your points are at a high enough level, you can confess your feeling for a girl – but if you’re not ready, you’ll lose a ton of love points with them, so it isn’t a risky element as you can’t always tell if you’ll be fully accepted.

Not including adaptations of actual board games, the actual mechanics behind the board game are some of the best I’ve come across in a video game. There’s a lot to analyse, plenty of choices to make and you need to adapt as you play. It’s a lot more than I expected from what some people describe as a “competitive dating sim”.

Oh, sure, there’s thing we can do, like hanging around outside Japanese schools without fear of attracting unwanted police attention, or turning up at a record shop and starting a fight with a bloke in a yellow suit and matching headband, but, apart form that, we get a bit stuck around the point where you’re trying to chat up a saucy Japanese bird and, suddenly, a family of four turn up and start talking to you.

- Tim Weaver, N64 Magazine #26

Remake or remaster?

The English translation makes it playable enough to try out. Still, more video games with a board game theme should have better systems like this.

Official Ways to get the game

There is no official way to get Getter Love!! Panda Love Unit

[morayc]

Wednesday continued

After our explore, we headed to an idyllic spot on the edge of a little arm of Lake Dunston to enjoy our picnic. Tho photos will speak for themselves.

The sun was warm and the chill of recent days gone.

Soon we were packed up, but, leaving the Jeep where it was, we wandered off up the hill to Carrick (another Ayrshire reference) Winery for a delicious coffee.

Honestly, Raymond and I just spend all our time oohing and aahing!

Eventually it was time for home. Rod asked Sheila if she would like to drive. Loving a go in the Jeep, she readily accepted the offer - a decision she would come to regret…

We bowled along for half an hour, taking some little roads, steep roads, bendy roads and bumpy roads, finally returning to the main road not far from our destination. We drove past a parked police car which, surprisingly, pulled out, followed us and put on his flashing lights! She had to pull over. He then peeped his horn, in a deep New Zealand growl - three times. No-one knew why. It transpired he wanted her further off the road! So at a perilous angle, halfway into a ditch, Sheila awaited his interrogation.

In New Zealand, there is a three digit number which you can call if you see someone driving dangerously and, amazingly, the police respond! Someone had phoned in a grey Jeep doing many naughty things on the road we had travelled. But no number plate. We knew it wasn’t Sheila; she knew it wasn’t her, but he didn’t. In a state of righteous indignation, extreme anxiety and sheer terror, she wound down the window and up popped the cherubic face of the nicest policeman you could ever come across! But that didn’t really help. He had to do his job. Her license was checked, (she didn’t tell me she picked up some penalty points a couple of months of ago, until later!); he went away and made a call; he asked the details of our route; he went away and made a call; he breathalysed her (she passed) and, eventually, he let her go, wishing us a happy holiday! She certainly didn’t get over it straightaway and that wasn’t made any easier by us singing snippets of ‘I fought the law and the law won’, ‘I shot the sheriff’ and ‘Fulsome Prison Blues’!

After such an eventful day, we came back to a cosy house and played cards to help Sheila get over her trauma.

[bernadethhabon]

Short story

Shoes

By: Bernadeth Habon

The smoky breeze of the road, the loud horns of vehicles, the voices of the people as loud as the chirping birds, and the rising sunlight have been hurting the skin of people who are passing by. As the green light is on, she walks on with different people, different purposes, and different dreams. Her smile gets wide as she sees the shoes that she has been dreaming of since she was 16. She smiled once more as she walked her feet at home. She was about to turn her back when she bumped into an old lady. The old lady smiled at her and she was confused as to why her smile was different. Her confusion gets worse when the old lady hands her the pair of shoes that she has been dreaming of. She accepted it even though she was confused. But, despite that, she felt happy as she had a pair of shoes. At home, she was excited to wear it. She was shocked when the shoe fit her perfectly. She felt excited as she thought what her mother told her that beautiful shoes would bring her to beautiful places. As she roomed her eyes around their living room, she saw the painting of the place that they had been dreaming of going. She smiled because that was the place she dreamed of going with her father who already left them. She turned her back and what welcomed her was the famous well-built stone wall that offers fantastic views of the city and its popular tourist destination for the beautiful cherry blossom. Osaka Castle. Her eyes got wide as he wandered around to the unfamiliar place. She was filled with confusion. A hundred questions were running on her head. She has only seen this in the picture at their home and how she’s seeing it in real. She enjoyed roaming around the city. She lets go a deep sigh as she gets tired from roaming around. She looks at her shoe. A beautiful shoe really brings you to beautiful places. ‘Time to wake up’, she told herself as she thought that she was just dreaming. But no matter how many times she slapped her chick she was still there. She gets panicked. Sweat was all over her face. She doesn’t know what to do. ‘Is it because of you?’ she told as she looked down at her red doll shoes. To prove the thing that ran to her mind that the shoe could bring her to the place where she wanted to go, she closed her eyes and wished to go back home. A few seconds later, she opened her eyes and she was now standing in front of the painting of the Osaka Castle. She looks down at her shoe ‘It is really true!’ She felt excited as she could now travel to the place she wanted to go.

She was sitting on their couch while she was holding her shoe when her mother came. Her mother has been working hard for both of them since her father left them. But there are things that her mother can’t give her and that’s the material things that she wants. Her mother saw the pair of shoes that she had been saving for to buy for her. She asked where she got the shoe. And her daughter just laughed at her and said “You don’t have to know. Since you can’t buy it for me and you can’t give what I want, someone gave me this”. Her mother felt a pang in her heart. she’s aware that she has to double her work to give the things that her daughter wants. She tried to explain herself but her daughter did not listen which led them to argue. “I wish you were the one who left and not my dad! You are useless!” She ran out of their house and her mother followed her. And to get away from her mom, she wears the shoes and wishes to go to the place where her dad is.

She stands up and roams her eyes with the familiar place. It’s their house. she was confused. Why did she go back to their house? she was still confused when she saw her father go out of their room carrying a bag. At his back was her mother who was crying and begging his dad not to leave. She was watching that scenario when the little girl went out of her room. And that’s her 8-year-old self. “Don’t leave. Please, even if it is just for our daughter, she’s still young. she needs a father.” She felt hurt as she watched her mother beg. And what breaks her most is what her father said. “The two of you are the biggest downfall! Since the two of you came into my life, everything went hard. I lost my life!” a tear fell into her eyes. She feels like she just had her first heartbreak. All this time she knows why her father left because she made him. Now she knows that all the beautiful things her mother told him about his father is a lie. She just doesn’t want her to be mad at her father. All this time the bond that she thinks they have with her father is just her imagination due to her longing. She can’t help but sob. She hated her mother without knowing the truth. She wipes her tears as she watches her mother hug and whisper how she loves the little girl. “I made a mistake, Mom. Please give me a chance to change.” She whispers. She turned her back and closed her eyes as she wished to go back home. With her true home. Her mother.

She opens her eyes and found herself at the right side of the road. She felt nostalgic. Right now she’s standing near the shoe shop. She looks around and saw her mother running towards her. Her mother looks worried that she almost cannot hear her surroundings and she looks like she’s blind because she cannot see anyone aside from her daughter.

The loud horn of the cars and the loud noise of the people did not stop her mother from coming to her and she did not notice that the traffic light was still on a green light. Her mother hurried across the road. A screeching tire filled the air as she tumbled to the ground. Her body felt cold and numb. She doesn’t have control over her body and falls down to the ground. Seeing the lifeless and blooded body of her mother made her want to scream aloud, but she didn’t have the energy. She wanted to bring back time. She wanted to go back home. But everything is already done. Her mother is gone.

She was still unconscious when the ambulance was talking to her. She still can’t process everything. She looks back at where it happened. Her eyebrows met when she saw the familiar face and posture of the old lady. She’s looking at her. It seems like she has gained her energy back as she rushes to go to the old lady. “In this world, you cannot undo what has already been done. Your selfishness brought you here.” What the old lady said broke her. “Time to face your reality.” She can’t help but fall down on her knees again. The old lady disappears together with the shoe. She cried and cried not minding the people who were passing by.

She sighs as she opens the door of their house. How can she live now? She’s just turned 18 and how she will face the world without the only person who loved her? She opened the door and rolled her eyes around. She sat on the couch and couldn’t help but feel lonely. She was about to go to her room when a red box caught her eye. A memory of her when she and her mother argued came back to her. When her mother arrived she was holding it. She was shaking as she stepped closer to the red box. Based on the brand name she already knew what it was. She holds the box as her hand is shaking. She opened it and her tears fell. It was the shoe. Her mother bought her shoes. She cried harder and she felt regret. Shoes will not just lead us to beautiful places, but sometimes they also lead us to reality. “I’m so sorry, Mom” That’s the only thing that she can utter.

[binibiningtraveler5]

“Trailblazing Tales: Conquering Mt. Kang-Irag for the First Time"

Not like exploring the outdoors or, as it were, trekking trips, but why, I wonder? Why did I ever accept my cousin's invitation to go trekking at Mt. Kang Irag Peak Campsite, one of the most well-known camping locations? Maybe because I'm bored and have erratic thoughts, or maybe because I wish to explore some new activities. I got up at 5:30 a.m. and started getting dressed, unsure that I could pull it off, but now there's no going back. Indeed, as soon as we got to Talamban Sirao, we began to walk as if we could feel the perspiration already coursing through our veins. I'm new to this and this is the beginning of my incredible hiking journeys.

First Stop: Budlaan Falls

I astonished that I had made it, but I was also a little disappointed because we noticed some improperly disposed of trash, which can seriously damage the natural attraction itself. In addition, the intense heat has prevented the falls from being as plentiful and from cascading with a lot of water, as they do during the colder, more typical seasons. Still, the natural beauty of the rock structure is striking. a soft flowing or murmuring sound. The sound that is sometimes referred to as "white noise" and has a calming effect.

We made the decision to continue traveling in the direction of the Mt. Kan-Irag Peak Campsite, which is our primary goal. We continued to walk and climb on large boulders for over two hours and a half, and while it was incredibly tough and demanding, I managed to make it. It was extremely adorable when we got to know the dog that leads us on our journey and acts as our tiny, adorable tour guide.

We continued to walk while having sincere conversations about life. My cousins never gave up on me even though I was quite exhausted; for this reason, I truly appreciate them. Indeed! Now I can see several colored tents and some little nipa homes. Our destination is nearly at hand. And it's true that I did reach the summit; I'm really proud of myself for that. My fatigue is instantly gone when I run to take in the gorgeous and picturesque view of the city. Breathe in and out while experiencing the cool air blow. The sensation of living at the summit, distant from the tumult.

Main destination: Mt. Kang Irag Campsite- Sirao Cebu City

I was relieved and grateful that we had all arrived here safely. We put up our tent, I snapped some photos for our memories, and we had a great day chatting about life without using phones—just honest, face-to-face communication.

It's time to say farewell to this location and thank you for our time together. For those looking to relax, unwind, and find some solitude, the location was truly a safe haven. This challenging outdoor experience is something I will always remember. Then I saw that perhaps it was meant to be there so that I might take some time to unwind and use this activity to support my inner calm and optimism. At last, I am able to state that my hard work has allowed me to reach the pinnacle, and this has relevance for our daily lives as humans. I am now eager to go on more trekking trips and to continue learning about life and my path. Cheers!