#i got so frustrated w/ Blue's era's i quit

[burning-thistles-bt]

hello!!! i was checking the ages on the bt wiki and doing calculations. i found that tigerstar is 9 moons older than spotted + willow + red. he would have been a warrior by the time they were apprenticed

if this is a calculation error, how much older was tiger (and by extension, whitestorm) compared to the other apprentices in frosted thistles? or did he get held back?

i havent looked at my horrible timeline notes in a while (warrior cats canon makes it SO HARD! Spottedleaf's Heart has SO many age inconsistencies with the main books timeline-wise!)

but this is the note i left on the wiki so-

Tigerstar was made a warrior at 14 moons old which. is 1 moon off from his age (being 9 moons older than Spotted+) so who knows lol

but generally it is noted in Frosted Thistles I believe that Tiger and White were only apprentices with Spotted+ for about a moon before they graduated

really the main point is that Tiger in BT stayed behind to be made a warrior alongside Whitestorm (which Thistle "allowed" of his apprentice bcus he encouraged the two to be close since, y'know, it was his apprentice and his son and he wanted them to be besties therefore)

and also that Tiger and White are older than Frost, Brindle, Spotted, Willow, Red, but still in the same 'generation'

[spikeinthepunch]

few posts ago i was made thinking about past cosplays i had, and honestly i realized i forgot... a lot of them??? i pretty much only thought about my last two bc i did them most multiple times and i liked them most. those were dipper pines and wirt. i still have my legit (heavy as fuck) wwii nurse cape for that and i like it a lot.

but i want to go through a list of what i recalled now bc its fun seeing the timeline of fandoms that it reflects. these are semi-chronological, some i dont know exactly when they happened but its in the same-ish era

Holo from Spice and Wolf - i am quite sure this was my first. One of the earliest animes i watched on youtube, and i got a orange wig, made ears out of cardboard, and had a decent tail i got at a furry con. tho i had no clothes that fit, i just wore my normal clothes lol.

Medusa Gorgon from Soul Eater - Hard for me to determine if there was something before this but i am p sure this came before the next ones, as it was 7th grade and before tumblr fandoms i got into later. i bought this cosplay entirely online so it was p good. But i remember wearing it to school and kids making fun of me.

Zacharie from OFF - a little vague on timeline again. I quite liked this one. i had a black wig and made a mask out of paper. i didnt have anything else like a sweater for it specifically. (this cosplay lasted for a while through 9-10th grade)

Jack Frost from Rise of the Guardians - iirc this was The First for the tumblr fandoms i got into, bc technically i got into it pre-tumblr and then went to tumblr as my first fandom. however i didnt really 'cosplay' him properly, i had no wig or staff etc. it was 'casual' w a cosplay sweatshirt i bought and that was it. (this cosplay lasted for a while through 9-10th grade. also note at age 16 i cosplayed him light again when i dyed my hair white)

Swag onceler/teen Swag - i nearly forgot this one lol. i didnt have the blue glasses, but it was his highschool one as i had the white button up and pink sweatervest. i dont really remember how much i wore this though.

teen Oneler - another onceler AU guy i cosplayed very lightly but also not for long.

Dave Strider - i only really cosplayed him at first before i read homestuck bc my friends assigned me dave strider lol. i did get into it eventually and i went to anime expo a few times to the homestuck meet, and met a really nice john egbert there too.

homestuck OC "Doubie" (i cannot recall the last name lol) - decided to cosplay my homestuck oc, made my own horns! but i never got far enough to make my custom shirt or anything. (from here forward i really dont know what order these are in)

Sherlock Holmes from Sherlock BBC - yeah. i have a very cool expensive high quality coat though. like REALLY good. i still intend to wear it but its never cold enough here in socal lol.

Ciel Phantomhive from Black Butler - i had wanted to cosplay him in middle school, but couldnt bc i wanted to buy the intricate outfits. i was able to get one of the black outfits tho i recall not having all of it? like maybe just the top? idk. i had the rings too and a wig. it was alright and i also owned the classic brown shoes too as i intended to get his normal outfit but i didnt. was frustrated this cosplay wasnt as good as i wanted for a variety of reasons. (note: i cosplay at "casual/modern" version from that meta episode a year or two later when i dyed my own hair navy blue)

Alois Trancy, modern/BTS episode Black Butler - there was a like, behind the scenes/modern/meta episode in the anime, and being blonde i wanted to cosplay him casually. "casual" cosplays for me were fun bc i felt i could be the character all the time and it wasnt weird. i also own Alois' ring too.

Cecil Palmer from Welcome to Nightvale - one very significant cosplay for me tho i think i only did it at a con once, but it was a big one w my friends at the time in highschool, a friend cosplayed Carlos and all of us just really loved wtnv at the time. i was blonde and could fit the role, i had the vest, purple shirt, glasses, and had painted eyes/etc on myself. i did a photoshoot w my friend who did Carlos. I did the whole cosplay to holloween at school. it was a fun one.

Dipper Pines from Gravity Falls - i liked this one a lot and it was very very simple and lightweight, so i did it a lot going forward as i drifted from other fandoms. had shorts, shoes, vest, hat, and wig to match. I cosplayed him further when i dyed my hair brown at one point.

Wirt from Over the Garden Wall - the last thing i cosplayed. i did this one to anime expo twice i think but good god was it hot for that summer con. the cosplay was simple enough i didnt mind it but the cape was heavy- it was a real wwii nurse cape, as that is what wirt had. its genuinely so cool and i also intend to wear this casually like thw Sherlock coat but again, it is never cold here lol. had the whole outfit for this one tho- shoes, pants, shirt, suspenders, hat. i still own all of it and i would cosplay him again for sure.

i think this is it. i love cosplay and a lot of these mean a lot to me and define so many fandom eras for me!! and my attachment to characters is really really strong.... being them in some form always made me so happy and its why i still think about cosplaying some time again.

[honey-lemonz]

From wattpad:

Xmale reader

3rd pov

Sexual Content is included move on if not comfortable with

Includes:masturbation, but plug, dildo, getting caught, slight degrading rough and passionate sex, multiple orgasms, sexual frustrated Obanai.

Request by:EMOPHASEWHENIWASAKID

(Some parts by me other by the Request..)

(if you read American boy here is your smut that I never added. Taisho era)

For almost two years the sun pillar was sent away on an expedition mission to northern Japan, the rumor of the blue spider lily was heard around. A rumor that sounded so true that Muzan may go there himself.

The pillar wasn't sent for the flower he was sent for the upper moon that could be sent or the demon lord himself.

Leaving behind his younger siblings, Tanjiro and Nezuko who was demon. He was also leaving his lover. Iguro Obanai the serpent pillar.

Obanai understood reasons they sent him. He could handle the cold and could handle the upper moon without and problems..its just..

Its been two whole years without him. That meant no one to come home to at their home. Kaburamaru had no ball of sunshine that could let him sleep in his hair. But for obanai it was worst.

Two years sexually frustrated.

Obanai has tried many things even taken suggestions from others. Nothing. 

He could get off on just memories or the kimono's he wore that were left behind. He has sent letters but most were professional ones. Not any promising any punishment or any reward when he would return. It would get to were he would put a but plug in his ass just to satisfy the itch that his lovers cock could get to.

He had to be feeling the same way? Right?

Or was someone else pleasuring him? No he couldn't, Obanai knew. Only he could satisfy his lover the best.

The serpent pillar sat on the back patio of his shared home. For the time being he had finished taking another nap. He had a dream about a fantasy about his lover returning and fucking him ruthlessly.

But a dream is only as good as you make it.

He walked back to the futon on the floor. Feeling the arousal slowly makings its way out of his tight heat. The but plug wasn't going to work anymore. He needed something fucking him, penetrating him.

Pulling the (favorite color) toy out of his hole, leaving it gaping and stretched. Obanai whined at the loss full feeling. But he got up and went into the bathroom. In a small black box were a box full of toys Obanai had even before meeting his lover.

But after meeting him..they weren't needed at all.

Obanai squatted and looked inside for the dildo he wanted. He found one that was about 5 and half inches and was a good 2 inches wide. It should do for now.

In these two years he has been a horny mess. Constantly needing something to please him and the uphill battle of his needs. He just wanted his lover back to please all those needs. 

God it was infuriating.

Obanai's own cock was still hard as when he woke up from his nap. Tip red and need of attention. It was painful but still didn't go away. He just could not finish.

Obanai sat down on the silicone dildo and moaned at the feeling. it wasn't a bratty or a desirable one just a moan of something inside him. It filled a good percent but not enough to reach his prostate. Obanai started to move up and down, bouncing on the dildo.

His white kimono slipping off his shoulders, showing his smooth skin and none marked skin. that was another whole problem he didn't like. 

Trying to get down to the hilt of the dildo to at least graze his prostate to ease the itch, he was moaning and gasping at the fullness. Maybe this time his needs would be met.

Obanai was stroking himself and teasing his nipples, the sensitive buds were being pulled at and pinched, leaving the pillar awe struck. 

Moaning his lovers name as if it was a cry or a plea. Obanai speed up his pace, moving to lye on his back and use his hands. One hand stroking himself the other using the dildo to fuck himself. He was so close, eyes becoming glossy at the feeling. 

"(M?N) FUCK~! Fuck, fuck, shit, please my love come fuck me.." he was crying for his dear lover. The dildo wasn't hitting the right spots no more, and the itch grew even more harsh. His toes curling and his head thrown back on the futon.

"Why when your obviously doing it yourself? Having a hard time getting off my cute little baby?"

Obanai froze. His eyes snap open to see his love sitting cross legged on the opposite side of the room. He was in his uniform, (favorite color) but plug in hand inspecting it. "So this is what you have been doing while I have been away. Begging me to come home and fuck you silly like the slut you are? That's quite surprising isn't it."

His words weren't hurtful just teasing. Obanai could see the large bugle growing in his pants. The sun pillar had his hair down which rested the floor. His uniform at the top was slightly unbuttoned at the showing his chest and abdomen. His eyes had bags under them. But his eyes..

Something Obanai has only seen a handful of times.

Eyes were darker and burning with a lust. His stare and hoarse voice was enough to set the tone.

Obanai felt his cock twitch and he moaned out a spur of curses. 

"Now your having dry orgasms by just my appearance? You must be a desperate little whore today aren't you?" He didn't move from his spot what so ever.

Just drinking in on his expression. It was filling and made both Obanai and (M/n) twitch.

"Please, my love its been two fucking years with out you,please fuck me.." The sun pillar chuckled. "So my cutie is begging to be fucked? That's unlike you Obanai. If you can fuck yourself can't yo get off?"

Obanai groaned at the teasing. He just wanted him to fuck him. 

The an idea came to him.

His lover looked too calm for him. He needed him to get to his level of arousal, by being a fucking brat about things. if he wanted to get fucked he needed to do more.

"No."

The eyes on the sun pillar widen. 

"Why no then cutie? I just saw you so continue."

"No. I want you to fuck me. Unless you've lost your touch." Obanai said getting a little more confident. If keep going he would get the punishment he deserved.

"If my dildo was that close than what says you? I've used them plenty since you left two years ago. SO why don't you come over here and fuck me. Or has the sun pillar found a better bottom bitch to fuck?"

That set the fuel to the flame.

Calm and collected turned to possessive and aroused.

(M/n) was possessive of Obanai, he loved him and only him. Insinuating that he found a better person to fuck made the calm pillar pissed. Obanai knew this, because his lover can get jealous and possessive he knew what he did.

And is getting what he wanted.

The sun pillar was on Obanai in less than a second.

Choking his neck tightly and pinning his hands above his head. Eyes that were usually full of love and kindness, were dark with lust and irritation. He knew his words were empty but couldn't let it up.

"Why when I have a bratty bottom slut here? You want to piss me off for a good fuck cutie? You want me to pound you, make sure you can't walk for a fucking year?"

Obanai had another dry orgasm from his words. This is what two years of a pent up sun pillar was..

Then he should be sent off more often. ( Empty threat.) He hasn't even touched him fully for him to even think like that. The red headed male unbuttoned the rest of his uniform, not having the patience to take off all of his clothes. He undid the belt, taking the hands off of Obanais wrist.

His cock sprung free.

Oh how Obanai wanted to suck him off and tease him. But now wasn't the time.

(M/n) pulled the dildo out and scowled at it.

"Such a pathetic size, this trying to please your for that long, no wonder you couldn't get off cutie..don't worry we'll fix that..

positioning him at Obana's desperate hole, he slammed into him.

"Now!"

Obanai threw his head back and scream. His cock spurted long ropes of cum. Something he couldn't do until now.

"Cumming already? We just started, you really were a desperate slut?" He slammed into him again. Ever word followed a thrust, each time hitting Obanai's prostate and making his see stars. (M/n)'s past wasn't fast or slow. Just from Obanai challenging him made him almost bust a load.

The hand around Obanai's neck tightened, pushing on certain spots to not restrict air, just to make him a little dizzy. Obanai's toes curled as his lover slammed his cock into his tight heat all while degrading him.

His reward.

(M/n) pushed his legs to his chest, making his cock go even deeper into Obanai's dripping heat. He was truly surprised, he was that pent up himself. He didn't even have time to masturbate himself on the expedition.

"Fuck, my cutie your so cute looking fucked out of your mind. Is that what you wanted? To get fucked stupid by me?"

Incoherent word mumbled back a response.

"Yes..please~ fuck..*hic* me more~" He was hiccuping from the tears. The long haired pillar nodded and made sure to aim for his prostate and to basically abuse it as best as he could. Sweat ran down his forehead, making his hair stick to it. The white shirt underneath the black on was sticking to the sides of his torso.

Obanai's eyes had tears brimming out, drool slipping from his lips. His hands held his legs to his chest, hair spread out on the futon all around him. Moans and shouts, hollers and begs came out of his mouth without a care of who heard.

That's what the larger pillar wanted. he wanted anyone and everyone hear his beloved getting fucked out of his mind.

"Such a good little slut..you want the whole village and headquarters to hear your getting a good fuck cutie? You want them to hear you getting pounded by your lover? How you begged and been a bratty  bitch with a fucking plug between your legs? You want to be seen as my slut then I will make you my slut."

He pulled out of Obanai's tight and puckered out hole, flipping him face first into the futon. Using his foot to keep him in place and rammed back into him and a faster pace. Obanai's moans and screams were blocked from the futon mat he was getting fucking into.

 His cock spurted more roped of cum even though it wasn't touched.  His lover feverishly gripping and slapping his ass for good measure.

"God fuck, i'm going to cum and fill your little whore hole kay? I need you to tell me who the fuck gets to fuck your bratty ass kay cutie?"

Mumbles came as an answer. (M/n) making and annoyed noise, pushed his foot harder on Obanai's head. "Can't hear you cutie, you don't get my cum if i can't hear you like fucking you. Again and louder.  Why can fuck this bratty ass cutie?"

"Y-you.."

"Louder cutie!" He removed his foot from his head and pushed his chest into Obanai's back, teasing his over sensitive nipples and continued slamming into him.

"LOUDER."

"FuCk~ YOU DO!" Obanai had tears all over his face, face read and a mess.

"Good now let me fill you with cum like the slut your are. Such a pretty cutie for me." As he said that another orgasm ran through Obanai. It was becoming painful a little.

Obanai's babbles were filled with begs about being his cumslut and filling him to the brink. With one final thrust, making the smaller male see stars again. His desperate prostate and hole was filled with thick and large amounts of the larger's cum.

Emptying himself out, Obanai's hole was milking him dry of the desperate need that was begging to be released. His loved pushed deeper to make sure he took all he had to offer.

He slowly pulled out of his stretched and abused hole, gaping at the loss of contact and fullness. Obanai screamed again while being filled and also came again. He could feel his lovers seed push out of his hole and onto the futon below them.

Pushing the hair out of his face, (M/n) looked at the sight his lover was him. The demon slayer below him, the feared serpent pillar of the demon slayer headquarters looked as if he had been drugged.

Well he was, off of his lovers addicting seed, smell and cock.

"You did so well cutie, such a good slut. See if you follow instructions you could get fucked like this more often instead of pissing me off kay?"

This even only made Obanai want to be even more of a brat to him.

^wattpad, kny oneshots.

[raviotherabbit]

Reunion Tour - Chapter 1

note: this is an extended version of these two posts, with an ending added on.

[first] - [next] read it on ao3!

Chapter 1: Familiar Circumstances Wild and Warriors meet each other again.

- - - 

There were quite a few things Wild wanted to do this weekend. Like maybe sleep in for a bit, maybe cooking a special breakfast. They’d even been planning on visiting little Zelly, a promise that her mother was sure to scold them for not keeping.

Instead, they were rudely awoken by a rough collision with the dirt, and they quickly realized they weren’t in their soft waterbed in Zora’s Domain anymore. Blearily blinking their eyes open, Wild feels like they’ve been hit by Ruta’s Cryonis again.

They’re in the castle courtyard of Warriors’ time. Which, as they seem to recall, is tens of thousands of years removed from their own era.

“Oh great,” Wild scowls as the golden light fades behind them. Ten years since their tearful goodbyes with their fellow heroes, and all of a sudden, Hylia’s playing games again.

Wild pushes themself off the ground, dusting whatever they can off with their one arm. It’s only then, when several halberds are pointed right at their face, that they realize they have an audience.

“Stop right there!” one of the soldiers, presumably a higher ranking officer, shouts. “Put your hands in the air!”

Wild frowns, but some part of their mind still remembers Warriors’ lectures to respect authority in his era. It was always so annoying, especially since he was the only one who cared so much about how they were perceived by the guards, but the anger in his eyes after Wild’s third infraction for trespassing (it’s not like those people were USING their roofs!) was enough to convince them to behave. So, after a moment of hesitation, they raise their arm above their head.

“Both hands!” The guard juts his halberd closer to Wild’s face.

“This is all I’ve got, man.”

A lower ranking guard lifts the side of Wild’s poncho. “They’re telling the truth, sir,” they announce, gesturing to their missing right arm.

“W-well!” the officer stammers, and Wild can’t help but smirk. “Take them to a cell! Trespassing on castle grounds is no laughing matter!”

Wild rolls their eyes as one of the soldiers forcefully grabs their left arm. “You’re gonna regret this, you know.”

“Quiet you!” the senior officer snaps at them. “I’ll have no disrespect from magicians who infiltrate our defenses against the crown!”

“Fine,” Wild scoffs. “Hey, while you’re processing my intake paperwork or whatever, could you tell my brother where I am? He’ll be sooooo worried about me.”

The senior officer’s eye twitches. One of the lower ranking guards whispers, “It is protocol to inform citizens of incarcerated family members.”

“Alright! Alright!” the senior officer throws his hands up in frustration. “Just tell me and get out of here!”

“He’s the hero, Link. Ever heard of him?” Wild forces down a laugh as the officer’s face turns red. “Tell him Wild’s in prison again, and it’s not their fault this time!”

“Take them away!” the senior officer points the guard holding them towards the dungeon. “Now!”

And even though they’re being dragged into the dreaded dungeons of Hyrule Castle, Wild can’t help but laugh the entire time.

- - -

“You’re going to be in big trouble,” Wild lightly scratches at the rusty bars of their jail cell. They’re sitting on the nasty dungeon floor, legs crossed. “Seriously, it’s not too late to let me go.”

The guard stationed outside their cell sighs. “I’m not in charge of that.”

Wild huffs, pouting to themself. A little recognition wouldn’t hurt, would it? They were here all the time a decade ago! And even then, everyone knew they were with Wars. These kinds of theatrics and blunders are just rude!

“So, is Commander Link really your brother?”

Wild’s ear twitches when the guard speaks up. “Commander, huh? Wars got a promotion?”

“Uh, I-” the guard stammers. “I don’t-”

“Yeah, he’s pretty much my brother,” Wild answers. “It’s been a bit since I was in town, though.”

“YOU WHAT?!”

The shout rings through the dungeons, a shrill entitlement that Wild would know anywhere.

Wild clicks their tongue. “That’d be him,” they point their thumb towards the entrance to the dungeon. “You know, it’s been nice hanging out with you.”

“Don’t make it sound like I’m going to die.”

“I’ll put in a good word for you,” Wild promises, standing up and gripping onto one of the bars just as Warriors rounds the corner, flanked by the senior officer, who now looks flustered.

And that’s Wild’s confirmation that it’s been some time for their brother, as well. He’s sporting some well-manicured stubble, obviously, because everything about Wars is well-manicured. His hair is longer, tied back in a ponytail that reminds Wild of themself. Of course, they didn’t have a chance to do their hair before landing in the past, so it’s all loose and tangled.

“Wild?!” Warriors shouts, mostly in shock. “You’re really here?!”

“Oh thank goodness!” Wild feels like they could cry. “Wars get me out of here!”

“What are you doing here?” Wars ruffles their hair through the bars, a warm smile on both of their faces. “I thought we agreed, no more trespassing.”

“It’s not my fault, it was the portals!” Wild explains quickly. “They wouldn’t listen to me. I just woke up here!”

Hearing Wild’s poor circumstances, Wars snaps back towards the senior officer. “You ARRESTED my brother!”

“Your one-armed brother!” Wild pipes up from behind him.

“My ONE-ARMED- wait,” Warriors turns back to Wild, his tone suddenly soft as he looks at them with concern. “You lost your arm?”

Wild stares at Warriors blankly. “Don’t tell Twilight.”

“I’m not-!” Wars sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. “How would I even tell him?”

Wild simply shrugs.

“We’re talking about this later,” Warriors asserts, before turning to address the officer once again. His glare is cold, and his fury is burning. “I can’t BELIEVE that you saw a clearly disoriented individual in your courtyard and decided to ARREST THEM, of all things! Who is your superior, I’ll have to inform him-!”

Wild leans over to the guard, who’s standing frozen with fear next to the cell. “I told you,” they whisper.

- - -

“I’m hungry,” Wild whines, tugging at Warriors’ sleeve. “Can we get breakfast somewhere? I didn’t get to eat before I got arrested.”

Wars, in turn, shoots them a look of annoyance. He shrugs them off, continuing down the street. “You aren’t even the slightest bit concerned that the portals are opening again?”

“Please Wars I’m starving,” Wild begs. “I got pulled out of bed.”

Warriors sighs. “Fine. If you’re so insistent on breakfast, you can have free reign of my kitchen-” A sly smile creeps onto his face. “It’s been a while since I’ve had your cooking.”

“Oh, Sir Link, how generous of you, making your guest work!” Wild elbows him with their one good arm. “You see your dear sweet baby brother again after all this time-”

“You’re almost thirty, for Hylia’s sake!”

“Your BABY BROTHER,” Wild continues, “And all you can think about is what they can do for you.”

Suddenly and swiftly, Warriors pulls Wild into a headlock. “Why is it that every hero I meet is such a brat, huh?” he wonders aloud. “First the old man, then the sailor, and now you?”

“Don’t count yourself out, Commander,” Wild retorts, wiggling their way out of Wars’ grasp. “By the way, congrats on that promotion.”

“That was ages ago, it’s like you don’t keep up with me,” Wars scoffs playfully. “But seriously, I need you to cook for me again. I haven’t been the same without your home-cooked breakfasts.”

“Well, if you insist,” Wild relents. “Though I’m going to need a certain sous chef to help me.”

“That’s only fair,” Wars nods in agreement.

Warriors’ home is a townhouse deep in the heart of Castle Town, surrounded by a tall iron fence with pointed tips. The lawn is perfectly manicured, evenly cut grass and freshly trimmed roses. He’s silent as he unlocks the gate, as he leads Wild inside. Wars quickly closes the door behind them both, the sunlight trickling through the windows the only thing illuminating the darkened foyer.

It’s grand inside, that’s for sure. The blue carpet is soft and plush, and the wooden walls are filled with paintings and pictures. But something about it is… empty. Warriors awkwardly rubs at the back of his neck at Wild’s gaze.

“Kinda quiet around here,” Wild comments, but their face goes red when they realize the harshness of their words. “Uh, I mean it’s a really nice place you’ve got, Wars! You must be doing-”

Warriors suddenly places a hand behind Wild’s back, ushering them forward. “Yes, well, Althai is with his mother this week. Come on, the kitchen is this way.”

“Althai?” Wild cocks their head. “Wars, do you have a kid?”

“Yes, but-”

Wild side steps away from Wars. “Wait, I want to meet him!”

“We can’t right now, Wild,” Warriors pinches the bridge of his nose, an irritated scowl on his face that reminds Wild of the old man. “Freya and I aren’t… together anymore, and I’d rather not face her wrath if I showed up unannounced.”

Wild blinks. “Oh, I see.”

“So!” Wars quickly snaps out of it. “How about we avoid all that, and instead, we can make your breakfast?”

“Yeah,” Wild smiles, placing a hand on his shoulder. “I was thinking crepes. You still like those, right?”

The tension fades away from Wars, and he grins back at his brother. “I’ve always loved your crepes.”

- - -

“You know, I never took you as the braiding type,” Wild remarks over a mouthful of honey crepe.

“Don’t talk while you’re eating,” Wars instinctively responds, one hand focused on Wild’s hair while he uses the other to take a bite of his own crepe.

“Aw, you sound like Zelda,” Wild pouts.

“How’s she doing, by the way?” Warriors asks. “You as well. It’s been a while since we’ve seen each other.”

“We’re both doing good,” Wild announces. “I mean, after the whole revival of Ganondorf business—which is long over, by the way, please don’t worry about that—things have been quiet.” They gasp. “I have a niece now!”

“You do, huh?” Warriors says. “We’re getting old.”

“Ick, don’t remind me,” Wild sticks their tongue out. “I’m planning on staying as young and childlike as possible.”

“Again, you’re almost thirty.”

“Shut up!”

Warriors laughs at Wild’s outburst. He finishes the end of Wild’s braid, securing it with a hair tie. “All done.”

“Thanks for that, Wars,” Wild says as Wars loops around to sit across from them. “I usually get Sidon to do it, but with the one arm-”

Warriors raises a hand to stop them. “I get it, don’t worry.” His face sours quickly. “We should address the moblin in the room.”

“Right,” Wild sighs. “I definitely should not be here.”

“You’re not an unwelcome guest, but…” Warriors crosses his hands in front of him. “I haven’t heard of any black-blooded monsters again, have you?”

Wild shakes their head. “Nothing of the sort.”

“So whatever issue this is, it’s new,” he reasons. “How likely do you think it is that the two of us will be dragged away to another time together?”

“Based on past experience?” Wild questions. “That will almost certainly happen.”

“Great,” Wars rubs at his temples in agitation.

“Honestly, I’m just glad to get in at the beginning this time,” Wild admits. “You guys already knew everything by the time I joined! That wasn’t fair.”

“Easy, soldier,” Wars pats their head, much to Wild’s chagrin. “Eat up, it seems like we have somewhere to be soon.”

Wild raises an eyebrow. “Oh?”

“Congratulations, you’re going to meet your nephew,” Wars grimaces, crossing his arms together. “We’re going to my ex-wife’s house.”

- - -

"Just let me do the talking."

Wild shoots Wars a suspicious look. The two of them are standing in front of an ornate wooden door, leading into a nice stone house on the edge of the city. "She can't be that bad."

"Whatever you're thinking, Freya's worse," Warriors insists, practically sweating bullets.

Wild rolls their eyes, before reaching forward and slamming the iron knocker into the door repeatedly.

"Wild!" Warriors grabs their hand, yanking them back.

"You were taking too long!"

"I would have knocked eventually, now I have to rush through this," he hisses, pulling Wild up to eye level. "Don't annoy her, don't break anything. Don't be yourself."

"That's so rude!" Wild squirms in his grasp. "Let go, I've only got the one arm!"

“Link?”

Wars drops Wild onto the stone steps below them as he finally notices Freya at the door. She has long, dark, curled hair, pulled back into a bun. She worriedly looks down at Wild, who’s pouting on the floor at their aches.

“Freya!” Wars immediately has a wary smile on his face. “It’s so nice to see you!”

“Uh, yes…” she claps her hand together, suddenly gesturing inside. “Please, please, come in!” Freya turns over her shoulder and yells, “Althai! Your dad’s here!”

“Dad!” a small voice shouts from elsewhere, and suddenly, a child darts in and latches onto Wars’ leg. “Dad, I missed you!”

“Let me see you!” Wars lifts the kid, holding him up to his face. Aside from his tan complexion and curls, Althai is a little clone of his father, with freckled cheeks and shiny gold hair. “How are you bigger already, Alt? It’s only been a few days!”

Althai giggles, and much to Wild’s surprise, Freya laughs as well.

As Warriors turns to Wild, he balances his son on his hip. “Althai, this is your Uncle Wild.”

“Oh.” Noticing Wild for the first time, Althai almost turns smaller in his father’s grasp. “Hi,” he says, shyly offering a little hand for Wild.

“It’s nice to meet you, Althai,” Wild smiles warmly, shaking his hand.

“Uncle Wild, huh?” Freya abruptly speaks up, a scowl on her face. “Althai, how about you show our guest the garden?” Her gaze turns to Wars, who swallows nervously as he places his son back on the ground. “I need to talk to your father.”

“Um. Okay,” Althai takes Wild’s hand, guiding them past his parents. “This way.”

“Alright,” Wild agrees. Before Althai can drag them away completely, they wink at Wars. A viable alternative for a thumbs up, of course.

- - -

Freya keeps a nice garden, Wild decides. They’re sitting on the stone path, dividing the flowers from the herbs. It’s well-manicured, unlike Wild’s own attempt at a vegetable garden a few years back. Bees buzz by, which they idly watch fly along.

Althai’s got his nose buried in a book, but since he’s a kid, Wild’s willing to let such a faux pas slide. He hasn’t said a word since they left the house, though, and they’re starting to get a bit antsy.

“So…” Wild drums their fingers on their leg. “What’re you reading?”

“Uh, it’s a book,” Althai says.

Wild nods. “Sure, sure. Of course.”

Silence hangs over the two of them again. This kid is nothing like the little firecracker Zelly is, Wild realizes.

“Do you really have one arm?”

“Oh! Yeah!” Wild lifts their poncho, showing off their missing arm again. “See? Pretty cool, huh?”

“Woah.” Althai abandons his book, inspecting them closer. “How did it happen?”

“Ohhhh, what a story,” Wild recounts, putting on their best spooky voice. “I was journeying through some caves with my friend, when suddenly, we came upon this evil man, who was put down there for trying to hurt Hyrule. When we got close, he heard us and woke up! And then, he used his evil, corrosive magic to-”

“Eep!” Althai shouts, hiding his face in the green cloth of Wild’s poncho.

Fuck!

“No, no!” Wild tries to amend, pulling back the poncho to reveal Althai’s face. “I was just- I was kidding! The arm was sick, and we had to get rid of it so I could be healthy. No bad men! No evil magic!”

“Oh,” Althai sits on the ground next to Wild. “Okay.”

Wild ruffles his hair. “You like stories, don’t you, kid?”

“Yeah,” Althai picks at the grass.

“Well, has your dad ever told you the story about his journey with the other Heroes across time?”

Althai perks up, nodding. “Mhm! All the Links!”

“Well, did you know I’m one of those Links?” Wild gestures to themself. “It’s true! I’m from thousands of years in the future!”

Althai gasps. “Really?!”

“Yes, really,” Wild confirms. “You know, I’ve got a few stories about your dad from back then. Stories I’m sure he never told you.”

“Tell me!” Althai jumps up, tugging on Wild’s shoulder. “Tell me tell me tell me!”

“Alright, alright, settle down.” Wild pulls the kid into their lap. “How about… the time we lost him on the coldest mountain in Hyrule?”

- - -

“So,” Freya crosses her arms, looking out the window. Her ex-husband sits across from her at the kitchen table. “That’s the Hero of the Wild in my backyard, isn’t it?”

“Er, yes,” Wars awkwardly scratches the back of his head. “Yes it is.”

“Alright, Link,” she pinches the bridge of her nose and sighs. “What happened?”

"Freya, please, it's none of your concern."

"None of my-?!" Freya is taken aback. "How about this, Link. Is it another journey?"

Warriors nods. "Most likely, yes."

"So then Althai needs to stay with me for who knows how long," she reasons. "Which means I need to get his things from your place, and I'll be making the trip to his school to pick him up for weeks. Not to mention the fact that I'll have to comfort my kid over his father's absence."

"I don't have a choice!" Wars reminds her. "Do you think I want to miss my time with Althai?"

"I'm not saying that, Link!" Freya corrects. "I'm saying that this very obviously affects me, whether you'll admit it or not." She covers his hand with her own. "Tell me what happened, alright? Just because we're not married doesn't mean we can't be friends."

Friends, huh?

"I know you're excited to see Wild, again," Freya smiles. "It's been so long, you're allowed to want to see your friends."

"Even if it means leaving Althai?" Warriors frowns. He flips his hand to hold hers.

"He'll be alright," Freya says. "He's tough, just like his dad. He'll be waiting here when you get back."

"When I get back," Wars echoes. "Yes, you're right! We'll visit when we can, and you and Althai can meet all of them!" Wars suddenly takes both her hands. "I'll be back before you know it, I promise."

"Thank you, Link," Freya sighs in relief. "How about we invite those two rascals back in? I'd love to get to know your brother."

"That's a great idea," Warriors grins. "I knew you were my best idea maker."

"Always have been."

- - -

“I’ll see you soon, Alty,” Wild kneels down to pat the kid’s head. “Remember, if your dad doesn’t let you do something, tell him that Uncle Legend would.”

“Wild, what are you telling my kid?” Wars crosses his arms and scowls. Once again, the image of Time and his disappointing glare comes right to Wild’s mind.

“Nothing!” Wild steps aside. “Just saying he should stay in school! Stuff like that!”

“Sure.” Wild can tell by his tone that Warriors doesn’t believe them, but he instead chooses to scoop Althai up in a hug. “Be good for your mother, my little bookworm. I’ll be back soon! Once this is all done, I’m taking you for ice cream.”

“Alright, Dad!” Althai giggles, wrapping his arms around his father’s neck. “I’ll miss you.”

“And I’ll miss you.” With his free hand, Wars digs through his pockets, producing a key that he offers to Freya. “This is my spare key. Take it, it’s yours.”

“Why thank you, Sir Link,” Freya graciously takes the key. “I’ll be sure to keep all your plants watered.”

And so, Wild and Wars find themselves back on the road, walking side by side as the sun sets. Wild takes a deep breath and sighs, enjoying the fresh air.

This is it.

“You know, Freya was actually very nice,” Wild says, smirking.

Warriors scoffs. “Oh, quiet you.”

“You’re still so dramatic,” they remark. “I can’t believe a word you say.”

“Hush,” Wars wraps an arm around Wild’s shoulder, drawing them close. “I’m trying to enjoy having my brother back, and you’re ruining it.”

Wild laughs, but before they can respond with their own witty comeback, there’s a bright light. Blinking through the brightness, the heroes find a portal in front of them, its golden swirls welcoming and inviting.

“Well, I guess it’s time,” Wild says. “You ready, Commander?”

“I guess I am, Chef,” Wars smiles.

“Aw, it’s cute you think I’m professionally trained.”

And so, once again, two of Hylia’s heroes step through a portal again, with neither an idea of where they’re going nor a care in the world.

[prismarts]

Shadowmancy (Camelot Era)

Plot: A frustrated Douxie seeks to cast a Shadowmancy spell to prove to Merlin that he is more than just errand boy, Illy tries to stop him before he gets hurt...

Notes: Douxie x OC, got an idea for this after remembering Douxie’s line “I never had the gift for Shadowmancy”, I try to make up an advanced Shadowmancy spell, not even sure if it’s cool I’ll try to make it sound cool, small mention of blood, dark magic, some cute fluff after cause I can’t resist, also Merlin briefly but I’m not sure if I wrote him correctly forgive me xD, This happens before the birthday one shot by maybe a month or two...I dunno this just happens before it.

@tales-of-hisirdoux​

Frustration. 

That was the only feeling that was boiling in young Douxie’s head and gut as he stormed around his chambers, muttering and grumbling various curse words under his breath, fuzzbuckets being prominently muttered.

He had been in the castle for a couple of months now and he’s barely learned anything other than basic magic and spells. He wasn’t even training with his magic most of the time, he was often sent on chores if anything. 

It infuriated him to no end.

Archie, seeing this, was trying hard to get his wizard familiar to calm down, he’s never been this angry before. “Douxie, be reasonable, you’re still learning magic...it might just take a while for you to-”

“Right! Because I’ve been learning bloody beginner’s magic!!! For months! Most of those spells, I already know! I’ve been pushing a broom more than I’ve learned new spells, Arch! What kind of apprentice am I!?”

Douxie’s hazel gold eyes looked dark from the grave amount of frustration that he’s been feeling.

“Doux, calm down. I’m sure Merlin has his reasons... Illyria is still learning beginner’s magic too and she’s been here longer than you..”

The apprentice let out a scoff as he glared at Archie, “Illy’s been learning magic from Morgana! She doesn’t have to do half as many chores as I do.” 

It was true, Illy was often seen around Morgana and learns magic more from her, the rare occasion that she does do chores, it isn’t as long of a list as Douxie gets... But then a different thought crossed his mind....

Illy learned under Morgana, who was known for her skill in Shadowmancy, the art of dark magic, controlling the shadows. The one kind of magic that Merlin would never let him learn about, let alone look at books on it. But, if he could cast a spell from one of Morgana’s books on Shadow magic...

He can finally prove to his master that he is capable of learning stronger and more complex spells.

Without a second thought, Douxie stormed out of his chambers.

Determined to prove Merlin wrong, he walks in a rather focused still infuriated manner towards Morgana’s chambers. He ignored the sound of his familiar calling out to him and failed to notice the other apprentice that had just notice him storm off.

Illy went over to Archie and helped the familiar on her shoulders, ‘What’s going on with Douxie?....’  she wondered quietly as she and the cat dragon shared a concerned look.

Meanwhile, the annoyed apprentice walked along the castle and looked around to make sure his surroundings were empty, Master Merlin and Morgana were busy individuals but he had to be careful as to not get caught.

Douxie stayed quiet as he hid at a corner near Morgana’s chambers, there were a few castle staff and servants walking around, making him curse under his breath, “Fuzzbuckets..”

He tapped his gauntlet to activate its magic as he swiped through the runes to pick a spell as he thought to himself quickly.

A sky blue glow illuminated in his hand as he whispered the incantation, “Interminus nocti sluumberso”

He blasted the spell towards the servants, putting them to sleep as he grinned and quickly made his way into the empty chambers. Closing the doors behind him as he looked around.

A chill went down his spine as he started digging around for what he needed, this felt wrong....but his misguided determination was pushing him to keep looking.

Douxie soon found it, one of Morgana’s spell books. He grinned in a determined manner as he quickly flipped through the book to the more advanced spells, the need to prove himself to Merlin growing strong and causing his heart to race..

Or was it the fear of trying to use Shadow magic?...

He never got to linger on that thought as he had found the spell he was looking for and was about to cast it when he heard the door open.

“Douxie!”

A hushed yell could be heard as the door closed, the apprentice saw that it was Illy, he felt a bit relieved....

Oh, and Archie....great.

“What are you doing here!?” Illy asked worriedly as she ran up to the taller apprentice, she looked visibly worried about being in Morgana’s chambers without her mentor’s permission.

Then, Archie spoke up as he was jumped off the girl’s shoulder, “Douxie, whatever you have planned is not a good idea. We should leave while we st-”

The taller apprentice completely ignored his familiar as he gently grabbed Illy by her arms, making the poor girl flinch and blush quite a bit.

“Illy! Modrax’s miracles, you’re here! This is perfect!”

“I...i don’t think it is.....w..we need to go Douxie...we aren’t supposed to be in here...”

“Uh uh, yeah, alright, but I need your help.”

“M...my help?..” The girl stuttered quietly.

Douxie had that mischievous grin on his face as he looked at her, the grin that would make Illy’s heart melt at an instant...

If she wasn’t so panicked at the moment.

“I need you to help me cast this spell! You just need to guide me through it and I’ll be able to cast it!”

When the wizard showed Illy the book, it didn’t help with her panic, “D..Douxie, that’s Morgana’s a..and that...that spell is way too advanced for us! I..I can’t help you with it even if I want to!” 

That was a lot more true than what Douxie understood, Illy had no abilities in Shadowmancy whatsoever, despite being taken in by Morgana.

She’s tried, really really hard to learn that form of magic to make her mentor and mother figure proud....but she just wasn’t able to, she has no gift for Shadow magic..

But Douxie didn’t know that....

“Of course you can! You’re Morgana’s student! You must have casted lots of Shadowmancy spells before! You just need to help guide me through it....I’m sure I can cast it....”

He looked a little desperate for her help but Illy sees something else in those hazel gold eyes...

Determination..

She admired that about him....

Was he a bit too silly and relaxed at times? Yes..

But he’s always been determined to learn more and grow as a wizard, a person... All he wanted was to prove himself to everyone as a great spellcaster..

“Douxie....I can’t...a..and you don’t need to do this, you’re already an amazing wizard..”

“Illy....you don’t understand! I have to. It’s the only way Master Merlin is ever going to take me seriously! I need to prove it to him! To prove that I’m more than just....an errand boy!”

Illy put her hands on his arms that were still holding onto her sides, “And you are....but this is too dangerous, you could hurt yourself, Douxie.”

Douxie looked at his friend quietly, a shaky breath escaped him. He felt...genuinely, a little hurt. To him, it sounded like Illy doesn’t trust him to get the spell right....

And that only fueled his frustrations more...

The apprentice glared at Illy as he let go of her rather harshly, he almost stopped when he saw the shock and hurt in her turquoise eyes.... but he was too frustrated.

He grabbed the book and backed away, a dark glare in his eyes.

“Of course you would think that way, exactly like Master Merlin! I am capable of casting this spell and I’ll prove it!!!”

Douxie immediately powered his gauntlet, levitating the book as he flipped the pages to the spell. He was fueled with hurt, anger and frustration as he started to read the incantation out loud, ignoring Illy and Archie’s worried protests.

At first, it seemed like the spell was working. He was opening multiple shadow portals around the room as his eyes turned black.....a slight fading glow of his sky blue magic in them... black veins appeared on hi face from his eyes and on his arms.

Illy backed away with Archie worriedly, she had to get Merlin and Morgana but she doesn’t want to leave Douxie alone..

She tried to think fast about what to do but soon panicked as she felt the end of her dress and her legs being sucked into one of the portals. The portals were starting to shake and look unstable as she kept getting sucked into one of them.

The shorter apprentice took it upon herself to throw Archie towards the door and away from the portals to protect the familiar, the Shadow Realm was too dangerous for him. She hung onto dear life, as Archie ran out the door to get help.

The portals kept shaking and getting unstable..

That wasn’t supposed to happen.

Douxie felt his mind go blank, a painful ringing started to be heard and echoed in his mind, it got louder and louder as he felt himself lose control. He couldn’t scream, despite the pain.

He started to pant heavily, his breathing getting erratic, quick as the portals around getting even more unstable and more shaky, unstable portals appeared as items flew around the room through said portals.

Illy was able to climb and levitate herself out of the portal but just as she was getting away, a dagger flew out of said portal and slashed her shoulders deeply. Blood dripping out of the cut as it soaked her dress.

She screamed in pain..

Which made Douxie felt even more unstable and lose control....his blank mind started to worry about Illy...

‘D...did he really hurt her.....No..no..he couldn’t have....he’d never hurt her...but...she sounded like she was in so much pain....’

Illy saw Douxie’s eyes flickering from black to his normal...scared hazel gold eyes..

He was losing control as she sees the veins on his arms and face, his body was shaking and pained tears falling down his face.

Then, she saw one of the shaky unstable portals appeared behind the shaking apprentice, ready to suck him into the Shadow Realm...

She ignored the pain and the fear as she ran over to Douxie quickly and tackled him and the book to the ground as she tried her hardest to pull him away from the portals. She had to get him back..

“Douxie! Douxie, you need to snap out of it! Please! You need to clear your mind! P...please....this isn’t you... Y...You’re so much stronger than this Hisirdoux!!”

Illy was sobbing out of fear and worry as she hugged Douxie tightly and shakily..

“Y..you’re amazing Douxie....y..you don’t have to prove that to anyone! A..Archie sees it....I...I see it, Doux....I see you....y..you’re strong and determined....and capable...y..you’re a great wizard...”

Those words...

It hit his heart...something deep inside him.....

Those words....gave Douxie the strength to fully snap out of it, his eyes flickered back to his hazel gold colour....the veins all over him slowly disappeared as did the portals around the room..

Illy let out shaky breaths, relieved that this was over... but Douxie collapsed in her arms, he passed out completely.

And if things couldn’t get worse, Merlin and Morgana burst into the room, Archie flying next to them...

To say that Merlin was upset, was an absolute understatement.

He was furious but there wasn’t much he could do as punishment while Douxie was still passed out.

Well, he did think of something...

But when a certain other apprentice heard of this, she immediately ran into Merlin’s study, where Douxie was resting in and Archie alongside him... as well as Merlin.

Despite getting hurt by his actions, Illy wasn’t backing down from this...she wasn’t going to let Merlin go through with his plan. Archie and Merlin were both a bit surprised when she slammed the door open.

“You can’t send Douxie away, Master!!! Please...he deserves another chance!”

Her voice was shaky, she sounded upset and quite angered as she was breathing heavily from running. Illy’s face both red in anger and from running..

“The boy messed with dark magicks after being specifically told not to!” Merlin started sternly as he looked at the shorter apprentice, she had a temper but never disobeyed quite like this before.... Douxie was rubbing off on her..

Before Illy could intervene, Merlin kept going.

“And worse! He put you and his own familiar in harm’s way! He could have easily put others safety at risk with his mucking about with Shadow magic!”

“It was just a mistake, Master! It was an accident! He wasn’t trying to harm me or Archie, he....he just wanted to prove himself to you...”

Merlin looked at Illy sternly as he walked up to her and was about to continue his ranting on Douxie but, Illy was getting more than emotional and wasn’t about to back down....she wasn’t about to lose him..

“Douxie may be reckless  a ..and relaxed...maybe he doesn’t think things through, but he’s determined!!! He’s determined to do better and learn, he...just needs a chance to prove that..... please, Master....i..if he deserves punishment then do as you see fit but...p..please don’t send him away....h..he’s amazing and powerful and capable of so many great things! Please, Master...”

Illy hadn’t realized it but she was crying quite a bit, her breath hitching as Archie had walked over to the short apprentice and jumped onto her shoulders to calm her down.

She...really didn’t want to lose her friend....the apprentice she’s admired....

And Merlin realizes that, his face doesn’t show it but he now realizes why Illy was vouching for the boy.

Apart from her truly believing in his ability to grow, the hope and determined that he would be able to learn from this and become a powerful wizard...

The girl had also fallen in love with his apprentice...

It took a bit of thought, but Merlin soon turned to the girl and gave her head, a small pat. “Very well, Hisirodux will stay....but only because you are insistent on it, I am choosing to trust your judgement.”

Illy was shaking and crying but smiled gratefully as she glanced at Archie, they were both relieved, “Thank you, Master! Thank you so much!”

It had been a week since the incident, Merlin had indeed given Douxie his punishment after giving him an earful about his recklessness which was hard for the apprentice to hear but he took it....it was his fault and he expected it..

What the apprentice wasn’t expecting was his master putting him through the worst imaginable chores available...including milking the Slorr......daily, for around a month.

Still, he didn’t complain. He did all his chores obediently and on time...

He even got to learn a few basic intermediate spells, new spells..

But this confused him..

As he finished milking the Slorr,  he groaned a little... the horrid smell was making him gag despite him doing this for a week now.

“Well.....at least it wasn’t worse...”

“It could have been..”, Douxie heard his familiar mutter, it made him turn to the cat. “What do you mean by that, Arch?”

“Oh, nothing..” The familiar seemed a bit nervous now..

“Arch.....what are you talking about?”

Douxie got a bit annoyed as he kept repeating and calling to his familiar for answers, “Arch. Arch. Archie.” He ended up walking close to the cat dragon and held his Slorr juice covered hands close to his face.

Archie gagged and backed up, “Alright!”, He sighed, “Illyria vouched for you to stay.....Merlin could have sent you away if she hadn’t convinced him to trust you again.”

“S...she did that....for me?.....”

His familiar nodded quietly, “She didn’t want me to tell you....she wanted you to stay determined and build back that trust on your own accord...”

The apprentice stayed quiet as he let everything sank in....Illy believed in him....even after he put her in danger and got her injured...

He then suddenly spoke up in a bit of a quiet manner, “Arch...could you help me send the Slorr juice to Master Merlin? I need to do something.”

Archie nodded as he turned into his dragon form and grabbed the Slorr juice that was collected and flew to Merlin’s tower.

Douxie practically ran into the castle after cleaning himself up, he ran through the castle hallways as he felt a lot of things after what he found out. He needed to find Illy...

He kept running and running until he found her chambers near Merlin’s tower, he stopped in front of the door as a wave of fear and anxiety washed over him... He took a shaky breath as he shakily lifted his fist up.

And soon knocked on the door to Illy’s chambers...

Douxie waited for a little while until the door opened to the girl, she looked like she had been studying this whole time as he saw books levitating behind her. Illy smiled at him as her turquoise eyes brighten as she tucked a little of her long brunette hair behind her ear.

“Oh! Douxie, did you need something?...”

The apprentice couldn’t speak... he just stared at the girl quietly as he processed what Archie said only moments earlier... and the words he remembered Illy saying to him while he was under dark magic...

His breath hitched as he didn’t realized he was crying...

“Douxie!? What’s wrong?..”

Illy didn’t get answer, instead he got pulled into a tight bear hug, she felt Douxie’s face quietly burying itself in her soft hair as he took a shaky breath..

The girl froze, feeling her face heat up and turn red....she felt her heart fluttering in her chest as she slowly felt flustered and loved the warmth he gave her from the hug..

But she overcame her flustered feelings and hugged the taller apprentice back quietly....

“T..thank you..” 

“F....for what, Douxie?....is everything okay?....”

“F....for believing in me...even after what I put you through....I..I’m really sorry for hurting you....I’m really sorry, Illy..”

Illy hugged him closer and shushed him softly, “You already apologized Douxie...hundreds of times...I’m alright, I’m just....really happy to have my friend back....”

Douxie couldn’t help but smile at her words as he hugged her close....

They stayed there in each other’s embrace, happy to have each other in their lives....

[fishoutofcamelot]

Time Heals Some Wounds (And Causes Others)

My first merthur fic!

Arthur didn't spend two years remembering his past life, rounding up all his old Camelot buddies, and tracking down where the hell his immortal idiot had dallied off to - just to be snubbed! As if their ten years together meant nothing to him!

To be fair, ten years to Arthur would've been but a scant moment or two for Merlin. He even did the math. Only 0.06% of Merlin's disturbingly long life was spent with Arthur.

People's memory started failing them at the age of seventy, let alone a thousand. Was it any surprise Merlin would forget such a fleeting moment that had happened so early in his painfully long existence? It would be like asking Arthur to remember the first few months of his life, and Arthur didn't even remember what he ate for dinner last week.

So yes, it had been wishful thinking to hope that Merlin would recall anything by the time they reunited. And yes, it had been selfish of him to be so bitter when Merlin didn't.

In 2020, Merlin went by the alias Rhys Anderson. Which, in Arthur's opinion, was the dumbest name anyone could possibly think of. So at least it was in character for Merlin, who was likewise the dumbest person anyone could possibly meet.

(Gwen had slapped him last time he said that aloud.)

But even after all these centuries, no matter how forgetful and absent-minded Merlin's age had made him, he was still Merlin. Still cheerful and sassy and kind, still wearing his heart on his sleeve and still giving the best advice. And above all, still an idiot.

Though it pained him - and everyone else, he suspected - he let himself accept that this Merlin was Rhys now. He let himself move on. Let himself befriend Rhys just as seamlessly as he'd befriended Merlin.

It didn't help that this new era brought new emotions and possibilities with it. And against all odds, Arthur found himself falling for Merlin. Falling fast and hard.

Which was no good at all, especially considering...well...all of that.

Arthur tried to quell the way his heart pounded whenever Merlin drew near; tried to ignore the way his chest heated up with a fluttering, friendly warmth whenever Merlin smiled at him; tried to ignore his aching desire to spend more, more, more time at Merlin's side.

He tried. And he failed.

Morgana - now called Morgan Barnes, an interior designer and redeemed ex-villain (and Gwen Smith's closeted admirer) - got fed up with his pining after a while and told him to just take the plunge.

"What's the worst that could happen?" She had asked while they ate ice cream and strolled along the park trail, as per their Sunday routine.

He glared at her. "You know exactly what could happen."

"Eh. Merlin - Rhys - is too nice to shut you away just because you've got a crush on him. I mean, he didn't turn Gwaine away."

Arthur gaped.

"What? You didn't know Gwaine used to have a crush on your manservant?"

Arthur continued to gape.

Morgan laughed. "How observant of you, my lord. On second thought, maybe you shouldn't confess to Rhys after all. He's far too good for you."

For all that she had reformed and straightened up her ways in this new life, she was still a maniacal bitc-

Morgan's wheedling did the trick. In a few days, Arthur found himself inviting Rhys over to his apartment for a nice, casual movie night, with a half-formed plan in the back of his mind to try and initiate something between them should the opportunity present itself.

If all went well, the kiss would spark Merlin's faintest of memories into clarity - like how it worked on television. If that didn't happen and Merlin's memories remained ever so hopelessly destroyed by time...well, he still enjoyed "Rhys's" company, and that's what counted.

The movie was some stupid sci-fi flick Merlim had picked out. For an immortal wizard, he sure seemed to like science and technology and future-y things. Arthur would have thought he'd be more fond of the past.

Of course, it would make sense that Merlin disliked historical dramas and fantasy as much as he did. It probably reminded him all too well of his own miserably immortal life. With sci-fi, he could forget for a few moments just how timeless he really was, and lose himself into the folds of terrible special effects and incoherent technobabble.

Well that was a depressing thought.

When the credits rolled, and the popcorn bowl had run empty, Arthur spotted his golden-ticket opportunity.

They were both laughing and joking about something stupid that had happened in the movie. And then the laughter faded. And then it was just the two of them staring and smiling contentedly at each other. And the lights were off, save the dim glow of the television. And their gazes turned more and more intent, and their faces drew closer...closer...closer...

Merlin turned his head to the side, face screwed up in shame. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "I can't."

Arthur's heart sunk. "W-what?"

Sensing Arthur's horror and embarrassment, Rhys quickly amended. "I-I mean - I care about you! I care about you a lot, Arthur! Dare I say it, I might even love you."

Arthur's heart seized at the word 'love', but he refused to get his hopes up. "But?"

A weary sigh. "But...I love another."

Arthur mentally slapped himself. How could he have been so naive to think that Merlin wouldn't have found a special someone in all his years of life? Had he been such a fool as to believe that Merlin would never attach himself to anyone after Arthur?

"Who's the lucky guy?" Arthur asked, trying - failing - not to sound as heartbroken and bitter as he felt.

Merlin's face scrunched up in wistful confusion. "I can't remember his name. It was a long time ago. I can't remember much of anything anymore..."

That last sentence was more for Merlin to think out loud than for Arthur to hear, but he agreed nonetheless. Merlin's inability to recall Camelot wasn't the only sign of his deteriorating mind. He frequently forgot where he put things, or what year it was, or what his name was (he has a habit or confusing his current alias with his one from WWI, oddly enough). Several times Arthur had tracked him down and guided him home just because he couldn't remember where he lived. Suffice to say, the years had taken quite a toll on him.

Merlin shook himself out of his reverie. "Look. I just - he died long ago. And even though I can't even remember what he looked like, a part of me is still upset about it. As much as I love you, it wouldn't be fair to start something with you while my heart still belongs to another."

"Thanks for considering my emotions, I suppose," he acquiesced, nodding solemnly. "But - wait, you said you can't even remember what he looked like?"

Merlin gave a sheepish shrug. "I can't remember anything about him at all, really. All I know is the way I loved him."

Arthur swallowed hard. "A-and how did you love him?"

For once, Merlin dared to lift his shame-filled gaze off the floor and straight at Arthur. Though it was too dark to see, he knew by heart how intensely Merlin's blue eyes burned.

"More deeply than I'll ever love anyone else."

Knowing he couldn't compete with that, Arthur hung his head, bid his farewells, and watched Merlin awkwardly leave.

When Merlin was gone, Arthur allowed himself to vent his frustrations. To cry out and throw things and hit other things and yell into his pillow.

Who was that mystery man of his, anyway? Who could Merlin possibly love, who had he lost so long ago that he could no longer...remember...them...

Oh god.

Oh god.

Arthur was the mystery man.

Gwaine would have laughed at the irony. Darn near all of his friends would have, in fact. And maybe Arthur would have laughed as well, if not for the fact that he was far too frustrated to do so.

Still, this was a ray of hope. If Merlin could recall the slightest inkling of Arthur as they had once been before, regardless of the capacity that recollection came in...then maybe this wouldn't be so terrible after all.

[infinite-nevers]

chapter one; wayward son

Enna Scanlan bounced in her computer chair. Only two hours to go before Owen’s return to their village in around six years. Her best friend, Grace, stared at her over her mug, an amused smile across her face and dark green eyes creased. Enna’s eyes had been flicking over to the clock on the other side of the room since she got in at nine this morning. Her personal phone was barely out of her sight and checked every five minutes. It was usually kept tucked away in her bag in case their boss caught sight of it. ‘No personal phones in the office’ until lunch time was a strict rule. Then, Enna had devoted the entirety of today’s lunch hour to chasing signal around the huge office and cursing their hotel’s terrible location.

“He’s not texted then?” Grace asked mildly, sipping her tea, and twirling a red curl. That glare was thrown at her again. She chuckled, “I don’t get it- you’re in contact everyday, why is today any different?”

Enna and Owen couldn’t go a single day without contacting each other. There was always some text or phone call to interrupt her day. Enna had once gone away with her boyfriend on a surprise trip and had neglected to tell Owen. Two days had passed without contact and Owen had gotten so worried he’d rung Enna’s mum. There had been a long talk about boundaries after that, but their daily contact had resumed.

“Today is the day I finally see him,” Enna said, looking so excited Grace might have been a little jealous had she not already understood that she always came second to Owen. If only Sean, Enna’s boyfriend, would remember that too. Nothing could break Enna and Owen’s bond from birth, including not seeing each other for a year or two.

Enna sighed and grabbed her mug. Just as she began to stand to go to the kettle, she saw that Grace had already poured them their 3pm brews. She raised her mug, a kitsch red and blue offering, in an apologetic salute.

Enna knew she could become a little occupied in her friendship with Owen, but she’d never been this bad before. They’d been best friends growing up and in university but had still managed lives outside of each other. The ever-lengthening time apart and Owen’s sudden urge to come home had made Enna realise just how long it had been. They’d always planned visits but with life happening all around them it had never quite panned out as often as it should.

“Sorry,” Enna grimaced when she realised that she’d gotten lost in her head again. Grace just laughed, used to the memory lane disappearances by now.

“No worries. Just remember you’ve got ‘the future Mrs O’Donaghue’ breathing down your neck.”

“Oh f-” Enna squealed. Dragon Bride, a young woman who only answered to ‘the future Mrs O’Donaghue’, was getting married in a week’s time and her wish list only kept growing. As events coordinator for the hotel Enna had dealt with many difficult clients over the years. Dragon Bride beat them all. Enna shuddered to think of the consequences of ignoring her.

Two hours later, Enna pretended to bash her forehead against her desk as a high-pitched voice screeched into her ear, “this of the utmostimportant! Do you understand?”

Enna breathed in deeply through her nose and bunched her hair into a fist, “ma’am. Your wedding is in two weeks, it might be difficult to find a petting zoo to rent out in that time.” Her exhale whistled through gritted teeth.

“I don’t want it for the wedding! I want it for the hen do. Is this making sense to you now?” Dragon Bride yelled again. Enna’s knuckles whitened in her hair.

“That is in a week so it’s the same-”

“Just get it done.” Dialling tone rung loud in her ear.

She raised her head from her desk and stared at the phone. She let out a loud, frustrated squawk and slammed the phone down, “This woman is a nightmare!”

“Who’s a nightmare?” A cheerful voice cut through Enna’s frustration. She jumped with a yelp. Swivelling around in her seat she saw her boss, Conor, beaming widely at her. A charismatic man, half the office was in love with him. Blonde hair flopped over his twinkling eyes, always looking suitably messy from his paddle-boarding habit. He looked so much like a stereotypical Australian surfer that it was sometimes a little difficult taking him seriously as her boss.

“The future Mrs O’Donaghue.” Grace supplied, voice light with barely contained amusement.

“Ah,” Conor nodded, “the Dragon?” Enna blinked at his flippant tone. He was a very relaxed boss, insisted everyone called him and his wife by their first names, invited all of his staff down to the pub every Friday and knew them all by name, right down to the ground staff he saw maybe once a year, but usually he was quite respectful towards clients. Enna nodded dumbly.

“What did she want this time?” There was an annoyance in his voice that Enna couldn’t quite parse. Conor never got involved in her clients until Enna came to him with a problem. Then he’d hear the problem from both sides and try to help her solve the issue. She’d only mentioned Dragon Bride once in passing and Conor had dismissed her worries, promising to take her side in whatever.

“A petting zoo!” Grace replied with malicious glee. Enna shot her a look over her shoulder and got a quiet ‘what’ shrug back.

“Who’s paying for the wedding?” Conor asked without preamble, “trust fund baby?” It clicked in Enna’s head. Despite his own wealth from being a hotelier Conor was a snob about rich people. He hated people who had been born into wealth rather than working for it. He thought it made them spoilt and irresponsible. In the case of Dragon Bride, he was right.

“Her father,” Enna muttered. She didn’t want to add fuel to a possible tirade about the plight of the common people. Grace was giggling behind her, turning it into a cough when Conor furrowed his brows at her.

“Ignore her! If she complains I won’t take any notice. Just do your best! And put your phone away,” He nodded towards to Enna’s beeping phone, “oh wait, look it’s five. Pack up lads and ladies! It’s home time! Who’s coming to the pub?” He grinned and swung his arms around to suggest everyone wrap up what they were doing. Everyone instantly stood, having waited for their boss’ weekly pub invitation. Enna picked up her phone with a wry grin towards her eccentric boss, huddling people out of the door. A text from Owen awaited her – he had arrived.

She bolted for the door.

She arrived at the small, red brick bus station twenty minutes late and swearing the entire time. The bendy country roads, thankfully leaf free this time of year, were difficult to navigate anyway. Having vengeful farmers move their herds during rush hour just made it an exercise in anger management. She parked the car across the road, kicked the door shut with another loud curse and looked up to laughter.

Across the road, crouched against the bus station’s toilets walls, was Owen and he was laughing at her. He ran a hand through his hair. Enna grinned back at him, anger instantly melting away. She surreptitiously studied him as she tried to get to him. It had only been around two years since she’d gone to see him in the UK, but he looked untouched by that time. His hair still swung messily around his ears and his eyes still creased when he smiled.

“Sorry!” She yelled over the traffic, “I meant to text but signal on this road y’know,” she carried on as she ran across a gap in the cars going home from the city. Owen waved a dismissive hand as he stood and held his arms out. She threw herself into them apologising profusely, “Alan-”

“-is still punishing us mere mortals for not choosing God’s own profession by letting his sheep loose during rush hour?”

“Exactly!” She beamed as she drew away. Her eyes darted down to what he had been crouched over, “is that all you have?” Disappointment washed over her as she eyed the small duffle bag.

Owen laughed loudly. He ruffled her hair before dropping an arm around her shoulder. Picking up his bag, he guided her towards the luggage hold office opposite the ticket booth. Two huge suitcases stood in wait, “fear not little one, I’m here a while.” Enna let out a breath she didn’t realise she’d been holding. It was time to bring Owen home.

Later that night, and one sheep free journey later, the two stood outside their old home away from home. Ramble Inn was an old pub in a beautiful Georgian building with red trims around the window. The door had also been red at one point, but the paint had now peeled and faded to a faint pink. As they were growing up it had been their second living room. It was where they came after Mass, where they came after a match, and where they came after school once you hit fifteen. Try as you might though, Tom would never serve you.

Owen laughed at memories of a bygone era. Him, Enna, Grace and Liam, Enna’s older brother, clustered around a table playing dominoes with the old men. They’d enjoyed playing at being adults and the real adults had enjoyed indulging them. He wondered if they were still there.

“Tom still won’t serve you underage.” Enna guessed at his previous thoughts. Owen rubbed at his beard. One night, drunk and seventeen, Owen had tried to get served. He’d gotten quite rowdy; Tom had thrown him out and he’d landed on his face. He’d never forgotten the pain of a dislocated jaw.

“Tom’s still psychic, knows everyone ages, even the passers through. Kids don’t get anything but juice,” Enna grinned at him lost in his misty-eyed memories.

“You two going to stand outside here all night?” A voice cut through their reverie. They turned their head in unison. Caoimhe Walsh stood there with a hand on her hip and bright eyes fixed on Owen. A more recent addition to the village, a blow-in from Dublin, Caoimhe had been an instant hit. Tall, blonde, and beautiful, she was everything Enna wasn’t but every bit as sweet as she looked.

“Keev!” Enna grinned, “thought you were out with the girls tonight?” Unlike Enna, who found socialising wearing, Caoimhe thrived on it, flitting happily between social groups, welcomed by most.

“Yeah, we decided on a quiet one instead.” She slung an arm around Enna’s shoulder and threw a hand up to the Ramble Inn’s curling gold letters. Enna snorted. Caoimhe shot a wolfish grin back. They both knew she’d have no such thing.

Caoimhe’s eyes finally strayed to where Owen was looking at them with a slightly dumb smile on his face. Noticing Caoimhe looking at him, Owen offered a slightly dumb wave.

“Owen?” Caoimhe’s eyes went wide and, after a beat, threw her arms around him in a massive hug, “oh my god, you’re that Owen?”

Enna blinked rapidly at them. Keev had moved the village long after Owen had left. Although she had featured heavily in the stories Enna told him, he never mentioned knowing her.

“You’re that Caoimhe?” His laugh was jubilant as he picked her up, “I never made the link! Enna talks about you all the time. Oh, Eni, do you remember that business trip I took like two months ago?” Owen turned back to her when he caught sight of her tilted head and querying expression.

Caoimhe came back to Enna’s side and slid her hand into the hook of Enna’s arm. She grinned at her expectantly, “and remember that holiday I took two months ago?” She prompted when Enna didn’t connect the dots straight away. It must have all been too exciting because she didn’t wait for a response, “well we met at this bar, got chatting and when I said I was living in Ballygra… how did we not make the connection?”

Enna pulled a face. It certainly seemed a little unbelievable. There were so few people in the village and none with her name. Before she could query it, Keev said,

“Can’t believe Ballygra produces such hot men.” She winked at him. He nodded and winked back with a flirtatious grin. Enna snorted.

Nothing had changed then. It had been like this since he was about twenty-one. That’s when the braces had finally come off, bed head stopped being his only hair style and he’d discovered the power of personal hygiene. Since then people had flocked around him. She saw it, of course, but actual attraction was hard to summon when you’d seen them hungover countless times since you were fourteen.

“Are you coming to Midnight’s, Owen?” Caoimhe beamed as the thought occurred to her.

Saturday lunch at Café Midnight was their tradition; Enna, Liam, Grace and Caoimhe. Sometimes Sean would pop in his head, but Friday night was Boys Night and lunches were usually slept through as a healing process. Caoimhe dragged the pair inside instead of waiting for an answer. She already knew that, when together, where Enna was Owen would also be.

The Ramble Inn was the same as Owen remembered it. The wooden bar stood proud in the middle; battered, worn, and smelling of spilled beer and disinfectant. Old, wobbly stools stood guard including the one Enna had completely unpicked when she was fifteen. Tom had made her re-sew another one and, despite it being the ugliest thing in the world, he had made her sit on it every time she came in for years.

It was filled with the usual Friday night suspects. On the right-hand side, the men still played their dominoes. Old Man Charlie still had his whiskey clutched in his hand and an unlit cigarette hanging from his lips, smoking ban be damned.

On the left-hand side sat the younger crowd, some with kids because who wanted to cook on a Friday night? Teenagers tucked in the corner with juice, a group playing darts. Tom stood through it all, keeping court with a raggedy dishcloth tossed over his shoulder. The only difference was Tom’s hair now silver all over and there were extra wrinkles around his eyes. A spotty teenager served as a glass collector.

Caoimhe left Owen’s side the moment they entered. A group of women sitting at the back waved her over. One of them nodded to Owen and Caoimhe flew over to them to spread the gossip of his return.

Owen turned for Enna, but she had already brushed past. She nodded to all the familiar faces as she moved towards the bar. She leant on it, sitting on her stool, and laughed at whatever Tom said to her. Then she turned to point at Owen still standing by the door. Tom’s bushy eyebrows shot up.

“You’ve grown boy!” Tom yelled over the pub noise. It fell quiet. Everyone looked over at him. He shifted on his feet and offered an awkward wave. It took a few seconds, but the pub noise swelled once they recognised Ballygra’s wayward son. Old Man Charlie and his group raised their glasses. Tom beckoned him over. He shuffled over and Tom busied himself by the bar,

“You still Jameson’s?” He grinned his familiar, crooked smile and pushed a glass towards him. His returning smile was awkward, wondering how his jaw might last this encounter. A beer was in Enna’s hand and he raised an eyebrow. All through university Enna had been a cocktail girl, proudly declaring beer to be nothing but ‘wheat water’. She noticed his pointed look.

“Well, you’ve got to lower your standards for this place,” the wink she sent Tom was waved good-naturedly away.

Suddenly a large set of arms wrapped themselves around Enna’s waist. Lips pressed against her cheek and told her, “You’re late. Took your time getting here, didn’t you?” The tone aimed for teasing but missed.

“Sean! I had to pick Owen up and say hi to his mam of course,” Enna laughed. She turned around and reached up to peck him on the lips.

“How could I forget?” There was a slight edge to Sean’s voice that made Owen prickle slightly. Sean reached over with his hand extended. Owen shook it, proud that he only winced a little at the firm grip. The two men then regarded each other coolly over Enna’s head. She pretended not to notice, preferring to ignore a problem until it went away. Instead, she busied herself with looking around the pub for someone. The two men regarded each other. Sean was dark haired, blue-eyed, and muscular, the exact type Enna had lusted after all these years. Owen was brown haired, brown-eyed and, in Enna’s eyes, still wearing his teenage skin. Sean offered him a smile that never reached his eyes and turned away.

“She’s over there with Conor.” Sean said. Conor and Grace sat in a booth with their heads bent over a piece of paper. His beautiful wife, Sarah, sat on the other side of the pub, playing on her phone. Waving to Sarah, Enna grabbed Owen’s hand and pulled Owen towards her friend. Sean was shrugged off and sulked over to his darts group. His friend heard his complaining and clapped him on the shoulder. Sean hadn’t been in the village long enough to understand the friendship but everyone else had.

As the pair approached Grace and Conor, Enna narrowed her eyes on the piece of paper they were looking at. It was on the hotel stationery. Rarely was work brought to the pub, only during a big event at the hotel, and if it was, Enna’s presence was required. She strained her head forward to try and get a better look. Instead, it alerted the pair to their arrival. Grace glanced up. Her eyes widened and she kicked Conor under the table. He jerked up. It took a second but then he shot them his signature twinkle. The paper got surreptitiously tucked away into his inside jacket pocket.

“Owen!” Grace cried as she launched herself up and threw her arms around him. Enna was almost jealous of the amount of people hurling themselves at him.

Owen punched out a laugh as he braced for impact. His eyebrows shot up at her reaction. Sure, they’d grown up together, but it had been Enna and Owen, Liam and Grace. It had changed with Owen moving away and Liam getting a job as a GP in the next town over. It had become Enna and Grace with Grace falling out of contact Owen and taking less to Liam.

“How are you doing Grey?” Owen’s voice went soft, once more lost in memory. Grace shot him a wide smile. She placed her hands on his cheeks and gave them a pat, like she used to do.

She turned back to the table, “this is Conor, I mean Mr Murray!” Grace presented him with an arm flourish, “our boss,” she tacked on when the confused silence lengthened. Owen, not one to be rude, offered up a hand and a friendly greeting. Conor stood to clap him on the back before making his excuses to return to Sarah. Enna watched for a moment before she turned around to eye Grace.

“Number puzzles,” she said, “he finds one, sometimes in work, I help him if he’s stuck. You know Sarah has no head for numbers. Anyway, you back then?” The pair slipped into Conor’s vacated space. Grace dragged her eyes around the wayward son, “my, my you havegrown up.”

God, why did everyone keep saying that? Enna turned to assess him again. All she could see was the friend she’d helped get over ex’s, whose hair she’d held back during the morning afters.

“I don’t know.” He huffed to Grace’s question, “I told myself a month and then back to work.” A wistful look stole over his face as he turned it about the room. Some of Caoimhe’s friends were looking back over their drinks. The Old Boys kept flicking their eyes over, clearly wondering at how to treat him. Was he still considered one of their own after so long away? Was he a blow-in, like Conor and Caoimhe? Tom still wore holes in the floor behind the bar. The darts game ended with groans and Sean fist-pumping the air, “but who knows? This place – it’s home.”

Sean sidled over now that he’d won his game. He came to stand by Owen, looking down his nose pointedly at him. Owen avoided his gaze; seemingly engrossed by the bottom of his glass. Sean hovered a second more before sliding in beside Grace with a pout. Enna swallowed. Well, this might be awkward.

[su-homebroken-au]

Homebroken Chapter 6

Homeworld was a buzz with the news of Pink Diamond's return. Gems whispered and wondered when they would see her again. With her loss, Homeworld had become void of the chaos that she brought with her.

While the aristocrats and gems who found themselves above such nonsense did not miss that part of her, many other gems missed the life she brought to the otherwise desolate Homeworld. Each victory brought cheer before her 'shattering', but now it was a hollow chore completed for the good of their empire.

Now with her return, there was a true excited buzz in the air. There was wonder in the eyes of Era 2 gems, who had only heard of her radiant personality from the gems who had known of her. They all wondered when she would make an appearance, when the ballroom would be opened once more with celebration in mind.

Such a buzz was bound to reach her fellow Diamonds eventually.

"Oh everyone is so thrilled to know she has returned." Blue lamented with a smile, Yellow rubbed her temples with a sigh. It was a rare moment that they would be able to accompany each other in their tasks, and she wasn't looking forward to this conversation.

"Yes well, you know they won't be seeing her until her organic has given up." Yellow reminded, entering in data into a yellow screen. She sighed, staring at the endless amounts of information that she needed to sort through. "Though that won't be happening any time soon, since you contacted the Zoo to bring supplies and appropriate guards.."

"Yellow this organic matters to her, I want it to be as happy as possible." A gentle hand is placed on her shoulder and she smiled encouragingly. "I've asked for an Observation orb to be crafted especially to view Earth?"

That forced Yellow from her task.

"In what galaxy made you think that was a good idea?" She hissed, twisting to glare at Blue. The thought of letting Pink hold onto that planet, continuing to obsessive over the pathetic thing was a terrible idea in her opinion.

"It would give her guards a better understanding on how to care for her organic!" Blue protested, shaking her head. She folded her arms, easily towering over her fellow Diamond due to her sitting position. "White knows, Yellow. It's not like I'm doing anything bad."

"Why would White care?" There's a slight twinge of jealousy that sparked in Yellow's mind, annoyed that the two Diamonds were humouring their own for a failed attempt.

"She knows that it will be easier to care of an organic, having a view of its natural habitat." Blue concluded, her arms dropping so she could fold her hands in front of herself. She resumed an elegant stance, and Yellow is momentarily jealous of her ability to seemingly move past all of this. "From my brief viewing of the planet, a lot has changed. I doubt it would be optimally happy in the Zoo, it would not replicate the environment accurately."

"And you think it being here will replicate the environment adequately?"

"We need to keep Pink safe as well. It would be better for the remain here under our combined supervision." Yellow sighed at this, she found that she simply lacked the strength to continue the debate.

As if sensing Yellow's frustration, she placed a comforting hand on her shoulder once more and rubbed it soothingly.

"Everything will soon be, as it's meant to be."

"Yes." Yellow agreed. "You're right, as usual."

Blue smiled at her, then turned her attention back to the screen before them. "Now, what was it that you needed my gems for?"

--

"I hope there is an appropriate environment to be able to grow this fruit at."

"Aw chill out, I brought loads of tech stuff. I'm sure we can work it out!"

Two gems made their way down the halls, their destination being Pink Diamond's chamber. The first was a Rose Quartz, a gem who is finally able to exist outside of a bubble prison and is eager not to make the same mistake as the one before her. Next to her is one of the Amethyst's from the Zoo, carrying the shipment of Zooman fruit and other needed items.

The Rose Quartz stared at her companion, rolling her eyes before stopping as they reached the doors to her quarters.

"Remember to be respectful." She had heard from Holly Blue Agate that the Amethysts were known to be rowdy and hardly bat an eye at another gems status. She didn't want to be shattered because her fellow guard was an idiot.

Said gem just groaned and rolled her eyes.

Pressing her hand on the hand shaped panel, the door buzzed to life and opened. The duo stepped into the room, marvelling at its design briefly. They did not know what to expect when coming into the room. The room utilised platforms to provide cover and to be able to reach the top of the room.

"My Diamond!" The Rose Quartz brought her arms into the appropriate salute, elbowing her companion to do the same. The Amethyst dropped the shipment unceremoniously, and mimicked the Diamond salute.

The room falls into a silence that is minorly uncomfortable. They'd look around, trying to catch a glimpse of their Diamond.

"Yo PD?" Amethyst enquired, gaining another sharp jab to her side.

Finally a sound. There was the unmistakable sound of squeaking. They would both glance around in puzzlement, until from one of the upper platforms a gem bounced down. They both managed to take a step back before the gem landed in front of them, legs morphing on legs and not springs.

"Well, hey hey!" She grinned, extending her arms to take each of their hands and shake quite quickly. "I'm Pink Diamond and Steven's pal Spinel! You must be the guards I heard we were gettin'!"

"Yes." The fellow pink gem was able to compose herself and not make a fool of herself while the other gawked. "We were sent to bring food for her pet. We need space to plant it."

"Like a garden? Ooh! This will be so exciting! We can make a garden here! Hey, Pebbles!" Smaller gems appeared as Spinel twirled around, bouncing on her heel. "We need to make a separate room! We're gonna make a garden!"

"Did you say Steven?" Amethyst asked, looking at Spinel. She would grin widely, before laughing once more.

"Of course I did!" As if summoned, the organic poked his head out from one of the platforms on the ground. He peered at the trio timidly moving his arms into an awkward diamond salute, but Amethyst brightened.

"Woah, hey! You were with the other Amethyst! You all came to the Zoo! Remember us? I'm one of the Famethyst!" She walked over, and with ease was able to lift Steven. She held him up under his arms, now able to see him properly. "Yo, what happened to you? I had no idea you had a gem!"

"It's an organic." Rose Quartz reminded sharply.

"Nah! He's all squishy like an organic, I know the humans!" She hummed, taking note of the gem in his stomach. "That must be where Pink is!"

"Pink isn't around anymore, its just Steven. I think?" Spinel scratched the top of her head, her arm making multiple loops in the process. "It's all awfully confusin', but right now it's only Steven! And he's a whole lotta fun! Pink will come back when she's ready!"

"Yeah, 'course he is! He got to hang out with a fellow Famethyst member!" The purple gem beamed at Steven, meanwhile the Rose Quartz hurried over.

"If he's carrying Pink's gem, you ought to show him a little respect! Not carrying him like that!" She yelled, Steven visibly flinched at the outburst as Amethyst took a step back.

"Aw, don't be like that!" She shifted so Steven was being cradled with one arm. Using her hand, she was able to move his lips into a smile. "Just look how happy he is!"

"Yes!" Spinel's elastic arms pull them all into a hug. Rose Quartz struggled briefly, fearful that she would be shattered for being so close to a Diamond in such a casual manner. "This is going to be so much fun! Lets build us a garden! I came from one, y'know? But that one's all withered away and boring, let's make one for all of us to frolic in! Yippee! This is gonna be a blast!"

Rose Quartz couldn't help but wonder what in the stars she had been assigned to guard.

--

Gardening was a simple task. It was a lot easier to do than following Holly Blue's constant orders. It felt so much better being here, she was the luckiest Amethyst in the whole galaxy to get such a job.

Spinel was bouncing somewhere near them, creating an environment with the aid of the Pebbles that simulated a garden atmosphere. She was giggling and squealing the whole time, her enthusiasm was contagious. Though a quick glance to her fellow Quartz told her that it didn't quite reach everyone.

The human had grown flowers remarkably quickly. His fingers brushed along the dirt, and they would sprout as he willed it. Or did Pink Diamond will it? Was it perhaps a mix of the two?

Different kinds of fauna bloomed from the dirt, curling to greet the human host with elegant intent. He'd brush his fingers along them in a silent greeting, a conversation that Amethyst had no idea how to partake in.

Some bare resemblance to a bell, with yellow seeds on the inside like eyes to watch them intently.  Another she took note of was a flower with five petals facing upwards with a swollen stem. She also realised that some of the leaves on a small portion of the plants had failed and had begun to seemingly wither away.

"Freesia."

The Amethyst stopped her task, embarrassed that she had been caught. The little human was looking at her, his expression unreadable.

"Freesia?" She echoed questioningly, smiling at him lightly. The trees that grew the fruit had already began to grow, so he would be able to eat soon. They had been engineered to grow quickly, and sprout fruit on command. Truly wonderful. Though she is positive that Pink Diamond's powers also speed up the process, considering that this once blank area of dirt was beginning to bloom with different colours.

She wondered if he was okay, he just sort of stood there.. He was way more emotive when they were at the Zoo.

"Freesia." He pointed at her. "Your.. Name.."

"My name? I'm an Amethyst! One of the best, may I add~" She hummed pridefully, giving a wink as she pointed at herself with her thumb.

"An Amethyst.. Not.. Amethyst.." He murmured softly, shaking his head lightly. "You're.. Freesia.."

"Huh, guess that would help tellin' me apart from other Amethysts huh? Besides the location we burst outta, we ain't got anythin' meaningful. Guess I'm Freesia then." She pulled him into a sideways hug, pushing a fruit into his hands. "You must be hungry lil' man. You got names for the others?"

"Only know.. Know one Spinel." Steven murmured, taking a bite of the fruit and chewing slowly. He looked at the Rose Quartz as she continued her work dutifully. "I.."

"Spinel keeps hers, for now huh? How 'bout that for a deal, eh?" Freesia watched as he continued to eat, chewing thoughtfully. "We got lots of time to think of different names anyway.."

"Dah.. Dahlia?"

"For Spinel?"

He shook his head, his gaze still on the Rose Quartz. Freesia would nod slowly, deciding that would do though she didn't really know if they meant anything.

"Freesia, Spinel and Dahlia, we're your current court then! Way better than the others."

"And the Pebbles."

"Yeah, can't forget them." She laughed lightly with a grin, smiling at Steven. "Guess you must'a met another Rose Quartz before, huh? I know you know the Amethyst that never popped out in time. Wonder how she's doing now, bet you'll be getting your pals back to be in your court again."

For a moment, he looked sad. He finished the fruit before getting up and walking off. The newly named Freesia was left alone to wonder what upset him.

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[authorized-trash]

Sentient Scales

Chapter One

Summary:  Roman expected to end the day with another victory against the dragon witch. Instead, he ended it with a cursed dragon sleeping on his bed. Yikes.

Ships: Roceit, Logicality, Anxleep

Trigger Warnings: Blood, curses, witchcraft, fantasy violence, fire, sympathetic deceit, remus

Word count: 1933

Note: This idea popped into my head so y'all can have this stupid little chapter I wrote. You can bet in a second one BTW.

~~~

Roman always went into battle unaware of what would happen. However, it typically went the same way everytime. The dragon witch would appear, claim she could defeat him, but ultimately fail to do much damage.

It was a routine at this point, an exercise Roman took place in a few times a week. It kept the prince on his toes, alert.

With that in mind, you can see why this particular encounter ended with such a surprise.

"You cannot defeat me you pesky prince! Your kingdom will be mine, and I'll murder everyone you love!" The dragon witch shrieked from her place in the trees. Roman almost rolled his eyes, he'd heard that same sentence repeated a thousand times before.

"Why, my dear witch, I have defeated you but a thousand times before, and I shall again!" Roman shot back, just as confidently. He held his sword at his side, and crouched slightly, ready to fight.

"This time will be different, I have been preparing for something special, just for you," the witch narrowed her eyes evilly, "I have allowed my powers to grow, and now you shall see them at their most powerful!"

She cackled, and raised a clawed hand to the sky. The clouds thickened and darkened, a crack of lightning flashed against the low light. Roman took a few steps back, gritting his teeth.

"You are a fool," He said, glaring at the witch.

"No, Roman, you are," Her eyes flashed a bright neon green, the same color coming out of her hands in wisps of smoke.

"Now, behold! A dragon!" A thunderous roar shook the trees, and Roman gasped as a huge beast the size of a house crashed down to earth. It was a deep forest green, its scales dotted with yellow glitters, teeth a fierce white. It snarled, and Roman looked into its heterochromic eyes, blue and yellow.

He had fought dragons before, but never of this size, nor of this element. Earth dragons were quite the rarity, one of the strongest out there. They were one of the only types if winged beast that could breath fire.

Speaking of fire, it's chest began to glow as it breathed in, Roman just barely ducking out of the way. A blast of white hot fire traveled twenty feet in front of the beast, catching trees and brush on fire.

The dragon witch cackled once again, "You will not escape this time Prince Roman! You will meet your doom, cooked to ash at the hands of a lizard!"

The dragon seemed to bristle at the insult, but never the less stayed fixated on Roman. It shot forward, snapping at the prince.

Roman was uncharacteristically quite, not a single word fell from his mouth. Normally he'd taunt the witch all while valiantly fighting his way through her minions, but this was different. So, so different. Any wrong move and he'd easily be killed. He had a kingdom to protect, he couldn't die!

He grabbed his shield from his back, something he didn't use often. His sword was all he needed most the time, his royal mage would enchant the sword to never miss its target.

Roman thanked the gods for the mage, Logan had proved useful many times before, and the wizard's spells and potions always came through. Even still, Roman crossed his fingers and hoped the fire proofing spell was as good as it sounded.

With a barrier between him and the dragon, Roman found his confidence back, "Come at me, foul beast!" He shouted above the roaring of the fire.

The dragon didn't waste time, swinging its spike tail around to slam it full force into Roman's side. It happened so fast it took the prince off guard. So much for a shield.

Roman was thrown a couple dozen feet, slamming into a large oak tree. He groaned, sitting up fast to grab his shield and hold it in front of him, just as a blast of flame came his way.

The shield glowed, a dark blue magic flowing through the wood and steel into Roman's arms and around his body, effectively causing the fire to roll harmlessly off him.

When it was over, he stood, a grin on his face, "You'll have to do harder then that!" He ignored the blood trickling down his chin from biting his tongue on impact.

The dragon roared in frustration at the same time as the witch did. She swung her disgusting hand out yet again, pointing it at Roman.

"You! You will not get away with this! I. Will. Win!!" She stomped her feet like a child, "Dragon!! Kill him!"

The large green dragon lifted its wings, showing off its impressive wingspan. It roared with so much force Roman felt fear course into his body, cold and hard. His natural fight or flight kicked in, every bone in his body shouting at him to run. To get out as fast as possible.

He couldn't, though. He wouldn't.

He deflected yet another burst of flame, and with his shield in front of him, he ran forward and swung hard at the dragon's front leg. The swing was aimed well enough to pass between scales, and cute a deep, nasty cut into the creature's leg. It gave a howl of pain and fell, landing on the foot.

Roman leapt back as the dragon snapped at him from it's limping position, swinging again to hit the dragon's chin.

"Stop him! Stop him you useless lizard!!" The witch shrieked again, lighting crashing with more ferocity, the clouds getting darker, making the area around Roman glow with red light from the fires.

"No witch! You have lost again!" The prince shouted, climbing the hurt dragon as it clambered to get up, snapping at him pitifully. It cradled the hurt limb to it's body, blood pouring from the underside of it's snout. Roman stood at it's neck, raising his sword above his head, ready to slay the dragon that nearly killed him.

"No!!" The dragon witch shouted, raising both her hands. Her eyes turned a solid black as she called upon every ounce of magic in her body.

"TSOM EHT ETAH UOY GNIHT EHT EMOCEB, TSOH EHT ERA UOY YDOB EROUY NI ELIHW!" The witch screamed the spell at the top of her lungs, and immediately after a black mist shot at Roman, wrapping around his frame.

He gasped as it forced it's way into his mouth, his own eyes turning a dark black. His head swam as he felt his insides become blisteringly hot, as if he would melt from the inside out.

But as soon as the spell started to work, a counter spell began as well. The sapphire jewel on his ring flashed a brilliant light, and as soon as it started, it was over.

Roman fell to the ground, off the dragon, convulsing as the black magic left him. He made a mental note to thank Logan without ceasing when he got back to his castle, the mage had done quite the job at making sure Roman stayed safe.

The prince was just about to stand when something caught his eye. The large green dragon had begun to move again, it's jaw snapping open and shut as if it were gagging, attempting to choke out whatever was inside it. It shuddered and groaned as if in even more pain than before.

Roman crawled backwards against a tree, slipping his hand onto the hilt of his sword that lay beside him.

He ignored the dragon witch as she screamed, disappearing into the night, leaving the prince to deal with the dragon.

The beast staggered as it tried to stand, shaking it's head back and forth. It began to shrink, eyes clamped shut. The blackness from it's eyes and mouth wrapped around it like a blanket, strangling it in a cocoon of void.

Despite his best efforts to stay calm, Roman was once again stricken with terror. What was the spell? He didn't speak the language of magic well enough to know it.

One last crack of thunder sounded through the forest as the clouds departed, the trees quit their swaying as the howling winds died down. Sunlight shown though the clearing, as if the gods planned to have a spotlight on the dragon that now lay on the ground.

Except... It wasn't a dragon anymore, but a human male.

A very... Attractive human male.

Shit.

Roman scrambled forwards, where had the beast gone? It... It couldn't possibly be the male in front of him, right? He kneeled down to the unconscious body of the dra- human. The prince could now see how half of his body was covered in splotches of green scale, with the same yellow glitter it had a few minutes ago.

The male's hair was black, his skin a silky and incredibly pale. His face was shaped almost like an elf's, feline and exotic, ears slightly pointed.

Roman hated to admit it, but goddamn was the male in front of him remarkably attractive.

The prince unlatched his cape, wrapping it around the other's shoulders as delicately as possible, not wishing to hurt him further. He noticed the blood that still slowly trailed from the underside of his chin to the outline of his collarbone, where it pooled in crimson puddles. There was still a few large gashes on the other's pale arm as well, from where Roman had hacked it him.

The prince felt a twinge of guilt, this wasn't how things were supposed to go. He was supposed to slay the dragon and defeat the witch, not mame the poor thing and then attempt a sad rescue after it turned human. Well, humanoid.

Roman clasped the last button on the cape, letting it fall over the smaller male like a cloak. If he was going to take him back to the castle, he'd at least attempt to protect the creature's modesty.

Did that make any sense?

Then again, did any of this make any sense?

Roman slowly lifted the male from the ground, holding him in a secure princess's carry. He walked slowly to where his horse was tied up, three fourths of a mile away.

The horse lowered itself for easier access, and Roman secured himself into place, holding the other around the waist now, as if he was awake to be a passenger.

With a gulp to swallow his nerves, Roman was off, mulling over what he would tell everyone when he returned.

"Hello everyone, I was almost killed by one of the most fearsome dragons known to man, but I defeated it by pure luck. But then a witch tried to curse me and it backfired, turning the dragon into a incredibly handsome and incredibly naked young man. Surprise?"

Yeah no, he had a reputation.

The best option seemed to be sneaking into the castle, possibly through the secret passageways he pretended he didn't know about. Perhaps through the one connected to the stables. But that'd depend on whether or not the stable boy could keep a secret.

Oh well, he'd jump that hurdle when he got to it.

For now, he just needed to focus on the barely breathing form on his lap.

He didn't sign up for this.

[shytiff]

Small July Wins

1 - atikah and racheel came over, oa webinar (rheumatology), duolingo (DL)

2 - they ended up sleeping over, DL, "attended" pak Kus' webinar just becausee hes my skripsi advisor

3 - a page of padi cbt, idai webinar (respiratory disease in covid era), DL

4 - ran 3 laps in my house complex (afterwards my heart was pounding against my chest), hopecardis webinar (arrythmia), DL

5 - 1 ma article (moluskum kontagiosum), perkani webinar (congenital heart disease), DL

6 - DL, idai webinar (pregnancy and newborn stuff in covid era), put sheet mask on lol i neglect my face a lot lately

7 - accompanied juan with mom to perbanas institute for sbmptn, while waiting we went to lucky cat and imeri to get apd, picked up juan, went to social pot (kokas) afterwards, DL. Lucky cat was empty, the vibes of a cafe felt new to me (it surely has been a while). I felt super refreshed. Did some writing for ma article there. Tried salmon and black olive spaghetti, caesar salad, mom drank piccolo. The spaghetti kinda tasted like mi telor but with salmon lol. Talked and laughed plenty with mom :) i rarely talk with her nowadays. Im glad the awkwardness melted away

8 - videocalled with apa salahku for gaby's birthday, zoom for school prep (covid safety stuff), a bit of cbt padi, DL

9 - negative rapid test alhamdulillah, fk digital (kejang anak), cbt padi, DL

10 - some exercise, talked with shiko on zoom, DL, aand since i started padi CBT i finished 2 tryouts (150 questions). It’s not a lot but Im proud of myself :)

11 - went to tj duren with ara, but while we wait the n95 seller we went to citraland, tried fried salmon roll at shigeru, ended up meeting the guy at cl, afterwards we got pisang goreng madu bu nanik, went to rodalink pesanggrahan, ended up getting seirockya at puri, and then i dropped ara off at tj duren. Theeen i went to devis place to hang out and sleepover. Lots of foods. Delicious "lava cake" made from instant brownie mix. Played werewolf. In the morning i managed to finish the pre and post tests in OCI Covid. Happy tummy and laughter :) i hope i can be more productive after this

12 - DL (thank god i freezed streak for weekend because i completely forgout about it yesterday), during sleepover @ devi’s we watched love for sale, a copy of my mind, and love for sale 2. The frustration is real bruh we rly wanted to know more about Arini. Did UKDMA (2 attempts, score: 24, 58), wrote 1 MA article, sorted my downloads folder a bit. After ‘wasting’ (happy times is never a wasted time but still, there’s stuff to do) my time yesterday i felt more urge to do something useful

13 - actually started my day with DL and padi cbt wow (brain still fresh from sleep), CBD about BPPV with dr Widayat. Since ive experienced one before i asked and asked and asked lmaooo. Packed up some of the stuff for tomorrow, hoping to not forget things. Read the journal for litrev before bed

14 - DL, first day of school after a while -- turns out weight distribution is key to avoid sore butt LOL. You kinda have to also support your body weight on your feet. Theres no sore butt at all during my 50 mins trip (amazing feat if you ask me). Went to poli rhinologi (DPJP: dr niken) she kindly gave me a patient to examine, and casually told me to put anterior tampon. I, who have never attempted it, was holding back my fear of trying something new lol. Alhamdulillah, i can somehow do it (even though one tampon fell, tiffany paboooo). The ppds kindly explained stuff to me and i feel like i shamelessly ask nowadays. Like it would be a waste not to ask something. Next was CBD @ Ara’s, we ate Ayam Bakar Mas Walid. Liqo with kak Kartika.

15 - DL, did litrev in the morning bcs i fell asleep lmaoo, tweaked tumblr a bit (i like low contrast the most), fell asleep while watching larynx anatomy video until 1:30 pm yalll i missed half of cbd. Tried to read stuff for poli larfar tomorrow.

16 - DL, ppds i met today lives in poris and worked at puskesmas kalideres lmaoo. Had a bit of headache and gassy stomach that felt better after sleeping and eating. thank god i was picked up by mom and theres food and stuff. i guess the difference of being at home and kosan is that you kinda remember more who youre fighting for. my mind felt healthy-ish lately, of some sort. but the headache made me sluggish

17 - DL, nevermind about the healthy mind part lmaoo

18 - DL, physical activity, padi cbt (after 200 questions i was today years old when i realized there were answer keys on telegram 👁️👄👁️), read optima tht batch 1 2020. Watched khs playing chess blindfolded against try guys and then i was purely amazed by what the human brain can do. It somehow motivated me to study lol

19 - DL, finished optima pem tht batch 1 2020, made 1 cbd ppt, webinar "holistic skin rejuvenation", free mindset tryout

20 - DL, haven’t got minicex but at least im trying to stay hopeful!1!, read the notes from today’s cbd since i basically only heard the whole thing on my motorbike like a podcast, did nasal irrigation n took a slow release vit c

21 - started the day with some stretches and squats, trying to drink more water!!, listened to kak dela's tips for ukmmpd from mindset, DL, read a bit abt epistaxis, the clear wallet i ordered from china finally arrived, edited 1 buku pld article

22 - was in poli onko this morning w ara, a patients consciousness was decreasing so code blue was activated. Finished poli at 1 am. It's been awhile since I last saw emergency situations. Went to maison weiner, ate almond croissant there and bought chocolate sourdough and chicken pie. Despite not getting minicex, the road home was not hot, the sun hidden away. The wind is breezing, podcast is on, talking about mindfulness. Todays quite a good day. Im healthy, insyaAllah. I hope my family will also stay healthy. Woke up at 11ish pm, DL, made my ppt for lcbe exam ((tomorrow)) til 1 am

23 - DL, lcbe exam with dr arie (turns out he picked epistaxis over sinonasal tumour), met up with racheel devi silvi at mcd and jco. Hojicha oreo mcflurry tasted good. Got lost on the way to racheels house lmaoo. She flies to malang tomorrow. Can i wish for life to stay simple and happy forever?

24 - DL, originally meant to be a minicex session turned out to be story time by dr Ezzy, she told us about cases that she managed, one of them is putting on tracheostomy for a baby with Moebius syndrome that went viral on twitter. We didnt even present our case and she only asked us for the scoring form. Thank you doc our lifesaver :”” after trying so hard for minicex the last 2 days turns out maybe its fated so we can meet and be inspired dr Ezzy. Mom picked me and we went to Maison Weiner before going home. Passed out from 6pm until the morning lmao

25 - a bit of exercise, DL, tried kemonyu.id mentai from duta garden, i’ve had better mentai than it but at least its on promo. it uses butter rice so that’s something new to me. rapat nemo to decide dates

26 - DL, liqo with kak Kartika about things you can do in Dzulhijjah, A2, started reading optima pem dv batch 1 2020

27 - DL, round was cancelled bcs no patient, lazed around and slept and lazed, continued reading pem dv optima, did like a half of 1 pamela reif video and my HR soared in 2 mins lmaoo

28 - DL, finally mustered the will to finish DS etika profesi, finished reading optima pem dv batch 1 2020, 2A, did 1 pamela reif video (titled 10 mins calorie burn that wont kill u), read a bit of my dv notes

29 - DL, ppds at poli were so kind!, ate shabu2 by mom and basically fell asleep

30 - DL, made ppt PKL, alhamdulillah PKL went ok with dr ika

31 - watched annabelle comes home and suicide squad with keisha karin juan, DL, relatives came to our place, ara also came for a sleepover and after i picked her up we went to dajens place lmaoo they set up bbq

[dustedmagazine]

Godspeed You! Black Emperor – Luciferian Towers (Constellation)

<a href="http://godspeedyoublackemperor.bandcamp.com/album/luciferian-towers">"Luciferian Towers" by Godspeed You! Black Emperor</a>

There were those who didn’t run. There were those who got on so many drugs, turned the radio on, drew the curtains. There were those who clutched their babies. There were those who kissed in the last days. You know who they were; you saw their selfies, swiped left on their Tinder profiles, mined what big data you could to suss them out. You were living it; you’re living it now, these dead flag blues. 

Every day is a new nightmare from the top down accelerated by your Facebook or Twitter feed, by your friends turned enemies, by an inability to cope with it all. We weren’t built for this breadth of information intake; humans can’t possibly hope to keep up. But that hasn’t stopped many of us from trying to reverse a seemingly unalterable course of self-destruction, a course Godspeed You! Black Emperor first soundtracked more than two decades ago and which now seems to have come full circle on Luciferian Towers. This is its blessing; this is its curse.

I say “full circle” because we’re a safe distance from the Montreal collective’s 2010 reactivation tour and 2012 “comeback” album Allelujah! Don’t Bend! Ascend! ,which in hindsight feels increasingly like “Mladic” plus post-rock comfort food. As with most everything else, even 2015’s Asunder, Sweet and Other Distress also feels like a lifetime ago. Though “Mladic” was a live staple in the first run and Asunder’s “Piss Crowns Are Trebled” doesn’t sound out of place next to the heightened frustration of the Yanqui U.X.O. era, I still think of Cokemachineglow’s Allelujah critique for this pair of Obama-era records — namely that Godspeed’s “leftish, and that’s about it” appeal was also its biggest handicap: Here was a politically motivated group determined to ruin the Clintonian good times by pulling back the veil on capitalism’s long, labyrinthine arms and urging you to open your eyes to the power games afoot in politics’ high castles, but what exactly that meant was never clarified —  at least not until the first swansong on 2002’s Yanqui U.X.O., an (inaccurate) attempt to draw direct lines from arms dealers to record labels.

By George W. Bush’s second year in office, the problems were more readily outlined, easier to identify, harder to solve. Smartly, Godspeed quit while it was ahead just as those questions were overtaking its particular brand of vague paranoia. When Allelujah was released amid the 2012 election season’s peak, it felt good to have them back but a little off; Asunder felt further outmoded and unhelpful.

Luciferian Towers is at least as good as Allelujah and better than Asunder primarily because it hones in on clearer targets, which is what seems not just important but essential to political art now — threatening gestures no longer cut it unless you’re an internet-dwelling Chaos Muppet or alt-right supporter (and it’s a misty line between good and evil out there; consider who Blaise Bailey Finnegan III voted for in 2016). Even before you hear a single note, the band has outlined its “grand demands:” an end to foreign invasions and borders; the dismantling of the prison-industrial complex; healthcare, housing, food and water as inalienable human rights (and yes, one throwback of an empty threat for good measure: “the expert fuckers who broke this world never get to speak again”). These are more explicit than virtually anything previously outlined, though how we get from A to B isn’t a question I think its members will ever be equipped to answer. Even so, it feels like they’re thinking more concretely about issues than in the past.

And amid the panic of the moment, few are more equipped (or willing) to take a deep breath and force you to think through these troubles than Godspeed. It’s an interesting contrast to the mawkish movie scores of Explosions in the Sky or Mogwai’s apolitical Glaswegian smirr, and though the ammunition is familiar, the deployment is spot on. Befitting its context, Godspeed has matured into a band that works when the anger is directed.

Right, music: There’s some of that here, too. Eight songs, two of them three-piece suites, and some 44 minutes of well-balanced, orchestrally tinged post-rock the likes of which you’ve heard five full-lengths of before, to be precise. The ideas executed here aren’t in any way fresh, but rock music (especially) isn’t ripe for radical innovation as much as it is careful refinement. Every subgenre has a platonic ideal to work toward, and Luciferian Towers does that about as well as one can expect in 2017.

“Undoing a Luciferian Towers” opens with an ascending swirl of guitar squall, organ drone, Aidan Girt’s rolling cymbals, and Sophie Trudeau’s violin somewhere amid the mix. It transforms from scene-setting noise to a kind of queasy military march before dropping away into the first suite, “Bosses Hang” (formerly known as “Buildings”). During the course of its 15 minutes, it shifts from a classic-rock stoner jam in its first part to a kraut rock exercise in the second and third parts. Tightly executed, “Bosses Hang” is a trance of a section, the band achieving a sublime balance of tension and release.

“Fam/Famine” is another mostly ambient piece, a bridge to the second suite that is arguably Godspeed’s finest moment since its return, “Anthem for No State.” The bad first: The recorded version of what was formerly known as “Railroads” is not nearly as powerful as the 22-minute live version that’s been road-tested for the past two years. If you haven’t heard the live version, though, I think you’ll find this a minor quibble — the weeping violin and contemplative spaghetti western vibes of the first two parts remain a cannily planted final respite before the titanic exultation of the third. As with Yanqui U.X.O.’s lifted skinny middle finger to heaven in full, Luciferian Towers’ final 12 minutes are total catharsis. It’s an eye-opening reminder that the band can still be very, very good at what it does.

There’s been plenty of music this year that’s channeled political righteousness into emotional release — from Kendrick Lamar to Karen Gwyer, you’d be harder pressed to find music that wasn’t motivated in such a way, really. But Godspeed You! Black Emperor still has a place in this flattened landscape despite its familiarity, its flaws, its limitations. Luciferian Towers is testament to the group’s staying power, an unexpected but welcome declaration of defiance. The dead flag yet flies.

Patrick Masterson

[goldensunflowers98]

A Haunting

Prompt: After being brutally murdered at the young age of twenty- one and stuck on Earth, Harry has been searching to find a way to heaven for almost a hundred years. One day, a family and their autistic, seventeen year old, daughter, Heaven, moves into his home. Maybe this was the Heaven he was searching for all along.

DO NOT STEAL MY IDEAS! Enjoy! x

_____________

Heaven sighs heavily, biting her nails lightly, as she enters the musty smelling, older, abandoned home that her parents had suddenly decided one day to move into on a whim. The larger scale home still held beauty after so many years and was somehow still in almost pristine condition, sitting in the middle of the woods on the far side of their little town.

One morning, Heaven’s parents went for a jog and stumbled upon the old mansion, immediately falling in love with it. Becoming practically obsessed, they found a realtor and bought the house in just a few days, not even speaking a word to Heaven until they burst into her room and told her to pack.

Heaven panicked, of course, as she hated change. When she was young, she was diagnosed with autism and her parents made sure she was always happy and comfortable. They lived in the same house, used the same tutors, drove the same car, and ate the same foods to insure that she didn’t have a tantrum. So this was a major change, but eventually, with much coaxing, they got her to pack and get in the car.

When they drove up the tree lined driveway and the Victorian era house came into view, Heaven immediately understood why her parents were so in love. It was absolutely breathtaking and something about it made her want to never leave. Maybe this change will be good.

“Heaven, don’t bite your nails, darling. Go choose your room!” Her mother calls as she places a box down in the kitchen, snapping Heaven out of her thoughts.

“Okay, mama! Okay… Okay, mama,” She clutches her small teddy bear that she’s had since she was a kid to her chest as she takes a step up the rickety stairs. The steps groan under the forgotten weight of someone walking up them as she makes her way up them slowly.

As she steps foot onto the second floor, she freezes as she hears quiet whispering coming from down the dark hallway. “Mama?” She calls quietly, clutching her teddy tighter as she takes a step towards the voices. The hairs on the back of her neck involuntarily stand up as she suddenly feels the intense feeling of being watched after she speaks.

As soon as she takes another step, the voice and the feelings halt and everything seems normal again. Hearing foot steps, Heaven looks down and sees her mother and father walking back outside to the moving truck. Turning towards the dark hallway again, Heaven’s eyebrows furrow.

“Not mama. That’s not mama,” she mumbles as she makes her way down the hall, not caring about it too much. She peers into each room, shaking her head each time she didn’t like them.

Coming to the end of the hall, Heaven begins to frown as she doesn’t find a bedroom she likes. Her eyes tear up in frustration as she lets out a tiny whimper.

As she gives up and begins to walk down the hall, the whispers begin again, louder than before. Heaven gasps, turning towards the voices and before her eyes, a door she hadn’t seen creaks open slowly.

Curiously growing in her, she wipes her tears and slowly walks towards the open door. Peeking into the room, she lets out a happy squeal as she sees the dark red walls, her favorite color. The bed was large, the bed spread a muted red from all the dust accumulated on it. In the corner, a small nook was made by the window so someone could sit and read. The ceilings were high and in the middle hung a giant chandelier that glittered and sparkled in the sunlight.

“Mine,” she states to herself mesmerized and in a trance as the whispers slowly die down.

“Yes,” a deep, raspy voice behind her croons as she feels a hand on the bottom of her spine. The touch was calming and warm, sending slight sparks up her spine as she didn’t flinch away like she normally did to touch.

“Yes,” she mimics as she walks in and the door slowly creaks shut behind her.

____________

“So, I was doing some research,” Heaven’s mother starts as they quietly eat dinner in their new dining room. Heaven’s father hums in response as he gives the love of his life all his attention after he helps Heaven cut up some of her chicken and places her a small kiss on her forehead.

“It’s quite spooky actually. Apparently, the original owners were murdered here almost a hundred years ago,” she states fascinated as she takes a bite of her carrots and peas.

“Wow! That’s interesting. How sad. What happened? Do they know?” Her father speaks as Heaven pokes her chicken with her fork, in a daze as she stares fixated at the pattern on the plate.

“They say the killer snuck in in the middle of the night and stabbed them in their beds. The son tried to find help after he had been stabbed but he only made it to the hallway where he, sadly, passed. That’s why you can see blood stains on the floorboards upstairs. They are buried in the somewhere in the woods out back, I think. There was Anne, the mom, Desmond, the dad, Gemma, the daughter, and the son was named-”

“Harry,” Heaven suddenly states, making her parents turn to her in shock.

“H-How’d you know that, sweetheart?” Her mom asks softly, her mind reeling in the scary possibilities on how her daughter, who has no way to get on the Internet, knew the name of the dead boy who once lived here.

“He wrote it. Wrote it on my bed,” Heaven states what she had found earlier. Carved on the dark wood on the bed’s headboard was a name. A little worn from the years but still visible, Harry was written in neat handwriting and, captivated, Heaven spent hours tracing the name with her fingertips.

“Oh,” her mom laughs it off lightly, relieved that their new house wasn’t haunted by its past residents. “We will get your bed up there soon, sweetheart. Sorry you have to sleep in that old thing,” she says, making Heaven frown.

“I like it, mama. I like Harry’s bed,” Heaven protests, wanting the old, soft bed that made her feel safe and calm to stay in her room.

“Heaven, a boy was killed there. I don’t want you sleeping in it,” her father says, making her eyes water.

“I want it!” She slams her fork down and just as she feels a full blown tantrum coming on, she hears the whispers.

She freezes as it feels like arms wrap around her from behind and a warm chest against her back, calming her instantly. “Don’t cry, sweet Heaven. It’s okay,” she hears the raspy, deep voice, that sounded like smooth honey, coo in her ear.

“Okay, Harry. Okay… Okay, Harry,” she mumbles as she picks up her fork and takes a bite of her chicken, completely relaxed as her parents stare at her wide eyed.

“Good girl,” she hears just as the feeling of the arms disappear and the whispers cease, but leave behind the feeling of warmth and calm.

“Heaven, w-who are you talking to?” Her mother asks, fear gripping at her heart once again. She had never seen Heaven calm down that quickly before.

“Harry say don’t cry so Heaven no cry,” Heaven mumbles as she finishes her food. “Bed time,” she states, standing and placing a kiss on her stunned parents cheeks. They were so in shock that they didn’t even protest as she make her way up the stairs to her new bedroom.

___

Harry smiles as he watches the beautiful, innocent girl twirl around in her bedroom as she dances with her teddy bear. He stands propped against the wall, transparent so she can’t see him just yet. He didn’t want to scare her, but with her reactions to him earlier he didn’t think she’d be too petrified.

When Harry first watched the family move in, he was livid. This was his house, his family’s house. He left and died here. How dare they just move in and take over his home of over a hundred years.

But, when he heard it, all his anger dissipated. “Heaven! Come inside!” He heard as a gorgeous girl walked though the door, lightly biting her fingernails with a dazed look in her eyes.

Heaven. Something he had been searching for for decades was right in front of him. On his tombstone, the words Find your way to Heaven were written, but Heaven found its way to him. This wasn’t what he expected but, to him, this was even better. His own personal Heaven.

He had studied her so much since she arrived he could now remember where each of her freckles were with his eyes closed. They dotted her rosy cheeks and nose like the stars in the night sky. Her hair was like spun gold with a slight reddish tint, shining in the light from the window, captivating him and making him feel like he was now one of the richest men. Her lips were like two, perfect, pink rose petals and he fought the urge to kiss them relentlessly. Her ocean green-blue eyes sparkled with innocence and were normally stuck in a daze as she focuses on something sparkly. Earlier, she had spent almost an hour just staring at the chandelier in the middle of the ceiling as he stared at her.

That’s when he figured something was…special about his Heaven. Listening in to her parents conversation, he quickly found out she had autism. He didn’t care. He actually fell more in adoration of the small, special girl with the gleam in her eyes.

Hearing a small shriek and a crash, Harry is knocked out of his thoughts. He panics as he sees Heaven on the floor with tears in her eyes as she clutches her ankle. Not caring any longer about transparency, he rushes over to her and appears right next to her.

His hand reaches out, laying on top of hers that clutched her ankle. She gasps lightly and the whole world seems to slow down as she turns her head and their eyes connect.

“Harry,” she whispers as he smiles gently, reaching out for her hair and tucking a strand behind her ear.

“Careful, sweetheart. Can’t have my Heaven getting hurt right after I find her.”

Hope you enjoyed! Please tell me if you want the part two!!! x -E

[toldumpurple]

by crazychase

Celebrating the Soon to be completion of my novel! Here are the First Two Chapters! Enjoy and Look forward to Seeing A Kickstarter For first publishing and Editing! It will have some pretty cool rewards to go with it!

Prologue

The Date is 7165 AD or it would be if AD/BC was used anymore.

Welcome to the capital of the Global Peace and Science Treat Organisation aka GPSTO, Kondinumim, or Kondi as locals like to call it. Ever since the GPSTO took over the planet 1220 years ago the scientific development of the world has been strictly limited and monitored. The organisation’s eyes and ears were everywhere. Their enforcers are as strict as they are brutal and did not show leniency on even the smallest of offences toward the endless rules imposed by the GPSTO. The True Date according to the new system is 1221 GSR Imposed by the GPSTO standing for the date since their Global Scientific Reform.

The Global Scientific reform was a brutal era not unlike the records of the WW2 Holocaust where the organisation set up “re-education camps” sending almost 30 percent of the population being sent and never to be heard of again. The rest of the population was put under a dictatorship like reign of this faceless organisation under the premise of global peace. The Surviving population have silicon biotags that are needed for the simplest of tasks like walking down the street for exercise. These are known as Bio-Silicon Personal ID Pass, the SPIP. Even with all this security and force however there still is and always will be the Black market and shady dealers exploiting the system and evading the authorities.

After all… This is Human nature.

Five Years ago a mysterious Research publication by an unknown writer appeared on an open source mechanical engineering website. It was only online for 2 hours before the paper and the company vanished entirely without a trace. The paper has sparked a widespread urban myth about its existence though word of mouth as any mention of it within the network disappears. The Contents of the paper? The Complete mapped out pathways of the human brain, the theory of creating artificial consciousness, and how to replicate the human brain using bio-silicon and optic fibre components. One last copy of the paper remains. Printed and held by a young Mechanical engineer called Zeke Crassus who has every intention to try out the design.

Chapter 1: Sweet Beginnings

*CLICK*

An old video camera whirred to life and begins to record a young man in his mid-twenties sitting on an old metal stool in an engineering workshop. His hair messy but off his face almost teased up, face dirty from work in the garage. His bright green eyes highlighted by the deep blue work outfit he was wearing.

He takes a deep breath and starts to speak.

“Hi my Name Is Zeke Crassus, 26, mechanical engineer. For the last year I have been working on and fabricating parts for project Eden.

So here is the quick rundown on progress so far.

The torso head and first part of the limbs have been constructed and assembled using a special non- magnetic titanium alloy composite covered in porcelain to make the endoskeleton. The porcelain surface allows the attachment of the synthetic muscles by my design using glues and resins strong and flexible enough to prevent it from tearing away from the endoskeleton while generating enough force to move quicker than biological humans. Since any Idea of this concept or RND is considered Illegal by the GPSTO it is essential that by all regards that the finished product will appear to any one undergoing tests that project Eden is indeed human. Of course some alterations will have to be made so biological test will be evaded but this will not be too hard to overcome with the utilisation of a few medical advancements. For power GPSTO’s new eco power generation technology is going to be used which utilises Bacterial Symbiosis to break down food into electrical energy. This will create a more human feel allowing it to eat as a human would and go undetected. Specifically simple sugars will be needed to generate power and so biofilm coated silicon pouches that will excrete substance similar to salvia in humans accepting a larger range in diet.”

Zeke Pauses and rubs his eyes for a moment displaying signs of fatigue. He stands up beginning to pace as he continues his description of the project.

“However I digress as I have talked about a lot of this on a prior video diary. The Artificial brain is constructed as the paper specified but I am yet to get a response to show it is operational. Utilising the synthetic silicon heart technology from the medical field as a hydraulic pump I have managed to get the synaptic fluid to flow as intended relocating energy to the power generation areas and resupplying and supporting the symbionts according to isolated test results. The Muscle structure and silicon polymer skin has successfully mimicked natural form and project finally looks humanoid and not like some ancient sci-fi villain. Face and eyes have been fitted and the project has taken on a cute appearance which was an unintentional result. If the project identifies as male I may have to alter face structure and eye colour as purple would not come across as a male’s choice within the designer eye community. A Silicon keratin polymer has been created as hair which looks and feels like real hair however I have not figured out how to change its colour from silver yet. A test will be performed to see if a Dye can be used on the fibres as they are porous. Finally the project has had internet protocols enabled allowing downloading language and behavioural parameters after I enable the voice protocols from the workshops secure intranet.”

Zeke lets out a large sigh walking toward a large surgical style work bench and removes the sheet form the project.

There lay a humanoid figure with only a head, upper arms and thighs attached to the torso The Synthetic muscle was exposed on the entirety of the body with the exception of the face where the silicon skin was attached covering the multitude of small synthetic muscles needed for complex face movement

Zeke looks over the frame silently for a moment.

He begins to think to himself, “It’s Incredible that I have manage to build this much so far and avoid arousing suspicion or be caught yet,’ as he ponders whether it is fine for him to continue to the next stage of the experiment. In an attempt to motivate himself he states out loud as he flicks the power up switch to on, “It’s too late now to back away! You must finish this beautiful thing, Zeke!”

The project sits up and looks around the room from its position on the bench.

“Good”, Zeke stated, “at least we haven’t gone backwards from the last 93 tests.”

He starts to walk toward a laptop station connected to the power equipment thinking out loud, “Now just to activate voice and download the protocols from the intranet to see if that brain has started up yet.”

As he approaches the computer a sweet musical voice calls out from behind him, “Hey Zeke, you don’t have to do that.”

Frightened at the sudden voice Zeke Panics and spins around looking for the source of the mysterious voice calling out, “Who is there? How did you get into my show?! It’s after hours and we are closed!”

The mysterious voice pipes up again and says, “but I have always been here… you are the one who put me here and I cannot move for myself properly yet!”

Zeke dumbfounded and shocked looks toward the bench to see the project with a quizzical look on its face.

“Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-you can talk?!” Zeke stammered out. “But I haven’t activated any of your systems! How is this possible?! None of my other tests worked or even got a response!” Zeke exclaimed both shocked and excited.

“Well, I can turn on my own systems thank you but as for why I am talking now and not before…” project Eden stated trailing off then with a bashful full tone said, “I guess this is the first time you called me beautiful.”

Dumbfounded, Zeke froze mouth gaped.

“You mean you made me believe that you were defective 93 times just because I hadn’t complimented you yet?!” Zeke Exclaimed frustrated

“Please don’t yell at me”, Project Eden Said as it cowered as if waiting to be hit,” I just thought you were mad cause you always used rude words when working on me and well…”

“Well what is it?” Zeke inquired.

“Well, I thought if I talked you would stop spending so much time with me and I was lonely.” Project Eden said embarrassed.

Zeke let out a large sigh regaining his composure and warming up to this new development.

He moves closer to the bench turning off the still recording camera and grabbing his metal stool and approached the bench where project Eden was still sitting looking quite worried.

“So, look.” Zeke started as he sat down on the stool looking up at the cute worried face and stunning purple eyes, “I am sorry about all that, you surprised me and I didn’t know you were conscious, could hear me, or even were working at all. I was frustrated. Will you forgive me?” Zeke asked apologetically. While thinking, “I cannot believe I am apologising to my experiment!”

“Well you are forgiven”, Project Eden replied, ‘ Oh, and before I go back to sleep because I am fatigued, you can go ahead and finish putting me together as it is improper to leave a girl like this, I think I better introduce myself!”

“W-W-W-What?!” Zeke exclaimed, “Your name is Eden like Adam and Eve Eden! Cause you could have been male or fem…”

“God No!” She stated loudly cutting him off, “That is a horrible name! Where the hell did you get that from? You may be a genius but you are terrible with names!”

“WELL…. what shall you have me call you ‘The Mighty naming Princess of names’?!” Zeke replies with all the sass he can muster.

She lets out a cute and sweet toned giggle, turns toward him to look directly into his eyes and pulling the biggest smile Zeke had ever seen and proceeds to introduce herself.

“My name will be Arinel Rose and for when we are alone you can call me Ari!”

Zeke just sits there speechless at the sight that just befell him. His creation telling him off, showing varied emotions and even deciding on her own name and gender without any of his input codes.

“Good night Zeke, I look forward to getting my hair and the rest of my body assembled too, so I can move around and spend more time with you. It was lovely to finally start talking to you! I have been quite lonely.” Arinel states as she begins to lay down and take on the appearance of going to sleep.

Zeke replies as he begins to turn off all the equipment except Arinel’s maintenance power, “It was lovely to talk to you, the pleasure was all mine….

Ari….”

Chapter 2: In all the Time Gone By

Two weeks has passed since the day that Zeke spoke to Arinel. In those days Zeke never left his workshop, eating and sleeping within the shop to spend every waking minute that he was not doing commission work getting Arinel to completion. He had prepared a hospital gown for her feeling bad that she was unclothed and probably conscious. Once touch and heat sense was connected to the artificial skin he also got an extra pillow for her wondering if she was uncomfortable and every day he would talk to her about what he was doing, about himself, and the city that they live in. Arinel, unfortunately due to lack of operational power did not or could not reply to Zeke’s conversations.

In spite of this Zeke found that talking to this pretty and peaceful face laying on his bench very soothing. He found himself watching his language around her with the knowledge from his last conversation with her that she can more than likely hear him. Zeke found himself smiling more and more than he had in a long time while working to complete this cute, bright and bubbly mystery that he had found.

Today is August 13th of the Year 1221 GSR and in spite of all the exciting things that has happened to him over the last few weeks Zeke was very melancholy. He sat on his metal stool in his workshop unwilling to move, listening to the hum of the BIO Works Sili-synth generating Arinel’s synthetic skin over the sensory frame. Zeke realised that he should be fine tuning Arinel’s muscle microcomputers in her outer limbs or tweaking the heat/touch sensory system however he could not help but to just sit there silently staring at the plain concrete floor unable to move. He lifts his head and looks around his workshop from his stool and has a sudden feeling of emptiness. There are no voices, No people, and no one to be there for him. Zeke was alone. He was always alone.

It has been this way for him for the last five years.

Zeke turns his gaze to the almost complete Arinel laying on the bench looking at the peaceful and pleasant expression that she always has on that cute face now adorned by her pure silver hair.

“Ari…” Zeke manages to blurt in a squeaky and broken voice as if trying to clear his throat, Hold back tears and talk at the same time.

“I want to tell you a story…. A story that no one has heard roll from my lips because I have no one to tell. This Story is from 5 years ago.” Zeke said as he pulled his stool closer to the Bench that Arinel lay.

“I know you cannot respond and tell me to stop due to currently lack of power to initialise your voice function systems but I am going to need to tell you anyway because this is important to me and this day to this memory.” Zeke trailed off pausing for a moment as if waiting for her to respond before taking a deep breath in and out before continuing to speak.

“You see this place used to be a lot more lively than it is now… three times as much to be exact.” Zeke let out a large sigh and attempted to quickly stretch his back.”

“Five years ago I used to have a mother and father who ran this place and built it from the ground up. Dad was a doctor and specialised fixing people’s bodies with science and medicine while mum was the engineer who took on all the problems that dad could not handle or fix entirely like missing limbs and deformity correction. They were the perfect team and the city loved them. It wasn’t long before they had this place and all the equipment payed off. I have left out one important member of this team that came a bit later. My little sister, Anastasia Isabell Crassus… My adorable, ‘Stasha’… I adored her and the world has never seen or probably ever will see a Bio-silicon Skin Designer. In the skin being constructed for you was her last ‘gift’ to me if you could call it a gift. I found the design it on my desk under all the paperwork 4 years ago with a note saying, ‘I think this is my best yet! You cannot tell it apart from real Skin! Love you Big Bro!’ I almost threw it away but decided to keep it instead. I didn’t have any interest in the shop before this day five years ago, I just wanted to go out into the city and find more classic shows to add to my collection from the ancient times. I wanted to be a historian back then and have nothing to do with the shop, medicine, or bio-engineering at all but they made me help out at the shop anyway and I was good at it. I hated it, all I wanted to do was leave and get away from everyone and everything but looking back that time spent with them, is the best memories that I have.”

Zeke Paused and stood up stretching again and begun to pace around the shop.

“We made synthetic muscles, Limbs and even organs to assist anyone who may walk through the doors of the building or submit a request or problems. We constantly pushed the boundaries of the field into the future benefiting everyone with the technology we created in this very room. Mum and Dad’s revolutionary designs went out into the community and medical fields saving thousands of lives.”

“Or they used to …” Zeke said stopping abruptly in the middle of the room and proceeds to sit on the workshop’s concrete floor.

“You see, Ari… on this day five years ago,” Zeke’s voice began to crack and break as he spoke and he put his face in his hands, “They died, leaving me all along without a single word of goodbye. That morning I woke up to an empty shop. No Cute and bubbly little sister. No kind and caring Mother. No Honest and hardworking Father. I thought that they must have gone shopping for some parts but usually they could just use the ordering service and not have to leave the shop. I stupidly did not even question it or wonder why they had left. I wish that they had woke me before they left even if it was to hear the words ‘I Love you, big brother’ or ‘I love you, son’ come from my little sister or mother’s lips for one last time.”

Zeke paused for a moment from his monologue and stared at the ceiling before moving back to his stool next to Arinel as if he could not get comfortable.

“Then later that day just when I was starting to wonder why they were still out… I-I-I got a call. It was the authorities from the lower districts. They had discovered a body and they wanted me to come down. In our work that happened a lot to identify people by the alterations done to them such as artificial legs or eyes so I was not prepared for what I found when I arrived. My dear little sister and mother…”

Zeke stopped unable to continue and wept for a short time.

Once Zeke had regained some composure he began again, “It was my Dear little sister and mother. Broken. Dismembered. Partially burned beyond recognition and shot in several places each… I threw up at the site and to this day the thought of it makes me want to vomit. There are nights I still cannot sleep from seeing their faces burned into my mind. “

Zeke took a deep breath and realised he was trembling. He took a few more deep breaths in order to calm himself and then continued.

“The authorities instead of letting me adjust slapped handcuffs on me and lead me away to a questioning room where they questioned me in a way that made it sound that they believed I was the obvious culprit. The Best I could do was tell them the truth of what I knew between tears. They asked me about my father and if I hid the body. Once they realised and confirmed that I was home all day they told me that they found enough blood belonging to my father at the scene to indicate that he would be dead and were expecting the his body to turn up. It never did. To this day I do not know what became of my father. Ever since then I have worked to keep this store open and working in order to keep their memory alive. I kept the doors locked and shut, only taking orders through the ordering service. I don’t even know if the doors even open anymore and yours was the first voice I have heard since then.”

*DING* a machine chimed within the room startling Zeke lost within his own story.

Caught off guard by the sound he jumped from his seat looking to see where the sound came from, to realise the skin-synth had sounded and was complete ready to attach.

“Well that is perfect timing”, Zeke muttered, “I had just finished my tale anyway. Time to apply the rest of your skin, Arinel.” As he finished saying her name he glanced at her face to see the glistening surface of tears flowing from her closed eyes and a sorrowful expression twisted onto her face.

Zeke feeling surprised and upset with himself then spoke a deep apology saying, “Arinel, I am so sorry for making you listen to that. When I get your skin on, I will power you up again with the main generator so I can apologise properly so please wait till then.”

Zeke retrieves the skin from the Sili-Synth and applies it to her frame connecting all the heat and touch sensors carefully to the micro receptor frames built into the new skin and adds the gel based filler to provide shape, and create a natural body look and feel. Lastly he grabs the hospital gown that he had removed to apply the skin to cover her naked body then flicks the main power switch to the main power generator causing it to whir to life. Arinel’s eyes snap open immediately. She suddenly sits up and swings her arm slapping Zeke square in the face with the palm of her hand.

“ZEKE YOU IDIOT!” She yells at him visibly upset and cheeks still wet with tears. “You do not need to apologise for sharing your heartache with me!”

Zeke lowered his head ashamed. Suddenly he feels arm reach around him quickly and gets pulled in close softly.

“I was Sad you see, Zeke.” Spoke Arinel in her sweet soothing voice, “I was sad because you have been suffering all this time and I was not able to hug you and tell you it will be ok now and that you can rely on me from now on, ok?”

Zeke Nodded softly. He stood there still for a moment before attempting to pull away from the grip that has seized him unsure how to react but as he does Arinel pull him closer. Zeke surrenders into Arinel’s embrace and slides his arms around her as well pulling her closer into his chest. As he does he realises that she feels warm and soft and cannot help but ignore that just a bit earlier in the day she looked and felt like any of his machines and models within the shop but now she felt like any girl you would meet on the street.

She was beautiful, Cute, Warm, Soft, and comforting and while he held her he felt so comforted that he wished he could stay like this forever.

After a minute or so Arinel spoke up again, “So are you feeling a little better yet, Zeke? I don’t wanna see that sad look on your face again.” Zeke and Arinel separate from their embrace. He stares into Arinel’s glistening purple eyes and says to her,” As long as I never have to see you cry like that again.”

Arinel pulls a big smile wipes the remainder of her tears from her face with the sleeve of her gown.

“Of Course Zeke! Let’s do our best ok?” She says with a shining smile.

Zeke replies with the biggest smile he can muster and says, “Yes, Let’s.”

“I am glad you finally connected and turned the generator on so we could talk together again!” Arinel Said Joyfully. “Although I enjoyed listening to you talk to me every day and all the time you spent with me. It has been lovely hearing you talk to me even though I could not respond. You need to solve this power issue soon…”

“Oh!” Zeke Exclaimed remembering something, “that’s right to start generating power you need to start eating to get the power systems operational!”

“WHAT!” Arinel replied shocked, “You mean I could have just been eating the last few weeks and we would have been able to talk properly?!”

“Well…” Zeke trailed off, “I guess you could have but I hadn’t initialised any of the systems for tha…”

“DONE!” Arinel Chirped happily cutting him off.

“Ah… ok…” Zeke replied in a questioning tone then continued, “Just wait here a second.”

Zeke quickly jogs to his desk, opens a drawer and retrieves something from one of its trays before returning.

“This is a chocolate power bar, eat this and tomorrow you should have no problems getting around without a generator.” Zeke Explains handing her the packaged bar.

Arinel takes the bar, removing the brightly coloured packaging and begins to eat the contents.

Her Eyes Light up upon the first bite and with a half full mouth she call out, “Zeke! This is delicious! I love it!”

Zeke lets out a hearty laugh and responds saying, “I had a feeling you would like it!”

Suddenly feelings overly tired Zeke then comments,” Ari, I am going to leave the power generator on tonight so all your power systems initialise correctly but I have been up for 48 hours straight making sure your legs and arms would work properly so I am going to try get some rest…”

“Ok sleep well, Zeke!” Arinel pipes, “I will try to rest too so I can spend more time with you tomorrow!”

Well see you then…. Ari,” Zeke said walking toward the living quarters.

“See you then, Zeke! I look forward to it!” Arinel Calls out excitedly as he walks away.

*The Next Morning*

Zeke walks out of his sleeping quarters into the garage in a sleepy daze. He lets out a large yawn as he stretches.

“Morning Zeke!” a happy voice calls out.

Zeke rubs his eyes in an attempt to get the sleep out of his eyes so he can focus his eyes on the source of the voice. Once his eyes adjust to the bright morning light piercing through the sky lights he sees Arinel on the concrete floor to the shop in a w-sitting position with several dozen empty power bar wrappers strewn around her, remnants of chocolate smeared on her face and her silver hair sparkling in the morning light appearing almost amber I some parts.

Zeke was momentarily stunned by the oddly cute scene playing before his eyes.

“Uh… Good morning, Arinel. How are you feeling?” Zeke enquired.

“Zeke’s Girlfriend, Ari-Chan, Feeling better than ever!” Arinel calls out throwing her right arm into the air causing a power bar wrapper to get caught in the gust and float around like confetti.

Zeke Falls over shocked at what he just heard, “W-w-w-w-w-w-w-what are you talking about Arinel?! I don’t have a girlfriend!” Zeke Calls out embarrassed.

Arinel pulls a cute and soft grin at Zeke and states to him with a sweet tone, “Good, Well you do now!”

Zeke Sits up from his position on the floor, crosses his legs and begins to rub his eyes. “What the hell have I gotten myself into…” he thinks quietly to himself.

“Zeke, I want another chocolate bar! Can I have one? There is no more in the drawer…” Arinel asks sweetly tilting her head to the side as she asks.

Zeke mutters to himself as he attempts to get up, “It’s way too early for this… I need coffee…”

[nofomoartworld]

Hyperallergic: Weaving Together the Story of a Forgotten Pop Artist and Her Rugs

Dorothy Grebenak, “NRA Tapestry (National Recovery Administration)” (1963), wool, 54 x 41 in. (all images courtesy Allan Stone Gallery and the artist’s estate)

Here are a few things we know about Dorothy Grebenak. She is now remembered — to the extent she is remembered at all — as one of a handful of female Pop artists. Yet she once said, “I don’t think what I do is Pop Art.” Her work was acquired by an impressive list of New York collectors, including the Rockefellers, and she was represented by leading dealer Allan Stone. Yet even her supporters put her works on the floor and walked all over them. Stone discovered her works in the Brooklyn Museum of Art — but not in the galleries. They were on sale in the gift shop.

A few other points of information: she was married to painter Louis Grebenak, who started out as a WPA muralist and became a hard-edge abstractionist. She began working in the 1950s, living on Montgomery Avenue in Park Slope, Brooklyn, and stopped in 1970, when she moved to Europe. She was born in 1913, and died in 1990.

And that’s about all we know. Except for one last thing: she worked almost exclusively in the medium of hooked rugs.

In the annals of overlooked artists, Grebenak is an extreme case. Working in an era when art world acceptance was hard to come by for women even in the best of circumstances, she doubled her marginality by choosing a medium that was relegated firmly to the “minor” arts. In the end, her work would be almost entirely erased from art history, even though she was already making works based on everyday graphics in 1963, only one year after Andy Warhol’s Soup Cans. A selection of her work from the 1960s is now on view at Allan Stone Projects, which continually reaches into its archive to unearth such unfamiliar discoveries. A reconsideration seems timely, even if the paucity of information is frustrating. What can we say about Grebenak on the evidence of the work itself?

Dorothy Grebenak, circa 1964

One of her earliest appropriations depicts a poster for the NRA (the National Recovery Administration, not the gun lobby) reading “Consumer U.S. – We Do Our Part.” This work, and several others, riff cleverly on Warhol’s own sardonic engagement with commodity status. As if in rejoinder to his screenprinted depictions of currency, she made “Two-Dollar Bill” (1964). He made Brillo Boxes; she depicted a Tide detergent bottle. He portrayed Elvis in the western flick Flaming Star; she riffed on Audrey Hepburn’s My Fair Lady. She did a baseball card (Babe Ruth), and he did one too (Pete Rose) — though in that case, his was quite a few years later.

Dorothy Grebenak, “Eye Chart” (1964), wool, 32 ½ x 68 in.

The art historian Michael Lobel also discovered an instance in which Grebenak crafted a rejoinder to Roy Lichtenstein, specifically a work depicting a man peering through a round porthole into a dark space: “I can see the whole room — and there’s nobody in it.” As was often his practice, Lichtenstein stripped down the source image, from the comic strip Steve Roper, rewriting the text slightly and removing the original artists’ signatures. In 1963, both the work and the source were reproduced in an article in Art News entitled “Pop Artists Or Copy Cats?,” written by an aggrieved illustrator whose work had also been appropriated by Lichtenstein. Grebenak was evidently attracted by this incident, for in 1964 she showed a rug work which reproduced the image again — not in Lichtenstein’s version, but just as it had appeared in Steve Roper, complete with the original signatures. It is difficult to read her intentions, but certainly it is possible that she wanted to indicate sympathy with the commercial artists whose work had been quoted; her show at Allan Stone (which she shared with the artist John Fischer) was pointedly entitled Odd Man In. It is also intriguing that the image — in all three versions — takes the act of looking as its central theme. This was a persistent concern of Lichtenstein’s, and evidently also of Grebenak’s, as we can conclude from another 1964 work, “Eye Chart.” Though Allan Stone kept the rug work on the floor — it has numerous repairs today — it is best seen on a wall, hung at optician-office height, an object that explicitly acknowledges your own gaze.

Odd Man In, installation at Allan Stone Gallery, 1964

So Grebenak was in dialogue with her peers in Pop, but the conversation went only one way. That’s because, along with the fact that she happened to be a woman, her medium invalidated her from the outset — it was why she landed in the Brooklyn Museum’s gift shop. On the other hand, it offered a route into collectors’ homes. When Albert and Vera List bought Grebenak’s work “Tide,” they placed it on their kitchen floor. In 2010, when the organizers of an exhibition about women in Pop Art went looking for it, they discovered that it had been destroyed by years of wear (they had it remade, a curatorial maneuver which likely would not have been done for a painting). This is a sad tale, and a reminder of the fact that Grebenak’s limited art world success came only because she made objects that could pass as décor. In the midcentury, marginal art forms, like ceramics, weaving, and photography, were the only genres in which women could establish themselves professionally. Grebenak’s rugs slipped right under the art world’s attention, but at least she got through the front door.

Dorothy Grebenak making a rubbing of a manhole cover, circa 1964

Dorothy Grebenak, “Con Edison Co.” (1963), wool, 31 1/2 x 31 1/2 in.

Grebenak’s iconography was similarly unassuming — classic deadpan Pop — but was unusual in that it was drawn from public spaces. She reworked New York’s streets with her needle punch, both literally and figuratively. Her most common motifs were manhole covers, based on charcoal rubbings, a series she had begun by 1963. Grebenak also had a keen eye for signage. “Four Roses,” circa 1964, has nothing to do with the whisky brand of that name; it seems to have been grabbed from a florist’s sidewalk display. The serial, flip-flopping lettering comes across as concrete poetry, and juxtaposed with the floral motif, prompts thoughts of Gertrude Stein.

Dorothy Grebenak, “Four Roses” (1964), wool, 26 x 90 in.

Another work, perhaps thought up in the back of a cab, depicts a taxi driver’s badge. It reads “Licensed Public Hack” — not a bad self-description for an aspiring Pop Artist. In another, a monumental payphone dial communicates a sense of panic, the numbers 440-1234 at its center being the city emergency line — the 1960s version of 911. And then there is a startling work that simply reads OBSCENE, in huge block letters. The word collides head-on with the stereotype of hooked rugs as a decorous medium — a contradiction that speaks with powerful concision to the changing cultural norms of the 1960s.

Dorothy Grebenak, “Licensed Public Hack” (circa 1960s), wool, 30 x 28 1/2 in.

Dorothy Grebenak, “440-1234” (1960s), wool, 41 x 41 in. (Private collection, Europe)

Grebenak also made rugs with abstract meander designs, simple mazes of block colors. These initially puzzled me — and perhaps the folks at Allan Stone Projects too, as they were not included in the current exhibition — because they seem so disconnected from the found iconography seen elsewhere in her work. Were the mazes meant to acknowledge quilts and other historical textiles? Do they betray an affinity for hard-edge abstraction by the likes of Frank Stella (or her own husband, for that matter)? Or should we simply interpret them as emblematizing her identity as a watchful wanderer, a latter-day flâneur of the city streets?

Dorothy Grebenak, “Obscene” (1960s), wool, 26 x 71 in. (Collection of Jessie Stone)

Of course, Grebenak may well have had other ideas entirely. A single, solitary quotation about her art comes down to us, from a brief 1965 article in the New York Times which surveyed the work of several Pop artists. As it happens, it is not particularly helpful in making a strong case for the seriousness of her art. “I don’t think what I do is Pop Art,” she said. “People who name things probably would, but I don’t like labels. I think transposing something from one medium to another is droll. The idea of a big $5 bill makes me laugh.” Maybe that’s all there was to her work: just a little joke, nothing for mainstream art history to concern itself with. Imagine, however, that we only had one offhand comment, plucked at random by a journalist, to document everything there was to know about Warhol, or Lichtenstein. Then look again at Grebenak’s works, and just think what we might be missing.

Perhaps it’s best to not take Grebenak at her word. Yes, she was definitely a Pop artist, and an early and acute contributor to the movement at that. Transposing something from one medium to another is a lot more than “droll” — it is one of the key strategies of the avant-garde. And if her art makes us laugh — as indeed it might, given the gimlet eye she turned to the world — well, that’s fine. Just one more reason to value her work. Better late than never.

Dorothy Grebenak, “Yellow, Red, Blue” (1964), wool, 36 x 32 in.

Two Views Of Pop: Don Nice And Dorothy Grebenak continues at Allan Stone Projects (535 W 22nd Street, 3rd Floor, Chelsea, Manhattan) through April 22. 

The post Weaving Together the Story of a Forgotten Pop Artist and Her Rugs appeared first on Hyperallergic.

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