#i have always been very fond of it

[recurring-polynya]

Hello! Long time lurker. I've really enjoyed reading your work and especially love Heart is a Muscle and the way you characterise all the different relationships in it! My ask is how do you think Byakuya finds out about RenRuki. I feel like it would be one of those moments where subconsciously he'd see it coming but at the same time still be caught of guard and manage to be very Byakuya about it.

This was one of those where I wasn't quite sure if it was an ask or a fic request, but the fact is I have an old chunk of story sitting around that addresses this very question. I guess I intended to someday throw this into some post-Heart is a Muscle story, and maybe I still will, but who knows if I'm ever going to get there, so you can have it now. Takes place after everyone gets home from the Blood War (where Rukia and Renji had to confess to each other in the middle of bankai training because I thought it would be cool it was weighing on their hearts)

(I wrote this in 2019 and gave it only light edits)

| read on ao3 | request guidelines |

⚔️ 🕶️ 💕

The sun was starting to go down when Kuchiki Byakuya arrived at Practice Field #3. On a normal day, work hours would be long over, although one might find an industrious officer out in this part of the division grounds, training on their own, or a few of the younger ones playing a game of pick-up football. Tonight, it was quiet.

It had been nine days since Kurosaki Ichigo had defeated Yhwach.

A young human girl was perched on the fence surrounding the field, chatting animatedly with Byakuya's ridiculous adjutant, who snapped to attention when he sensed the approach of his commanding officer.

"Good evening, sir!" Abarai Renji barked. "Thank you for agreeing to this! I hope you don't mind, but I asked Inoue Orihime to come."

The girl hopped off the fence and bowed deeply. "Hello, again, Captain Kuchiki, sir!"

"Worried that I won't hold back?" Byakuya asked with a coolly raised eyebrow.

"Oh, I know you won't," Renji replied. "She's here so that I don't hold back."

Byakuya guffawed, and one side of his mouth quirked up. "Congratulations, Lieutenant. You've finally managed to say something humorous."

"You feeling good today, sir?" Renji asked, just a tinge of concern in his voice. "You feeling up for this?"

"I am fully recovered, thank you," Byakuya sniffed. "Yourself?"

"Feelin' good, sir."

"Then let us begin."

"Oh, one last thing, Captain. Would you mind leaving your scarf with Orihime, here? I wouldn't wanna get my blood all over another one."

"Truly, Lieutenant, you are on a roll today," Byakuya noted, unwinding the scarf from his neck and draping it around Orihime's.

"Oooh, it's so light!" Orihime cooed. "It's like nothing!"

"I'll tell Kurosaki to get you one for your birthday," Renji teased.

"Are you ready now?" Byakuya demanded.

"Yep, enough stallin'. Let's do this."

Orihime hopped back up on the fence and called up a shield in front of herself. "Good luck, Renji!" she called.

Abarai shot her a wink and took up his position on the field.

Byakuya placed his hand on the hilt of his sword, but did not draw it.

Abarai drew his and silently released into shikai. He bounced lightly on the balls of his feet. "Might wanna release, sir."

"I shall be the judge of that."

Renji gave a little nod. "As y'like. BANKAI!"

It was common knowledge that Abarai had unlocked a second level to his bankai in the Royal Realm. Byakuya was looking forward to seeing it actually, but he wasn't particularly concerned about it.

Byakuya knew quite a bit about zanpakutou and their releases. It did happen occasionally that a sword would reveal itself in stages, but it tended to retain its essential character.

Hihiou Zabimaru was an excellent bankai, powerful and versatile. It required immense spiritual pressure, iron concentration and significant amount of mental bookkeeping, Byakuya was given to understand. It had served Abarai well in his ill-advised hijinks up until now, but the fact was, it would not be truly formidable until Abarai himself had another half-century or so under his belt. It was too bulky, too finicky, too fragile. There was no other way to master bankai like that, only experience. Byakuya knew a quite bit about bankai like that, himself.

Abarai launched himself at his captain, blade swinging.

Byakuya went to shikai as he drew his zanpakutou, petals pouring forth from his sheath and forming a shield in front of him.

Abarai's blade sliced right through it.

Byakuya flash-stepped away, sweeping Senbonzakura's blades into a more solid foundation, only to find them knocked out of the way by a giant skeletal hand. Another flash step, another regrouping, and Abarai was there again.

Suddenly, it dawned on him. Hihio Zabimaru had been a joke. A prank. A giant, heavy, impossible-to-use freight train that Abarai had taken in stride, as he did every other misfortune that fate heaped upon him. It was a shadow, an echo of Abarai's real bankai.

So-oh Zabimaru also took immense spiritual pressure to summon, that much was still true. But the bulk, the unwieldy mass was gone. It was as if though Abarai's new spiritual armor was plugged directly into his spinal column. It moved with him weightlessly, astonishingly fast.

Something else had changed, too. Something about Abarai's spiritual pressure. It was more unified, more focused, more together. For the first time out of the many, many times Byakuya had fought his lieutenant, he did not feel like he was being attacked by an angry, flailing youth, but that he was facing a worthy adversary.

Byakuya was being pressed harder and harder to defend against Abarai's assault.

And the fact was, he was not fine.

The injuries inflicted on him by As Nodt were grievous. He was lucky to be alive, and if it weren't for Kirinji's healing springs, he probably wouldn't even be able to summon his zanpakutou. His soul was damaged, and although he had made a miraculous recovery, he was not completely made whole. His speed was close to what it once was, and his bond with Senbonzakura was as strong as ever, but his power and endurance were greatly compromised. He could go to bankai if needed, but it was extremely taxing, and Shuukei Hakuteiken was, at the moment, out of his reach.

He thought it wouldn't matter.

Abarai had never even come close to beating him.

Abarai wouldn't notice such a weakness and furthermore, was too sentimental to exploit such a--

He had brought Inoue.

Abarai knew exactly what he was doing.

“BANKAI!” Byakuya called out.

Abarai smirked. “You shouldna let me get that head start, Captain.”

---

"Renji, he's waking up!"

The world swam into view, tinted orange.

"Hey, Captain!" Abarai's grating bark rang out. "How you feel?"

"I feel fine," Byakuya snapped, starting to sit up.

"Lie down please, I'm almost done, but not quite," Orihime said firmly.

Byakuya put his head back down on the ground, and replayed the last few moments of the fight in his head.

Abarai had come out aggressively, going to bankai immediately. He had never allowed Byakuya to gain a solid footing, and pulled out his strongest attack, which Byakuya had never seen, as soon as he possibly could. Byakuya hadn’t even been able to get a good look at it, he only had the impression of fangs before becoming completely overwhelmed. Abarai, who knew his attack patterns, who knew that it took him a minute or two to work up a full head of steam, had bet everything he had on defeating Byakuya immediately and it had worked.

It had been a rout, an utter humiliation.

Byakuya could still beat his adjutant, surely, but he could no longer plow him over with superior strength, and certainly not in his degraded condition. He was going to need to think up counterstrategies. And some of them were not going to work.

He looked down at his chest and realized that his shihakushou had been sliced from shoulder to hip, and was soaked, absolutely drenched with blood.

"You didn't cut me in half, did you?" he sneered.

"No, you were definitely all still, um, attached," Renji clarified.

"Not by much, though," Orihime mumbled.

Renji nudged her firmly in the shoulder.

Orihime waved her hands, and the healing bubble collapsed into nothingness. "All done!"

Abarai held out a hand. With a twinge of reluctance, Byakuya took it, and let the younger man haul him to his feet.

Orihime scrambled up, pulling the scarf over her head, and offered it back. "Thanks for letting me watch! That was a really fun fight! You're both so, so strong and it's so much nicer when no one actually wants to kill each other."

"Hey, we don't wanna keep everyone waiting, right, 'Hime?" Renji said, glancing sideways at his captain. "We got dinner plans, everyone's leavin' tomorrow."

"Yes, Rukia mentioned it," Byakuya replied dryly.

"You okay to--"

"Stop checking on me, you fool. I have said I am well and I dislike repeating myself."

Renji nodded quickly. "Thanks for the fight, sir. I'll see you in the morning."

Three hours later, Byakuya sat in his office.

He was thinking.

He was thinking about the current state of the Gotei 13, the captain-less squads, the loss of highly seated officers. He was thinking about his Third Seat, who had never exactly been lieutenant material and was currently on medical leave after having his sword-arm completely reconstructed.

Byakuya looked up at the sound of the door opening.

"Uh, hi, Captain," Abarai said, clearly surprised to see him. "What are you doing here so late?"

"This is my office, is it not?" Byakuya snapped.

"Well, sure," Abarai replied, walking over to his own desk. "I left my sunglasses here," he explained, sticking them on top of his head.

"It's dark out," Byakuya pointed out.

"I'll need 'em in the morning," Renji shrugged. He frowned thoughtfully, then pulled open his filing cabinet and withdrew a folder. "Speaking of which, I was gonna give you this tomorrow, but as long as we're both here..."

He crossed the room and extended it.

Gingerly, Byakuya took it, then squinted at the notation on the tab. "Strongly Worded Letters to the Management of Squad 11?"

Abarai's eyes widened. "Oh, no, that was just to keep people from poking around. It's actually...well, it's pretty obvious what it is," he finished lamely.

"You aren't ready,"' Byakuya snarled.

"I'm...what?"

"Yes, your new bankai is very powerful, it is true. But just because you have run roughshod over a few enemies with it hardly means you're ready to strike out on your own. You need more training, more control. A bankai like that can land you in hot water as well as it can save you. Furthermore, there's a shortage of competent lieutenants, it would be foolhardy indeed for you to set forth without experienced backup, and don't tell me you're even thinking of the Seventh. I have heard how you and Lieutenant Iba are when you two are unsupervised."

Abarai's face was twisted in utter befuddlement. "Sir, what are you talking about?"

Byakuya flipped the folder open and stared at the neat stack of papers within. "This isn't an Intent to Test for the Captains' Exam," he said, taken aback.

Renji made a choking noise. "No, sir! Cripes, sir, I just got a new bankai, why would I leave? I need you to help me learn to use it. An' I wouldn't leave you, anyway, not while you're still, you know. From the As Nodt thing. Also, who the hell wants to be captain of anywhere but the Sixth?" His voice rose steadily in both volume and pitch as he babbled.

"There is no need to shout, Lieutenant," Byakuya frowned, looking down again at the stack of papers.

It was a copy of form RHCA-48-006-C, an application to become a Family-Approved Suitor.

Stupidly, Byakuya's eyes drifted over the names written into the form's blank spaces. "With the submission of this form, Abarai Renji, Assistant Captain of the Sixth Division of the Gotei 13," (did he really need to write all that out? It barely fit in the space) "requests the approval of the Kuchiki family to court Lady Kuchiki Rukia, Assistant Captain of the Thirteenth and First Daughter of the Kuchiki."

Oh.

Oh.

---

Byakuya sat in the garden, on the bench near the koi pond. His brain was chasing about in aimless circles, much like the fish in the pond.

"Brother?"

He looked up from the water. His sister was still dressed, despite the late hour. Byakuya recalled that she had been out earlier with Abarai and their human friends. Her hair and makeup was different from the way she wore it for formal events, sharper, wilder. It seemed surreal that parts of the city had been reduced to dust, while others had come through virtually untouched. That despite it all, life continued on.

"Are you alright?" Rukia asked, her brow creased with worry.

Byakuya smiled at her gently, affectionately. He thought about the great lengths he had once gone to protect her from the world, and now she, a woman with one of the most beautiful and deadly bankai he had ever seen, was fussing over him.

"I am fine, Rukia," he reassured her. "Will you sit with me?"

He had expected her to perch at the other end of the bench, a nervous bird, always ready to take flight. Instead, she sat close to him, and with an egregious disregard for propriety, took one of his hands between her own, holding it in her lap. "Renji's sorry, you know. He thought he should have waited another week or two, but I said--"

"He should not be,” Byakuya said stiffly. “Another week or two would have made no difference. I do not wish to speak of it further."

"Did you have something to eat--"

"Did you know that my lieutenant is in love with you?"

It was dark, so he couldn't see if Rukia's cheeks turned pink, but he did catch the shy smile that crossed her lips before she turned her face away self-consciously. Long ago, he had caused her normally unflappable sister to make that face once, maybe twice. It was possibly his greatest achievement.

"He, ah, mentioned something to that effect the other day,"

Byakuya was fairly certain that Abarai wouldn't have proceeded without Rukia's buy-in, but he felt it prudent to double-check. "I take it you... reciprocate?"

She made a pleased little hum. "He only happened to mention it at all because I had just told him that I was in love with him."

Byakuya often enjoyed whimsically deriding his ridiculously hardworking and absurdly devoted adjutant, even more so in the presence of his sister, whose affection for the man had long been obvious, if not the degree of it. But he couldn't bring himself to make jokes, not right now.

"You do not need my permission to take up with him romantically," he pointed out. "You and I have had a long-standing agreement, that as long as you were discreet about it--"

"Renji and I don't want that," Rukia interrupted. "I mean, we do. We do want to take up romantically." She made an odd face at having to say the phrase out loud. "But you're very important to both of us. We wanted you to know. We… wanted you to approve."

Byakuya glanced over at the young woman who he had adopted so many years ago, and yet, had only recently become his sister. She was, in so many ways, much like himself in his youth. Brash. Stubborn. Willful. Too brilliant by half. Byakuya adjusted his hand in hers, and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"You know I am a sentimental fool," he began, and Rukia turned to look at him again with an expression he couldn't quite parse. "I think it is embarrassingly obvious how fond I am of both of you."

Emotion broke over Rukia's face. "It is not, Brother," she tried to scold him, though her voice cracked at the end.

"He hardly deserves you," Byakuya went on.

Rukia rolled her eyes. "The two of you are so--"

"But at least he acknowledges that, and seeks to remedy it," Byakuya ignored her. "I shall be watching closely to make sure he does not become complacent, but if he continues on his current trajectory, he may eventually become worth your affection."

"So, are you going to approve his stupid form?" Rukia asked.

"That," replied Byakuya, "is a different matter."

"Oh," Rukia said softly.

"Becoming a Family-Approved Suitor has nothing to do with whether or not I like him. It is an opening of negotiations, a proof of suitability for marriage. Surely, you two don't…" He trailed off when he saw Rukia looking away again.

"We've only just started figuring this out," she admitted. "But it's not...out of the question."

"Oh," Byakuya replied. He'd always had the distinct impression that his sister had little interest in matrimony, although he knew as well as anyone the difference the "who" of the equation could make.

"That presents...a difficulty," he admitted. "The Family would not take it well. They already think I have been too selfish in these matters.”

“That’s so short-sighted,” Rukia muttered. “So he doesn’t have much money or a name that goes six generations back. He’s got bankai. He’s incredibly strong. The family hasn’t even produced anyone who can pass the vice-captain’s exam in the last hundred years.”

"You misunderstand me, Sister," he clarified. "Bringing Abarai into the family would be a tremendous benefit to me, personally. I lack for neither money nor familial pedigree. The only thing I lack is a family line. A young man of immense spiritual pressure, with no family ties of his own, and an inexplicably fierce loyalty to myself would be of great benefit to our line and perhaps to our family as a whole. It would not be very advantageous to those who are jostling to prove themselves the best among a number of poor choices. The family has not been to war in a long time, and many forget how important it is to maintain our strength. I have not forgotten.”

Rukia’s eyes widened. “You wouldn’t name him…”

Byakuya made a horrified face. “Of course not.” He frowned. “Not for the family. But the Captain of the Sixth need not also be the head of the family. I told the Head Captain a year ago he was the only one I trusted to replace me in that regard, although I doubted my posthumous opinion would be respected. I suppose I should tell Kyouraku the same. This would make things a bit smoother, I suppose.” He was quiet for a moment. “I will need to think on this. I might.... I might need to talk to Grandfather. I… will do what I can.”

Rukia eased her hand from his, and slid her arms around his waist and leaned into his side. “Thank you, Brother. I love you.”

Byakuya closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He hardly deserved her, either. He pulled one arm out of her hug and rested it gently around her shoulder. “Thank you, Rukia,” he said softly. Another deep breath. “I love you, too.”

Her only response was to hug him just the teeniest bit harder.

[arugulafriend]

@pangur-and-grim's wee rascal in rainbow pencil

[deeva-arud]

A considerable amount of makeup was used to cover Deeva's freckles and face marks, and Cater also had to use magic to make her clothes his size. They did this as a joke, but they sure were committed to it! 💪

Original style swap challenge by @ashipiko ! (see her post here!!) If anyone wants to give it a try, go ahead, it's really fun!!! <3

[yellowocaballero]

HOLY SHIT THE TITLE DROP. WE ALL THOUGHT IT WAS REFERENCING SAKURAGAKURE SOMEHOW BUT IT WAS ALL ABOUT KAKASHI FINDING HEAVEN WITH OBITO STILL BROKEN BUT WHOLE, IN KAMUI... OMG...

HAHA ABOUT THAT TITLE DROP

Title drops are so sexy. But this is a weird example - I was working hard the entire story to find a way to drop that line, 'cause it's actually a reference to one of my favorite games and a lot of precious childhood memories (bonus points if you know what I'm referencing - you can actually compare/contrast the two games pretty well). When I started trying to dredge up a title I was having a lot of trouble, so @lazuliquetzal suggested that I use that line. I was kind of resistant, 'cause I do not like using song lyrics as the titles of my own fic (and poetry is on thin ice), but since I could tell what an influence the game itself had on the fic it felt alright.

It also directs the reader to a question I want them to ask themselves throughout the story - 'you call this a utopia?' makes you ask 'what makes a utopia at all?'.

The bait and switch is on the foundation of that question. The Q feels as if it's coming from a human mouth, and at first glance it has to be a person looking at Sakuragakure and denying that it fits the definition. Of course it's not Obito who asks, because Obito thinks he knows. The movement of Obito's character arc is towards asking himself that question - is towards him being challenged on his own beliefs, and accepting a different point of view. 'This' wasn't Sakuragakure - it was the shitty world that they lived in, and it was the space between Obito & Kakashi that caused them so much pain.

How could you call this imperfect world a utopia? How could you name your suffering as happiness? How could you look at the mangled remnants of the person you loved and call him perfect when he's hurt so many people? Why would you ever prefer the messy present to the nostalgic past - this cruel reality over a perfect dream?

Why indeed. To answer any of those questions, you have to ask what a utopia even is. Hopefully the reader has been asking themselves that question. I know my answer, but that's been informed by my own history and far too many years of niche Buddhism. I think it's a decent question to ask. I hope your answer is informed by the moments of perfect happiness you've had in your life. Thanks for the ask!

[dollsome-does-tumblr]

i decided to watch netflix persuasion again to see if its horrors hold up over time (lol), and while there are a few things that i enjoy -- a) it's pretty to look at, and b) dakota johnson regency wine aunt hot mess breaking the fourth wall is pretty winning as a concept, even if it belongs somewhere else -- it's incredible how this adaptation took one of the most finely crafted depictions of romantic tension in the history of storytelling and just deflated it with pure generic mediocrity at every single opportunity. like, every moment that's supposed to be like !!!!!!!!!!! is instead like "okay ...... i guess ............ they're bantering halfheartedly again ........ cool .......... zzzzzz ........"

[bigcats-birds-and-books]

Books of 2024: THE AMBERGRIS TRILOGY by Jeff VanderMeer.

Up next! This series is how I'm bridging my current writing/revision project with the one on deck for my personal nano. They're both Weird Stories, but the one I'm working on now is Weird (genre), like VanderMeer, and the one I'm planning for November is going to be Weird (fungus), also like VanderMeer. I hope to get Driscoll vibes AND some New Book vibes out of this!

[dolokhoded]

hi. my friend sent me this

the korean means "one, two, three! hello, [this is/we are] d12ciples!". i just need other people to look at it

d12ciples. goodbye i love this. boy band !

[mwolf0epsilon]

Hey @enigmatist17 your clone tier list is great!

Rank Tier Reasoning:

S+ - Impactful (These characters' appearances/story arc live rent free in my brain and I cannot get enough of them)

S - Underutilized Potential (These characters could have their own show and rise to S+ specifically on their own strengths if people actually gave them the chance)

A - Interesting Concept (There's something to these characters that could be further explored in many interesting ways)

B - Could Be Built Upon/Needed More Screen-time (I don't feel a particular connection to these characters due to how quickly they came and went but there's potential there too)

C - There's Something There/Needs More Work (These characters mean very little to me but I acknowledge they can either grow or have grown writing-wise)

D - Unchanging Characterization/Poorly Written 'Cool Guy' (Has literally experienced no character growth and runs on one singular trait that is better written in other characters, and has remained detestable in my books even if they are a fandom favourite)

[moeblob]

I have only seen their C/B supports and honestly I love them a lot. Alfred really out here just committing acts of treacherous friendliness with other royals from other kingdoms. It's wonderful to see.

[iraprince]

okay one last idle chitchat post about the shop (i don't wanna chatter abt it too much too early bc we're still a ways off from launch lol, and idk abt u guys but if i talk abt something too much before it's done i start to lose momentum). BUT just as a fun fact!!

u know my kitty cat icon? he is a linocut print!!! and u will be able to pick up a real physical copy of him!!!

[tyrannuspitch]

finished reading watchmen... my god. did you know they make comics that are good.

[nebulousfishgills]

I have slowly been making my way into the asoiaf lore but I’m curious where the backstory on blood raven is🤔

Okay, so I'm no expert or anything, but I'll provide a brief crash course:

Brynden Rivers, son of Melissa Blackwood and Aegon IV Targaryen, known as one of the many Great Bastards. His defining features are his white hair, pale skin, and red eyes caused by being born an albino. He also has a winestain birth mark on his cheek resembling a raven, some say, the origin of the nickname Bloodraven. He was legitimized with his other siblings on Aegon IV's death bed, causing a sucession crisis.

He was a Targaryen loyalist during the Blackfyre Rebellions, I believe a civil war between the Targaryens and the Blackfyres (like the Targaryens but Not) as a result of the sucession crisis. He loses one of his eyes during this war, but he almost never patched it, choosing to keep it out in the open.

He's the last known wielder of Dark Sister, sword of Visenya the Conquerer (currently in Daemon's possession in House of the Dragon) and is a skilled archer.

Under the reign of his half brother Aerys I Targaryen, he served as Hand of the King and Master of Whispers, and then as Hand of the King for Aerys' successor, Maekar I. Eventually he becomes Lord Commander of the Night's Watch until he (and Dark Sister) vanished one day beyond the Wall.

It's not the end for Brynden, though, as he is in fact, still alive during the events of Game of Thrones as the Three Eyed Crow/Raven, the last greenseer. Bran Stark's mentor.

I'm very fascinated by Bloodraven as a character and I think he might be one of the coolest characters in the ASOIAF universe.

His wiki provides more in-depth information:

[maester-of-spreadsheets]

For some reason I’m extremely fascinated by loumand now that they are MEGA divorced

[wicked-west-cats]

Must be rough losing them so young huh?

shadowbelly looking at lil memorial graves of his parents ft itty bitty roachkit unaware of sad things

[esleep]

i just had the most crystal-clear, narratively coherent dream i've had in a while and i NEED to write it down before i forget it. i dreamed that while on a camping trip i discovered a doorway to a world of intelligent, talking, semi-anthropomorphic animals. they walked upright but otherwise looked the same as their mundane counterparts, besides the fact that they wore clothes, and the fact that some of them were considerably larger than a regular member of their species (they all towered over me, however i am quite short irl so i'm used to that).

i made friends there and returned repeatedly over the next few weeks so i could visit with my good friends Elk and Tiger and Wolf and Rabbit (there were a couple others as well but i can't recall them all clearly enough to describe them). we would often sit in Elk's sunny dining room with the windows open while we chatted and had tea, or sometimes we'd take my van (in the dream i had a large van i sometimes camped out of) out of Elk's neighborhood and to a scenic spot in the woods for a picnic. it was lovely - all my new animal friends were good company with distinct and unique personalities.

there were also regular animals inhabiting this world. they were referred to as "cousins" of my intelligent friends, and while i was in the company of my friends, i knew i had nothing to fear even from the wild wolves and bears that roamed the woods. they would simply observe us curiously as they passed by.

after i had been visiting a while, i learned that there was another human who knew about this place. his name was something like Galarian or Galadon or something similar, it's a bit fuzzy. he lived full-time in the animal world, and he was something of a boogeyman to all my friends. he was a scientist who performed horrible experiments on "cousin" animals in the secluded laboratory he'd set up in this world, trying to figure out how to turn them into their "intelligent" versions like Dr. Moreau - so far without success, according to my friends. still, the mention of him sent a visible shiver down Elk's back.

one day, while we were picnicking in the woods, we noticed a "cousin" wolf in the distance running straight at us. my friends observed its movements with concern for a moment, then urged me to pile into the van with them as quickly as possible, leaving behind all our adorable picnic supplies. just as we closed the door behind us, the wolf reached us and slammed into the van so hard it rocked. the wolf was making horrible snarling sounds, muzzle dripping with lathered drool that it smeared across the windows as it circled us, testing every possible entrance and snapping its jaws horribly. my friends and i bunched together inside the crowded van and quivered in fear until the wolf finally gave up. we watched it ragefully destroy our picnic, and then at last it ran off into the wilderness. Tiger advised me to leave the picnic stuff behind - it was contaminated now - and head back into town.

the next part i remember is all of us gathering at Elk's house, talking quietly about the situation. all the lights were kept off, and gray clouds obscured the sunlight that normally streamed in through the front windows, so it was quite dark inside for our somber conversation. my friends told me there was a virus that would make animals go mad, and they were starting to see it appear more and more frequently. they weren't sure if it was the evil scientist's doing, or some kind of natural phenomenon, but either way they told me to be cautious and avoid traveling alone. they weren't sure what the virus would do to a human, but they didn't want to take any chances.

as we were gathered in the dining room, i noticed a Deer wearing a ripped, mussed-looking suit wandering dazedly in front of Elk's house. i pointed him out just as he noticed us through the windows, and then the same mad fire lit in his eyes as he launched himself toward the house. my friends and i immediately jumped to lock the front door and close all the windows we had half-opened to admit the breeze. just like the cousin wolf had, this Deer battered at the windows roaring and snarling, leaving streaks of foamy drool behind, before finally running off in frustration.

there's a big chunk here at the end that's fuzzy, but i do recall going on a mission to find out if the evil scientist knows about the virus or if he even may be the cause. as we observed his laboratory we learned that he actually had a couple of intelligent animals working for him, a Bear and another Tiger (not my friend Tiger, a different one). as we watched, they brought him a vial of what looked like spit and told him it was a "sample", which my friends and i took as evidence that the scientist was only just now learning about the virus and planning to study it. we all deemed this a bad thing and started making plans to raid his laboratory when i woke up.

upon awake reflection, this is clearly just rabies. i should've introduced them to the miracle of vaccination and been the hero who stopped a rabies outbreak in furryland.

[orcelito]

So I rearranged my bookshelf a bit for fitting trigun on my shelf...

Top shelf is still my persona shelf. It's way too established to change that. But I moved my assorted other fav manga volumes to the bottom shelf, leaving room for This...

It didn't Quite fit all the way, but it's close enough. This shelf is composed of my three top favorite mangas of all time, which are Also the only 3 series that I own in totality. Specifically bc theyre my favorites & I care enough about them to want to own them all lol

It's... really really nice to see them all in one place like this.

And of course. The trigun ❤️ completely worth the money I spent on them.