#i think it's a nice goodbye since i get to project my views on humanity through the alien and also he's a revamped version of

[mihai-florescu]

This really was our yumenosaki academy♡

[corysmiles]

I came up with this 3 days ago and it hasn't left my mind since-

(little streamers au)

Someone makes a vr game that's basically a simulation of what it's like to be a human and/or tiny

So Tommy and everyone plays it and they all rotate between what sizes they are (Tommy sometimes is tiny and helping his now tiny friends get through it while they're terrified of their still giant freinds, and sometimes Tommy is big and gets to experience what it's like to be human- with the minor fear of him not understanding his own streangth-) lots of chaos ensues, but of course it's a vr game so they're all safe apart from the humans having been practically playing a horror game the whole time and realizing just how brave Tommy is by just fucking existing-

Roman this is one of my favorite asks about this au ever thank you so much :]

————————————

Little Streamer AU-In Reality

cw//language

————————————

As soon as the game was released Tommy’s dms blew up from his friends asking to play it with him. He didn’t know much about it except that the profit it made was going towards charity, but that was about it.

He was on a call with Wilbur when the older man explained the hype around it. It was a vr game that would let people experience being different heights in the hopes of helping fight against prejudices people still held against tinies.

“That’s pretty pog,” Tommy had smiled before Wilbur scolded him for not caring more.

Wilbur talked fast as he passionately explained the importance of the project to the tiny, but Tommy’s brain kept zoning in and out of the conversation.

However, Wilbur sounded so excited about it that Tommy finally agreed to hop on a call with the rest of his friends later that night to play.

Once Tommy hopped on the discord call with his friends he immediately heard Tubbo shouting at Phil.

“Hey hey back up! You’re gonna fucking squish me,” Tubbo screeched as Phil laughed.

“You’re fine mate,” Phil said with a feint laugh.

Tommy chuckled underneath his breath before logging onto the game with everyone else. He was met with two options in front of him

Tiny or human.

His hand hovered near human for a moment before he decided he’d rather stay the same on his first try. When he spawned in he hunched over at the scene in front of him.

Phil was carefully holding a now tiny Tubbo who was shrieking curses at him as Wilbur watched from the side.

“Hey Tommy,” Wilbur grinned as he reached down a hand for Tommy to hop in.

When Tommy was brought up to Tubbo’s level the scene was even more hilarious. The brunette teen desperately wrapped his arms around Phil’s fingers as he screamed.

Phil laughed nervously and reassured the tiny he was safe but Tubbo’s screaming wouldn’t stop.

Then suddenly he disappeared from Phil’s hand before reappearing as a human beside the other three.

“That was fucking awful,” Tubbo groaned as he glared at Phil.

Then in a flash Phil disappeared before appearing beside Tommy, now only a couple centimetres taller than himself.

Immediately he shrunk back away from the two humans.

“Holy fuck,” he gasped, “you’re fucking giant mate.”

He looked back at Tommy who laughed at his amazement before pulling him into a hug. Tommy let his head fall onto Phil’s shoulder and almost cried at the idea of actually getting to hug his friend. But he couldn’t really feel it...as much as he’d like to.

He had to keep reminding himself it was just a game as one by one his friends shrunk down to experience life at Tommy’s size.

When Wilbur finally shrunk down he gave Tommy a wide grin and looked around himself in awe.

“Is this really what everything looks like to you?” he asked after a moment.

Tommy moved to stand beside him on the counter, “Yeah Wilbur...this is it.”

Wilbur’s face melted into a soft smile as he turned to his brother, “It’s almost peaceful yaknow. When you’re so small and far from everything else...it’s kinda cool.”

Tommy shrugged and laughed at Wilbur’s weird emotional thoughts before an idea popped into his head.

“Stay,” he mumbled, “Stay like that for a second.”

Wilbur looked at him with a raised brow and nodded before the tiny disappeared.

Tommy’s screen flashed again with the options: “Human” or “Tiny.”

This time he hovered over human and pressed down. When everything finally came into view he blinked a couple times to try to center himself.

His head was almost at the lamp above the table...he’d never seen anything like it. All around familiar things seemed so different and insignificant at his new height. He flexed his hands in front of him for a moment before his eyes drifted downwards to where a now tiny Wilbur was looking up at him with a grin.

“Hey big man,” Wilbur laughed after a moment as Tommy brought a shaky hand down to Wilbur.

He watched as his brother climbed in and was amazed at just how small he was compared to him...and Tommy was normally much smaller than Wilbur was.

Tommy couldn’t even imagine how Wilbur felt holding him when they met up; Tommy slowly brought the tiny to his eyes and felt his breath catch in his throat at just how much power he held over the man. He had his friends entire life in his hands, and it was up to him to keep him safe.

Did Wilbur always feel this way when he held him?

“Hey dude!” he heard Tubbo yell from somewhere below him and Tommy noticed with a start that Phil and Tubbo were now tiny too and sitting on the counter below him.

Tommy gulped and tried to hold back his tears as he let the other two tinies crawl onto his palm.

“This is....is this how it always feels?” Tommy asked quietly after a moment.

Phil chuckled and patted Tommy’s hand, “Yeah mate. It’s weird isn’t it?”

Tommy let out a breathy laugh as he finally set the tinies back down. They disappeared and then after a moment they were all humans again.

Tommy gave Wilbur one last wide smile before allowing the game to bring him back to his original height.

Once he had reappeared Wilbur knelt down beside the table and offered his hand to Tommy. With new found appreciation Tommy climbed in with a knowing smile. His brother’s fingers gently pressed against his back as if he was trying to hug the small boy.

“It’s always scary yaknow... holding someone that’s so so small,” Wilbur whispered after a moment, “But it’s also nice. I can keep you safe because of it, it’s weird but...a good weird.”

Behind the tall man Tubbo nodded in agreement before saying his goodbye to leave the two alone. Soon after Phil left the game too, and after almost another half hour of switching between sizes to hold each other, Wilbur and Tommy logged off.

When Tommy pulled the headset off of his face it took him a moment to stabilize himself in the present. But as he said goodnight to his parents he couldn’t stop thinking about the feeling of having Wilbur in his hand.

The man who was usually to tall and strong had looked so...delicate in his hands. He wished he could be with him again so he could let Wilbur hold him close, but that would have to wait until the next meet up.

Until then he could fall asleep to the memories of having his friends safe in his hands.

Taglist:

@encaos @blurrybunnie @brooky71

(I’m also including this ask with this prompt since I couldn’t think of another way to make a size swap make sense in this au, I hope that’s okay anon :] )

[marichat-verse]

Mist Memories

Leo Valdez x reader for his birthday ahhhh (even though it's angsty) with a platonic/developing jason x reader cameo at the end (lmao im sorry i couldn't help myself 😭)

Based on this picture I found in pinterest + also [kinda] based on traitor by olivia rodrigo and omg i really recommend u guys listen to this edit because it reminds me so much of this fic that's been stuck in my head for MONTHS also kind of a run away with me prologue lol

Your POV

I nervously made my way across the forest until I reached a limestone cliff. I knocked on the iron door, not really expecting to get an answer.

My boyfriend has been shutting himself in Bunker 9 for the past few weeks. I stood there counting up to seven before knocking again. I knocked again two more times, until he answered in the middle of my last knock.

He removed his goggles and winced as sunlight hit his eyes. He'd grown thinner and paler, making the dark circles in his eyes more pronounced.

"Oh, Leo..." I reached out to brush a few strands of hair away from his face, but he moved away.

"What are you doing here?" He said in a monotone voice.

I moved to walk inside the Bunker, brushing off his hesitation to let me in. "I'm your partner, remember? And I'm really concerned because you're shutting yourself out lately. You know everyone's starting to worry about you. Percy asked me to check on you because you missed pegasus riding with him. Oh, and I'm pretty sure Jason's coming back from Camp Jupiter soon. I was hoping you and Annabeth could be with Piper while Percy and I hung out with Jason because it's been a little awkward since their breakup. Plus Piper wanted to tell you something—"

"Please," he said forcefully causing me to stop and look at him. "Just... Get out."

Normally, he'd shut himself from the world for a few days to work on an important project or because he was feeling really sad and he needed space. But this was getting out of hand. He had never locked me out of his life when I offered to help him. He was never this mean when he asked for space. I was not having this attitude of his.

"Okay, Leo. I tried to play nice. What is so important that you blow off all your friends for nearly a month that you can't even tell your partner, or maybe say hi to your best friend who's coming back from the other side of the country?"

He didn't say anything. He pursed his lips and avoided eye contact. I scanned he room for any signs.

It was messier than usual with all the crumpled paper scattered on the floor, especially on his desk. He could have been drawing up new plans. Something in my gut told me that something wasn't right. There were no new unfinished projects, indicating that he wasn't starting a new invention. Harley's helicopter lay on his bench in the same state it was weeks ago. Huh, not even his siblings could enter the Bunker.

I turned and Leo was already changing Festus' oil. I took this moment of distraction to pick up a few pieces of crumpled paper on the floor and on his desk. I had to process the words a bit longer—too long that Leo took notice. Damn dyslexia.

I heard footsteps speed up behind me, but it was too late. I read enough and got the gist of what he had been trying to do these past few weeks.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" He yelled at me. Small embers started to erupt between his curls.

I laughed dryly. "So this is what you've been up to?"

His fists tightened, further crumpling the paper in his hands. His eyes flashed with anger, despair and confusion.

I sighed and focused my eyes on his desk, not daring to look at him any longer. Under some pieces of paper were old photographs of him and Piper from Wilderness School. Yup, those definitely were the mist memories she had with Jason. I read the latest draft he'd been writing:

Dear Piper,

Remember the mist memories from boarding school with Jason? They were real, but they were with me.

I miss you. I miss when it was just us. I miss the night on the roof.

Yours truly,

Leo Valdez

I tried to keep my voice from cracking. "How long?"

I heard him sigh. "Three weeks."

I balled my fists. Tears started to fall and smudge the ink. I wiped them away as fast as they came.

"How?"

"In a dream," his tone softened now. "Hera came to me in a dream and told me to check an old drawer in Bunker 9. I found the photos and the memories came rushing back."

"How long were you dating back then?"

"Two weeks."

"Were you ever going to tell me?"

Silence; then a deep breath.

"No."

I shook my head in disbelief. "Why?"

"Because I knew you'd get upset like—"

"I meant why would you throw away months of our relationship for a couple of weeks of your relationship with her? And without even bothering to tell me? Gods damn it, Leo. We've been together since you've first arrived at camp. And what about those promises you made when we were sailing to Greece? You've been keeping these feelings away from me and you've been lying to me, making me believe that there's still something between us and—"

"Oh, calm down," he said with an annoyed expression and tone, which only infuriated me more, "it's not like I did anything were her yet! I didn't kiss her or tell her how I truly felt for her! She just got out of a relationship with Jason around the same time I had that dream. I had to figure out how to talk to her about it. I've been alone in this Bunker for three. Fucking. Weeks. I didn't cheat on you."

"Oh, and that makes everything better?" I countered. "Being in a relationship isn't about not cheating, Leo. It's about being honest and communicating with each other."

"Oh, like you've been communicating with me? After the war, you take go back to Manhattan for school, and you take a job. I haven't seen you much during the holidays because work has been keeping you in the city. And you won't tell me what you even do for a living!"

I took in a deep breath. "I told you I needed to have a life outside of camp! I needed to know first that I could handle myself in the mortal world as a normal human being. I needed this demigod part of my life to be separate as much as possible! I've been in two wars, Leo. I needed time to myself, too. And I was about to tell you guys in a few more days. But I guess now, I'm glad I've kept you out of that part of my life. At least I have an escape from all of this. And now, especially from you."

I took another deep breath and walked to the door, about to let myself out. I turned back again, both our tear-stained eyes meeting each other.

"If it makes you feel any better," I said softly, "I would've hated the idea of us breaking up. But if you really love her, if you really feel like you have this special connection to her and she makes you happy, then I won't get in your way. You could at least have had the decency to talk to me so we could have left on a good note."

He looked at me with wide eyes, clearly regretting his actions. I sighed and looked around the Bunker, possibly for the last time. Lots of memories were definitely created in this room; all just as grand and meaningful as the inventions they made here. But just like some of Hephaestus' contraptions, some of them were flawed and dumped in his scrapyard, no matter how much potential it could have had.

"Goodbye, Leo."

I sat on a rock on the beach that gave me a beautiful view of Long Island Sound. To my left, the sun started to set, casting an orange filter on everything. My heart broke, remembering how everything glowed orange in the Bunker. Leo always left the fires burning when he was working. The sunlight twinkling against the sea reminded me of how small bits of flame peaked through his hair earlier. I remembered how mad he was at me. Or maybe he was mostly mad at himself.

"Hey."

I jumped when someone sat—or rather, landed—beside me. I turned and smiled, seeing one of my good friends back at camp.

"Hey, you're back," I said weakly. "How long have you been here?"

He smiled at me, although he could maybe sense that something was wrong. "Half an hour, maybe? I saw Annabeth making plans to expand camp to have a city. She made me do an aerial inspection and I told her I'll get back to her tonight. That's when I saw you."

"Mhmm," I mumbled, not really knowing what to say. It was silent for a few minutes before I spoke up again, knowing he was just waiting for me to open up.

"I broke up with Leo."

His head quickly turned to me. I guess he wasn't expecting it to be that bad. "What?"

"Oh yeah," I laughed dryly. "Turns out the mist memories Piper had in Wilderness School with you? They were real. But not with you."

His eyes widened. "Oh... With Leo."

"He locked himself in the Bunker for weeks trying to write a letter. It was heartbreaking. Like, truly heartbreaking. He wanted to tell her how much he missed her and how much he missed them. Then he said how much he missed that night with her under the stars and... It hurt. Like hell."

"Oh," he said. "I guess Piper didn't tell me everything then."

"She knew all along?"

He shook his head. "Maybe not everything, but she told me she's been confused about her feelings lately and she'd been having visions or dreams of possible old memories that were messing with her head."

"I'm sorry about you and Piper," I said.

"Don't be," he said. "I understand her. It did hurt, though. But I think I can get over it some day. We're still awkward around each other, but at least we left on a good note."

I scoffed. "Leo couldn't even give me a good ending to our relationship."

"Hey," he said as he put a hand on my shoulder. "You're a great person, y/n. You've done so much, especially for him. It's his loss that he was stupid enough to let go of you."

"I know that."

"Do you really?"

"I do!" I said. "I'm a great person and I know that. But that doesn't mean what he did doesn't hurt me."

"I know," he said. "You'll find someone who'll treat you like the queen that you are. You're a great person, and I'm not just saying this to cheer you up. I truly think you're amazing."

I smiled at him. "Thanks, Jason. And you'll find someone great, too. Maybe not as great as me but, then again, who is?"

We both let out a laugh. The conch sounded in the distance, signaling dinner. I moved to stand up before hearing Jason speak up again.

"Hey, do you maybe want to just grab a couple of plates and eat out here?"

I smiled. "Yeah. That sounds good. I don't really want everyone else hounding me about the breakup right now."

I don't know how long it was going to take me to get over Leo. We really did gave something special. It was cruel how the universe gave me something so good, to make me have hope that something was finally going right, then have it yanked away from my arms just as suddenly as it came.

He never cheated on me, but that didn't mean he didn't betray every promise we made to each other. I should have known it was too good to be true. Life has always played cruel jokes on me.

Then again, who's to say that things won't turn out for the better, right?

•••

Tagging: @drvrslcense @bubblybubbubs @dreamerball @quteez @aesthetxcimagines @chasingpj @beingleft @wadewilsonsgreatestfriend

[inredunderlinedx]

Ooh can I get a Steve Rogers x female Kryptonian reader? Like he’s scared to ask her out and stuff so he’s tries to asks the team for help but she ends up asking him first and telling he she was scared because she’s an alien and stuff. Sorry it’s long. Thanks ❤️

A/n: Omg this is so cute! I love the idea of Marvel interacting with this type of character! @rlly

I’ m wonderstruck, blushing all the way home: Steve Rogers x Kryptonian!reader

A/n: this fic will use she/her pronouns! As always requests for different pronouns in a new fic are welcome!

Being an alien was hard. Let me tell you, now it was helpful that I looked human, but once I started helping the avengers there were some not so nice messages about me.

Apparently people don’t like the idea that someone is different from them.

It was hard not having anyone who could relate to what I’d been through. I was the only Kryptonian to survive my planet exploding.

The superpowers were cool, but it was hard to watch TV and see all these people to tell me to go back to where I came from.

This was my home, I was raised here, and I don’t have a home to go back to. Those words only reminded me further.

Now, being offered a spot on the Avengers was surprising, but apparently they liked me.

I told them, on a trial basis, I would join the team. So far, it was amazing. I got a room, with a projected window view of Krypton.

There were places to train, and I got to go on missions I couldn’t have known about otherwise.

The only problem was Captain Rogers, who seemed to not want to know me at all. He avoided all personal interactions with me which was hurtful since I had a painfully obvious crush on him.

I mean, have you seen him? It’s hard not to want to kiss him.

I don’t think he hated me, but he certainly didn’t plan on becoming friends, which was disappointing.

Tonight Tony Stark had a mandatory attendance party, so I decided I’d make him be friends with me.

I showed up to the party in a outfit of mine, it wasn’t too formal or too casual:

•

Normal: white t-shirt with black leather jacket, black high-waisted semi formal shorts, with knee high black boots.

Modest: a small white button down, and a leather jacket. Dark black pants, and ankle height black boots.

With head covering: black head covering, with subtle matte pattern to match leather.

•

Once I had arrived, I searched around for Maria and Wanda whom I had become close friends with in my short time here.

“Hey, y/n!” Maria waved, “you look great! I love the outfit!”

“Thank you!” I beamed at the compliment, “I’m exited to get to know the team!”

“They’re all exited to meet you too, they’ve been asking us questions about you, but we haven’t said anything.

“Hey!” Natasha said, joining us.

“Hello, Natasha right?” I said sticking my hand out, like my adopted parents taught me.

“Yeah, but you can call me nat!” She said with a smile, “I would love to introduce you to a couple people, is your interested?”

“I’d love that!” I said looking over to Maria and Wanda, “I’ll be back I promise!”

“Have fun, y/n.” Wanda said

Natasha showed me around the party pointing out several people, eventually we got to our teammates.

“Y/n,” nat said glancing at me, “this is Clint and Bruce!”

“It’s so nice to meet you!” I said smiling.

“It’s so nice to be properly introduced,” Bruce said, “I’ve been wanting to talk to you about Krypton and your powers.”

“I’d love that!” I said, “we could meet up at the lab sometime, yeah?”

“I’d love to!” He said

“Hi I’m Clint.” Clint said.

“Nice to meet you, I’m y/n.”

“Lovely to meet you formally, I’m stoked to think you might join the team!”

“Thank you,” I said blushing, “it’s an honor to be considered.”

“You guys can all talk later, I have to introduce her to some people.” Nay said grabbing my arm

“Nice talking to you.” I said sheepishly before I was dragged away.

Nat introduced me to several other SHEILD agents, before finally getting to the last 2 avengers.

“Thor, Steve.” Nat said, “this is y/n.”

“Hello, it is an honor to meet you y/n l/n, the last daughter of krypton.” Thor said, addressing me with my official title.

“Please, just call me y/n. I hear your not of this earth either?”

“No, I am from Asgard.” He said smiling

“Asgard is so lovely!” I said happy to feel something somewhat familiar.

“Roger, you did not mention she was intelligent as well!” Thor said laughing.

Steve looked wide eyed for a moment, before dismissing it. I blushed, but not noticeably.

“Hi, I’m y/n!” I said going to shake his hand.

“Steve.” He said shaking my hand.

“Hi Steve.” I said lightly, “it’s really nice to get to meet everyone!”

He nodded briefly. Maybe he didn’t like me. Oh… what if it’s because I’m an alien?

That thought probably hurt more any anything else. I couldn’t control that, it was part of who I am. It seems that’s the part he doesn’t like.

“Well,” I said, “sorry to bug you.”

I quickly left and walked back over to Wanda and Maria. I was fairly quiet, while they continued to converse.

All I could think about was why Steve didn’t like me. Was it really because I was an alien? It just didn’t seem fair. He didn’t even give me a chance.

The party was dying down, and I continued To listen to Maria and Wanda, until Maria had to leave. Now there was only Wanda, Thor, Steve and I.

Thor said goodbye to me before leaving to return to Asgard. Wanda noticed me glancing at Steve.

“I’m gonna go,” she said, “I’ll be in my room if you need me. Talk to him.”

I nodded, still timid to actually speak to him. We looked over to me, then looked away when he made eye contact.

“Steve.” I said standing up.

“Yes?” He asked, semi-surprised

“Can you be honest with me?” I asked, “what is your problem with me?”

“Huh?”

“You won’t speak to me until it’s work related, you don’t make eye contact. You refuse to hold any type of conversation. It’s like you hate me! I don’t get it!”

“I don’t hate you..” he said, looking guilty,

“Then what’s your problem? I have a stupid crush on you and you don’t even want to be friends!” I covered my mouth, oh shit.

“What?”

“Nothing, never mind.”

“You have a crush on me?”

“What? No.” I said, trying to laugh it off. “well I’m gonna go!”

“No, wait!” He said grabbing my hand

“Look, Steve, there is no need to pity me. I can take a hint.”

“I like you too, I just didn’t want to get to close and make it harder for me not to admit how much I like you.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.”

“I thought you didn’t like me cause I was an alien.” I said quietly

“What! Of course not! I think that’s awesome!”

“Really?”

“Yeah!”

“Well, this might not be appropriate, but do you wanna go on a date sometime?”

“I’d love to.” He said, taking my hand.

[maisondenachtai]

Boss pt 2 (Y’lan Noel x Reader)

Part 1 

Late nights were nothing new to you. You were well accustomed to seeing the office clear out and hearing the stark noise of silence punctuated with the sounds of vacuums and the gentle hum of electricity. You knew almost all of the janitors that came up after hours to clean up the office, and knew to give them ten minutes or so, so they could clean up your area without you being in the way.

What you were not used to was another person being in the office with you while you were working late hours. Y’lan Noel, or Y’lan as he kept reminding you, was also grinding gears after hours. You could see him pinning things to a board through the clear windows that gave you an open view of him. He was completely focus on his project, not even noticing you had been staring at him for a least five minutes.

No, you had not been staring. Just observing.

You had observed that when he seemed to get stumped on something, he placed his hands in his pockets and stared at it like he was doing now. You wondered what he was stumped on, you knew whatever it was he would figure out and come out of it amazingly.

           Despite your words with him days before, you knew he was a talented editor and writer. Christine had talked about him so much, that he was a star and that he was going places. At the time you hadn’t heard of him, but after researching him and reading a few of his pieces, you saw what she saw and yeah you were impressed. He hadn’t just been handed the job because he was a male, he earned it and deserved it. But of course, you couldn’t tell him that.

           You tilted your head a little as he bounced on and off his toes. Whatever had him stumped really was throwing him through a loop. You were just about to smirk and laugh when his head quickly turned and his eyes lit up when they met yours.

“Shit.” You mumbled, focusing again on your computer, typing up a storm as if you had never stopped to stare…observe him.

It was too late though; you heard the wind slightly woosh as he opened up his doors and could hear him make his way over to your area. You continued to type though, willing yourself to pretend that he wasn’t there.

“You’re dedicated.” He said.

You didn’t say anything, only kept typing. Wide leg pants are in-

“…I saw you looking at me. No need to front.” You could hear the smile in his voice.

“I was not staring at you.” You stopped typing, looking up at him. He had settled himself against the wall behind your desk set up, leaning across as if he was a neighbor talking over a fence.

He smirked, “I never said you were staring.”

You rolled your eyes, “I’m busy.”

“I see that. You know since you’re working, you could still be on the clock.”

You shook your head, “This isn’t work. This is a competition. So no, I can’t be on the clock.”

Y’lan shook his head, “It’s work. If you win, your magazine becomes the month’s issue so, it’s work. Doesn’t matter, I clocked you back in hours ago.”

“I didn’t ask you to do that.” You folded your arms.

“You don’t have to ask me. I’m your boss. It’s my job.” He smiled and turned around about to go back to his office.

“What’s your angle?” You stopped him in his tracks and he turned around again, walking back over to your area.

“I don’t have an angle.”

You rolled your eyes standing up from your desk. You stretched your neck first, then the rest of your body. When you opened your eyes from stretching, you noticed that Y’lan’s eyes were just coming back up from a long trip down your body. You fought the smirk coming to your lips.

“Of course you have an angle. Everyone does.” You sat back down, leaning back in your chair making a long line for Y’lan to admire with his eyes. “When I first got here, I was angling to become editor in chief in five years. So I sucked up. I’m not proud of it but it got me far. Nancy in graphic design has been flirting with every higher up at every office party, she wants a higher position. That’s her angle. You are being very nice, what do you want from us? What do you want from me?”

Y’lan’s hands were in his pockets again, but he wasn’t bouncing. He stood confident, staring at you like you were a new problem to solve. “I want what every magazine editor wants. A good staff that produces good results. I’ve been at publications where the work environment was hell and the editor was a disgusting human being. You know what that publication is doing now? …Nothing. It shut down two years ago. Bankrupt. Bad work environments leak out. I don’t want that for Black Style.”

You nodded, “That’s commendable. I’m not mad at that.”

He chuckled softly, shaking his head a little. “I’m glad I got your approval. …As for you Ms. YLN.”

You leaned forward eyes widening, “As for me what?”

“You asked me what I wanted from you all…and you specifically. I told you what I wanted for the company as a whole. Now I want to tell you want I want from you specifically.” His voice had lowered significantly and it made you draw into him, leaning closer than what was probably appropriate.

His eyes drifted down your face quickly and then back up to your eyes. You gulped a little. “And what is that Mr. Noel.”

He smirked, letting the silence linger for a moment, “I want your respect. Even if you win the competition, I want you to respect me as a peer in the field.”

You let out a small breath, for a moment you imagined that he might say that he wanted you, in the physical sense. You couldn’t deny the fact that Y’lan was quite handsome and had confidence about him that absolutely made you hor-

You could deny it. And you absolutely would.

“Ms. YLN.”

“Yes. Sorry.” You picked at a piece of imaginary lint on your shirt. “Respect is not given it’s earned.” You said, talking down to that imaginary lint that was still stuck to your shirt.

His hand reached out and gripped your chin gently, only pressing upward with the barest of force. You looked up at him all on your own, and found yourself looking at a man with no fear, and the most beautiful smile you had ever seen.

He was over stepping many of the boundaries HR laid out for you all, but honestly...you couldn’t care at this point. “I know.” He was speaking just so you could hear, barely over the sound of the vaccums and the powerful AC in the building. “And I fully expect to earn all of your respect.” He grinned at you and then moved his hand off your face, turning and walking away from you. “Oh, and those are really nice pants.” He shouted back, throwing up a hand in goodbye. “And that is wildly inappropriate!” You shouted back, awaken from your stupor.

He turned around, smirking, “It would be...if I was on the clock. Do you know how bad it looks for a Editor to give himself 4 hours of overtime, especially for something that’s not work related? What kind of Boss do you think I am?” He chuckled, going back into his office and closing the glass door behind him. You grumbled and went back to typing, nails clicking the keyboard harder than before.

“Bastard.”

___________________________________________________________

This looks a little different huh? ...Yeah...I don’t feel like doing all that title stuff. Yall know what this is lol! This has been sitting in my drafts for a month or two? lol.

@chaneajoyyy @wawakanda-btch  @blackmissfrizzle @quietpoeticheart @bigsisbria  @toni-toni-toni-toni  @blvkqueen1​  @palmstreesallday​  @hey-taylor-hey​  @myakai13​  @shinywrites​

[sineshion]

Nezumi Character Analysis

UH OH SISTERS! Here I am to write an essay on Nezumi and his relationship and actions towards Shion that no one asked for, but I’m doing it anyway.

SPOILERS FOR THE NO.6 NOVEL

Let me start by saying that Nezumi is a really well fleshed out character, and that a lot of his actions and dialogue have more depth than initially comes across. Nezumi starts off as a character who is very closed off, both emotionally and physically. Gradually over the course of the novel, he becomes more and more open, until we reach the climax of his character while in the Correctional Facility. During Shion and his first meeting, he tells Shion that he doesn’t neccessarily care about Shion’s fate, but that he doesn’t want to feel responsible if something bad were to happen to Shion.

“Do you really? I mean, it’s not my problem what happens to you, but if you end up being wiped out because of me, I wouldn’t like that. I’d feel like I did something horrible...”

I find this dialogue to be very telling and foreshadowing, as comparing Nezumi’s mindset from the beginning of the novel and end of the novel shows just how much Shion is able to change him. Though Nezumi might not say it directly, he is just as drawn to Shion as Shion is to him. We come to learn that he keeps secretive watch over Shion for the four years they are apart, in a silent way of protecting him. We could shrug this off as Nezumi simply “repaying a debt”, as he says again and again, but it is far more than that. Shion offers kindness and compassion to Nezumi during their first meeting, which we come to learn is the first real act of kindness he has received in years. Shion shows love toward Nezumi when he arguably needs it most, and though Nezumi might not want to admit it, he is showing love right back by silently watching over Shion, and rescuing him. From the moment they met, Nezumi has become captured by Shion, much like how Shion says he has become captured by Nezumi.

Throughout the novel, Nezumi goes from showing acts of kindness toward Shion, to then showing hostility. Shion is never afraid of Nezumi’s random spouts of violence, in his what I can only assume to be futile attempts to reject vulnerability. Nezumi projects all of his hatred for No.6 and it’s violence against him onto Shion, which he later comes to realize is wrong, and abusive of him.

“This casual act of kindness, or those cold, dispassionate words from a few minutes ago - which one was he to believe? Shion couldn’t grasp him.”

Nezumi tells Shion to throw away his memories, his feelings, and ties to everyone and everything he knows. He continuously acts cold and hostile toward Shion without provocation, which we learn is the result of the way Gran, an old woman who raised him, warped his mind into being. Nezumi has a very unstable and warped mindset on love, and what it would do to him. He has been raised since the age of 4 to fear it like nothing else, which I find so heartbreaking. It is no wonder Nezumi constantly reacts the way he does both to being touched by Shion, as well as kissed, or just generally loved. Gran tells Nezumi from the age of 4 to view any person who loves him as a literal demon who will kill him, thus creating the mental struggle within himself as he tries and fails to keep from reciprocating those feelings.

“Never sigh in earnest. Never cry. You’ll be taken advantage of by demons. Sighing creates an opening, a vulnerability. If you want to stay alive, keep your mouth shut. Never let anyone see your weak spot. Let your heart warm to no one. Never trust anyone but yourself.”

We are told that Nezumi went against Gran’s instruction simply by rescuing Shion. I suspect that a small part of Nezumi wanted to do this (go against Gran’s orders), though he reprimands himself multiple times for his actions. It isn’t that Nezumi is completely helpless from falling in love with Shion, it’s that he actually wants to be loved by the boy, even if only deep down. More and more, he begins to simply sit around and watch Shion, thinking about how beautiful Shion is, how nice it would be to touch him and how much he wants to have physical contact with him, playing with his hair. He begins to lose his sense of control over himself, leaving the door to his home unlocked without even realizing it, sighing over Shion, and risking his own safety to send messages to Shion’s mother unprompted. When he learns of Safu’s abduction, instead of telling Shion, he begins to think of how if Shion found out, it would result in his death. He compares the loss to the loss of his own family, and of the suffering he would feel if that were to occur. Nezumi has already begun to grow attached. He was attached from the very moment Shion and he met.

“He would be experiencing the same suffering again, of being broiled alive in Hellfire.” “I don’t want to lose him. I would suffer.”

This admission is paralleled to Safu’s in a prior scene, where she admits to Karan, Shion’s mother, that she is in love with Shion. She says: “I don’t want to regret anything. If - if by some chance, he ends up never coming back... I’m going to be the one to suffer for my whole life. I don’t want that. I don’t want to lose him.” Nezumi is falling in love with Shion, whether he realizes it at this moment or not is besides the point. He does not want to lose Shion. He does not want to return to a life of seclusion and loneliness, a life without love. He would and will do anything to keep from losing it. Both Safu and Nezumi are in love with Shion, but I would argue that the difference between them, other than obvious ones, as that Nezumi comes to see Shion exactly for who he is, the love he feels for Shion not blinding himself, but illuminating the entire world, whereas Safu does not. Safu continuously compares herself to the person Shion is yearning for, asking why she cannot be them, why she cannot be the one to get to know everything about Shion.

Despite Nezumi’s efforts to hide the truth of Safu’s capture from Shion, this falls through, and he is warned by Inukashi: “If he’s so precious to you that you don’t want to loose him, protect him to the very end. And do whatever it takes to protect him, you idiot, no matter how humiliating it is.” Nezumi wants to protect Shion, and would and later does do anything to keep him by his side, this dialogue from Inukashi foreshadowing Nezumi’s vulnerability and the swallowing of his own pride as he lays everything he is bare before Shion’ feet.

Later, Shion, after finding out that Safu is in danger, confesses all of his feelings to Nezumi, in what he assumes will be the last time they see one another. He kisses Nezumi goodbye, and sneaks out. Nezumi follows after him, and lashes out in a very violent way, and after, saying: “Listen, you’re not allowed to give me a goodbye kiss ever again! Never, ever again!” He tells Shion that this beating is punishment for lying to him, and trying to sneak away, aka trying to die without him. Soon, Shion will turn Nezumi’s warped way of thinking against him in the Correctional Facility, where he will use Nezumi’s reasoning and justification for violence by claiming the two men he attempts to kill are deserving of it, because they have tried to harm Nezumi.

Gradually, more and more, we see Nezumi not only reciprocating moments of intimacy, but initiating them with Shion: “A hand suddenly reached over to him. It was Nezumi’s. It gently pried Shion’s fist open, finger by finger, gently, as if toying with it.” Nezumi still has moments of random bursts of aggression, both in an attempt to continue to keep Shion at bay, to keep from falling more in love, and to prevent Shion from aiding the city or its people in any manner. While Shion admits a love confession, saying: “I’m probably more afraid to lose you than anything - anybody else.” This sparks a fear in Nezumi, at the reality that not only is Shion attached to him, but that he is just as attached to Shion. He’s completely aware at this point of his own feelings. He thinks: “Am I the one who hasn’t known anything all along?” while questioning his past actions, and whether or not he has been seeing Shion in a positive light or not. Nezumi has started to become more self aware through his relationship with Shion, and more in touch with his own emotions.

Once entering the Correctional Facility, Nezumi warns Shion not to lose himself. He promises Shion that they will come back from this together. He isn’t saying this only to Shion, but more so to himself. Nezumi has been captured by the light that he sees in Shion, and though Shion is the one to think that Nezumi keeps him human, it’s quite the other way around. Shion attempts to kill two men, both times Nezumi reprimands him, telling him: “Never put your hands around someone’s throat again!” and “Shion! Shion! Stop - stop, please - Shion, I’m begging you.” and “I want you to stay as you are, Shion.” Shion keeps Nezumi human. Shion is a beacon of light shining down on Nezumi, exposing his own humanity. Time and time again, it is clear that Shion’s humanity and compassion save Nezumi from doom. While Nezumi develops to see the light of humanity and within his own soul through loving Shion, Shion develops to see the darkness in humanity and within his own soul by loving Nezumi. They quite make the perfect narrative foil to one another, developing in an almost polar opposite way. Nezumi ultimately becomes more like Shion, Shion becomes more like Nezumi.

We learn of Nezumi’s past, and of his suffering, in a scene where he allows himself complete vulnerability to Shion, showing him the burn on his back and revealing to us and to Shion how his family and culture were ruthlessly burned to the ground right before his eyes. Shion begins to cry at learning the truth, begins to blame himself for his own ignorance and for Nezumi’s suffering. Nezumi confesses: “I didn’t mean to make you feel guilty. I didn’t mean to accuse you of any crime. I - can’t even imagine wanting to hurt you. I’m sorry.” “Don’t you cry. You were just a tiny kid. You’re not to blame for anything.” He’s starting to drastically change his mindset and perspective which will ultimately lead to him choosing to believe in Shion, to have faith in Shion, trusting that the both of them truly see one another at this point for who they are. Trusting Shion to remain human, and build a better world.

As they begin their infiltration, Shion begins to grow more and more cold and uncaring of human life. As Nezumi kills guards, Shion says that it simply can’t be helped - it’s kill or be killed. This moment is clear in highlighting not only how Nezumi has changed Shion, but how Shion has changed Nezumi. Nezumi is displeased to hear this reasoning from Shion, which is not something he would have thought at the beginning of the novel. Shion is uncaring, which is not something he would feel were this the beginning of the novel. They have both a positive and negative impact on one another, and alwyas seem to take it to the extreme, though it isn’t neccessarily strange given the circumstances and situation at hand. Nezumi begins to see the direct affect his own actions have had on Shion, and how they have begun to warp his mind, much like Gran warped Nezumi’s own perspective on love. He thinks sadly: “Forgive me, Gran. I’ve gone against what you’ve told me. I’ve sighed many times for another. I believed him, and opened my heart to him. I placed the shackles around my own feet. But I couldn’t have done otherwise. I couldn’t cut him away.” Nezumi loves Shion. No matter what he tries, he cannot escape the love he feels for him. He couldn’t do otherwise, because he doesn’t truly WANT to. He wants to love Shion, admitting this to himself now. The seeds have already been planted at this point for Nezumi to begin feeling his own guilt and remorse at trying to change Shion’s personality, and coming to the horrifying realization that it worked. Nezumi didn’t want to harm Shion, or hurt him. He truly and foolishly believed he was doing what was right, what was taught to him. He feels so much remorse at the point that when he is almost killed by Rashi, he entirely gives up the fight. He allows himself a moment of genuine intimacy with Shion, let’s Shion hold him, as he prepares to die with him. Does this sound like something Nezumi would do? A character who preaches survival, is now willing to die with the person he has fallen in love with. He is not afraid, nor angry, nor sad - he simply accepts it. I find this moment to be very telling of Nezumi’s character.

When Shion shoots Rashi, Nezumi, who is already terribly wounded, tries repeatedly to stand up and stop him from finishing Rashi off. It is shocking not just to us, but to him, to see how Shion has changed. He screams for Shion to stop in vain as Shion commits murder on his behalf.

“He didn’t want to open his eyes. If he did, he would have to face reality.”

Despite trying to repress this, he tries to keep Shion grounded, as Shion has already been shown time and time again to be unstable and suicidal. Shion attempts to commit suicide by shooting himself in the head, asking Nezumi over and over if Nezumi and perhaps even God can forgive him for the murder he has committed. Nezumi thinks that it would have been better had they never infiltrated it at all, had he known it would destroy Shion’s mental state so completely. Nezumi, a character hellbent on destroying the government, is now thinking that Shion’s mental health is worth more to him than destroying the city. He thinks, as he starts to have his own mental breakdown, that he is the one who needs to be forgiven, not Shion. He begins to cry uncontrollably, as he mentally begs for Shion’s forgiveness.

“Shion, I’m sorry. I made you bear the burden, one so big it’s making your spine creak. Would I be forgiven one day? Would you forgive me for what I did to you?”

Nezumi is unable to bear the thought that he is the direct cause of Shion’s attempt at suicide. He is forced to confront at this moment his own abusive actions, and all of the brutality he has thrust upon Shion up to this point. He is begging, literally on his knees, to be forgiven. To be forgiven for all of his mistakes, all of his anger, all of his pain and hurt that he has projected onto Shion. Begging for forgiveness at meeting Shion - at coming unexpectedly into his life and, in Nezumi’s eyes, ruining everything Shion is. Nezumi believes he is to blame for everything, and the weight of the guilt he feels is indescribable.

By the time they get to Safu, Nezumi outright refuses to let Shion do anything, going so far as to drag him by force to the elevator, knowing it is too late to rescue Safu. Shion, through his grief, blames Nezumi for what happens to Safu, claiming he used her and used him to destroy No.6. Nezumi plays his part well, and pretends that this is the truth, saying he never believed Safu was alive, which is a lie. He says he deceived Shion, and used him and sacrificed his mind for the destruction of the government, which is also not the whole truth. Nezumi thinks: “Really? Can you really not understand? You’re a liar, Shion. You do get it. You understand every single word. And you’ll never forgive me. You’ll lose faith in me and loathe me. Or would you-“

Nezumi WANTS Shion to love him, and also hate him at the same time. He wants Shion to take his anger out on him. He wants to self sabotage their relationship, and MAKE Shion hate him, by playing a false role, by pretending to be someone he is not. Even when Nezumi tries to shoulder blame that is not his, his true self shines through under the facaude. Nezumi, a character who used to preach that he would only ever fight for himself, now takes a bullet for Shion, trying to sacrifice himself for him. Going directly against everything he has ever believed in.

By the end of the novel, Nezumi, having come back from the brink of Death, and having gone against all of his previous rules, confesses to Shion that Shion scares him. He is terrified of Shion, or more specifically, of Shion’s love, because it is mutual. Nezumi is in love with him. Nezumi’s love for Shion is in fact so strong, that Nezumi was willing and ready to die with and for Shion multiple times during the Correctional Facility, and many times prior, as well. He’s scared of the way loving someone makes him feel. He’s scared of how it almost got him killed many times, and it would have, had Shion not saved him. He leaves not because of Shion, but because of himself. Nezumi does not understand how to express his love in a proper and healthy way - it’s completely foreign to him. The boy is so traumatized that he’s spent the entire novel both half afraid of and half crazing and actively seeking love. I find it strange when people ask or think that there’s a possibility Nezumi doesn’t love Shion, when his actions so clearly say otherwise. I suspect Nezumi feels unworthy of Shion loving him as well, considering his tendency to self sabotage. I think that Nezumi is very self aware, and by the end of the novel, very in touch with his own emotions. He understands that he must change, and only then can he come back to Shion properly. He understands that who he is currently is not suited for a relationship, and so he makes the maturest call he has in the entire story, by leaving. He kisses Shion, promising to come back once he is ready, reassuring not only us but Shion that he really truly does love him.

Shion had thought that Nezumi was the one who illuminated him completely. That everything became much clearer with him by his side. That “by his hands, I was melted, wrought anew, and instilled with new life.” I find this line to be most applicable to Nezumi, as Shion has instilled him with new life, a new perspective, leaving him forever changed by the love shared and experienced. A line from Safu comes to mind as well, “You feel the same way I do, don’t you? You’re glad you were able to know. You wouldn’t be able to live anymore without knowing what yearning and love is like.”

[sailing-elitsha]

Carrebeean, Here we are!!!

As I said before: 5783 nautical miles we sailed towards this little paradise where we are still on quarantine anchorage. Waiting on the PCR result is always making me a bit nervous, especially this time. If we are tested negative, we have the chance here in Grenada to get the AstraZeneca vaccines and we will travel much freer than we do now.

But no boredom: a little leak in the hand wash basin, try to clean the mud off ELITSHA, friends and family to speak to, small other repairs, taking the lead in UBUNTU again since we have full and unlimited internet on board, planning and booking Zora’s and Su’s tickets towards us, baking bread again and of course swimming and snorkelling.

 But let me talk first a little bit about Suriname and our short sail to Grenada. Suriname was for a long time a Dutch colony. Since 1975, this country is the smallest independent state in South America. The previous president unfortunately abused his power and all the resources the beautiful country has, for example gold, aluminium, oil, bananas got exported unwisely and the profit went into the presidents and his friend’s pockets. That is what Surinamers were telling us. In the meantime, there is a new president, but there is Corona as well. The ECO tourism, Suriname was good and well known for, stands still and the country is in a bad state and shape. At the banks of the Suriname river, entering Suriname, you see big and then I mean really big villas. According to the locals they belong to friends of the former president and to drug lords. A very familiar story to us South Africans. The Netherlands is still involved and helps where they can, but a few days after we left Suriname they closed the country: total lockdown. Just above 500 000 people live in Suriname and most of them in and close to Paramaribo. People are currently getting infected and dying in huge numbers from Corona: not enough hospital beds, not enough vaccinations, not enough oxygen……… not enough doctors and nurses. Their rainy season is terrible this year due to the ELNino effect and its really tuff for the poor population. After a good week in the Marina and a road trip through the rural part of the country to a big dam where people are searching for gold, visiting banana plantations, visiting Paramaribo with a lot of rain we said goodbye to the populated part of Suriname together with Elitsha and we sailed into the Commewijne river. This was so romantic and special. The jaguars, caiman and anacondas were too scared of us, hahahahha. We did not see them, but we heard and enjoyed the voices of the jungle, saw and heard millions of birds, parrots and all kind of other noises. It was magical.  Three days we were totally one with nature, did not see any human being, together with Elitsha.

Coming back from Commewijne river was coming back to happy reggae life. Looking for a spot ashore to get our dingy on board for the trip to Grenada, a fisher of New Amsterdam waved us to come next to his fisher boat. Loud reggae music and a very friendly crew invited us for coffee, tea and biscuits……….and dagga and rum………..Unfortunately, we had to say thank you no (dagga and rum out of question, of course). The threat of getting infected just before we go back to sea again for a couple of days made us kindly refusing the offer. Even though we chatted a while with them and they helped us to get the dingy motor on board. And that’s how Surinamers are, chatty, always happy to assist and help, curious and interested about who you are. As I mentioned before people told us in advanced, that coming to South or Central America or the Caribbean with a South African flag would ask for problems. That was one of the reasons why we registered Elitsha in Germany. But we always say that we are from Cape Town, we don’t hide that and up to now we had no bad experiences. People are impressed that we come from that far to visit their small country and want to know if we like it. They loved the fact that we speak Dutch, because Dutch is still the first language in Suriname. Anyway, after chatting to the fishermen, we tied everything nicely, slept a short night and left New Amsterdam and Suriname at 6 am on the 25th of May.

Aware of the thread of Venezuelan pirates (Surinamers and NOON site (cruiser website) informed us about it), we sailed at a safe distance from the coast. Even though we choose to pass trough the Galleon’s passage between Trinidad and Tobago, but we choose to pass it close to the Tobago side,  away of the Venezuelan coast. On our way we saw a fair number of oil platforms, huge ones, with huge flames, we could see from far. This was also a bit spooky. We had 35 to 40 knots of wind and a good speed to leave the oil area and the Galleon’s passage behind us. I think, pirates do not like rain. We had tons of rain and no pirates though……..although: Dick told me later, that 40 miles out of both coasts, the Grenadian and the Tobagonian, a fast open boat with 3 men in it sped past us. We think they were checking us out, how rich we are. The stretch between Tobago and Grenada apparently is also declared as an unsafe area. That is what we heard later when we arrived in Grenada. Our neigor, Steve, always has a gun with him. Happily, with enough wind and a strong currant we passed Tobago at 4:30 in the morning and arrived safely in Grenada at 17:00 on the 28th of May.

Close to the harbour at the quarantine anchorage we spoke to our South African friends of the Aventura, a young couple with 2 dogs and his parents on their way to emigrate to Panama. We saw them in every harbour we visited up to now. They left Suriname a few days earlier then we did. They craved for blue water and thought jaguar, caiman and anaconda would perhaps love their dogs too much. In any way, nice to see them again. They explained the Grenadian procedures to us and on Saturday we went ashore to register with the health department. We inhaled the positive and relaxed Grenadian vibe immediately: steel drum music from the taverns, people on the streets, Corona is almost dealt with.

And in the meantime, 1 week in St George, we are declared negative and are allowed to explore the island. Paul, a registered tour guide grabbed his chance. Slandering around the harbour he almost forced us to have a tour with him.  The cruise ships are missed by restaurants, tour guides…not by us. Paul told us, that they on “good” days had 6000 tourists from cruise ships ashore. Dick and I were quite happy to escape these “good“ days. Pity for Paul, that’s why we went with him on a long trip through St. George at noon and let him earn some ECDs.  Hot and up and down, I was exhausted at the end. We didn’t walk much for the last 2 months at least..

Grenada is the spice island: nutmeg, gloves, cinnamon, and other spices grow here. They have a golden waterfall and many more attractions. We will explore them all and share with you. For now, we experienced the spicy side of the island by drinking shandies with nutmeg, eating ice cream with nutmeg and gloves and some other weird things you would think its really ugg, but in reality it’s absolutely amazing.

We are registered for Astra Zeneca vaccination and yes, we are in a marina with a nice club house and WIFI and not on anchorage or at a mooring buoy. For the first time in almost 3 months, I am able to go and stay where I want on my own. For somebody like me, who likes her independence, its heaven. Opposite of our little paradise, there is another marina, posh and expensive and not really our style. Elitsha, would feel a bit lonely between all the posh-million dollar-yachts. I don’t know, if I mentioned before, that a lot of other cruisers, have fancy and well-equipped boats with freezers, bread baking automates, washing machine, water cooker……. you name it. Our only luxury is a fridge, a BBQ and a good stove with oven, cosy and exactly what we need no more and no less. Anyway, Elitsha got a good clean-up. Sticky, a local guy, Dick and I made her looking pretty again. The water of the Suriname river was dirty through mud and chemicals, they use for the gold extraction industry, we learned. And this was very difficult to get off the hull-0987654Qasdfuiop[.

My home office is in the marina’s clubhouse, with more than brilliant views!          Unfortunately, UBUNTU for Africa’s operations manager, who took over financials and admin of the NGO from me, resigned a few days ago. That’s why I am back on the job and working every day for an hour or 3. Alene Edson Smith, local social worker, who was already involved in the family program and took over my job at Kronendal Primary, is doing the hands-on jobs, where you have to be involved personally onsite, like team meetings, meetings with principals etc. For now, we won’t have stretches which will take more than 3 days and we have internet and WIFI. No problem to work though. I love my work as much as I love cruising. To combine both is absolutely great.

For the rest the NGO is in good hands, with our after-care team, Barbara Heye, who is mentor to a single mother with 3 kids. And as I mentioned before Alene Edson Smith, well known in the valley through her involvement through her own NGO, Serenity, took over the reins at Kronendal Primary from me and is mentor to 5 families in our NGO. We share the lead of UBUNTU for Africa. What I can do, I will do, where personal presence is needed, Alene will be hands on. She will lead the sound and music studio, which will release their first CD soon. Lelo managed to get 2 new volunteers into this project, for marimba and music production. Ricardo will remain taking the lead on Silikamva side and Alene will have a firm look and hand on the project.

After care is just running. Andiswa and her team also get support from Alene. But this team of 5 is just doing what they can do best: love our children and supervise, support, teach them and make sure that they are safe.  

 Questions for the kids:

1.       How many kilometres did we sail from Cape Town to Grenada?

2.       Which language do the people speak in Suriname?

3.       What kind of currency do we used in Suriname and which one in         Grenada?

4.       Please explain, what the modern pirates of the Caribbean are up to.

5.       What is the name of the small entrance to the Caribbean between Trinidad and Tobago?

 Sponsor sail:

For the ones who want to take part in our sponsor sail: We have sailed 1812 nautical miles. You can donate a cent, a Rand, a Euro or whatever per nautical mile. We are sailing for these amazing schools: every nautical mile and each Rand counts. To UBUNTU for Africa,German  NGO.                                                                                                                                                                   

The money will go to the UBUNTU for Africa projects: after care at Hout Bay Primary School and the music project at Silikamva High School. This organisation I started 12 years ago (www.ubuntuforafrica.com) Of course, you will receive a tax certificate. 

Ubuntu for Africa-Kinder-, Jugend und Familienhilfe in Südafrika                         

Volksbank Boenen e G                                                                                           

IBAN: DE91 4106 2215 0054 5799 01                                                                  

For South Africans and others, who want to donate directly to South Africa (also with tax certificate): please donate to Kronendal Primary School (www.kronendalprimary.com). I worked for 10 years at Kronendal Primary as a school counsellor. This school struggles financially due to the consequences of the Covid Pandemic and deserves our support.                                                   

KRONENDAL PRIMARY SCHOOL trading as CUIM (“the account holder”) holds the following account with                                                                                       

First National Bank, a division of FirstRand Bank Limited (“FNB”): Account Type BUSINESS ACCOUNT

Account Number 53452884035                                           

Branch Code 204009                                                                                         

Branch Name HOUT BAY 345                                                                               

Swift Code FIRNZAJJ                                                                            

[tnbc-thoughtsandheadcanons]

So, now that hundredacrekingdom's Sally comic is done, could you give your complete thoughts on it?

I’m honored you want to hear my thoughts on the comic, anon! I’ll be happy to share them, as I think this work greatly deserves the attention and talk; it’s such a wonderful addition in the fandom that I think everyone should be talking about it!

Here’s the comic in question: @hundredacrekingdom‘s Sally Ragdoll TNBC Comic!

I’m a very big fan of the art, to start off. I love the designs. It’s a fresh take on Sally, and I love that her proportions and height are greatly considered with the backgrounds/characters. The style is great, and everything is so clean! I’ve taken a look at some of the author’s other works, and I adore their art style! Highly recommend checking out their other comics!

As for the story and characters….

The story - When I started reblogging them, I mentioned the comic being ‘different but a GOOD kind of different’. What I meant by that was, it was a very new take on what would happen “after” the movie. I honestly don’t think I’ve ever seen an author show Jewel leaving Dr. Finklestein before. But I was surprised to see where her development took off, and why she exactly did leave the Doctor. To keep him in his same stubborn state makes sense when I think about it. This story doesn’t give him closure, however, and he’s shown to be stuck in the same cycle with his creations, and Sally rightfully telling him so.

It was a very neat take on him, however! I’m used to seeing other stories show Jewel sticking around to teach him how to be more sensible, but I’m glad she’s living her best life where she is now. I hope someday down the line, Fink will learn better.

As for Sally and Lock, Shock, and Barrel - that’s not a portrayal I see often in the fandom, but it’s a blessed one! I’m glad she showed some concern in their lives and even helped them out. Even though Jack takes them in at the end, I hope this means Sally will be returning soon and treat them as her own. I’m glad the trio found a family in the end, and Jack seems to do a great job with them from what we see. As I said, a very blessed portrayal there!!

Reading Sally’s journey where she finds somewhere comfortable and happy for herself was a read I didn’t think I needed before. While it took some serious reflection, change, and ache on her part - she found her place, her purpose, and her happiness with coming into the human world where she could express her self. It’s unfortunate Halloween Town wasn’t the place for her at the time, but her journey was a great experience to read through. I’m sure I’ll be reading it again!!

(Another note - I ADORE the world exploration in this comic! To imagine a village outside of the Holiday Towns/Worlds and that they travel to the humans through water….it’s a gorgeous design to see, and I love the thought put into it! Nightmare has such an interesting world and there are many ways you could explore it - the comic does a wonderful job doing that!)

The Characters - Since Sally is the focus of the comic, there’s a lot to her. I found myself wondering exactly why she was so discontented in Halloween Town. She’s definitely grown in confidence and goes through some self-reflection…I can’t say it’s my favorite portrayal of her out there, but it is well thought-out, executed, and she goes through great development! She’s certainly not shy or outspoken anymore - which is always a new way to look at her character.

There wasn’t quite much to Jack in the comic. He doesn’t seem to listen to Sally for the right things or offer the right advice…in the end, he didn’t even get to say GOODBYE because he forgets where he even MET Sally(which, I could forgive, cause it was probably a long time ago and didn’t stick in his memory like it would with hers). It’s nice to hear that he’ll be patient waiting for Sally’s return, and is more than happy for her with where she went and what she did. But since he’s not the focus, there’s not a lot to him - which isn’t necessarily a bad thing!

I also admire the Tim Burton/Henry Selick character references in the comic - I noticed Coraline and Lydia Deetz had a small appearance, even the ‘Handbook for the Recently Deceased’, as well as Corpse Bride characters. Always fun Easter eggs to find!

Conclusion: It’s always great to find stories focusing on Sally for once, because she rarely gets the time for development in the games and whatnot. This comic did a FANTASTIC job giving a new insight to her character. While I may not like some certain aspects of it for the way I personally view the characters, I greatly appreciated reading the new perspective on them and seeing these characters happy with changing and moving on.

@hundredacrekingdom, I share these thoughts of love and admiration for your project, and I want to thank you for spending time on making and sharing this with the fandom! I loved the comic! To anyone who hasn’t read it - I HIGHLY recommend giving it a look now that it’s finished!

If anyone else would like to share their thoughts on the comic, feel free to in a reblog!

[dat-town]

CODE Z3RO | CODE 09

characters: BTS & Red Velvet genre: thriller, futuristic au warning: death summary: The twelve most ambitious and promising university students are welcomed in Choego, the world’s first entirely artificial intelligence-driven city, to compete for five job contracts that could change their life. But what if something goes wrong? What if they get trapped? What if the city suddenly turns against them? Can they find a way out before the countdown reaches zero? words: 4.5k tagged: @philosopher-of-fandoms​

➼ Chapter Index

After Yerim’s cries died down, the silence was deafening. Climbing down the ladder one by one to the dimly lit sewerage system felt like descending to the deepest pits of Hell. Hoseok's horrified expression burnt itself into each of their minds haunting their thoughts as the artificial light shimmered around them. It didn’t take long and total darkness welcomed them as the lights above went out. They had no choice but to hold back their breaths in the awfully stinking odour coming from the pipes and the sewage disposal area under them. But nobody whined because they knew they had no other choice but to follow this route. They couldn't go back nor sit around waiting for help to come. Their only chance for survival was going forward.

When Yoongi's feet reached something concrete with his next step, he let go off the ladder tentatively, not knowing what to expect in the dark. Tapping the ground under his feet, the metal's clanking sound echoed around them.

"The ladder’s end is here. Come down carefully," he spoke up voice firm even though he was panting hard only a few minutes prior. His asthma decided to act up at the worst time possible, so he was thankful to the group for not leaving him behind in such a state. He felt sorry for Hoseok who hadn’t had any help and it had brought his end. But he felt even worse for the loved ones of the fallen fellows, for their parents, friends and lovers. They had no chance to know they were waiting for them to return home in vain.

And if they all died who would tell them the truth about this killing city?

It made him rethink his choices and decisions, edging him to apologize to his mother whom he treated unjust just because she didn’t support his choice of major. Ever since he had said no to becoming the family’s third-generation lawyer, their relationship had gotten worse. It seemed like they weren’t able to understand each other’s point of view. His mother had even called this Smart City Project a waste of time and looking back, she might have been right. He shouldn’t have turned his back on her without any word of goodbye. If he ended up dying in this hell on Earth, he knew he would regret his childish impulsiveness. But oh, youth always thinks death cannot reach it.

Yoongi narrowed his eyes trying to make out what was around him down there somewhere half-between the ground and the trap door. He heard water running and some machines working from under but other than that he only heard the noise of others' climbing. He reached for the wall searching for a switch to light up the space around them again but he found none. It probably used automatic sensors but they seemingly didn’t work. So it took awhile but when his eyes got somewhat used to the dark, he saw fences on two sides on the metal bridge they were standing on and he spotted a red flashlight on the other end of it quite far away.

"What is that noise?" Namjoon asked once he set his foot on the metal too right after his girlfriend. Soon they all gathered there, still shaken and uncertain because of the darkness fallen upon them. They could only see silhouettes, so telling each other apart was easier by the voices.

"I think the sewage water is getting cleaned under us. I read in one of the marketing documents we got that the used water is recycled for watering the plants but it needs to be filtered and thoroughly cleaned before adding it to the hose pipes. I think it's the sound of the extruding machine," Jungkook enlightened them as he accompanied Yerim to the fence and helped her wrap her fingers around the metal to make sure she kept herself steady.

"And why is it so hot and humid? It won't explode, right?" Wendy chirped in, worry evident in her usually confident voice. After elevators broke down and doors got shut without warning, they couldn’t be sure of anything.

"They boil and cool it too before reuse, so I think it's that," the young engineer answered and Yoongi was glad at least someone had thoroughly read the materials they had gotten. It came handy now because he liked to know what kind of problem he was facing before starting a fight.

"So it means, be extra careful! I will go forward first on the bridge but make sure to get a grip on the fence," Yoongi gave the orders and this time even the limping Taehyung had nothing to say.

The IT guy strictly followed the red light ahead which seemed to be the sign of a door to another room. Behind him he heard some unsure steps following him and Yerim's faint voice asking for water. He guessed that with her, Wendy and her boyfriend also lagged off because the noises sounded from farther away as he got closer to the light. It was hard to tell how much time passed, it could have been minutes or hours for all he knew but they walked for quite a while and the little group split into smaller groups. Only one person could keep up with him who led the row and Seulgi's quiet, shallow breathing gave his heart a rest. At least he knew he wasn't alone when he reached for the door handle.

It was Joohyun followed by the slow-paced Taehyung who closed the line, hand sweaty as she wrapped it around the cold fence. It was nerve-wracking, barely been able to see anything, much less their teammates ahead of them. Once or twice she even though they lost them when the faint echo of steps were suppressed by the sound of sewage water running below. The alarming silence over the noise and the lack of human contact, even just hearing or seeing them, also ticked her nervousness off. Maybe that’s why she slacked back staying with Taehyung whose steps were remarkably loud due to his injury. Sticking to him meant she knew that at least someone was close by and oh, she wanted nothing less than to stay alone.

Taehyung pulled one of his legs but he refused any further help. It must have been because of his pride or competitiveness. He didn't want to seem weak. As someone who studied psychology over the years it wasn't hard for Joohyun to guess why. He was distrustful towards anyone since he probably never received love so unconditional to make up for the loss he encountered.

"How is your ankle?" she spoke up not letting the silence stretched too far between them.

"What? Suddenly you care?" Taehyung rasped out, voice full of spite. Was it how he reacted to every question that was intended to be kind? With full of suspicion? Joohyun just wanted to be nice but now she wasn’t so sure anymore. 

She gritted her teeth, not letting the hurt be heard in her tone as she answered. 

"If you're being a deadweight and hold us back, there was no point in saving you over Hoseok," she remarked just as dryly even though her throat closed up speaking so harshly about the dead boy like he was nothing else than an asset to choose. It would have been a lie to say she had liked Hoseok even just a bit, he had been too whiny and he’d had not much use but he had been a human being and nobody deserved to die such a cruel death. No one, not even Taehyung despite his impossible personality.

"I never told you to save me or to wait for me. I can make my way out of here alone. I don't need any of you idiots," he scoffed, all too mighty if you asked Joohyun. 

"Keep telling yourself that," she rolled her eyes but in the dark it couldn’t have been seen.

She wasn't too keen on boosting the Marketing guy's ego though he really did seem like the type who would have survived all kinds of obstacles and could have even lived on the surface of ice just fine. But it wasn't a game made to be played alone.

"Anyways, you owe me. Don't forget that," she reminded him firmly.

She liked fairness and believed the universe always found its balance. So she knew she might get punished one day for leaving Sooyoung alone in the dorms like that but back then she had no idea what her actions meant. But knowing the consequences, would she have acted differently? Would she now? And what would it tell about her? She knew very well that emergency situations brought out people's inner selves. The way they behaved when something life-threatening happened made all the difference between the selfish and the selfless ones. But she also knew that her unsaid alliance with Taehyung could make or break whether she survived, so she intended to make the most out of it. Did it mean she was self-absorbed, only caring about herself? Or rather that she knew her way in this harsh, cruel world?

“Whatever,” Taehyung scoffed with a low grunt as they continued walking forward in silence. The boy's panting became louder as they kept going, the long tunnel seeming never-ending after the first dozens of steps. So it happened between one frivolous moment and another, it might have been Joohyun's carelessness or just a bit of misfortune, but in the end it didn’t matter, the result was all the same: she lost her balance and fell.

She could tell that the metal was slippery under her slippers but it was too late by the time she realized the consequence of her misstep. She slipped on the water – that probably Yerim had poured out accidently with her shaking hands when she had drunk – and it would have been fine if they weren’t walking on a bridge over nothing. As her bottom landed on the cold hard ground she automatically tried to find her balance again by placing her hands down. But one of those found nothing and ended into the emptiness. She misplaced the edge of the bridge in her mind and it seemed to become a deadly mistake on her part. As her hand found no concrete there the force of momentum tilted her body towards the void. As she fell she barely had time to blindly grab on the metal pole of the fence. Gasping, she clutched onto it with sweaty hands, forehead fitting close to the material of the bridge while her legs dangled in the air.

"What the fuck was that?" Taehyung, who only heard the fall, questioned as his steps halted. The darkness brought paranoia out of even him. 

"I'm down here, Taehyung, help me up," Joohyun forced her mouth to form the words even though she felt like she was wasting her precious energy needed to hold herself even by just breathing too loudly.

"Oh so you need that favour back already?" he mocked her way of asking for help as he knelt down towards the source of her panicked voice. His knees hit the metal hard, hand following the handrail.

How could she be so stupid to let go, he must have thought but Joohyun knew very well that in the moment of danger most people didn't act rationally, they let their instincts take over just how she wanted to lessen the impact of the fall by putting her hands down. The possibility of the bridge's edges being all too close didn't even occur to her in that moment. The same as she didn't even care about her pride now when it was a matter of life and death.

"Don't be an asshole and pull me up," she growled at the boy who didn't seem to understand the severity of the situation. It wasn't him who hung over an unknown depth after all and it wasn't his hands that kept slipping from the metal that even scarred her palm.

"What's the magic word?" he hummed all too calm and Joohyun swore she would punch him in the nose once she was safe. How did he dare to play with her life as if she was nothing more than a puppet on strings?

But maybe for him that's all she was. 

"Please… please," she panted, eyes brimming with unshed tears.

She really didn’t think she could hold on for much longer. Though according to her studies her body should have kept on until her last breath because during a crisis like this the human body and mind was capable of things otherwise it wouldn't have thought possible. The saying about holding on with tooth and nails really made sense now. She never wanted to live more than in that moment.

"Alright," Taehyung sighed heavily as if it was such a generous decision of him and he reached down with his free hand.

As his fingertips grazed Joohyun's shoulder she grabbed onto him with one hand. Once she was sure he held her firmly enough she let go off the metal pole in order to push herself upwards on the bridge. However, the boy wasn't too much of a help. He didn't made any effort to lift her, pulling her into safety, he just held her and let her struggle.

"You know, you were so close to the top 5," he remarked in a scornful tone which confused the girl for a moment, just one before she put the puzzle pieces together. But by then it was already too late and she felt herself fall into the abyss.

Her scream got cut off as she disappeared in the hot sewage water waiting to be processed. Yet the betrayal hurt more than the burn against her smooth skin. It hurt even more because despite what she had been taught about human behaviour during her academic career, despite all the signs she should have noticed, she made the stupid mistake of trusting and laying her life in the hands of the wrong man.

"Did you hear it?" Frightened, Yerim whipped her head backwards and clenched onto the fence even firmer.

"It sounded like a scream," Namjoon whispered but his premonition didn't receive objection nor agreement. They continued their walk towards the door that was now opened thanks to the ones at the front. Through the gap between the frame and the door it shed suspicious red light over the bridge, painting the shadows of the duo standing by the threshold onto the dark metal. Their figures appeared side by side but while the boy tried relentlessly to figure out why the bracelets stopped working, the girl just stood there, almost unmoving.

Kang Seulgi had always been an odd girl. Quiet and smart. She had been often picked on by her former classmates and since she’d had a hard time making friends, there had been nobody to protect her from the bullies. No matter how uncomfortable a task was, saying no wasn't her cup of tea. She liked to follow what she was told because the route taken like this was deemed safe in her eyes. But in Choego only she seemed to know where to go in order to stay alive. If only she dared to speak up. But wouldn't it be too late by now? Wouldn't the deaths of those who were left behind be blamed on her? The burn on her hand was already enough of a reminder about her mistakes. Under the red light it was even angrier burgundy and she hissed as she touched the wound drawing Yoongi's attention to it. Feeling the burn of the guy's gaze on her skin, it prickled and she gulped, remembering the way he looked at her when the fire alarm went off.

"You should put some cream on it before it gets infected," Yoongi advised quietly and the girl's head snapped towards him. Her long brown hair fell into her eyes, covering her sight.

"I don't have any on me," she whispered not daring to meet his eyes. It was useless to pretend dumb and ask what he meant by it, it was obvious he had it already figured out. Just how he should have known that they weren't in the position to run to pharmacies with every little injury. They had just left the hospital which was probably their last chance to get medicine of any kind. But she was okay with the burn mark, it wasn't the first time it happened anyway, she was used to scars, be it physical or mental.

Yoongi hummed at her answer since he couldn't offer any other kind of remedy either. He turned his head, looking into the distance, narrowing his eyes to make out the silhouettes of the groups of four and two following them. Seulgi looked the same way, hoping they would arrive soon, so they could get going, out of this dark and inauspicious place but they were still quite far. Probably because of the scared Yerim and the limping Taehyung.

Seulgi thought they would wait for them in silence, letting it cover them like a warm blanket on wintery days but Yoongi didn't turn back to his bracelet and his computer. He kept his eyes on the abyss but his words were directed at her without a doubt.

"You caused the fire drill, didn't you?" he asked but it didn't seem like he needed an answer. He was confident enough but his voice was just slightly stern. it didn't feel like he was calling her out on it or that he blamed her for any misfortune it might brought. He sounded almost understanding as he added: "You're a smoker."

"I–" Seulgi's already faint voice broke off as she tried to find an excuse. Gosh, this is just what she wanted to avoid, being questioned about her bad habit. She just didn't think it would be by the IT guy.

Taking notice of her self-conscious silence, he looked at her, searching for her eyes under the ominous lights and for the first time since she set her foot into this chaotic place, Seulgi truly felt like she wasn't alone.

"It's okay, I know the signs," Yoongi probably intended to reassure her this way, implying that he only figured it out due to his knowledge but Seulgi couldn't help but wonder what kind of sign it was. Was it the smell of smoke, the burn itself or perhaps the twitch of her fingers when she didn't get nicotine for too long? And how could he know? Was he also one of those who reached for this kind of drug to forget about their problems?

As if he heard her internal question, lowering his head he answered it without pushing her limits.

"My dad was smoking too," he said, tone changing too abruptly to end the sentence properly.

Until lung cancer took him away, the unsaid confession hung between them like a string waiting to be cut off by the Moiras.

Seulgi didn't know what to say to that, so she did what she did best: she stayed silent, words not reaching the tip of her tongue, not even when the steps were getting louder and the arrivals asked whether it was just the two of them.

"Finally! I thought we would never make it here. What's over there?" Namjoon grunted as he peeked over the threshold into the red room. It was lack of any helpful device but it had four doors with different numbers written on them on small metal tags. It meant nothing for most of them, just a random combination of five digits of numbers and characters.

"Nothing really. We should wait for the others and decide which way to go. I don't want to hear Taehyung whine because he didn't get the chance to butt in the decision," Yoongi remarked bitterly and the snort coming from the younger engineer guy signalled that he wasn't the only one whose nerves had enough of the Marketing guy's quirks.

"Do we have to stay in the dark for long?" Yerim spoke up with voice trembling like ravaged leaves falling during windy autumn months. Poor her, it hadn't been long since she lost her brother and now she was forced underground with an obvious fear of dark. However, she held on, she didn't give up or hold them back and Seulgi respected the young girl for her strength.

"I hope not. These passages branch throughout the island like a web of spiders, so I bet there are multiple ins and outs," Namjoon stated, although he was also confused because of the long journey they had to take without seeing any exit. What kind of architectural decision was it by the founders? But sooner or later they should have found a drain grate above them, leading to the surface... right?

"Can anyone tell how much time we have till the next zone shuts done?" Jungkook asked looking around as his own digital devices acted up with no wifi around. His question was reasonable since none of them wanted to walk into a trap.

"It's a few minutes past midday," Wendy checked the analog watch she wore on her wrist. "Gosh, time really flew by. How many zones can still be active?" She wondered aloud because it was around ten when they got into the hospital at the cost of the countdown's accelerating.

Being good at Maths, it didn't take too much for Seulgi to calculate the correct answer. From midnight to ten in the morning ten zones shut down, Two hours passed since which meant four more down at the current speed. But the number of the active ones didn't matter as long as they were within the safe border of these.

"There must be a pattern in the order they close off," Jungkook claimed and the quiet girl were surprised how talkative he became suddenly. Maybe it was Yerim's presence, that he had to constantly murmur comforting words to her.

"If I were the researchers I would have left a path leading to the main computer last, so if we head that way we should be okay," Yoongi added to their discussion and humming, everybody agreed with his reasoning. However, it didn't help their case too much without the knowledge of the exact arrangement of the city.

"Sure, but how we know where that is?" came the logical question from the tall boy beside him but Yoongi wasn't taken aback by it.

"We don't know. But she does," he pointed at Seulgi. Dumbfounded, the girl could only blink, not understanding what he meant.

"What?"

Yoongi tilted his head, watching her from under his dark lashes. There was a challenge in his voice and fire in his eyes as if he told her to step up for herself, to show them she wasn't just a gray little mouse following the horde.

"You said before we were safe. How did you know that?" he asked and oh, it all made more sense now. She didn't think anyone heard her.

"Fucking finally! I thought I was going crazy," an angry voice snapped closeby and everybody turned towards the lilac haired guy catching up to them.

However, he was alone no matter how hard they tried to gawk behind him in the dark. It stirred up uneasiness in their insides.

"Taehyung, where is Joohyun?"

The fear was all too clear in the Med student's voice as she asked about the eldest girl. Her question however was followed by deep silence. It had cuts and claws, scratching their throats, hungry for their dread. The pause before Taehyung's answer was like the quiet before the storm, safe that it didn't bring rain and thunders but guilt and grief afterwards.

"I don't know how it happened. She was in front of me in one moment and then she fell down in the next. It all happened so fast. I could barely see anything," the guy said in an emotionless voice and for some reason it sent shivers down Seulgi's spine. Even if there was no dead corpse in front of their eyes, they all knew what it meant.

There was something very wrong about this place. With every passing moment she hated being here more and more. She hated that they couldn't let themselves mourn properly because they had to focus on their own survival. It felt like losing a part of their humanity.

"Let's get the fuck out of this zone before we all die here," Taehyung passed by them, rushing into the red room, only to stop a few meters before the four doors. He didn't know either which one would have been the wise to choose.

None of them knew, except for one.

"Seulgi..." Yoongi's deep but smooth voice reached said girl's ears and curiously she looked the boy in the eyes. She had no idea what to make of the hope he saw in those dark orbs. "You know where to go, right?" he asked, almost pleading and Seulgi was more than surprised. She was used to being invisible, going unnoticed by others. But how much did he notice about her?

Bashfully, she cleared her throat, not knowing what to do with all that attention on her.

"The numbers, there are all over the city... they are zip codes," she spoke up, voice a little rough and too quiet to be heard at all through the roaring of the water. "The first number is for the region, like one for Seoul postal codes. The second and third are the number of the districts... the zones here as we called them. So the route behind each door is probably follows the sewage system heading towards those districts."

Always searching for something wrong in everything, of course, Taehyung snorted.

"And how do you know that?"

"She's an architect, don't you remember?" Yoongi answered instead of her, shielding the girl with his body from the lilac haired guy's rage. He didn't seem to be in a good mood at all and the IT guy wasn't planning on letting him blow their chance now. Annoyed and angry at the world, the Marketing major didn't realise it wasn't him with the upperhand in this situation.

"Then can she tell us why the hell we had to walk kilometers in the dark?"

"We crossed the canal from beneath," Seulgi replied in a quiet voice staring straight ahead, gaze burning holes in the back of Yoongi's black shirt.

Astounded oh sounds filled the sphere and for once Taehyung had no more annoying questions either. Their non-appointed leader turned to the girl inquiring further.

"Which way should we go now?"

She pointed at the door with the label 522NN.

" I... I saw a map and the numbers are increasing in a spiral, the last one is twenty-four, it's between the twenty-third and twenty-second zone," she explained and for the first time in forever she experienced the impact of her own words as everybody moved forward to the 22th district of Choego.

[mysticsparklewings]

Something of a Story String

romping through rose rows the rouge holds roamers ransom re-writing their wrongs out yonder, they yawn yearning for youth yanked from them you yearn for them, too grave group, so it goes much greatness gone to the grass, a goodbye garden but the "byes" come back they blow in on brisk breezes blooming in balance ____ What's this? It's not Inktober yet, what are the mini-magnets doing out and about?   Over on deviantArt, I was encouraged by AlinaLeeArts to enter the String Me a Haiku Contest! hosted by HaikuWriMo, and while I have only basic knowledge and understanding of Haikus, I've been really wanting to play with the mini-magnets lately after reorganizing them into some new tins, and it sounded like fun. (And like a good way to fill out my upload schedule since the bigger projects I'm working on still aren't quite finished yet. ) So I decided I'd take a stab at, or at least see if I could come up with a concept I was happy with and take it from there. The contest rules state that an entry has to be made up of a string of at least four haikus, a Haiku for the uninformed being, according to Google, "a Japanese poem of seventeen syllables, in three lines of five, seven, and five, traditionally evoking images of the natural world." And that the haikus should use heavy alliteration, which also for the uninformed is, "the occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words." This would pose a unique challenge for me because, as I said, I'm not very familiar with writing Haikus. I've read plenty of them, sure, and I think I had to write one at least once or twice back in K-12 school for English class or something, but other than that, if I've ever constructed one, it's been completely by accident. That said, I used two different syllable counters to check each of these before I ever arranged the magnets, so hopefully, they do indeed follow the 5-7-5 pattern properly, if nothing else! Alliteration is also not something I intentionally use super often, and that combined with the limited syllables and structure I think makes for a unique challenge even for someone more familiar with the haiku form. Something I learned very quickly while trying to do this: Every syllable counts, you don't want to waste a single one! Before I could get to actually writing the haikus, though, me being me, I needed a concept/theme to work off of. How would I pick letters to alliterate? What would the haikus be about? Since I want to use the mini-magnets (as is more or less my standard for short-form poetry) what should the background(s) look like? Will all four tell a continuous story or four short stories that go together? I have to have at least four haikus, but am I just going to do four, or will I maybe do a few more than that? I decided the easy way to break it down would be to have each haiku dedicated to a specific letter for alliteration, then make a poem based off of whatever I could come up with within that letter alliteration, as I worked I could go back and forth between the separate haikus to develop more of a story, and then once they were done or mostly done, I could decide on what I would do for the background(s) based on the poems themselves. This process did change a little bit, as I started off using a haiku generator to help me get more in a haiku-writing mindset. I did through that pick up one line, "seeing a balance," that obviously got translated a bit differently into the final version ("blooming in balance"), but other than that I really was still largely on my own. I'd toyed with a few other concepts, but none of them felt right or were really sticking with me. Then I got the idea to pick each letter for the haikus based on an acronym; a well-known combination of letters. That would also potentially give me a theme to work off of.   Initially, I thought of ROYGBIV, the acronym for the basic seven colors of the rainbow. And I actually started working on trying to make my haikus based on that, but the letter "O" stopped me pretty short because once I had the letters, my idea was to do word-association like I normally do for the Inktober prompts; I'd list out some potential words to use that I felt somehow connected with the color and started with the same letter as the color. Frankly, there just aren't a lot of letter-O words that I could also connect back to the color, and the few I did come up with just didn't seem like they had a super compelling story hidden within them. But I did really like the idea of the colors because that gave me a good launching point for the backgrounds; I could just use the same color the haiku was based on within the background for it. It sounded like fun, even. So I didn't want to just totally ditch it. After giving it some thought, I figured the best thing to do would be to try using the four main colors everybody knows: Red, Yellow, Green, and Blue. If I still couldn't come up with my haikus based on those four letters, then it was time to pick a new acronym. Fortunately, even though I had my concerns about the Y in particular, I had a much easier time after that. (I mean, I already had most of the one for "Red," from the ROYGBIV stage, but still.) It's funny though, I thought "Blue" was going to be the easiest, based on my knowledge of "B" words, but that one was actually the one I ended up tweaking and re-writing the most. Probably because it was also the last one I did, and I had started to develop a vague story about yearning for life and visiting a grave in a cemetery, so I had to work within that theme. Though, that said, I think "Green" is actually the weakest of the four, as far as impact goes, despite it being the one that kinda hammers home the life/death theme the most. It was the most difficult one to balance my syllables appropriately because of the words I really wanted to use.   Obviously, this "story" developed as I worked, so it's a bit more on the abstract side, but this is how I see what these four haikus say together; They're talking about someone, probably a young someone (I picked a girl for the background, but the poems could go either way), walking through a field of flowers and stumbling upon a nursing home, maybe with a couple of residents on the porch, and a cemetery nearby. Maybe connected to the home, maybe not. And the young someone stops and reflects on life, and how even once someone passes away, oftentimes we can be reminded of them, or almost feel as if they're still here, in the small things and little fleeting moments here there, like the petals of a flower or the whispers of a seasonal breeze in the air. They come back in those small ways, completing the circle of life, that essential balance of the universe. Of course, that's just one way to interpret it, and even then there are still small details that could be changed while still keeping the sentiment the same. Personally, that's one of the things I enjoy the most about poetry and the mini magnets--you don't always know what you're going to end up saying until someone else reads it and tells you what it says to them. As for those backgrounds, they're all fairly simple watercolor paintings. Once I had the poems and this vague idea of a story, it was fairly easy to come up with a background concept for each one to make them a little more interesting. Normally, I'd use sponged-ink backgrounds during Inktober, but I've been toying with the watercolor idea in the back of mind and this seemed like a good time to experiment since I was already pushing the envelope in various other ways. You can see pretty much exactly what I had in mind for each one, though I will clarify the green one is supposed to be a tombstone in the grass since it's the only one that I think might not be super clear right away. It could just as easily be a rock.   For each of them, my process was very simple; I just picked 1-3 shades to make a gradient from the appropriate color, alternating each one slightly depending on what I wanted for the sky, and then I added the grass and silhouettes on top using a combination of watercolor and black pen. And then the very last one, "blue," got the added moon, stars, and some fireflies using gel pens (and a little bit of pastel for glow). It was the most complex, but "yellow," was actually the trickiest because I have not yet mastered the ability to free-hand a human silhouette. I had to sketch it out separately and then use my lightbox to transfer the outline and fill it in. And, funnily enough, the backgrounds you see here were actually meant to be smaller test-runs before making bigger ones and actually physically setting the mini-magnets on them to photograph. But I was so happy with how these small test ones turned out, I honestly didn't feel like I needed to make the bigger ones. So I pivoted a bit; I formed each mini-magnet poem on a plain blue piece of paper (a "blue screen" if you will to make it easier to separate the words) and photographed them, then used Photoshop to get each haiku onto its respective background. This ended up working to my advantage, as I could just focus on arranging the words to make the words properly and not working around the paintings underneath, and then once I had everything in photoshop I could move things around as necessary much more easily. I'm not super sure about the haiku part, but I'm really pleased with how the overall result looks, and especially happy with 3 out of the four backgrounds.  So much so, I will be posted a wordless version of just the backgrounds to go along with this one for your viewing pleasure! fav.me/ddrqj28 I don't think I'll be placing in the contest (I could be wrong, but I'm aware I'm a little out-of-my-element here ), but I enjoyed the process and the end result, so it was still worth it in my eyes. It was really nice to have the mini-magnets out and put them to use again, especially since I've been having a craving to do so lately. And having them all freshly re-organized made using them all the more enjoyable. Though I'm still not quite sure in what form it'll be, I am very much thinking of doing more non-Inktober stuff like this with the mini-magnets going forward. I have so many of them and I enjoy using them, even when it's a daily challenge and running me a bit ragged.  You might say I'm a bit of an addict. ____ Artwork © me, MysticSparkleWings ____ Where to find me & my artwork: My Website | Commission Info + Prices | Ko-Fi | dA Print Shop | RedBubble |   Twitter | Tumblr | Instagram

[folerdetdufoler]

saturday morning was cloudy. the whole day was cloudy, but to start, i woke up to a sunrise that didn’t exist. so i ate breakfast and went back to sleep (if i had to define what a vacation was, it would have to include that activity: going back to sleep). then i went to meet nadège, jenn, and haidee at their flat.

i’ve always stayed in a hotel when i’ve visited, specifically the hotel. part of it is because i know how the hotel works, and i heavily weight the value of the familiar. it also was part of the rewards program with sas. it isn’t anymore, and i think they’re going to be doing construction next year, so i’m starting to consider different options for stays for my next trip. i’ll probably stick to a hotel because i heavily weight the existence of room service too, but now it doesn’t have to be the radisson blu. i’ve ridden that elevator enough times.

but uh, the point of this consideration is because they were staying in a really nice flat, which was like an extended stay suite but through airbnb. i was super anxious about using airbnb last summer because it was someone’s home, but this flat was not that, which was appealing to me. i would have to pack much less if i were to go the walk-up route though. um, so i met them there and we walked to get kabobs. jenn had to catch a flight that afternoon but she hadn’t gotten her kabob fix yet, so it was a necessary spot. we met jenni’s group there and then walked down to the river for a moment to eat and chat. nadège and i kept walking along the river since we weren’t eating, and we had a chance to talk through some of the stuff that was bothering me from the day before.

it was really helpful to have that chance, both to let me express myself as well as hear her perspective. most of the time, even though i’m constantly keeping up with people on my dashboard, i’m still very much in my own head about it all. i’m not using a soundboard, just letting my own opinion boil up until it causes problems, spilling negativity into other people’s lives. this has been happening more often, probably because i’m talking to fewer and fewer people as the fandom shrinks and i get more stubborn, so i really appreciated this chance to both be very much in the fandom (in oslo, with human beings) as well as take a step back from it. i still need to work on how i balance my sense of self that i get from the internet with how i express myself in person, and it seems like that just means i need to take a walk and talk to someone. like, every day.

anyway, that’s what we did, going down to the dick swan and back, visiting the barely-canon tree and syng. when we got back to the girls we figured out where we were going next, and we broke up for the afternoon.

a couple of days ago jasmine and silvia had mentioned the nrk studio tour as a thing to do, and i impulse bought (is there any other way?) a ticket for saturday. nadège and haidee were interested in going, so we decided to press our luck and head over to the office to see if we could squeeze two more people onto the tour (it was listed as sold out for saturday when they checked). taru gave us helpful tips for getting to the office but between my struggle with google maps and the front door, we were still too late. the guide was nice enough to come to the front and answer some questions though, so we just went back to the website and bought tickets for sunday instead.

by then the clouds were releasing a week’s worth of weather, and we were all the way out in marienlyst with a couple of hours to kill. so we went through our lists of things we wanted to see, if there were any sites left that hadn’t been toured even though we’ve all been to oslo a few times at this point. and there were! we were actually kind of close to the university campus where parts of “all stories are echoes” are set, so nadège wanted to find an important statue from the fic. she and haidee had read it, and while we walked to campus they did a recap for me, so i would understand the significance of the statue.

at that point it was raining heavily and we were lost but i didn’t really mind it because we were just walking and talking. there was a general goal that we were trying to achieve, but it felt very relaxed, and it was fun listening to all of the things that really excited them about the stories they read. after all this time i don’t think i ever did that, like really find out what attracted them to this fandom, so it was a fun and enlightening conversation. it also passed the time well, as we were walking through the campus and then trying to find a bus back to sentrum.

oh wait, not sentrum. next we looked up kjærlighetskarusellen, because that post about it from the header had recently circulated, and it was another canon detail that sort of defined these trips that we take. we come to oslo because we are fans of a show that is set here, and we love it so much that we seek out every little detail in appreciation. that love has grown to encompass the whole city, so we were looking for this show detail as well as monument to the city’s history and its relationship with homosexuality. we lingered outside of it for a bit, because there was a man actually using it as a urinal, and then we snapped our photos once the coast was clear. now i am no stranger to being creepy but that was probably a top five moment for me, taking a picture of a public urinal. i loudly talked about how it was a cultural heritage site as if that would convince random people passing by that i was truly interested in the city’s sanitation efforts instead of, like, men peeing. for the record i’m not particularly interested in either.

then we went back to the flat for a bathroom break, and on to eat waffles. oh boy! i was excited because i had never had one before. i was still shy in terms of trying one, and chose the nugatti topping instead of the jam & brown cheese classic (pictured is haidee’s waffle). mine was super sweet and...gummy? like the hazelnut paste and the soft waffle was just cement in my mouth, and i got a work out just trying to clean off my teeth with my tongue. but it was delicious. i’d probably eat one every day if i had daily access to haralds.

after our waffle we went to meet jasmine and silvia. we shared a pizza for a late lunch/early dinner, and then went back to the hotel so i could change out of my wet clothes. we recapped each other’s dramas and activities from earlier in the day, and talked about fandom and the internet and how people change, if they do. at this point we’ve known each other for at least a year, if not longer, and it’s interesting to see how we, and the rest of the fandom, have evolved as the show has faded into the distance.

some of the stuff we talked about got intense, or we got wrapped up in drama (what else is new), and we had to take a break by watching the bloopers. that was an instant mood lift, and fun to do with people in the same room. everything was a little bit funnier or cuter or sillier when i could hear everyone else laughing at the show too. someday i’d love to rent out a cinema theatre and project season three for a marathon viewing (with bathroom breaks) for a group of fans. maybe for a seven-year anniversary, when you could time it so it would play on a friday evening, and at exactly 21:21 in real time you’d watch isak walk across the courtyard at school to save the man of his dreams.

but back to saturday. it wasn’t raining, but we took the metro to the park next (baby’s first metro trip!). we were going to meet jenni, taru, and kati, and figure out a good place for jasmine and silvia to hang out outside to listen to karpe. we said our goodbyes at the gate and shifted to the other friend group. i think we were kind of early but there was already a decent crowd going in, and going right for the main stage. i don’t think we bothered with food or drink this time around, mostly because we’d just eaten and it was starting to drizzle, which meant everything would get wet anyway.

jenn mentioned a few times that it was a shame there wasn’t any festival merch to purchase while we were walking around, because we kept seeing all of the volunteers with their t-shirts and bags from previous years. it felt like a missed opportunity. i wondered if it was on purpose, to give more weight to the merch that the volunteers got, as a draw for them to sign up and return to work. limited merch would make that experience more special. but i was wrong, because after jenn had left we finally found out that there was a merch tent with apparel for sale; we just hadn’t found it. so before we joined the crowd for karpe we went up the hill and bought tote bags and socks. i’ll deliver jenn’s tote to her on friday, at the sigrid show. i’m mostly mentioning that here so i don’t forget. i was so excited to find socks because i’m getting used to wearing more funky options (mostly due to haidee’s lovely gifts!) but also because they were um, featured on the festival issue of natt & dag.

we moved closer to the stage, but it was actually the farthest we’d been from it the whole week, simply because the crowd was already packed in. while we waited ronny from nrk p3 walked past, and that was my only celebrity sighting at the whole festival. on thursday i thought i saw axel bøyum walk in front of me, but i’m not sure. it was fast, and i thought i noticed his sharply-angled face and deep eyes, but he was also wearing a hood so i didn’t have much else to compare. he was short though, which also made him stand out to me. anyway, that was the extent of my sightings: 1.5 people. there were others there, of course, because i saw their instagram posts, but i either wasn’t paying attention or wasn’t in the right places to see them. since i myself prefer not to be seen, i tend to treat everyone else the same (at least not on the internet), so i default to ignoring the people around me unless they acknowledge me first. i need your explicit consent before i let myself stare at you.

here’s a brief pause to note how sad i am about heimebane. aaaaaand moving on!

the karpe crowd was huge and...different. saturday had a different vibe in general because it was the weekend, and if someone was going to just pick one day to go to øya this would be that day. also it was raining, so there was this anticipatory buzz that was like, 80% for the show and 20% for getting dry again in a couple of hours. our group kind of slowly shifted and morphed as we were pushed closer to the stage and trying not to lose our footing on the sloped ground. but then the show started and the crowd exploded and you just had to fuckin’ roll with it.

i had to read up on the show afterward to understand some of what magdi and chirag were talking and singing about. despite talking about it with fryd months ago, i didn’t get into their new album like i’d wanted to. so i didn’t understand most of the message in the moment; i was just enjoying the beats and the intensity of everyone else. there was a group of younger guys in front of us who sang every damn word and it was just a really...fulfilling thing to witness? norway came out for norway, and the crowd was exactly what karpe deserved for the show they put on. the guys chatted with nadège and sang at me to get us hyped, and i still felt slightly removed from the crowd but that was okay. i enjoyed this outsider place. i didn’t have to understand or be part of it because it was big enough on its own. i could simply bask in the overflow and dance in the rain.

i knew one song from when i had it on repeat summer 2017, the result of following ashley’s obsession with karpe on tumblr. i also still connected it to skam, from when i was more passionately following the actors’ lives and seeing them go to their concert in oslo, which i think cengiz was also dancing for? these are very weak links but links nonetheless, and it still felt like i was ticking off boxes on my unwritten “experience skam” list. it’s also a testament to how far i’ll twist something to justify it, make it fit my personal narrative. i must still feel guilty about my trips to oslo.

(side note: i’ve been meaning to look this up but i am fascinated by their use of the sas brand in their album and shows, like...they are aggressively shaping the brand and i’m curious as to whether they have permission to do it or if they don’t need it or what level of control the brand has over its use. the relationship between a brand and an artist these days is fucking fascinating, and i’m sort of aware of the rules that we need in america but is it different in other countries? i’m already a fan of sas, in that it’s my airline for my trips to oslo, but would i have been influenced more toward or against it if i were approaching it from a karpe angle, if the duo were introducing me to it? anyway, just some mind wanderings there.)

at the end the crowd was lighting up their cups again. we were surrounded by different people than how we started and couldn’t find the ones we knew. we made the same walk away from the stage, bouncing along with the flow, until we got to the festival sign to catch up with everyone. we took a group pic and said goodnight, not entirely sure what the next day would bring but quite satisfied with the one that had just ended. it was funny how used to the exit walk i’d become, after just a few days, and i felt a little nostalgic about even that, as we did it for the last time. and even though we were all soaked and exhausted, i didn’t feel a particular rush to leave. but it was over. just like that. the volunteers were collecting cups from the crowd as we went, but i took mine home.

[emeraldwaves]

Title: A Dragon’s Magic Chapter 15 Pairing:  Kacchako Rating: M  Word Count:  5,052 Summary: Uraraka Ochako has always believed in dragons, though she was constantly told they were long since extinct. Now an adult and professional mage, she’s ready to help her parents as a healer for their village. The last thing she expects is for her beliefs to become a reality, but when a dragon attacks her village, she learns there’s more to magic than she ever could’ve realized. Read on AO3 Thanks to @its-love-u-asshole and @amaisenshi for reading this ahead of time.

"Here," Mirio smiled, handing the thick book to Ochako. "This details all you have to do to complete the ritual. It highlights the magic circle I drew."

Ochako took the book, clutching it to her chest. "Thank you, Mirio," she whispered. "Are you sure you want to give this to us?"

"Of course! We can't really use it anyway," he chuckled. "Tamaki is the only dragon here. You could actually do some good with it."

Ochako nodded, though she wondered how much good it would actually do. Dragons would have to leave the island and form bonds with humans before doing anything with this ritual, something she wasn't sure they were ready to do yet, especially with how quickly they seemed to be losing magic.

For now though, it was a start. Ochako was happy they wouldn't be coming back completely empty handed.

"Are you sure you don't want to come with us?" Ochako asked, lacing her fingers with Bakugou's. He looked grouchy, as per usual, and she knew he didn't want to dilly dally for much longer. He wasn't very sentimental, and Ochako was certain he didn't care about saying goodbye.

"Ah, no no," Mirio chuckled. "We have our show and we enjoy our peace and quiet."

Tamaki nodded, wrapping his hand around Mirio's. Ochako honestly hadn't expected them to say yes, but over the past few days, she had come to enjoy their company. However, she understood why neither wanted to leave.

She pulled her lips into a smile. "I know, I figured you wouldn't say yes."

"We don't need any more dragons anyway," Bakugou snorted, glancing away from the two of them. Maybe he was more upset to say goodbye than he let on.

"Good!" Mirio laughed, wrapping his arms around Tamaki. "I don't wanna share Tamaki anyway!"

Ochako nodded and bowed her head. "Still, thank you for everything you did for us. We never would've known how to do any of this if it weren't for you. I really appreciate you talking to us and putting up with him." She gently nudged Bakugou.

"Oi!" he growled and pulled his hand away from her, folding his arms over his chest.

"It really wasn't a problem. To be honest, I've always kind of wondered if there were other dragons besides Tamaki, and now my question is answered!" Mirio chuckled loudly, keeping his arm hooked around Tamaki's neck.

"I'm sorry you had to meet Bakugou. A lot of dragons are nice, he's the only one like this," she whispered, leaning forward to hide her mouth from Bakugou.

Tamaki cracked a smile, nodding his head. "I had a feeling."

"The invitation is always open though," Ochako said. "If you ever want to visit, please feel free to stop by the island."

"Of course! And the same goes to you. We can give you VIP tickets to our show," Mirio winked.

"VIP tickets? That sounds fancy," Ochako hummed.

"Mhm. You get to meet us after the show," Mirio chuckled. "And I perform a private magic trick for you."

"He says it like he wouldn't do this anyway," Tamaki muttered, shaking his head.

"Wow," Ochako nodded, smirking. "We'll have to take you up on those tickets soon."

Stepping forward, she held out her hand, but Mirio pulled her into a hug. "Good luck, Uraraka! I truly hope you and Bakugou can figure out what's going on with the magic and dragons!" he said enthusiastically.

She pulled back. "Thank you! I hope your show continues to be 'amazing'," she winked.

"Of course!" Mirio winked, pointing his fingers at the two of them.

"Katsuki," she whispered, nudging him again. "You really should thank them, they really helped you."

"Oi! We did all the hard stuff!" he hissed, a growl rumbling in his throat.

"Just one thank you won't kill you," she frowned.

Bakugou let out a long huff and leaned his head back. "Thank you for the book or whatever," he grumbled. The words were said so softly, they were barely audible.

"Hm?" Mirio hummed, leaning towards them. "I don't know what you said, Bakugou."

"I said fuckin' thank you!" he yelled, causing Tamaki to flinch.

"There we go!" Mirio smiled, clapping his hand against Bakugou's shoulder. "Take care of Uraraka. She's too good for you."

"Oi-"

"Alright!" Ochako said, quickly stopping Bakugou from arguing. "We really should be going. I don't know how long it's going to take for us to get back."

Even though they had only just met Tamaki and Mirio, Ochako felt such a strong connection to the two. They were the only other bonded dragon and human, and Ochako could feel burning questions on the horizon. What if there was something the book couldn't answer? She couldn't just jump on Bakugou's back and have him fly them here whenever they wanted.

They were good people and she truly hoped their show would continue to be successful. If they didn't have to go back and check on the status of the dragons, Ochako would've been glad to stay for a bit and train under Mirio. He was incredibly talented with magic and she would've loved to have learned from him.

They had saved Bakugou from losing his mind by showing them about the bond and for that, Ochako would be forever grateful.

"I guess you guys should get going," Mirio said. "Don't let us keep you around here for long."

"Yes, again, thank you for everything. I don't know where we would be without you," she said, bowing her head.

"Don't worry, please. We were happy to help," Mirio smiled.

"Oi, Cheeks, stop with the sentimental bullshit!" Bakugou said and turned to face her, reaching for her hands.

"Okay, okay," she waved one final time, turning to look at Bakugou. "Are you ready?"

"I wasn't the one taking forever to say goodbye," he snorted, leaning his forehead against hers. "Gonna transform."

"Mhm..." she nodded, watching as he stepped back.

Bakugou let his head fall back, his body morphing into its dragon form. She felt a surge of magic flow through her as it rushed from him, releasing his hold on his beastly shape. His golden wings sprouted from his back and his head rolled to the side, his face morphing into a snout, his body elongating and growing in size.

He flapped his wings, pressing his feet into the ground. The roar was deafening as he tilted his head down, allowing Ochako to climb onto his back.

"Bye!" she called out, clutching her staff and her bag.

"Bye Uraraka, Bakugou! Good luck!" Mirio and Tamaki both waved and as Bakugou took off, Ochako stared at the ground, watching them slowly disappear from her view.

She clung to Bakugou hard, squeaking as he pushed them up above the clouds. "I hope everyone back on your island is okay..." she muttered, gently brushing her fingers over Bakugou's back. "I hope Todoroki didn't feel too out of place being the only human there."

Bakugou snorted, letting out a long huff of air. 'Quit worrying, Cheeks. I'm sure fuckin' Half and Half is fine. The others… who knows.'

"EH!?" she screamed, her staff fumbling in her hands as she desperately clung to it, falling forward. She slammed her nose against Bakugou's scaly neck and she let out a long and desperate whine.

Slowing his flying, Bakugou glanced behind him. 'The hell did you do!?'

"I-I can hear you! In my head!" she said, pushing herself up as she rubbed at her nose with her palm.

A growl slipped from Bakugou's mouth, the sound making his entire body rumble. 'You can what?!'

"I can hear you! In my head!" she repeated laughing a bit. "This is incredible! We can communicate telepathically!"

'This is how dragons speak when we're in this form,' Bakugou explained.

"Wait, wait. But can you hear what I'm thinking?!" she asked.

Shutting her eyes she tried hard to project her thoughts. 'Bakugou Katsuki, I love you.'

 'Don't be an idiot, Cheeks.'

She frowned. "So did you hear it then?!"

No response.

She sighed and twisted her lips. "Okay I guess you can't hear it then," she sighed. "Still, being able to hear you is cool and-"

 'I fuckin' heard it you idiot.'

"What?!" she snorted, pressing her hand down against his back. "Then why didn't you say anything!?"

 'Cause you were being an idiot.'

"Katsuki..." she groaned. "It was just a test. Besides," she said, her cheeks turning red. "Wh-What I said was true..."

For a moment, she swore Bakugou paused, the two of them hovering in the air.

 'Love you too.'

Even in his thoughts Bakugou wasn't very forthcoming, but Ochako appreciated the effort nonetheless. She wrapped her arms around his neck as much as she could. "See? Not too hard!" she giggled and sat back up. "It'll be so amazing to show the others this bond! But I don't know if it's much of a solution to the main problem," she whispered.

'S'not. We gotta find out who the fuck is stealing the magic.' Bakugou snorted. He flapped his wings a few times, propelling them through the air faster. Ochako gripped her hat, holding it down as the wind blew around her body.

She knew this wasn't going to be easy, nor did they have a great deal of time.

She gently traced her fingers over the scales on Bakugou's back. If someone or something was taking the dragons' magic, at least they would be prepared to go after it. They wouldn't have to worry about growing tired or losing their own magic and Bakugou could freely stay in his dragon form.

Still, she was worried. Minus a few dragons, many of them already seemed to be on the brink of losing their minds. Kirishima hadn't been able to take on human form. Yaoyorozu was practically covered in her black scales and Bakugou's father had been in the worst shape of them all. She prayed they would all be okay when they got back.

They hadn't been gone for very long, but it seemed as though time was truly of the essence in this case. She hoped Todoroki had perhaps found a good lead. He had planned to stay and study the various texts in the dragon library. Hopefully he had discovered something useful.

"I know I already promised you this," she whispered. "But we're going to figure out what's wrong. We'll help Kirishima and Yaoyorozu and... your Dad."

Bakugou let out a huff, but otherwise stayed silent. She understood he didn't want to talk about his parents; it wasn't in his nature. In all fairness she hadn't said much about her own.

Smiling for a moment, she wondered what her parents would think about all this. They probably wouldn't be too surprised, they knew about her obsession with dragons. Iida and Deku would most likely be jealous. She giggled to herself just thinking about it.

Maybe someday she could go back. They could meet Bakugou and hopefully forgive him for trying to burn down their town. Maybe she could convince her parents and her friends to meet her outside of the village for a day. Though she supposed her and Bakugou were far stronger than anything the mayor could toss their way.

She peered over the edge of Bakugou's side, staring down at the clouds which slowly passed them by. She did wish her grandmother was still alive. She would've killed to witness this; soaring above the clouds, flying through the sky. She would probably have tried to find her own dragon to create a bond with.

Clutching her staff to her chest, Ochako truly hoped her grandmother was proud of her.

Still, she didn't want to focus on what she had lost, she wanted to focus on what she had gained. There were far more pressing matters to attend to. If her grandmother was watching over her, she prayed she could guide them somehow in the right direction.

The journey back to dragon island didn't take as long as Ochako anticipated and when Bakugou began to descend, she clung to his back. A few roars were heard as they dipped below the clouds, her eyes widening as they came upon the island again. Dragons flew around the mountain, chasing each other, playing. Further down she could see the small village she had seen for the first time only about a week ago. She couldn't believe they were already back.

Deep down, she wondered if she would ever grow used to seeing this village. It was a place she never thought would exist and yet here it stood, right in front of her very eyes.

Bakugou lowered them down, landing directly outside the village, almost in the same place they had before. Sliding down off of his back, she stepped away from him. He let out a roar and immediately shrank down to his human form.

Ochako felt a sharp pang in her chest and she glanced to Bakugou. His eyes were turned down and he stared at the ground. With a sharp breath, he began to head directly to the village, away from where he had landed.

Pain ripped through Ochako's chest and she gripped at her cloak. "Katsuki!"

"What?" he hissed, not looking back at her. She stumbled forward, following after him.

"Where are you going?"

"My parents’ place."

Bakugou was hurting, far more than he wanted to let on. She didn't blame him for wanting to check on his parents, given the state of his father when they first visited.

She rushed to him, despite the pain, and wrapped her fingers around his.

"Katsuki," she whispered, leaning against him. "Are you okay?"

"Shut up!" he snapped, trying to pull away. Again, another pang of hurt throbbed in her chest.

"Katsuki!" she said, speaking with more conviction this time. "You need to... stop and tell me how you feel."

"I don't need to do anything!" he yelled, glaring at her. He froze however, when he saw the state of her. She had her hand pressed against her chest, panting heavily. "O-Oi... Cheeks..."

"We're connected now, Katsuki," she breathed, stepping forward to take his hand. "You don't really have to tell me how it feels, but... knowing you're so angry... it makes it hurt..." she said.

He sighed, running his hand through his hair. "Look can we just... can we just get to my parents place?" he asked.

She nodded, squeezing his hand. "I'm here for you."

"Yeah..." he muttered, taking a deep breath. "I know."

The two walked through the woods, Bakugou keeping his hand wrapped around hers. It was a comfort, being close to him, and ever since the ritual, she did find she preferred when they were touching in some way. The thought alone made her cheeks flush.

She did hope Bakugou's father would be okay, part of the reason he had been looking to find a way to fix the problem with their magic was for his father, Ochako was well aware of that.

They made their way to the hut on the edge of the forest, smoke was rising from the chimney and Ochako was hopeful both of Bakugou's parents would be there.

"Oi! Hag!" he called out, banging on the door.

Bakugou Mitsuki opened it quickly, as though she had been expecting them. Her eyes widened as she looked at her son, immediately pulling him into a hug. "Oh Katsuki... I tried," she whispered. Her face was littered in scales, her own long tail curling behind her.

"What the hell do you mean you tried!? Where is he?! Where's Dad?!"

Ochako could hear the panic in his voice. He pushed past his mother, stepping inside of the house as he glanced around. "Fuck! Fuck!" he yelled. "Has he completely lost it?"

Mitsuki slowly shook her head. "No... No thankfully."

"Dammit!" Bakugou cursed, punching his fist against the stone wall.

"Oi..." Mitsuki whispered, leaning closer to her son. "You look... human! You found a cure?!" she asked, and glanced towards Ochako, as if she just noticed the girl was there.

"No... not exactly," Ochako said looking down.

"Fuck!" Bakugou cursed. "We didn't find a damn cure. We just found one for me."

"At least my brat did one goddamn thing right," Mitsuki sighed, rubbing her forehead. "What the hell do you mean just for you?"

"Ochako," he said gesturing to her. "We have this stupid bond thing and we're mates now and-"

"You mated her?!" Mitsuki yelled, turning towards Ochako. Her eyes went wide as she stared at the blonde woman. Was she mad Bakugou had mated with a human girl? Maybe she expected her son to mate with another dragon...

"Yeah. Shut up. It doesn't matter. Where's Dad?" Bakugou hissed.

Mitsuki snorted, storming over to her son as she yanked him down by the ear. "It does matter! It matters a lot actually! You mated her without having a wedding ceremony?! Did you ask her to be your bride?!"

Bride!? Ochako's cheeks turned bright red. So there was more to mating than Bakugou had let on. Why had she not assumed? At least Mitsuki seemed more upset Bakugou hadn't gone about it in the right way.

"I'm so sorry," Mitsuki said and rushed to to Ochako, taking her hands. "My son is a disaster-"

"Eh?" Ochako blinked, confused.

"No! It was a fucking moment, we were doing shit with this bond and magic and what not and I fucking just went for it okay!? It's not like I don't love her!" He growled, his words loud until he slowly trailed off at the end, embarrassed by what he was saying.

"You don't have to apologize," Ochako said softly. "I love him too... and I wasn't aware of all the traditions anyway!"

"You precious angel," Mitsuki said, pulling Ochako into a hug. "You could do so much better than him. "

"Eh?! N-No I promise. I-I really don't want anyone but him." She couldn't explain why, but she knew it was the truth.

"Fuckin' hag!" Bakugou growled. "We can do all that shit once we figure this magic out. Where the hell is Dad?"

They could do it after? Ochako blinked, her cheeks heated. Did he really mean that? She shook her head, knowing this shouldn't be their current focus.

"He's out back," Mitsuki said.

Nodding, Bakugou and Ochako made their way behind the hut, where a brown dragon slept, curled in a ball.

"Dad," Bakugou called out, stirring the large creature from his sleep. Bakugou Masaru's eyes opened, staring at his son. Even as a dragon, Ochako could tell the man had warm eyes, and he was so gentle in comparison.

"I fuckin' promise, Ochako and I are gonna get you back to normal!" he called out. Reaching forward, he gently placed his hand on his father's snout. "I'm not going to let you stay like this-" he paused, glaring at his father suddenly. "No! It doesn't matter that I'm okay. You and the rest of the dragons need help and I'm not about to let this go!"

Right. She forgot dragons were telepathic with each other.

There was a gentle rush of warm energy flowing over her, when he spoke to his father. It was subtle, compared to other emotions she felt from Bakugou; love, a feeling she was growing familiar with. "I'm gonna fucking solve it. I am," he growled, determination burning in his red eyes. Ochako felt her chest heat up, determination coursing through her own veins. Bakugou was full of conviction, and it was so damn contagious.

~~

"Where the hell do you think Half and Half is?" he snapped, stretching his arms out.

Obviously, he didn't want to waste any time after seeing his father.

"I would guess the library," she mused, starting for the middle of town.

"Good. Doing his goddamn job I hope," Bakugou snorted, following behind her.

The town seemed quieter than before, no one coming out to greet Bakugou. She didn't see anyone walking in the streets and her heart sank. Is this how fast things had deteriorated in the past week?

Swallowing, Ochako moved closer to Bakugou. "Do... you think everyone..."

"Shut it," he growled, and grabbed her hand, pulling her towards the library faster.

"Ah- O-Okay. I won't ask anything," she whispered.

They stormed up the library steps, pushing the doors open. "OI! Half and Half!" he growled.

"Todoroki!?" Ochako called out, their voices echoing through the large halls.

"Uraraka? Bakugou?"

From down the hall, Todoroki peaked out from behind a bookshelf. "You're back."

He stepped out and smoothed out his blue tunic, letting out a soft sigh. Yaoyorozu followed from behind, her cheeks slightly flushed. Her ears were still very pointed and her dark scales covered her arms and cheeks. Behind her, her dragon tail flicked back and forth and she stood, glancing nervously at the floor.

"Bakugou," she nodded, greeting him politely.

"Damn right I'm back! I hope you two have been doing research or whatever!" he snapped.

"Us?" Todoroki clicked his tongue. "Of course we have. You two were the ones who were supposed to bring us back more information."

"R-Right, let's go to the meeting room?" Yaoyorozu suggested, waving her hands quickly.

"Whatever," Bakugou snapped and stormed down the hall. Ochako couldn't figure out why he was so quick to snap at Todoroki specifically.

"Ah! Bakugou!" Yaoyorozu said, watching him pass by her. "Your scales... your ears! They're hidden! Did you... did you figure something out?" She quickly hurried after the two, the group of them stepping into the small meeting room.

Todoroki glanced between both Bakugou and Ochako. He raised his eyebrow. "I take it the bond worked then?"

Nodding, Ochako placed the text Mirio had given her on the table, sliding it across to Todoroki. "It's all in here. Bakugou and I did the ritual but... it's very dangerous."

"Mmm..." Todoroki muttered, picking up the text. "I found something on it, it doesn't seem easy. An emotional connection of sorts is required."

"Exactly. The actual ritual itself isn't very hard," Ochako explained. "You have to say vows to each other in a magical circle while sharing magic... however... if your connection isn't deep enough it won't work. The dragon will get stuck in dragon form and the human will lose all magic... even with the use of a magical object."

"I see..." Todoroki said, flipping through the book. "So the two of you did it and succeeded? You can do magic without your staff and Bakugou no longer has any scales so I take it he has hidden his dragon form completely."

"Mhm." Pressing her fingers together, her hands began to glow pink as she touched one of the books left on the table. It began to float upwards, levitating in the air. After a moment or so of flipping through it without even touching it, she lowered it back to the table, releasing her hold on it.

"Incredible..." Todoroki breathed. "So... was I correct in assuming Amajiki Tamaki was a dragon?"

"Yes!" Ochako exclaimed. "You can't tell anyone but... the reason Mirio is able to do his show is because he and Tamaki accidentally bonded."

"Hmm..." Todoroki said, tapping his chin. "So they showed you how to do it?"

Ochako nodded. "But... it doesn't seem like a very plausible solution for the rest of the dragons. Bakugou and I were lucky we met earlier."

"Yes," Todoroki said. "I don't think any of them have connections to humans besides myself and you."

"I had a feeling..." Ochako said softly. "It's a solution for Bakugou and myself, but we need something that can benefit everyone."

Todoroki nodded. "We need to find the source. Yaoyorozu and I have been trying to discover where the magic seems to be disappearing from, but it's been impossible to tell. Odd, because usually magic has a trail. Whoever is doing something like this is able to erase any sort of evidence that they are."

"What is... the status of everyone here?" Ochako asked, hesitation clear in her voice.

"It's... not great," Yaoyorozu said softly. "Kirishima and Mina can't change back to their human forms, they've been spending their time in the forest. Jirou and I have been doing research with Todoroki, but admittedly holding our human forms is tiring, he's been doing most of the work himself," she said and gently touched his shoulder. Ochako raised her eyebrow. The two of them seemed to have grown close over the last week. "Almost all of the older dragons are completely in dragon form," Yaoyorozu continued. "Bakugou, your father-"

"I know," he growled.

"We… went there first," Ochako explained.

"Explain what the hell you mean by no trail," Bakugou huffed.

Yaoyorozu stood up and rolled out a small map of the dragon island. "There are spells you can do to trace magic; see trails of where magic comes from and where magic goes. We all share magic around each other, so many of the trails bounce from dragon to dragon, but there's nowhere we can see where it's been drained..."

"Probably because it's not happening on the island. Did you dipshits think of that?" Bakugou scoffed, standing up.

"Don't speak to her like that," Todoroki huffed, frowning at Bakugou.

"I was speaking to all of you," he snorted.

"Well, of course we thought of that," Yaoyorozu said. "However... I didn't want to leave the island to search for potential sources in case I... in case... I... didn't want to get stuck," she admitted nervously, her tail drooping down.

"Right," Ochako nodded. "That's understandable. Maybe Katsuki and I could go looking for some sort of source. Since Katsuki can transform freely now."

"That's what we were thinking. But there are so many masses of land... We're not even sure where to start!" Yaoyorozu explained.

"We'll explore every goddamn island!" Bakugou hissed, glancing around the room. "Don't we have a map of surrounding territories?!"

"We do, but exploring every island would take far too long," Yaoyorozu said. "With how rapidly things are going now... I don't know if that would help... if we could narrow it down, you and Uraraka would be more efficient."

"You have no fucking clues!?" Bakugou hissed.

"I know you much prefer to jump to conclusions, but Mo-... Yaoyorozu just said we don't know where we should be starting," Todoroki sighed.

"I think I know where we should start," Jirou said, speaking as she walked up behind them. "I knew you would be here. I didn’t expect Bakugou to be back."

"Ah! Kyouka!" Yaoyorozu said, her face lighting up. "Do you have a lead?!"

"Not exactly..." she sighed, stepping into the room. Her face was covered with purple scales, her nails and fingers slightly elongated into claws. Her ears were long and scaled, decorating the side of her face. She looked far worse off than the last time Ochako had seen her.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Bakugou snapped.

"Good to see you too, Bakugou," Jirou huffed, rolling her eyes. "I think something is wrong with Denki," she said.

"Fuckin' Lightning Rod," Bakugou snarled. "He's always being a goddamn idiot. What did he do this time?!"

Jirou let out a long sigh, frustrated by Bakugou's insults. "Look, I-I... I don't know if he's done anything... I just know something isn't right. He's nervous and jittery all the time but not like the rest of us."

Ochako frowned, tapping her chin. "He... was the one I met when I first came here... he wasn't having any problems holding his human form, right?" she said.

"Mhm..." Jirou muttered. "He has been having issues, but... when I ask him about it, he always brushes me off. Denki can be confident, but he's also a worrier, he'd be talking about it all the time if he thought he was going to get stuck in dragon form."

"You're right," Bakugou snorted. "He would. So where the hell is the idiot now?"

"That's just it..." Jirou said softly. "I don't know. I barely get to see him these days, he keeps running off and I don't know where to."

"I haven't seen him since the first time I met him," Todoroki commented.

"I haven't seen him since Todoroki got here," Yaoyorozu agreed.

"Well, that's also because the two of you have been inseparable and haven't left each other's sides," Jirou snorted. Both Todoroki and Yaoyorozu blushed; Ochako really hoped she could speak to Todoroki about that later. Maybe he and Yaoyorozu would be able to do their own bond ritual in the future.

"S-Still!" Yaoyorozu stammered, catching herself. "And if you haven't seen him... he's... got to be doing something. I know he cares about you more than anything else."

"I know," Jirou sighed. She ran her fingers over the scales on her hands. "I don't know what to do."

"We have to fucking confront him!" Bakugou snapped, slamming his hand down on the table.

"You know that won't go over well," Jirou sighed, rubbing her forehead. "He's not scared of you Bakugou, but if you charge at him like that, he's gonna panic."

"Good, then he'll confess to what he's fucking doing!" Bakugou hissed.

"I don't know if that's the best plan..." Yaoyorozu said, gently tapping her chin. "Have you ever seen him leave the island?" she asked Jirou.

"No," Jirou muttered. "But maybe I could ask to go with him."

"You know if he's hiding something he's going to say no to that," Ochako whispered.

"Probably true..." Yaoyorozu agreed.

"Then we should follow him, discreetly," Todoroki suggested.

"He's enough of an idiot, he won't fucking notice," Bakugou said.

"I-I don't even know if it'll do anything," Jirou sighed. "I... feel a little guilty going behind his back."

"He's not telling you anything though," Yaoyorozu said, gently touching her friend's shoulder. "This is the only lead we have. We have to take a chance."

"Alright," Jirou nodded. "Hopefully tomorrow we can catch him before he leaves his house."

Ochako nodded, squeezing Bakugou's hand. As horrible as she felt for Jirou, she hoped this chase would actually lead them somewhere; for Bakugou's sake, and for all their sakes.

[sml8180]

A Gift

I was tagged by @johnseedsplane for the last line tag, and it made me realize that I hadn’t yet posted something I’d been working on-

Not a FC5 shot, but it’s still a nice D:BH one I finished the other day. I’mma just post the full thing; It’s about when Elijah gifted Markus to Carl. 

Not gonna tag anyone for this, because a lot of people I follow have already done this sort of thing, so, yeah-

Carl had been the life of the party at one point. After the accident, though, that was a different story. Drugs and alcohol became a large part of the next few years for the man, before a stint in the hospital and rehab pulled him out. He was recluse after that, making no public appearances, not hosting events, the man even stopped doing what he’d always loved most, painting. None of this went unnoticed, either. Rumors spread concerning Carl’s condition, until he faded from the public’s interest altogether.

Elijah was worried about the man he looked up to as an inspiration, and thought of as a friend. Despite the gap in their age, they had grown close as friends, both being visionaries and influencers in their respective fields. In some ways, Carl had almost been a father to Elijah, and his recluse nature worried him. Kamski had always been more of a loner, but Carl had always been the life of any event. So, in an attempt to help his friend, Elijah commissioned a secret project for a select team at CyberLife. He had it kept quiet, with only himself and his most trusted people working the project, but he wanted it to be a surprise.

It was several months before they finished. Elijah hadn’t heard anything from Carl, and he was getting worried with each passing day. Finally, on a sunny day, Elijah left CyberLife early, with his original creation and constant companion, Chloe, and his newest creation, an RK200 android, by his side. They met a cab outside, and rode in silence until they arrived at Carl’s home. The grounds, though well planned and landscaped, were somewhat unkempt. Carl used to take care of them, himself, or have someone come up to do it, but since becoming more and more of a recluse, they had been mostly neglected. As they walked up the path to the front door, the RK200’s LED spun yellow from time to time as it took in the information presented to it. The prototype hadn’t been informed of why they were here, but the programming running through its head told it that this was where it was needed.

Elijah rang the doorbell as they stood on the front steps. Chloe stood by Elijah’s side, admiring the outside of the house, while the RK200 stood just behind them, hands clasped behind its back. A couple of minutes passed, and Elijah was about to ring the bell again when the door opened. On the other side, Carl was seated in a wheelchair, looking unkempt and sleep deprived. He looked up at the man at the door, his gaze shifting between Elijah and Chloe, before going to the third subject in his view. The older man wasn’t against androids, not entirely, at least. He knew that the world was going to keep advancing, and there was no reason to fight it. But, he still thought of androids simply as machines, no matter how human they seemed at first sight.

“Elijah. I wasn’t expecting you,” Carl casually stated. His voice was a tad hoarse from hardly being used.

“I would’ve called, but you haven’t been getting back,” Elijah explained. He gave a subtle smile to the older man. “Besides, I wanted to surprise you.”

“Well, you did. But judging by the second android you’ve got with you, you didn’t come by just to say hello.” Carl wheeled himself back from the door, motioning for the young man and the two androids to come in.

As the three guests entered, Elijah and Carl started with a bit of idle chatting as they made their way into the living area. The RK200 looked around, LED spinning yellow as it took in the interior of the home. There was a fine layer of dust on most of the surfaces, indicating that it had been some time since the space was last dusted. The walls were adorned with various pieces of artwork, and even the stairs leading to the second floor had a painting formed by their outward facing surfaces. This was clearly the home of an artist, and it was made all the more obvious as the group came into the living area, where the walls were lined with bookcases and a piano sat in the corner. A chess set was at the ready, but clearly hadn’t been used at least since the last time the home was properly dusted, as the same layer covered the pieces. Carl and Elijah made their way over to the set, Carl settling behind the gold pieces, and Elijah at the silver, and they began a casual game as they started to talk, with Chloe and the RK200 standing by, watching over Elijah’s shoulder.

“You normally only have Chloe with you. What’s the new android, Elijah?” Carl didn’t waste any time as they started to play. He’d been curious since he opened the front door.

“Well, you’ve shut out the world, become depressed, lonely; I thought you could use a companion,” Elijah’s tone was casual as he made his own move. “The RK200 is a prototype I had made as a potential companion for you. Based off the current RK series, this is one of our most advanced androids to date.”

“I’m fine on my own. I can take care of myself.” As always, Carl was stubborn. If nothing else, at least that hadn’t changed.

“I’m not implying that you can’t. But it isn’t healthy to just stay in here alone like this. Besides, going off the state of the place, you could use an extra set of hands.”

Carl was quiet as he made his next move, sighing as he thought over the words of the young man in front of him. “What can it do?”

Kamski smiled a bit, making another move. “Anything you need. It’s programmed to cook, clean, even help with the yard work. Most of all, the RK200 is meant to be a companion to you.” His explanation was to the point, as he motioned to the male android over his shoulder.

Carl finally looked at the android properly, taking it in. The android in front of him had skin that could be described as a sort of golden tan, striking green eyes, and very short brown hair. Its build wasn’t quite slim; it seemed strong, and one could say toned, if it were human. In all, Carl wouldn’t be surprised if there was someone out there who would find the android attractive. It certainly was pleasant to look at, the man would at least admit that. “You like to name your prototypes. What’d you call this one?”

“I thought I’d leave that up to you, Carl,” Elijah smiled a bit, watching as his friend seemed to think this over. He knew the man wasn’t much of a fan of androids, though he wasn’t against them. The young innovator could only hope that the older man would accept his gift. Several moments of silence passed, before Carl have a sigh, giving a bit of a shrug, seeming to accept the offer to name the android and keep it around. “Do you have a name in mind?”

“I think so. But, if this backfires, you’re coming and taking it back,” the artist’s words were a bit hasty, with a bit of annoyance. He didn’t really want anyone around, human or android; he just wanted to be left alone. But, he knew that, like himself, Elijah could be a stubborn man. He wouldn’t take no for an answer.

The younger man nodded, looking up to the male android. “RK200, register your name.”

“Markus.”

The android’s LED spun yellow for a cycle, before settling to blue once again, green eyes settling on Carl. “My name is Markus,” were the first words to be spoken by the prototype that day. It had a smooth, gentle voice. Carl had to admit to himself that he found the voice pleasant, though he wouldn’t say so out loud.

Elijah and Carl went on with their game, and their visit went on for a short time longer, before Elijah got a call that he needed to return to CyberLife to assist in resolving some issue. The younger man stood with a sigh. “Seems I need to go and sort some things out. I hope that Markus will be able to help you,” he mused to Carl as they made their way to the door. Chloe kept by his side, and Markus stayed closer to Carl this time around. The older man hadn’t let the android wheel him to the door, choosing to do so himself.

“I’ll call if anything happens,” Carl told his younger friend.

With a nod, Kamski bid the artist and male android goodbye, and left with Chloe. On the way back to CyberLife tower, Elijah could only hope that his friend would be alright. If anyone could eventually see an android as a member of their family, he felt Carl would fit the bill, if he gave the younger’s creations a chance.

As time went on, Carl would call Elijah from time to time, asking questions about Markus, giving him updates on how things were going, and occasionally just to talk. As they spoke about the android, Elijah could hear in Carl’s voice that the older man was growing more and more fond of Markus. Eventually, the artist even started to refer to Markus as “he” rather than “it”. The development made Elijah smile, and he did so even more as his friend spoke about the things that Carl told him. The prototype was studying music and literature under his guidance, taking an interest in the works around Carl’s home, even trying to ease the other back into painting. After a year or so, Elijah saw Carl’s first new piece up at an exhibition. The joy he felt at having helped his friend in the only way he really knew, to Elijah at least, felt like a gift in return.

[timeagainreviews]

“I call people dude now!”

Hello friends! Over the weekend I had myself a pretty difficult time. I learned a friend of mine is dying and there’s nothing that can be done for it. Because of this, I am not sure how long or thought out this article will be. I might just touch on some key elements from last night’s episode. Either way, I do have half of a Twin Peaks article written, and Edge of Destruction has been viewed, so expect those soon. Also, a friend of mine asked me to submit an article for her zine, and I will be writing that for both this and the zine. You can probably expect that one soon as well!

So far Chris Chibnall has proven to be an interesting showrunner. I’ve not hidden my disdain for his writing at times, but in other ways, I really do enjoy his work. His scripts have the tendency to be like a box of bran cereal with a really cool toy at the bottom. There’s a lot that works, and there’s a lot that doesn’t. One of my biggest issues with "Dinosaurs on a Spaceship," was how dour and depressing it was at times. With a title like that, you’d expect something more lighthearted. When I saw the trailer for last night’s episode, my biggest hope would be that it was more akin to "Gremlins 2." Something kind of camp and silly, which in some ways we did get.

The episode opens in a large hotel in Sheffield. A man named Jack Robertson (a Donald Trump proxy) is discussing the logistics of a vague problem that could "cost [him] in 2020." The woman he’s speaking to, Frankie, is his niece’s wife, though he had to be reminded of this. So far, we don’t like this guy much. His bodyguard waits to whisk him off to his plane, while he tells Frankie to make their problem disappear, though she’s not so sure it’s that easy. Before they can discuss this any further, they are interrupted by a woman named Najia Khan, the general manager of the hotel. She’s there to check up on things before the grand opening. Very callously Robertson fires her (further solidifying his Donald Trump status, and his role as the hotel owner) seemingly for interrupting his nefarious meeting. He gives Frankie and hour to "make this all go away."

Before saying anything else, I would like to talk about that time vortex sequence! How cool was that? The last time we saw the time vortex in such intimate detail was "Timelash," which if you ask the fandom, was pretty bad. (Though I sorta love it for that.) Elements of it reminded me of the hyperspace scenes from "Babylon 5," and other elements reminded me of "Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure," how you could take certain avenues to sort of dial a point in time. The way the sequence segues into the console room was a beautiful bit of production value series eleven has needed. (Even those god-awful closeups were missing!)

Watching the Doctor and her companions all fly the TARDIS, was kind of great. I was reminded of the scene in "Journey’s End," when the Doctor and his friends pilot the TARDIS together. I loved the idea of her still getting used to the controls. If you’ve not watched the video on YouTube of the production crew talking about the TARDIS interior, you really should. It’s a lovely glimpse into the design process. Not to be outshone, the exterior of the TARDIS, in its brilliant aqua blue, lands in Sheffield. This may be one of the Doctor’s best landings ever. She’s in Sheffield, it’s the right period, they’re right outside Yaz’s, and it’s only been thirty minutes since they were teleported away from the warehouse into the depths of space.

The Doctor made good on her promise- she brought her friends home. Looking like a kicked puppy, it’s more than obvious she doesn’t want to say goodbye. Yaz, picking up on this, invites her and the others up for tea. It’s a rather sweet scene. Graham, who’s not yet had any downtime to mourn since the funeral, decides to nip back home for a moment. Ryan offers to join, but Graham needs to do it alone. It’s a nice bit of character development between them. I rather loved it.

While heading into Yaz’s flat, the Doctor notices a worried woman trying to reach the occupant of a flat a couple doors down. She also notices a bit of spiderweb but doesn’t pay it much mind. Yaz lives with her family still, and we’re introduced to her dad and sister. I’ve been saying how I wanted a bit more Yaz, and this episode really delivers. Her dad is pretty much instantly likeable. He’s excitable, friendly, and has a personal project of keeping rubbish in the living room, or "evidence," as he calls it. It’s a conspiracy! Yaz’s sister is the typical bratty little sister. The banter they share was also charming. She teases Yaz that she’s surprised she even has friends. Yaz is usually too married to her job to worry about friends. Yaz counters with “At least I have a job to be married to.” I like sassy Yaz.

The Doctor is being her usual self- a bit weird. Marvelling at a couch is not exactly normal. Historically, she’s always been rather enamoured with the mundane elements of human life. Things like having a flat, going to work, watching a bit of telly, are all parts of a life she can never have. Yaz’s sister, Sonya, probes Ryan about his relationship to Yaz. She clearly has the hots for him. Yaz’s father, Hakim, wants to know if the police have followed up on the rubbish he’s collected. Before she can answer, Yaz’s phone rings revealing Najia to be her mother on the other end. She tells her she needs a ride home from work. (If you recall from my "The Woman Who Fell to Earth," review, I wondered if she didn’t have a mother, well she does!)

The sisters’ bickering as Yaz leaves, reminds the Doctor of her sisters. It also reminds her of the time she was a sister at an aqua-hospital, that actually turned out to be a training camp for the "Quiston Calcium Assassins." Ryan responds with "Going off on one again…" Which is what she’s doing right? Going off on a little tangent. Then why is it that the line really irked me? The Doctor is known for always telling stupid little stories, but this one really got to me. It’s right up there with suddenly having Audrey Hepburn or maybe Pythagoras’ sunglasses in her pockets. It’s a question of when. When would she have been a sister with some order of nuns?

The Doctor has always been male leading up to this point. So when would she be a woman in a past life to do this? When in this life would she have done this and not had Ryan around to have witnessed it first hand? If it’s just Chibnall trying to be cute, he’s really bad at it. It leaves you asking the wrong kind of questions, and for me, actually took me out of the story for a moment. Another implication is some "The Brain of Morbius" level fuckery indicating that the First Doctor, is not in fact, the first incarnation, which you could make an argument for. The War Doctor didn’t go as "the Doctor," which makes him "The War Doctor," and not "The Ninth Doctor." Another implication is that one of the past incarnations had a bit of a drag phase, which I could actually see. Both Two and Three have dressed in drag before. Either way, it’s a bad line and Chibnall should feel bad. (Ok rant over)

The Doctor notices that the Khans have a parcel to pick up from the neighbour down the way.  She offers to go pick it up while Yaz’s dad cooks his terrible pakora. We’re now back with Graham at his home. We see more of that portentous spiderweb. The house is empty and feels lifeless. It’s the first time he’s been back home since Grace died and is haunted by her essence, as depicted by having Sharon D Clarke actually there as Grace. She talks to him about all of the little things around the house he’ll need to remember to keep the house in working order. He indicates that he has something else to tell her, but it’s left unsaid. He sits and smells her clothes, trying to remember her. Anyone who has ever lost a loved one can immediately identify with this. I found these moments with Graham and Grace very effective. He’s interrupted by a sound up in Ryan’s room, where he finds massive strands of spider web, and the moulted exoskeleton of a spider the size of a house cat.

Graham isn’t the only one dealing with large spiders though. The Doctor and Ryan are about to discover these overgrown arachnids themselves. The parcel they’re picking up is at the same flat where the woman, we now know as Jade, was trying to reach her friend Anna. They both work in the same lab at their uni. After confirming Anna may be in trouble, the Doctor sonics the door open. Inside, the flat is covered in the same webbing as Ryan’s room. I’m reminded of "Mulholland Drive," where Naomi Watts and Elena Harring search the apartment of Diane Selwyn. Rather horrified, they discover the body of poor Anna, cocooned in spiderweb. "Spiders don’t do that, do they?" asks Ryan, but the Doctor asks a more important question- where is the spider that did this now?

Many people are squeamish about spiders. My mate Gerry’s wife sat this episode out, due to an intense dislike of the little creatures. Which is why I found myself rather amused when they finally show the spider, and it’s actually a bit cute. It’s a brown house spider, once again, about the size of a cat, but it is rather aggressive toward the Doctor, Ryan and Jade. Using some quick thinking, the Doctor uses vinegar and garlic paste to keep the spider quarantined, as the noses in spiders’ feet are sensitive to these substances. She creates a sort of perimeter around the spider which seems to work. Now outside the flat, they meet up with Graham who has also seen some freaky stuff today! Graham gives Ryan a sealed letter that he found back home. It’s from his father, who if you remember correctly, didn’t attend Grace’s funeral. The Doctor asks Jade to take her back to the lab where she’s been testing on spiders. Hakim and Sonya are having pakora alone tonight it would seem. 

The Doctor tells Jade she thinks she knows more than she leads on. She questions Jade about their experiments, but Jade defends their practices. They’ve been doing everything within the law. The spider carcasses are disposed of by a special containment unit. She doesn’t know why the spiders are mutating. Jade has been plotting out instances of giant spiders on a map in the lab. In what may be one of the most overused tropes in cinema history, the Doctor connects the dots with a series of lines all pointing to one centre point. It’s a bit stupid when you realise she could have just pointed at the centre point of the dots to the exact same effect, but that wouldn’t look as cool right? The centre point is, of course, the hotel Najia just got fired from, where she’s still waiting for Yaz.

Frankie walks through a pair of doors marked with danger warnings, into an underground tunnel that looks like rock that’s been excavated by human hands. It’s full of spider web. Timid and afraid, Frankie moves forward with her camera phone but is taken suddenly to her doom by an offscreen spider. Back in the lobby, Jack Robertson and Kevin confront Najia and Yaz who has just arrived. I was slightly frustrated by the fact that Kevin pulls a gun on Yaz and she doesn’t mention once that she’s a police officer. Not once does she cite any kind of statute or even try and calm the situation as a police officer. They explain that Yaz was there to pick her up, but feeling antagonistic, Robertson wants to show Yaz how bad her mother is at her job, and why he fired her. He takes them to a room full of spider web.

While in the room, Yaz thinks she hears something through the walls but is called away by the Doctor who is now outside the hotel with Jade, Ryan, and Graham. Still in the room, Kevin and Robertson are confronted by a very large spider, about the size of a car. Robertson very cowardly leaves Kevin as bait as he’s dragged into the depths underneath the hotel to his death. Poor Kevin.

The Doctor, using psychic paper (a nice callback I was hoping to see) tells Robertson she’s there on official business and goes about looking for the source of the spiders. Ryan and Graham know exactly who he is, as he’s a bit famous. Their standing there grinning like idiots at Robertson was cute. I loved the bravery the Doctor shows when sticking her head into the giant spider-sized hole to get a peek, and what a peek she gets! She pulls her head back just in time as the giant spider lunges at her and they all sprint toward the exit of the hotel, which has now been completely webbed up, which it hadn’t been before. The spiders are trapping them in!

The Doctor refers to Yaz’s mum since she knows the hotel so intimately. They go hide out in the kitchen where everyone begins asking questions. The Doctor doesn’t seem to know who Robertson is, much to his annoyance. She rather humorously asks if he’s the Ed Sheeran she’s been hearing so much about. Robertson, it turns out, is gunning for the presidency in 2020, mostly out of disdain for Trump. So he can’t be all bad, right? Robertson butts against the Doctor’s authority, but the companions in a sign of solidarity let him know with no uncertainty that she’s in charge. The Doctor sends Ryan and Graham to capture a spider for Jade to inspect and takes everyone else to find a map of the hotel.

Graham and Ryan find a spider and catch it in a cooking pot, only to get chased down the hall by an agitated army of arachnids. It’s about the closest the spiders get to being actually scary in the entire episode. If you don’t suffer from arachnophobia, it’s really rather tame. The true villain, as it turns out, is capitalism. It’s revealed that Robertson built the hotel on top of an old mine that was used as a landfill. It’s a profitable endeavour from his perspective. Get paid to cart off a bunch of rubbish, find use for a disused mine, and build a lavish resort on top of it! This explains the rubbish Mr Khan had been finding sprouting up all around Sheffield. While looking over maps, Najia wants to know how Yaz knows the Doctor and even asks if they’re in a relationship. The Doctor naively asks Yaz if they are, as she’s been ignorant to this sort of thing in the past. (Be still my heart.) They find the entrance to the mine on the map and set off.

As they barge past the danger doors, Robertson protests, trying to use his powerful status to keep everyone from discovering his dirty secret. He tries to stop Najia, and in what may be the best line of the episode she defiantly looks him in the eye and says "You’re not the boss of me anymore." Oof. Good one, girl. Now inside, they find the bodies of Frankie, Kevin, and several others, all of whom met the same fate as poor Anna. Even the callous Robertson can’t hide the tinge of guilt on his face, though it doesn’t stop him from pocketing Kevin’s web caked gun. Anna, who had spider pheromones on her from the lab, attracted spiders to her home from this location. (Why neither Jade nor the lab had been affected, or why they were attracted to the O'Brien homestead is anyone’s guess.) In a very "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles," moment, it’s revealed that the toxic waste of gases building up, and the improperly disposed spider carcasses created a sort of mutagenic stew to breed giant mutant spiders. It’s all a rather stupid explanation, but I kind of love it for that. It was Laird and Eastman’s Doctor Who. I’m all for it.

Back in the kitchen, Jade tells Ryan and Graham she needs a bigger specimen, which basically is only written in as an excuse to give the two of them something to do. It’s a bit sloppy and doesn’t go anywhere. It does, however, give us a nice opportunity to have a bit of a heart to heart between Graham and Ryan. Ryan tells Graham that he read the letter from his father. He mentions he doesn’t like that his father referred to himself as the only proper family Ryan had left, indicating that he still thinks of Graham as family. Does this mean we might hear him call Graham "Granddad," soon? Their heart to heart is cut short, however, when they are confronted in the ballroom by a giant spider.

Once again, the spiders aren’t very scary, as the two of them escape rather quickly and they’re back in the kitchen. Why the kitchen has been established as the safest place in the hotel, is still unknown, but Yaz’s mum said! Robertson reveals he has a panic room installed in the hotel. He has one in every hotel, as he’s a bit of a paranoid guy. When he had it installed in case the poor ever decided to rise up and eat the rich, I’ll bet he didn’t foresee them being spiders! The panic room has an ocular scanner, a small green laser that really should have blinded him if I’m being honest, but hey, it looks cool! In the panic room, Robertson has enough food and drink to survive for six months. He also had a rather swank entertainment system with a flat screen and giant speakers. Using Ryan’s phone, the Doctor devises a plan! (Always with Ryan’s phone, that one.)

The next sequence is something akin to the campiness I was hoping we would get from this episode- hip hop spiders! Drawn to the sick beats from Ryan’s phone, and Robertson’s sound system, the spiders all gather inside the panic room where the Doctor and her friends trap them inside. Robertson, however, has become increasingly paranoid in the face of being the least powerful man in the room and has decided to take refuge in the safety of his gun.

The Doctor puts together a very "Ghostbusters," style backpack garden sprayer filled with peppermint and tea tree oil diluted in water. She plans on using this natural spider repellant as a way to wrangle the big spider that chased Graham and Ryan in the ballroom. After all, there’s the Sheffield Comic Con there in a week, they need it empty! However, the spider is behaving strangely. Under the weight of its own mass, the poor beast is struggling to breathe. The Doctor takes pity on it, and apologises to it, as she knows it’s going to die. Then the real monster enters the room in the form of Robertson wielding a gun. He fires a single shot into the spider, killing it, and angering the Doctor.

Now back at their homes, the companions all seem to be slightly removed from their roots. Before walking out of her flat, Yaz is told by Najia she still wants to know how she came to know the Doctor. There’s a sort of Jackie Tyler "I want to know who my daughter is out galavanting with," element to her questioning that I liked. They all convene back at the TARDIS, still parked outside Yaz’s. The Doctor invites them in, expecting to have to say goodbye. Instead, they decide they would rather travel with her. Graham says he’d rather grieve with her, than in an empty house. Ryan has no desire to resume working in a warehouse, and Yaz wants to see the universe. I rather like the responsibility the Doctor has been taking with her companions’ safety, as she tells them in no certain terms, that travelling with her will be dangerous. They all accept, and the Doctor christens their new "fam," as "the TARDIS team." Then, all together, they pull the lever and the TARDIS takes them on their next adventure!

And that’s it, really. Which I must say, was a bit disappointing. Not the entire episode, but the ending. It sort of fizzled out. While I was actually rather pleased to see the spiders weren’t treated as big evil monsters, it would have been nice to actually have some sort of final showdown. Maybe Ryan gets webbed up and they had to save him before it was too late. Something. Sadly, most of the danger was short-lived, or off camera. Also, what actually happened with the spiders? Will they spend the rest of their lives listening to garage beats? How many of them were still out in the wild? Did the waste get cleaned up? Will there be a public outcry? Are there more people dead in their homes, wrapped in a gauze of spider web? What’s the difference between killing spiders outright, and starving them in a panic room? Lots of unanswered questions.

I liked that they gave us more interior shots of the TARDIS. I liked that the console room still has Gallifreyan written somewhere. With as much change as the show has gone through, it’s nice to see that continuity. Speaking of change, Jodie Whittaker continues to sparkle as the Doctor. But I did have some issues with her role in this episode. Aside from wrangling spiders, and figuring out what was happening, the Doctor doesn’t actually do much in the episode. I mean, did she do anything to ensure this won’t continue to happen?

While I rather liked Jack Robertson’s campy turn as the villain, even his story seemed to fizzle out. Considering the Doctor had once taken down the prime minister with six words, I expected her to give Robertson a warning or something. But alas, he, like every villain this season, lives to fight another day. Doctor Who writer Paul Magrs said on twitter recently that Missy would have made them into mincemeat by now, and I’m inclined to agree. The Doctor and her crew have yet to really face a truly terrifying foe. The stakes have been disappointingly low. I’m beginning to expect we’ll see a sort of legion of men scorned by the Doctor come together at the end of this series. Perhaps they’ll form a society of the Doctor’s evil exes. Is this all turning out to be one big metaphor for misogyny? Maybe. Regardless, I must say I rather enjoyed this one.

[tonguetiedmag]

interview: as it is

Wrapping up The Great Depression Tour with only a handful of shows left , I caught up with Patty Walters from As It Is just before the group rocked out a set at The Hi-Dive in Denver to learn more about his favorite vegan eateries, rare studio-moments during the recording of the band’s latest release, and what it’s been like welcoming in a new permanent member.

What’s been your favorite part about this tour apart from other tours you’ve done?

“I think the camaraderie. We love the bands we brought out as bands, and as people. We didn’t know Point North or Hold Close as human beings before this tour, but we were fans of their music and their art, and we’ve gotten to know everybody over the course of however long it’s been, probably about a month now-- it’s bittersweet. Sharptooth were some of my closest friends on warped tour of last year, we’ve seen them on pretty much every day off as well. It’s just been one big happy family honestly this tour; I think that’s the bittersweet part, is you have such a good time when everyone’s here and that just makes saying goodbye a little more difficult. It’s been one of my favorite tours we’ve ever done over 6 or 7 years now.”

What’s been your favorite song from The Great Depression to play live?

“​The Wounded World i​ s always going to be a standout because of the relentless energy of it--I’m just a big fan of songs that really go 100 miles an hour throughout the whole thing, it’s absolutely one of those songs. Equally, opening with ​The Reaper ​has been so much fun, and ​The Question, The Answer​ has been a nice intimate moment. We weren’t sure if we were going to be playing it out here; it’s been such a fun part of the set, it makes it so much more dynamic and intimate. So there’s a couple standouts, but I think ​The Wounded World​ is probably my favorite moment of the set, which is why it’s last in the set and it’s the biggest climax and finale that we possibly could have created.”

Is there any song you wanted to put on the setlist that didn’t make the cut?

“Yes-- and part of the nature and the reason behind is that Ronnie [Ish, lead guitar] is a very new member and only knows so many of our songs right now, so we were limited to songs that we were playing on our most recent EU and UK headline run, which is why this setlist bears so much similarity to that one. But equally, we put so much time and effort and thought into this set so that it does feel theatrical and ... special-- It’s a set that we have all crafted and believed in. Adding “​Such Great Heights” ​[The Postal Service]​ t​ o the equation out here has been really fun, so there were a couple that we did manage to sneak in. I think we’re getting Ronnie there maybe one or two songs per tour, just learning the entire As It Is discography slowly.”

When did you guys know you wanted Ronnie to become a permanent member?

“For a while, it’s been a long time coming. Ron was in the studio when we were writing and recording The Great Depression, but Ronnie has been family for a long time--we met Ronnie in 2015 on the Vans Warped Tour, he was living on our bus. He, in the interim period, served as every different touring crew member...you could imagine, as tour manager, guitar tech, driver, and merch. The thing about it--and I think it’s often a thing that gets viewed from one perspective-- is it’s not only ‘Did we want Ronnie to join?’ (which of course we did), it’s ‘Does Ronnie want to commit to these four people, this lifestyle where he doesn’t get to see his friends and family very often, where he doesn’t get paid as much as he probably could back home. For that reason I think we’re really flattered and humbled that he wants to commit the next however many years of his life to this band and us as people. The first real trial period of tour was warped tour of last year. That was Ronnie’s first time playing onstage with us, but we just kind of knew it in the back of our minds, and the back of his, that this was what we were meant to do together.”

Has the dynamic changed at all?

“Oh massively. Ronnie has the biggest personality of anyone I’ve ever met, for better or for worse; some days you’re not in the mood to be surrounded by such a loud presence. He’s one of a kind and he brings so much more energy and sincerity to what we do to our live performance, and engaging and interacting with our fans on and off stage, before and after the set.”

What’s a favorite memory you’ve made with another band on this tour?

“That’s a great question! Doing Disney world with every band on this tour was really fun, that was a really nice moment. We did an escape room with Sharptooth and Doll Skin in Arizona, that was really fun-- I had never done an escape room before, I don’t think most of us had. We were divided into four, which became two teams due to the nature of the escape room-- it was tons of fun.”

With the stark difference sound-wise between ​Okay ​and ​The Great Depression​, how have you seen the dynamic of your fanbase change, if at all?

“Well, that’s one of the most interesting, kind of humbling things is that, we were uncertain as to who was still going to relate to this sound, enjoy this sound. One of the most humbling things is that so many fans from all around the world, that have been with us for upwards of five years since we’ve been touring internationally are still coming out to shows-- and it’s like nothing has changed, even though so much has changed. I think it speaks to the authenticity of the art that people can totally really love what we do and really believe in what we do. Yes, we’ve embraced a much more aggressive, darker sound, but it was the only natural evolution for our sound as a band for sure.”

Whatever you guys release next, are you gonna take it slow? Do you have ideas?

“I have ideas. Although, it was a conscious decision to be more present and engaged during the release of ​The Great Depression.​ We started writing ​The Great Depression​ three weeks before Okay was released, so when everyone got to really appreciate and consume okay, we were busy creatively, consciously invested in this next album. We didn’t get to live in the moment of ​Okay as much, and I was very aware that it would be a mistake to do that again. We all have ideas for the next record, but we haven’t started writing just yet. Equally, there are exciting expansions of The Great Depression​ that people are gonna get to enjoy pretty soon--we’re really making this one last.”

What motivates you to get up and keep going every day?

“Honestly, I’ve just made more of a conscious effort to live every day for me, as selfish as that sounds. Being as painfully introverted as I am, the most minute interaction often claims a big piece of myself and my energy. So I very selfishly at times hide myself away in my bunk, or in a cafe or something like that. We’re just working on so many exciting things right now that I don’t really have the time or the opportunity to slow down-- speeding away on a million different As It Is related projects, that’s pretty exciting.”

With you spending a lot of time in cafe’s and such, what’s your favorite place when you’re traveling to stop and eat, a place you look forward to?

“I wasn’t familiar with, but loved Arlo’s in Austin, Texas. Although, the thing about seeking out vegan restaurants on tour is that they’re not always healthy, and I’ve made a more conscious, mature decision to be healthier on tour for everyone’s well being, because I feel like trash if I just eat fake meat and cheese all day. Some of my favorites... I wanna say it’s called ‘Blackbird’s Cafe​’ o​ r something, but it’s in Philadelphia. They do an amazing vegan philly cheesesteak, vegan wings-- they have these root beer barbecue wings. That was a rare, indulgent, ‘eat the trash, feel like trash’ moment, but it was worth it.”

How do you personally fight against writers block?

“Something that I’ve found only more recently--over the last year or so-- is that I hold some of my biggest influences to such a high standard, I put them on the tallest of pedestals. Some of my favorite writers/lyricists are Adam Young from Owl City, Lights, Motion City Soundtrack, Death Cab For Cutie, The Postal Service. Something I’ve done more recently is--yes, these artists have written some of my favorite songs--some of which I believe to be the greatest songs ever written-they have also written songs that I just don’t enjoy. I seek out those songs to remind myself that everybody is human, everybody falls shorts at least in my standards [when it comes to] music that I enjoy, and remind myself that just because these people are my biggest influences in the world, doesn’t mean that they write perfect songs every time. I love starting songs, and hate finishing songs. I start a lot more projects than I finish; partly because the potential of an idea becomes very romanticized in my head, and a lot of the time the actuality of finishing that idea isn’t as great as the potential that I see in it-- and that is a very difficult battle to win some days. What I do is remind myself that every great songwriter is human, and falls short, and doesn’t write 10/10 songs every day of every year.”

Who did you guys pull inspiration from when writing The Great Depression?

“So, we very consciously paid homage to post hardcore and emo bands, such as Armor for Sleep, Underoath..But equally, being a band from the UK, and having lived in the UK since i was five years old, I listened to so many british post hardcore bands that never got the international recognition that this band is fortunate enough to have recieved. We paid homage to bands like Hero for a Friend, Hell is for Heroes, Hundred Reasons-- the third track on The Great Depression,​ The Fire, The Dark​ is co-written with Larry Hibbitt of Hundred Reasons. If you’re from the UK, and you grew up in the 90s and 2000s there was no way to not know about this band. They were on mainstream radio, playing festival mainstages, a giant in UK rock music--but I guarantee none of our fans ever hear of that band, and getting to write one of our songs alongside one of the acts that we were paying tribute to was very cool, very surreal.”

The Great Depression also features a lot of smooth, instrumental transitions between sings--what was your favorite one of those to create?

“I think my favorite to create was the transition between​ The Reaper​ and​ The Two Tongues (Screaming Salvation)​. I don’t know if anyone knows this, I don’t know if I’ve ever said this, and I don’t know if you can even tell--but in the buildup into ​The Two Tongues​ there’s a sample of a song called ​The Prisoner’s Song​, and I don’t even remember who its by, but it was written in like 1925. There’s all this guitar feedback and eerie soundscapes, and our mad scientist of a producer, Machine, had the idea of screaming into the guitar pickups-- because screaming “salvation”, it made sense. [There’s] this never seen, never released video of Machine screaming “salvation” into the guitar. You probably can’t hear it- I can hear it ‘cause I was there: right before the song kicks in , there’s this very distorted sound. It’s a guitar, but you can hear that Machine is screaming “sal-va-tion” into the guitar, and maybe if you really listen closely you’ll hear it now. It’s one of my favorite moments, because i feel like modern music--not even just modern rock music--modern ​music​ isn’t as indulgent as it used to be. I used to read about all these incredibly indulgent studio stories that I just feel like don’t exist anymore, ‘cause no one has the time nor the budget to be as indulgent as some of the greats used to be. Getting to play around with silly things that ultimately don’t matter, but equally fulfill ​you​; ​that’s​ why they matter.” 

If you could spend one day jamming with a favorite musician dead or alive who would it be, and why?

“For me it would be Adam Young in Owl City. Just my biggest influence of all time, somebody that I just respect so endlessly. I think he’s just an expert in sound just as much as he is in songwriting, I just love everything he’s ever done.”

What’s a song--either on the setlist or not--just a song of yours that you hold a lot of personal meaning to?

“​Hey Rachel​. Just hearing audiences from every end and hemisphere of the world sing your sisters’ name is always going to be hugely sentimental and personal, and it’s a very personal moment of every set we play.”

What is a song you can rage to no matter what, something that gets you hype every time?

“​Clever Girl​ by Sharptooth. Anytime [when] we were on warped tour of last year I would seek out the Sharptooth set and just get a little more fired up, and a little bit more pissed off at the state of the world, and get a little more inspired-- it’s something that I’ve tried to catch as many times as I could on this tour, cause it makes me so much more excited for my set--it’s such a great song.”

If you had to describe your music to someone who doesn’t hear, how would you describe it?

“Where optimism and pessimism come to kick the shit out of each other.”

If you want to catch the group on their upcoming “The Intimate Depression” run, or see when they’ll be playing near you next Check them out Online:

https://asitisofficial.com/

https://www.facebook.com/asitisofficial/

http://www.fearlessrecords.com/artists/as-it-is/

https://twitter.com/ASITISofficial?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

Interview by: Liz Holland

[svtmatokis]

Maid of Honor Part 4

Seventeen debuted in Japan!!! Is anyone else obsessed with the We Make You album? I literally had it on replay at work all day and I can’t get enough of it x)  Anywho...here is Part 4 of Maid of Honor! I literally went through a roller coaster of emotions writing this so I hope you all like it ^_^  There’s going to be a small break for this series as I finish up other projects and get them up as well but I’ll continue working on this series as I go :)

Parts 1 - 2 - 3

Genre: Mostly angst....a TINY NOT EVEN EXISTENT AMOUNT  of fluff...

Words: 3131

The next few days on Jeju island went by like a fun blur. The group had done a lot of fun activities together like jet skiing, swimming, tanning, shopping, going to the aquarium and museums. A lot of the time you were split into pairs with the person you were walking up the aisle with meaning that you and Wonwoo spent a great deal of time together.

Looking back on the week, even though it was somewhat forced, you had fun with him. Even though he had unofficially agreed to give you space until he could take you on an official date when you got back to the city, it didn’t mean he acted any less than a gentleman. He joined you and Joshua on your morning runs and found that you two worked well as a team when it came to the challenges that Hye-mi and Mingyu set up.

It was now about two weeks since you guys got back and a lot of things had changed. Your group hung out with Mingyu’s group more often and a lot of time, a lot of you would be seen together playing pool or having dinner. Drinks with Joshua and Wonwoo had become a regular thing on Wednesday and Fridays. On Wednesday’s it was mainly just the three of you while on Friday’s the girls or a few of the guys would join in to end the week.

During that time, you and Wonwoo texted constantly, just random conversations and subtle flirting but Wonwoo never took it above what he thought you were comfortable with which was a bare minimum. He took the advice from the guys and played it cool with you and didn’t push you. But in your mind, maybe Wonwoo was pushing a bit too little.

You were starting to get the feeling that he wasn’t as interested as you had thought. It wasn’t until one day that you got a text that you thought otherwise.

WW: Let’s skip out on Friday night drinks and have dinner just us two instead? I believe I still have a date to take you on ;)

Y/N: *Gasp* I was thinking you forgot.

WW: Forget a date with a beautiful lady like you?  Never. I thought I would give you time to catch up with your work before I took you out. Business casual, I’ll pick you up at your office at 5

Y/N: What a gentleman :o it’s a date ;)

Friday came quicker than you had anticipated but with the work deadlines and your maid of honor duties keeping you busy, you were relieved to have some free time.

It was five minutes before you were supposed to meet Wonwoo in the lobby of your building when you were in the bathroom touching up when you heard some of the girls from human resources gossiping about some guy in the lobby who had a bouquet of flowers and whoever he was waiting for was one lucky girl.

You smirked as you touched up your powder and fixed your hair before walking out to say goodbye to Joshua.

“You’re not going to drinks tonight?” he asked looking at you from his desk as you shook your head.

“I have a date tonight.” you giggled, oddly excited.

Joshua gave you a knowing smile before waving you off and told you to enjoy your night before you walked towards the elevator.

You saw Wonwoo the moment the elevator doors opened, holding a bouquet of flowers. Smiles were on your faces the moment your eyes met and he slowly walked over to you.

“You look beautiful tonight” Wonwoo said as he handed you the bouquet of flowers.

You blushed while thanking him for the compliment and soon the two of you were on your way.

Wonwoo took you to a nice Italian restaurant that he had mentioned once before. Things were going great, you were both enjoying your time getting to know one another over wine and it felt like things were going great.

He talked about his time abroad and shared his stories of experiences he had in the the U.S and Europe as well as funny stories of times with Mingyu and the rest of the boys while  you shared stories about how you met the boys and your unique relationship with each of them.

Towards the end of dessert when ater he paid the bill, Wonwoo was debating on asking you if you wanted to go for a walk in the park when a voice called his name.

“Wonwoo?”

Wonwoo turned around and was shocked to see a few of his old colleagues from England standing behind him.

“Jisung, Yerin, Hyunwoo, what are you all doing in Korea?” He asked standing up as you watched on.

One of the girls came forward and put his hand on his arm with a smile, a smile you didn’t like at all.

“We were all offered to go on a business trip to learn how a few of the top corporations work here.” Yerin explained, “What are you doing here? If I recall, you weren’t a big fan of these kinds of restaurants. “

“Oh, I’m having dinner with my friend Y/N. She’s the maid of honor and I’m the best man at our best friends wedding. We got back from a weeklong vacation on Jeju Island with the rest of the wedding party about two weeks ago so we’re just catching up.” he motioned to you as you smiled politely and waved though on the inside you were extremely confused. Did you hear that word right? Friend? What that actually what he thought of you?

Wonwoo didn’t realize the slip of his words when he introduced you

Yerin looked at you, giving you a once over before she turned back to Wonwoo and grinned again.

“Congratulations to your friend” she said, “well, we’re heading out for drinks. Maybe you’ll join us after dinner so we can all catch up?” She asked fluttering her eye lashes at him which made you gag. You continued to watch her attempts at flirting with Wonwoo as he nodded his head.

“I’ll let you know.” He said though he had no intention on going.

“Great” Yerin said, “We’ll see you later” she giggled kissing his cheek before the group walked off and your heart broke.

Wonwoo wasn’t sure if you had seen the whole thing or not since the other two colleagues were blocking your view… He hoped you hadn’t seen the kiss Yerin gave him though he was doubtful. She had been a potential girlfriend when he was in England. She was smart, beautiful and knew what she was doing except she couldn’t do one thing and that was to stick to one guy. They had dated briefly but ultimately, Wonwoo cut it off and found himself back in Korea which he took as a blessing because not too long after arriving, he met you.

Deciding to act casual, he came back to the table to sit down and sighed silently in relief when he saw you on your phone, probably responding to an email.

“Sorry” He said once he sat down again though he noted something was off. “They’re old friends from England. I haven’t seen them since I left. Are you ready to go? I was thinking we could go for a walk in the park before I take you home.”

You sat there frozen unsure what to say. You had seen the whole thing, including the kiss. You heard her ask him to drinks to catch up with his old group before you saw him wave and make his way back to the table.  You took out your phone and texted Joshua as he sat down in front of you and looked up at him again. It hurt that he acted so casually after as if that whole thing didn’t happen but at this point, you weren’t in the mood.

“I appreciate the offer…” you said to be polite, “I’m actually not feeling well right now. Just a slight stomach ache so I think I’ll take a rain check and head home for the night.”

“Are you okay?” Wonwoo asked concern evident in his voice, “I’ll walk you home now then. You shouldn't go alone.” he stood up to grab your coats as you shook your head.

“No, Wonwoo. It’s okay” you said with a light smile standing as well, “My apartment isn’t that far from here.  I’ll be fine. Why don’t you go meet up with your friends from England or catch up with the gang for drinks?” You suggested taking your coat from him.

“Thanks for dinner.” You gave him a tight smile before making your way out of the restaurant in a fast pace leaving him there confused.

By the time you got to your apartment, Joshua was already leaning against your door with a plastic bag in hand.

“I called Hye-mi. She’s on her way now with more things and an overnight bag.” He said softly. He didn’t know what happened on your date, but he was sure it was a misunderstanding on both your parts. He knew Wonwoo wouldn’t do anything stupid intentionally though he had a tendency to autopilot his words once in a while.

“Sorry to ruin your nights” you muttered and unlocked the door as Joshua shook his head.

“I was about to head out for drinks before you texted me. I wasn’t up for a big crowd tonight anyways so I told the guys that we're having a movie night” he said grabbing supplies from the kitchen cupboards. He knew what to do when you were in moods like this, he and Hye-mi were the only ones.  

When you got upset, you had a tendency to shut down everything, your body, your mind and most importantly, your heart. Joshua knew first hand what it was like. It happened a lot during your first few years with SVT Corp. when you were starting out and trying to balance your love life and work life. You battled with yourself so hard to make it all work, but in the end your work life had won.

But during those times that you tried to give your heart away and it always got broken, he was the only one that could get you out of your semi-permanent funk. All it took was some alcohol, movies and junk food and you were almost good as new. But he had a feeling that this was different, cause this time you actually liked the guy a lot.

Meanwhile, Mingyu walked into he shared flat he had with Hye-mi and noticed that she was in her PJ’s and a hoodie with a large backpack looking ready to go out.

“Are we not going for drinks tonight?” He asked as he watched her run around the kitchen grabbing various junk foods.

“You’re going for drinks tonight” She said zipping up the bag. “Joshua texted me and I have to go to Y/N’s. I think Wonwoo just screwed up on their date” she showed Mingyu her phone which had various texts from Joshua.

JS: I’m going to YN’s place for a movie night instead of drinks. I texted the group but can you let them know just incase?

HM: what’s wrong with Y/N? Doesn’t she have a date with Wonwoo?

JS: Something tells me the date went sideways…

HM:..... I’ll be there soon… I’ll tell Mingyu to tell the guys.

Mingyu was confused when he read the messages. He knew that you and Wonwoo had a date that night but was surprised to hear that it didn’t go well. He’d have to talk to his best friend later.

“I’m probably staying at Y/N’s tonight, I’ll find out what happened and let you know” she said as she kissed him goodbye and left.

When she got to your apartment, she wasn’t surprised to see drinks made and a few desserts out. All that was left was what she had brought. Quickly setting her stuff down she joined you and Joshua on the couch which was covered in blankets and pillows.

“Now that Hye-mi is here, tell us what happened.” Joshua stated handing you a drink.

“It wasn’t a bad date was it?” Hye-mi asked concerned. She knew Wonwoo was a gentleman so she would’ve been surprised if it was bad date.

“It’s not that.” You said sniffling, you didn’t cry but thinking about the whole situaton starting from Jeju island to the almost kiss at the club and all the flirting between you two made you tear up. At the very moment, those emotions felt like a lie.

You told them about how the date was going really well until some people from Wonwoo’s old company in England showed up. You told them about how he told his friends that you were just a friend and then about Yerin and the kiss and how he acted as if nothing happened afterwards.

To be honest, Hye-mi and Joshua were both extremely confused. That didn’t sound like the Wonwoo they knew. The Wonwoo they knew was not the type to let peoples opinions affect his decisions so this was completely out of character for him. Though Joshua did recall once that Wonwoo had a tendency to autopilot and not think about his words once in a while. Those times either worked oddly in his favour or didn’t and this time, Joshua assumed that it was the latter.

“I’m sure it was a misunderstanding” Hye-mi said as Joshua nodded in agreement.

“I hope so..” you muttered and sighed, “This is why I don’t open my heart guys. This always happens. ALWAYS. I mean, the last few guys, yea I understand, they couldn’t put up with the workload but it’s Wonwoo. Out of all the guys, he's the only one that can relate to what I go through and I really liked him.” You threw your head back on the couch as Hye-mi and Joshua looked at you with concern.  "Maybe" you sighed, "It just wasn't meant to be."

Meanwhile, eleven men walked into their favourite lounge they occupied on a regular and was surprised to see Wonwoo, who had told the that he had a date with you that night, sitting at the bar waiting for them.

“What are you doing here? What happened to you date?” Jeonghan asked walking up to Wonwoo giving him a man hug.

“She said she wasn’t feeling well and took a rain check” Wonwoo explained but frowned, “She seemed a bit off afterwards though..” he looked around the group and noticed the missing people. “Where’s Hye-mi and Joshua?”

“They’re at Y/N’s having a movie night. Joshua wasn’t up for a big crowd tonight and Hye-mi went to check on her” Mingyu said lying smoothly through his teeth.

“Oh…” wonwoo said with his brows furrowed. If you weren’t feeling well and wanted company, why hadn’t you asked him? You were together before so it didn’t make sense why you would have called Joshua or Hye-mi instead. Something was wrong with you but he couldn’t figure out what.

“Shit, if she’s having a movie night, that means Joshua and Hye-mi are staying over at her place tonight. What are you going to do Jihoon?” Seungcheol asked looking the smaller one.

It was common knowledge to the group that Jihoon stayed the farthest away from everyone else which meant that he had a tendency to leave early or not come at all. That was until you offered for him to stay in the spare bedroom you had for guests during those heavy drinking nights and because of your generosity, Jihoon always came out even when you didn’t.

“They always pass out in the living room. As long as Joshua’s not sleeping in front of the bedroom door drunk again, I’m fine” he responded as the group walked towards their booth.

“You can always stay at my place since Hye-mi isnt coming home” Mingyu suggested.

“The last time I stayed at your apartment I woke up at 5am, literally an hour after we got home to you tripping over everything in the living room. I’ll pass. Plus Y/N has nicer blankets and has breakfast in the morning” Jihoon retorted with a roll of his eyes.  

“Oh! It’s the Egyptian cotton right?I bought that for her as a housewarming gift a few months back” Jeonghan said as everyone started reminiscing of memories they had of you. Though you weren’t really part of the main group, you had become so close with everyone that in a way you kind of were.

Wonwoo sat there and listened to all the good things that his friends had to say about you. He realized that he really missed out on a lot these last few years and one of those things was getting to know a really great girl. In a way, he felt envious of some of his friends. You and Joshua were already best friends and saw each other everyday. He knew that Mingyu was extremely fond of you and it wasn’t only because he was marrying your best friend, but he seemed to genuinely care.

You and Jihoon were practically weekend roommates, he knew that Jihoon sometimes had an overnight bag as if prepared to stay the night and he heard from Mingyu that there were days that he would go to your apartment when he needed a quiet space and you met up with Jun and Minghao every now and then to brush up on your Chinese.

“I feel bad for her though” his ears perked towards Seungcheols voice.

Mingyu looked at Wonwoo from the corner of his eye. He was debating on when to ask him about his date and what really happened. Like Joshua and Hye-mi, he was confused. Wonwoo was always the perfect gentleman and he was confident that the two of you would’ve had a good time. He cringed the moment the words left Seungcheol’s mouth.

“Let’s not talk about-” Mingyu said wanting to change the subject.

“Why do you feel bad for Y/N?” Wonwoo asked automatically.

“She’s always-” Seungcheol continued not getting the hint even after the glare Mingyu threw at him.

“Wonwoo! You actually came!” a voice a few feet away squealed.

Mingyu turned to look at the source of the voice and his jaw dropped. He may just have found out why Hye-mi said you had a bad date.  He quickly  pulled Wonwoo close so he could whisper in his ear as all the boys turned towards the direction of the voice.

“What the FUCK is that witch Yim Yaerin doing here?” he whispered harshly in Wonwoo’s ear making his best friend gulp.