#i'm so excited to plot >:3

[sylviareviar]

She stepped back for a moment, blinking rapidly. Could he sense her Signer mark? It hadn't been long since the Crimson Dragon fully accepted her as a Signer and made her fake mark real, but for some reason, it still felt surreal to her. She was just supposed to go on with life normally after this? After a deathly battle with her abuser, who then vanished into the light after his defeat, never to be seen again?

She lifted her right arm to get a good look at it, though her glove covered it. Even though her mark didn't break or crack at the seams anymore, she still wore the wrist brace Yusei made for her. She treasured it.

"Y-you... can sense my power?" she asked, hesitant. He did seem like a powerful spirit, capable of showing himself in front of her like this when she had no prior connection to him. Was that why?

Rainbow Kuriboh appeared beside her suddenly, cooing happily. It floated past Sylvia and nuzzled up to the Dark Magician's shoulder, the rainbow crest on its head glowing faintly.

"Rainbow Kuriboh... really likes you," she mumbled, a little dazed.

@sylviareviar; ask cont.

-- He hadn't quite woke up immediately from her call; as it turns out, sound asleep. It wasn't all that rare for the wizard to rest, mostly in preserving his strength. Though to lodge in their world was a tad uncommon, if admitted.

Slowly, he opened his eyes; coming back to consciousness to meet the pinkette's confused gaze.

As his mind returned to, the Magician attempted to recollect his business. Was there a reason why he happened to be stationed there, in particular? -- For one as matter-of-factly as himself, there had to be.

For starters; he could at least feel some power emanating from the girl (enough to notice it simultaneously, as his eyes opened). Maybe, it had to do with that?

It's no good... Whatever recollected, seemed too hazy to discern...

--For starters, -- "...I suppose I am," He answered, giving a short moment of thought prior; elongated, possibly enough to make the living wonder if he'd heard her. He did take things at his own pace, if allowed...

"..." Little else was granted as the Black Magician's groggy eyes moved here, then there; scanning his environment. -- By all matters, he was definitely intruding upon this girl's personal chamber. That much, was fact, he presumed.

"... ..." --Actually. "I was right to presume you hold some power," He suddenly started.

[justanotherfanfolks]

CHAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTT!?!??!?!?!??!?!?!?!?!?!!??!?

[hell0mega]

wait. if season 3 is about the second coming. are we gonna have a first Christmas flashback.

were they there?? were they in disguise? was Crowley one of the wisemen? was aziraphale??? are we gonna see Gabriel tell Mary in the most awkward way possible that she's pregnant? what miracles is aziraphale going to cast in secret to give them a better time? is Mary gonna be the funniest bitch in the club? is Joseph gonna be so confused? are we gonna get bildad-esque quips from Crowley? is the star they all follow gonna be significant???? Y'ALL.

[kickingtheladder]

It's very funny to me how Flynn is really overachieving as clinical lead, he managed a life threatening injury, having an affair, and a colleague having blackmail material on him before he even got the job, and then on his very first day managed to cause chaos with an attempted organisational change AND caused someone to quit! He's speedrunning all the clinical lead plot points!

[necrotic-nephilim]

I love how you write fucked up JayTim. Even when Jays being horrible and sadistic he still *needs* Tim’s approval, his attention. Needs Time to want him to crack his chest open to see if their hearts beat the same. If Tim wanted fucked up Jason he seems so devoted to Tim he’d let that little fucker keep him on a leash just so Tim would tell him to do all the fucked up things to him. (Also as an aside I could just imagine Jay/Steph/Tim where Jason is devoted to both those little gremlins and Steph is constantly encouraging him.)

thank you so much, this is so sweet! i absolutely *love* when people just Get It and the dynamic i'm trying to portray comes across correctly. like yeah, this perfectly describes it. Jason is the Worst and would do anything to hurt Tim, but he still desperately needs Tim around. anything to get Tim to pay attention to him is worth it. obsessed with how he just wants to rip Tim open. everything you said just. yes.

AGREED on JayTimSteph, oh my god. Steph would make a delightful enabler for Jason bc she also knows what it's like to get dragged into TIm's gravitational pull and end up so utterly enamored by him that she'll do morally questionable things for him. (like accidentally starting a gang war so he can prove himself.) and Jason should get to be weird about Steph more! so much of her life mirrors his, so much of his anger is reflected back in her. i want him to try to rip her open and see what's inside just as much as he does Tim. they could match each other's freak so well, while Tim is in the middle just trying to keep his head on straight. Steph and Jason deserve to make each other worse while Tim is desperately trying to pull them from the ledge. it's just. god it's such a good OT3 and it never gets explored for all the fucked up potential it has. stop making Steph the cute comic relief. explore her anger and trauma and let her be just as fucked as Jason is, especially *about* Jason and Tim. bc she would be the real winner in that threesome. stuck between the devil on one shoulder and the angel on the other and being the one in between their fights, deciding if she wants to meditate or instigate.

[mx-myth]

Okay so I've had some meta thoughts about Laurence's amnesia and how it relates to his relationship with Tharkay sitting in my drafts for like over a year now so I figured I'd finally clean it up and post it. Heads up it's really long.

Laurence finally consciously realises that he loves Tharkay (or is in love with him, whatever nuance you'd like) after "knew him, and knew himself." But at this point he's completely in pieces as a person (more on this next paragraph). Post-amnesia, he's an entirely different man. Pre-Temeraire Laurence is the harshest, strictest version both of and with himself. He follows the rules to the letter, basically takes Temeraire only out of duty in the beginning, and even keeps the promise between him and Edith despite there being no formal arrangement at all. Post-Temeraire but pre-amnesia Laurence has softened. He's putting less emphasis on the rules and more on his morals (see: treason). He has more leeway but still carries that honor/duty/order with himself.

Which is why post-amnesia Laurence is the version of himself that discovers that he loves Tharkay. In the wake of losing his memories and then regaining them he's lost and unmoored. Both of his past selves are so different and therefore so distant. They're both true but it's too jarring for him - especially in his current circumstances, much less the overall war - so Laurence becomes a new person. This is Laurence at his most vulnerable, his most unguarded, who smiles more often now because he doesn't really know that he didn't smile that much before. He has two major tethers to his personhood: Temeraire and Tharkay (I hesitate to say only tethers, simply because Laurence's life isn't that small, but repeatedly these two are the ones who have had the biggest impact on his life, who have kept him going). Obviously he loves Temeraire, he's never going to stop loving Temeraire, he just isn't capable of it, but seeing Temeraire didn't bring back his memories (I can't imagine how Temeraire must have felt, meeting a version of Laurence who had never met him). Laurence loves Temeraire in the most unconditional, selfless way - to be very Greek about it, his philia. But I think when he finally comprehends how Tharkay was the catalyst behind this radical change of his self he dives into his memories again and goes over them in excruciating detail (and he was definitely doing that already, but now he's doing it with a lens exclusively focused on Tharkay). At some point he comes to the realisation that Tharkay loves him, and that he loves him, and that he's been unconsciously shoving it down every time it's surfaced (past-Laurence was saying no homo while actively homo-ing). And with the benefit of being an new version of the same person (and also some hindsight, finally), this Laurence says, I've committed treason. My country sees me as a traitor but they still need me to serve them as a tool. I lost myself once in a war (see: "what are you doing?") that's still being fought. Time is short and there's no guarantee I won't lose my memories again, that I will still be the person I am right now. What do I have to lose?

(And on some level, this Laurence thinks, what can stop me?)

He begins giving to Tharkay what Tharkay always had given to him. His acts of devotions start small (relative to Tharkay's; transporting too many ferals is obviously a little outside of what Laurence can feasibly do). He cares for Tharkay once he wakes ("have you noticed the top of your head appears likely to come off?"), he helps him eat and drink, he massages his hands once they heal, he stays with him through the nightmares that come to haunt him. And he continues doing these little things for Tharkay, hoping that he understands (he's willing to wait, Tharkay waited for him after all, and Laurence doesn't want to push him, especially as he's healing). But I think the act that hits Tharkay like, oh, it's different this time is when Laurence bargains his freedom to Napoleon. I feel like that carries unspeakable meaning for Tharkay, who was ostracized growing up and ended up never having a "permanent" home since he travelled so much. I can't imagine that he hasn't been in a similar situation before, but he's probably always been expected to weasel his way out of it without any outside help. He's trained himself out of expecting someone to help him, to care enough about him to save him. Yet part of the man who turned to treason simply so the dragons of France wouldn't die in pain lives on in this Laurence. Pre-Temeraire Laurence is rules and post-Temeraire pre-amnesia Laurence is morals, but post-amnesia Laurence is all heart. There was never a way he was going to leave Tharkay behind.

So Tharkay starts watching him. He watches Laurence continue to devote himself to him, again and again. He brings him his coat on cold days. When it rains and their scars ache he curls around his hands and rubs lotion into them. When he goes into town he always brings Tharkay back a little gift. He starts growing vegetables in the garden and he learns how to cook non-wartime foods and how to knit (because he is a man forged by war and what does one even do during peacetime when one's dragon is busy reforming the government, anyway?) and suddenly he's providing for Tharkay like never before. He looked away for one moment and suddenly Laurence's prescence and all that he does has made the manor a home.

Yet Tharkay, for years, has told himself so many times that Laurence is off-limits, untouchable, that he can love him but that there's no chance that Laurence will love him back. The only way he can love Laurence is silently, nearly from afar, and so he tried to do that. But he can't just stand by and so every time he finds himself committing a deux ex Tharkay (see: ferals, again). He understands that there's some shit Laurence needs to learn himself (and god is this series very good about character development for Laurence) but he's not going to do nothing when the man in about to die. For him it's about caring and providing for Laurence even if he doesn't know it. He learns to content himself with the knowledge that, even if nothing comes of it, he can still be by Laurence's side.

But then the amnesia plot happens (which he only learns of after all of it goes down) and suddenly there is a half-stranger wearing the skin of the man he loves (loved, he tells himself) looking at him with those familiar blue eyes filled with a completely unfamiliar emotion. He's relieved that Laurence remembers but he's said that his Laurence is gone that he's even thinking of it like that (Tharkay has a lot of anger, both at himself and others and the world). Laurence is right in front of him, he's not gone at all, but he's gone in a way that matters. But also this new Laurence is by his side all the time. He's feeding him and helping him drink and dress and he sleeps on the floor by his bedside. Tharkay is so confused because this has to be some kind of fantasy dream he's having. He must still be in the cave (and it's believable that he is, because he returns there every night in his dreams). But he isn't and he has to struggle to come to terms with this new Laurence.

So every time Laurence does something even remotely nice he hyper-analyses it and rationalizes it to himself. He deludes himself into thinking that this is normal for Laurence now. It's normal for Laurence to fuss and hen over him now; it's normal for him to smile at him with that emotion written plainly on his face that Tharkay still hasn't (refuses) to decipher. And he does this well into post-canon.

For that reason he only gets with the program when Laurence has to leave the manor (leave home) for a long while (probably with Temeraire) and suddenly Tharkay is all alone in this huge manor. He's wearing the socks Laurence knitted for him and eating food Laurence grew and walking into rooms and seeing little parts of him scattered everywhere. There's a novel he's reading left on the table by the chair he prefers in the library. There's a cookbook in the kitchen in which he's bookmarked recipes he thinks he might like. Tharkay finds a handwritten list of things they need to buy in town left out for him. He left his pillows on Tharkay's bed because he knows he likes sleeping with a ton of pillows (and they smell like him, and Tharkay pretends he doesn't bury his face in him, that he doesn't miss him while he's gone). When Tharkay wakes up in the morning he makes two cups of tea and waits for Laurence to come in from talking with Temeraire before remembering that neither of them are here (home). He expects Laurence to appear in the evenings to ask if he wants to go on a walk through the grounds with him (and he always ends up saying yes). Tharkay learns that the manor is too big for one man who has always been a little too lonely in his life.

So until Laurence returns home he plots and plans and agonizes. After a week once Laurence has come home (and the first thing he had said to him was welcome home, and Laurence had beamed at him, and it was so unbelievably natural to say it) Tharkay begins his attempts at reciprocating. He wakes up earlier so that he can brew Laurence tea so he can take it out to sit with Temeraire. He says that he cooked some of the recipes from Laurence's cookbook and insists on making them for Laurence (he had to figure out his system of marking which recipes were Laurence's favourites). He gifts him a sturdy, functional, and beautifully crafted knife to wear around the house for daily use; he specifically makes sure the knife is up to Temeraire's standards. In fact, Tharkay talks to Temeraire about everything, and Temeraire tells him, with no minced words while completely drawing his own conclusions, that it's very nice that Tharkay is asking him for his blessing, but does he really need it at this point? Haven't they been courting long enough? He's always approved of Tharkay, because he makes Laurence happy.

That's how Tharkay realises he and Laurence have been dancing around each other like shy birds, both of them subtly showing off but not making the first move. And maybe he realises that Laurence is thinking how he used to think - that it's okay as long as he can be by his side, that he doesn't need his love reciprocated (it's a very long chain of Tharkay loving Laurence, Laurence knowing Tharkay loves him and loving him back, and Tharkay loving Laurence and knowing he knows he loves him and loves him back). And of course Tharkay wasn't going to make the first move back then, and if Laurence hasn't by now, then maybe he should borrow some of Temeraire's courage.

It's something small. The words come later, given how action-forward both Laurence and Tharkay are. They don't even need words. Maybe Tharkay takes Laurence's hand during dinner and intertwines their fingers, maybe he touches Laurence's cheek after he's braided his hair as their eyes meet in the mirror, maybe as they pack away the port and piquet he kisses him good night. Whatever it is, they look at each other and simply know. Tharkay sees Laurence slowly start to smile, a huge one that spreads across his entire face, one that he's only seen on Laurence when he thinks he's alone with Temeraire. He seems to brighten, almost radiating light.

For his part, Laurence reciprocates. He squeezes Tharkay's hand, he turns his cheek into Tharkay's touch, he pulls him in for another kiss. He watches as something seems to drop from Tharkay, something that he hadn't even known he was carrying. He becomes loose and relaxed, his body language more open as he looks at Laurence with one of his little smiles, a bit of shyness that he's never seen before evident on his face. He tells Tharkay that he's the most beautiful person he's ever seen.

[kittehbiscuits]

I have a theory guys

The woman that he died over is the wife in the sequel, and also the owner of the finger with a wedding ring he pulled out of his pocket, so I guess that makes her his ex wife so I could be wrong but maybe they just didn't add ex when they revealed casting for whatever reason.

[beesinspades]

it's vashwood reverse bang preview time!! here's a look at my collab with @ohohge 👀💜 I had a ton of fun working on it with her over the past months! we're posting on august 1st so please look forward to it, and go check out her art preview! :D

[aletheialed]

The Chief Prosecutor from overseas, Miles Edgeworth... at first, Rayfa had come here to see him for a completely different reason to the one that's taking up all of her attention now.

Honestly, she doesn't remember the man particularly well. It's no surprise - she was in such an awful state during the time that she'd spent with him that she barely gave him a second thought with everything that had been on her mind. But he'd been kind to her - she remembers that, and she'd wanted to thank him for it. There may have been other reasons for her seeking him out, too, but right now... Rayfa has forgotten about all of them for one very specific reason: the mystery that she's determined to solve.

That is to say - the question of whatever it is she's been experiencing whenever Miles Edgeworth is nearby.

If you were to put her on the spot, she'd say it feels like spiritual power. But that makes no sense. For one thing, Rayfa has never heard of a man having spiritual power! ...Though until recently, she hadn't thought that anyone from outside of Khura'in could channel spirits... and so much of what she'd believed about the spiritual world had been wrong that it would hardly surprise her to learn if she was mistaken about more. Still - it's strange enough to have made her second guess herself. Then, there's her next source of doubt - the fact that Rayfa can't even channel spirits yet herself yet. So can she really trust herself to accurately discern what she's feeling to begin with...?

To be honest, she hates it - being so unsure of herself. It brings up bad memories in her... uncomfortable feelings that she'd hoped she had finally got rid of. But that's exactly why she's so determined to figure this mystery out right now - so much so that it takes her three times until she realized her name has been called by the man she's been staring at for the past half a minute.

"Oh! Ummm...." Suddenly, Rayfa feels awfully embarrassed. Not that she has anything to be embarrassed by, of course! Her curiosity is completely reasonable, and as the future Queen of Khura'in, she is obviously one hundred percent justified of wanting to get to the bottom of this matter!

"Mr. Chief Prosecutor! Did you- say something to me just now?"

@demon-prosecuted ( starter for edgeworth! )

[meowmeowuchiha]

I just wanna say that despite my criticism of a few elements from the trailer as well as my criticism of the new art style that started with 3

I am still excited to play Borderlands 4 it's gonna be so fun

[lunareiitic]

Me and @anglerfishenthusiast's current Firefly Theories based on the White Night MV.

Spoilers (?) Ahead (?) (Does it count as spoilers if the story isn't even out yet? You decide!)

So, if you look at the Sam vs Acheron fight in the second half of the MV, you'll notice that Sam's wings are a distinct green+gold color (as are a lot of Sam's accents). There are only two characters in Penacony with that color scheme:

Firefly and Aventurine. Given that Aventurine already has his own weird mask thing going on in the MV, and the obvious wings > insect conclusion that can be drawn, there are a few conclusions that can be speculated from the footage.

Option A: Firefly is Sam, and has always been. This is the most popular theory I've seen so far, and it works based on what we have. This makes at least one of them transgender, which I enjoy. Bigender robot win!

Option B: Sam is in Penacony, but for some reason, Firefly dons his armor/disguses herself as him to fight Acheron a la Patroclus in the Illiad. I love this idea because A, I came up with it, and B, it would fit the "dreams, emptiness, deception" theme that is clearly going to be a large part of the Penacony plot. You can't trust anyone in the city of dreams, especially with the masked fools about.

Option C: Firefly does not exist, at least not as a flesh-and-blood person. She seems incredibly death flagged, but given that we had an entire patch not that long ago about a major character death who was also out guide to a new region, it would feel... odd for them to do it again immediately. Jude Lemon Anglerfish proposes a different path: what if Firefly was dead the whole time? What if she is merely a ghost that possesses the Sam body, or she's some kind of illusory projection of the dream world? She vanishes into sparkles at the end of the MV as the camera pans away from her. She's definitely not sticking around, the question is: why?

[doctorweebmd]

8900

I was optimistic that today may have been the day, but there ended up being wayyy too much to edit. But chapter 5 is, more or less, done. One final read-through and touch up and it will be up TOMORROWWWW.

EVERYTHING IN HALVES MY BELOVED YOU ARE ABOUT TO JOIN THE RANKS OF MY FICS THAT SAY 'oh. ohhh. the writer is insane. okay. 👍'

[missmungoe]

just wondering if you're going to update "Put it on my tab"? its one of my favorites and I just hoe everyone flocks to makinos!!!! this is not me trying to pressure an update btw!! take all the time you want but im just wondering where on the update list it is if that makes sense? Have a lovely day and I love your work so much!!!❤❤❤❤

Hearing that it's one of your favourites made me so happy, I went and finished the draft for the next chapter, so it's actually next on my schedule! Hoping to update it this week if energy allows, but in the meantime, have a little snippet while I edit!

From chapter 2 of Put It on My Tab, aka the fic where a lot of people show up in Makino's bar. First up:

The bar was like he’d described it.

It’s not your usual watering hole, he’d said, his gaze drawn inwards, as though picturing it. They'd been drinking in the galley on Moby Dick, all of them gathered together; the noise level had almost drowned out his voice as he'd continued, It’s really tidy, and she keeps flowers in her windows. I used to think bars were supposed to be seedy, or at the very least a little dingy. All the ones I’d seen in Goa were, so I figured it was part of the gig, but hers was different.

He’d grinned; the one he reserved for the good things from his childhood, like his brothers, and the bandits who’d raised him, as Ace had told them, simply, She’s different.

I take it you’ve never dined and dashed from your tab there, Marco remembered saying.

He’d laughed at that. He could still recall the sound, and the way he’d throw his head back. Oyaji had once remarked that he’d never looked more like his father than when he laughed, but Marco had never told Ace that.

I’d like to meet the person who could, Ace had said.

Their whole crew had been listening now, Oyaji included, a focus that betrayed a curious amount of intrigue, given the topic of conversation, but it was Izo who'd asked, She's that scary?

Ace's grin had softened, something almost bashful in it, as though he was suddenly a much younger boy, even if Marco had often teased him that he was young. And he’d given them a clear picture of the island where he'd grown up, and its inhabitants, Dadan and her family, and the villagers, but here he’d shaken his head, as though this couldn’t be described. Instead, all he’d said was,

If you ever meet her, you’ll see what I mean.

[tadpolesonalgae]

qq in cbmthy are az and r going to fuck. sorry i know it's going to be like ages from now but i now desperately want a scene where az is desperate to eat r's pussy but she thinks its wrong fnsnfkjsngfksd

anyway as excited as i am for az/r development eventually i'm more excited about how the plot develops and what exactly you have in store for us wrt the plot.

Haha no worries!

So, I doubt they'll be sexually intimate again in the main story - there'll eventually be romantic intimacy, emotional intimacy/vulnerability, and potentially a case of forced proximity, or maybe something else a little trope-y if I think their dynamic becomes healthy enough to handle it, but nothing even close to explicit sexuality.

Something I have considered though is writing a bonus chapter that's separate from an epilogue where we can see how Az and reader work together in the bedroom? How I usually write Az is he generally has a taste for bdsm, then sprinkling in whatever other kinks I feel like adding. Comparatively, I imagine reader would be much more vanilla leaning? I think she would want sex to be comprised of romance and intimacy rather than being lust- or kink-fuelled; likewise I imagine things like degradation and humiliation being hard passes for her.

That being said I think some elements of bdsm might appeal to her: like having a clear system that she understands, set rules to follow, plenty of reassurance and guidance from Az to make sure she's comfortable and safe. I think a large part of having a relationship like that is that there's trust between the two partners, so in that sense I imagine it might suit them well. Similarly I imagine introducing emotional intimacy into sex (something reader would be keen on) would be something Azriel would be new to, and likely need time to adjust to.

I also imagine reader potentially having an oral fixation and enjoying having Azriel's fingers in her mouth, which would probably be something they'd have to approach slowly due to Azriel's loathing of his hands

From that viewpoint I think the idea of writing a bonus chapter of them learning to understand one another, carefully compromising in bed, and taking care not to go at anything too quickly could be something necessary to show a side of their relationship that we won't get to see in the main story due to the sexual nature of those ideas <3

[tsukikoayanosuke]

Suddenly Magical Boys?! - Ruikasa Week 2024

Day 3: First Meeting

(ft. Colofes magical girl au & mentioned of April Fools 2024)

Magic was something Tsukasa never really considered in life.

It wasn't that he disliked fantasy. No, complete the opposite. He loves fantasy. His favorite plays and stories are fantasy. But he has his limit. He's not a child anymore. He's 17! The perfect adolescent age! He's too old to wish upon a star! He has things to do! Places to be! The cafe to run! Auditions to go!

...

He has an audition to go!

"TOUYA! MINORI! I'm going now!" Tsukasa tossed his apron, accidentally hitting Touya in the face as he reached for his jacket. "There's the pecan pie in the oven!"

"Good luck, Tsukasa-senpai." Touya waved his hand, not even bothering to remove the apron from his face.

"You can do it, Tsukasa!" Minori cheered as she rolled past him on her rollerskate to carry a pudding order.

Tsukasa flashed them a smile as he ran out of the Booo! Cafe. His mind has only one target. There was no time to take in the view of the town Tsukasa had come to be acquainted with in just a few months. This town known as Kazamatsuri is a town at the foot of a mountain. While it is different than his modern hometown of Tokyo City, it doesn't lose its charm for its very environmentally conscious inhabitants. It is as if you're living in a forest; greenery in every corner as the gardening committee takes their positions very seriously. Thus, the air in Kazamatsuri, despite being more advanced in technology, is still as fresh as when you live in the countryside, making it a perfect town for his sister, Saki. It was also a coincidence that their other siblings, Touya and Kanade, also live there.

So now all of them live under one roof and Tsukasa, of course, being the responsible older sibling, took it upon himself to take care of them. Booo! Cafe, where he works together with Minori and Touya, is his source of income as Saki and Kanade help in their own way; Saki with her alien investigation team and Kanade with her band.

But when the local theater, the Devil's Manner, decided to do an open audition for their new production, Tsukasa knew he couldn't miss it.

And thus how he finally arrived at the venue, nearly out of breath. Darn, his legend almost ended before it could begin.

"Alright!" Someone clapped their hand, gaining everyone's attention. A blue-haired man stood in front of the auditionees along with a purple-haired teen who Tsukasa was sure is a the same age as him. "Welcome, everyone. I'm Shion Kaito, the head of Devils' Manner Theater. And this is Kamishiro Rui, our director." 

Already a director at that young age?! Ugh! It was like a stab in the heart for Tsukasa. He needs to do better! He hadn't accomplished great anything yet!

"We'll start with introducing youself." Kamishiro clicked his pen. Oh, wow. His voice is kinda nice- what the heck, Tsukasa?! Get over yourself! "Starting from the right, okay?"

Tsukasa nodded to himself. Alright. First impressions are important. He has to go big.

"Alright." Kamishiro pointed at him. "Your turn."

Tsukasa cleared his throat and stepped forward with a hand on his chest. "My first name is written with the character for ruling, and second with the character for pegasus." He spun around. "I am Tsukasa Tenma, the soaring pegasus born to rule the showbiz world!" And stretched out his hand toward Kamishiro. "Allow me to take my first steps to stardom on one of your stages, and I shall repay you with a plethora of incredible shows the crowds will fall in love with!"

Kamishiro's eyes widened ever so slightly. Good. He made him speechless. "Incredible shows, you say?"

Tsukasa nodded. "I am not merely a star, I am a supernova! I am the miracle-bringer! And now, I am at your service! Give me any role, and I will perform it to 12,000% satisfaction!"

Kamishiro giggled. "We'll see about that, Tenma-kun."

*****

Hours went by and Tsukasa could finally breath. The sun has started to set as he stepped out of the theater. It went better than he expected. Stardom here we come!

'Hey owari wo koete zutto paatii wo Hey mawaritsuzukeru meriigooraundo'

Oh, that was his phone. He picked it up. "Hello."

"Onii-chan!" It was Saki! "How was the audition?"

"It went great!" Tsukasa cheered as he started to walk away. "We'll just hope for the best for now."

"I knew you could do it! We should celebrate! Pizza and movies?"

Tsukasa nodded. "Pizza and movies, as tradition. I'll grab the drinks. Any request?"

He could hear Saki's shout followed by some mumblings from presumably Touya and Kanade. "Milk tea for me and Kanade and Touya wanted iced coffee as usual."

"Alright them, I'll see you later."

"See you!" Tsukasa smiled at his phone screen. He might be the oldest sibling, but that doesn't mean the little ones won't help him back. They only have each other in this town. Tsukasa would do anything to protect them.

To protect. To keep their smile.

He has to...

It's all he can do...

And then, the world shifted. 

Dong... Dong...

"Eh?" Where did that bell come from?

The wind picked up. A cherry blossom petal hit his face.

And then, it happened.

Runes of white light hit the street. 

A kid carrying a soda can tripped on top of it, but before his mother or Tsukasa could help him, time stopped.

Everything froze in a red hue like the sky. An old lady walking a street. Teens roughhousing playfully. A vendor selling takoyaki to a little girl. Nothing moved.

Except for Tsukasa.

"What the..." He looked around, dashing to find anyone who wasn't frozen. "What's going on?!"

The earth cracked and when Tsukasa turned around.

A giant baby with sharp teeth. "OkAy, pRePaRaTiOnS CoMpLeTe!"

A floating ball with millions of heads stood. "ThErE ArEn'T MaNy pEoPlE BuT It'S EnOuGh. LeTs hAvE ThEm."

"ChOw tImE! ChOw tImE!" The baby opened its mouth and people started to glow, covering them with white flame. The flame got sucked into its mouth.

"ItS So dElIcIoUs, sO DeLiCiOuS!" the baby cheered.

"DoNt tAlK WiTh yOuR MoUtH FuLl." the faces scolded it. "ShAmE On yOu."

"OkAy..."

The heads also opened their millions of mouths and sucked more flame from the people.

And Tsukasa just froze there. He couldn't move. Too much in shock.

This must be a dream. A nightmare. A hallucination from the build-up of nervousness of the audition.

There was no way this was real.

"There's no way..."

One of the many faces on the ball finally noticed him. "WhAt iS ThIs? A HuMaN StIlL RoAmInG ArOuNd tHe rEd nIgHt?"

The baby stopped its feast to turn to Tsukasa. "Is iT A MaGiCaL GiRl?"

"CoUlD Be. AnD A StUpId oNe tHaT Is."

The baby giggled and loomed over Tsukasa. "NoT GoInG To tRaNsFoRm?"

And he couldn't do anything as its hand wrapped around him. "CaUgHt yOu! NeVeR HaD A MaGiCaL GiRl bEfOrE. ChOw tImE!"

It opened its mouth and Tsukasa could feel himself getting sleepy. Flames came out from him and flowed into the baby's mouth. 

Oh. 

This is just a dream, isn't it?

A nightmare.

He'll wake up, right?

Someone... Saki... Touya... Kanade...

Wake him up, please.

A twinkle appeared in the distance.

And a shooting star hit the baby in the face.

It screamed, releasing Tsukasa from its garps.

Someone caught him before he could hit the ground. 

In his dazed state, he could see his savior; purple hair with two cyan stripes. A marking of a crescent moon over his right eye. A suit that reminded him of space.

"What are you thinking?!" His savior scolded him. "Why are you doing just standing there?!"

"Huh...?"

"Did you forget to transform? What kind of Magical Boy are you?!"

Magical... "Magic doesn't exist..."

"Then explain all of this."

"A nightmare?"

"A MaGiCaL GiRl..." The ball of a million heads. "A ReAl oNe tHiS OnE."

Tsukasa could feel his savior clutching him tighter.  "Time to go."

"Wha-"

The baby raised its hand about to hit Tsukasa and his savior, but they jumped out of the way. Well, it was more like his savior jumped while carrying Tsukasa's bridal style. That certainly woke Tsukasa up.

"Wait!" He put his arms around his savior's neck, securing himself from falling. "What's going on?"

"Are you new to this job?" his savior asked. "Does no one ever taught you about this stuff?"

"I didn't even know magic even existed!" Tsukasa shouted. "There's no such thing as Magical Girls!"

"You're being saved by one." 

"There's no way!" 

"Look, whether you want to believe or not, this is real." His savior looked down at him and Tsukasa could see constellations in his golden eyes. "Magic is real. Us Magical Boys and Girls are real. And those creatures, the Eaters, are real. They brought upon the Red Night where time stop so they could feast upon humans' soul like your. When a human lost their soul, they will disappear from existence and no one will remember them. Humans aren't supposed to be able to walk around the Red Night, so either you're also a Magical Boy or you have something with magical power to make you move around here." 

"But... I don't..." 

"I know now you aren't one."

They landed on the roof of a building and his savior put him down. "When the Red Night ends, you'll be transported back to your original spot when it was activated. So, stay here." 

Just as he was about to leave, Tsukasa caught his hand. "Wait! What about you?" 

His savior looked ahead toward their previous enemies. "I need to make sure they don't reach you and stop this Red Night early." 

"Why?" 

He chuckled. "I've taken an interest in you. Even if we won't meet again in this condition." 

Right. Tsukasa wasn't supposed to be here. He wasn't supposed to get involved in this mess. "Can I at least know your name?" 

His savior shook his head. "If we meet again in this Red Night. I'll tell you my name. But I'll be sure to look after you in one way or another." 

With that, his savior jumped into battle. With the spectacles that was the shooting stars when Tsukasa gasp- 

And then, the world shifted. 

Dong... Dong...

Everything returned to normal. 

Everything started to move again. 

But he knew some things were missing. 

There was a single teen missing from the roughhousing group. The vendor never sold anything. And the mother whose child previously fallen down just walked passed him. 

They were gone. 

Those who were eaten by those monsters, the Eaters, were gone. As if they never existed in the first place. 

And Magical Boys and Girls, like his savior, were fighting against them. 

Magic... Exists... 

"Tsukasa-senpai!" 

Someone caught him before he could fall down, clutching him for their dear life. "Tou...Ya...?" Wasn't Touya supposed to be back home? 

"You're alright." Touya hugged him tight and close. "You're alright..." 

"How did you get here?" 

"I ran." That's strange. Touya was never one good with physical activity. "You haven't home for a while so I thought-" 

"But time stopped." 

Touya let out a gasp and pulled out from the hug. "How did you-" 

"Are you...magic too?" 

Touya started at him with shock and Tsukasa begged that Touya would laugh or be confused, because this is just too ridiculous to be real.

Magic doesn't exist and everything he saw of Red Night and Eaters and his Magical Boy savior are just a hallucination. 

And yet, Touya reached for Tsukasa's jacket pocket. Touya and Tsukasa's jacket are identical, thus they would often got mixed. It wouldn't be surprise that in earlier rush, Tsukasa took Touya's jacket instead of his own. But it was still a surprise when Touya pulled back his hand while holding something. 

A hairpin. A simple hairpin with two small black orb.  

A hairpin that Touya would wear often. 

"Humans aren't supposed to be able to walk around the Red Night, so either you're also a Magical Boy or you have something with magical power to make you move around here." 

That was what the Magical Boy said. 

Is that Touya's magical item? So Touya is really is a... 

"I promise I will explain everything." Touya said as he pulled Tsukasa into another hug. "I'm glad you're safe..." 

Magic was something Tsukasa never really considered in life. 

But after taking a glimpse of it and knowing how dangerous it is, of how his own siblings in involved, Tsukasa knows there no way he could stay ignorant. 

Perhaps one day, once he learns more about this magical conundrum, he could meet with his savior again.

[occkalt]

As she sighs, Kat does make an effort to stop the bitterness she's feeling in her stomach from showing on her face - but it's a rather half-hearted one. Not that it really matters, with no-one around to see it, but even so... sitting around moping isn't something she wants to be doing at all. Especially today.

Lately, she's been feeling a little lonelier than normal. And sometimes thoughts sneak into her head when she's not ready for them... thoughts about what it'd be like to have more friends, to open up a little more, to be a little less cynical - things like that, poking and prodding at her out of nowhere. It's not like she isn't satisfied with how things are going, but... maybe it's normal to be feeling out of sorts, even on a day like this. Just because she's feeling dissatisfied now doesn't mean the feeling will last forever, right?

After a moment, Kat pretends to blow out a candle and forces herself to smile. It's really not all that bad. And then, making a wish in her heart, she says-

"Happy birthday to me, I guess."

...I miss you, dad. ...The thought doesn't hurt quite as bad as she expected. But when she opens her eyes again, not even having realized she closed them, Kat suddenly spots a girl who catches her attention. Not just because she seems familiar, but because she seems to be... sneaking? Or at least it looks that way. ...Almost as if she doesn't want to be seen... And with that thought, Kat's lips curl upwards into a smirk.

"Hey... I know you. Aren't you the girl who everyone won't stop talking about lately?"

@ervaurem ( starter for momo! )