#it took me a while to adjust to the fact that deserts are not scary

[llitchilitchi]

for all the Minecraft veterans that have been around since the early days

please tell me what you voted and what country you're from, I wonder if this was just a czechoslovak thing or not

[artsyhobi]

Cursed

Divine Gods!BTS x reader

series masterlist

Chapter one, Calico Cat.

characters: mortal!fem!reader, god of the moon!park jimin, god of the sun!jung hoseok, god of death and darkness!min yoongi, god of the four elements!kim namjoon, god of time!kim seokjin, god of nature and life!jeon jungkook, god of mischief!kim taehyung.

a/n: hello ! i hope you enjoy this first chapter, i actually took inspo from Goblin (which is a kdrama i absolutely loved ;;) and i'm sorry in advance for my poor writing, but english is not my first language ...

trigger warning: mentions of blood, violence and death, curse words.

tag-list: @greezenini, @fangirl125reader, @motherofbludgers

Min Yoongi sat on the throne, his legs elegantly crossed as he rested his forearms on the armrest. He slightly raised his left arm so that the tip of his index finger could lightly brush against his lower lip, his eyebrows mildly furrowed in a focused expression.

The black-haired man continued playing with his lip, then reached for something in the pocket of his silk pants and held the object in the palm of his hand: it was a vintage pocket watch entirely made out of gold, with a ruby located right at its center. The hands of the watch moved mechanically, producing a “tic” sound that resonated in his mind like an irritating echo.

Yoongi hated time. What was ironic, though, is that he had too much of it: he had an Eternity.

Yoongi glared at the antique object once more. A satisfied smirk appeared on the corner of his lips, depicting anything but an innocent smile. He stood up, adjusting his coat and grabbing his black bowler hat in a swift movement before taking some steps forward: as he walked, the dark throne room surrounding him became gradually more distant and, in a matter of seconds, the man was walking in the busy and snowy streets of Seoul. The snow crunched under the soles of his shoes, the snowflakes that landed on his coat immediately melted, and as he passed by, nobody seemed to notice his presence.

The street was crowded with people rushing to purchase the last Christmas presents, couples holding hands, and kids eating strawberry cotton candy. Disgusting, thought Yoongi as he curled his nose.

“One minute and thirty-three seconds.” He murmured to himself, turning into a deserted alley after checking the correct street name on a brick wall nearby. As he walked, the bright white snow became dirtier until there were just a few clusters of it on the side of the path. It started snowing heavier.

“Fifty-eight seconds.”

“I told you there were consequences!” A hoarse male voice shouted in the distance. Yoongi stopped hands into the pockets of his coat. “You’re a worthless bitch!”

There was a loud bang, followed by two others, and a feeble female voice asking for help. No one could hear her, and even if her cries reached someone’s ears, no one would help her since - according to Min Yoongi - humans were nothing but greedy mortal souls that enjoyed the sufferings of others. They were too occupied with spending their money on materialistic goods and developing toxic, violent, and possessive relationships. They were human beings but had no humanity left in their hearts.

He approached the poor woman laying on the ground, her hand resting on her stomach: blood was gushing out of her bullet wounds, dripping down in a pool of crimson absorbed by the snow. Tears streamed down her face as she whispered the same words over and over again, “Help me”.

He crouched down beside her and tilted his head, observing her like a detective inspected a victim. He knew that her time was up and that she was destined to die there, alone, desperately waiting for someone to find her.

“S-Sir…” She mumbled, some blood running down from the corner of her mouth. “P-please help me…” Her hand desperately clutched the hem of his coat, smearing it with her blood.

Yoongi sharply exhaled and rolled his eyes, turning his head to the side.

“Fancy seeing you follow me everywhere I go, Jungkook.” He stated, reluctantly standing up to face a man leaning against the brick wall, his arms crossed.

“Did you miss me?” Jungkook grinned.

He seemed almost like an angel since the clothes he wore were entirely white. His blond hair brushed against his shoulders, and a pair of long crystal earrings hung from his ears, sparkling as soon as they moved. Yoongi, on the contrary, was his polar opposite: his short wavy locks were as black as pitch, and although his eyes were a dull brown, they almost felt like looking into two holes, black as a night without stars.

“Seokjin sent me here to stop you from reaping her soul,” he affirmed, playing with the many rings he wore on his fingers, “It’s not her time yet.”

Yoongi scoffed, slightly amused at his statement. “Don’t you see the three holes on her stomach… Or do you need a magnifying glass? I am the one who decides if she dies today, not that Doctor Strange wannabe.” He took some steps toward him until his face was a few inches away from his, “I don’t take orders from a teenager.”

Jungkook furrowed his eyebrows, the slight grin disappeared. “These are not my orders but his, and you know you must obey him.” He lightly shoved Yoongi’s shoulder without interrupting eye contact with him, trying to remain calm. He kneeled beside the woman and caressed her hair, a sad smile depicted on his pink lips, while Yoongi stared angrily at the two.

“Don’t even think about it, Jungkook, her soul is already mine.” He said through gritted teeth.

“It is, you’re right.” The blond whispered and delicately put his hand on the woman’s chest. “But not now, Yoongi, you will have to wait.”

“Wait!?” Yoongi exclaimed in disbelief, and then frantically ran a hand through his black locks, “This has to be a joke, is Taehyung with you?”

“He is not,” He responded as a gleam of light formed under the palm of his hand, turning brighter by the second, “I haven’t seen him in ages.” This time his tone was lower, and his expression had darkened. Yoongi nodded, having no interest in knowing what had happened between the two friends.

“I suppose you won’t tell me why Seokjin wants to spare her life.”

“He just told me to stop you, nothing more.”

Yoongi pinched the bridge of his nose, squeezing his eyes shut. “Lies,” he snarled, “you are his little obedient puppy, Jungkook, we all know it.”

Jungkook inhaled the sharp, cold air and smiled as the woman opened her dark eyes. “I’m not here to fight, Yoongi, so you can insult me how much you want.” The blond took the now conscious woman into his arms and glared directly at his former friend. “But nothing will change the fact that you’re on your own now.”

Yoongi turned around, ready to argue back, but there was no trace of Jungkook.

The black-haired man remained still as he watched the empty spot, sighing, a strange feeling at the pit of his stomach.

20 years later

“Chung-Ae, we’ve already talked about this!” You groaned in annoyance, sinking your face into your Pikachu plushie. “I’m happy here!”

Chung-Ae sat on the counter, her arms supporting her as she gave you a stern look. You peeked, escaping the protection of your plushie, noticing that she wore purple lenses - although her stare was as scary as it had always been -.

“You’re a twenty-two-year-old living in an old house, with your three cats, and working in a cat-café.” She emphasized the “and” as if working in such a wonderful place was something to be ashamed of.

“That’s the best life!” You exclaimed as you sat comfortably on your sofa. “I mean, why would I need to move to Seul with a bunch of horny people when I could just spend the rest of my life in peace?”

Chung-Ae sighed loudly.

“They’re not just a bunch of horny people. They are my friends.”

You parted your lips to respond, wanting to remind her about the last party you both had attended, but she cut you off.

“Y/N, you live alone in such an abandoned area, it’s dangerous; it even takes you more than an hour to reach the café.” She slid down from the counter and sat next to you, putting her hand on your shoulder. “Trust me, I know that you’re attached to this place, but it doesn’t work for you anymore.”

She was right, you loved that place. Your grandparent’s house was located in the countryside, in a small rural village that was scarcely populated. The few young people remaining had started moving to bigger cities such as Seul or Busan, but not you. You adored waking up to the sound of birds chirping in the morning and the gurgling of the river. You got used to being alone, and you didn’t mind it. You couldn’t understand why Chung-Ae tried to force you to move with her, but she was rather determined, and you knew she was going to insist.

“Chung-Ae,” you reached for her hand and squeezed it delicately, a small smile forming on your lips. “You know I can’t leave, I promised my mother I would take care of this house.”

“You have to stop living in the past, Y/N.” She firmly stated. “This house is falling apart, and so is your life. Moving to Seul with me is your best option.”

Her eyes stared into yours for a few seconds, and you felt unreasonably guilty. You knew how much she cared about you, and you were constantly giving her “no” as answers. She retracted her hand, reaching for her purse right beside her, before standing up. “You still have time to think about it. You know that, right?” Her hand was on the doorknob.

Your mind wanted to decline her offer, but your heart told you otherwise, so you just nodded.

“Take care, Y/N.” And with that, she closed the door behind her, leaving you alone once again.

You finally took a deep breath running your palms down your face in an exasperated manner. Chung-Ae was your childhood friend, and she had always been by your side. You had met her in elementary school: she was popular amongst your class since her father was a renowned lawyer who worked for big celebrities, but you - on the other hand - weren’t as popular. You weren’t a social butterfly and preferred spending your time playing with the stray cats in your neighborhood.

You stood up and walked toward the kitchen, deciding to make yourself a homemade chicken noodle soup. You put the ingredients on the counter and started to chop the carrots into strings. As you were about to grab something, you heard a strange noise coming from outside: you reminisced Chung-Ae’s words and felt a shiver run through your spine, but you shook your head, mentally reassuring yourself that it must have been a wild animal.

You grabbed the celery from the fridge, deciding that you would drink some strawberry milk while waiting for the soup to cook. However, when you closed it, you were taken aback by a calico cat sitting on the floor, right in front of you. Your eyes were wide open in surprise since your three cats were all black, and you crouched down. “Hello, little one,” you gently smiled as you observed the little creature staring at you with a pair of light blue eyes, “I wonder how you got in…”

You inspected the room looking for any open windows but soon discovered you had closed everything. When you turned your gaze back to the cat, it was gone. Puzzled, you stood back up, massaging your temples. Am I hallucinating? You asked yourself before resuming your dish.

After literally devouring your delicious meal and doing the dishes, you headed to your room, where you found the windows wide open. You didn’t remember leaving them like that, but you also didn’t mind the fresh breeze coming from outside. It was a quiet night of July, and the moon was shining vividly in the sky, its brightness being the only source of light in the room. As you approached your bed, you couldn’t help but notice the shape of a cat on the window ledge, but when you came near, it had mysteriously vanished.

"Okay, Y/N, you're probably tired." You told yourself while sitting on the bed. As you laid down, feeling the freshness of your newly washed sheets, you heard another sound and then a chorus of meows coming from the living room. You sighed, reluctantly standing up, wearing a hoodie before walking down the stairs.

"What is it, guys, did you hurt yourselves?" You asked as your three black cats, Luna, Mars, and Pluto, continued meowing toward the front door. You groaned, "Alright, I will check."

You weren't ready for what you were about to see: you expected nothing but pitch darkness or that calico cat that was apparently haunting you now. But as you opened the wooden door, you froze on the spot at the sight of a man leaning his arm on the doorframe.

Because of the darkness, you could only see his silver hair reflecting the moonlight and a pair of light blue eyes staring at you in curiosity.

"Hello, little one."

[avengerscompound]

One Night In Vegas

One Night in Vegas: An Iron Man Fanfic

Buy me a ☕ Square:  @iron-man-bingo - Accidentally Married, @marvelfluffbingo - Woke up Married

Rating:  M

Warning:  Talk of sex, aftermath of drinking and drug use.

Word Count:  2753

Pairing:  Tony Stark x F!Reader

Summary:  You wake up in a Vegas suite with Tony Stark wearing the biggest diamond ring you’ve seen in your life.  The two of you then try and piece the night together.

One Night In Vegas

You woke up with your head pounding and your eyelashes stuck together.  Not that you particularly wanted to open your eyes.  You wanted to pass out again and hopefully, sleep through until your headache was gone.

Unfortunately, along with the pounding, there was nausea that was starting to get to the unbearable point and you could already feel the bile rising in your throat.  You were going to throw up, and you had to work out how you were going to get untangled from whoever it was you were currently tangled up with.

You pried your eyes open slowly.  The room was filled with the bright light of the desert sun outside and your eyes did not seem to want to adjust to it.  You groaned and tried to pull away from whoever was clinging to you like a koala.  When your eyes finally adjusted you saw it was Tony and let out a sigh of relief.  Your relationship with Tony wasn’t exactly conventional but the idea of waking up with a stranger when you were as blackout wasted as you got last night was not one you were a fan of.

He grumbled and seemed to tighten up around you more and you pushed him.  “Let me up.”  You whined.

He let you go, rolling over and grunting as you stumbled out of the circular bed and ran to the bathroom, dropping to your knees on the marble floor and emptying your stomach.

Last night had been… well, you weren’t even sure.  It had started with a few rounds of poker in the high rollers lounge.  You had a reservation at Scotch 80 Prime though so you had to leave before too much money had either been lost or made so that Tony could have his wish of eating his way through a $100 steak and drink $50 glasses of whiskey.

After that, you had gone to Tao.  There had been dancing and drinking, both with Tony and without.  Then after that was a big blank space of time.  You had no idea how you had managed to get back to the hotel.

You sat by the toilet for a while, after you’d finished throwing up and then dry-heaving.  All you could do was just keep your eyes closed and your forehead pressed to the cold marble wall.  You might have dozed off even, it was hard to tell.  When you finally got up, you flushed and went to rinse your mouth out.  It was when you were washing your hands you saw the ring.

The fact you hadn’t realized it was there up until then was a little shocking on its own.  The thing was huge.  It had a large rectangular-cut diamond in the middle with similar diamonds cascading down the platinum band in smaller and smaller sizes.  Assuming it was real - and it probably was - it would have cost a fortune.  It was sitting on the ring finger of your left hand and you had no memory of even getting given it.

You splashed your face with water and went back out to the bedroom.  “Tony?”  You said, quietly at first, going to sit on the sofa opposite the circular bed.

He was sprawled out on his stomach with just the sheet over his naked ass and he grumbled in response to you.

“Tony?”  You repeated, a little louder this time.

He rolled over covering his eyes and groaning, though once he was on his back he seemed to just fall back to sleep.

“Tony!”  You shouted, immediately regretting the decision.  The sound split through your skull and you clutched your forehead in your hands.

“Why are you yelling?”  Tony whined.

“Did you propose to me last night?”

Tony sat up and blinked at you slowly.  “I don’t think so.  I hadn’t planned to ask you to marry me anyway.”

“Then where did this come from?”  You said, holding up his hand.

He looked at the ring on your finger and then at your face before getting up and hobbling towards you, grabbing his glasses off the nightstand and slipping them on as he came over, sighing in relief once they were in place.

He flopped down next to you and took your hand.  “You’d think with all the drinking I’ve done in my life I wouldn’t get hangovers anymore.  What the fuck did we do last night?”

“Got engaged, apparently.”  You said.  “This was you, right?”

He scrunched up half his face.  “It’s a little much.  So I guess so.  I really don’t remember anything.”

“Did somebody roofie us?”  You asked.  “It’s seriously blank.”

Tony chuckled.  “Yeah, they slipped us a roofie, made me buy a ring, pop the question, then put us in bed together.”

“This is so weird.”  You said lying down with your head in his lap.  He gently stroked his fingers through your hair.  “I guess… we should figure out where you got it from and return it?”

“What?  You need a bigger ring?”  He teased.

You snorted, and immediately pinched the bridge of your nose.  “I need pain killers and water.”

“Yeah.  That could help.  I’ll call the butler to get us something, and food.  Greasy food.  We can take a shower in the meantime.”  He said.

You got up and he smacked your ass as you headed to the bathroom, he picked up the phone.  You turned the shower on and took off the ring and put it on the counter.  You had been with Tony for years and years now.  Marriage had never once come up, so a drunken proposal seemed so out of character.  You tapped the ring like you were checking it was real and then got in under the hot water, turning your face up to it and opening your mouth as it cascaded down on you.

It wasn’t long until Tony was stepping in behind you.  His arms circled your waist and he rested his forehead against your shoulder.  “I’m either never drinking again or I’m drinking as soon as I get out of the shower.  I haven’t decided.”

You laughed softly and he started to wash your hair.  “Did you want to get married, Tony?”

He didn’t say anything for a moment.  He just kept massaging your scalp until you made a strangled gurgling sound.  He chuckled and kissed your shoulder.  “Why do you not want to take the ring back?”

“No, I absolutely want to take the ring back.  If we ever do get engaged, it’s not going to be when I’m blackout drunk.”  You said.

Tony took a breath and you turned to face him.  “Is saying I really don’t actually give a shit and okay answer?”  He asked.

You nodded.  “Yeah, of course.  No wrong answers.”

“Good.  Because weird as it might seem, I really don’t.  I love you and it’s you and me.  If getting married was something that was important to you, we’d already be married.  I just don’t care about the whole thing enough to bother.”

You nodded again.  This wasn’t exactly a shock.  Neither of you had ever talked about getting married.  It did beg one question though.  “So, what the fuck is with the ring?”

“I have no idea.  I’ll get FRIDAY to take us over our steps last night.  It’ll be like watching the hangover, only staring us.”

You laughed and pecked his lips, before stepping under the water and rinsing your hair out.  “This is going to be scary.”

“You’re telling me.”  Tony teased.

You finished the shower and got out, drying off and changing into some sweats.  You moved the ring to the in-room safe for safekeeping and then when out to the hall.  Looking downstairs at the living and bar area of the suite was like looking down on a war zone where the primary weapons used were glitter and bottles.  It had been trashed and there were already maids going around and cleaning up.  You groaned and shook your head.  The Butler that had been assigned to your suite greeted you both at the bottom of the stairs.  “Good morning, Mr. and Mrs. Stark.  Mr. Hogan and Colonel Rhodes are both waiting for you at the dining table.”

“Rhodey’s here?”  Tony asked, looking both confused and delighted as he almost skipped off to the dining area.

You went to follow after him when the butler stopped you.  “Mrs. Stark?”

You turned and looked at him.  It wouldn’t be the first time someone had called you that.  “I’m not Mrs. Stark.”  You corrected him.

“My apologies.  It was what you asked me to call you when you came in last night.”  He said and before you could even unpack that bit of information he was handing you a bottle. “For your headache.  And I took the liberty of having your dress dry cleaned.”

“My dress?”  You asked.

“Your wedding dress.  You left it on the stairs.”

Your eyes went wide and you lurched towards the living room, fumbling to uncap the lid of the bottle of ibuprofen you were holding.  “Tony!”  You yelled.

You stumbled into the room to be greeted by the bemused looking Rhodey and Happy and a confused looking Tony.

“What is it, dear?”  Tony asked.

“There’s the blushing bride!”  Rhodey teased.

Tony’s head snapped around and he stared slack-jawed at his best friend.  “The what now?”

“The bride.  You guys got married last night.  You don’t remember?”  Rhodey answered, seeming to be fully aware that the two of you had no idea what happened last night.

“Someone had better fill us in on what the hell you’re talking about,”  Tony said and fixed his eyes on Happy.

“What’s the last thing you remember?”  Happy asked, and shoveled a forkful of eggs and bacon into his mouth.

“Dancing at Tao.” You said as you finally got the bottle cap off the pills and tipped some into your palm.  You downed them with orange juice, drinking it straight from the pitcher.

“Yeah, Tao for me too,”  Tony said.

“Alright.  So you gotta forgive me because it can be hard to keep track of the two of you when you go on one of your little escapades.  You were drinking a lot.  Even for you, boss.  You kept sneaking off to the bathrooms.  Pretty sure to fuck.  I think but I don’t know, you might have taken e.  Because after one trip in you came back extra level loving on everything and rubbing your faces on things like cats.”  Happy explained and took a sip of his coffee.

Tony has snatched the pills off you and downed some with coffee.

“So,”  Happy continued.  “You started both waxing poetic about how in love you were and how much better at being a couple you were than every other couple in the world because you ‘got’ each other.  You said,” He said pointed at you.  “That you were better than every married couple because they just had to shackle each other and you two were free with your love.”

He swung his arm so he was pointing at Tony.  “You said, that because you were so much better than every married couple you should probably just get married and that any wedding you had would be better than any wedding anyone else had ever had.  You then demanded we go and find a jeweler so you could get her a ring.”

“Oh no,”  Tony said.

“Oh yes.”  Happy said.  “I drove you around for a bit hoping you might sober up but you kept drinking in the car and telling me to hurry up because your love needed to be acknowledged.  I found a jeweler.  You bought the biggest fucking ring they had that also fit.  You dropped to your knee in the jeweler and proposed right away.”

“Oh god.”  You groaned.

Happy nodded and had another mouthful of his breakfast as you poured your first cup of coffee and Tony poured his second.

“So then you said,” he said gesturing to you with his fork.  “That your love was too big to wait, that it had to be announced to the world now.  You agreed,” he poked his fork in Tony’s direction.  “So you bought wedding bands and made me take you dress and suit shopping.”

“This is where I got the phone call,”  Rhodey interjected.  “Not from either of you, I might add.  Happy called me freaking out.  He knew that you would probably regret this but he hadn’t been able to talk you out of it.  I got in my War Machine armor and high-tailed it over.”

“I had hoped that at some point you would sober up and stop but no, you kept getting champagne everywhere we went.  I seriously don’t know how you don’t have alcohol poisoning.  When you had your dress and suit you made me find a chapel.  You specifically wanted to be married by Elvis.”  Happy explained.

“Fuck!” Tony groaned, letting his head fall back as he rubbed his temples.

“I arrived just in time to be your witness,”  Rhodey explained.  “There was no talking you out of it.  Then you came back here and had a ‘reception’.  Which was just random strangers drinking and partying until you guys went up to bed and passed out and we kicked everyone out.”

“Jesus.”  You hissed.

“Yep.  So that’s what happened last night.  I think I’m banning you from the state of Nevada quite frankly, Tones.”  Rhodey said.

“Shutting that gate after the horses have bolted, huh, platypus?”  Tony said without raising his head.

No one said anything for a bit.  Rhodey and Happy just finished up their breakfast while you and Tony just slumped in your chair.

Finally, you sat up straight and began to put food onto a plate.  “I guess we’re married then.”

Tony huffed and started doing the same.  “Guess we are.  Oh well.”  He said.  “Alright, So we release a statement saying we eloped to avoid a media frenzy and it was just us and our closest friends?”

“Ha!”  Happy barked.  “Nice try, boss.  But you live-streamed it.”

Tony groaned and banged his head on the table.  “Of course I did.”

“It had over three million viewers.”

Tony straightened back up and adjusted his glasses.  “Alright let’s see it.”

Rhodey chuckled, clearly delighted by proceedings and flicked his phone open.  He clicked on it a few times and flicked the screen so the giant TV that looked over the room turned on and shaky footage of an extremely happy Tony standing at the end of an aisle next to an Elvis impersonator.  The bridal waltz started up and the screen swung around to show you walking down the aisle.

“Does my dress have LED lights in it?”  You asked.

“It sure does!” Rhodey teased.

“You said it made you feel like a magical princess.”  Happy added.

“Always a look I aspire to.”  You deadpanned.  “Good god, this is mortifying.”

“We do look happy though.  Look at how in love we are.”  Tony said.

You smiled and leaned against his shoulder.  “Yeah, we do look happy.”

You watched through the ceremony, experiencing your wedding for what felt like the first time.  The smiles never left your faces and when Elvis said ‘kiss the bride’, Tony dipped you.

“Aww, you’re cute.”  You said.

“You are,”  Tony shot back.

You leaned in and kissed him gently, and he cupped your jaw, deepening it just a little.  When you pulled back the smile on his face was mirrored by the one on yours.

“If we bought wedding bands, where are they?”  You asked.

Happy fished in his pocket pulling out two matching platinum bands.  “You asked to have a photo of them taken with the flowers and then forget to get them back.”  He said handing them over.

You each took them and slipped them on your ring finger and then held them up as you assessed them.

“Guess we better call the kids and tell them mommy and daddy got married,”  Tony said.

“God, I hope they don’t get too annoyed we didn’t have them as the flower girls.”

Tony shrugged.  “If they are we can do it again properly.  Actually, invite people.  Let them choose where it happens.”

“You know they’ll choose Disney, don’t you?”  You said.

He shrugged.  “Can’t be any tackier than what I just witnessed.”

Tony pulled out his phone and dialed the nanny and for one second you were sure you saw Rhodey and Happy smirking at each other.

[gabriel-agreste-has-no-rights]

Rating: G

Summary:  With the help of the baby he found along the way, Mr. Banana sets out to rescue Princess Floria. If he can return her to Paris, she should be able to end Lord Gabriel's war on magical creatures. He'll only have to fight off giant lollipop monsters, Mayura's minions, and his own feelings along the way.

Word Count:  3082 | Chapter 1/2

Notes: I blame @botherkupo. Floria’s her name for August’s mom. Overall I’m torn between pride and regret at writing this. i wont tag maddy bc i think she’s suffered enough for her sins

XXX

“Lollipop!” The baby—Mr. Banana had taken to calling him Greenie, on account of his radioactive green eyes—cried out and tried to clutch at the castle in the distance.

“No, it’s not a lollipop,” Mr. Banana laughed as he adjusted Greenie on his hip. It did look like one, though, with the swirling stripes and colorful shingles on its turrets. “Here you go, little guy. This is even better than a lollipop.”

He stopped walking to bend down and pluck another onion from the ground. Some people thought he lived off of nothing but bananas, and that that was the reason he looked the way he did.  It always boggled him. Didn’t they know that would be like cannibalism? But onions—now those were a vegetable he could get behind.

Sometimes he chose to pretend it was his onion breath that kept all the other fairy tale creatures away, and not the fact that he was a giant sentient banana.

“Lollipop?” Greenie tried holding the onion by its tall grassy top, as if it were a stick. When the onion drooped, he spun it around like it was the heroic Ladybug’s magic yo-yo. 

At least the baby was entertained. Mr. Banana had run out of lollipops about ten kilometers ago, so it was the best he could do.

Unfortunately, that meant that he had to carry Greenie instead of Greenie carrying him.

“At least I’ll have some nice biceps to impress the princess with.”  He flexed his free arm and grinned.  Well, he was already grinning.  His face just sort of did that, no matter how he was feeling.  His neighbors probably found that more unsettling than the onion breath.

Greenie didn’t mind, though.  He just gurgled and swung his onion at Mr. Banana’s peel.

Two hours and one diaper change later, Mr. Banana stood in the castle’s shadow.

“Lollipop,” Greenie said with wide eyes.  Mr. Banana held him close, patting his back.  The castle might look disarming with all its pastel colors, but Lord Gabriel had told him that a terrible monster guarded the princess inside.

Not for the first time, Mr. Banana wondered if this quest was worth it.  Lord Gabriel wanted him to retrieve Princess Floria, who had been imprisoned by the enigmatic witch Mayura over a year ago.  Mr. Banana didn’t understand all the details.  He just knew that Lord Gabriel said the princess’ brilliant red hair could heal any ailment.

Maybe it could even Mr. Banana into a human.

No point in getting his hopes up about that, though.  He still had to actually save the princess first.

“You’d better stay outside, Greenie.”  He set the baby down in a patch of grass.  “It might be dangerous in there.”

“Nana?”  He reached out, opening and closing his tiny fists.  His radioactive eyes were wide, like he was about to cry.

Mr. Banana’s grin faltered.  “I’ll be right back.  I promise.”

Ever since Mr. Banana had saved Greenie from Lord Gabriel’s minions, they’d been attached like apples and bananas.  Magical creatures like himself and the baby weren’t safe in Paris.  Hopefully, Princess Floria could change that.

Mr. Banana saluted the baby before pushing open the heavy castle door.

“Stay peachy, little guy.”

XXX

The inside of the castle was just as bright as the outside.  Weren’t castles supposed to be dark and scary?  But this one was decorated with bright purple and blue swirls across the walls and up the pillars.  It was prettier than Mr. Banana’s lonely swamp, honestly.

But pretty or not, the castle was lonely.  Mr. Banana hadn’t seen a single sign of life.  Was the princess actually here?  If no one was guarding her, wouldn’t she have just run away?

Maybe there were guards further inside, near the tower.  He’d better be careful.

He pushed open another large door.  This one was pinky-orange, like a soft ripe peach.  His stomach rumbled; he should’ve eaten that onion on the way here.

“Woah,” he breathed when he entered the room.  “Greenie would love this.”

Giant lollipops seemed to grow along the walls of the chamber.  Were they part of the castle’s magic?  Or did Princess Floria spend her days gardening lollipops to pass the time? ...Could you even garden lollipops?  He didn’t think so, but then again, most people didn’t think living bananas existed, either.

No time to get distracted, though.  He crept through the chamber, leaving footprints in the thin layer of sugar that dusted the floor.  If his were the only footprints here, he could at least be pretty sure the room was deserted.

A low rumble sounded from the far end of the room.  

Okay, not deserted then.  

He froze as a cluster of lollipops peeled from the walls, then latched together like the limbs of a saccharine golem.  Despite not having a face, it seemed to swivel to look at him.

“Uh-oh.” He gulped.

Time to make like a banana and split.

He dashed down a corridor branching off of the chamber.  The thundering footsteps of the lollipop monster crashed behind him.  That thing would be too fast to outrun, and his potassium-filled heart was already beating as fast as it could go.  Should he dive out a window?  No, the castle was at the edge of a cliff; he’d end up mush in the chasm below.  But this hallway seemed to stretch on forever, and the monster was gaining on him.

He tripped over the plush carpet.  This was it.  After everything, he was going to get crushed by a giant lollipop monster.

But if he was gone—who would take care of Greenie?

He rolled to the side, and the monster’s lollipop fist shattered the floor where he’d been lying.  That could be him next, if he didn’t get up soon.

He scrambled to his feet, but still nearly slipped into the fresh hole.  That dark abyss was not peachy.

“Wait—that’s it!”  He grinned.  (Well, he was already grinning, but his heart was in it now.)

He dashed further down the hall while the monster was shaking the dust from its spherical fist.  Then, he removed a section of his peel.  There was no time for blushing modesty; he dropped it on the floor and kept running.

A few moments later, he heard a giant crash.  Hopefully the monster slipping on the peel.  He didn’t look back to check.

He finally reached a spiral staircase at the end of the hall, and sprinted up the steps two at a time.

XXX

“Wow,” Mr. Banana whispered as he reached the top of the tower.  He could’ve stared at the gossamer curtains, or the plush carpet, or the broken bits of lollipop hung from the ceiling, catching the afternoon light like stained glass.  But each of those things only got a passing glance.

The real beauty was the princess lying sprawled on the couch.

Her limbs were askew; one arm hung off the side, fingers dangling in a piece of peach pie.  (Clearly she had good taste.)  A soft snore escaped her, sending his heart stuttering.  But the most stunning thing about her was her brilliant red hair.  It fell around her face in waves.  One strand was stuck in her mouth, and seemed to be plastered to her cheek with drool.

He hated to wake her when she was sleeping so soundly, but he had no idea when the lollipop monster would right itself, or if it could fit up through the spiral stairs.  Either way, he would surely have to get Princess Floria past it.  He hadn’t really thought that far ahead yet.

“Um, Princess?”  He stepped forward and tapped her shoulder.  

No response other than a louder snore.  This wasn’t some kind of magical sleep, was it?  In all the stories, true love’s kiss could wake any unconscious princess, but that wouldn’t help him.  He was a banana.  He couldn’t be anyone’s true love.

“Princess Floria?”  He shook her a little harder.

“Ah!”  She bolted upright, fists swinging.

He yelped and sprung back, but not before taking a punch to the nose.  “Ow...”

“Oh my gosh.” Floria’s eyes widened.  Her hands covered her mouth.  “Are you okay?  I’m so sorry, I’m—wait, who are you?”

He flashed his best grin (well, his normal grin) and flexed his arms.  “I’m your knight in shining peel, Princess.  Here to rescue you from this castle.”  

She took him in from stem to toe.  Maybe he should have worried about modesty—it would take a day for that strip of peel to grow back, and he was painfully aware of how naked his side would look. Still, he wouldn’t let his worry show.  She didn’t have to like him; she just had to come with him.

And, hopefully, fix his curse.

“You—you’re a banana.”

“Mr. Banana, actually.”  That’s what he’d taken to calling himself, anyway.  If he had a real name, no one had ever bothered to tell him.  Maybe he should’ve picked something a little more… normal-sounding.  Well, he could pick a new one if he got to become human.  

He was thinking Louis.  That had a nice ring to it.

“Is this some kind of joke?”  Princess Floria asked.  Whatever remorse she’d had for punching him had vanished.  She rubbed the back of her hand across her cheek, scraping off the dried drool.  “Why did Mayura send you?  Isn’t trapping me here enough?”

“Mayura—?  No, I’ve never met her.  Lord Gabriel sent me, actually.  He said Mayura should be on vacation this week.”

“Oh, that’s so much better.”  She crossed her arms, getting peach filling on the sleeve of her green dress.  “Mayura may be a witch, but I trust her on one thing.  Gabriel’s more of a heartless monster than any creature she’s created.”

Mr. Banana blinked.  None of this was going how he imagined.

“So, uh… does that mean you don’t want me to rescue you…?”

She sighed.  “Sorry.  None of this is your fault.  I’ve just—it’s been a long time, and talking to the sentimonsters gets pretty boring after a while.  Mayura only comes around when she wants to vent about something, so… yeah.  Shall we?”

She held out her hand, as if expecting him to help her to her feet.  That hand happened to be the one with peach pie still stuck to it.

He shrugged and tugged her up.  “Guess we shall.”

XXX

“You didn’t slay the monster?”  The princess gaped while crouching behind him.

Mr. Banana stared over the side of the spiral staircase, where the lollipop monster was trying to shove its bulbous fist through the handrail’s supporting bars.

“I’m a banana!  I don’t know anything about killing monsters!”

“Then why did Lord Gabriel even send you?”

“I was the only one who would try!”  

He was the only one with nothing to lose.  Well, except Greenie, but the baby would’ve been taken by Lord Gabriel if Mr. Banana hadn’t complied.

The sentimonster shook the staircase again.  If he didn’t find a way out soon, the structure would crumble right into the monster’s sugary clutches.

“You couldn’t just eat the lollipop thing, could you?”  Mr. Banana grinned at the princess.

She gave him a deadpan stare.  “Not any more than I could just eat you.”

Sweat beaded on the outside of his peel.  “R-right.  Just throwing out ideas.”

He couldn’t make the monster slip again; its feet were already planted on the ground.  Maybe he could slip through its legs?  But he wasn’t confident he could carry Princess Floria at the same time.

The princess gripped the railing with white knuckles.  “Maybe we could—”

“Lollipop!”  A high-pitched voice interrupted her.

Mr. Banana’s eyes widened.  He leaned over the rail, searching the floor below.

“Greenie!”  He spotted the baby crawling towards the monster.  His dark brown face was powdered with sugar, but those radioactive eyes were unmistakable.  (Plus, there probably wasn’t another baby in the castle.) 

“Is that—August!”  The princess shouted.

And then, before Mr. Banana could stop her, she leapt over the railing.

“Floria!”  He reached out, but she was falling, falling, her green dress billowing up around her.  The sentimonster swung at her, but she gripped the stick of its arm and flipped from it like an acrobat on a trapeze.

Mr. Banana gaped as she stuck the landing.  She… she was incredible.

She scooped up Greenie while Mr. Banana was still tripping down the stairs.  The sentimonster couldn’t move fast, but it was still too big to outrun, especially if the princess was carrying a baby.

“Lollipop!”  Greenie wailed while Princess Floria rushed him away.

“Right, banana-split up!  Keep the monster confused.  Brilliant,” Mr. Banana said.

Well, it would have been brilliant, if it worked.  The monster only seemed interested in Floria.

He dashed after them, trying to keep up with the monster’s lumbering steps.

“Lollipop!  Lollipop!”  Greenie still screamed.  Now wasn’t the time for the baby’s sugar addiction— 

Or was it?

“Princess!”  Mr. Banana shouted from behind the monster.  He could still see her running away through the wide gap in its legs.  “Put Greenie down!”

“What?”

“The baby!  You’ve got to put him down!”

“Are you out of your mind?  I’m not losing my son again!”

Her—what?

But like it or not, she didn’t have a choice.  The sentimonster’s heavy step shook the floor, and she tripped, barely managing to curl around the baby as she fell.

“Lollipoooooooooop!”  Greenie squirmed from her embrace.

This had better work, Mr. Banana thought with a grimace.  Magical, monstrous lollipops might not trigger Greenie’s transformation like the ones he’d stolen from the town.  They might not even be edible.

That didn’t stop Greenie from latching onto the monster’s foot and licking it anyway.

Suddenly, Greenie grew to enormous size.  Purple and pink spandex stretched over his dark skin, so thankfully none of them had to deal with the problems of a giant naked baby.  Just a normal giant baby.

“A-august?” The princess gasped.  “What’s happened to you…?”

“No time to explain.”  Mr Banana grabbed her wrist and tugged her along.  “He’ll be fine, trust me.”

“Why should I trust you?  You’re a talking banana who cursed my son and wants me to leave him with a monster!”

“Lollipop!”  Greenie—no, August, apparently—laughed and picked up the sentimonster with both hands.

Then he stuck its head in his mouth.

“Y’know, I think I feel worse for the monster right now,” Mr. Banana said.  “I’m sure he’ll find us when he’s done.”

She glanced over her shoulder one last time before nodding.

Then she hiked up her skirts, and they ran.

XXX

Ten minutes later, August crashed through the castle wall, still clutching bits of chewed-up lollipop in his chubby fists.

“Lollipop,” he announced proudly.

“Fantastic job, Gree—er, August.” Mr. Banana beamed.

“Are you going to tell me why my son is the size of a house now?” Princess Floria asked once she’d finally caught her breath. She straightened from where her hands had rested on her knees.

“Nana,” August crouched beside them. His eye was as tall as the Princess, and it took her in with curiosity. “Who?”

“You remember me.” The princess’ voice was pained. “Ma-ma. I’m Mama, August.”

“Ma...ma?” The giant baby frowned, then looked at Mr. Banana. “Na-na.”

“I’m sorry.” He fought to turn his tetanic grin upside-down. “You’ve been in that tower for over a year, haven’t you?  Do you think he…”

Princess Floria didn’t meet his eyes.  Probably for the best, since he shouldn’t bother finishing that sentence.  It would only make her feel worse.

Instead she scooted closer to August, resting her hand against his giant foot.

“He doesn’t remember me.”  She bowed her head.

“Pretty,” August said, patting her red hair softly.

She choked out a laugh.  “Thanks, sweetie.”

She wiped her eyes before turning back to Mr. Banana.  He froze, still feeling like he was intruding on this mother-son moment.

“You brought my son back to me.  Even if I don’t know who you are, or how you did it, I suppose I owe you for that.”

His heart pounded.  This could be where he asked her to heal him.  To turn him human.  If she even could.  He had no proof that he was like August; once normal, but cursed by Hawkmoth’s evil taint.

“You don’t owe me anything,” he ended up saying instead.  “You’re free now.  To take August and go… wherever you want, I guess.”

She frowned up at her son, who had taken to picking tiles from the castle roof and tossing them into the river that flowed at the base of the cliff.

“Will he be okay?  I mean… will he go back to normal?”

“In about an hour.  He only changes if you let him eat lollipops.”  Mr. Banana smiled.

“Okay… weird, but convenient.  No more sugar for you, huh, baby?”

August ignored her, blowing raspberries as he continued deconstructing the castle like it was made of legos.

“You might want to leave now.  While August is still big enough to carry you.” Mr. Banana said, though his heart ached at the thought of returning to isolation.  But he couldn’t ask Floria to return with him to Lord Gabriel.  He doubted she’d do it, considering her opinion of the man.  Besides, she deserved to be free, to finally raise her son.

Maybe he could take her place here.  Living alone in a castle would be better than living alone in a swamp, wouldn’t it?  At least here he’d have a lifetime supply of candy.  

Mayura might come back and demand to know what happened to Floria, though.  

“Leave?  But… alone?”  The princess wrapped her arms around herself.  “I’ve been alone for so long… and August seems to like you, even if you are a talking banana…”

Mr. Banana chose to ignore that half-insult.  It was better than what he usually got when people talked to him.

“Are you saying I—I can come with you?”  He asked.

“Well, you are my knight in shining peel, are you not?”  She smirked.  “Plus, I think August might listen better to you.”

Listen was a bit of a stretch, but Mr. Banana still grinned.

“Greenie!”  He cooed, and August dropped the brick he was playing with to blink at him.  “Up?  We go up?”

“Up!”  August threw his hands in the air.

Then after a bit more coaxing, he picked up Mr. Banana and Princess Floria, and they were off to…

Well, hopefully somewhere safe.

[darkmindsthinktwistedthoughts]

My Sweet Hero

Thanks to @a-shout-to-the-void and @xathia-89 for beta reading this for me. I hope you all enjoy this slice of life Modern AU, school Sasuke. 

Warnings: Adorable School nerd, strong language, some appearances form U/T crew and a cameo from a Prickle Puff.

Masterlist

---

My Sweet Hero

This time of year was always one of those you either loved or hated. It was filled with so many words of love and candy you’d think the world around you had been sugar coated. Every year it was the same for him. He didn’t mind the loved-up couples or the fact their displays of love declaration were everywhere. He was actually a romantic at heart. No, what he felt was a pang of jealousy every year as he watched while others enjoyed the day and he remained in his classroom surrounded by textbooks and research.

There was a school open day planned in two days and some of the classes had decided to do Valentine’s day themed events. Couples signed up to take part in everything from scavenger hunts to locked room puzzles. There was even a race where you had obstacles and things too, “Test the strength of your love”. It all looked very nice and he felt warm looking at all the happy smiling faces of the people around him, even if he was envious at their ability to effortlessly interact with each other. What would I be like to be part of the crowd for once?

“Earth to Sasuke… Hello?” A loud and familiar voice came rushing up from behind him as he walked up the hill to the school gates.

“Mm? Oh, Yukimura good morning.”

“Morning. I’ve been calling you since you got off the bus you know?” Yukimura fell in line next to him adjusting his backpack on his shoulder.

“Sorry I was thinking about something.”

“Yeah? It wasn’t some of your weird mad scientist stuff was it?” Yukimura asked tilting his head a little to look at Sasuke a little closer.

“Theoretical Time Travel and Quantum Mechanics is not Mad Scientist stuff.” Sasuke’s familiar flat response resulted in a wry smile from his friend. They weren’t the most likely of friends but against the odds of basically every stereotype, they were best friends.

“That is exactly what a mad scientist would say.” Yuki chuckled a little as he teased before going bug eyes and jumping behind Sasuke. “Oh, crap.”

“What is it?” Sasuke looked around instinctively failing to see a threat.

“It’s that girl from class 4.” Yukimura looked comical as he poked his head out from behind Sasuke’s back to point out a girl in uniform walking with her friends a little ahead of them.

“You’re right it certainly looks like her.”

“No, you Dummy I mean… God, after school yesterday she cornered me as I was leaving. Girls are so damn scary.” Sasuke could tell Yukimura was turning red. It was something he did regularly. He was probably red to the tips of his ears right now.

“Cornered you?”

“Yeah for a love confession.”

“I see…” Sasuke returned to looking at the girl walking in front.

“Hey! What’s with that reaction? I’m not bad looking you know?” Clearly, Sasuke’s lack of response had struck a chord with Yukimura who had gone a little defensive.

“I never said you were. But I am however curious. I take the fact that you are attempting to hide means you turned her down?” Sasuke stopped walking causing Yukimura to lightly thump into his back.

“N-not exactly.” Yukimura became very interested in adjusting the strap on his bag when Sasuke turned to look at him.

“No?”

“I kinda freaked out and called her an idiot and she ran away in tears. I hate it when girls cry.” Yukimura raised his head. His face was indeed red and his eyes looked a little like he was totally bewildered. Perhaps this is why we are friends? I find it difficult to do standard social interactions with almost everyone and you struggle with anything that involves the opposite gender.

“If you hate it so much, I would suggest you pay closer attention to the many ways of making a girl happy that I’ve been trying to teach you for years Yuki.” The deep calming voice of a friendly Senior chimed into the private conversation. Shingen was usually surrounded by girls no matter what time of year it was.

“Gross I’m not saying any of that stuff.” Yukimura scrunched up his face at the idea of imitating any of Shingen’s dramatic performances.

“Agreed. I admit you have technique Shingen but why you have to be so vomit-inducing with it is beyond me.” The icy tones of another familiar Senior joined them.

“Morning Shingen… Kenshin.” Sasuke gave a polite nod as they continued to the gates as a group.

“Morning.”

---

On his way to the science block, Sasuke noticed a brightly coloured display outside the art department. “Wall of love”. Drawing closer to it out of curiosity he managed to read the notice pinned next to it. “Declare your love, admiration and appreciation here. Total anonymity. To shy to tell your crush you like them? Not a problem. Pin your messages here or post your notes in the box provided and we shall play Cupid and pass on your anonymous admirations.”

“Ridiculous isn’t it?” The gruff and tired voice of someone spoke up from next to him.

“Morning Ieyasu. It’s… different.”

“Waste of time.” Ieyasu poked one of the paper flowers on the display with his finger as he spoke. “But I suppose this is better than having someone come up to you randomly and disturbing your day with mindless love confessions. You using the particle simulator today?” One of the benefits of being part of this school was its affiliation to the University which meant students could access equipment usually unavailable. There was however usually a big waiting list, and today it was Sasuke’s turn to use the machine.

“Mm…Oh! yes.”

“Well try not to break it. See ya.” Ieyasu’s switch from casual conversation to business was fast. Without waiting for a reply, he stalked off towards the labs.

---

Lunchtime came around all to fast. The phrase time flies when you’re having fun came to mind and made him chuckle as he looked over his latest calculations to try to prove his theory on the ability to time travel. He was lucky if he was honest, the professors all supported him with his research as long as his other studies didn’t suffer. Thankfully his grades maintained their steady average in the 90% margin so he was free to do whatever he wished. One day I’ll crack this I just have to figure out a few more things. The bell sounded throughout the campus for break time and when he went to his locker to retrieve his packed lunch something small fluttered from on top of it. What is that?... Huh!?

After picking up the fallen item he noticed it was an envelope with heart washi tape on it. Was this one of those anonymous notes? Surely not. Much more likely its one of those guys pulling a prank again. The memory of a few years ago at the winter formal made him shudder. Being told to go outside as a girl was asking for him by name, to be bombarded by a barrage of snowballs and have them all laugh at him for being such a nerd. I’m not falling for the same prank twice. I might be a Nerd but I’m not an idiot.

Quickly stuffing the note into his pocket and grabbing his food bag, he made his way to the playing fields where he always met Yukimura for lunch. It was far enough from the main campus benches that they could always grab a seat. Also, Yukimura was a member of nearly every school sports team so it was handy for him to grab food near where he was busy working. He wasn’t there when he arrived so deciding to just set up his meal.

“Hey man sorry, I’m a bit late.” Yukimura jogged up, his hair still slightly damp from having a shower after last period.

“No problem. I wasn’t waiting long anyway.” Sasuke put his jacket down next to him and the “love note” fell out of his pocket landing at Yukimura’s feet.

“Hey what’s this?” Yukimura bent down to retrieve it flipping it over in his hand looking at it as if it might be some sort of weapon. You never knew with Sasuke. Last Halloween he remembered his friend dressing up as a ninja and throwing something that filled the whole house with smoke. His parents were not amused at all.

“I don’t know it was in my locker when I went to get my lunch. It’s probably a prank.” Sasuke shrugged as he took a bite from one of his sandwiches.

“Oh yeah? Well if it is, I’ll go and smack a few skulls together.” Yukimura handed back over the note and punched his fist into the palm of his other hand as he made his declaration.

“I’ll help.” Kenshin drifted into the conversation like a cold north wind. He was so silent at times when he moved, so graceful. Was that from the training he did as head of the fencing team or was that just natural?

“You two are always so quick to jump into a fight.” Shingen sighed as he lowered himself to the grass and reclined on it. The sight of his lunchbox being nearly completely only one filled with deserts had Yukimura pulling a face.

“Hey! I’m not as bad as he is.” Yukimura protested as he split up some of his own lunch and swapped it with some of the sweets from Shingen. Shingen didn’t bother to protest, they had been family friends and neighbour for long enough this was just a normal interaction for them now.

“Thank you both of you but I really don’t think its anything to worry that much over.” Sasuke said as he took a mouthful of chilled water from his bottle.

“And what if it isn’t a prank? Oh, I can see it now. A beauty sitting there all alone pining away clutching her chest. Her delicate little heart fluttering away as she stares out longingly from the window thinking of our own Sasuke.” Shingen was being dramatic. I guess it’s hard to turn off that great actor thing.

“Is there an intermission in this performance or are we to expect more?” Kenshin rolled his eyes as he plucked out a pickled plum from his rice and crunched it happily.

“I pity you Kenshin you have no sense of romance.”

---

By the time he looked out of the window from the science block, he could clearly see people milling around making their way home. He pulled the cuff of his shirt back and looked at his watch. Guess I got so into this I forgot about the time. I should pack up and go home.

After setting the lab back to its original state and putting his coat on the peg he trailed the familiar path back to the main gate which was when someone smacked right into him from one of the side rooms of the art department as he passed by.

“Ah!”

“Oh my god! I am so sorry. I didn’t see you and… oh no!” The soft chime-like voice of a girl addressed him as her bag tumbled from her grip sending its contents scattering all over the ground.

“It’s alright. Are you ok? Here let me help you.” Sasuke didn’t even pause before he had made his offer of assistance and was gathering all the fallen items for her.

“Y-yes…. err… thank you. God, I’m so sorry. I’m such a klutz.” She was clearly flustered. “I think that’s it all.” She placed the last of her notebooks back into her bag and gave him an embarrassed smile. Do I know her?

“Oh, wait is this yours too?” Sasuke bent to retrieve something that had rolled a little further away. His hand stopped slightly as he realised what he was holding. No way. It couldn’t be, could it? It's exactly like the tape on that note I got. But its common enough that girls these days have washi tape it could be unrelated.

“Ah! Oh yeah… thanks.” She gratefully took the tape and bowed to him. “I’m really so, so sorry.”

“It’s alright there was no harm done. As long as you are ok that is all that matters.” Her cute reaction and sincerity actually made him feel a little flustered.

“You really… you’re very sweet Sasuke. Oh! I gotta run sorry I’m gonna miss my bus! Thanks again, bye!” She snapped up with the brightest smile beaming on her face and turned on her heel and started to run. Did I tell her my name?

---

Curiosity is the foundation of his scientific exploration. Well, that and his desire to travel in time and see history with his own two eyes. He put his hand in his pocket and his fingers grazed over the edges of something, pulling it free he realised it was that note again. I wonder. Breaking the seal of the washi tape he saw the small delicate writing on the pale green paper.

“Sasuke Sarutobi. I really like you. I realise this is a long shot but even with the odds stacked against me, I cannot pass up the chance to tell you even if it is only like this. Your secret admirer.”

He stared at the paper in mild shock. Re-reading the words over and over as if he was missing something. If this is a girl. Could it be her? Don’t be ridiculous Sasuke she’s a popular girl why on earth would she notice a nerd like you? Still. Total anonymity huh?

---

It took a bit of planning but once the idea was there it was difficult to ignore it. I’ll put my own note in that box and wait for the reply then I should be able to see who it is. Sasuke thumbed the edge of his olive-green envelope as he walked the familiar route past the art department to the science block. He dropped it in the box in such a way that no one noticed, a small rush of adrenaline kicked in and now he just had to wait.

A group of kids emptied the box and began shuffling the notes like a deck of cards before dividing them up so they could be delivered. Clearly, this was a popular thing. A short time later and a familiar figure crept along looking around them shyly. She took out a note that even from this distance he could see was just like the one he first received. Before he knew it, his body was moving before his mind had even caught up to the motion and he was at her side.

“Hello MC.”

“Oh! Err… Hello Sasuke.” Her shoulders jumped as he spoke to her.

“Is that for me?”

“Huh?!” Her eyes were wide and swimming. Ok, Sasuke you could possibly have been a little less direct about that.

“Well, I would surmise from the fact you are using the same stationery as before that there is a high possibility that you are the one that wrote this note. Of course, if I am wrong and you aren’t then I am very sorry for making you jump.” Sasuke showed her the love confession he had in his pocket. She visibly froze.

“… You aren’t wrong.”

“Pardon me?” Her faint voice confirmed his thoughts and he had a moment of being unable to process thought.

“What’s with that look?” She smiled at him giggling at his reaction.

“Sorry, It’s just. I had no idea that we were acquainted enough for you to know my name. We are not only in different classes we are also in different years. And you are clearly on the more popular side of the fence.”

“I might not be as popular as you imagine.” She shuffled her feet adorably as she spoke

“And anyway, Of course, I remember the name of the guy that saved me after I transferred.”

“Saved you? Me?” Sasuke tried to go back over his memories in search of such a thing. She could have been remembering someone else.

“Yes. You.” She resigned herself to continue her explanation her smile faltering a little as she realised he had forgotten all about her. “I was completely lost looking for my class and you were in a rush but you dropped what you were doing and helped guide me to my location. I- I wanted to thank you more but… I… I’m sorry I was too nervous to approach you after that.”

“That girl that day by the gates, was you? I’m sorry I didn’t recognise you, I mean you were so…” Sasuke remembered a small new student struggling to look at a campus map in a total fluster. She… is that really her?

“Ugly?”

“I was going to say small and frightened looking. Clearly, you have settled in now and you don’t appear to be so small in fact you’ve grown up.” Sasuke cringed even he was aware of how awkward he was being.

“You talk a little like an old man.” Her laughter was a blessing to him and if it came from his own embarrassment, he would gladly embarrass himself as many times as she liked.

“My Apologises I am not exactly very familiar with socialising.”

“I see. Well, you were right the note was from me. I suppose now you know you are going to turn me, down right? I mean its how these things work.” Her shoulders slumped.

“Is it?”

“Yeah. Girl confesses, the guy isn’t interested so he turns her down…”

“What if I am interested?”

“Huh?” She looked at him as if he was some sort of totally new scientific discovery. Even he had to admit his fast response was a little shocking and it was him who said it.

“That is to say. I would like to test a theory if you’d let me?”

“You do know all theories work until put in practice then they have a failure rate.”

“Yes, depending on the experiment and its fundamentals, contributing factors that are likely to affect negative results it can be anywhere from…” Her decent back into laugher made him stop. “Oh, I’m sorry. I have been told I tend to ramble.”

“No, no sorry, I thought it was funny because it was kinda cute.” She waved her hands at him in reassurance.

“Cute?”

“Oh! Guys don’t like being called that… erm…” She was turning pink in her new fluster. She’s actually rather cute herself.

“No, If you are the one calling me that then I don’t mind.” Sasuke said softly as he drew closer to her side. “Mc?”

“Yes?”

“The open day is tomorrow and I understand it would be asking a bit too much if you wished to take part in the events but, would you consider allowing me the honour of escorting you?”

“…” She stood there, mouth hanging open totally mute.

“Did I say that wrong?” Sasuke cast his eyes down as he tried to think of a correction.

“N-no. You said it perfectly I’m sorry I thought I was being pranked.”

“That makes two of us.”

“I would love to go with you tomorrow.” Her answer washed over him like a wave of relief. I guess that means I have a date then?

“Great. I’ll see you at the main gates tomorrow then.”

---

“Hey look it’s Nerd-Suke. What are you hanging around here for don’t tell me you were waiting for someone?” A familiar school bully approached him as he stood at their meeting place. Oh great, not today, come on.

“As it happens…”

“Ha! What kind of loser would agree to…?” He rounded on Sasuke clearly enjoying himself and his easy target. This is not going to end well. Sasuke tried to remember some things Kenshin had showed him after telling him if he wanted to be safe, he would have to learn some sort of self-defence.

“Excuse me? Who are you calling a loser?” A female voice pushed past the large guy and joined Sasuke at his side.

“Huh? No way who are you?”

“My name is none of your business and if you are done with my date, I would like to have him back now.” MC took a firm grip on Sasuke’s sleeve. She was trembling a little but she was holding her ground. Mc…

“Date? Nah no way. A cutie like you should see sense and ignore him and go with me.” The bully grabbed her arm and looked her over from head to toe the smile on his face turning into one that sent a rolling rage through Sasuke’s body. “What you say- AH!”

“I believe the lady said I was her date.” Sasuke had not only removed the hand from the girl he had it twisted up the bullies back so hard that the others guys legs had buckled in order to prevent his arm being broken. “Sorry, Mc.”

“Sasuke…”

“You won’t get away with this!” The bully was released and threw out the customary threat expected as he ran from the scene. Even if I haven’t I won’t let you touch her.

“Shall we go?” Sasuke held out his hand and she gladly accepted it. Her eyes sparkling at him.

“You really are my hero.”

“I always wanted to be told that.”

---

[queenraibix-blog]

Blue moon (Now I’m no Longer Alone) - part two

Title: Blue moon (Now I’m no Longer Alone)

Chapter: Novac - Part One

Series: South Park, Fallout

Pairing: Creek (slow burn)

Plot: Craig had enough to deal with while searching for the man that shot him in the head without having to babysit some twitchy boy with a distinct lack of volume control. But here he was, gun in hand and ready to get this kid to New Vegas.

Previous Chapters:

1. Ranger Station Charlie

Craig wasn’t used to talking to people. He’d been on his own for so long that he’d gotten used to getting by with speaking to as few towns folk as possible, quickly accepting their business if the caps were good enough and then vacating the town as quickly as possible. It was easier that way. If he didn’t have attachments to other people he wouldn’t have to experience the bad parts of life; grief, loss, and heartbreak were all things he found he could easily avoid.

And it wasn’t that Craig had any attachment to Tweek yet, but boy, could the boy chatter non-stop. At first he’d just mumbled things under his breath, nervous mutterings about how he hoped they didn’t run into geckos, or what if they ran into the Viper gang’s raiding party? Not to mention every time so much as a tumbleweed crossed their path the boy would jump out of his skin and screech. More than once Craig had been forced to take out his laser pistol to fend off giant ants from the desert, because Tweek’s loud voice had signalled them to come closer.

And every time Tweek would apologize, sure, but that didn’t mean Craig didn’t want to strangle him and leave him for dead on the side of the road.

But then came the random conversation starters. Craig could applaud the boy for trying so hard at getting him to open up, but Craig was simply not in the mood to talk to Tweek. The less they talked before reaching the Vegas Strip the better off they’d both be at the end of their journey. To most of Tweek’s questions, Craig would give a quick nod or a simple shrug of his shoulders, but he kept a straight face and didn’t spend much time in answering him.

It was on the second hour of the non-stop chatter that Craig felt like he was going to explode. According to his Pip-Boy, they’d be arriving in Novac in about twenty minutes, and the sooner that happened, the sooner they could get separate rooms and he could get some peace and quiet.

“And you know, I-I think I saw some aliens a few nights ago! They all had these scary laser rifles, b-but I hid as quickly as I could a-and I waited until they left before coming out of hiding!” Tweek reached up to pull at his hair, another nervous tick that Craig was beginning to notice. It he wasn’t tugging on his blonde locks he was scratching at his arms incessantly or, of course, twitching. Craig was honestly surprised that the smaller boy hadn’t gone bald from ripping all of his hair out.

“That’s great, Tweek.” Putting his canteen up to his lips, Craig took a sip of water. The sun was beginning to set and so the heat had finally started to die down a bit. Instead of the hundred degrees it had been previously, his Pip-Boy was registering the temperature at about eight-five. Still hot, but at least it was manageable.

“D-Do the aliens not scare you Craig? They could abduct you! And if they do that they might dissect you or even worse, th-they might probe you. I-I’ve heard that’s the worst ever, gah!” Tweek jumped just at the thought and stopped walking for a moment to calm his breathing back down. Craig stopped too, waiting for the boy to catch back up to him, and held in a sigh of annoyance.

“Nope,” He popped the p sound as he responded, “The aliens aren’t going to get me Tweek.”

The monotone response seemed to put Tweek at ease momentarily, something that Craig noted in his mind. It was weird how different they were, to be entirely honest. While Craig had a tendency to internalize everything and keep a cold demeanor, Tweek was vibrant and expressive. He put everything on his sleeve and while Craig found it insanely annoying, he also admired the fact that someone so clearly expressive had managed to last this long in the Wasteland.

During all of the boy’s ramblings, Craig had discovered that Tweek had been on his own in the Mojave wasteland for about three months already, though he never told Craig where he had come from or what he’d been doing since he reached the wasteland. And Craig decided not to ask, as it wasn’t really any of his business. He just needed to stay focused on his mission at hand.

Finally Tweek’s voice trailed off and there was some silence between the two, a welcomed change for the dark-haired man. In the distance he could already see the giant T-Rex, Dinky, rising above the hills. That meant their trip was almost over.

“When we get to Novac, we’ll have to split up for a bit in the morning. Do you have enough caps to get yourself a room?” Craig turned his head for the first time in a while to look at Tweek. He noticed the boy tense up at the question before he shook his head.

“No, I uhh, I don’t have any caps at all. I haven’t been anywhere where I could make any.” The boy grabbed his arm and a look of guilt crossed his face. “I can just sleep outside though! I-I mean it’s not like I’m used to a bed or anything anyways, so… yeah, I’ll be fine, Craig.”

With a groan, Craig took his bag off his shoulders and reached inside to take out his container of caps. From a rough estimate he wouldn’t have enough caps to afford two rooms, and while he didn’t want Tweek to stay in his room he couldn’t help feeling a bit sorry for the boy. Not to mention he knew he’d feel guilty leaving Tweek out in the cold desert night while he got to stay in a warm bed. Shoving the caps back into his bag he sent Tweek an unimpressed look.

“Whatever, I guess we’ll just share a room. But tomorrow you need to figure out a way to make some caps in town while I take care of some business.” Craig crossed his arms and turned back around to continue their walk to Novac. “I’ll help you get to the Strip, but you need to be able to make your own money along the way. There’s a credit check at the gate, so if you don’t have at least two thousand caps, you won’t be able to get onto the Strip even if you make it there.”

Tweek nodded furiously in response, “Of course! I-I’ll find a way to make money as soon as possible! Maybe I could scavenge some stuff on our way to Vegas, too!”

It wasn’t the worst idea to have come out of Tweek’s mouth, so Craig gave him a brief nod but didn’t say anything further. Honestly, the last thing he needed was to get Tweek all the way to New Vegas just to have him stuck in Freeside. Surviving in the wasteland was one thing, but the neighborhood surrounding New Vegas wasn’t safe once night fell. The Kings kept order during the day, but Craig had seen plenty of dead bodies in the morning from muggings that had gone wrong. Gamblers who’d made too much money on the Strip never stood a chance if they went out into Freeside at night. He didn’t need Tweek to be another corpse in an alleyway if he was going through all this effort to get him their safely.

As they approached the chain link fence surrounding the giant dinosaur, Craig motioned for Tweek to follow him inside the small settlement. It seemed like most of the residents had already returned to their homes for the night, with only the medical tent still having some occupants at the entrance to the town. Wasting no time, Craig made his way to the motel, pushing open the door and letting himself in as quickly as possible. An older woman stood at the desk, looking up at the pair as they entered. Adjusting her glasses to sit higher on her slim face, she greeted them with a smile and a wave.

“Why hello there boys, welcome to the Dino Dee-lite Motel! The name’s Jeannie May, and this here’s my establishment.  You two looking to get some rooms for the night?” Tweek took a step behind Craig, clearly not used to speaking with someone this friendly. Not that Craig could say he was quite used to it either, but at least he had the knowledge that Novac was a generally safe town to be in.

“Just one room, thanks.” Pulling the caps out of his bag, Craig counted out one hundred before placing them on the counter and taking the key from the older woman.

“Well alright boys, let me show you to your room.” Coming out from around the desk, Jeannie May led them out the door and towards a staircase outside. Taking them to the third room on the second floor, she motioned for them to enter. Using the key, Craig unlocked the door and made his way inside, followed closely behind by Tweek. Craig pulled off his bag and set it on the bed before turning back to Jeannie May, who still stood in the doorway smiling at the pair.

“We’re good, so you can just, you know… leave.” Craig stated the request in as blunt a manner as possible before walking away from the women, focusing on checking his gear to see what rations he’d need to buy while he was in town.

“Oh, well I guess I’ll be going then!” The older woman laughed awkwardly for a moment. “If you boys need anything stop by the motel’s office, or swing by my house if it’s too late. The address is written right in the office, so don’t be shy!”

With that, Tweek took the initiative to give her a quick wave before closing the door to their room, sighing with relief now that they were safely inside.

“Th-that woman was kind of scary, don’t you think? No one’s that nice in the wasteland!” Tweek’s hands went up and into his hair as he paced around the room. “What if she’s faking it and plans on killing us?! Or maybe harvesting our organs, oh GOD!”

“She’s not going to do anything, stop worrying. Novac is safe and most of the people here are just annoyingly friendly. You’ll get used to it.” With that being said, Craig allowed himself to flop back on the bed, taking a moment to just relax into the stained mattress. It felt nice to be indoors for once and away from the wind and sand.

“O-Okay, but something about her just doesn’t sit right with me.” Tweek placed his pack on a nearby chair and made his way over to the bed, taking a seat on the edge as far away from Craig as he could.

“It’s good to be sceptical, but she won’t do anything. If she tries to get in here I’ll kick her ass, alright?” After taking a moment to stretch out his tired limbs, Craig sat up and began to rummage around in his bag. Taking out an old carton of cigarettes, he brought the tobacco to his lips and took out his lighter. When a small flame appeared, he took in a breath and lit up the cigarette, inhaling the smoke he’d been deprived of all day. Smoke breaks weren’t a safe choice when you were out on the road, so he saved the few cigarettes he had for the moments of peace he found. Blowing out the smoke, he offered the cigarette to Tweek. “You smoke?”

“N-No thanks, I’m fine without that.” Craig shrugged at the response and gave his attention back to the smoke that was once again filling his lungs and giving him a sense of peace. “I think… maybe I’ll go look around town for a bit. See if I can find any work.”

“I doubt you’ll find anything this late at night, Tweek.” Craig took another drag of the cigarette before putting it out, wanting to save the second half of the cigarette for a later time. “But knock yourself out, I’m getting some sleep. Take the key with you so you can let yourself back in.”

With that, Craig laid back on the bed and turned away from Tweek, raising a hand to wave him off dismissively.

Tweek nodded, though he knew Craig couldn’t see it, before rising from the bed and pocketing the key on the nightstand. Making his way to the door, he looked back to Craig one final time before heading out into the night. Looking over the railing of the balcony, Tweek took in his surroundings. Before him stood the giant dinosaur, but upon further inspection he noticed that it wasn’t just some old world statue; there was a door with a staircase leading up to it on the side! That was enough to peak the young man’s curiosity and instantly Tweek found himself heading down the motel stairs to investigate. Making his way across the motel yard, he ascended the steps and pulled open the door. As he entered the dinosaur, his eyes were met with all sorts of odds and ends on display. Was it a shop of some sort? He could see food on the shelves behind him and some cartons of dirty water and before him, behind the counter, sat small replicas of the dinosaur building he was inside of. Smiling a bit to himself, Tweek made his way over to the replicas and picked on up, turning it over in his hands to take in the details.

It had been so long since he’d seen a children’s toy. Back “home”, if he could call it that, there were never any toys unless they’d been snuck in, and once they’d been found by any of the men there they were thrown to the fires or to the dogs, but no one was ever allowed to keep them. But Tweek could remember when he was younger than even that. His mother had given him a stuffed bear one, he could remember that! He would play with it all day long whenever he could!

But that was so long ago, and it hurt to look back on those times.

Putting the dinosaur back on the shelf, Tweek looked to his left and noted another staircase leading higher into the dinosaur. Where could it have possibly led?

Creeping up the stairs quietly, nervous about not knowing what to expect, Tweek soon found himself standing in front of the door. Sucking in a deep breath, trying to find some calm inside himself, Tweek laid his hand on the door knob and pulled it open only an inch or so before looking outside. Before him he could see the night sky and… a man? Oh God, what should he do? The door was already open, but it didn’t seem like Tweek had been noticed yet. He could always just sneak away, but what if this man was the shopkeeper? That meant that he might have some work for Tweek to do. Mutter a quick “Oh God.” under his breath, Tweek pushed the door open the rest of the way, hearing a loud creek as he did so. Instantly, the man spun around and Tweek found himself face to face with the barrel of a gun.

“Oh man, oh God, please don’t shoot me!” Tweek’s eye twitched and he could feel his body shaking as panic set in. His hands reached up to pull on his hair as he watched the man across from him slowly lower his gun.

“You shouldn’t have snuck up on me like that. What do you want?” The man was blunt and to the point and it almost reminded him of Craig in a way. Shaking in his spot, Tweek tried to find his words to respond to the man.

“I-I’m new in town and I-I guess I’m just passing through? Oh God, I don’t know man! I’m looking for work?!” The words were a jumbled mess, falling from his lips too quickly. It took the man across from him a moment to process, but he saw the man nod and lower his rifle completely.

“I don’t have anything for you to do, kid, so maybe you should just lea–” The man cut himself off in an instant, thinking for a moment, before starting to speak again, “No, you know what. I don’t know you, you’re not from Novac, and that’s a start. I do have something I could use your help with.”

Confusion made its way to Tweek’s face. How did him being a stranger mean he’d be of use to this scary man? Just by looking at him, Tweek could discern that he was likely ex-military, or at the very least a mercenary, but based on the red beret he wore Tweek felt safe in assuming he was with the New California Republic. A lot of them wore those berets, right? The rest of his uniform was seemingly missing, considering he was dressed in only a white tee-shirt and a pair of dark cargo pants, but his demeanor screamed military.

“U-Uhmm, how exactly can I help you?” Tweek wrung his fingers together as he waited for more details on whatever job he was about to be given. He had no clue what to expect and it had him completely on edge.

“Someone in this town is helping the Legion, and I want that son of a bitch dead.” Tweek’s eyes widened at that. This had to do with the Legion? He could feel his blood run cold as the man continued, “Someone sold my wife to the Legion as a slave, but I don’t know who. All I know is that she’s likely dead at this point and I couldn’t do anything to stop them. So I need you to figure out who sold her, bring them to the front of the Dinosaur while I’m on duty, and I’ll do the rest.”

Although the idea of crossing the Legion made anxiety course through Tweek, he knew this wasn’t a job he could turn away. He knew what the Legion was capable of and he knew the anger that this man felt. If it meant taking down even one person connected to the Legion, Tweek would do anything he could to help. Maybe he couldn’t take on their army, but he sure as hell could help this one man.

“O-Okay, I’ll do it! I’ll give any Legionaire in this town hell!” Tweek’s voice cracked as he shouted, but determination was inside of him and he was ready to find this person and give them hell. “Just tell me what to do.”

“Alright kid, you’ll bring them in front of the dinosaur after 9PM, and you’ll put this on.” Taking off his red beret, the man passed it over to Tweek. “And when you put that on, I’ll know you’ve got the right person out there. I’ll handle everything else.”

“Alright!” Tweek let out a growl as he grabbed the hat, digging his fingers into the rough material. “Is there anywhere I should start?”

“If I had to guess, I’d say No-Bark would be your best source of information. The guy’s insane, but if you can figure out the meaning behind what he’s saying, I’m sure he’ll have some clues for you.” The man nodded to Tweek, “By the way, my name’s Boone, but until this task is done it’s likely best that we don’t be seen talking to one another. We don’t want to tip anyone off that we’re hunting them down.”

And that was apparently where their conversation was going to end, as Boone turned away and returned to looking out over the highway. Beret in hand, Tweek opened the door behind him and started down the stairs.

It was time to fuck with the Legion.

[doggonneit]

Honey Eyes and Bloody Lips

Fandom: Haikyuu!!

Pairing/Characters: Kuroo/Tsukishima

Rating: T for Teen

Warnings: Swearing, piercings, tattoos, blood

A.N. This is for @its-love-u-asshole for the @hqvalentineexchange. I hope you enjoy!

[Read on AO3]

Kuroo should’ve guessed from the name Karasuno that there would be a crow theme to the studio. The front was nothing spectacular to look at, all the dirty grey of concrete with a few crow silhouettes spray-painted onto its surface. Whoever had been tasked with that job had taken liberties with the amount of paint they used, as each bird had black trails trickling down like blood.

It was morbid.

Kuroo thought it was adorable.

Akaashi had recommended the studio since one of his friends worked there, and he gave a ringing endorsement to their piercing services which was impressive because praise that like didn’t come lightly from someone like him. A quick Google search further cemented Karasuno’s reputation-- they’d only been open for six months but already garnered over one hundred reviews raving about their excellent standards of service and friendly staff.

That was all Kuroo needed before he grabbed his keys and drove down to the studio.

Given its macabre exterior, it wasn’t surprising to see the same theme running in its interior-- more of the same dripping birds gliding along the walls and resting on silhouettes of tree branches that curled around the polaroids of ironically happy customers with their new piercings.

A blond man sat behind the front counter, so concentrated on adjusting jewellery in a velvet case while humming to the music coming from the portable speaker next to him that he didn’t notice Kuroo’s presence till he leaned over and put his elbows on the surface.

“Oh.” The man’s golden gaze flitted upwards and his mouth formed a perfect o. “Sorry, I didn’t see you there.”

Kuroo gaped and his elbows slipped out from under him. He smacked his forehead on the counter with the loudest crack and in that moment he wished through the haze of pain for instant death to save him from the humiliation of looking like a complete moron in front of the most gorgeous man to walk the earth.

“Shit.” The man leaned closer to him and that was not good for his heart . “Are you all right?”

“Fine!” Kuroo sprang back a safe distance and pretended he couldn't the heat blazing across his cheeks like a wildfire. He usually wasn’t this inept, and he cursed the little black crows on the walls for his dismal state. “Sorry, clumsy. Super clumsy.”

“Yeah, that looks like it’ll bruise.”

“The only thing bruised is my pride,” Kuroo weakly joked. “Nothing important.”

The man gave a small huff of laughter and Kuroo’s pride swelled back to its usual inflated proportions. How many people could boast they had literally heard happiness from an angel? It was the most beautiful sound, the kind that was meant to be curled up on the couch next to him laughing late into the night about their hopes and dreams.

“Well then, welcome to Karasuno. My name’s Tsukishima and I’m here for all your piercing needs. What can I do for you today?”

It took Kuroo a moment to remember why he even came here in the first place.

“I’m thinking of getting pierced,” Kuroo said, then gave himself the biggest mental slap. He was in a piercing studio, for fuck’s sake. It wasn’t like he walked in here looking for rainbows and unicorns. “So, uh, you take walk-ins?”

“Yeah, absolutely. What did you want done?”

Kuroo paused. He’d wanted to get a third set done in his ears for a while now, but all the client photos showcasing a variety of piercings in a variety of places wavered his intentions and a good, long look at Tsukishima changed them completely.

Tsukishima was naturally stunning, and the jewellery that adorned him made him a complete work of art. The most striking piece was a barbell that went straight through the middle of his bottom lip and moved with every word like a hypnotic dance. Kuroo had never seen jewellery so perfect for someone and he wanted something like that for himself.

Tsukishima’s golden eyes followed Kuroo’s gaze and ran his tongue over the piercing, far too slow to be anything but deliberate. “You like the labret?”

Say something cool, say something cool, say something cool.

“It’s cool,” Kuroo said, and wished he could melt through the floor. That had to be the lamest response ever. Why was he being such a thirteen year old boy trying to impress his crush? He ignored the fact that it wasn’t too far from his current reality. “I don’t have the guts to take a needle through the lip though. I’m squeamish.”

That’ll make the devastatingly handsome man swoon. Good job, dumbass.

Tsukishima raised one pierced eyebrow. “Squeamish,” he repeated, looking pointedly at Kuroo’s arms. “That makes so much sense.”

“Oh, these.” Kuroo touched his tattooed sleeves with an abashed chuckle. He liked his ink and it was nothing to call it an addiction, not since he got his first taste on his nineteenth birthday when Akaashi tattooed a little black cat sitting on the side of his neck and showed him the wonders of body art.

The needle hooked him and never let go. Kuroo turned to Akaashi for his every tattooing need: a love poem in cursive Spanish across his ribs, the vivid blues of a stormy ocean crashing down his right arm and the livid greens of a snarling dragon spiralling its way down his left arm.

“You must have a stomach for needles if you can sit through hours of being repeatedly stabbed and injected with ink,” Tsukishima said.

“The needle’s not as big,” Kuroo protested, and if he didn't feel like a child before then he certainly did now. But hey, this was pure survival instincts speaking-- it was perfectly natural to be wary of sharp objects that could punch a hole through your body. “It makes sense from an evolutionary perspective.”

“Fair enough,” Tsukishima agreed. “So, no labret for you today?”

Kuroo was about to say no, but he just couldn’t peel his eyes away from Tsukishima’s mouth and how amazing they looked with the silver ball ends seated perfectly above and below his bottom lip. He wanted to know what that felt like on his lips, whether it be through a kiss or a needle.

You romantic, you.

“I want it,” Kuroo quickly said.

Tsukishima frowned, noticing Kuroo’s snap decision and clearly wanting him to take a step back and think it through. “If you’re unsure, it may be best to postpone--”

“No, I want it,” Kuroo said again, this time slower and with greater conviction. “I want the labret.”

Tsukishima fell silent and he held out for what felt like an eternity, no doubt testing Kuroo’s resolution. But Kuroo didn’t budge-- he was going to stick with the big, scary needle going through his whole lip because his mama may have raised a fool but she didn’t raise no quitter.

“If you’re sure--”

“Oh, I am.”

“--we have a selection of colours available you can see over there. Take your time picking one and I’ll go get my equipment ready.”

They parted from the counter, Kuroo ducking his head as soon as it was polite and burying his face in his hands. If he rubbed hard enough, maybe he’d scourge the redness from his cheeks by completely sanding off his skin. It’d been years since his awkward teenage years and here he was reliving every single one of those horror stories again.

At least he didn’t have acne anymore.

Kuroo took a deep breath and faced the display cabinet-- nope, he wasn’t going to let himself spiral down that particular path right now, not when there was a chance he could make an even bigger fool of himself. He focused on the jewellery gleaming under the little lights and where was he even supposed to start? Colour? Stone? Ends? Kuroo just blinked and stared-- he’d made too big a decision in getting a labret and now his decision-making skills had deserted him in his hour of need.

“What are you thinking?”

Kuroo yelped and jumped straight into the cabinet. The jewellery inside rattled loose like beads all over their shelves and Tsukishima grabbed onto his arms to steady him.

“Whoa, sorry.” Tsukishima smoothed down his shirt and gave it a pat. “I didn’t mean to frighten you.”

Oh my god, he touched my chest, not a drill, not a drill!

“No, I was just supised-- surpised-- surp--surp--”

“Surprised?” Tsukishima offered.

“Surprised.” Kuroo’s voice came out embarrassingly high-pitched and now he was even squeaking like he was thirteen again. He cleared his throat and said in a much deeper and sexier voice, “Surprised. Yes. Sorry about the, uh, mess in the cabinet.”

“No need,” Tsukishima said with a shrug. “I’ve been meaning to rearrange it anyway.”

“Oh,” Kuroo said. “Good.”

Silence.

“So,” Tsukishima prompted. “Jewellery?”

“Right!” Kuroo gave a nervous laugh. “Uh, I’m not too sure what’ll look best on me, so I don’t know?”

Fantastic, men love indecision.

Tsukishima considered his answer. “If you’re not sure then you can never go wrong with simplicity. How about silver, with ball ends?”

“Like yours?”

“Like mine.”

Kuroo’s heart did a weird flop. “Yeah,” he said. “Yeah, that’s good.”

Tsukishima smiled and this is how men go blind and led him into one of the back rooms where a small stool and a tray of various equipment were set out. Kuroo tried not to look at them because his imagination conjured visuals far worse than reality could ever be.

“Take a seat there. You’ve been pierced before, and this process is no different.” Tsukishima snapped on a pair of purple latex gloves and cleaned Kuroo’s lip with an antibacterial wipe and used a black marker to make a small dot beneath the swell of his bottom lip. “How does that look?”

Kuroo glanced into the mirror on the wall and nodded. “Good.”

“Okay, I’m going to use this,” Tsukishima picked up a giant pair of glistening forceps, “to hold your lip in position.”

Kuroo’s eyes bugged out at the contraption and he began to sweat. “Tha-- that’s huge,” he managed.

“It doesn’t hurt or anything,” Tsukishima assured him. “It just steadies your lip so the needle doesn’t go in crooked.”

“The needle--”

“It looks like this.” Tsukishima picked it up. “It’s not as bad as you thought, right?”

Okay, so maybe it wasn’t as thick or threatening as Kuroo had envisioned but it still was going to punch a hole through his lip and he might just faint if he saw it coming towards him.

“Can I keep my eyes shut?” he asked.

“Of course.”

Kuroo did just that and he felt Tsukishima pull his lip out and hold onto it with the forceps. He was okay, he was doing okay, he was going to be okay…

“Take a deep breath,” Tsukishima said.

Kuroo obeyed, then a sharp sting went through his lip and he couldn’t help but open his eyes and see the needle sticking out of his lip. And what was that? The warmth dripping from his lip and down to his chin?

“Oh ny god,” he said through motionless lips. “Oh ny god… the glood…”

“Hey,” Tsukishima said. “Hey. Look at me.”

Kuroo tore his gaze upwards and looked straight into honey eyes and began to drown in their warmth and beauty. If he was going to bleed to death, this was surely the way to go. “Hi,” he whispered.

“Hi,” Tsukishima whispered back. "Keep your eyes on me, okay?"

That wasn't a difficult request-- in fact, Kuroo would gladly just sit there all day long and admire the sharp planes of Tsukishima's cheekbones, his milky smooth skin and how long and fluttery hiseyelashes were. If karma was indeed a thing, then Tsukishima had to have done something amazing in his past lives to be an angel walking on this earth today.

You are such a goner, you sap.

Tsukishima’s hands never stopped working and far too soon he stepped back with a small smile. “That’s it. All done.”

“That quick?”

Tsukishima gestured to the mirror. “Take a look.”

Kuroo turned and hot damn . He turned this way and that way, admiring how much more badass he looked now. He couldn’t have asked for a better piercer-- Tsukishima knew his stuff and even better, he was art and he made other people art too.

“How’s that?” Tsukishima asked. “We match.”

“We match,” Kuroo happily said.

“You like it?”

"Yeah," Kuroo said. He gave a wide grin which, to his surprise, made Tsukishima wince. "Is something wrong?"

"Not... wrong, per se," Tsukishima said. He made a vague gesture to his mouth. "You, uh, have blood on your teeth. It looks rather threatening."

"Shit, ha." Kuroo wiped the smile from his face and adopted a glare instead with his teeth bared. "How do I look now? Badass?"

"Badass," Tsukishima confirmed, setting his equipment straight again and beckoning. "Come out front. I'll ring you up and book you in for a follow-up appointment."

They made their way back to the front of the studio where Kuroo paid for his new piercing and zoned out of the spiel on how to take care of it. He'd gone through the routines before and this was hardly any different so he played with his barbell instead-- poking at it with the tip of his tongue and mouthing at it between his lips. It didn't hurt as much as he thought it would and he was so engrossed that he didn't notice Tsukishima frowning at him till it was too late.

Oops. Can't ignore the calls of an angel.

"Sorry, I just really like it," Kuroo said.

"Keep doing that and it won't heal straight," Tsukishima warned. "You want a crooked piercing?"

The thought of the perfectly placed barbell growing slanted made Kuroo's eye twitch and he vowed not to touch it again, at least until it healed, otherwise it'd be a waste of Tsukishima's skills.

"I've booked you in for the same time in two weeks," Tsukishima said. He took a business card from the counter and scrawled the appointment details on the back, ending it with an elegant flick of his wrist and pressing the card into Kuroo's hand. His skin was warm and his touch lingered against Kuroo's.

I'm absolutely besotted, help.

Kuroo wanted to say more and prolong his visit but Tsukishima had already turned away and busied himself with another jewellery display. Kuroo didn't want to call his attention, not when he'd so clearly been dismissed, so he bade a silent farewell and stepped outside to a bustling street filled with noisy pedestrians and blaring traffic. It was such a contrast from the interior of the quiet studio that it took Kuroo by surprise.

He leaned on one of the concrete walls next to a little black crow that looked like it was shitting black paint on his shoulder, and was about to slip the card into his phone case when he noticed something extra written on the back.

Call me. 03-XXXX-XXXX

Kuroo stared at the words with his jaw wide open and almost swallowed a fly. He choked on his spit and whipped around to look through the glass door but Tsukishima had already disappeared.

Oh my god oh my god ohmygod ohmygodohmygod!

Kuroo couldn't control the gigantic grin that broke out over his face and he probably still had blood in his teeth judging by some of the horrified stares he got but who cared about them when he got the number of the most gorgeous man to exist on this plane? Kuroo hurriedly opened up his camera and gave the most terrifying grin and holy hell did he look demonic with his hair spiking up in a hundred different directions and his mouth filled with blood. He took a picture, posted it to Karasuno's page and began writing another five star review to add to their collection.  

10/10 would recommend, should've taken a polaroid like this. Thanks, Tsukishima!

[perla-speedofsound-adventuring]

Silver or Blaze (your choice).....but with the last sentence starter! (I am so sorry.) *Ducks under table*

protective sentence starters

“[choked up] I never thought I’d see you again.”

(GIRL OMG

Ok here goes, enjoy~)

With the world free of Dr. Eggman and Infinite’s tyranny, everything was soon returning to normal.

“Hey Silver, thanks again for your help. If it wasn’t for you coming all the way back to tell us about the future, we would’ve never been prepared to take them down,” said Knuckles as he patted his shoulder.

“Of course. It’s my duty to protect the future. Now with Eggman and Infinite gone for now, the future will look a lot brighter,” Silver said. Knuckles smiled as he gave a nod until he was called away by the other rookies to help them with some clean up. Silver nodded and waved goodbye as he watched him leave. He turned around and looked to the sky that was slowly but surely returning to normal from the effects the huge sun illusion that had threatened them not too long ago. His expression saddened a bit as he remembered what happened exactly that drove him to the past.

~~ “Cream? Cream? What is your dimension lookin’ like now??” Marine said as she blasted away a cluster of red cubes with her own power.

“Not good, Marine. We’re getting worried. Mr. Sonic has been missing for a long time and my friends have been fighting against the same bad guy since he disappeared. Mama and I keep receiving new people to bandage up. It’s a little scary but we’re being brave for them,” Cream said in a hopeful tone.

“I know. I haven’t told anyone but.. I’m gettin’ kinda scared too. The fact this guy is in both our dimensions.. at the same time.. it’s crazy!” Marine exclaimed.

“I just hope Mr. Silver and Ms. Blaze are doing ok. Be strong!” Cream said. Cheese came beside her and showed a brave face. “Chao chao!” He chimed. Marine chuckled then ended the transmission. She looked up to where she could see a nearby lighthouse and furrowed her brows.

“I sure hope they’re doing ok too,” she said aloud to herself.

Silver and Blaze were fighting off clusters of red cubes and illusions side by side.

“How much longer can we keep this up?” Silver said as he telekinetically blasted away another cluster.

“I don’t know. Just keep fighting,“ Blaze said as she continued to fend off the clusters. They made their way to the top of the lighthouse and shut the door behind them as they looked out from the balcony. There were a multitude of red cubes and illusions around the whole of Southern Island. They then heard an ominous laugh come behind them. They swiftly turned around and were faced with a menacing masked jackal.

"Fools. You really think you can stop me. Look around, there’s nothing left,” he said in a voice that darkly echoed.

“We don’t just think. We know. What do you even want?” Silver asked. The jackal laughed as he slightly adjusted his mask.

“I want my control over this world and it’s dimensions to reign infinitely. Even if it means clearing it away and starting from scratch,” he said as he then summoned a large cluster of red cubes that surrounded Blaze.

“Hey! What are you doing? Stop this at once. Silver!” Blaze called from behind the clusters.

“Blaze! Leave her alone!” Silver yelled as he attacked the jackal with a strong blast. He was pushed back off the balcony but he was quick to catch himself as he floated and began to laugh.

“You must have me confused with some sort of weakling. Like your pathetic friends here,“ he said as he looked down bellow and saw Marine then turned to Blaze who was blasting the cubes that surrounded her with her pyrokinesis. He then lifted the clusters with Blaze inside and flew off with her at a sudden high speed.

"Wait no! Blaze!” ~~

Silver clenched his hands at his sides as he remembered what had happened to Blaze by Infinite’s doing. ‘If he’s gone that means everything is going back to normal. Right?’ He thought to himself. He began to walk back to the open fields of Green Hill to see the effects be reversed. The desert like environment that took up Green Hill was soon clearing away and reverting to the grassier plains. 

“Silver?“ His eyes widened as he heard the familiar voice. He turned to find Blaze jogging up to him.

"Blaze?” He said in disbelief as he quickly hugged her back as she embraced him. “You’re ok! This is unbelievable.. I never thought I’d see you again,” Silver said in a choked up tone. He cleared his throat as he held her shoulders, looking into her eyes. “How did you get away from Infinite?” He asked urgently.

“He took me to this prison but I fought him off. He put up a good fight but I was able to make him get away from me. From there I sought out to find you but I realized you had gone to the past. Marine and I continued to defend Southern Island and once we saw his illusions disappearing, we knew you had helped Sonic save the world,” Blaze explained.

“I’m glad everyone is alright. We have to help clean up the remainder of this mess. Let’s let them know you’re here to help,” Silver said brightly. The two smiled to each other than swiftly ran back to the city to find the others.

(A.k.a, my reason why Blaze, Cream, and Marine weren’t in Sonic Forces. I decided to make it Silver AND Blaze haha. Thanks for the request this was fun omg. Haven’t written a fic in while..)

[canvaswolfdoll]

CanvasWatches: The Dragon Prince (Season 2)

Well, this is back. And since the last season I’ve… (rereads last season’s review) failed to continue the grand Digimon rewatch.

Welp. I need to get on that.

Adopted a dog since then! So that’s nice.

So, general mood after seeing the second season: it’s a good example of media that really makes me want to create something amazing, but feel somewhat lacking in being able to do so. Or, like, play D&D.

It’d make a good D&D campaign.

The animation quality improved. Besides a few jitters in the first couple of episodes, it’s gotten a lot smoother. Character writing remains super strong. On the negatives, most of the nine episodes felt like our heroes were spinning their wheels as far as physical progress goes. Meanwhile, Team Dark keeps stealing the spotlight.

However, it’s overall a positive increase, so I’d bump the ‘Skippable’ rating of last season to ‘Give it a glance if you have time’. Keep building, The Dragon Prince! I believe in you!

The weakest character ‘faction’ (IE, the subgroups that get individual plots) is, unfortunately, our main heroes (who we’ll label Team Escort). Their stories focus on the emotional growth of Ezran and Callum, and while they accomplish the goal of reaching the elf half of the continent by the end of the season, visually they’re mostly in three places: the Moon Sanctuary they reached at the end of the last season, a ship taking them over a body of water, or a cave at the edge of a town. Rayla also took a secondary role this season, which is fine since she carried a lot the last season, but it’s still worth noting her passive role.

Meanwhile, Amaya, the stand out of last season, appears twice near the start of the season, and in a flashback story, but doesn’t have many dedicated scenes. They do solidly confirm she’s deaf, though.

Team Dark (Soren and Claudia) had the moral conflict plot this season. They catch up with Team Escort, and suddenly have to come to terms with their father’s secret orders: kill the princes and prioritize the dragon egg. In an honestly amazing use of secret keeping, both Soren and Claudia eventually are honest with one another in meaningful ways and just as soon as maintaining secrets no longer made sense. They also express reluctance about fulfilling the terms, and individually abandon the missions with good explanation.

Because, and this is something I love, they’re both friends with Callum and Ezran, and aren’t as pragmatic as Viren.

At the Moon Sanctuary, time is also taken to fuel the potential of the Claudia and Callum ship by showing that, yes, Claudia is receptive to the idea.[1]

Which brings us to Team… Viren. Viren is a team of one, so no fun name for him. He’s trying to figure out what’s up with a magic mirror. The answer: there’s a dude in there! A starry elf dude! And he’s going to teach Viren a spell![3] Viren is hesitant, because he doesn’t know much about the elf, so that makes sense. Plus, Viren needs to run his various ‘take over the kingdom and wage war on elves’ machinations.

Which go oddly south. Despite the implications of the last season, Viren didn’t just casually snag the regent crown. There’s a council that’s very much not onboard with that, and Viren explicitly has no authority. He’s running on charisma and bluster, which runs out by the end.

From my poking around on Tumblr, Viren doesn’t seem popular. Which is unfortunate, because Viren is a great morally-grey villain.

In fact, the whole cast is great! Clear motivations, well established cause-and-effect, and no one makes a dumb move for the plot. There’s a hundred small missteps that build up into the big problems we face now, but the show establishes the motive behind each misstep, and you can’t blame any one.

Heck, Big Bad[4] Viren and Big Good King Harrow both share a character flaw: they’re overly self-sacrificing. The difference is Viren has a hierarchy of who’s important, while Harrow is treats everyone the same. Which means Harrow will sacrifice the lives of his own citizens for lives from another kingdom, while Viren will sacrifice a few lives for someone he feels is needed.

Viren also placed the lives of King Harrow and the Queens of Duran above himself. Because Viren doesn’t view himself as important.

Viren is tool towards his own vision of a greater good.

Which makes an amazing character.

Viren is only trying to take over the kingdom because he believes they’ve run out of better options. He doesn’t want the throne, but he thinks no one else can be effective there.

Back to Team Escort: Callum had to sacrifice his arcane focus to hatch the dragon, Zym, so he’s feeling glum being unable to do magic, and all the magic aligned beings in his vicinity are just like ‘Nay, tha’s eet, laddie. Nae mo magick fer yeh!’ But Callum remains resolute!

Team Dark tracks them down at the Moon Sanctuary, and suddenly face their inevitable moral dilemmas. Rayla, being suspicious girl, doesn’t trust them as Soren tries to assassinate Ezran and Claudia tells Callum that, yup, Harrow’s dead.

But Callum and Claudia had a date, so good on them!

In the end, Rayla proves her suspicions with the help of illusion magic. So that’s sad.

Team Escort heads further East, and need to charter a ship over an inland sea. Callum hires a double eyepatched pirate with a snarky parrot, and the two just steal every scene they’re in. Team Escort rides the ship for the middle third of the season and Callum gets some exposition from a letter Harrow left him as Viren gives the same exposition to a council of the five kingdoms.

By the way, there’s five kingdoms, and Viren needs their help to declare war. Three of the monarchs agree that, well, if that’s what everyone else wants to do, I guess they could.

Number five is a child queen who fired her regent and is just like ‘Sell me on this Viren’.

Viren tells the story about how her parents came to Harrow to help feed their people during a harsh winter, and Harrow decides ‘Cool, let’s share the pain! Sacrifice our people to save our neighbors!’ While Viren is like “No, sire, that’s dumb.” and Harrow’s all ‘I hear what you’re saying, but I’m going to do it anyways.’

And then Viren figures since Harrow’s dedicated to this, he might as well look into a mutually beneficial solution. Which involves the heart of a magma monster.

Which is why the two kinda need each other. Harrow had the moral backbone to make hard decisions, Viren had the will to support and pivot big dumb moves into better big dumb moves.

Queen Sarai thinks murdering a magma monster’s not the best idea, but Harrow is kinda bullheaded (but well meaning!), and she supports her husband anyways.

Conflicts ensue, Queen Sarai and the Child Queen’s parents die in the attempt, and the lesson Viren tries to impart is sometimes sacrifices must be made.

The Child Queen then declines to declare war on the elves. Because there’s a difference between sacrifices forced by external forces and trying for the greater good, and sacrifices because you’re the aggressor.

Then the other three monarchs fold.

So Viren goes home and summons magic assassins to spur the other kingdoms into action. Practical, if kind of evil. Also, the royal council is mad Viren called the council of kings and took the title of regant without permission. Such Drama!

Viren ends up striking an allegiance with the mirror elf, and then Viren gets arrested for treason.

After crossing the giant inland sea, Team Escort moves to a cave where they spend the rest of the season. A dragon’s posturing around a nearby town, and upon the arrival of Team Dark, Soren decides it’s time to slay a dragon!

Soren starts a fight with the dragon, property damage ensues, Claudia uses magic to wound and ground the dragon, and they end up releasing the tracker Amaya sent after Team Escort last season.

Callum finally informs Ezran about Harrow’s death before Team Escort goes and involves themselves with the Dragon conflict.

Team Dark (and assistants) bind the dragon down, Team Escort free the dragon, Callum does some dark magic, and the dragon sends Soren into a boulder and turns him into a quadriplegic!

Which is harsh for a kids show, and emotionally breaks Team Dark. Soren’s happy to have an excuse to not kill the princes, and Claudia’s upset that her brother’s this hurt and is a bad poet.

Callum then falls into a fevered state due to using dark magic, and has dreams where he must reject dark magic (boo!), and eventually unlocks the ability to do wind magic! He’s an Airbender!

Ezran runs off to think, the tracker catches up with Rayla and Callum, and some exposition is shared there.

Ezran meets with Claudia, and the two have a heart to heart that’s adorable. Ezran then helps Claudia find magic ingredients, but not the ones Claudia told him.

She kills Bambi for a surge of life magic, and uses it to get Soren to his feet.

So here’s my problem. The main mark against dark magic is that it’s done by sacrificing life (mostly bugs and body parts). However: meat. Humans eat meat. Animals eat meat. Nature often swirls around extinguishing life and, especially for humans, using parts of the dead to sustain themselves and make various processed goods. But because it allows humans to do magic as well, suddenly extinguishing life is an unforgivable sin?

Dark Magic seems fine! I can’t actually back up it just being straight bad. Viren’s use of it is bad, yes, but so is feeding someone blowfish liver. There’s not enough cause to call the tool evil over its use. And Claudia used it to heal!

Team Dark is innocent, dang it! Adjust your narrative and, like, add a parasitic, earth killing  and salting element. Unbalance the scales.

Ugh.

Anyways, Ezran decides to go home as Rayla and Callum go to deliver Zym to his mother.

Ezran is revealed to have a psychic connection to Zym as the two parties go separate directions and Rayla and Callum cross into Xadia and into a cliffhanger of meeting a scary desert dragon! Oh no!

So this season is an improvement on the last. Moral complexity is increasing, but in a child friendly way. The world’s expanding, and it’s not afraid to upset the status quo. I’m excited for the third season.

Still, more backdrops for Team Escort, and maybe a few filler episodes for fun and character growth would be good to see. But The Dragon Prince is good now. Watch it when you have time.

If you enjoyed my writing, consider supporting my patreon for early access and exclusive content, or give to my Ko-Fi account if monthly subscription isn’t for you. I hope to do new and exciting things!

Kataal kataal.

[1] Rayla and Callum is the inevitable ending pair, but pretending Claudia has a chance will still be fun. She’s a fun character.[2] [2] Also, neither are Sexy Lamp characters! Rayla and Claudia have defined personalities and goals outside of romance! Good writing! [3] Had Aaravos been aligned against Viren, I would’ve used this as an extended joke where he teaches Viren how to do a sleight of hand trick. Disappearing a coin or a card trick. Not right for the story, but something I need to remember for my own work. Just a sage dude messing with the villain with pranks. [4] Well, until the end of season...

[erynstraveldiary]

we’re all we need

Summary - Recess Week: INDIA! Traveling with allergies, sleeping in the desert, and learning to get around 

If you told me two months ago that I would be spending my recess week in India, I probably wouldn’t have believed you. 

But India made me grow up in a way that Japan and Singapore and anywhere i’ve traveled to never could. I traveled abroad to step out of my comfort zone and this trip showed me that I could do just that (I had never even eaten Indian food before and now I ate it at every meal!) At the end of ten days i was just getting used to the bugs and dirt in the hostels and hotels, the cold showers, the constant sounds of honking, the cows and elephants and camels walking through the street... and then it was time to go home. When I first left the airport and got to the first hostel that we were staying at, I was wary if I would be able to do ten days living out of a duffle bag and navigating through a large country that I knew basically nothing about. Long story short, even if you’re just thinking about going, go for it, but be willing to step out of your comfort zone and learn to adapt. We covered (some more than others) Jaipur, Jaisalmer, Agra, Delhi, Vrindavan.  On allergies: I’m allergic to peanuts and certain types of shellfish, and I learned that traveling for this reason could be kind of scary. But it’s definitely doable if you’re willing to do a little more extra work. Just to make a comprehensive list here (I’ll add to this if I go to other places as well just for peanut allergies!)  Singapore: “Everyone in Singapore speaks English!” is almost true, but I would caution just when you’re going to certain hawker stalls or cheaper areas. I’ve never had to use this thus far, but it might be helpful to have a translation in Mandarin or Malay too. I did have an incident with peanuts when I tried vegan ice cream that was offered for free in my dorm hall. I did ask them if it had peanuts; however, I should’ve took extra steps to confirm. Luckily I had benadryl on me and although it was a rough and sickly night (incredibly bad for the fact that I had two licks max of the ice cream) I was good by morning.  Thailand: This was one that I was really scared of because it’s just traditional for a lot of Thai food to have peanuts in them. However, I was able to try Pad Thai (a dish well known for containing peanuts) in Thailand (the best!) without any problems. Here’s the translation I used from TripAdvisor which is pretty severe, but better to be safe than sorry. I heard google translate translations work well for Thailand as well  ฉันแพ้ถั่วลิสงอย่างแรงถ้ากินหรือสัมผัสอาจถึง " ตาย" ได้ กรุณาอย่าใส่ถั่วลิสงและเครื่องปรุงที่มีส่วนผสมของถั่วลืสงในอาหารกรุณาอย่าใช้ช้อนหรือเครื่องปรุงและเครื่องใช้ที่อาจมีถั่วลิสงติดอยู่กรุณาอย่านำถั่วลิสงวางใก้ลหรือสัมผัสกับเครื่องดื่มขอบคุณ “I have severe peanuts allergy if eat or touch I may die please DO NOT cook or put peanuts or any ingredients that may have peanut in my food.Please DO NOT use any utensil or cooking utensil that may have trace of peanuts or come into contact whit peanut.Please DO NOT place peanuts near my drinks” India: This one was pretty hard. I asked hostel staff at the place that we were staying at if the knew a translation but not all people read this language, so sometimes communicating to shop people was hard. However, normally I said it in English and if your waiter didn’t understand, they were very diligent in finding someone who could. I’ve also had my tuk tuk drivers explain to restaurant staff for me as they could speak pretty good English from their constant engagement with foreigners (not all, but some). Oh also: I went vegetarian for 10 days while in India! No meat, chicken, fish, etc. This is mostly because I have a weaker stomach and you can’t really trust the cleanliness/cooking style of even the nicest restaurants (and culturally, they don’t eat a lot of meat so don’t expect most people to know how to prepare it well) and it was super easy to do in India. I normally love steak but I had no problem going without it at all. 

Sleeping in the desert (and other odd places): One of the coolest things that I did in India was get to go on a camel safari and spend 30 hours riding camels and sleeping on literal mattresses on the floor. We chose to go with adventure camel safari and I would put a recommendation on this one because the blankets that they provided were so warm (India actually gets chilly in mornings/evenings unlike singapore), fresh unlimited water, and good food (although, honestly, I was eating sand mixed with my veggies, but its unavoidable).   While in India, I also stayed at a round of hostels for the first time in my life. We were paying about USD$1-5 for a hostel bed per night in a mixed dorm, but just keep in mind that your expectations should match the price you’re paying. Even the hotel that we splurged at (USD$153.70 for four people for two nights) still did not fit what you’re probably used to (however, this heavy price increase could’ve been because we were tourist celebrating holi in one of the most authentic places). There are bugs in the room (mosquitos are the worst), the sheets and bedding might not be the cleanest, the pillows are rock hard, nowhere will give you shower stuff like shampoo and body wash, and you’re showering with cold water. Advice: Bring your own towels, deal with the cold water, use a lot of bug spray. Also adding onto the weak stomach thing, you (as an American) probably can’t drink the water as it’s not filtered as we’re used to. I exclusively stuck to bottled water for the duration of my trip (even to brush my teeth) but I do know some people who used the water and turned out fine. I would just say err on the side of caution.  Learning to get around: I love tuk tuks (https://www.google.com.sg/search?q=tuk+tuks&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjS3rvfvtfZAhUKQI8KHVj5A2YQ_AUICigB&biw=997&bih=743) I think they’re the cutest thing ever, and they are a huge method of transportation in India. However, you’re traveling in open air so maybe if you have problems with dust or dirt, wear a scarf around your mouth (I definitely wish I did this on the camel safari because I got flu-like sick for a few days after), You can rent a tuk tuk to yourself in Jaipur (fits like 3 people) for 750 rupees, or the equivalent to USD$11.52. We also took busses that look like they were falling apart for twelve hours with no bathrooms on it and learned how to get through. I can’t tell you how much things are supposed to cost; you need to figure it out when you’re there and try to tell when you are getting ripped off. You can bargain on almost anything but I am not a good bargainer so I can’t give you advice for that. We also took an airlines in India called Spice Jet (sketchy sounding, I know) and I actually preferred it over Scoot or Air Asia haha. 

TLDR: I highly recommend India if you’re willing to adjust to the mindset and culture for the time that you’re there... just be very prepared and know when a price/person sounds sketchy. But you’ll have so much fun and learn a lot about yourself and the culture,  If you want to see a video I put together, find it here: https://vimeo.com/258765518

And as always, here’s some pictures! 

we’re all we need // above & beyond

[wionews]

'I felt like a demon', Africans in India point out on Mandela Day

18th July, the day Nelson Mandela was born, is marked as Nelson Mandela International Day. For 67 years, Mandela devoted his life to humanity—as a human rights lawyer, a prisoner of conscience, an international peacemaker and the first democratically elected president of a free South Africa.

As the world celebrates the 99th birthday of the leader, we explore at the state of Africans in India.

Indians and Africans: Existing together, living separately

On a rainy weekday morning, while driving past wedding venues and upmarket eateries on New Delhi’s Chattarpur road, I took a left into Rajpur Khurd to enter a different world altogether. One that looks much like any other slum of the capital city, this one is inhabited by a sizeable number of Africans.

Having visited the Tibetan and Afghani settlement in the city, I expected it to be a colourful melting pot of authentic street food, cafes and other notable demonstrations of the community’s presence. I was mistaken--there was no palpable sign of their existence--even though all of that was absent, it was a pleasant surprise to see a fairly large number of Indians as well. "They coexist together," the overwhelming thought clouded my head. On asking, they confirmed that several “habshi” reside here. I am unsure if any of them even knew what that meant. The terminology was used without realising the sensitivity around it. Most of them happened to use it with harmless intentions.

On asking, they confirmed that several “habshi” reside here. I am unsure if any of them even knew what that meant

  ×

Incidentally, the word "habshi" historically referred to African and Abyssinian slaves and, thus, is a highly pejorative term. Almost no Indian knew any of them personally. They would direct me to their houses or point to their shops but none said they were friends with them. It was a disheartening discovery. Neela, an Indian housemaid, even said that “the police took a lot of them about a week ago”. On enquiring why, she said “I don’t know this. We are not informed about their whereabouts,”. This brings us to the very obvious conclusion--even though the two communities share the same neighbourhood, they only exist together and lead very distinct, unshared lives.

In the lanes of Rajpur Khurd extension, Indians and Africans exist together but live separately. (WION)

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The Indians residing in the area belong mostly to the lower-income group. They work mostly as cab and auto drivers, maids, ice-cream vendors and small-scale beauty parlour owners. On the other hand, the African population includes students and young professionals from well-off, middle-class families. Most of them claimed that they were denied housing in other localities. The landlords in this area charge very high rents from them--10,000-15,000 rupees which would have been impossible to get from Indian tenants--considering the extremely poor infrastructure and unsanitary conditions.

Inside an African kitchen: ‘We wouldn’t treat our guests like that’

I ended up in a crowded, dingy alley that had African tenants--none of them too willing to talk. They seemed to be suspicious of me. I happened to notice the “Jesus Never Fails” boards on the houses situated in a lane opposite to a famous Shiv Temple.

Roaming around in the maze-like slum, the passersby led me to a building that they claimed was an African “kitchen” or restaurant. I had my doubts because it seemed like a tatty residential construction with no sign boards. On taking a dimly lit flight of stairs littered with cigarette butts, I reached what looked like the door of an average Indian flat. An African woman nervously opened the door, she probably saw me from the door viewer. When I inquired if I could get food, she refused. I assumed it was only when I am accompanied by her confidante, I would be allowed to enter. I found Collins in the markiet area, a friendly man from Congo, who took me to another so called “kitchen” in a similar unmarked, poorly constructed house.

  The Indians residing in the area belong mostly to the lower-income group. On the other hand, the African population mostly includes students and young professionals from well-off, middle-class families. (WION)

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Collins has accepted racism to be a part of his identity outside Africa. “I have widely travelled and it is everywhere. People is China are shy but they are more helpful than Indians,” he said.

The “kitchen” was set in a double-bedroom flat--the lobby, permeated with the stench of cigarettes, was laid with a variety of tables, barstools, and couches. The multicoloured projections emanating from Chinese bulbs added to the look. I finally discovered the signs of cultural difference--hidden from the outside world.

The fridge was packed with beer and a table by the kitchen held a home audio system. Only one table was occupied. “The crowd mainly comes in the evening. It’s a real ball--we have live music sessions over the weekends. Only Africans come here almost all the time. We cannot publicise the place too much--it is underground after all,” said the 35-year old Imani* from Kenya. 

Most of them come to India for quality education that is more affordable compared to the west. They are aware of the fact that adjusting in a new country would be difficult but the experience for some has been horrific beyond imagination “Being teased and overcharged is one thing but the people here think that we are all criminals involved in prostitution or drugs. We wouldn't treat our guests like that back at ome,” says Imani.

Being teased and overcharged is one thing but the people here think that we are all criminals involved in prostitution or drugs

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The kitchen is a safe haven “It is a place that reminds us of home--we feel we belong and are not looked down upon,” she adds. African immigrants living in Delhi find a slice of home in the home-cooked meals and music of these kitchens.

A business owner���s message to the government

Onuel Uka was unable to find the traditional African technique of clipping hair in India. He utilised the gap in the industry to open Salon Afriq, which is now a popular spot for African clientele. The staff and customers are from Africa but an Indian is rarely seen in sight. He came to India eight years ago “India was not the original idea but it was god’s plan,” he said, who intended to go to Canada after a stop in India but happened to do his MBA from Stratford University, New Delhi. He did not expect it to be a rosy ride and the initial period of adjustment is described as “painful”.

When asked if he will recommend his friends and family to come to India, he said “It depends on why they want to come here. If they have a good educational or job opportunity here, they should come. But if they have an option between India and the States, then obviously they should head to America,” he explains

He also believes that his country is not any less than his present home “It’s not that we come here because we feel India is better than Nigeria. India is good but not good enough to be my home,” he said.

There is only one main thing he misses about home “It is the feeling of being at home. You do not feel like an outsider. Everybody has the same skin colour so they don’t find you odd and you don’t feel out of place,” he sighs.

  Salon Afriq is owned by 44-year-old Onuel who is happily married to an Indian woman (WION)

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Onuel like every other African in India is a victim of racism. “I will explain through an experience. I visited a neighbour and their kid opened the door. When he saw me, he screamed and cried as if seen a ghost. I was so embarrassed. How is it the kid’s fault? Children are innocent and they embrace what comes their way. The notion that our colour and physique is scary is planted in their head by the society. How is one expected to feel respected and accepted in such a society? Our president once said that ‘If you ignore children, you are ignoring your future’ but how do we even interact with children in such a situation?” I had no answer to his question.

Being a business owner, he is distressed by the lengthy, tedious paperwork for renewals. He feels the government is not supportive enough “Government should have some arrangement to issue temporary paperwork instead of cancelling licenses. There should be workshops and events organised for foreign students. They are very talented but do not know where to start from,” he says. He is also worried about the impact of the implementation of GST.

It is the feeling of being at home. You do not feel like an outsider. Everybody has the same skin colour so they don’t find you odd and you don’t feel out of place

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He is an admirer of Mahatma Gandhi as much as he is of Mandela “Gandhi did so much in South Africa. Indian government should also initiate some event to honour Nelson Mandela for our community,” he says.

Besides the struggles, the 44-year-old blushes when asked about his love life. He is happily married to an Indian woman with two kids pursuing studies.

The outsider’s party

Amidst of all this, the community has learned to live with racism and at the same time found a place of their own. They blow off steam after a long day just like Indians do but away from them.

Greater Kailash market is a familiar area for any Delhiite. The elite crowd frequently cools off in the posh bars and lounges of the market. However, this time, I visited the place at an odd time--post midnight--when the outlets have almost shut down, the staff is winding up by cleaning and packing. The parking lots are deserted and the typical Delhi crowd is either heading home after party or looking for hangover cures. But for the African party-goers, the night had just begun.

In the basement of a mediocre club of the famed piazza, an underground, unofficial beanfeast was beginning to unfold. Loud thumping music, a bit alien but foot tap-worthy. If you aren’t African or Northeastern––you are likely to feel like an outsider, which is usually the case with these people when they are out of this pub, in the midst of the judgemental Delhi and its so called "multicultural" crowd. These outsiders here get a night out free from stares and slurs in a scene hidden only because most of us would never think to look for it.

Mostly everyone was tipsy, with a few people in clusters sitting around either making out, dancing, drinking or just talking.

'You don't have to be a foreigner to be an outsider' says Gurmat from Manipur. (WION)

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The party organisers mentioned that it was a task to find venues that allow non-Indian crowd and, therefore, most parties happen after-hours and some off the record. An active DJ and party-enthusiast in his native country, it was difficult for Abeo* to enter the Indian entertainment industry. The crew dedicated a decade to create a parallel nightlife in the city. The main takeaway: Indians might find it weird to see a group of Africans or northeasters at their party, but this one has doors and arms wide open for anybody willing to pay the cover. The main agenda behind doing these parties is to create a space where nobody gets turned away for being who they are.

The tales of discrimination are narrated everywhere. A country which differentiates and rejects between the residents of the north and south, imagine what a person from a far off land may feel. “You don’t have to be from another country to feel like an outsider,” says Gurmat Durjoy who hails from Manipur. 

The dapper Salim* from Uganda studying at Sharda University talked about the "dark" realities of being an African in Delhi "Very few Indians accept Africans. They take you for drug peddlers and racists only because your skin colour is not their preferred shade. It is pure hypocrisy--at one end Indians dislike being called brown and explain the horrors of racial rule by British, who considered themselves superior. They do the same to you. We are bullied, mocked, teased and even touched as if we are demons. I feel unsafe and cannot wait to head back home" he said. 

Almost every African migrant I spoke to, narrates the challenges of finding accommodation in the city. Many found homes but were later asked to leave by landlords as the neighbours complained of not "feeling safe" in their presence. They also complain of being classified as a Nigerian due to ignorance of the fact that Africa is a continent and not a country.

“Next time you see someone from Africa--if you can’t pass a smile, at least don't pass a racist comment,” Salim said.

The community has created a parallel nightlife over the time to cool-off in India's capital (WION)

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*Some names have been changed to protect identity

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