#its kinda like a bearded dragons..... beard if you have ever touched one

[kagender]

i think they need a better name than lizardbirds, but for now, its lizardbird time

[shinsorokiri]

MHA as YouTubers

Bakugou Katsuki Headcanons

Warnings: Swearing

A/N: IN HONOR OF OUR BOY REVEALING HIS HERO NAME, I decided to post his YouTuber headcanons. I literally love this idea for him, too. And I swear I’m not biased because I love gamers, no. Definitely not. Enjoy!

You thought Jacksepticeye was loud?

Wait til you watch BakuNO

Yes

That is his username

He made it when he was like 13 and angsty

And now he’s like 21 and angsty

And he acts like he hates it

But he refuses to change it

He loves video games

But only when they’re good

See he does gameplays

But along the way

He criticizes and reviews the games

He’s actually really good at it

Knows what he’s talking about

He very rarely doesn’t insult a game

But that’s also because no matter how good a game is

A game will always have its faults

And you know what sometimes that’s okay

And other times it… is not

And boy oh boy

Does Bakugou let you know

He’s actually really good at gaming

All of his friends make jokes that he sucks

But behind Shinsou he’s the best

Even better than Kaminari

He just

He gets so angry

So fast

And the only person really who knows why he is the way he is is Kirishima

He met Bakugou’s mom once

And said OUT LOUD

“Oh! Well now it all makes sense!”

“WHAT THE HELL IS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN SHITTY HAIR?!” “KATSUKI HE IS OUR GUEST TREAT HIM WITH FUCKING RESPECT” “DON’T FUCKING NAG ME WOMAN I’M A GROWN MAN!”

Kirishima just stood there like :D

His expression changes from :D to D: real fast though when Bakugou makes him play one of his games with him

Going back to the games

Bakugou will play the occasional Smash Brothers

Or just a gameplay of something like Uncharted or Tomb Raider

For sure

He loves first person shooter games

And he prefers games that have a storyline

And violence

But his favorite???

Horror games

He LOVES them

“Because he’s fucking crazy!”

Kirishima’s words, not mine

He literally has a series of him playing Outlast with Kiri because without fail Kiri cries every episode

Because he gets so scared 

And Bakugou thinks it’s hilarious 

But he always makes it up to him afterwards by making him some dope ass food

None of his fans know that though

But they do lowkey ship them together 

As they should 👀

I mean it’s hard not to they constantly film together

Which is because they actually live together

But it’s still really funny to see Bakugou in Kirishima’s cute little animal videos

It’s also really funny to see him in a livestream and suddenly a bearded dragon is just placed on his shoulder

He doesn’t even flinch

This little lizard is basically his now

And he loves him

That doesn’t go for… all of Kiri’s animals though

There’s a video of Bakugou getting “attacked” by one of Kirishima’s snakes

He was f i n e

Just dramatic

But in all honesty

He 100% gets scared too

Sometimes they both scream at the same time

RIP headphone users

He likes to pretend things don’t scare him

But his actions betray him

One time when he was playing The Last of Us he didn’t notice a Clicker until it was too late and he just started shrieking and broke his controller

Kiri nearly called the police

He goes through a few controllers a year

Whether he breaks it cause he’s mad

Or just cause he gets scared

Or because of overuse

He always gets the same one without fail

No one would know he even broke them if Kirishima didn’t have a tally of broken controllers going on a whiteboard in their living room

Even though this mans is loud

And I mean

Loud

He has a devoted fanbase

He calls them his Extras

And God Bless Anyone Who Fucks With His Extras

He always loves when he gets tweets of fans with his merch

And he gets them all the time

He also does this thing where he drops in on Twitch streams that use the tag “BakugousExtras”

And sends the lucky fan any merch they want

And usually

They pick his video game accessories 

He has his own controller

His very own BakuNO controller

And it sells fast

Mainly because of the design

Doesn’t matter what console it is

The controller is always matte black

everywhere

with the exception of the joysticks 

Those are a bright orange

And the buttons have green accents

He even has an omage to his earliest fans

He got started on YouTube playing Call of Duty

And everyone always made fun of him for his obsession with the grenades

So for the Xbox, the X button is a grenade

And for Playstation, there’s a grenade on the touch pad

It’s super basic 

But also great

And you can best believe it’s the same way with his merch

Minimalistic

But wonderful

He also has a custom PC that he takes GREAT pride in

And yes

It has a grenade on it and glows orange and green

This man just loves himself some video games

He also loves his fans

But he’s emotionally disconnected

And he feels bad a lot of the time because he just kinda screams all the time

But his fans love him

And they know that he cares for them

His actions toward them show it more than his words ever will

[platonic-prompts]

Creatures from Folklore: Slavic Region A-D

You ever need different creatures to base things off of, or just want some legends for a setting? Or heck, you ever just want to chuck a creature at someone and say you’ll figure it out? Well, do I have the posts for you. This one will focus on the Slavic Region but I’ll make more at a later date

Ala are considered to be demons of bad weather in several folklore, including that of Bulgarians, Macedonians, and Serbs. Their main purpose is to lead thunderclouds that produce hail towards fields, vineyards, or orchards to either destroy the crops or to loot and take them. They are very voracious and really like to eat children. Though one shouldn’t assume they limit their tastes to Earth, no. They sometimes try to devour the sun and moon which lead to eclipses and if they succeed it means the end of the world. People who encounter one may find their mental and physical health as well as their lives at risk. It is, however, possibly to gain her favor by approaching with trust and respect. These good relationships can be very beneficial since she (the ala) can make those with her favor wealthy and save their lives if they are in danger. Ala can take on many different forms: black wind, giant creatures with no distinct form, a monster either humanlike or snake like witha  huge mouth, a female dragon, a raven, various human and animal shapes. Ala can also possess people’s bodies. They live in the clouds or in lakes, springs, hidden remote places as well as caves, inhospitable mountains, forests, or even a huge tree. Usually hostile towards humans, they have powerful enemies capable of defeating them like the dragons.

Alkanost have an incredible voice, capable of making anyone who hears her song might forget everything in their search for paradise. A creature of good who resides in the garden of the gods or whatever version of heaven required, the alkanost has the head and bust of a woman and the rest of the body is that of a bird. Sometimes this creature lays eggs which assist in the changing of winter to spring. Basically she wouldn’t sit on her eggs just dump them into the Ocean-Sea and when they reached the bottom the weather would turn fair. Though i think that takes her out of the running for parenting awards.

Anchutka is a small malevolent spirit, residing most often in water or a swamp. Even without wings, it is capable of flight. One of its nicknames is the one without heels. This is a common theme to look for, as oftentimes evil forces have a limp. Though in some storied this spirit has lost their heels because they got bitten off by a wolf. This spirit is often a sidekick to a water spirit called Vodyanoy, and as such you should never say its name aloud since it will always show up.

Aspid, a type of dragon with a beak and other birdlike elements, resides primarily in the mountains, preferring solitude. When it invades a region, nearly always it caused universal devastation.

Baba Yaga: I’m pretty sure a lot of people know about Baba Yaga, the witch who lives in a hut with chicken legs and goes around in a mortar and pestle. She does carry a broom though, but she only uses it to sweep away her tracks.

Bannik is a spirit who rarely does any good for anyone. A mischievous spirit that has the appearance of an old man with long claws, he’s a spirit that inhabits the banya (steamhouse). Whenever people bathed in the banya, they would always leave on the third or fourth session to let Bannik have his privacy. They would leave him offerings of soup and regularly thank him. Bannik had the power to tell the future and if asked a question he would softly touch the askers back if it was a good future or flay it if it was a not so good future. Oh and Bannik, when angry, would claw off the skin of those who annoyed him. The banya was also the place of Russian childbirth, so there were measures taken to keep him from interfering. Part of the midwife’s job was to keep him away. And with good reason. Legends say that he ate or flayed children. So therefore the midwife would dip stones in the water and throw them in the corner to distract the steamhouse spirit.

Bauk hide in dark places and holes and abandoned houses. There they wait to grab, take away, and devour their victims. They have a clumsy gait and can be scared away by light and noise.

Babay, possibly the same thing as the bubak, isn’t often described so children will come up with what is most terrible for them. But despite this, Baby has been described as a black and crooked old man. When he is descibed he tends to have some traits such as muteness, lacking arms, or walking with a limp. He carries with him a bag and a cane. Baby lives in a forest or a swamp or a garden only to come out at night to walk the streets and scoop up the children he meets. He will walk close to windows and watched the children sleep. If they aren’t he’ll scare them with noises. Or sometimes he even hides under kids beds to take them away if they get up.

Błędnica is a forest demoness, who leads people astray before leaving her victims alone in the midst of the forest to die of starvation or be eaten by animals. She is usually described as a young and pretty girl. The only way to chase her away is to use strong spells or to sacrifice something at home or during your hunt.

Blud is a fairy in Slavic mythology. An evil deity who causes disorientation and leads a person around and around aimlessly.

Bukavac lives in lakes and pools, coming out at night to make a loud noise. A six-legged monster with gnarled horns, it would jump people and animals and strangle them.

Bubak is often represented as a scarecrow with a skeleton as frame, which is connected with darkness, it is a type of boogeymen used to scare children. The skeleton often is describes as wearing a heavy black coat where it hides the children it steals.

Cikavac, a mythical creature from Serbian mythology and it kinda feels like a basilisk but way weirder. This thing is a bird that has a long beak and a pelican-like sack. You can acquire one at the low low price of your sanity and clear face. For you see, in order to get one, you need to take an egg from a black hen which a woman now needs to carry under her armpit for 40 days ( is now a good time to note that chicken eggs hatch after 21 days or so) and one cannot confess, cut nails, wash their face, or pray. After that the cikavac would suck the honey from other people’s beehives and suck milk from other peoples cows and then bring it back to their owner. It would fulfill its owner’s wishes and it would allow its owner to understand the animal language.

Chort, a demon or a humanlike spirit in Slavic folk tradition.  They are not exactly evil characters. Yes they try to trick people into selling them their souls in exchange for useless gifts. Yes those people are carried off into hell. But they are sometimes tricked into doing such things as building castle walls in a day. Sometimes is depicted as trying to bring evil characters to hell. A small, hairy man with a tail, horns, and one or two hooves. But due to shapeshifting abilities, the chort is able to appear in nicer forms and tries to trick people while in them. Though these transformations aren’t and can’t be complete, so there’s a way to know if one is dealing with a chort whether it be by small horns in curly black hair or a hoofed leg hidden within high boots. Though they share similarities, a chort is not the devil.

Čuma, aka kuga, is a personification of the plague in Serbo-Croation myths. Typically appears as an old woman wearing white, though in some cases has been depicted as a young woman. Direct mention of them were avoided and were usually referred to by godmother or aunty. According to belief, they lived in a far away land where they came from to infect people. Due to their hatred of dirtiness, if they found a dirty household they would be eager to infect it. Due to this, if a plague appeared,every house and its occupants must be thoroughly cleansed. In addition one could make offerings to of food, clean water, basil, and a comb.

Domovoi are household protectors, generally seen as kind spirits though they would harass the family they protect if said family was rude or unclean. This usually took the form of pulling small pranks until the family corrected their behavior. While domovoi are shape shifters, most depictions show them as small, bearded masculine creatures which are reminiscent of hobgoblins. In order to complete his chores and to fulfill his duty of protecting the house, the domovoi would assume the shape of the head of the household, sometimes working in the yard while the real head of household was asleep. (Guess spirits don’t have to worry about identity theft charges). They were also capable of turning into animals, rarely taking the form of a dog or a cat. Another facet of the domovoi was their ability to act as an oracle. Predictions are as follows

Dancing and laughing= Good fortune would come

Rubbed the bristles of a comb= a wedding would happen soon

Extinguished candles= Misfortune would fall upon the household.

Dziwożona, a type of female swamp demon from Slavic mythology, sometimes called Mamuna or Bognika, who lived in the thickets near rivers and streams and lakes. Thought to appear with foul weather around trees and swamps, they are known for being malicious and dangerous, and usually were previously living humans. Several types of people would be at risk of turning into one after death, such as: midwives, old maids, unmarried mothers, pregnant women who die before giving birth, and abandoned children who were born out of wedlock. Some depictions include an ugly, old woman who had a hairy body, long straight hair, and I quote “breasts so huge she uses them to wash her clothes”. I don’t know what that actually means and I don’t want to find out. She also wore a red hat with a fern twig attached. In case she wasn’t weird enough, she’d watch women with their little children.  Just chilling around making the kid sick and making schemes to get the mother away from the kid when she’d replace the kid with one of her own, a foundling/changeling.

[dzamie-oc]

Smaugust 05 - Sea

A man meets up with an online friend of his to explore the uncharted parts of the sea. I mean, that's what "hic sunt dracones" means on old maps, so that must be what they're doing, right?

Cedric looked up from the picture he had printed out. He looked again, just to be certain he had the right guy. The sailor he had sought out was, in fact, right there. Rough-looking, stocky, and sporting a face with an impressive beard and the scars from a lifetime of battling the weather, the sea, and even his boat herself. Still, from his chats with the man, Cedric knew him to be kind at heart. Despite that, he was slightly nervous as he approached.

"Hey. Zilch, is it? I'm Cedric." He offered his hand out, and Zilch took it in his meaty paw and heartily shook with such spirit that it left Cedric a little sore.

"Aye, Cedric, I'm glad yer coming along!" Zilch said in exactly the loud, booming voice the younger man had guessed he'd have. It was warm and strong, and Cedric figured he could hear it half a mile off it the sailor so wanted. "Have ye looked over the itener- itinor- our planned route yet?"

Cedric smiled. "Of course, damn near first thing I did." He turned over the picture of Zilch he'd brought along to show a map. Hand-drawn, but the land was very accurate, and it noted the currents likely to show up in that time of year. And, one more, curious, feature. "Though, I've gotta ask. Mapmakers of old used to do that whole, 'hic sunt dracones,' thing because it was uncharted territory. It's... no longer uncharted. I looked up a satellite photo; aside from some rocks, it seems just like any other darker patch of sea."

Zilch beamed at him. "A scholar through and through, my lad. But, tell me, what does hic sunt dracones mean in English?"

This earned him an odd look from the younger man. "It means, 'here be dragons,' or 'here there be...' but that was generally also an excuse for the cartographer to doodle some-"

"Aye," the sailor cut him off, jabbing a thick finger right where the words were written, "and there, there be dragons."

Cedric's smile grew into a small chuckle as he shook his head as playful as he figured Zilch was being. "Okay, so we're going whalewatching. That's fair enough, but why not just say that?"

"I say we'll see dragons, and we'll see dragons." He walked towards his boat and beckoned Cedric on. "Now come on, lad, at worst you'll get to see the beautiful ocean and talk about Mage And Demon Queen with me in person rather than through a screen!"

"Fair, can't argue with that." Folding up the paper and stowing it in his pocket, Cedric nodded and stepped onto the boat. It was a rather small sailboat with a motor in case of no wind. Could probably take along four men, though outside of rough weather, Cedric had no doubt Zilch captained it just fine all by himself. The boat rocked with the light waves lapping at the pier, and Cedric found himself leaning on the railing a bit harder than he thought he'd need.

Zilch, who was busy unwinding the rope anchoring the boat to the dock, gave him a glance and a nod. "Yer sea legs'll come in, don't ye mind. Can just take a wee bit if yer not used to her like I am." He coiled up the rope on the deck, then secured it so it wouldn't slide all over, and started raising the main sail. "So," he said, as his powerful, seafaring muscles made easy work of the task, "ye got any questions about the dragons afore we get to see them? Or are we getting to the weeb stuff early?"

Cedric looked around, seeing if there was anything he could help with. "Eh, I still think you're pulling my leg on that, so I'll have to think of stuff to throw at you along the way. But in the meantime..." he said, pausing to mime pushing a pair of glasses up the bridge of his nose before resuming in a nasally voice, "um, ackshually, the word 'weeaboo' refers specifically as a derogatory of 'otaku,' and as such does not apply to a work of art as truthfully deserving of proper respec-" He had to stop as a grin split his face, and he and Zilch shared a laugh at the joke.

"Well, if the wind is good," the sailor said, letting some rope out to catch said wind, "ye've got a couple hours for that. So, did ye see snek waifu save Generic Isekai Dude in the recent episode?"

"Oh, did I ever. I was surprised she could deflect Vel's bolts, seeing as..."

---

"Okay, I thought of a question."

"Aye?"

"Really broad one, but no teasing on how long it took for me to mention it."

Zilch shrugged. "Ye had more important matters on yer mind. Like lamia in stockings."

Cedric assumed a mock-regal pose. "A true gentleman's interest, to be sure."

His friend smiled and wagged a finger at him, saying, "och, them's fighting words. Call me a gentleman one more time, see what happens."

Cedric opened his mouth and inhaled, as though about to do just that, then shook his head. "Ah, but really. So, the dragons. What do they look like?"

"Oh, there are so many of them, lad. Blue, red, brown, green, and in all shapes and sizes. A lot of them spiky, some of them... less so. My favorites be probably this family - least, I assume they're family - of real sleek, black and white beasties. The leaders are an elegant blue-white, almost ethereal girl. Well, I think she's a girl. They haven't corrected me on it. Anyway, this white lass, and then her mate, black as the night sky, with gorgeous green eyes. And then there's the rest, kids and grandkids, I reckon, all black and white in areas. I see them the most."

"Never corrected you?" Cedric asked, still skeptical."

"Well, only time they set me on fire was when one of them sneezed, so either I'm right, or... well, they probably can't speak English." Zilch shrugged. "I don't know a thing about what goes on between a dragon's legs-"

"Malori, hopefully," Cedric interjected.

"In more fanfics than ye could shake a stick at, aye," the man agreed, "but I mean in real life. Not that I particularly look, mind ye."

A thick mist washed over the boat. It was easy enough for the two men to see each other, but Zilch immediately trimmed the sails and watched carefully off the bow for incoming rocks. "We're getting close now. If we're lucky, we'll catch 'em flapping aboot to enjoy the air outside of their hole."

"They do that?"

"Well, mostly the family. I see the black one the most. Occasionally there's a spiky blue dragon, or a red two-legged one... what's the name, wyvern. But aye, it's generally just the black and white fellers."

Cedric squinted through the mist, trying to see whatever Zilch thought was a dragon. "You seem pretty familiar and, uh, normalized isn't quite the right word, but... used to them? Yeah. Surprised you haven't named any."

Zilch spun the wheel to dodge a water-worn rock, then readjuste to keep his bearing. "Oh, I have, but I'd lose ye if I just started saying stuff like, 'I was watching a couple of The Dragon Torches sunbathe the other day when a Pinchicken started yelling at them' or 'a Loud Fucker kept harrassing me last week so I left early.' So, colors." He pondered for a moment, then added, "oh, but I do think I figured out the big black one's name. Said it after he showed a trick he does when being all friendly, and he responded real well to it."

"Pinchicken, huh? That sounds kinda funny." It's not that Cedric had stopped being skeptical, but at the least, he could enjoy his friend's thoroughness with the whole dragon thing. "Too bad of all this fog, gonna be hard to see a dolphin, let alone a mythological creature. So, what'd you name the bl-"

He was interrupted by a loud THUMP! on the deck behind them. Cedric and Zilch grabbed for the railing to avoid falling over, and the sailor, naturally, recovered faster, walking towards the sound. Cedric turned, and his eyes grew wide.

Standing on the deck was a sleek, black, scaly figure, easily fifteen, maybe twenty-five feet in length. It stood on stubby, lizard-like legs with leathery, bat-like wings on its back as it looked around. It spotted Cedric, then Zilch, and turned its broad head back and forth before deciding to approach the sailor. Cedric was so caught up in seeing an actual, living, flying dragon, that he barely registered that Zilch was about half a second from touching a wild animal. But before he could voice his concern, Zilch placed his hand on the creature's snout, and it pressed its head against him, burbling and crooning softly.

"Ah, hello again, Toothless."

[poetlcs]

books I’ve read in 2020 (so far) + their ratings

non-fiction

crossing the line: australia’s secret history in the timor sea by kim mcgrath: important research into australia’s theft of oil in timor leste. didn’t rate

hood feminism: notes from the women that a movement forgot by mikki kendall: essay collection dissecting modern feminism, pointing out the exclusionary practices of mainstream feminism and offering new frameworks through which feminism should operate. really recommend. didn’t rate

the uninhabitable earth: life after warming by david wallace-wells: good introduction to environmentalism and the climate disaster. a little too introductory for me but good for those new to the topic. ★★★

homo deus: a brief history of tomorrow by yuval noah harari: it is simply not Sapiens nor as good as Sapiens. Looks at potentials for our future but, thought it was a little poorly researched. Some parts were still interesting though.  ★★★

SPQR: a history of ancient rome by mary beard: a little dense at times, but super interesting and detailed look at ancient rome. enjoyed it a lot. ★★★★

sister outsider by audre lorde: collection of audre lorde’s essays and speeches, about feminism, lesbianism, the queer community, being Black and a lesbian ect ect. outstanding, important collection anyone interested in intersectional feminism must read. ★★★★★

all boys aren’t blue by george m. johnson: memoir about johnson’s experiences growing up as a Black gay boy in a poor neighbourhood. Very poignant memoir, written in such accessible language which I liked. guarenteed to get you emotional, another one everyone should read. didn’t rate because it’s so highly personal that felt wrong but highly recommend. 

under a biliari tree i born by alice biari smith: memoir by an Aboriginal Australian detailing her life growing up learning traditional Aboriginal ways and how the lives of Indigenous Australian’s have been impacted through the years, specifically in Western Australia. Probably more aimed at school age people but still a 101 I think many Australian’s (and non Australian’s) can benefit from. didn’t rate 

classics

maurice by e.m forster: gay man coming of age story in college + themes around class and sexuality. forster’s end note saying he thought it imperative to write a happy ending because we need that in fiction, i love him. ★★★★★

emma by jane austen: read before seeing the movie. loved emma as a character but thought this was okay compared to other Austen I’ve read. ★★★½

perfume by patrick suskind: a man with an incredible sense of smell starts murdering young women to try and bottle their scent for a perfume. weirdest shit I ever read still don’t know how to feel about it. ★★★

the color purple by alice walker: follows the life of Celie, an Black woman living in rural Georgia. deals with her relationship with her sister Nettie, her lover Shug Avery, and with God. this tore my heart to shreds absolutely everyone must read it, like even just for the beautiful writing ALONE. ★★★★

a study in scarlet by arthur conan doyle: its sherlock holmes #1 no further explanation required. not my fave sherlock story, was the weird morman subplot needed? ★★½

dracula by bram stoker: yeah vampires!! this was way easier to read and also way funnier than I expected. we STAN gothic aesthetics and Miss Mina Harker here. ★★★★

fantasy

the diviners by libba bray: teens with magical powers/abilities solving mysteries in 1920′s new york. reread. ★★★★★

lair of dreams by libba bray: the diviners #2. reread. ★★★★½

before the devil breaks you by libba bray: the diviners #3. reread. best one in the series hands down.  ★★★★★

the king of crows by libba bray: waited so long for this series ender and it let me down lol. ★★★

clockwork princess by cassandra clare: the infernal devices #3. dont @ me this is my comfort reread series and I was travelling. ★★★★★

we unleash the merciless storm by tehlor kay mejia: we set the dark on fire #2. latinx inspired fantasy about overthrowing a corrupt government with an f/f romance. didn’t like as much as book one but still good, BEST girlfriends ever. ★★★½

wolfsong by t.j klune: basically feral gay werewolves and witches living in a town together. feels like a teen wolf episode but way more gayer. despite that hated the writing style and I don’t like age gap romances so yay the concept no the execution.  ★★

the fate of the tearling by erika johansan: the tearling #3. finally finished this series, dunno why everyone loathes the ending so much I thought it was cool. underrated fantasy because it’s very unique. ★★★★

girl, serpent, thorn by melissa bashardoust: persian inspired fantasy about a girl who is cursed by a div to kill anyone she touches. has an f/f romance. bashardoust writes the most aesthetically rich settings I love her. ★★★★

crier’s war by nina varela: reread. f/f enemies to lovers where the main character poses as a handmaiden in order to try and murder the princess whose father killed her family. PEAK gay content literally a modern classic. ★★★★★

we hunt the flame by hafsah faizal: I was so disinterested in this book I barely can describe the plot but basically it’s a prince and a hunter who are enemies but are forced to go looking for this magical artifact together anyway it was boring.  ★

ghosts of the shadow market by cassandra clare + others: short story collection set in the shadowhunter world. probably the strongest of her collections but they just don’t hit the same as her full length books. didn’t rate. 

a storm of swords: part two by george r.r martin: a song of ice and fire #3. I WILL finish reading these books eventually i swear !! probably the best one yet though. ★★★★

amarah by l.l mcneil: world of linaria #3. high fantasy with politics, dragons, warring races. tolkein/asoiaf vibes if they had more women with agency. didn’t rate because I haven’t decided my feelings on the end yet. 

science fiction

This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone: f/f enemies to lovers between spies on rival sides of a time war. good book but writing style wasn’t for me (others love this so eh take my opinion with a grain os salt:  ★★★

not your sidekick by c.b lee: main character is from a superhero family but has no powers herself, so she takes an internship working with a superhero corp. has an f/f romance with a villain character. so much fun and super cute

speculative fiction:

the deep by rivers solomon: speculative fiction wherein pregnant African women thrown overboard by slave ships gave birth to babies that became mermaids. main character holds all the memories of her people’s past but runs away after being unable to deal with the burden. about self discovery, intergenerational trauma and the burden of remembering. a little short imo but still all round excellent book ★★★★

how long ‘til black future month? by n.k jemisin: short story collection, many with an afro-futurism focus. hard to explain because there is such a wide variety of stories but this is an AMAZING collection. didn’t rate because I don’t like rating short story collections but wish more people would read it. 

mystery

the family upstairs by lisa jewell: woman inherits an english house and starts to unravel the secrets of a mass cult suicide that happened there years ago. loved it because it was wild. ★★★★★

the hand on the wall by maureen johnson: truly devious #3. boarding school mystery where the main character has to solve a murder that happened in the 1920s at her school while another mystery is happening in present time. my least favourite of the series but satisfying conclusion nonetheless. ★★★½

contemporary fiction

maybe in another life by taylor jenkins reid: dual timeline book showing the two outcomes of a decision the main character makes. cool concept but ultimately boring book because I didn’t care about the main character at all.  didn’t rate because I didn’t finish it. 

girl, woman, other by bernadine evaristo: vignette stories of various women whose lives are vaguely interconnected. incredibly well written with such vivid characters. deserves the hype. ★★★★

tin heart by shivan plozza: australian YA, the recipient of a heart transplant wishes to connect with the family of her donor, after she discovers the identity of her donor. good story but didn’t like the writing style. ★★★

a little life by hanya yanigahara: follows the life of a group of friends living in life, especially that of jude, a closed off and damaged man with a troubling past. a little too torture-porny/Tragic Gays but I cannot deny the author has a beautiful writing style and I went through all the emotions. didn’t rate

a girl like that by tanaz bhathena: explores the events leading up to the main character dying in a car crash. set in Jeddah, saudi arabia and explores expectations on women, feminism and expressions of sexuality and relationships between women during teenage years. kinda no good characters but I loved it for it’s messy depiction of teen girls (whilst not condemning them for this). underrated. ★★★★

little fires everywhere by celeste ng: drama in white american suburbs when a new family moves in and the neighbours start investigating their past. eh, I heard a lot about this and thought it was just okay. ★★★

stay gold by tobly mcsmith: trans boy decides to go stealth at his new school and falls for a cheerleader, georgia. about navigating being trans and definitely felt like it was written to educate cis people. it was okay but ultimately not my thing and not really the story I was looking for, even though I respect it being written by a trans author and still would recommend to certain people. ★★½

everything leads to you by nina lacour: main character and her best friend have to unravel a hollywood mystery, all while the main character is trying to get over her ex-girlfriend and find work as a set designer. f/f romance and loved the focus on movie making and the power of stories. ★★★½

the falling in love montage by ciara smyth: a girl meets another girl at a party, but she’s not looking to date due to the amount of family issues she has going on. so her and the girl decide to spend the summer having fun, renacting scenes from rom-coms, but never dating. awesome family dynamics and the relationship between the two girls was sweet also set in ireland which is fun. 

normal people by sally rooney: explores the relationship between connell and marianne, who meet in school, date secretly, and then are inexplicably drawn to each other for the rest of their lives. explores power dynamics, relationships, love and trust, and what we owe to eachother. great book, great mini-series, love it to bits. ★★★★★

the glass hotel by emily st john mandel: impossible to explain this book, but there’s a mystery about grafitti, a ponzi scheme and a character falling to their death on a boat under suspicious circumstances. honestly idk what happened in this book but I liked it. ★★★½

historical fiction

half of a yellow sun by chimamanda ngozi adichie: historical fiction about the biafran war loosely based on adichie’s family experiences. incredibly well written with an ending that punches you in the gut. ★★★★

hamnet by maggie o’farrell: explores the shakespeare family after the death of their child, Hamnet, from the plague, and how this leads to Shakespeare writing Hamlet. cool as fuck concept and boring as fuck book with such tropey female characters. ★★

all the light we cannot see by anthony doerr: WW2 fiction, dual perspective between a blind girl living in france and a german boy forced into nazi youth. I cannot believe this book is award winning it’s so boring and predictable and i reget the time i wasted on it. ★

poetry:

on earth we’re briefly gorgeous by ocean vuong: poetry memoir. vuong writes a letter to his illiterate mother, knowing she’ll never read it, exploring their relationship, his experiences growing up as second generation Vietnamese-American, and hers during the Vietnam War. My favorite book I’ve read so far this year, just too good to explain, genuinely just feel like everyone is better off for having read this. ★★★★★

currrently reading:

girls of storm and shadow by natasha ngan

meet me at the intersection: edited by rebecca lim & ambelin kwaymullina

stamped from the beginning: the definitive history of racist ideas in america by ibram x. kendi

get a life, chloe brown by talia hibbert

[ramen-hair-denki]

What I'd L i k e to give you is hug, and some reassurance that people care a whole lot. In the meantime though, I can help with a distraction. Firstly: 5, 14, 27, 32, 41, 48, 51, 60, 63, 75, 77, 80, 87, and 93 all sounded interesting to me, and fairly lighthearted. Secondly: d'you like reading fanfics? Can I @ you in one or more of my rec posts so you have something to read to take your mind off things? I really hope you're breathing easier by now, panic attacks really suck :(

5. Piercings i have: 0, i feel like i either would have none, or a million just to seem more masculine or like an abomination to old white people respectively

14. Piercings i want: like i said, none or as many as i can, just not too many on my face

27. First celebrity you think of when someone says attractive: i dont really know names of a lot of celebrities, the first person i thought of was phil lester only cause i was talking about him earlier

32. Have you ever painted your room? no, i live in an apartment and my mom is kinda controlling, one day i want to though

41. Have you ever snuck out of your house? no, controlling family, if i tried i would die

48. Have you ever ditched school to do something more fun? with my moms permission when we went to disney on a friday in 3rd grade

51. Have you ever been on a plane? at least twice a year because of scattered family

60. Have you ever fallen asleep at work/school? yeah its pretty easy to sleep at school

63. Have you ever touched a snake? yup, my science teacher in florida had a whole ass zoo in the back of his classroom. fish, bearded dragons, hermit crabs, birds, snakes, and some tarantulas. if we were good through the week we could hold/pet any animal we wanted.

75. Have you ever sang karaoke? by myself in my room lol

77. Have you ever laughed until something you were drinking came out your nose? no, the closest thing i got is i was laughing while eating apple sauce and it got all over my friend so sometimes we'll just say "apple sauce" to each other and bust out laughing. bonus points if im eating apple sauce

80. Have you ever sang in the shower? every night

87. Have you ever sat on a roof top? yeah to help put up lights for the holidays. one day i wanna do it for myself instead of other people

93. Have you ever broken a bone? no, ive only ever gotten a sprain and that was cause i tripped down one step while handing a teacher some music.

----

id like the recs, i need something soft and happy rn if thats ok.

thanks for sending in numbers, thinking about things that have happened to me has grounded me pretty well

[hotheadhero]

Huntsman’s Dragon, Preamble

This is the preamble to a focused starter (link here). It opens with a flashback that doesn't adequately allude to the full thing, so I would encourage viewers to read this fully... buuut it IS roughly 2000+ words in length, so it's understandable/I can't force otherwise if you don't read it.

Prologue

He remembers lazuli eyes staring brightly down at him o’er golden belly and golden wings, long whiplike tail swishing teasingly just out of reach. He remembers swiping for it, jumping, leaping, chasing; but always even the smallest of tide-polished scales darts further away than his stubby hands can grasp. He remembers huffing and dropping his rump on russet autumn leaves, furious that he has failed even so simple a task. It’s just like catching lizards and crawdads, he thinks! What could possibly be so hard about it?

(The answer, of course, is that neither are as deft in the air as his current prey. Neither of them are dragons.)

“This sucks!” he cries petulantly into the woods. “You can fly and I can’t! How is that even fair?! Can’t I play with you, even just a little…?”

He doesn’t expect anyone will hear him this far from the village, least of all the dragon; yet lo and behold, it alights and approaches him slowly, eyes wary, wings tucked, ears flattened against its horns, spines raised like hackles on a cat. ‘Strange,’ he thinks; ‘Didn’t Father tell me scared things never come close?’ But the greater part of him is enraptured, amazed that a little king of the skies might actually have listened to him when even Julian would not. (He should have been frightened, for even on all fours, its shoulders are still level with his chest; both its tail and wings could knock him flat in one sweep.) Round-eyed, he reaches out with a stubby hand. The dragon looks like it could eat him for breakfast, yet it cringes away from his fingers. Forked tongue flicks out to graze their tips—pulse racing, Caspar holds still. Very still.

He is certain the dragon can feel his heartbeat in the still autumn air.

It doesn’t move from tongue-licking distance. Slowly, he uncurls his fingers, rests them on the dragon’s snout. It flinches back with a startled chirp—Caspar flinches and gasps in turn. They stare at each other for several long moments, round sky-blue eyes meeting slitted lazuli.

A leathery tongue brushes fragile skin once more. Then the rest of the dragon comes, scaled head gliding smoothly ‘neath callused fingers.

The boy resists an urge to whoop out loud—doing so will surely frighten his new friend away. Instead, he simply watches the little dragon nuzzling him; then, slowly, he begins to wiggle his fingers to and fro atop its head. Those tide-polished scales feel so much more divine than they look, like silk and plate combined. It twitches under his motions, but relaxes almost as quickly. Unblinking lazuli eyes stare up at him. Are they perhaps as curious as his own? Whatever the reason, it doesn’t run away from him. Maybe, just maybe, it likes him.

You know what? He likes it too.

“I think I’ll call you Linny,” he says softly. He’s kinda proud of that name–it looks like a lindworm, all long and snakelike, and it’s cute besides! By now he’s finished stroking its nose and moved up towards the short ridges over its eyes. It chirps at him in response, and he smiles. “I bet we’re going to be good friends, Linny…”

---

Thread Start

“Oi, didja hear aboot the dragon a’ Oghma Moontens?”

“‘ow could I not? Made off with me neighbor’s best cows just a moon ago, and me neighbor’s babe too. Poor lass still squalls at night, wouldn’t ya knew.”

Definitely the right village, he notes as he hitches Ulric’s reins to a stable pole beside the pub. Daevin had been a sprawling place on the regional maps, but now several of the distant buildings were wrecked clear down to the foundation. The dragon must have attacked this place recently for folks to be talking about it so openly—perhaps it had even attacked only once, if they had not learned its attack patterns well enough to hide. He’d ridden almost a fortnight from Enbarr to get here, ever since Gilead summoned him back from Arundel to update him on his current mission. “I’ve reports of a demon loose in the Oghma Mountains,” he’d told him, “ransacking towns, stealing the villagers’ valuables, and attacking the weak and foolhardy besides. My scouts confirm it’s a dragon, black-scaled, size fit to block out the sun. We don’t know where it came from, but it’s not part of the Grand Council, so it falls to us now to take it down. Be sure to wear your best gear. Failure is not permitted.”

Yeah, yeah, Caspar snipes at his internal Gilead-voice. For however much his father enjoys parading about in armor in the capital, all it’s ever done for him while traveling is earn him wary looks and wide berths, even when he’s doing nothing more dangerous than stabling his horse. He knows how they think: Even lone armed men coming into an otherwise peaceful town almost never bodes well. But even after years on the job, the way the villagers’ tongues still as they finally register the stranger in their midst still injures him. He’s not some creepy mage come for their scalps—heck, he’s even in plainclothes this time. At least, as plain as he is comfortable with.

Padded chestnut gambeson rustles as he straightens up from Ulric’s flank (he did bring his plate, as instructed, but it’s safely tucked inside two of the young destrier’s saddlebags) and takes a step towards the villagers. There are three of them talking. The youngest-looking one shrinks back as he approaches; Caspar gives them a smile and holds up his hands in placation. (He’s long since learned the value of his smile in distracting from the battle axe and other weaponry he carries.) “Easy, guys; I’m just here for a bit of information,” he says. An innocent tilt of his head. “Heard there was a dragon in these parts. Anyone I can talk to, to learn more?”

The bearded salt-and-pepper man relaxes before his companions, nods at the tavern just behind before tilting his head up. “Ye can talk ta me. I’m Mayor Borjondy. Run the pub jus’ behind ye. Ye from the capital, lad?” he asks. “Come ta slay it fer us?”

“That’s right!” His grin doesn’t falter as he steps forth with an open hand. “Caspar von Bergliez,” he introduces; “part of the Spectrum Imperial Guard. This isn’t my first go-around; rest assured.”

Borjondy nods as he takes Caspar’s hand in his burly, weather-beaten one. ��Aye, thought so. Ye sound like a city boy, though me ears tell me you come from the east.” He completes the handshake and then drops his hand, expression pensive. “Been here all me life, I ‘ave, save fer me travelin’ days. We’s a simple folk, spend ‘ar days huntin’ an’ minin’. Don’t wan’ any trouble, unda’stand, but it would seem that trouble’s foond us.”

“Killed me wife an’ brother, it did!” the youngest man interjects. “Woulda killed me too if I ‘ad’nt run!”

Weren’t things like this what the Interspecies Accord was meant to prevent? A moment’s anger shoots through him that a dragon could violate the Accord so callously, but Caspar forces himself to remain calm. “Saving others like them is exactly what I’m here for,” he says, reaching out towards the man’s shoulder by way of reassurance. But the (hopefully) soothing touch does little to soften his glare. “Sounds like you’ve seen the beast, then,” he observes. “What did it look like? Can you remember?”

His question only causes the man to shake harder. “B- Black…” he stammers. “An’ ‘uge! Got paws like oxen, an’ wings kin block the sun! Oh, my poor Greta…”

The grief in his face mirrors in Borjondy’s as he steps closer to calm him down. “It’s killed some a’ my men when they was out huntin’,” he explains; “even tracked ‘em back here an’ wrecked ‘eir homes. ‘twere a livelier place, once, but now all ‘at’s left are the old ones and babes, an’ whoever’s brave enough ta stay an’ protect ‘em. But—it’s not a Hevring beast; that much I kin tell ya fer sure.”

“Not a Hevring drake?” Caspar is vexed. “How do you know that? Aren’t they the only dragons living in these parts?”

“Aye, ye’d think so, but this one’s black as pitch, not green like they say the Hevrings are. Come from the northlands, it did, though me lads here say it’s holed up in the eastern moontens now.”

“Those fookin’ Hevrings…”

All eyes turn to the third villager who until this moment has not said a word.

Heedless of (or perhaps relishing in) the attention he has drawn, the interloper prattles on. “Some a’ the womenfolk say them Hevrings’ll come an’ save us from it, but it seems to me they value their own an’ their kin’s scaly hides more ‘an any ‘coexistence’ they blather on aboot in the capital. Council a’ Seven, me arse,” he mutters viciously. “I bet it’s a council a’ four with three dragon fookers instead.”

Caspar bites back his rising retort. How dare this man lump his father in with the likes of Vestra and Gerth? But arguing will get him nowhere, and there’s still more he needs to know. “Where can I find it?” he asks. “Any known weaknesses?”

“Most times the beast stays close to the moontens, but not the mines. Ye’ll prob’ly find it if ye travel nor’east a’ them, towards Faerghus. Make sure you git ‘im good for me, lad,” the middle villager blurts then, seizing Caspar’s arm with a sudden fervor. “Ain’t no way we kin rely on them scaly twats if this is the sorta shite they pull.”

Borjondy nods sagely. “Agreed.” Then he looks directly at Caspar. “Call me old all ya like, but I kint help but feel as if this is an omen of some sort. Keep yer wits aboot’cha, lad. Somethin’ tells me the Council could fracture over all’a this in the future.”

Fracture? Last he’d heard, there was no evidence of discontent between either human or dragon halves of the Council of Seven. Then again, things were always strange when dragons were involved, so the young huntsman forgoes comment and dips his head in an informal but appreciative bow. “Thanks, mayor,” he says. “I’ll have its head before long—you have my word.”

He would simply have to ask Gilead about all this later.

---

The village of Remire is unsettlingly quiet as he rides into town, and it does nothing for the mounting disquiet of his mind. Only the furtive peek of eyes from behind the tavern window alerts him to the presence of any living souls in the area; and even then, it disappears almost quick enough to be imagined. Perhaps they’re all terrified of the dragon living nearby? Pondering it does not make his odds seem any more favorable.

For all his bravado back in Daevin, he isn’t actually certain how he is going to kill the thing once he sees it, especially without any other huntsmen to back him up. Slaying wyverns is one thing; they are universally weaker and less clever; but dragons? Most successful prior accounts spoke of trickery, of outwitting rather than physically outmatching the beast, and Caspar has much more confidence in the strength of his axe arm than the cunning of his mind.

He frowns. Miring himself in worrisome thoughts borne of too little knowledge would do him no good. Best he simply get out there and search for its lair. Maybe there he could find some clues as to what its goal is, what it wants with the villagers when it never bothered them before. Maybe there’s something he can use against it there, some way to take it down.

(And if he should find the beast inside its lair?)

(He’ll just. Tackle that problem if and when it arises.)

[aweebwrites]

Parents (Hooves and Fins AU)

Cole was swimming through the small kelp forest on Nya's side of the lake, looking for a mature length to bring to Zane as a snack. Apparently it didn't grow well up north and it was a rare snack for cold water mers. He found one and cut it with his clawed hand (he still sometimes accidentally scratches himself with them) and headed back towards the icy side of the lake- when a huge shadow passed overhead, startling him. He looked up to the water's surface before swimming up and looking around. He then gasped.

“Lloyd!” He called eagerly before swimming towards the shore (ridiculously quick for any centaur but apparently normal for kelpies).

The green dragon landed on the shore and Cole could already see the differences. For one- big! Not to mention his scales had some gold amongst the vivid green- and horns! He turned to face the water and roared, making Cole grin as he stepped out of the water.

“Woah! Look at you!” Cole says with a grin as he continued to show off.

“That's nothing.” Lloyd says, voice noticeably deeper before he shifted to his more humane form- and woah!

“No way!” They looked up to see Kai and Jay flying in on the scene.

“You got big! No more bowl cut either.” Kai says as he landed before him and ruffled his hair.

“Hey, go easy on the hair.” Lloyd says, batting his hand away, readjusting his hair around his horns.

“Lloyd. It's good to see you.” Zane says as Nya came up as well, Skylor walking out.

“Talk about a growth spurt.” Skylor says, hands on her hips as she looked him over. “Almost all the baby fat is gone too.” She says, tilting his chin up with her purple tail.

“I like the gold touch on your wings.” Jay says, holding one open.

“It's all over actually.” Cole told him then turned his attention back to Lloyd. “But your skin is darker than I remember. And I can see some markings like Master G has.” He says, looking him over, holding out his arm.

“Speaking of, Master Wu went to get him. They should be back any moment now.” Nya spoke up, watching them with a grin, her cheek in her palm.

A familiar sound caught their ears and they looked up on time to see the portal to the other realm close behind Master Wu.

“Right on time.” Skylor says as Lloyd watched them eagerly.

Wu landed nearby and Master G slid off his back. Red eyes looked around before widening as they landed in his son.

“Dad!” Lloyd yelled, flying over and the dark skinned demon's eyes widened before he had an arm full of excited son.

“Son! Look at you!” Garmadon says with a chuckle as Lloyd looked up at him with blown eyes and a happily wagging tail. “You've even got your horns now! But don't think they're done growing in. You'll soon find yourself needing to file them down or else they'll get a little out of control.” He says, ruffling his hair before just looking over his son.

“I’ve missed you Lloyd.” He says softly, hugging his boy close.

“I've missed you too dad.” Lloyd says, hugging his father tightly as the others awed.

“Watching those two can melt any heart.” Nya says, touched.

“Reminds me of my own father.” Zane says wistfully.

“What was he like?” Cole asked, walking over.

“A lot like Master Garmadon to be honest. He wasn't a mer like I was. He was an arctic fox. He found me when I was young and abandoned. He told me I was very small and most likely premature. So he took me in. He was very smart and clever. He couldn't swim in the icy waters with me so he created a sort of suit that allows him to swim without getting wet or too cold for a while. He always urged me to do my best, to try again when I failed at something. He was everything I could ever ask for in a parent. But he had a far shorter lifespan than I did. He died before I was even an adult mer but his charity had made me strong enough to survive in my own. I'll never forget him.” Zane says, placing a webbed hand over his heart, eyes closed.

“He sounds like a great man. We would have loved to meet him.” Wu says and Zane smiled.

“Kinda reminds me of our parents, huh Kai?” Nya says and Kai nods with a wistful smile.

“People called them crazy for falling for each other Mom always said. They were from completely different worlds and whatnot.” Kai says, rolling his wrist. “We should visit sometime soon and introduce Skylor. If they loved Jay, it's guaranteed that they'll love her.” He says, ignoring Jay's 'hey!’.

“Which reminds me of my folks!” Jay says with a grin and Kai groaned.

“I love your parents Jay but I like my ears.” He says, with a grimace.

Ed and Edna were normal harpies with penchant for building odd devices with odd things they find. But just like Jay, they really enjoy talking. Like really. He doesn't usually mind a good conversation but not one that goes on the whole day!

“What about your parents Cole?” Zane asked with a tilt of his head and Cole rubbed the back of his neck.

“Well. My mom died when I was really young so I don't really know her. My dad… Things are a little complicated between us and the herd.” Cole says to put it lightly then frowned. “But considering I actually died and things are still bad between us… I should at least try to work things out. I'm pretty sure there's no third chance for me.” He says, crossing his arms.

“Wait. Cole died? Is that why he looks so… Green?” Garmadon asked bewildered and Cole smiled wirely.

“I knew there was something I forgot to tell you.” Wu says, stroking his beard with a clawed hand and they all laughed.

“Well, since everyone's sharing…” Skylor spoke up, gaining their attention. “My dad said my mom died shortly after I was born and you all know what happened to my dad.” She says and they did.

Chen was a human before he became a Naga and sought to rule all if Ninjago and its species. The human sorcerer Clouse made that happen before he had Skylor and since she inherited the ability to absorb powers from her mother, he had this overly complicated plan to take over Ninjago. He was no match for the dragon and demon protecting these lands and with their students in the mix, it was cake. They were banished to the cursed realm for their crimes against all species.

“This is touching and sad and all but I'm starving. Can we get something to eat? I haven't eaten the entire time at the cove.” Lloyd says, holding his growling stomach.

“Sure thing. Let's see of your hunting game stepped up.” Cole says and Lloyd smirked, running over.

“You're on!” He says, hopping up on his hide and Cole took off as Jay chased him, squawking about letting him ride him.

“... Anyone want to explain to me how Cole died?” Master Garmadon asked and Kai turned to Zane- who had magically disappeared along with Nya, Skylor and Wu.

“I guess it's up to me.” Kai sighed. “You might wanna sit down…”

_____________

(Hola! This one was really short but I love this AU so much and I really want to write something about it, even if it turned into a ficlet. I plan on making a longer piece with a meet the parents setting but this is good for now. I rewatched S4 so hopefully I can start introducing the other elemental masters. That's it for now! Aloha!)

[wonderfulworldofmichaelford]

Michael After Midnight: Dragon Age II

Dragon Age is a series very near and dear to my heart; ever since playing Origins back when I was in college, I have been inspired by the stories, characters, and lore. Hell, Origins alone is a huge inspiration to my writing, and why wouldn’t it be? It has great locations, deep lore, a core main party without a single weak link with each and every party member you have being unique and entertaining in their own right, and an epic story with all sorts of twists and turns. And it only has two really shitty segments in the whole game! It’s truly a great first entry in a series.

But despite my love for it, I put off playing the sequel for most of the decade, only playing it for the first time this year. And why is that? Because… the critics said it was bad… yes, unfortunately in my younger years I took what critics said without any grains of salt. Dragon Age II was not very popular back around the time it came out, mostly because of its radical departure from the style of the first game, with more hack-and-slash-esque combat, a much more simple and self-contained story, and a cast of characters far more divisive than the first time around. It’s only over time that people have started to give it the respect it deserves, but much like fellow fantasy series The Legend of Zelda it comes at the cost of the current game being bashed.

So how is this red headed stepchild of a sequel, anyway? Did the critics have a point, or is this really an underrated gem? Well, I’m happy to report that this is indeed a fun and fantastic game, and I heavily regret being kept apart from the lovely Merril for so long due to poor critical reception, but there are a lot of problems too. For everything it does really well, it kind of shits the bed in other areas, and a lot of that can be contributed to a rushed development cycle that got this game churned out just over a year after the first one, leading to things like all items lacking the detailed descriptions they would get in the first game, which doesn’t sound like much, but then you get an item called something like “Uncle Horky’s Spanking Rod” as a magic staff and there’s no explanation as to why it’s called that and you have to imagine up some ludicrous backstory for it.

The lack of flavor text is a minor gripe, though, compared to the obnoxiously repetitive environments of dungeons. Reusing and flipping dungeons around and reusing assets would be one thing, but here they literally just take a map, flip it a bit with no changes to the details of the level, and just block off doors that lead to areas they don’t want you going. The worst part is on your mini map you can see the blocked pathways you likely saw ten minutes ago in another dungeon, which just makes a lot of the missions feel bland and samey. It also doesn’t help that enemy types are rather paltry, so you’ll be fighting a lot of the same mooks in the same maps over and over as you grind for items, gold, and EXP.

And then there are some of the characters. The worst of the bunch are sadly two characters who are returning from the first game and its expansion Awakening – Anders and Isabela. Isabela is arguably worse, because she honestly seems rather fun and nice at first, if overly and aggressively flirty, but as the story goes on, it’s revealed that she is actually the cause behind some of the biggest issues in the first few acts, which she neglects to tell you until it is far too late and unless you decided to maximize your friendship with her, she will run off and never return to your party. I can’t deny that this completely soured me to her, and at the end of the quanari invasion of Kirkwall I was only upset I couldn’t find her in act three and kick her ass for what she did.

Then there is Anders. Poor, poor Anders. In Awakening, he was one of the most funny and charming characters, a nice little substitute for Alistair that I actually ended up liking for than the Weenie King of Ferelden. Here though? Anders can not go one fucking conversation without bringing up how oppressed mages are and how much the templars suck and blah blah blah. The worst part is I do agree with him, but he’s just so whiny and obnoxious about it I left him behind all the time, dooming my party to having no healer even as I fought high dragons, blood mages, and Corypheus. It was worth it to not hear Anders bitching about templars and insulting Merril and Fenris. Oh, and Anders nukes the chantry and sets off a civil war. Isabela may be a nasty bitch, but Anders definitely comes out looking like a huge cunt by the game’s end.

The entire endgame is kind of an utter mess too, seeing as no matter whose side you join you end up fighting the same two bosses, with one of them just not making any sense whatsoever. And then the game just sort of ends on a very unsatisfying cliffhanger. And as much as I just complained, all of this stings because really, the rest of the game is quite good, and the story is fun if scaled back from the epic tale of Origins.

Let’s get the obvious best part out of the way: Varric. Varric is literally the best part of the entire Dragon Age franchise. He’s a snarky, wisecracking surface dwarf with no beard who writes best-selling novels, constantly has his shirt open to show off his magnificent chest hair, and has a crossbow named Bianca that he is uncomfortably attached to. He is one of the greatest characters ever created, and there was not one single moment I left him out of my party, because he is a blast to have around, and what’s more, if there’s ever a situation where the dialogue wheel pops up and you can let him talk… you’ve won. This guy can talk his way out of any situation. There’s nothing bad you can say about Varric, and he is in fact the only companion in the game I can wholeheartedly stand behind as a paragon of great writing.

I love the other characters, don’t get me wrong, but they have their issues. Aveline and Fenris in particular, with Aveline being a bit too by-the-books at times to the point where she exacerbates the quanari conflict by demanding that elves who killed a guard who raped one of their own be turned over to her after they converted to the Qun. This is all despite her knowing full well that the poor elf girl would have otherwise gotten no justice seeing as how city elves in this setting are second class citizens at best. Still, she has a rather adorkable romance questline where you hook her up with one of the guards, and she’s not a bad person, just a touch misguided at times.

That last sentence can also apply to Fenris, but on a grander scale. He’s a cool, edgy, brooding elf who absolutely fucking hates magic with every fiber of his being. He is the Anti-Anders, though he’s far less annoying about it, and it’s hard to really blame him for being bitter seeing as he was a sex slave for an evil wizard for most of his life and then just had misfortune after misfortune piled on him. I really hated how mean he was to Merril, but otherwise I warmed to him and befriended him.

And that brings us to a very special girl, Merril. Merril is an adorable, klutzy, scatterbrained blood mage elf who is hated by her people due to the lengths she is going to repair an ancient artifact to bring a piece of her people’s heritage back. While she can be a bit arrogant and stubborn about the whole thing, it’s mostly due to how no one around her seems to believe in and support her; naturally, I believed in and supported her, and while things still managed to go south, she seemed at least to learn a little bit. Overall I found her to be an absolute sweetheart, and she never left my party, much like Varric; frankly, I was going in expecting not to like her and was going to romance Fenris instead, but as it turns out Merril won my heart immediately and my Hawke went lesbian this playthrough.

On that note, as much as I like how Merril, Fenris, Isabela, and Anders can be wooed by either gender in principle, I do kind of feel making everyone bisexual with no rhyme or reason kind of cheapens things. It’s weird for me, a bisexual myself, to be saying that, but it just feels off to be able to get together with everyone, with everyone being Schrodinger’s Bisexual until a romance is initiated. It’s nowhere near as bad as Skyrim, but I just feel it kinda cheapens the romance options. I prefer Origins and Inquisition in that regard, where you don’t have all the options but you do have some unique choices. But, hey, at the end of the day I’m hardly complaining that my Lady Hawke got to polish Merril’s Eluvian, if you know what I mean.

Aside from the characters, I think the game’s real strength lies in its story, which is fitting since the entire game is framed as a story being told by no less a storyteller than our pal Varric. It has a three act structure, with each act detailing a different year in Hawke’s rise to become the Champion of the city of Kirkwall, which is a crime-ridden wretched hive of scum and villainy. The first act mainly has Hawke making a name for themselves, living in the slums with their uncle, doing dirty work to try and get back a little prestige, and recruiting all of their allies, with the act culminating with a trip to the Deep Roads, every DA fan’s favorite location. It’s a nice setup for a lot of twists and turns later in the story, and choices you make in certain dialogue options or quests actually can change what sort of quests you get later. Then again, this is Bioware, so this sort of “action have consequences” gameplay is expected.

Act two deals with just how Hawke becomes the Champion. Rich from the expedition into the Deep Roads, Hawke gets to do all sorts of fun things, such as track down a serial killer who ends up murdering their mom, being stabbed in the back by one of their friends, accidentally inciting a race war that nearly burns down the city, and having to duel the warrior leader of the qunari to the death in combat. Yeah, act two really piles it on to Hawke, but it does tie into the game’s themes of how no matter the level of success, great actions will also come with great consequences, even actions meant to better one’s lot in life, which also resonate in the personal quests of characters like Merril and Fenris, who despite ultimately achieving their goals in the third act feel hollow, lost, and even broken by the end, and that’s not even getting into what Anders does. However the conflict with the qunari is resolved, Hawke is declared the Champion, and things seem ok.

But then comes act three, and boy do things go wrong. Knight-Commander Meredith has gone cuckoo for Coco Puffs and conflict between templars and mages seems inevitable; this act is basically wrapping up hanging plot threads and companion quests until Anders finally nukes the chantry and all hell breaks loose, leading to the final battle. The ending here isn’t particularly happy, with Hawke ultimately ending up a fugitive in the epilogue, and things can get even worse if you make poor choices in Inquisition, but that’s just the way the cookie crumbles.

Here’s the thing: everything I just said? It could be entirely different from my playthrough depending on the choices you make. Sure, some things are inevitable, like Anders committing terrorist acts, Hawke’s mother dying, and Meredith going absolutely bonkers and making you fight statues, but depending on how you play, maybe you’ll like/romance Isabela, maybe you’ll resolve things with the Arishok differently, maybe you’ll side with the templars… the story ends the same but there are so many ways to make your story different. Throw in some great lore, some fun DLC that reveals some shocking truths about the lore, and the fun albeit simplified combat, and you’ve got a game here that has a lot of replay value if only to see where all the plot threads can lead.

I definitely think this is a good game, even a great one. It has its share of problems, but so did Origins, and frankly I’d sooner put up with the backstabbing pirate hooker and the pissy mage terrorist again then go through the fucking Fade and Deep Roads one more time. If you liked the first one, definitely give this a shot; you may end up liking or disliking some of the stuff I dislike and like. That’s the fun of these Bioware games, different aspects are going to appeal to different people. The question is, do I find it better than Origins?

In some respects, yes; I much prefer the simpler combat here, and I like the more down-to-earth story in this one, but at the same time Origins just had stronger characters overall and I’m a sucker for “save the world” fantasy tales. While Origins infamously had some real mind-numbing slogs in the form of the Fade sequence and the Deep Roads, while those environments were tedious at least they weren’t boring. But on the other hand… Origins didn’t have Varric.

 It’s really a tossup, frankly, and I love both games a lot. I think each of them has their place and each of them brings something interesting to the table for the series. It’s one you really need to play for yourself to get a good grasp on; don’t be like me and put it off for nearly ten years, give it a go right after your done with the first game and see how you feel. Your experience is going to be a lot different than mine, that’s for sure.

[cerastes]

Something I wanted to ask you a few days ago but then you suddenly actually fucked off to the South Pole: Can I ask about your tabletop characters? I know there's Rasmus and a someone named Lisbeth, I think? Do you have more? I'm always up and eager to hear about fruits born from your disaster head.

I do not have more, it’s those two, my beautiful shit children. Rasmus is for my DnD game and Lisbeth is for my Fate Core game. It’d be A PLEASURE to regale you with The Lore:

If you’ve read my tabletop blogging posts, and you likely have given you’re asking about the good ol’ lovable Human Rogue, then you’re already somewhat familiar with Rasmus Kasper Istre. A 24 year old charlatan and swindler through and through, back in his port hometown, Rasmus was a notorious “fortune teller” that scammed many tourists and merchants, an act made easier by the innate superstitious nature of sailors, and while his daggers are sharp, it’s his creativity that cuts deeper, fighting being his very last option as he will always attempt to fool, sabotage and trick others first, only brandishing harm if there’s no other choice. In stark contrast with his enthusiasm when it comes to taking money from others, Rasmus is vehemently opposed to taking lives unless it’s on self-defense or if the one relinquishing their life deserves it, a philosophy he sticks to even if it bites him in the ass. This is, in fact, what triggers his escape from his town: He swindled the riches right out of a big-time Elf magnate, disabled his bodyguard that came gunning for him some time later and even had the perfect chance to off him, yet refused to do so because, as he learned during his time hiding from him, the magnate is actually a really honest if grumpy guy who treats his subordinates fairly and with love, and he’s not about to take that life, opting instead to hit the road. He used to dual wield daggers, but lost one of the daggers during a sky-high encounter with wyvern riders, using an enchanted gauntlet imbued with lightning in the spur of the moment to fight with fist and blade, and he liked how it worked out, so now he uses the lightning gauntlet to deliver close-range blasts and electric grapples with the left hand while his deft dagger whistles with each swipe and lunge of his right. To not inconvenience himself and others, he wears a half cape draped over his left arm so he can touch things and people without thundershocking them or having to remove the gauntlet and risk being ambushed (wearing a glove in the middle of a fight is kinda hard!). He loves wearing cologne, especially one made with ghostshroom extract that he makes himself. People hate the strong smell of it at first but it sort of grows into them like an acquired taste or Stockholm Syndrome, and his favorite foods are juniper berries and beef jerky. Rasmus is 177 centimeters tall, has curly light brown hair, dull green eyes, wears his beard as a stubble, and has an average, fit build. Do NOT call him “Kasper” unless you’re in the mood for a bar fight. Mostly wears leather armor and has a thing for the color green.

Rasmus is childhood friends with Claudia, the party’s Human Wizard, and the two often snipe at each other with affectionate vitriol, although their attempts to screw the other over with money are very real. No hard feelings, though, that’s what it meant to grow poor in a port town, it’s your fault if something is taken from you. He doesn’t always see eye to eye with the Halfling Ranger (Ranger is rather kill-happy, which doesn’t sit well with Rasmus), and is buddy-buddy with the Orc Barbarian, especially when brothels and taverns are concerned. He currently is invested in helping the Orc Barbarian with his character arc whenever he can, as well as furthering his own Money Quest after accidentally starting a religion, the Solar Sect (it’s a long story). After enough deeds, the party received the blessings from Phantom Animal Lords from the wilderness, with Rasmus’ title being “Rabbit”; This is an inside joke referring to how my DM and the rest of my DnD group call Rasmus “Bugs Bunny” due to his trademark outlandish and creative ways of setting up the board to the party’s advantage and problem solving. Among his faithful, he is known as the Augur-spoken Prophet, and it’s really, really spiraling out of control. Initially, Rasmus and Claudia were supposed to hate each other, but Claudia’s player and I, IRL friends since a long time now, decided to make them shitlord friends instead. We were very involved with the creation of both characters and develop them continuously together now. Check the “Rasmus” tag in my blog for more anecdotes of his balls to the walls DnDventures.

Some of his deeds include:

Killing a seemingly unkillable hero by teleporting him high into the sky and letting gravity do the work, using a circumstantial item.

Strapping the corpse of said unkillable hero to a greatshield and creating an extremely powerful shield for our Barbarian to use whenever we need some nigh invulnerability.

Accidentally started a religion when he was accused of high heresy because he defiled the corpse of a hero by turning him into a shield.

Flirting with an Elf Priestess that turned out to be the magnate’s niece.

Flirting with her further anyway.

Naked Parkour in the Elf capital.

Wrapped his phony crystal ball with a chain and used it as an impromptu weapon after being disarmed, cracking a Chaos Dwarf’s skull with a nat 20 swing.

Earned the ‘Rabbit’ title, which apparently only happens once around every 3000 years, as the Rabbit Phantom Animal Lord is capricious and her favor only goes to those cheeky and cunning enough to both amuse her and impress her. Of all those, he’s apparently the second Human to ever have earned the title. Rasmus wears it with pride.

–

The other is Lisbeth Elstad. Now, you’re no doubt thinking to yourself “Wow! No one has a name like that!” And you’re right! Consider that a stage name, or a pseudonym, if you will. In a setting that takes place in the real world after magic and everything from beyond turned out to be real and has suddenly become widespread public knowledge, 19 year old Lisbeth is incredibly inept at even the most basic magic tasks with two exceptions: Mana Layering, the act of creating sheets, layers, and shells of mana, and Alchemy, the ability to turn one thing into another through meticulous formulas and the Law of Equivalent Exchange. In addition to this narrow scope, Lisbeth has always found it oddly easy when it comes to assembling explosives ranging from homebrew fireworks to high-yield plastic explosive custom formulas such as batches of SEMTEX and C4. Finally, Lisbeth is a natural woman of science, a passionate love for biology, physics and chemistry pulsating within her noodle, unfit body. You could say she’s a Human Alchemist/Bombardier of some sort, but her most heartfelt wish is to become a doctor and pharmaceutic. Now, this probably paints the image of a kind, earnest girl that just wants to help out with a smile, right? Well! That’s not quite it! As noble as she sounds, Lisbeth is quite the thug otherwise. Think of her less as a friendly doctor in the making and more of a really shady back alley doc that looks like she came right out of a The Misfits music video. She tries, oh, lord she does, to come across as classy, eloquent, and elegant, but no matter how much Calvin Klein “One” you spray on a rabid boar, it is still a rabid boar, and as soon as her very little threshold of patience is usurped, the elegant business front crumbles and the reality of a violent, easily angered busybody who happily solves her problems with rocks to the back of the head and high yield explosives lays bare. She’s the foster daughter of a famous nomadic mercenary leader known as the Mercury Witch, leader of the White Silhouette, and worked on board their craft as assistant doctor, with the Witch forbidding Lisbeth of taking part on any training that might foster her latent violent tendencies in hopes of mellowing her out. One day, however, they took on a job in which Lisbeth and her mentor, Melicia, ended up unwittingly making REALLY Bad Drugs instead of the Good Medicine they thought they were making for supernatural creatures, Lisbeth found out, they found out she found out, shit hit the fan, everyone’s MIA.

Not much to say about her yet otherwise, as the game is still in its preliminary phase. Instead, I can tell you about the scrapped 27 year old version of Lisbeth that I heavily modified after we discussed things and realized I had to make her much younger for it to make sense with certain aspects of the plot. This version of Lisbeth is still very much the same in terms of abilities, but has quit the White Silhouette on her own terms and roams around as a masked vigilante that aids supernatural beings oppressed by humans and as a doctor that helps supernatural beings for free. Most of her time is devoted to finding locations that traffic supernaturals or pits them in underground arena fights and dismantles them with the superior firepower and flair of plastic explosives and some good ol’ infiltration. During her time in France, she was suddenly attacked by a girl in traditional Japanese priestess attire, inciting what nearly was a deathmatch between the two of them. As the mystery girl realized Lisbeth wasn’t her target, however, she immediately stopped and apologized. The girl, named Yamaoka Keiko, is a prophet and descendant of the Blind Dragons who could see the future. The problem, she explained, was that her eyes were stolen and replaced with ones that can see, and she hates it. She’s looking for whoever it is stole her blind, silver eyes to claim them back and go back to her peaceful, beloved life of comfortable darkness and peace back in her shrine. Lisbeth, however, seems to have a clue about who it could be that can steal and switch something like eyes without any difficulty, and believing this to be fate as well as her responsibility indirectly, offers to travel with Keiko in search for her eyes. The two become good friends over the course of 18 months of traveling together in this adventure, but Keiko takes an extremely grave wound one day and is left unable to move for a good while, even with all of Lisbeth’s medical knowledge. Finding herself alone and unsure of Keiko’s future, Lisbeth decides to join the official magic law enforcement outfit that she hates in order to gain access to their information network. I’ll probably use this version of Lisbeth for other things, since I don’t wanna scrap it, bwahaha, probably with Glock Elf and TechSlime (and same with Keiko).

Regardless of her version, Lisbeth has an intravenous hose installed inside of her arms that leads to a “cauldron” in her torso, utilizing “internal alchemy” to transform proteins and cells into other chemicals, which she then expels through holes on the palms of her hands. This way, she can spray, say, napalm out of her hands. Since she has absolutely no competence at all in the art of magic but has an innate talent when it comes to chemistry and alchemy, she instead “fakes” magic by creating concoctions with her knowledge. Lisbeth stands at 176 centimeters, has a lanky, thin physique, and wears silver contacts (which is why Keiko thought she had her eyes) and hair dyed a very light creamy blonde. She wears classy suits and long-skirted jumper dresses for the most part, with an Orthrus (two-headed wolf) pelt draped over her shoulders, both heads dangling off her left shoulder. Her choice of attire and appearance, much like her pseudonym, are all part of her “business front”. Despite her bluster, she’s rather cowardly, but also extremely resolute. Lisbeth is the kind of character that would usually be the NPC Shopkeeper that sells you potions and charges you a small fee to fully heal your party, but circumstance has thrown her right into the adventurer’s shoes, and now she has to deal with it crying, screaming, and complaining, but hey, at least she gets to put her knowledge of bombs to good use!

[eternaldarkness55]

Kurda's Assistant Part 2

(StoryInfo)(In part 2 Merida and Darren hunt vampanese and hunt for the vampanese lord with Crepsley and Harkat. With becoming Kurda's assistant, becoming a vampire, loosing Gavner who she loved, loosing Kurda who she loved with all her heart and marrying her true love she didn't think her adventure could get any bigger and dangerous. But in this next chapter boy was she wrong.)

Location: Crepsley's, Merida's, Harkatt's, and Darren's campsite(8:00PM)

    Darren: This Lady Evana that were supposed to meet just tell who she is. What if something happens to you and we have to find her on our own? 

   Crepsley: Your right, I will draw you a map, it's better for her to explain who she is herself. 

   Darren: Is she a inventor?(Looking at the fold up pot and pans that Crepsley said she gave him) 

   Crepsley: She is a woman of many talents, but whatever you do don't call her a witch.(Put his hand on Darren's shoulder) 

 Darren: Why would I call her a witch? 

   Crepsley: Because she is one, kinda 

   Merida coughed as she chocked on the water she was drinking 

   Merida: She’s a witch?(Darren rubbed her back) 

   Crepsley: Are you scared of witches? 

   Merida: Not at all, it’s just I dealt with a witch before she turned my mom into a bear. Both of my parents nearly got killed because of her damn curse. 

   Crepsley: I'm sorry to hear that, but this is good she wouldn't do anything to you unless you pissed her off. 

 Merida: Harkatt didn't you say you keep seeing a witch in your nightmares that you keep having lately? 

    Harkatt: Yeah I do, sometimes she helps me get away from the dragons 

    Everyone went to sleep except for Harkatt when dawn came Darren went over to the pond and took a drink but when he stood up he noticed a unfamiliar face in the water. " A long haired bearded man?" Thought Darren, he turned around quickly but Darren was now confused cause there was no one there and there was nowhere to hide. He looked into the water again and there he was.

   Darren: Hello? My names Darren Shan 

   His lips moved at the same time Darren's did he was getting annoyed until he realized it was him. He ripped off his shirt and was covered in hair 

 Darren: Charna's guts(Yelled) 

   He ran to wake his friends and wife panting when he got to the camp where everyone was awake already. 

   Crepsley: Stop!(Pulled out a knife as Harkatt kept Merida behind him) 

   They didn't recognize him Darren held up his hands

   Darren: Don't attack its me(Chocked out) 

   Crepsley: Darren?!(His eyes widened) 

   Harkatt: It can't be! 

 Darren: No it's me! 

   Crepsley lowered his knife and studied Darren's face

   Crepsley: The purge(Groaned)

   Darren: The what?! 

   Crepsley: Sit down Darren we have some talking to do Harkatt please go fill our canteens. 

   Crepsley: You know half vampires become full vampires when more vampire blood is pumped into them. But in your and Merida's case the vampire cells attack your human cells and convert with them. Resulting in full vampirism, we call this the purge.

 Darren: You mean Merida and I have become full vampires? 

   Crepsley: Not yet, the hair is simply the first stage, in males cases they turn hairy. In females cases their hair changes a different color. Black unless they already have black hair then it's blond. We will shave it off although it will grow back it will stop after a month or so. You and Merida will also experience headaches but they too will stop. 

   He was so panicked when he ran over that he didn't even notice Merida's new black hair. He saw it now when he watched Merida packing Crepsley shaved Darren. Merida and him had growing pains the rest of the morning. The headaches and body pains lessened later the next dawn they knew they were being followed by at least three guys. They discussed what to do as they set up camp in the middle of a forest.

   Harkatt: What's the plan? 

   Crepsley: They will wait for full daylight to attack, we will act as if all is normal and pretend to sleep. When they come we deal with them 

   They all laid down and pretend to sleep Harkatt had to cover his face cause of his lidless eyes. After midday the humans moved in for the kill they were spread out in a semi circle. They came to a stand still ten or twelve yards away preparing themselves to attack. 

   Crepsley: Now!(Roared) 

   He sprang to his feet launching himself at the human nearest to him and Harkatt, Darren, and Merida dealt with the others. A bullet missed Darren by several inches before the human could fire again Darren was upon him. He tossed the gun out of the humans hand making the human draw a long hunting knife. Darren quickly drew his sword out.

   The human: Your just a kid(Growled) 

   Darren: No I'm much more

   The man cried in agonizing pain as Merida cut off his hand Darren saw that Crepsley already got rid of their human and was walking over to Harkatt who was wrestling with his human. Harkatt seemed to be winning Darren's human was grinning horribly.

   The human: You should of taken my other hand too(Growled)

   Merida's and Darren's breath caught in their throats he was clutching a hand granade close to his chest. 

   The human: Don't move if this goes off it takes you two with me(Yelled) 

   Darren: Easy(Backing off slightly pulling Merida with him) 

   The human: I'll take it easy in hell(Laughed) 

   The human: Now tell your vampire companion and that grey skinned monster to let my friends go or I'll- 

   Something struck the granade and sent it flying from the humans hand he yelled and grabbed for another granade. He had a string of them wrapped around his chest a throwing star buried itself in the man's head killing him. Merida and him were bewildered someone jumped from a tree and walked over to them. The man had green hair and was wearing purple animal skins he was wearing no shoes and had tons of throwing stars strapped to him. 

   The man: I'll have my star back thank you(Pulled it out of the dead human) 

   The man: A vam-pet I dealt with them before, miserable curs 

   Darren realized who he was 

   Darren: Vancha March its an honor to meet you sir(Bowed his head) 

 Vancha: Likewise, and who's this beautiful woman?(Eyed Merida with memorized eyes)

   Darren: Princess Merida my wife 

   Vancha: A princess, I'm honored lass(Smiled excitedly as he bowed)

   He kissed her hand

   Crepsley: Vancha(Yelled excitedly) 

   Crepsley: What are you doing here sir(They grabbed each other's shoulders) 

   Vancha: I'm heading for Lady Evana's 

   Darren: We are too

   Vancha: I know, Tiny told me about the hunt for the Vampanese lord and how I'm part of it. I've been trailing you guys for months.

   Crepsley: Why didn't just come up to us? 

   Vancha: I wanted to observe the new prince and the first princess I heard about from afar. From the fact that they looked away for a minute to see how their friends were doing while their enemy was still alive and in front of them I'm not impressed. I'm impressed by Merida's beauty and hotness definitely including the way she looks with her bow and arrows but other than that zero impression. 

   Merida: Now wait a minute! 

 Vancha: I do love them feisty 

   Crepsley: Calm down Merida, Merida and Darren are my assistants. Merida use to be Kurda's assistant until his betrayal and death than I took her in. 

   Darren: Yes we were worried about our friends when we both should of worried about our enemy first. I apologize sir

   Vancha: At least he knows how to make a good apology(Laughed) 

   Harkatt walked over 

   Vancha: So this is the little person that talks? Harkatt Molds isn't it? 

   Harkatt: It is sir

 Vancha: I'll tell you straight out I don't trust you Molds. Tiny or any of his stumpy disciples 

   Crepsley: Hard trip sir? 

   Vancha: Not bad you? 

   Crepsley: It was fine

   Vancha: Any more news from Vampire Mountain? 

   Crepsley: Lots

   Vancha: Save it for the end, wake me when it's dusk

   He went to sleep they left at dusk, while walking Crepsley told Vancha about Kurda's betrayal, Gavner and Arra's deaths, and Darren's trials. 

   Vancha: I don't trust that Mr. Tiny I make a habit of doing the opposite of everything he says

   Crepsley: I agree sir but-

   Vancha: Larten its Vancha or " hey there ugly" I won't have you graveling over me! 

   Crepsley: Very well, these are dangerous times the future of our race is at stake. Dare we ignore Tiny's prophecy? If there is hope we must seize it.

   Vancha: Why tell us now? 

   Crepsley: I'm sure Lady Evana can explain 

   Vancha spent the rest of the journey discussing Harkatt's nightmares with him. Vancha wouldn't tell Merida and Darren anymore about Lady Evana than Crepsley did. All Vancha said is that she's both the fairest and ugliest woman you'll ever see. It was a full moon when they arrived at Lady Evana's but Merida and Darren still would have missed the clearing if Crepsley hadn't stopped them.

   Crepsley: Were here 

   Lady Evana had cast a clocking spell over her house so unless you knew where it was you wouldn't see it. After a few seconds Merida and him could see it along with a big pond. Croaking started

   Vancha: Frogs, their alerting Evana there'll stop once she tells them it's safe. 

   Minutes later the croaking stopped and Crepsley warned them not to step on any frogs. 

   Harkatt: The frogs are creepy, I feel like their watching us

   Vancha: They are, they guard the pond and cave protecting Evana from intruders. 

   Darren: What could frogs do against intruders?(Laughed) 

   Vancha stopped and grabbed a frog and held it up to the moonlight. He squeezed its sides and a long tongue shot out Vancha grabbed the tongue and was careful not to touch the edges. 

   Vancha: See the tiny sacks along the sides? 

   Merida: Those yellow red balls? What about them?

   Vancha: Filled with poison if this frog would wrap its tongue around you and the balls popped the poison would seep through your skin. Death in thirty seconds 

   He put the frog down and it hopped away Harkatt, Darren, and Merida walked carefully after that. When they got to the mouth of the cave they stopped and sat down.

   Darren: Aren’t we going in? 

   Crepsley: Not without being invited, Evana does not take kindly to intruders. 

 Merida: Isn't there a bell we can ring? 

   Crepsley: Evana has no need for bells, she knows we are here and will come to great us in her own time. 

   Vancha: Evana's not a lady to be rushed, a friend of mine decided to enter the cave quietly once to surprise her. She gave him huge warts all over

   Merida: Should we be here if she's that dangerous? 

   Crepsley: Evana will not harm us, she has a quick temper but she would never kill one with vampire blood.  Unless provoked 

   Vancha: Just make sure you don't call her a witch 

    Half an hour later a woman emerged from the caves she was the ugliest woman ever. She was short her ears were pointy and her nose was tiny and she was covered in hair. One eye was brown and the other was green and wore ropes. She hugged Vancha lifting him off his feet.

   Evana: My little Vancha, you put on some weight sir

   Vancha: And you’re uglier than ever my lady

   Evana: Your only saying that to please me(Giggled)

   She dropped him and turned to Crepsley 

   Evana: Larten(Nodded) 

   Crepsley: Evana(Bowed)

   She studied Harkatt, Darren, and Merida 

   Darren: Lady Evana(Trying not to let his teeth chatter)

   Evana: It's good to meet you Darren Shan and good to finally meet you Princess Merida.

   Harkatt: Lady(Bowed)

   Evana: Hello Harkatt as you were before 

   Harkatt: Before?

   Evana: This is not your first visit, you have changed many ways in and out but I recognize you. I'm gifted that way appearances don't fool me for long.

   Harkatt: You mean you know who I was before I became a little person? Who was I? 

   Evana: Can't say, that's for you to find out 

   She stepped up to Merida and grabbed her chin

   Evana: So this is the first royal vampire and first vampire princess on the prince council of Vampire Mountain. I thought you had orange hair?(Turning Merida's head left and right looking at the black tips of her hair)

   Crepsley: She was struck on the purge on the way here and so was Darren.

   Evana: That explains it, your hair will be back to all orange tomorrow. Oh I almost forgot I meant to have this prepared for you before you arrived.(Let go of Merida)

   All the frogs went in groups and soon in each group was images of Gavner, Arra, and Kurda. 

   Darren: Whoa 

   Merida: I haven't seen such beautiful magic since the curse on my mom was broken and the wisps. 

    Darren saw five more faves appear in the other groups of frogs. A man with orange hair, orange beard, and a peg leg, a woman with long brown hair, and three little triplet boys with orange hair.

   Darren: Merida look is that your family? 

   Merida looked and started tearing up 

   Merida: Yes it is, wait the frogs are showing Gavner, Arra, and Kurda who are all dead. Please tell me my family didn't die? 

   Evana: I'm sorry princess but that's something you'll have to find out on your own. 

   Harkatt and Vancha went in with Evana while Crepsley took a few minutes to stay at Arra's image and Merida took a few minutes to look at her families images and Darren comforted her as she cried thinking her family is dead. When they finally went inside they ate as Evana told them how Crepsley got his scar.

   Evana: I'm a sorceress with many powers, one day when Larten was drunk I was wearing one of my beautiful faces and he tried to kiss me. So I gave him that scar to teach him a lesson. I was going to heal it right after but he took off and didn't return for thirty years.

   Everyone laughed 

   Crepsley: Shut up!(Blushed)

   Evana: Larten is quit the ladies man but he wasn't getting it with me

   Vancha: Evana we've come to discuss-

   Evana: That can wait for morning now is the time for friendship and rest

 Vancha: Very well lady

   Everyone took a nap while Evana went for a walk in the morning Evana talked about their journey.

   Evana: I knew about the hunt for the Vampire Lord for a long time 

   Crepsley: Do you know where he is? 

   Evana: Yes 

   Vancha: But you won't tell us will you? 

   Evana: No

   Crepsley: Will you tell us how to find him? And when? 

   Evana: I cannot, if I told I would change the course of the future and that's not allowed. You must search for him yourselves I will join you on the next leg of your journey.

   Vancha: Your coming with us?

   Evana: Yes, but only as a traveling companion, I'll play no part in the quest to find the Vampanese Lord. If you wish to travel with out me though I won't oppose.

   Crepsley: We would be honored to have you with us Lady Evana 

   Evana: Than I'll pack my things and we'll take to the road

   Crepsley: So soon? 

   Evana: Now is a good time as ever, I will tell you this you already know you have four chances to kill the Vampanese Lord. But if you run into him four times and fail to kill him only one male vampire will be alive to witness the horrible end. Merida and Harkatt, I will not say if you will be alive or not in the end whether you fail or not but I will say good luck. 

   Everyone left the journey was quiet until Vancha spoke.

   Vancha: Look at us, were all moping like we're at a funeral. Nothing's changed we already had death sentences on us, this is a dangerous mission. The only thing that's changed is that we know about it. It's not death we have to fear it's living if we fail. Any world run by the Vampanese will be to horrible to be in and would drive a person mad. Death in that world would be a blessing. 

 Vancha was right if we fail the person or anyone living would have the worst time of all. They would have to watch the vampires perished and live with the blame. If any of us failed death along the way would be the best any of us could hope for thought Darren. There sprits lifted when they got up that morning and no longer feared the worse. 

   Crepsley: Mr. Tiny said to follow our hearts and that fate world place us in the right direction.

   Vancha: You don't think we should track down the Vampanese Lord?

   Crepsley: Our people spent years tracking him down and always failed. Of course we must keep our eyes peeled but other than that we should go about our business as if he dosen't exist. 

   Vancha: I don't like it, but we'll do it your way, but you, Darren, or Merida will have to pick the corse. 

   Crepsley: Darren where do you want to go? 

 Darren: The Cirque Du Freak

   Crepsley: Good I want to see how Mr. Tall is doing

   Darren: You'll love Evra Merida, he became my best friend when I lived at the Cirque Du Freak. 

   Merida: What do you think Harkatt? 

   Harkatt: Sounds good to me 

   Crepsley: Good, we head to the Cirque Du Freak 

   That night when they went to sleep after making camp Harkatt's nightmares returned. Darren and Merida were about to wake him but.

   Evana: Hold(Walked up to him observing Harkatt) 

   Darren: He's having a nightmare 

   Evana: He has them often? 

   Merida: Pretty much every time he sleeps, We're supposed to wake him if we see him having one. 

   She bent to shake him awake

   Evana: Hold 

 She touched his forehead and closed her eyes than opened them and let go. 

   Evana: Dragons, his time of incite is upon him, did Mr. Tiny say nothing about learning who Harkatt was in his previous life?

   Darren: Yes, but Harkatt chose to come with us to search for the Vampanese Lord. 

   Evana: Noble but foolish 

   Darren: If you told him who he was would that ease his nightmares? 

   Evana: No, he must learn the truth himself, I'd make things worse if I melded. But there is a way to temporarily ease his pain.

   Darren: How?

   Evana: One who spoke the language of the dragons could help

   Merida: Where would you find someone like that? Could you? 

   Evana: Not I, I can talk to many animals but not dragons, only those who bonded with them can speak their language. You two could help

   Merida: Us? We haven't bonded with dragons, we never even seen one. 

   Evana: Bonds can be formed unknown 

   Merida: Tell me what we have to do 

   Evana: Both of you lay your hands on Harkatt's head and close your eyes. Focus, we need to find an image for you both to fix upon. How about the Stone of Blood? Can you two picture it? 

   Darren: Yes

   Evana: Keep thinking of it, in a few minutes you'll both feel unpleasant sensations. And maybe catch glimpses of Harkatt's nightmares, ignore them and stay focused on the stone. I will do the rest

   At first it was easy but then they began to feel strange the air seemed to get hotter and it became harder to breathe. They heard beating of wings and saw a blood red sky they cringed and almost let go of Harkatt but remember Evana's advice. They sensed something huge land behind them and felt hot eyes boring into their backs. They saw Harkatt impaled on a bed of stakes he was alive but in incredible pain. Stakes poked out of where his eyes should have been.

   An evil voice: His pain is nothing compared to what you two will feel

   They saw a figure of dark shadows hovering close by

   Merida: Who are you?(Gasped)

   The evil voice: I am the Lord of the Crimson Night

   Darren: The Lord of the Vampanese?

   The evil voice: Of them and all others, I have been waiting for you Prince and Princess of the Damned. Now I have you and I won't let go 

   The shadow man darted forward red eyes glowed in the black pit that was his face. 

   Evana: It's just a dream he can't hurt you, not yet not if you focus on the stone.(Whispered)

   There was a hiss of scream than the nightmare faded and they were back in their world. 

   Evana: You can open your eyes now

   Their eyes snapped open and took their hands off of Harkatt 

   Evana: You two did well 

   Merida: That thing, what was it?(Gasped)

   Evana: The Lord of Destruction the Master of Shadows 

   Merida: He was so powerful so evil

   Evana: He will be 

    Merida: Will be?

   Evana: What you saw is a shade of the future, the Lord of the Shadows has not yet come into his own. But he will eventually, this cannot be avoided and you should not worry about it. Your friend will sleep untroubled now

   They glanced down at Harkatt who was resting peacefully

   Darren: He's okay? 

   Evana: He will be, in time the nightmares will return, and when they do he'll have to face his past and learn who he was. Or come to madness, but for now he can sleep soundly unafraid. 

   She went back to her tree

   Darren: Evana this Lord of the Shadows there was something familiar about him. I felt I knew him

   Evana: So you should, what I say now is between you two and I it must go no further. You can tell no one not even Larten and Vancha 

   Darren: We won't 

   Evana: The future is dark Merida and Darren if you two do not defeat The Lord of the Vampanese. The Lord of the Vampanese will become the Lord of the Shadows and destroy the world if you do not defeat him.

   She left leaving them shaken wishing Harkatt's moans hadn't woken them up. A couple of nights later they arrived at the Cirque Du Freak the show was ending when they arrived so they sat and watched the finally. The twisting twins were swirling around each other performing amazing acrobatic tricks Mr. Tall came up after them.

   Mr. Tall: The show is over

   People started to leave when snakes started to slid down from the rafters. Evra stepped forward but he wasn't alone there was a small child with him as they controlled the snakes. 

   Mr. Tall: The show is over for real

   The crowd left 

   Darren: Evra Von(Yelled)

   Darren walked forward Evra's eyes widened with delight 

   Evra: Darren(Yelled hugging him) 

   Evra: Where have you been?(Cried as they let go) 

   Darren: Well unexpectedly getting married, Evra this is my wife Princess Merida(Putting his arm around Merida)

   Evra: Very nice to meet you beautiful princess(Shook her hand as he still had tears of happiness in his eyes)

   Darren: I was at Vampire Mountain, how about you?(Also still had tears of happiness in his eyes) 

   Evra: All over the world, you've grown 

   Darren: Only recently and not as much as you

   Evra could now pass as his father 

   Crepsley: Good evening Evra Von 

   Evra: Larten its been a long time, I'm glad to see you(Shoke his hand) 

   Crepsley: I would like you to meet Vancha March, Lady Evana, and Harkatt Molds. Harkatt I believe you already know. 

   Vancha: Hello

   Evana: Greetings

   Harkatt: Hi Evra

   Evra: He spoke(Gasped blinking) 

   Mr. Tall: Welcome back to the Cirque Du Freak Darren 

   Darren: Mr. Tall(greeted)

   Mr. Tall: Do you want to eat?

   Evana: That would be delightful, and I will have a word or two with you Highburnyess. There are things we must discuss.

   Mr. Tall: Yes there are

   As everyone departed Darren and Merida followed Evra and the little boy caught up with them. 

   Evra: Darren I'd like you to meet Shanqes 

   Darren: Hello Shanques(Shaking his hand)

   Shanques: Hello

   He was also a snake boy

   Shanques: Are you the Darren Shan I was named after? 

   Darren: Am I?(Asked Evra)

   Evra: Yes, Shanques was my first born-

   Darren: First born, he's yours? Your his father? 

   Evra: I certainly hope so(Grinned)

   Darren: You've got other children? 

   Evra: A couple, Ercher and Lilya 

   Merida: Are they all snake children? 

   Evra: Ercher isn't, he's upset he wants scales too 

   Darren: We being? 

   Evra: Me and Merla, you don't know her she joined shortly after you left. She can detach her ears and throw them like boomerangs you'll like her. 

   It was wonderful to be back and introduce Merida to the Cirque Du Freak life. He saw many old friends and introduced Merida to them. 

   Vancha: Hello gorgeous(Greeted Truska wrapping his arms around her kissing her) 

   Truska: Naughty(Laughed pointing a finger at him)

   Darren: You two know each other I'm taking? 

    Vancha: Oh yes we're old friends, like the night we went skinny dipping together hey Truska. 

   Truska: Vancha you promised not to mention that(Laughed) 

   Vancha: So I did(Laughed) 

   Evra introduced Darren and Merida too Merla who was very pleasant and pretty. Merla even showed them her detachable ears but they declined her offer to let them throw them. Merida tried to get Harkatt to get into conversation with others but some felt nervous around him. Many people knew Evana, at dawn Crepsley, Darren, Merida, and Harkatt went to bed. Harkatt, Merida, and Darren got up an hour before sunset and walked around the camp with Evra and Shanques. Darren was pleased that he named his first born after him and promised to send the boy presents in the future. That night while eating hot dogs around a campfire Crepsley walked over.

   Crepsley: Would you like to take to the stage tonight with me Darren and Merida? 

   Darren: What would we do? We don't have Madam Oct's anymore.

   Crepsley: I could perform magic tricks as I did when I first join the cirque and you could be my assistant. 

   Darren: I don't know, it's been a long time I might get stage fright.

   Crepsley: Nonsense, you are doing it I will not take no for an answer.

   Darren: Well if you put it that way(Grinned) 

   Crepsley: You will need a hair cut and manicure if we are to expose ourselves to the public Darren.

   Truska: I'll take care of that and I'll find the perfect outfit for Merida 

   Darren and Merida went to get what they needed to perform from Truska 

   Truska: Has life been good to you?(Cutting Darren's hair)

   Darren: It could be worse

   Truska: Vancha told me that not only you are a prince because of the vampire council but a prince by marrying Princess Merida. 

   Truska put down the scissors as Merida walked out in the sparkly long sleeveless light blue dress Truska gave her. Merida and Darren walked over to Mr. Tall's tent and listened to his and Evana's conversation.

    Mr. Tall: I wish you wouldn't do this, the vampires are good people and our friends we should help them.

   Evana: We cannot take sides Highburnyes it is not our place to decide the twists of fate. 

   Mr. Tall: Still, to meet these others and talk with them I don't like it

   Evana: We must remain neutral, we have neither allies or foes within the creatures of the night. If you and I took sides we could ruin everything, both must be equal the good and the bad. 

   Mr. Tall: You are right(Sighed)

   She kissed him on the cheek than left Merida and Darren followed her and stopped when she went by some trees and whistled. They heard the sound of soft talking but they were to far to hear what they were saying. They crept forward more and saw four figures one was dressed in black robes serving food and drinks to the others. All the people were men but it was to dark to see who they were or what they looked like. The one in the black robes lite a candle.

   One of the figures: Put that out you fool(Knocked the candle to the floor)

   The black robes man: Sorry, I thought we were safe with Lady Evana(Stomped it out)

   The other man: Were never safe, remember that and don't make such a mistake again.

   As they went back to talking to Evana Darren and Merida knew what the men were, they were Vampanese. They rushed back to the Cirque Du Freak when the show has began.

      Crepsley: Where have you two been I have been looking everywhere for you. I thought I would have to perform alone, if we hurry you two can get your outfits on-(Snapped) 

   Darren: Where's Vancha?

   Crepsley: Off relaxing somewhere-

   Merida: Larten forget the show we have to find Vancha now

   Crepsley told the stage hand to tell Mr. Tall of their withdrawal from the show and they went to search for Vancha. They found him with Harkatt in a tent

   Vancha: Look who it is, how's the show going?(The three walked in)

   Darren closer the flap and sank to his knees quickly and calmly they told them what happened. 

   Vancha: We shouldn't of trusted her, we'll have to take them on ourselves(Snarled)

   Darren: Were going to fight them?

   Vancha: Were not just going to sit here and wait for them to attack. The element of surprise is vital while we have it we should take it. 

   Crepsley: Them being here might not have anything to do with us

   Vancha: Nonsense, their here to kill us-

   Darren: I'm not so sure, now that I think about it they weren't on guard.

   Vancha: Okay let's say they aren't after us but they will be when Evana tells them we're here. 

   Darren: You think she'll tell them about us?

   Vancha: We would be fools to chance it, in case you haven't noticed we're at war. I have nothing against our blood cousins but for the time being their our enemies. And we must show them no mercy, our fight against the Vampanese Lord is above all else. 

   Crepsley: And Evana what if she takes the side of the Vampanese? 

   Vancha: Than we fight her too

   Crepsley: You fancy your chances against her?

   Vancha: No but I know my duty, I'm going to kill Vampanese if you want to come you can. 

    Crepsley: What do you say Darren and Merida?

    Merida: Vancha's right, if we let them go and they kill vampires later were to blame. Besides the Lord of the Vampanese were destined to cross paths with him but I think we have to chase that destiny. What if these Vampanese know where he is? I doubt it's coincidence that we're all here at the same time. This my be fate's way of leading us to him.

    Vancha: A fine awnser

    Crepsley: Perhaps 

    Darren: Remember what Mr. Tiny said about following our hearts? My heart says we should face these Vampanese. 

    Harkatt: Mine too

    Vancha: And mine

    Crepsley: We will go

    They hid in the field

    Vancha : We'll close on them from four different angles 

    Crepsley: There are nine of them including Evana, how do we divide them up? 

    Vancha: Two Vampanese for you, two for me, two for Darren, two for Merida, and one for Harkatt. Merida takes the servant and black robes guy.

    Crepsley: And Evana? 

    Vancha: We could all rush her at the end

    Crepsley: No I will handle her

    Vancha: You sure? Than all is left is to split up and move in. Get as close as you can I'll start by throwing a few throwing stars. Once you hear screams and curses hit them hard.

    The five circled the trees splitting up drawing their weapons after Vancha threw three stars everyone charged forward. The Vampanese were quick to react as Merida fought with her foe someone hit her hard in the back making her fall to the ground. She rolled over quickly and got to her feet the Vampanese that knocked her over was now being attacked by Harkatt. Three of their foes were down Vancha was bleeding from a cut on his waist but nothing was stopping him. Merida shot an arrow at the servant but the guy

  with the robes caught it and threw it onto the ground before it could touch the servant. The guy with the robes scalded as she grabbed another arrow and flirted over to her before she could do anything. She pulled out a knife and backed away from him the guy cut her right shoulder, her stomach, and her right cheek with his sword. She backed up against a tree the guy as the guy cut off her right hand. She screamed in pain as she dropped to her knees and dropped her weapons defenseless. With one swipe he would of cut off her head but she rolled out of the way the guy flirted over back to the servant and the two flirted off. She moaned loudly and she got to her feet she grabbed her weapons and went over to help Harkatt with his enemy. She stabbed him deep in the back killing him Crepsley went over to help Vancha.

    Evana: Will you raise your knives to me to Larten? 

    He hesitated then dropped his knives and dropped to his knees

    Crepsley: No lady I will not(Sighed)

    Evana: Than I will not lay a hand to you

    She went to all the dead Vampanese and made the death touch sign and whispered " in death may you be triumphant" the rest of the Vampanese flited off.

    Crepsley: The last Vampanese you were fighting you let him go. Why? 

    Vancha: His name is Ganen Harst, he is my brother.(A few tears in his eyes)

    Vancha: My real last name is Harst I changed it when I became a vampire. We were very close growing up we did everything together. We were blooded by a Vampanese but I couldn't handle killing when drinking someone so I left and joined the vampires. I never saw Ganen again until tonight, Paris Skle was the one that made me a vampire. 

    Evana: Found this, I thought you might like it back(Walked up and tossed Merida her hand) 

    Merida looked at it than looked at where her hand use to be 

    Merida: Can we stitch it back on?(Winced in pain) 

    Crepsley: Lady Evana you have the power to attach it right? 

      Evana: I do but I won't snopes don't deserve special favors, you and Darren should of been a spy Merida. 

   Crepsley held her hand in place, Darren held her still, and Vancha sewed her hand back on. All three rubbed their spit into it to quicken the healing 

   Crepsley: This is the best we could do, if it gets infected we'll chop it off again and you'll have to live without it. 

   In the morning Vancha left for Vampire Mountain but said he would be back to join the hunt. Evana left to go back home and Darren, Crepsley, Harkatt, and Merida continued their journey and hunt 

   At a hotel in Crepsley's city

      They rented two room next to each other with a door to get in each others rooms. Merida and Darren in one room Crepsley and Harkatt in the other. Whenever they needed to leave at night they used the windows. The city was an uproar because of Vampaneses killing people. While Crepsley and Harkatt used the bathrooms Darren and Merida waited to take a bath and they almost fell asleep while waiting. Every night they searched and roamed the roofs and tunnels searching for Vampanese. Harkatt and Crepsley walked out of the bathrooms so Darren and Merida went in. Everyone went to bed after their beds that night but early in the morning Harkatt shook Darren and Merida awake. 

    Darren: What's up?

    Harkatt: Someone's knocking at your door

    Merida: Tell them to please go away

    Harkatt: I was going to but-

    Darren: Who is it?

    Harkatt: I don't know, I opened my door slightly and saw a man with a briefcase. He doesn't work at the hotel but someone who does is with him. Come see for yourself.

    They tip toed past Crepsey who was sleeping and opened the door slightly the man was scowling and raising his hand to knock again. They closed the door.

    Darren: Think we should answer?

    Harkatt: Yes, he doesn't look like the type who'll go away if we ignore him.

    Darren: I'll go see what he wants but I won't let him in unless I have to.

    Harkatt: Shall Merida and I stay here?

    Darren: Yes, but keep close to the door I'll call if I need help.

    As they went to fetch their weapons Darren got dressed and went to the door.

    Darren: Who is it?

    The man: Mr Horston?

    Darren: No, you have the wrong room

    The man: Oh, this isn’t Mr Vur Horston’s room?

    Darren remembered they used false names when they checked in

    Darren: No it’s mine and my sisters room not our dad’s. I’m Darren Horston and my sister is Merida Horston.

    The man: Ah excellent, you two are the reason I’m here. Is your father with you?

    Darren: Why do you want to know who are you?

    The man: If you open the door and let me in I’ll explain

      Darren: I like to know who you are first, these are dangerous times and we were told not to open the door to strangers.

    The man: Ah excellent, I should of course not expect you to open the door to an unannounced visitor. My name is Mr Blaws

    Darren: What do you want Mr Blaws?

    Mr Blaws: I’m a school inspector, I’ve come to find out why you and your sister aren’t in school. May I come in Darren?

    Mr Blaws: Darrrrrrrennn

    Darren: Just a minute please

    He took a deep breath then let the man in and shut the door

    Mr Blaws: So where is your twin sister and your father?

    Darren: Sleeping in fathers room

    Mr Blaws: I forgot he works night shifts but I’m on a tight schedule so you’ll have to wake them.

    Darren: Okay

    He hurried into Crepesley’s room and shook him awake

    Crepsley: Is the hotel on fire?

    Darren: No

    Crepesley Then go away and-

     Darren: There’s a man in my room a school inspector he knows our names, at least the names we checked under. He wants to know why Merida and I aren’t in school.

    Crepsley jumped out of the bed

    Darren: You and Merida better get dressed and meet him

    As Crepsley and Merida did Darren walked back into his room and closed the curtains.

    Darren: My father’s eyes are sensitive that’s why he prefers night shifts

    Mr Blaws: Ah excellent

    When Merida and Crepsley walked in Mr Blaws shook their hands.

    Mr Blaws: So what’s wrong with your young troopers?

    Crepsley: Nothings wrong

    Mr Blaws: Then why are they not in school with the other boys and girls?

    Crepsley: Darren and Merida do not go to school. Why should they?

    Mr Blaws: To learn like other 15 year olds

    Crepsley: How do you know their age?

    Mr Blaws: From their birth certificates of course

    Crepsley: And how did you acquire those?

      Mr Blaws: You included them with the rest of the relevant forms when you enrolled them at Mahler’s.

    Crepsley: Mahler’s?

    Mr Blaws: The school you chose to send Darren and Merida to

    Crepsley looked over the paper work and the birth certificates the files built up a complete picture of 15 year old twins called Darren and Merida Horston who moved to this city during the summer with their father who worked late nights at a local abattoir.

    Crepsley: Are they correct?

    Mr Blaws: Of course they are you filled them out yourself. Didn’t you?

    Merida: Of course he did, sorry to act so befuddled. It’s been a hard week. Family problems

    Mr Blaws: Ah that’s why you two haven’t shown up at Mahler’s?

    Merida: Yes, we should have rung and informed you. Sorry

    Mr Blaws: No problem, I’m glad that’s all it was we were afraid something happened to you two.(Putting the papers away)

    Merida: No, nothing bad happened(Shooting Crepsley and Darren a look that say “ play along”)

    Mr Blaws: Excellent than you two will be in on Monday?

    Merida: Monday?

    Mr Blaws: Hardly seems worthwhile coming in tomorrow with it being the end of the week. Come early Monday morning and we’ll sort you two out with a timetable and show you around-

    Crepsley: Excuse me, but Darren and Merida will not being going to your school on Monday or any other day.

    Mr Blaws: Have they enrolled in another school?

    Crepsley: No, Darren and Merida do not need to go to school. I educate them

    Darren: Mr Blaws?

    Mr Blaws: Yes Darren?

    Darren: What would happen if we didn’t turn up at Mahler’s?

    Mr Blaws: If you enroll at a different school and pass on the paper work to me everything will be fine.

    Darren: And if we didn’t enroll at another school?

    Mr Blaws: Everyone must go to school(Laughed)

    Darren: So if we choose not to go?

    Mr Blaws: We send a social worker to see what the problem was

    Darren: And if we asked you to tear up our enrolment form and forget us? If we said sent it to you by mistake? What if we wanted to withdrawl them?

    Mr Blaws: We weren’t aware of you two’s existence before you contacted us. But now that we are, we’re responsible for you. If we sent social workers after you and you gave them a hard time we would have to call the police.

    Darren: You know what this means don’t you? You’ll have to start making packed lunches for us.

    After Mr Blaws left Harkatt joined them as Crepsley paced the room threatening to kill Mr Blaws.

    Darren: What good would killing him do? Somebody else would replace him. Our records are on file. He’s only a messenger.

    Harkatt: We could move, find a new hotel

    Crepsley: No, he has seen our faces and would broadcast our descriptions. It would make matters more complicated than they already are.

    Harkatt: is it possible there’s been a mix up? Perhaps a real Vur Horston and his twin son and daughter sent in forms and you’ve been confused with them.

    Crepsley: No, the address of this hotel was included and so were our room numbers…Murlough(Hissed)

    Crepsley: This is a trap(Sat down)

    Darren: It can’t be, how could the vampaneze have found out about Murlough?

    Crepsley: Desmond Tiny, he knew about our run in with Murlough and must have told the vampaneze. But I cannot understand why they faked the birth certificates and school records.

    Harkatt: This sounds crazy, but what if Mr Crepsley did submit the forms?

    Darren: Come again?

    Harkatt: He might have done it in his sleep, remember Pasta O’Malley at Cirque Du Freak? He read books at night when he was asleep. He could never recall reading them, but if you asked him about them he could answer all your questions.

    Darren: I forgotten about Pasta

    Crepsley: I could not have filled in those forms

    Harkatt: We do strange things when we sleep, perhaps you-

    Crepsley: No, you do not understand I could not have done it because I cannot read or write.

   Harkatt: It could have been Mr Tiny, he loves to stir things up. Perhaps this is his idea of a joke.

    Darren: It has a whiff of him about it, I can’t see why he would want to send me back to school, but it’s the sort of trick I can imagine him pulling. But let’s say he is behind it that still leaves us with the problem of what to do. Should we report for class Monday morning? Or do we ignore Mr Blaws warning and carry on as before?

    Crepsley: I would rather not send you two, there is strength in unity. With you two at school we would not be there to help you if you run into trouble. Nore you two help us if our foes struck here.

    Merida: But if we don’t go we’ll have school inspectors and worse dogging our heels.

    Harkatt: The other option is to leave, just pack our bags and go.

    Crepsley: That is worth considering, I do not like the idea of these people to suffer, but if this is a trap designed to divide us, perhaps the killings will stop if we leave. As prince and princess Darren and Merida must decide.

    Merida saw this as an opportunity, she had lessons from her parents since she was a wee lass. But she always dreamed of being in a real school taking classes with other students making friends and socializing. Darren knew this and he wanted Merida to have everything she didn’t have growing up in Dunbrock.

    Merida: The hell with it, if it’s a trap let’s call their bluff. If it’s a joke we’ll show we know how to take it.(Grinned)

    Crepsley: That is the sprite(Boomed)

    Darren: I’ve endured the Trials of Initiation twice, an underground stream and killers with Merida, a bear and wild boars. How bad can doing school again be?

    At Mahler’s in the halls

    Merida and Darren spotted five girls and five boys in a corner. They walked up to them and stuck out their hands.

    Darren: Darren Horston and this is my sister Merida. Were new here and were looking for Mr Chivers. You don’t know where he is do you?

    A boy: You what?

    Merida: He said his name is Darren and I’m-

    The boy: I heard you the first time

    A girl: Shivers isn’t in yet

    The boy: Shivers isn’t ever in before nine

    The girl: And even later on Mondays

    The boy: Everyone knows that

    Darren: Well as I said were new so we can’t be expected to know things everyone else knows can we?

    The boy: Get stuffed asswipes

    Darren walked away and forced Merida to come with him they found Mr Shivers door and sat and waited. After a while Mr Chivers ran in out of breath running right past them. But then he noticed them.

    Darren: We been waiting, you’re late

    Mr Chivers: Sorry flat tire, who are you two and why have you been waiting?

    Merida: My name is Merida Horston and-

    Mr Chivers: The new kids! Sorry forgot you two were coming

    Darren: No problem, you’re here now better late than never(Mr Chivers shoke their hands)

    Merida and Darren sat down as Mr Chivers opened a drawer and took out a file.

    Mr Chivers: Mr Horston good grades, if you can match those here we won’t complain.

    Darren: I’ll do my best sir

      Mr Chivers: That’s all we ask, Miss Horston I see the same for you and I also see you went to a private school in Scotland before moving back with your brother and dad. Impressive

    Merida: Thanks

    Mr Chivers: You two have had a rough ride haven’t you? Must have been horrible your brother being trapped in a burning building(Looking at Darren’s scars and burn marks)

    Darren: Yes sir

    Mr Chivers: Still all’s well that ends well! You’re alive and active(Put the file away)

    Merida and Darren followed Mr Chivers as he walked out of the office. Mr Chivers lead them on a quick tour.

    Mr Chivers: We place a lot of emphasis on musical excellence. Do you two play any instruments?

    Darren: I play a flute

    Mr Chivers: A flautist! Superb! We haven’t had a decent flautist since Siobham Toner graduated four years ago. Maybe we’ll have to try you out and see what you’re made of?

    Darren: Maybe(Thinking how there’s no way he’s going to join)

    Mr Chivers: What about you miss?

    Merida: I’m an excellent signer and I know how to play a cello

    Mr Chivers: Excellent! Maybe we’ll have you join choir?

 Merida: Maybe

    Merida would love that and love to join a lot of activities. But she knew they have too much going on for her and Darren to get caught up in after school activities. Mr Chivers told them each class lasted forty minutes. There was a ten minute break at elven, fifty minutes for lunch at ten. And that school ends at four.

    Mr Chivers: Detention runs from four thirty to six, but hopefully that won’t concern you two?

    Darren: I hope not sir

    They went back to his office and he handed them their schedules. English, history, geography, science, maths, mechanical drawing, two modern languages, computer studies. A double dose of PE on Wednesdays. They had three free periods, one on Monday, one of Tuesday, and one of Thursday. Mr Chivers said those were used for either extracurricular activities or study hall. It was 9:40 and the bell rang it was time for their first class geography. Because of Merida’s mom Merida knew every single thing and was getting straight A’s on everything. Darren was a different story, geography was okay even though he was used to vampire world maps not human ones. Math he was in trouble, it was way different than any type of math he learned at his old school. All Merida and Darren did during their first break was wander

 around they had no friends yet. Darren knew if it wasn’t for him Merida would have been popular as hell and would have had boys chasing after her like crazy. But because everyone knew her as his sister they didn’t want anything to do with her either. After break they had history, history use to be Darren’s favorite subject but this was more advanced than his old school. But as a supposedly fifteen year old who supposedly progressed through the system he was expected to know the detailed ins and outs of battles, names of generals, the wide ranging social effects of the war, and so on. He told his teacher that he had been concentrating on ancient history at his old school. She said there was a small class for ancient history at Mahler’s and that she would get him transferred first thing tomorrow. It meant Merida and Darren having one period without each other but Darren needed to pass and Merida was happy for him. Merida and Darren were happy when they got back to the hotel. Any other place they could act like husband and wife because that’s what they were. But at school they had to act like twin brother and sister. So they could do everything they would do anyways except make out and kiss on the lips. But Crepsley wasn’t too happy though when they got back and it was because Paris Skyle was dead. So Crepsley took off to Vampire Mountain for the funeral in the morning. On Merida and Darren’s third Tuesday on Mahler’s they made a friend name Richard Montrose. He was a small mousey haired boy whom they recognized from English and history. He was also bullied just like them. While Merida and Darren were wandering the halls during their break when they scuffle so they went to investigate. Richard was pinned to the wall by Smickey Martin the guy that called them asswipes on their first day and three of his pals. Smickey was rooting through the boy’s pocket.

    Smickey: You know you have to pay Monty, if we don’t take your money someone else will. Better the devil you know than the devil you don’t.

    Richard: Please Smickey not this week I have to buy a new atlas.(Sobbed)

    Smickey: Should have taken more care of your old one

    Richard: You’re the one who ripped it you-

    Smickey: What were you going to call me?

    Richard: Nothing(Gasped frightenly)  

    Smickey: Yes you were, hold him boys I’m gonna teach him a-

    Merida: You’ll teach him nothing(Said fiercely)

    Smickey: Scottish Horston, what are you doing here? Better run along curly we haven’t come after you and your brother for money yet. But that doesn’t mean we won’t.

    Darren: You won’t get anything from us and you won’t get anything from Richard. In the future either. Or anyone else.

    Smickey: Oh? Those are awfully big words Horsty. If you take them back I might forget you said them.

    Merida and Darren stepped forward Smickey grabbed Richard’s left arm and swung him. Richard went over the stair railing and would have fell to his death if Merida haven’t ran over and grabbed his right ankle. As Merida pulled him back up Smickey and his friends scattered.

    Darren: Are you okay?

    Richard: You saved my life Merida, thank you(Shaking but smiling)

    Merida: No problem

    Richard swapped seats in English to sit next to Darren and Merida and in history to sit next to Darren. Richard let Darren copy his notes and Richard started spending most of his break and lunches with them. That night Darren took a walk by himself after visiting his old friend Debbie. Who was now a teacher at Mahler’s. But something struck the back of his head and he went toppling to the ground. He rolled away as a silver object came crashing down on the ground where his head had been. Ignoring his wounded head he scrambled to his knees and looked around for something to defend himself with. A plastic top of a dustbin laid nearby he snatched it and held it in front of him like a shield. Whatever hit the lid cut it in half.

    The attacker: I’ll cut you to pieces!(Circling Darren)

    There was something familiar about his voice but Darren couldn’t place it. His attacker was wearing dark clothes and was large and chunky. He had no hands just two metallic attachments. One gold the other silver, attached to the ends of his elbows. There were three hooks on each attachment. Darren avoided the killers hooks which dug into the building wall. Darren tried to kick him in the chest but the attacker brought his other arm down upon Darren’s shin cruelly knocking his leg aside. Darren yelped as pain shot up the length of his leg. Hopping madly he threw the two halves of the useless dustbin lid at the vampanese. He tried to run but his injured leg wouldn’t support him and after a couple of strides he collapsed to the ground helpless.

      The vampanese: Going to cut you, slow and painful, I’ll start with your fingers. Slice them off, one at a time then your hands. Then your toes then-

    There was a sharp clicking noise followed by the hiss of parted air. Something shot by the vampanese’s head only narrowly missing. It struck the wall and embedded itself, a short, thick, steel tipped arrow. The vampanese cursed.

    The vampanese: I’ll get you later, you’ll die slowly in great agony. I’ll cut you, fingers first, one at a time(Yelled as he took off)

    A man of medium height appeared out of the gloom. He was dressed in black with a long scarf looped around his neck and gloves covering his hands. He was holding a gun shaped weapon which jutted a steal arrow. Another arrow firing gun was slung over his left shoulder. Darren sat up and started rubbing his leg trying to get some life back in it.

    Darren: Thanks(The man got closer)

    But the man’s arrow gun was pointing at Darren.

    Darren: Mind lowering that? You just saved my life, be a shame if that went off by accident and killed me.

    The man: Does it surprise you that I spared your life?(No warmth in his face)

    Darren: I guess

    The man: Do you know why I saved you?

    Darren: Out of the goodness of your heart?

    The man: Maybe, or maybe I was saving you for myself!

    Darren: Who are you?

    The man: You don’t recognize me?

    Darren shook his head no

    The man: Strange never thought you forget then again it’s been a long time.

    Darren: Steve! Steve Leopard!(Gasped)

    Steve: Yes

    He put the gun away and pulled Darren to his feet

    Steve: Had you going for a minute didn’t I?(Smiled)

    Darren: You’re not going to kill me?

    Steve: Hardly! Hello Darren good to see you again old friend.

    Darren threw his arms around him and hugged him.

    Darren: Steve!(Sobbed into Steve’s shoulder)

      Steve: Stop that, you’ll have me crying if you keep it up(Pushed Darren away and wiped around his eyes)

    Darren: It’s really you!(Dried his cheeks)

    Steve: Of course, you don’t think two people could be born this handsome do you?

    Darren: Modest as ever

    Steve: Nothing to be modest about, can you walk?(Laughed)

    Darren: I think a hobble is the best I can manage

    Steve: Then lean on me, I don’t want to hang around. Hooky might come back with his friends.

    Letting Darren lean on him Steve led him to a fifth floor of a run-down apartment. Steve stopped at a battered brown door kept shut by a think padlock and chain. He rooted through his pockets, pulled out a key, unlocked the door, and pushed it open. Steve pulled Darren in then shut the door. It was dark until he lit a candle.

    Steve: No electricity

    He laid Darren on a couch and tended to his wounds.

    Darren: Does the vampanese know where I am staying?

    Steve: I doubt it, if he did he would have attacked you there. From what I saw he stumbled upon you by chance.  By the way I know how to do this cause I took first-aid classes. Figured they’d come in handy, you want something to drink?

    Darren: Just some water

    Steve pulled a bottle of mineral water out of a bag by the sink and filled a couple of glasses.

    Steve: Sorry it’s not cold the fridge won’t work without electricity.

    Darren: No problem, has the sink been cut off too?

    Steve: No but you wouldn’t want to drink any, fine for washing. But you would be on the toilet for days if you swallowed.

    Darren: Will you come back to the hotel with me? There’s someone I want you to meet.

    Steve: Who?

    Darren: My wife who is a vampire like me, and a Scotland princess.

    The idea of meeting a Scotland vampire princess put a grin on Steve’s face. When they got to the hotel Darren knocked on the window and Harkat let them in. No one said anything until Darren told them who Steve was.

     Merida: Steve Leopard, I’ve heard much about you(Stared at him unhappily)

    Steve: None of it good I bet(Rubbed the back of his neck)

    Harkat: What’s he doing here?

    Darren: He’s my friend he saved my life

    Harkat: But he knows where we are now

    Darren: So?

    Steve: Harkat’s right, I’m human if I fell into the hands of the vampanese they could torture me. Get me to reveal your location, you should move on to somewhere new in the morning. And not tell me about it.

    Darren: I don’t think that will be necessary

     After Merida and Harkat calmed down Darren told Steve about the fake letters to Mahler’s.

    Steve: They’re after you and Merida?

    Darren: Possibly or Crepsley but we’re not entirely sure. By the way guys the guy who attacked me has three hooks on both arms. One hand’s made of gold the other silver.

     Merida: Did you know it was Darren you were saving?

    Steve: I wouldn’t have come to his rescue otherwise

    Merida: If he attacked an ordinary human you would have let him kill?(Gasped)

    Steve: Yes, if sacrificing one person means saving many more I will. If I hadn’t caught a glimpse of Darren’s face I would of let Hooky kill him.

    Steve started to shiver

    Harkat: Are you cold? I can turn up the heat.

    Steve: No thanks, I’m good

    Steve’s curiosity made him ask why Merida moved out of Scotland to the USA. And why she chose this life over the life she had in her kingdom. Merida still didn’t trust Steve yet, so she changed the subject back to the vampanese who attacked Darren.

    Merida: Do you think the vampanese will know it was you who saved Darren?

    Steve: I don’t see how, they’ll probably think it was you or Crepsley. I was careful not to reveal myself to Hooky.

    Harkat: Then we might still get the better of them. We haven’t gone hunting for them since Crepsley left. Even with the three of us he made us promise not to do any hunting until he got back.

    Steve: Let me go with you, I’m accustomed to vampanese hunts. I know where to look and how to track them.

    Darren: And with us to back you up you could work faster and cover more ground.

    Merida: I wish Crepsley was here

    Darren: Me too, but the longer we wait for him the more time the vampanese have to plan an attack. This could be our best chance to strike.

    Harkat: It could also be our best chance to walk straight into a trap. But I’m with you Darren.

    Darren: To the death(Smiled)(Vowed)(Put his hand on Harkat’s)

    Merida: To the death(Put her hand on Darren’s)

    Steve: To the death

    Harkat: To the death, but I hope not ours.

    They spent Saturday and Sunday exploring the tunnels but found nothing so they returned to the hotel that afternoon. Darren and Merida returned to school Monday morning to see if they could find Debbie. While Harkat and Steve continued to search for the vampanese. They could not find Debbie anywhere. At ten Debbie pulled into the parking lot companied by two police men and a police women. Darren and Merida hurried and caught up with her.

    Darren: Miss Hemlock! Could I talk to you for a minute Miss?

   Debbie went a little bit away from the police but they kept an eye on them.

    Darren: What’s going on?(Whispered)

    Debbie: You don’t know?

    Darren shook his head no

    Debbie: Why did you tell me to leave?

    Darren: It’s complicated

    Debbie: Did you know what was going to happen? If you did I’ll hate you forever!

    Darren: Debbie, I don’t know what you’re talking about.

    After studying his face her face softened.

    Debbie: You’ll hear about it on the news, I’ll break it to you now but don’t tell anyone else. I left Friday when you told me. Booked into a hotel even though I thought you were crazy.

    She paused

    Darren: And?

    Debbie: Somebody attacked the people in the apartments next to mine. Mr and Mrs Andrews and Mr Hugon. You never met them did you?

    Darren: I saw Mrs Andrews once, were they killed?

    Debbie: And drained of blood(Croaked as tears went down her face)

    Darren: When did it happen?

    Debbie: Late Saturday night or Sunday morning. The bodies were discovered yesterday afternoon. But the police didn’t track me down until today. Do you know who did it?

    Darren: Yes and no, I don’t know their names but I know what they are and why they did it.

    Debbie: You must tell the police

    Darren: It wouldn’t help, this is beyond them

    Debbie: I’ll be released later this evening. When they do release me I’m coming to put some hard questions to you. If I’m not happy with your answers I’ll turn you over to them.

    She took off with the police, when Merida and Darren got to the hotel after school Darren told Harkat and Steve that they should tell Debbie the truth.

    Steve: And if she betrays us to the police?

    Darren: It’s a risk we have to take

    Steve: You feel that strongly about her?

   Darren: Yes

    Steve: Then tell her the truth

    Darren: Thanks

    Debbie showed up at seven

    Debbie: There’s a police officer in the lobby, he thinks I’m here to tutor you. I gave him your name, if you object to that tough!

    Darren: Nice to see you too(Smiled)

    Debbie noticed Steve and Harkat

    Debbie: You didn’t say we would have company besides your sister

    Darren: They have to be here, they’re part of what I have to tell you.

    Debbie: Who are they?

    Darren: This is Steve Leopard and that’s Harkat Molds(Steve bowed)

    Debbie: Oh my lord!(Noticed Harkat’s features)

    Harkat: Guess you don’t get many like me in

     Debbie: Is he from the institute you told me about? Where you and Evra Von lived?

    Darren: There was no institute that was a lie

    Debbie: What else have you lied about?(Eyed him coldly)

    Darren: Everything more or less, but the lies stop here. Tonight I’ll tell you the truth. By the end you’ll either think I’m crazy or wish I’d never told you. But you have to hear me out your life depends on it.

    Debbie: Is it a long story?

    Steve: One of the longest you’ll ever hear(Lughed)

    Debbie: Then I’d better sit down

    Darren started with the Cirque Du Freak and Madam Octa and took it from there. He covered his years about being Crepsley’s assistant and his time in Vampire Mountain. He told her about Harkat and the Lord of the Vampanese. He explained everything about Merida including the fact that him and her on not siblings or blood related at all. That they’re husband and wife. Then he explained why they came here, how fake forms have been submitted to Mahler’s, and about Steve. There was a pause before Debbie spoke.

   Debbie: It’s insane, you can’t be serious

   Steve: He is(Laughed)

    Debbie: Vampires, ghosts, and vampanese….. It’s ludicrous

    Darren: It’s true, I can prove it(Merida and him raised their fingers to show Debbie the scars of their fingertips)

    Debbie: Scars don’t prove anything(Sneered)

    Merida and Darren walked over to the window

    Darren: Go to the door and face us

    Debbie hesitated

    Darren: Go on, we won’t hurt you

    Debbie did what he said

    Darren: Keep your eyes open

    Merida and Darren flited over to Debbie so they were right in front of her. Then they flited back to the window.

    Steve: Ta-da!

    Debbie: How did you two do that?(Voice trembling)

    Darren: We can move at tremendously fast speeds. We’re strong, we could punch threw any wall and not tear skin. We can leap higher and further than any human. Hold our breath longer and live for centuries. We’re half-vampires.

    After a long pause Debbie sat back down

      Debbie: I believe you, I saw the pictures of my neighbors and no human could do that(Moaned)

    Darren: You see why I had to tell you? The vampaneses plan is to kill us. The attack on your neighbours was only the start of the bloodshed. They won’t stop with that. You’ll be next if they find you.

    Debbie: But why? If it’s you, Merida, and this Crepsley they want, why come after me?

    Darren: I don’t know, it doesn’t make sense, That’s what’s so frightening.

    Debbie: What are you going to do to stop them?

    Darren: Tracking them by day, hopefully we’ll find them. If we do we’ll fight, with luck we’ll win. You need to find a new apartment, maybe move out of the city for a few weeks until it’s over.

    Debbie: I trust you Darren, but if you think I’m running away you’re deluding yourself. I’m staying to fight.

    Darren: What are you talking about?

    Debbie: I’ll help you fight and kill the vampanese

    Merida: Actually I think that’s a great idea

    Darren: What(Roared)

    Merida: We could do with another pair of legs down there. Besides she has the guts to do it that’s all that matters. Remember I was still as good at weapons and fighting before I was blooded. Everyone deserves to fight and be brave no matter if they’re human or not. She has every right to join us and you have no right to tell her no.

    Debbie: Thank you

    Steve: I can kit her out with an arrow gun

    Darren: Very well(Sighed)

    Debbie: Now let’s quit with the time wasting and get down to business. I want to know everything there is to know about these monsters.

    Darren: Quiet!

    Debbie: What did I-

    Darren: Hush(Whispered)

    He pressed his ear against the door

    Harkat: Trouble?(Walked up beside him)

    Darren: I heard soft footsteps in the hall but no door has opened

    Merida grabbed her bow and arrows and went by the window

    Darren: Anyone outside?

    Merida: No I think the way’s clear if we have to make a break for it

    Darren: I’ll go first

    Darren opened the door and dived into the hall. Harkat stepped out after him long tense moments passed they didn’t move. Then someone couched overhead, the figure clinging to the ceiling dropped before Harkat could fire. The figure knocked Harkat across the hallway then kicked Darren’s sword from his hands. Darren scrambled for it but then heard a familiar voice.

    Vancha: Game set and match to me

    Darren turned around and saw Vancha March

    Darren: Vancha(Gasped as Vancha helped him to his feet)

    Vancha: Darren Harkat(Greeted)

    Darren: When did you get back? Where’s Crepsley?

    Vancha: Larten’s on the roof we got back fifteen minutes ago. We heard unfamiliar voices in the room which is why we moved cautiously. Who’s in there with you?

    Darren: Come in and I’ll introduce you

    Darren, Harkat, and Vancha went into the room. Darren told Debbie, Steve, and Merida that everyone was safe. Merida already called down Crepsley. Crepsley was not happy to see Steve but after Darren arguing for him Crepsley eventually gave in.

    Crepsley: Very well, I will speak no more of it. But I will keep a very close watch on him.

    Steve: Watch away.

    Darren told them about Hooky

    Vancha: I don’t like the sound of this Hooky

    Crepsley: What is stranger is that he has not attacked since.

    Harkat: How did Hooky recognize Darren?

    Crepsley: Maybe by the scent of Darren’s blood

    Vancha: I don’t like this

    At dusk they checked out of the hotel and took over two apartments next to Steve’s. Then it was time to go vampanese hunting. They paired off into three teams. Debbie went with Crepsley, Steve with Vancha, and Harkat with Darren and Merida. Along with their weapons they each carried a mobile phone. They assigned one tunnel for each team, nobody found any trace of the vampanese. After a while they went back to the apartments.

    Crepsley: She will make it(Said to Darren as he smiled and looked at Debbie)

    Darren: You think so?

    Crepsley: When we were in the tunnels I held a steady pace. She kept up and did not complain. She will not let us down.

    The next day Darren and Harkat were taking a walk when Darren came across a newspaper stand. The article talked about a dead girl and two killers named Darren and Merida Horston. Darren discussed it with Crepsley and Vancha at the apartments after Debbie went to bed. Darren and Merida returned to school Friday morning and went to Mr Chivers office.

    Mr Chivers: Darren! Merida! Where have you been? What happened? Why didn’t you call?(Gasped as he grasped their shoulders)

    Darren told him that they have been sick for a while and at their uncle Steve’s house.

    Mr Chivers: I’d almost given up on you two, wouldn’t it been awful if you two had been taken as well? Three in a week, I can’t bear thinking about it.

    Merida: Three sir?

    Mr Chivers: Yes losing Tara was terrible but if we’d-

    Darren: Tara?

    Mr Chivers: Tara Williams, the girl that was killed last Tuesday. Surely you two heard?

    Darren: I read the name in the papers, was she a student at Mahler’s?

    Mr Chivers: Great heavens you two, don’t you know?(Yelled)

    Merida: Know what?

    Mr Chivers: Tara Williams was a classmate of yours! That’s why we were so worried. We thought maybe the three of you had been together when the killer struck. You two must know her, Darren sat next to her in English!

    Darren and Merida finally saw Tara’s face

    Darren: Oh no(Moaned)

    Mr Chivers: Are you two alright? Would you care for something to drink?

    They shook their heads no

    Merida: Oh no!(Moaned as she thought Richard might be next because he sits in front of her and behind Darren)

    Darren asked if they could take the day off and that they still haven’t been feeling well.

    Mr Chivers: Darren, Merida, will you stay in this weekend and take care?

    Merida: Yes sir(Lied)

     They hurried to look for Richard they saw him in the computer room then left. Satisfied that he was safe, then they returned to the apartments.

    Debbie: Tara, what sort of beast would pick on an innocent girl like Tara?(Tears in her eyes)

    They searched for the vampanese in the tunnels again that night. They found some including Hooky and were surrounded. Hooky responded to Vancha calling him crazy.

    Hooky: I’m not crazy! Except crazy with rage! And it’s all his fault(Pointed at Darren)

    Crepsley: Darren?

    Darren: I don’t know what he’s talking about

    Hooky: Liar!

    Merida: Do you know this creature?

    Darren: No, the first time I saw him was when he attacked me in the ally.

    Hooky: Lies!(Screamed)

    Darren: Honestly I haven’t a clue what you’re on about

    Hooky removed his mask

    Darren: Reggie Veggie(Gasped)

    Reggie: Don’t call me that! It’s R.V and it stands for Rightous Vampanese!

    Vancha: I don’t understand, who is this lunatic?

    Darren: It’s a long story, I’ll tell you later

    Darren: What happened to you? You loved life you were gentle and kind.

    R.V: You happened to me, you and your band of freaks. You ruined my life man.

    Vancha: Who sent the papers?

    A wicked voice behind them said “ I did”. Everyone turned around and saw Steve had a knife to Debbie’s throat.

    Crepsley: I knew we could not trust him, I should have killed him years ago.

    Vancha: It was all a ploy wasn’t it? The hooked one’s attack and your rescue of Darren was staged.

    Steve: Of course, I knew where they were all along.

    Crepsley: Very clever(Snarled)

    Darren: Why?(Croaked)

    Steve: Why what?

    Darren: Why do you hate us? We did nothing to hurt you.

    Steve: You chose his side over mine

    Darren: No! I saved you, I gave up everything so that you could live.

    Steve: Nonsense! Now here comes the guest of honor, a man I’m sure you’re dying to meet.

    Everyone looked back at the vampanese and saw two people walked in.

    Darren: Vancha!(Shouted)

    Vancha: What?(Snapped)

    Darren: It’s your brother Gannen Harst

    Vancha’s gaze left the man in the robes and hood AKA the Lord of the Vampanese and went on his brother. Seizing the moment Crepsley reacted quickly after Vancha. Crepsley dived among the vampanese knives outstretched and three of the vampanese fell throats or chest slit open. Harkat buried his axe into a vampaneses head. Steve was distracted by the action so Darren threw a knife by him to make him flinch. It worked Steve grip on Debbie loosened. Debbie dug her left elbow sharply into Steve’s ribs and broke free of his grip. Before he could dive after her Darren was on him. Darren grabbed him around the waist and propelled him backwards into the wall. Stepping away from him Darren sent his right fist smashing into the side of Steve’s face. The force knocked Steve down then Darren grabbed Steve’s head and smashed it into the wall knocking him out. Darren was about to kill him.

    R.V: Stop!(Screamed)

    R.V had Debbie and had the hooks of his right hand pressed against her jaw.

    R.V: Drop the knife or I slit her like a pig

    Darren seized Steve and held his knife against his throat

    Darren: If she dies, he dies

    R.V: Don’t play games with me, let him go or I’ll kill her

    Darren howled like a wolf making R.V look at him with fear but then he collected himself again.

    R.V: Howling won’t save your tasty little friend

    Darren: Let’s stop wasting each other’s time, you put Debbie aside I’ll put Steve aside. We’ll settle this man to man, winner takes all.

    R.V: No deal

    He edged towards an exit with Debbie

    Darren: What are you doing?(Shouted moving to block him)

    R.V: Stay back!

    Darren: Let her go(Said desperately)

    R.V: No, I’m taking her, If you try to stop me I’ll kill her.

    Darren: I’ll kill Steve if you do

    R.V: I don’t care for Steve like you care for little Debbie. I’ll sacrifice my friend if you’ll sacrifice yours.

    Darren moved out of his way

    R.V: Wise move

    Darren: If you harm her(Sobbed)

    R.V: I won’t, not for the time being. I want to see you squirm before I do but if you kill Steve or come after me.

    He left with Debbie with that Gannen called the vampanese off.

    Gannen: I’ll give you guys fifteen minutes to try to escape. Leave your hostages and flee. For fifteen minutes nobody will follow you have my word.

    Vancha: This is a trick(Snarled)

    Gannen: I don’t lie

    Darren: What about Debbie? I want to take her too!(Shouted)

    Gannen: I command those in this room, but not he of the hooks. She is his now.

    Darren: Were taking the hostages!

    Gannen: Fine, so will you leave?

    Darren: Yes(Croaked)

    Gannen: Then go now! From the moment you leave this room the clock starts. If we catch you, you die.

    Darren, Merida, Harkat, Crepsley, and Vancha took off with Steve and the random vampanese. They slapped Steve in the face to make him be quiet everytime he talked. There was still a long way to go, plenty of time for the vampanese to run them down.

    Vancha: We have to try to shake them off, If we make straight for the surface they’ll be upon us before we’re halfway there.

     Crepsley: But we could lose ourselves if we detour, we do not know this area. We might run into a dead end.

    Vancha: Aye, but it’s a chance we’ll have to take. I’ll act as a decoy and go back the way we came. The rest of you try and find an alternative route out. I’ll work my way back to you later, if the luck of the vampires is with me.

    Crepsley: Luck sir

    Vancha took off as they entered a fresh stretch of tunnels Steve pushed Merida hard into a wall. Making her cry out in pain then land hard on the ground. Then Crepsley was on him in a flash as Harkat made sure Merida was okay then gently helped her to her feet.

    Crepsley: Do that again and you die! The next time you touch her or if you dare touch Darren I will kill you.(Snapped)

    They continued, a short while later they heard the vampanese. They were spotted by one vampanese holding a torch.

    The vampanese: I found them! They’re here!(Yelled)

    Vancha grabbed the vampaneses head and twisted it killing him.

    Harkat: Good timing

    Vancha: I’ve been shadowing you for a while

    Darren: Any idea how far we are from the surface?

    Vancha: No

    Crepsley: What about the vampanese? Are they close?

    Vancha: Aye

    They continued, they got to a ladder

    Vancha: Go!(Yelled)

    Crepsley grabbed Darren and Merida and shoved them up the ladder. They hurried out then looked around and saw no one.

    Merida: It’s clear!(Yelled)

    Steve crawled out, then Harkat, then the random vampanese. After a short delay Crepsley and Vancha crawled out. They returned to the apartments Crepsley, Harkat, Merida, and Darren kept Steve in the middle apartment and Vancha kept the random vampanese in the apartment on the right.

    Darren: Anyone thirsty or hungry?

    Crepsley: Water please, and bandages(Sat down)

    Harkat: Are you hurt?

    Crepsley: Not really, but the tunnels we crawled through were unhygienic. We should all clean out our wounds to prevent infection.

    Everyone washed their hands, dug into some food, and tended to their wounds.

    Crepsley: This lord of yours, what does he look like?(Asked Steve)

    Steve: Now now Larten, you don’t honestly expect me to describe him do you? He’s been very careful not to show his face, even to most of those who follow him.

    Darren: How did you get so twisted? We were friends almost like brothers. What happened to you?

    Steve: I was betrayed

    Darren: That isn’t true, I saved your life. I gave up everything so that you could live.

    Steve: Shut it! Torture me if you wish but don’t insult me with lies.

    Crepsley: Impudent cur!(Struck Steve’s cheek drawing blood)

    Steve: One night soon it will be your blood I dine on(Said to Crepsley as he wiped the blood then licked it)

    More than an hour Vancha walked in revealing that the vampanese. Vancha said he killed the vampanese. Crepsley looked out the window.

    Crepsley: Charna’s guts!(Gasped)

    Vancha, Harkat, Merida, and Darren rushed over, the street was teeming with police cars, army vans, policemen, and soldiers. Many carried rifles, in the opposite building there was figures in the windows also armed. There was a helicopter hung in the air. In the helicopter there was a soldier with a big gun. Everyone quickly retreated from the window shutting the blind again.

    Harkat: Why didn’t they use sirens?

    Steve: They were warned to tread quietly. And before you waste time checking they’ve got the rear of the building and roof covered and the front as well.(Laughed)

   A voice: You in there! Killers!(Yelled through a megaphone)

    Vancha: Turn off the light!(Yelled)

    They did

    Vancha: Bring that sorry excuse for a dog over here

    Merida dragged Steve over to him and Vancha seized Steve’s throat.

    Vancha: Why are they here?

     Steve: They think you’re the killers, the ones who killed all those humans(Laughed)

    Vancha: You son of a mongrel!

    Steve: Please, let’s not get personal(Said smugly)

    Harkat and Crepsley who left the room returned

    Harkat: They’re packed tight two floors above

    Crepsley: Same two floors below

    Vancha: Who’s down there and what the hell do you want?(Yelled out the window after smashing it to bits)

    The voice on the megaphone: Who am I talking to?

    Everyone realized it was a women

    Vancha: None of your business!(Yelled)

     The women: We know your names. Larten Crepsley, Vancha March, Darren Shan, Merida Manson, and Harkat Molds. I just want to know which one of the guys I’m talking to.

    Vancha: Vancha March(Yelled)

    The women: Listen March, I’m Chief Inspector Alice Burgess. Are your hostages alive and unharmed?

    Vancha: Hostages?

    Alice: Steve Leonard and Mark Ryter. We know you have them, so don’t act innocent.

    Steve: This is Steve Leonard! They haven’t killed me yet, but they killed Mark. They tortured him first, it was horrible.(Yelled mimicking terror)

    Alice: Okay, this is how it works, release your remaining hostage. When he’s safe in our custody come down after him one at a time. Any sign of a weapon or unexpected moves and you’re history.

    Vancha: Let’s talk about this(Yelled)

    Alice: No talking(Snapped)

      Vancha: We’re not going to release him, you don’t know what he is. What he’s done let me-

    A rifle fired and a ton of bullets shot at the building making the gang fall to the floor yelping and cursing. The bullets stopped.

    Alice: That was a warning shot and your last of that. Next time we shoot to kill. No bargaining no tradeoffs no talking. You terrorized this city for most of a year. But it stops here, you’re through. Two minutes then we come in after you.

    After a short silence Harkat spoke

    Harkat: That’s that, we’re finished

    Vancha: Maybe, but we won’t die alone(Staring at Steve)

    Vancha raised a knife

    Crepsley: Wait, there is a way out, the window. We jump they will not expect that.

    Vancha: The drop’s no problem, but what do we do once down there?

    Crepsley: We flit, I will carry Darren, you carry Merida, and Merida carries Harkat while she’s on your back. It will not be easy, they might shoot at us before we can flit. But it can be done, with luck.

    Alice: Time’s up! Come out immediately or we open fire!

    Vancha: Ready?

    Crepsley: Ready

    Harkat: Ready

    Darren and Merida: Ready

    Vancha: I’ll go first with Merida and Harkat, you two come after us. Give us a second or two to roll out of your way.

    Crepsley: Luck Vancha

    Vancha: Luck

    Merida went on his back then Harkat on hers and Vancha leapt through the window. Crepsley and Darren waited then Darren went on Crepsley’s back and Crepsley went out the window. As they hit the ground Darren rolled off there was a sharp yell of pain. Crepsley laid on the ground nursing his right ankle unable to stand. While Vancha talked Alice to the ground Darren and Merida hurried over to Crepsley and helped him up. Crepsley’s teeth gritted in pain.

    Merida: Is it broken?(Her and Darren dragged him behind a car)

    Crepsley: I do not think so, but the pain is intense(Gasped)

    He collapsed behind the car and rubbed his injured ankle. Vancha had Alice by the throat and had her megaphone in the other hand.

    Vancha: Hear this! If you shoot your chief dies!(Yelled in the megaphone)

    Alice: Forget about me! Take these creeps out now!(Yelled)

    Vancha: How bad is it?(Croched by Crepsley dragging Alice down with him)

    Crepsley: Bad

    Vancha: You can’t flit?

    Crepsley: Not like this

    Vancha: Then we’ll have to leave you behind

    Crepsley: Aye

    Vancha: I can’t come back for you, if you stay you’re on your own.

    Crepsley: We know

    Vancha: If I escape, I’ll return for the Vampanese Lord. I’ll wait in the tunnels that we fought in last night. I’ll give you to midnight, if you aren’t there by then I’ll go after him alone.(Whispered)

    Crepsley: We will do our best to break out

    Vancha flitted off with Alice Crepsley, Harkat, Darren, and Merida were arrested. When they got to the jail Darren and Merida were in a room being questioned by two cops named Con and Ivan.

    Ivan: Is Darren Shan and Merida Manson your real names? Or is it Darren and Merida Horston?

    They didn’t answer

    Ivan: How about your traveling companion, Larten Crepsley or Vur Horston?

    Darren and Merida looked down at their handcuffed hands and said nothing. Their ankles were cuffed too.

    Con: What about the freak? The grey skinned monster?

    Darren and Merida: He’s not a monster!(Yelled)

    Con: Oh? What is he then?

    Darren: You wouldn’t believe us if we told you

    Ivan: Try us

    Darren and Merida refused

    Con: What about the other? Vancha March and Larten Crepsley. Our informants told us they were vampires. What do you two have to say about that?

    Darren: Vampires don’t exsit(Smiled)

    Ivan: But there is something weird about those two, March disappeared and we can’t get Crepsley on any camera. We’ve taken blood samples of Crepsley and Harkat. We’ll find out what they are when the results come back. What’s you two’s real names? What’s your relationship to the others? Where-

    Merida: Where are our friends?

    Ivan: Would you two like to see them?

    Merida: I just want to know where they are

    Con: They’re close, locked away nice and tight like you two. How old are you two? Where are you two from? Why pick this city? How many have you murdered? Where are the bodies? What have-

    There was a knock on the door Con got up and opened the door and a man entered.

    Darren: Mr Blaws?(Gasped)

    Ivan: Thank you for coming Walter(Shook Blaw’s hand)

    Blaws: Glad to be of assistance

    Ivan: Would you like a chair?

    Blaws: No thanks, I’d rather not stop any longer than necessary, Rounds to do places to be.

    Ivan: That’s fine, you brought the papers?

    Blaws: The forms they filled, all the files we have on them. Yes I left them with a man at the front desk. He’s photocopying them and giving the originals back to me before I leave. I have to hang onto the originals for the school records.

    Ivan: Fine, can you identify this boy and girl?

    Blaws: Yes Darren and Merida Horston, is it true? What the media are saying, them and their friends are the killers?

    Ivan: We can’t really say right now but as soon as we-

    Blaws: How could you? How could you kill all those people? And poor little Tara Williams, your own classmate!(Yelled at Darren and Merida)

    Merida: We didn’t kill Tara, we didn’t kill anyone. We’re not killers, the police have arrested the wrong people.

    Con laughed

    Blaws: You’re beasts

    He left and so did Ivan and a cop named Dave took his place.

    Dave: We’re trying to help you two

    Merida: Taking off our handcuffs and setting us free would be a big help

    Dave: Good one, of course we know that isn’t going to happen but there are things I can do. Get you two a lawyer, a bath, a change of clothes, and a nice bunk for the night. You two are going to be with us a long time but it doesn’t have to be an unpleasant stay.

    Darren: What do we have to do to make it pleasant?

     Dave: Not much, tell us your real names, where you’re from, and what you’re doing here.

    They refused

    Merida: Would it be okay if we walked around for a few minutes? Our legs are cramping up.

    Dave: You two can’t leave this room

    Merida: I’m not asking us to, a couple minutes pacing from one side to the other will be fine.

    Con: Let them, as long as they stay on their own side of the table

    Darren and Merida pushed their chairs back then started walking to one wall to the other. After a while they both stopped at a wall and rested their foreheads on it. After a little bit they were told to sit back down.

    Dave: Are there others? Is it just you five or are there killers in your gang that we haven’t caught yet?

    Darren: We’re not killers

    Dave: Did you kill them first then drink from them? Or the other way around?

    Darren: Leave us alone, you’ve got it all wrong. We’re not your enemies.

    People poured into the hall and police and staff were all yelling.

    Dave: What the hell’s going on?(Yelled)

    Con: I’ll go check

    He pounded on the door so a guard opened it. He grabbed a women and got the information out of her.

    Con: It’s a breakout!(Yelled)

    Dave: Which one? Crepsley or Molds?(Yelled jumping up)

    Con: Neither, it’s the hostage Steve Leonard!(Gasped)

    Dave: What?!

    Con: He regained consciousness then murdered a guard and two nurses(Yelled)

    Dave looked at Darren and Merida

    Merida: We’re not the killers, we’re not the ones you want. We’re on your side.

    The guard: What about the boy and girl?

    A cop named Morgan: You guys go I’ll watch them

    Everyone else left slamming the door after four seconds he shut off the tape recorder.

    Morgan: I thought we’d never get rid of them, you two will have to go through the ceiling. I’m going to attack Darren in a minute. I’ll put on a show for the cameras. Pretend to lose my rage and go for his throat. Merida defend your boyfriend and slam me over the head with your fists hard. I’ll go down for the count. After that it’s up to you two. I have no key for your chains so you’ll have to snap them yourselves.

    Darren: Why are you doing this?

    Morgan came at Darren fast Merida quickly knocked Morgan out. Darren and Merida broke out of their chains then jumped right into the vent of the ceiling. After a little bit of searching they found Harkat’s cell. Darren head butted through the tiles making Harkat jump up and get ready to defend himself. Merida put her head through the hole.

    Harkat: Merida!(Yelled in delight)

    Darren: Howdy partner(Widened the hole then stuck his head through the hole too)

    Harkat: What are you two doing up there?

    Merida: Sightseeing!(Laughed)

    Darren: Come on, we haven’t much time and we have to find Crepsley.

    Merida dragged Harkat up then they looked for Crepsley’s cell. After a little bit they heard Crepsley’s voice. There was only one cop in the room with him. Harkat, Darren, and Merida broke through, landed on the floor, and then knocked the cop out.

    Crepsley: I was not expecting you three so soon(Broke free of his chains)

    Merida: How’s your ankle? Can you walk?

    Crepsley: I will win no races, but nor shall I be a hindrance

    They kicked their way through the wall at the back of the building. They found themselves on the second floor above a deserted ally.

    Darren: Can you jump?

    Crepsley: No, but I can climb

    They made a way down into a manhole and into the tunnels. All of a sudden a gun went off and the bullet hit the wall. But it wasn’t any cops it was a vampanese.

    The vampanese: Greetings vampires we been expecting you

    Darren: Who are you?

    The vampanese: One who follows the Lord of the Vampanese

    Merida: What are you doing here?

    The vampanese: Blocking your passage

    But Crepsley killed him and everyone continued they journey. Crepsley’s ankle finally healed and didn’t hurt anymore.

    Crepsley: Tread carefully, hold your weapons low and

    He paused

    Crepsley: Did any of you bring a weapon?

    Darren: Of course-

    He paused

    Darren: You’re not going to believe this

    Crepsley: You forgot too?(Groaned)

    Merida forgot too, everyone looked at Harkat

    Harkat: Sorry

    Crepsley: Brilliant! The most important fight of our lives and we come unarmed. What manner of fools are we?

    Someone: The greatest who ever stalked the shadows of the night  

    They saw it was just Vancha

    Vancha: Is it true, you came without weapons?

    Crepsley: We have had a difficult afternoon

    They told Vancha about jail and how Steve was there and how like them he escaped.

    Vancha: I pray to the gods that I have a chance to slit his throat tonight.

    Darren: You’ll have to get in line(Not joking)

    Vancha: You four need weapons, follow me

    He lead them to a part of a tunnel where there was a small stack of weapons. Next to the weapons was a bound Alice Burgess.

    Harkat: Where did you get these?

    He picked a jagged knife and a small double headed axe.

    Vancha: The vampanese left them when they were clearing their dead away.

    Crepsley took a couple of long knives and a few short ones for throwing. Darren grabbed a small curved sword and put a small knife in the back of his trousers. Merida grabbed bow and arrows and a long sword.

    Merida: Can we trust her?(Pointed at Alice)

    Vancha: I don’t know, but there’s one way to find out

    He took the gag out of Alice’s mouth

    Alice: Animal! I’ll see you all hang for this. I’ll have you shaved bald, smeared in tar, covered with feathers, then set you on fire as you dangle!

    Vancha: Isn’t she magnificent? I think I’m falling in love.(Freeded her arms and legs)

    Alice: Savage!(Yelled)

    She was about to slap him but he grabbed her arm

    Vancha: Remember what I said Alice, I don’t want to leave here at the mercy of our enemies. But I will if you force me to.

    She held her tongue

    Vancha: Better, now pick a weapon, two or three if you’d prefer and get ready. We have an army of darkness to deal with.

    Alice: You guys are crazy, you really expect me to believe you’re vampires but not killers? That you’re here to take on a bunch of…… what did you call them?

    Vancha: Vampanese

    Alice: That these vampanese are the bad guys and you’re here to sort the out? Even though there’s dozens of them and only five of you?

    Vancha: That about sums it up, except there are six of us now

    Alice: Crazy(Picked up a long hunting knife and a few small ones)

    Alice: Okay, I don’t believe your story but I’ll tag along for the time being. If we run into these vampanese and they’re all that you say I’ll throw my lot in with you. But if we don’t-

    She pointed at Vancha with her big sword then made a throat slicing suggestion.

    Vancha: I love it when you talk threateningly

    As they continued their journey they met a big door that was bolted shut and wouldn’t open. There was a long row of combination locks running across the middle, beneath a circular handle.

    Vancha: I wrestled with this for more than an hour, couldn’t make head nor tail of it.

    Crepsley: Let me have a look, I am not adapt at locks such as these. But I have broken into safes before. I may be able to-

    He paused as he studied the lock

    Darren: Something wrong?

    Crepsley: We cannot go this way, it is too intricately coded. We must find a way around.

    Vancha: Easier said than done, I’ve scoured the tunnels for hidden passages, didn’t find any. I think this is the only way ahead.

    Harkat: Couldn’t we break through the wall around the door?

    Vancha: I tried, it’s steel-lined, think steel, even vampires have their limits.

     Merida: This doesn’t make sense, they knew we’d come. They wanted us to come. Why strand us here? There must be a way through. Crepsley explain this lock.

    Crepsley: It is a combination lock, quite straightforward. The dials are down there. You twist them clockwise for a higher number and anti-clockwise for a lower number. When the correct numbers have been entered in all fifteen windows the door will open.

    Darren: And each number’s different?

    Crepsley: I assume so, fifteen different locks fifteen different numbers. I could crack the code eventually but it would take several nights and days.(Sighed)

    They saw the last three windows were blank

    Crepsley: They must not form part of the code

    Darren: So we’ve only twelve numbers to worry about?

    Crepsley: That should save us half a night or so(Smiled ruefully)

    Darren had a thought

     Darren: Try these numbers as I call them out. Nineteen, twenty, five,(Said to Crepsley)

    He carried on until he got to eighteen and four, there was a click and the circular handle popped out. Startled Crepsley grabbed it and twisted it. It turned easily and the door swung open.

    Vancha: How?(Gasped him and everyone looking at Darren)

    Alice: Oh please! Isn’t it obvious? He just converted the alphabet into numbers.

    Harkat: Oh I get it, A was 1 B was 2 and so on

    Darren: Right, using that I dialed in “ Steve Leopard”

    Vancha: Get in line I’ll go first

    With Vancha in the lead Harkat was second, Alice was third Darren was fourth, Merida was fifth, and Crepsley was last. Torches were set in the walls, after forty meters there was a loud clanging noise that made everyone jump. They all turned around and saw R.V.

    R.V: Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome! The proprietors of these caverns and tunnels wish you well and hope you enjoy your stay. If you have any complaints please don’t hesitate to-

    Darren: Where’s Debbie you monster?(Screamed)

    R.V: Debbie’s close man, and she’s alive, but she won’t be much longer. Not if you don’t come with me now. How about it Shanny? Your life for Debbie’s, is it a deal or do I make her squeal?

    Darren: No(Whispered)

    R.V: What was that? Speak up I can’t hear you(Shouted)

    Darren: No!(Yelled threw a knife at him but missing)

    R.V took off

    Crepsley: You did well Darren(Squeezed Darren’s shoulder)

    The tunnel ran straight and downwards for five or six hundred meters. Before opening out on to a huge man made cavern with smooth walls and an extremely high ceiling. Three heavy silver chandeliers hung from the ceiling each with red burning candles. Everyone walked in.

    Vancha: Hold it, have a look at this(Beckoning them forward)

    Everyone stepped beside him, they were standing at the edge of a pit which was filled with steel-tipped stakes two or three meters tall.

    Harkat: A trap for us to fall into?

    Vancha: I doubt it, the vampanese would have covered it if they wanted us to walk into it.

    They saw a long plank connecting the rear right of the platform to a hole in the wall behind it. There was a thick rope running from the front left side of the platform to our side of the pit, where it was tied to a large holding stake.

    Darren: Looks like that’s the only way forward(Not liking the set-up one bit)

    Crepsley: We could skirt the pit and climb the wall

    Darren: Look again, there scores of tiny holes in the wall. Ideal for firing darts or bullets through.

    Vancha: They’d cut us down in seconds if we tried climbing that rope

    He climbed the rope a few feet to test it then climbed back down.

    Vancha: It’s strong, I think it will hold all of us at the same time. But we won’t take the chance we’ll go one at a time. The same order we came in the tunnel.

    Harkat: What about the platform? It could be rigged to collapse when we are on it.

    Vancha: When I get up, I’ll hurry to the opening across the plank. Don’t come up until I’m safe. When you do make straight for the tunnel. If they take the platform down while we’re crossing only one of us will die.

    Vancha climbed up the rope he was almost halfway across

    Alice: Hey! Someone’s up there!(Yelled as she spotted a figure appeared in the mouth of the tunnel)

    They all looked

    Darren: Steve!(Eyes filling with hatred)

    Steve: Howdy boys! Find your way here okay? Thought you might have gotten lost. I was preparing a search party to send after you.(Walked across the platform)

    Steve reached the platform and walked to the waist-high railing which ran around the sides.

    Vancha: We meet again Mr March

    Vancha began crawling faster Steve reached into his pocket, produced a match, and held it up for everyone to see. He struck the match on the ground sending it on fire. He tossed it into the pit there was an explosive roar and flames shot up out of the pit. The flames completely consumed the rope and Vancha swallowing the prince whole in the blink of an eye. But the flames died down slightly revealing a singed but very much alive Vancha March hanging by one hand from the rope.

    Darren: Vancha! You’re alive!(Yelled happily)

    Vancha: Of course I am(Grinning painfully)

    Steve: You’re a tough old badger aren’t you?

    Vancha: Aye, and you haven’t seen anything yet,just wait till I get my hands on your scrawny evil neck!

    Steve: I’m soooo scared(Snorted)

    Vancha began climbing again

    Steve: No you don’t, one more centimeter and I’ll send you crashing to your doom(Took out his sword)

    Vancha quickly came down landing by his friends

    Steve: Wise move, now if we’re all good and ready let’s get this show on the road.

     He whistled, panels in the ceiling were ripped free and vampanese descended on ropes. More panels were removed in the walls and vampanese stepped out. There was forty or more most armed with swords, axes, clubs, rifles, handguns, and crossbows.

    Vancha: I make it about ten or twelve for each of us, does anybody have any favorites? Or will we divide them up at random?

    Darren: You can take as many as you want, but leave that guy over there for me.

    Alice saw who he was pointing at, it was the guy that helped him and Merida escape jail.

    Alice: Morgan James(Gasped)

    Morgan: Evening ma’am

    Alice: Morgan’s one of them?(Totally shocked)

    Merida: Yes, he helped us escape, he knew that Steve would murder his colleagues and he let him.

    Alice: Shan, if you want him you’ll have to fight me for him, that bastards mine!(Her face darkened)

     Darren nodded in agreement, two people had emerged and were crossing the plank to the platform. It was Gannen Harst and the Lord of the Vampanese.

    Darren: Look!

    Everyone saw them

    Gannen: Greetings brother

    Vancha: We’ve got to get up there!

    Crepsley: If you can lead, I will gladly follow

    Vancha: Gannen! What’s going on? Why haven’t your men attacked us yet?(Yelled)

    Gannen: You know why, they’re afraid they might kill you in the heat of battle. According to Desmond Tiny only our lord is supposed to kill the hunters.

    Vancha: Does that mean they won’t defend themselves if we attack?

    Steve: Dream on you stupid old-(Laughed)

    Gannen: Enough! You will not interrupt when I am speaking with my brother.(Yelled)

    Gannen: Of course they’ll defend themselves, but we hope to avoid such a scene. Apart from the risk of killing you, we’ve lost too many good men already and don’t want to sacrifice any more. It might be possible to agree to a compromise.

    Vancha: I’m listening

    Steve: Lower away R.V!(Yelled)

    A panel in the ceiling was thrown back and somebody was lowered through the gap on a rope. It was Debbie, her forehead was gashed, her clothes were ripped, and she looked incredibly weary. Her hands were tied behind her back.

    Darren: Debbie!(Yelled)

    Debbie: Darren! Get out! Don’t trust them!(Screamed)

    Steve: If you don’t shut up, I’ll shut you up

    Gannen: We are interested only in the hunters, Debbie Hemlock, Alice Burgess, and the little person don’t matter. If Vancha, Larten, Darren, and Merida lay down their weapons and surrender we’ll free the rest of you. You can walk away lives intact.

    Vancha: No way!(Yelled)

    Crepsley: Nor shall I agree to such a deal

    Merida: Hell no!

    Gannen: What of Darren Shan? Will he agree to our deal, or will he condemn his friends to die with the rest of you?

    Darren: No, we fight and we die, all for one and one for all.

    Gannen: Very well, let me put another proposal to you. Same basic outline as the first. Drop your weapons, surrender, and we let the humans walk. But Merida Manson gets to go head to head with our lord and Steve Leonard. If Vancha, Larten, and Darren turn themselves in without a fight we will allow Merida to duel with our lord and Steve Leonard. It will be two on one but she’ll be equipped with weapons. If Merida wins we free all three of you along with the others. If she loses we execute Vancha, Larten, and Darren. But the humans and Harkat Molds go free.

    Vancha: What do you think(Asked Merida)

    Merida: There has to be a catch, why risk their lord’s life if they don’t have to?

    Vancha: Gannen! How do we know that R.V or the others won’t join in?(Yelled)

    Gannen: I give you my word, nobody else will interfere. I’ll kill any who seeks to swing the balance one way or the other.

    Vancha: That’s good enough for me I believe him

    Crepsley: If we agree to Gannen’s deal, and send Merida up to face them, we place all our eggs in one basket. If Merida wins wonderful, but if she loses-

    Merida: If you guys trust me, I’ll accept the challenge, and the blame if I fail.

    Vancha: She said that like a true vampire(Said warmly)

    Crepsley: She is a true vampire just like Darren(Feeling proud of both of his assistants/kids)

    Vancha: Very well, we accept, but first you have to set the humans and Harkat free. After that Merida fights your lord and Steve, if the fight is fair and she loses Larten, Darren, and I will lay down our arms.

    Gannen: That’s not the deal, you must lay your weapons to one side and surrender before-

    Vancha: No, we do it this way or not at all. You have my word that we’ll let your people take us if Merida loses. Assuming she loses fairly, if my word’s not good enough we have a problem.

    Gannen: Your word is good, R.V haul Debbie up and escort her down.

    R.V: No! Steve said I could kill her! He said I could cut her up into tiny pieces-(Yelled)

    Steve: Now I’m saying different! Don’t cross me on this! I will make Darren Shan suffer and kill his wife and you won’t stop me!(Yelled)

    R.V pulled on the rope and Debbie ascended in a series of short uncomfortable jerks. While waiting for Debbie to return to them Merida got ready for her fight.

    Vancha: How do you feel?

    Merida: Ready

    Vancha: Remember all that matters is the result. Fight dirty if you have to. Kick and spit, scratch and pinch, and hit below the belt.

    Merida: I will, will you really surrender if I lose?

    Vancha: I promised we’d drop our weapons and let them take us. And so we will, but I said nothing about letting them keep us or not picking our weapons up again!(Whispered)

    R.V marched over dragging Debbie behind him by her hair.

    Darren: Stop that! You’re hurting her!

    R.V tossed Debbie down in front of him she cried out in pain. She flew into his arms and sobbed.

    Darren: Shhh, take it easy you’re safe

    Steve: Such a touching scene, someone pass me a hankie(Sneered)

    Darren forced Debbie to look at him

    Darren: You look awful

    Debbie: Charming!(Half-laughed)

    Debbie: I don’t want to leave, not until after the fight(Croaked)

    Harkat: I want to stay too

    Darren: It’s your right to, I won’t stop you, but I’d rather you didn’t. If you vaule our friendship you’ll take Debbie and Alice to the surface and make sure they get away safely. I don’t trust these monsters, they might go on a rampage and kill us all if Merida wins.

    But Harkat diden’t have to, Alice left making Debbie leave with her. Darren was right about that they would try to kill them all. There was no fight between Merida and Steve and the lord. The vampanese came at them but it left the rope unguarded.

    Merida: Who goes?

    Vancha: Me(Grabbing the rope)

    Crepsley: No, it must be me(Layed a hand on Vancha’s shoulder)

    Vancha: We don’t have time to-

    Crepsley: That is true, we do not have time. So let me pass without any arguments.

    Vancha: Larten-

    Darren: He’s right, it has to be him

    Vancha: Why?

    Darren: Because Steve was my best friend and Gannen is your brother. Crepsley can concentrate wholly on the Vampanese Lord.

    Vancha: Give them hell Larten(Let go of the rope)

    Crepsley: I will(Smiled grabbing the rope)

    He started to climb

    Vancha: We must cover him from this side

    Merida: I know

    Gannen: Servants of the night! Look to your lord! Danger approaches!(Yelled)

    Vampanese rushed towards Vancha, Darren, and Merida. Darren and Merida lashed out with their swords and Vancha with his hands. Gannen moved towards the rope with a sharp dagger in his right hand. He was going to cut the rope but Alice started shooting at him with a rifle with Debbie and Harkat guarding her. A vampanese crashed into Merida’s back knocking her to the floor. She rolled away as the vampanese dived after her. Pinning her to the floor he wrapped his fingers around her neck and squeezed. But before he could crush her throat Darren punched a vampanese making the vampanese collide with the vampanese ontop of her knocking him off of her. She leaped to her feet, grabbed her sword, and stabbed him in the face.

    R.V: Kill you! Kill you! Kill you!(Yelled going after Harkat)

    Harkat calmly grabbed the straps attaching the hooks to R.V’s arms, ripped them lose, and tossed the hooks away.

    R.V: No! My hands! My hands!(Yelled)

    Crepsley climbed over the railing making Darren and Merida relax. The fighting stopped to watch Crepsley, Steve, and the lord.

    The Lord of the Vampanese: I knew this was coming, Des Tiny predicted it. He said I’d have to fight one of the hunters here, above the flames, and that it would most likely be Larten Crepsley. We tried to turn his prophecy on it’s head and lure the girl up instead. But in my heart I knew it was you I’d have to face.(Took off his hood)

     Gannen: The deal’s off, the two to one ratio no longer applies. If you’d sent Merida Manson as agreed we’d have kept our side of the bargain. Since you’ve come in her place you can’t expect us to offer the same generous odds.

    Crepsley: I expect nothing of madmen and traitors

    The vampanese lord produced a barbed short sword, Gannen drew a longer straight sword, and Steve dug out a gold dagger and long length of spiked chain.

    Vampanese lord: Are you ready Larten Crepsley?

    Crepsley: Yes

    Steve lashed out with his chain Crepsley avoided it and stabbed sharply at Steve’s stomach with his knife. Gannen swung at Crepsley with his sword Crepsley avoided it. Crepsley was almost backed up against the rail no more than half a meter away from a dead end. Steve sent his chain flicking at him again. Crepsley dropped his knife and grabbed the chain in mid air. His fingers closed on spikes and his mouth tightened with pain but he diden’t let go. Yanking sharply on the chain he brought Steve crashing towards him. Crepsley seized the lord by the scruff of his shirt and tossed him over killing him. Steve tackled him sending them over but Steve grabbed the railing and Crepsley grabbed the chain.

    Steve: Let go! You’ll kill us both!(Screamed)

    Crepsley: That’s what I mean to do!(Yelled as Gannen caught Steve’s other hand)

    He started tugging on the chain trying to break Gannen’s hold.

    Gannen: Stop! Stop and we’ll let you go!(Yelled)

    Crepsley: Too late! I swore two things to myself when I came down here. One I would kill the Lord of the Vampanese. Two I would kill Steve Leonaed! I am not a man for leaving a job half done.

    Merida: Larten! Please don’t do it! We’ll track him down later and finish him off!(Cried)

    Gannen: As you hold the life of Steve Leonard in your hands I hold the lives of your friends. If you kill Steve I’ll order their deaths too!

    Darren: His life too! Spare Crepsley!(Yelled desperately)

    Steve: No! Crepsley dies, I won’t let him go

    Gannen: Don’t be stupid! You’ll die too if we don’t release him!(Yelled)

    Steve: Then I’ll die

    Merida: Darren! We have to save him! We can’t let him die!(Yelled pleadingly)

     Darren: Shhh(Whispered as he pulled her into his arms and kissed her forehead)

    Merida: But-(Sobbed)

    Darren: We can’t do anything(Sighed sadly)

    Crepsley: It seems our paths must part sire(Said to Vancha)

    Vancha: Aye(Croaked)

    Crepsley: We shared some good times

    Vancha: Great times

    Crepsley: Darren and Merida

    Darren and Merida: Larten(Smiling but crying)

    Gannen: Hurry! My grip is slipping, a few more seconds and I’ll-(Yelled)

     Crepsley: A few seconds will suffice, Darren and Merida do not let hatred rule your lives. Live as free vampires, do not become like Steve Leonard or R.V. My spirit will not rest easy in paradise if you two do.

    Gannen: I can’t…… hold……. Any longer!(Wheezed)

    Crepsley: Nor shall you have to

    Crepsley: Even in death may I be triumphant!(Yelled)

    Crepsley let go of the chain and dropped towards the stakes. Suddenly someone swung from a rope from the ceiling. They grabbed Crepsley around his waist and rose with him to the platform landing on their feet. It was Mika Ver Leth.

    Mika: Now!(Yelled)

    An army of vampires flew and ran in swords, swinging, knives darting, and axes chopping.

    Gannen: No!(Yelled throwing himself at Crepsley and Mika)

    Mika camly stepped in front of Crepsley sword ready and swung it cutting Gannen’s clean off the neck. Sending it sailing through the air like a bowling ball. Gannen’s lifeless headless body toppled over the side of the platform. Steve Leonard yelped, turned, and dashed for the safety of the tunnel. He’d made it almost to the end of the plank when Crepsley borrowed one of Mika’s knives, took careful aim, and sent it flying at Steve. The knife buried itself between Steve’s shoulder blades. He gasped, coughed up blood, and then collapsed to the floor dead. Merida was still sobbing into Darren’s chest thinking she lost someone who took her in after Kurda’s death a father figure who she loved very much.

    Darren: It’s okay, Crepsley’s safe and alive. The cavalry arrived.

    They both saw a fabulous figure pushing the fighting, orange hair flecked with blood.

    Darren and Merida: Crepsley!(They cried as they threw themselves into his arms)

    Crepsley: Master Shan! Princess Merida! Did you think I was finished?(Holding them tight)

    Darren and Merida: Yes(Sobbed)

    Crepsley: Hah! You do not get rid of me that easily! You two still have much to learn about our ways and customs. Who but I would have the patence to teach you?

    Darren: Vain old git!(Snuffled)

    Crepsley: Rude young brat!

    He forced them to look at his face, rubbed away their tears, and kissed their foreheads.

    Crepsley: I love you both!

    Darren and Merida: I love you too!

    It did not take long for the vampires to kill all the vampanese. Everyone returned to Vampire Mountain and celebrated for three days. After that Harkat went on a journey with Darren and Merida to find out who he used to be. Harkat found out he was Kurda Smult which made Darren and Merida closer to him and love him more than before especially Merida. The three returned to Vampire Mountain and kept the secret to themselves. From that moment on Crepsley, Darren, and Merida lived happily at the mountain for the rest of their vampire lives. And Harkat lived happily at the mountain for the rest of his life.

    Author notes:(I wrote the ending I did cause I wanted to write Darren's version and I love Crepsley too much it breaks my heart everytime I read the part about his death! I couldn't bring myself to put it in! Same with Kurda and Gavner!(More Kurda then Gavner!) but I know for the story to make sense I had to kill them. And I decided to make the Lord of the Shadows just Steve not Darren and make it where the Lord of the Shadows never happens because Steve dies)                              

[darkcloud-kcalifornia]

Alright, season finale time for My Little Pony.  I’ve been trying to avoid spoilers for this one.  No idea what’s going to happen.  So, let’s see what goes down in “Shadow Play”

* We open on the book that got the ominous sting at the end of the last episode.  So yeah, I guess we were in the finale then.

* Huh, a different set of Elements being talked about here.  OK, we’ve got Rockhoof as Strength, Flash Magnus as Bravery, Meadowbrook as Healing, Mist Mane as Beauty, Somnambula as Hope, and who I’m guessing is Star Swirl the Bearded as Sorcery.  [note to self: look up actual names]

* And apparently they had been gathered together by somepony else to embody their ideals, like the Mane 6 were.  Was this Celestia, or somepony else?

* Ooh, the gatherer was a unicorn stallion, but the ancient Elements came to believe he was just wanting to use their power for himself and so they cast him out.

* Then he became Shadow Pony, and the Pillars stood as one against him.  They beat him but had to make some kind of sacrifice to do so, and created a seed to carry hope to the future.  I wonder, was that seed the origin of the Tree of Harmony?  I’m also seeing the emergence of the sun and moon on the sides of where I have it paused right now, so maybe it’s the origins of Celestia and Luna?

* Incidentally, I am loving this lore dump.

* Oh good, Sunburst was smart enough to make a report on this directly to the Alicorn Sisters and the Mane 6.  I guess he knows who has to deal with all the destiny crap around here.

* Huh, apparently Celestia never knew what happened to Starswirl, but these were apparently his last words before vanishing.

* OK, so Celestia and Luna were around back then, but young and had only ever met Starswirl.

* Reluctant nerd hoofbump. Also, I like how Celestia doesn’t know much Old Ponish anymore due to disuse.  It’s a nice nod to what happens when you don’t use something.  I can’t imagine how bad it would be after 1000 years. I’m a bit surprised Luna isn’t more familiar with it though, given how she spent most of the time sealed away. Unless she was fully cognizant of the passage of time during those 1000 years, which is… fairly nightmareish.

* So, more to Old Ponish than she thought, actual other languages being used, or Starswirl just had horrible hornwriting.  You decide!

* Ah, sloppy writing. Only readable by somepony who is ever worse at that kind of thing.  Anyway, the last stand was at the Temple of Ponhenge at the base of Mt. Foal.  …OK, I know they try and fit in horse puns, but “Ponhenge”?  Surely they could have done better than that.

* Those ruins look nice and ruiny.  Also not much like Stonehenge, which again makes me wonder why they referenced that.

* Be careful what you wish for Twilight.  Also, be careful where you place ancient magical tomes.

* Ooooh, ancient holographic display of the final battle.  So, sealed away, and the objects each pony carried are somehow related. Well, they’ve got the book, and they know where the mask is at least, so that just leaves the flower, the blindfold, the shield, and the shovel.  Gonna be honest, might be hard finding a flower after 1000 years.

* Never underestimate Twilight’s ability to be a nerd.

* Right, so banished to Limbo, but they had to take him there themselves and so got stuck there with him.  …Who’s gonna be the idiot to try and get them out and release the Pony of Shadows in the process?

* Twilight!  Twilight shall be that idiot!  Come over here so I can slap you!

* RD does not like demonstrative models.

* Boo!  The Map stepping in to help the search is cheating! Although this might be seen as the Tree of Harmony trying to get its parents back.  Kinda touching if you think of it like that.

* Skeptical archeologist is skeptical.  Somepony should tell her she’s in a fantasy series.

* Had no idea AJ was that strong.  Oh well, Shovel Get!

* Rarity’s problem to overcome is crappy gardening?  I can’t say I think much of Mist Mane’s descendant if it never occurred to her to, you know, perform upkeep.  Or hire others to do it.  Heck, just apply for a government grant if money��s the problem, that place has got to be a historical site, and once you attract tourists you can get money for, you know, upkeep.  Flower Get.

* Actually Flash Magnus’ shield being in the Dragon Lands makes quite a bit of sense.  It was made to combat dragons after all.  Makes sense that either it would accidentally get left behind after an expedition, or stolen by the dragons to keep it from being used.

* Also, neat to see a Spike/RD teamup, even if it’s likely gonna last a minute or two of screentime.

* Ugh, seriously, Garble has it?  Somepony just kick that idiot in the face so this can be over with.

* Garble is stupidest dragon.  Seriously, he just got outwitted by Rainbow Dash.  Well regardless, Shield Get.

* Fluttershy… just help to move the zap bee hive, and didn’t even need to do that to get the mask. She just felt like it.  But then arguably her trial was a few episodes ago anyway.  Mask Get.

* Pinkie’s trail… was very Pinkie.  And that ooze was a lot less dangerous then they made it out to be.  Um, Blindfold get?

* How is Starlight the voice of reason with regards to the risk involved in this plan?

* Why didn’t Pinkie wash that thing before bringing it >P

* Oh, gee, Starswirl is horrified that somepony broke the seal what are the odds?

* Way to summon the ancient evil, Twilight.

 And there’s the end of episode 1.  Time for a stretch and snack I think.  Let’s all go to the lobby, let’s all go to the lobby…

 * Yeah, having a backup plan in case the ancient evil escaped as well would have been a great idea, Twilight.  You still have that slap coming.

* Twilight and Starlight are able to hold the PoS back with a double tech… but can’t stop him from escaping at the speed of dark.  Nice going, Twilight.

* On one hoof, having the person you’ve revered all your life give you the dirtiest look for your incompetence must suck.  On the other, she really has this coming.

* Heh, Pinkie pointing out all of the other threats they’ve had to save Equestria from is a good one. And I like how Magnus is totally down for teaming up with the modern heroes to beat PoS into submission.  But Starswirl is going to be an absolute grumpy gus about this.

* Yay, source of Tree of Harmony, and the Elements, confirmed!

* And now Starswirl is planning on sacrificing the Elements to seal PoS again.  Despite the cost to Equestria.  Yeah, getting Outer Senshi vibes from this guy.  Which is a shame, because all of the other Pillars seem to be perfectly nice and affable ponies willing to work together.

* And Twilight’s search for a different solution… just has keeping the Pillars around while still sacrificing the Elements.  And yeah, the Pillars made the elements, but did so over a long incubation period. Try following Starlight’s advice and look for a non-banishment solution, stupid.

* Kinda funny how the heroes are having trouble tracking PoS down because Equestria is a better place, so all of the old dens of darkness are just fine these days.

* Starswirl needs to get his head outta his flank.

* I think some offense was taken.

* Yeah, the narrative is leaning pretty hard against Starswirl and towards Starlight here. Especially with the whole “Once a villain, always a villain” bit.

* Thank you, Starlight, for actually asking what happened all those years ago.

* Huh, Sirens confirmed as series canon.  Odd. Mind you I don’t know that much about them as I’ve never watched the movies, but some things are unavoidable knowledge if you hang out online in the fanbase.

* The PoS’s name was Stygian?  Man, it’s like his parents wanted him to go supervillain.

* So Stygian gathered them together to fight evil, but got jealous.  At one point he stole their artifacts to work some spell or another, but was discovered before actually finishing and was cast out.  And when he came back he did so as Dark Death Evil Man. But as Starlight helps to point out, they don’t know what exactly he had been trying to accomplish with his spell, though their guess is stealing their power.

* Yeah, Starlight has had enough of Starswirl’s crap.

* Now I’m wondering who build the temple to the Shadows, as apparently it already existed before Stygian came upon it.  Also, never listen to the mythos spoken from the depths of the Earth, dude.

* Oh look, there’s more to the story than meets the eye, who could have guessed.

* Well, Twilight’s been holding the idiot ball all finale thus far, but at least she noticed the pony of Stygian within the Pony of Shadows.  Not sure diving in was the right idea though.

* OK, Stygian’s side comes out, he wanted to make copies of their artifacts in the hope it would make him a Pillar and he could join the battles.  That’s still something you really need to talk about before you go stealing stuff.

* Rainbow Friendship Lasso Beam go!

* So The Shadows are banished, but Stygian remains.  Happy end!

* Aw, Starswirl commenting on how tall Celestia got is cute!  And Luna asking not to have to turn in the essays they were supposed to 1000 years ago is just funny.

* Can’t blame the Pillars for wanting to see what’s changed over the course of a millennia.  Of course there’s the problem of nopony’s gonna believe who they are.

 And that’s the end of the season.  It was pretty good all things considered.  Although this ending does make one question how things are going to work out with the non-reformed villains.  OK, Sombra isn’t likely to be a problem, but he is still awkward in that they killed him all kinds of dead.  But the new characters introduced seem decent enough now that we actually get to see them in something other than tales.  And I’m still curious about who built the shrine to the Shadows.  Evil cultist ponies!

Also, I may not care much about shipping debates and all that, but I can definitely see Rainbow Dash/Flash Magnus being a thing.  At the very least they’re certainly chummy with each other.

[theythemsam]

spn 14x13, liveblog, collected posts (all 24 of them) or as i like to call it: More gays named Max. Nice.

Sam just immediately touching cursed objects asdfhj

#idiot nerd

 Okay, the dragons breath is really cool

 “oh, you’re a big boy, you might take some work.” Asdfh?!?!?!

#pls no #i do love that dudes voice though

 “They always talk too much.” Well, Dean’s not wrong asdfgh

 Eliott is such a nerd and he’s fanboying about the Winchesters asdfgh

#i also love that they are known in the town #like that’s so cute

 Max has such a terrible massive crush on Stacy

#and the way her brain goes into dumbass lesbian mode immediately

 I love how Sam is like “we won’t hurt you, just tell us the truth” and Dean is like “I will kill you and your entire family if anything happens to my car, I swear!”

#okay so max is gay she steals cars she is new in town!

 The post office woman calling Sam out for sounding like a weirdo is very good

#the fact that she immediately gives it to dean though ? not good #also I hate the boys flirting with old ladies for information ufffff #its so gross

 Max and Stacy are so cute and gay

#like the way they smile at each other… awwww

 Also they really decided to display Lebanon as super diverse and tbh I like that!!!

 “A serial killer clown. That’s like the best-worst thing that’s ever happened to you. Get it, because you love serial killers, but you hate clowns!” asdfg

#thanks captain obvious asdfgh #dean is so happy he gets to tease his brother

 Elliott is just like “ahhhhh I knew it!” what a cute little fanboy

 Listen, I love JDM and I know it’s been 14 years, but would it have killed them to put a wig on that man and like idk? Powdered his beard darker?

#just done anything to make him look even remotely like john from 2003. Whenever the hell he comes from

 Also how the heck does he recognize Sam & Dean, like not to sound rudeTm or anything, but if you gave me two pictures of Jared, one from season 1, one from now, I would be so very confused

#i do have White Man faceblindness though sooooo #like I a) don’t care and b) am just so bad at remembering faces #like dean maybe? But dean looks very Typical ManTM so I wouldn’t have recognized him either… #but then im not a parent

 John acknowledging that he wasn’t a great dad? And saying that it wasn’t okay? Nice.

#i do get why sam forgives him though but its still like ehhhhhhhh don’t want this #like its for sams own benefit and I get that but uffff #john deserves more of a callout than he gets tbh #”you did your best” me: gagging noises #like he didn’t! #also you can forgive someone even if they didn’t do their best #but this? this aint it chief

 They slowly realize that something is off in this place… yeah somethings wrong boys

#sams slow double take when he sees the wanted poster

 Sam’s TED talk is so bad

#but also kinda sad… #ted talk sam has some serious problems…

 Listen, murder Cas is kinda cool, but he should stop being a lesbophobic dickbag and not interrupt Stacy’s and Max’s date

#home of phobe

 Sam murdering Zachariah is very good tbh

 Cas stop hitting Sam in the head

#angel boot camp made him into a gigantic lesbophobe :/ #the slow mo blood spit cam is kinda cool though

 I wish Dean had also gotten a good scene with John where he gets to call his dad out, but Oh Well

#bleh #like Dean would have deserved that so muchhhhh #but of course they couldn’t have gone there or this would have been too messed up #its just weird since they just had dean acknowledging that john did a lot of messed up shit too him #and then theres just nothing there :(

 Dean’s “I’m good with who I am. I’m good with who you are.” Is so good.

#im love this boy sometimes #and rn its dean love hours here

 Sam finally getting to hear John say “I am so proud of you” on camera is… so good

#yessssss #i still have many many problems with this episode #but it could be worse

 Max and Stacy holding hands… Gaybies!!

[roommateofmyimagination-blog]

Chapter 9: Too many Bonding Exercises

✗ Adrian  ✗

“OH MY GOD, HE IS SO FUCKING HOT?” Val erupted with a muffled yell from the other room.

 I stood in the room naked as can physically be and as confused, shocked and embarrassed as i could ever be all in the same time. I just stood here staring at the door the Valentine just slammed shut after entering and leaving just as quickly.

 “What did he just scream?” Demyan sounded like he was crawling out of his drawer.

 “Uh that im so fucking hot….” I turned to look back at Demyan.

“Well, pup, you are naked and leaving nothing to the imagination.” He crawled up onto the top of my dresser. “Maybe it would be best if you proceeded to put on clothes and see if he is okay.”

 “Uuuuuh…..” I held my mouth open, not really knowing what to say.

 “Now, child.” Demyan squeaked at me and scratched on the wood of the dresser.

 “Uh,yeah!” i took a long stride to the dresser and grabbed clothes to put on. Tossing on a pair of boxers then stepping into my ripped jeans. “Think he’ll wanna talk after….that?” I looked down at demyan as i laced my belt through the hoops.

 “Hmmm, probably not.” he bounced onto the bed. “But you do need to head out, the others are waiting.”

 “Shut up, I know!” I threw on a loose gray v-neck on over my head. Grabbing my satchel off the ground and throwing it on. Opening the door i peered from behind to see Val hunched over with a pillow pressed to his face. “Yo cupcake.”

 “Ah!” Val dropped the pillow and stood up straight in a very jolt like manner. “Y-yes?!”

 “I uuuuh….” i scratched my head, “sorry about the whole….”

 “Uh, Yeah. I-its all good d-dude!” Val started waving his hands around then stopped and stared at me. His face turning the same color as his hair, “IM GOING FOR A RUN.” and he quickly turned on his feet and ran out the door, grabbing his things with him and Aero quickly ran out with him, sliding between the almost closed door with ease.

 I stood in the living space staring at the door with my mouth hanging open. I heard Demyan’s bare feet walking up behind me and i turned around to look at him. “I royally fucked up didnt i?”

“Yes.” He said flatly and very disinterested in what i had to say.

“Dude, bonding moment. Feel for me….” I shrugged and dropped my head down low.

Demyan walked up closer to me and put an arm around me, touching his head to mine. “There there, pup.” he patted my shoulder. “He will never look at you the same way again.”

 “You aren’t helping…..” I leaned my head onto his shoulder. “I dont want our semester to be awkward cuz he saw me naked….”

“Oh that is the least of your worries, child.” Demyan started stroking my hair. “You would be...how do you say it…...Up shits creek without a paddle, if he knew you were a villain.”

 “You suck at motivating people and cheering them up….” I glared up at him.

 “It is not my strong suit, you would be right.” Demyan chuckled lightly before rubbing my back. “Oh and was he not looking for something?”

 “I think so but i dont know what.” I stood up straight, Demyan’s arm still around my shoulders.

“Could it have been this?” He dug in his puffy pant’s pocket and pulled out what looks like Val’s phone.

 “Why do you have his phooooone?!” I snatched it from demyan. Demyan shrugged and just gave me a toothy smirk. “You are evil…..”

 “I know.” His grin got wider and he twitched his eyebrows up for a split second.

 “What were you doing with it?!” I smacked him on his head a bit.

 “I was curious on how those little box devices work. You communicate on them yes?” he looked down at the phone in my hand.

 “Yes, we do. They are called cellphones or Smartphones depending on what you have.”  I tilted the phone’s screen to see the finger marks on it, and tried to see if it would unlock his phone, which it did. The home screen was of his kitty Aero, laying on her back with her legs sprawled at and her fur all sorts of wild.

 Demyan moved behind me and wrapped his arms around my neck, resting his chin on my shoulder. “Interesting.”

 “Im going to call Karim to tell him Val doesnt have his phone.” I searched through Val’s text to see Karim’s name on top. Clicking on it I clicked the phone button. Putting the phone up to my ear, I looked back at Demyan. “You, quite okay?”

 “Of course.” He still clung to my back. 

“Sup Val.” a deep voice answered after a few rings, Karim did not have a deep voice...this must be Aj.

 “Uh, hey, its Adrian.” I scratched my head. “Val left his phone and i wanted to tell Karim of this.”

 “Oh Than-” Aj sounded like something nailed him and he made a grunting noise. “Val whats up.” He sounded like he moved the phone to the side. Val’s voice was kinda muffled in the background and he was talking really fast about something. “....Imma kill you adrian.”

 “What did i do!?” I yelled back , throwing my free hand up in the air.

 “VAL MY SWEET CHILD, WHAT HAPPENED!?” Karim’s voice sounded like it was getting closer and he was talking to Val who sounded completely upset.

 “You violated and scared my child.” Aj sounded very pissed off. “You didnt even touch him yet you violated the child!”

 “I didnt violate him! He came in on me naked!” I yelled back again.

 “Violated my child!!!” Aj yelled back at me in return.

 “Stop calling him your child!” I sighed in frustration. “If we have to, i will come over later and we can have a fucking come to jesus moment.” I pinched the bridge of my nose with my thumb and index finger.

 “You have a belly button piercing?” Aj asked, sounding actually curious now.

 “NO, its aaaaah.” I looked back at Demyan who just shrugged, “its one of those african waist training beads band chain things…”

 “Yeah, okay dude.” Aj started laughing.

 “Okay, whatever! Just tell Val he left his phone in the dorm and im leaving it on the living room table!” I yelled in frustration, “Bye!” and hung the phone up. Groaning loudly, i put my hands on my face.

 “Are you okay?” Demyan asked, still clung tightly around me.

 “No im pissed….” I pulled my hands down on my face.

 “Then training will do you some good today.” Demyan chuckled as he took the phone from me and let go of me and set the phone gently down on the coffee table. “Let us depart then.”

 “Yeah okay whatever.” I shrugged and let my shoulders slump down.

 Demyan walked up to me, one hand going around my waist as the other hand slid up my shirt, touching the charm on my waist chain. He pulled me in closer with a smirk. A cloud of black smoke engulfed us and when it was cleared out. We were out in the field we’ve usually practiced in. I looked down at my body and my leather suit was on as per usual.

 “Gonna let me go now?” I asked, looking up at Demyan.

 “Of course.” He let me go and i fell and hit the ground with a solid thunk.

 Landing straight on my ass, I looked up at Demyan. “You’re a dick…”

 Demyan floated above me, clutching his sides laughing and he brought his legs up making him look like he was in a hunched over position. “I am terribly sorry pup, but i thought it would be fun to surprise you.”

 Standing up, and rubbing my ass. Pointing a finger at him. “Just wait, one day i’ll learn to float and get you back for it!”

 Demyan raised a brow and lowered himself, getting into a position that would indicate he’s laying on his stomach at eye level with me. “I will be waiting patiently pup.” he smirked wickedly, running hand through my hair.

 “Hey look you’re early!” Pendragon’s voice rang from above us. He swooped down and landed beside me, kicking up a bit of dust from his wings.

 “Wheres Ryaikum?” I asked, looking over at Pendragon and leaning away from Demyan.

 “Hes right here.” Pendragon dug into his coat and gently pulled out a bearded dragon lizard. “He gets lazy sometimes and makes me take us over here.” He bent down and placed the lizard down. A puff of teal-like smoke rose up and Ryaikum’s human form stood there, briefly naked before he snapped his fingers and clothes appeared on his body.  Ryaikum wasn’t fit like Demyan was but he was defined enough to made you wanna touch him.

 “Move aside boys!” Takeshi’s also came from above.

 Pen and I both looked up to see her coming down ontop of Us. Her hands above and behind her head and her legs bent under her like she just leaped off a high cliff. Pendragon and I both scattered to the sides so we werent landed on. More dust was kicked up from her landing, she stood up on her tip toes and bounced, turning around with her hands straight above her head.

 “Beat ya Lappin!” She cheered happily as Lappin come up beside her. He looked like he was running the whole while, he hunched over to catch his breath.

 “You two racing?” I asked.

 Pendragon started clapping, “nice superhero landing!”

 “Thank ya!” She turned and smiled at pendragon to her left, then turned to me on her right, “and we were, He challenged me to see how fast and far i can get with just jumping.”

 “Like a ninja?” Pendragon and I both asked at once.

 “Yes!” She smiled brightly. “He was going to see if he can beat me by running here and i took to jumping off tree limbs or rocks to get here.”

 “And she did great. Means she’s getting stronger.” Lappin stood up straight now, bringing his hand up to give Takeshi a high five and she returned the gesture with her own. “Are your students making progress?”

 “Pendragon is.” Ryaikum said.

“Oh, how so?” Demyan asked, now actually standing on the ground beside me, his hands behind his back.

 “He caught his dorms curtains on fire the other day, did you not?” Ryaikum looked at Pen with a very cocky smirk on his face.

 “I might have...yeah.” Pendragon scratched his bright red hair

 “I thought you couldn’t breath fire?” Takeshi asked,crossing her arms under her chest.

 “I cant thats the thing.” Pen perked up. “I didnt breath fire.”

 “Did you blow it out your ass?” I asked chuckling to myself.

 “No, but i wish. Thatd be scary after taco tuesdays.” Pendragon laughed too. “No its like this!” Pen held his fists up and fire engulfed his hands and arms up to about his elbows. “Wicked right?! My feet too!”

 “Oh my god, you’re like an anime character.” I stared at him, actually kinda amazed at that.

 “YOU’RE A LIVING NATSU AAAAAAAHAHAHAHA!” Takeshi hunched over and started laughing.

“YOU ARE!!” I started laughing myself.

 “I KNOW RIGHT???!!!!” Pendragon started bouncing on his feet like a happy child. “Fucking Ryaikum didnt get the reference so i made him watch a few episodes!”

 “Can you PLEASE Change your villain name now?!” Takeshi whipped her eyes from crying.

 “I AM THE GREAT DEMON LORD DRAGNEEL!!” Pendragon threw his arms in the air.

 Takeshi and I busted out with loud laughing. I started flailing my arms around and laughing while crying. Takeshi sat down on her knees putting her forehead on the ground as he laughed.

 “IM GOING TO PEE!!” Takeshi was laughed so hard she was really only crying now.

 I grabbed onto Demyan’s coat and put my face into his chest, laughing. “My abs hurt!”

 “You all are literal children!” a newer familiar voice sounded closer as feet crunched dead leaves as he came closer.

 “You dont get the reference dude.” Pendragon was laughing stupid hard himself.

 “Rule one, You must never reveal sensitive information about Fairy Tail to others for as long as you live.” Tsuyoi crossed his arms over his chest.

 “WE’RE ALL NERDS!!” Pendragon started bouncing and laughing more.

 Groaning  loudly through laughing, i let go of demyan’s little half jacket and pulled on my face and Takeshi started bouncing in a circle. Pendragon was hunched over and trying to stop his laughter. Tsuyoi looked at all of us, “you good?”

 “Yes.” we all said through tears.

 “Good.” He put a hand on his hip. “Hey, Demyan.” He turned his head to look at Demmy.

 “Yes?” Demyan smiled at him.

 “Mind if i take Drakul somewhere...alone?” Tsuyoi asked as he looked over to me.

 “Does Kenaz know of this request?” Demyan asked eyeing Tsuyoi questionably.

 “He does, and hes fine with it.” Tsuyoi answered without taking his eyes off me.

 Demyan also looked at me, then smiled, “yes, but do not kill him, i wish to keep him longer.”

“Thanks. Follow me vampy.” Tsuyoi turned then waved his hand for me to follow him.

 I looked back at demyan and he nodded me off. I ran up behind Tsuyoi and followed him deep into the forest. We didnt talk at all until we were in another opening. Not as big as our usual training area. Tsuyoi walked to the middle then turned to me. I stop just a couple of steps away from him.

 “Who are you?” He asked, glaring at me with sharp eyes. I could hear a faint growl coming from him.

 “Excuse me?” I asked, raising a brow at him.

 “Who are you when you aren’t Drakul. I didnt fucking stutter.” He sounded like he was getting progressively pissed off.

 “We arent all-” I was going to speak before a loud growl came from Tsuyoi.

 “Dont give me that shit!” His voice sounded like a tiger’s roar with how deep it was. “Something about you is pissing me off! You smell familiar….”

 “I smell...familiar?” I tilted my head to the side. “How?”

 “I have cat senses in me along with being strong, dumbass.” He was progressively growling louder and took a step towards me. Instantly i grabbed onto the hilt of my whip, keeping it on my waist and taking a half step behind me. Tsuyoi noticed this and smirked, showing large canine teeth, “Alright.” He purred win a deep throaty way, “if you beat me in a fight, I’ll leave you alone.”

 “And if you beat me, i have to tell you who i am.” I questioned him, getting into a more defensive position.

 “Exactly.” he purred loudly. He rolled his shoulders and his neck side to side, cracking his back and neck before his head lowered down and he started to get in that football position he’s usually in. His feet moving this time, like a cat’s when they are readying to pounce.

 Lowering myself, i slowly slipped my whip through its binding on my hip. Tsuyoi took a charge at me and i quickly bounced to the side to dodge his tackle. He turned just as quickly as i had moved and extended an arm at me to grab onto my arm. Flicking my whip up, it wrapped around his wrist. He looked at it briefly then looked at me, his lips turning upwards to a smirk. The arm that my whip was wrapped around, he swung his arm back behind him, pulling me and my whip forward and past him just a bit. Before i was flung too far away from him, he grabbed onto my hair and pulled me back by my hair. With his now free hand, he pressed his palm to my chest at the same time and let go of my hair with his other hand. A heavy weight on my chest forced me down and i could hear and feel the ground crumble underneath me as my body made a dent into the ground.

 Standing above me and straddling my body, Tsuyoi kept his hand on my chest. “Give up, bats. You can’t beat me.” he growled low.

 “Oh yeah?” I coughed up a bit of blood. Grabbing onto his wrist, Tsuyoi quickly pulled away from me, the weight on my chest disappearing, as he noticed the black ink creep up his forearm. Putting my hands behind me, I lifted my body up over my head and did a black flip to get back on my feet. “Seems like that scares you.”

 Tsuyoi shook his hand violently before looking at me with an intense glare. “Not as scary on my arm.” he growled and started running towards me. I got ready to dodge him again, Tsuyoi had a bad habit of just tackling you to the ground to get an advantage. Just before i was about to jump out of the way, Tsuyoi lowered his body so his hand was touching the ground and he brought his lower body off the ground, One of his legs slamming into my shoulder and sending me flying before he cartwheeled back onto his feet. “You aren’t the only one with new tricks!” He laughed loudly.

 My body slammed into a tree, my back hitting it hard and coughing me to cough up more blood from the impact. Sliding down the tree, i got into a squatted position before slowly sliding back up and standing, running my hand over my mouth.”you’re still wasting time before that ink gets to your eyes.”

 Tsuyoi looked at his arm that was now black up to his bicep. He looked at me with a smirk. “I still got time. I plan to knock you out, thatd make this come off right?” He growled slowly making his way towards me, and then picking up the pace again. He brought his fist up to punch me, closing my eyes and tensing up. I heard the sound of wood breaking behind me. Tsuyoi yelling in pain.

 I looked back behind me to see Tsuyoi’s hand wedged into the trunk of the tree. When he pulled his hand out, it had splinters in his hand and blood trickled down his fingers. “What did you just do?!” Tsuyoi growled loudly at me, almost a roar.

 Looking at him then back to my hands, my lips twitching up into a smile and starting to laugh, “oooohohohohoho. This is gonna be fun.” I started bouncing on my toes, looking back in front of me to see my whip just a few steps away from me.

 Tsuyoi turned to charge at me again, this time, i didnt close my eyes. Even with my eyes open, all i saw was black and i was a few steps away from Tsuyoi, squatted down and my whip back in my hands.

 A black smoke was dispersing around Tsuyoi who was looking confused as fuck. “Did you just poof?!”

 “I believe its called Teleporting, or blinking.” I smirked, standing up and snapping my whip in my hands. “And the ink is on your collarbone.”

 “I got time.” He growled low, his hand going behind him and under that pelt he wears around his waist.

 Flicking my whip in his direction, Tsuyoi whipped something out from behind him as well and between us, My whip wrapped around a chain with a knife like thing attached at the other end. We both pulled backwards, my whip and his chain tightening as we pulled and there was no slack between us.

 “You aren’t the only one who can fight at a distance.” Tsuyoi purred. “You forgot i had my Kusarigama.”

 “I thought you were all brute strength.” I chuckled, tugging backwards a bit.

 “I am.” He tugged as well. “And your fucked close combat.”

 “Not if i can blink away.” I yanked on my whip, to get the same reaction from Tsuyoi, who yanked back and made me slide closer to him.

 “Not if i catch you and knock you out, plus you dont seem to have much control over where you go, its wishful luck.” Tsuyoi yanked again.

 Lowering my body, i planted my heels into the ground to stop my sliding quicker. “You’ll go blind before then.”

 “If i have you in my hands, im not letting go.” Tsuyoi then yanked hard, launching my body towards him. Getting pulled upwards and forwards, I flinched and got my body to blink just above his head. Tsuyoi looked up quicker than i thought he would. Extending my hand down to his face, quickening the spreading of ink across his face. Just as i was reaching down at Tsuyoi, he reached up at me, grabbing my opened collar and pulling me down. That heavy weight back on my body.

My body felt extremely heavy this time around, my chest slammed into the ground below me. One of my arms was yanked around me and pressed to my back. Tsuyoi’s hand on my wrist, the other on my head as he sat on my legs.

 “I win, Drakul!” Tsuyoi growled from above me.

 “You’re blind!” I yell back at him, my face then pressed further into the ground.

 “Doesn’t matter! Your pinned under me,you arent blinking out of this one!” He got in closer to my face. “Plus if i wanted, i could crush your throat right here.” he growled into my ear.

 Snarling back at him, i relaxed my body and sighed, “fine.”

 “Will you tell me who you are when i let you go?” He asked, sitting up straight.

 I kept quiet for a moment, “yes….”

 “Good boy.” Tsuyoi let me go and moved off of my thighs.

 Turning around and getting on my knees, i reached for his face and touched his cheek. The black ink soaking up into my fingers and coming off his face and his arm. Tsuyoi blinked a few times, “thank you.”

 “No problem after you beat the shit outta me.” I grumbled and fell back onto my ass, looking down at my lap. “Will you tell me who you are?” I asked looking up at Tsuyoi, who sat cross legged.

 “Yeah.” He leaned back onto his hands. “Seems only fair.”

 Eyeing him briefly, I took in a deep breath. My body felt exhausted and i threw my head back a bit, closing my eyes and feeling all of my power and magical form fade away to how i was when i was just myself. Opening my eyes, i stared at the blue sky.  When i brought my head back to look at Tsuyoi, he was staring at me with a face of complete shock. His eyes were wide and his mouth was hung open. “My name is-.” I was cut off.

 Tsuyoi started laughing loudly, throwing his head back. The laugh actually seemed like a hearty one, then his body tensed up and he looked back at me with his brows knitted together. “Imma kill you.” he growled

 “Who- Wait, WHY!?” I scuttled back away from him. “What did i do?!”

 Tsuyoi started laughing lightly again. “Im kidding, adrian.”

 “How do you...know my name?” i looked at him, lowering my head to stare at him.

 Tsuyoi had a small smile on his face as his body changed slowly in front of me. The long hair became short and the primitive outfit of his changed to jeans and a tank top. I stared at him with the same look he stared at me when he saw who i was. “Yeah, i know, scary innit?”

 “AJ?!” I yelled at him. “WHAT THE FUCK MAN?!”

Aj let out a loud laughter for a third time and dropped his head in front of him. “I couldnt tell you before.” He ran a hand through his hair. “If i knew you were Drakul, i wouldn’t have been so hard on you.”

 “Does...Karim know?” I asked raising a brow at him. “You two are really close and you-”

 Aj held a hand up, his face turning from laughter to mild sadness. “No...Karim doesnt know. I….I hope at least.” he put his hand down. “As much as i love Karim, i could never tell him this.”

 “Understandable, he’d worry about you.” I mumbled, looking at the ground.

 “Does Valentine know?” He asked.

 “No.” I didnt look up from him, “i think if i told him something like that he’d change dorms or think im crazy.”  I started playing with my hair.

 “So.” Aj started chuckling, “what happened exactly earlier?”  I looked at the ground with wide eyes, my face heating up. I looked up to see Aj with a cocky smirk on his lips. “I already kiiiiiinda understand from val’s crying, plus imma punch you for making him cry by the way, but i wanna know your side of it.”

 “I was changing, he came in, saw me naked. Gawked at me like a mute chicken then kinda just left and screamed OH MY GOD HES SO FUCKING HOT!” i tried my hardest to imitate Val’s yelling.

 “That exactly?” Aj smirked, raising a brow.

“Yes, deadass.” I glared at him.

 “You still made him cry and i feel obligated to punch you.” He chuckled wickedly.

 “Does making me feel like one of my ribs are broken counter that?” I asked, holding my side.

 “Hmmm, yeah, but your ribs aren’t broken..” He smirked. Aj then stood up and dusted himself off. “Kenny, come on out, i know you’re there.” he looked back behind him.

 “Sorry~” a brightly colored Kenaz walked out from behind a tree his hands up by his head. “We wanted to watch.”

 “Demyan…” I groaned. And felt a pair of hands on my shoulders.

 “My pup.” He cooed in a weird way, “I am proud of you, you are growing so well.” Demyan put his head on the top of my head.

 “Why is it every time i learn something knew, its cuz Tsuyoi is trying to kill me…” I looked up at Demyan, bringing my head back to look at him. He moved his head off mine that when i looked back our noses were touching.

 “You needed the motivation.” he smiled down at me. Then pinched my face between his thumb and index finger on my cheeks, “Do remember my pup.” he spoke low but clearly. “Only Aj and Kenaz will ever know of this.” 

“Yeah yeah.” I mumbled looking away from him.

 Demyan pinched my face more. “Do i make myself clear?” he spoke like a father figure to me now, staring at me directly in the eyes.

 “Yes sir.” I growled back at him.

 “Dont be so harsh on him Demmy.” Kenaz spoke up, “this was Aj’s idea and i allowed it, i believe these two can trust each other, they do have some history with each other.”

 “Nothing against you, Kenaz.” Demyan let go of my face, “but you can see how i am cautious with this, given your…��� Demyan trailed off.

 Kenaz purred, “No harm done friend!” Kenaz’s eyes looked sharp as he and Demyan stared at each other. The smile on Kenaz’s face was a very wicked looking feline smirk. His face lightened up quickly before he turned to look at Aj. “Lets go home Aj! Its still early enough, we have other errands to run do we not?” He asked.

 “Uh yeah.” Aj looked to Kenaz then back to me. “Ill see you around Adrian. Stay safe.” he said before Kenaz turned his back to us and snapped his fingers, causing Aj and himself to disappear in a blink of an eye.

 “Let us go as well.” Demyan spoke low again.

 “What about Takeshi and Pendragon.” I looked up at Demyan.

 “They trained together, similar to you and...Aj.” he paused to think of Tsuyoi’s actual name now. “You are all growing well and fast.”

 “Are we going back to the dorm?” I asked turning to actually face him so i wasnt straining my neck anymore.

 “No.” he smiled. Snapping both of his fingers black smoke wrapped around demyan and disappeared just as quickly as it came. The clothes on demyan changed from his usual black and gold arabian like clothing to modern clothing. He wore a tight fit black V-neck that hung just above his black skinny jeans that had a few holes and tears in them with black sneakers on. “How do i look?”

 “You’re really all one color.” I looked him up and down, “all black on black makes ya look like a theater ninja.”

 “What is that?” he looked like an interested child.

 Chuckling lightly. “Its people who do the prop moving and what not for plays.”

 “And they wear all black?” he asked again.

 “Yes, so you dont really see them.” I stuffed my hands in my pockets. “Can you change your shirt color or pants to something lighter so you get broken up a bit?”

 “Hmm.” Demyan looked at himself. Then with another snap there was a black smoke around demyan again. This time the outfit changed to something very different in some aspects. He had on a washed out faded green tunic tank top that was cut out to show a lot of sides but he wore it under a then light gray varsity jacket over black skinny jeans which showed a bit of his knees tucked into black high-top shoes. “Is this better?”

 I eyed him up and down, nodding my head a bit. “yeah...I like it, ya look good.”

 “Do i look….So fucking hot?” He smirked at me with a cocky chuckle.

 “Yes yes you do.” I laughed lightly.”why the outfit change?”

 “Because we are going to hang out.” He said softly. Then had a small sad smile on his lips, “I...have not been to you like the others have been to theirs.” he paused for a second, “I am sorry for this.”

 I felt my shoulders slump a bit and i stared at Demyan. “Its alright, i was never mad at you, i just….felt like there was distance between us and you told me yourself if i wanna get stronger you and i have to get closer.”

 “That i did, and i never did hold up my end.” He touched my hair. “I have been treating you like a student, someone under me...not as your friend and partner.”

 “Then lets fix that.” I smiled at him. “How do you expect us to get somewhere though, we’re out in the woods.”

 “Simple.” He smiled and snapped his fingers together. Familiar black smoke wrapped around us before taking us to a dark and tight fit alleyway. “Hm.” Demyan hummed, “this is not what i was hoping for,”

 “Hmmmm” I hummed lightly. I got a nice view of Demyan’s collarbone and the top of his chest. Our bodies were close together with our backs both against a wall. “Im aight with this.”

 “Pup, stop.” Demyan chuckled and groaned at the same time, “you are making it weird.”

 “Its not weird unless you think its weird.” I smirked and looked up slightly at him. Demyan was looking down partially at me with a look of ‘Child do not test me.’ Laughing lightly, i scooted away from demyan and got out of the small alley way we ended up in, Demyan followed after me and fixed his clothing up when he was fully out of the tiny space. Pulling out my box of cigarettes from my pocket and sticking one in my mouth i offered the box to demyan.

 “No thank you.” He looked down at my hand. He didnt seem disinterested in the idea of smoking, but I dont think he was all really one for it.

 “Aight.” I put the box back in my pocket the pulled out my lighter and covered it with my other hand. Sliding the lightly back in my pocket. “So what do you want to do?”

Demyan seemed to forget i was beside him as he looked around him in wonder, “Demmy” I tapped his arm with the back of my hand.

 “Yes, adrian?” He looked down at my hand then back to my face.

 “Lets go get lunch or something. Aj made me hungry.” I waved my hand for demyan to follow me. Demyan stood close behind me but didnt speak much as he was just looking around at stuff as we walked. I finished my cig before I dragged him into a deli to eat lunch. He had no clue what he wanted to eat, so i just ordered a full length italian sub that id share with him and two drinks to go with.  A couple of girls whispered and giggled behind us, one of them saying something about Demyan. He turned his head and smiled at them with a small nod which made the girls giggle more. I groaned to myself as we were checking out and i was waiting to get my debt card back. Demyan proceed to grab my arm and dragged me outside to eat on the patio.

 “You’re such a fucking flirt.” I sat down across from him.

 Demyan was hunched over the chair, stopping midway from sitting down to stare at me. “Excuse me?”

 “I called you a flirt.” I sat down and started rustling in the bag our sub was in and opening the wrapper, spreading it across the table for us to both eat on. Demyan was sitting now, staring at me with a raised eyebrow, “The girls back in the line.”

 “Oh.” He perked up, “I do not believe i was flirting back there.”

 I stared at him with a raised brow. “Yes you were mr Smile and nod. Did you not hear their giggling.”

 “I did.” He reached over and took his half of the sub. “I was being polite, i could hear them talking about me….and you actually as well.”

 I leaned over the table. “Cmere” I whispered to him and demyan leaned in closer to me with a smirk on his face. “Im gaaaaaaaaaaaay aaaaaaaas fuuuuuuck.”

 “I understand that, Pup.” He chuckled and whispered back, “Does not mean women can not appreciate you and your looks.” He sat back up and leaned in his chair. “Why are you gay?”

 I stared at him with my brows knitted together. “Its….its not like its a flavor of the day type thing.”

 “Did i say something out of line?” Demyan tilted his head, thoroughly curious.

 “Not really, its….being gay wasn’t something i just kinda went ‘oh look, imma be gay cuz i wanna be’ type of thing.” I paused and poked at the bread of my half. “Its just kinda how i am. I tried dating girls but i wasnt attracted to em. Realized i was gay when I had a fling with a guy and liked it.”

 “A fling?” Demyan asked, his mouth partially full of a sandwich bite.

 Chuckling, “A one night stand?” Demyan still looked at me a confused look. “Touchy feely, the nasty, doing the naughty, Whoopie...Buggery.” I spoke in a very british accent for the last one.

 Demyan choked on his food when he started laughing at the last word. He thumped on his chest and finished his laugh, “you mean sex yes?” he asked with a slightly cough in his throat.

 “What did you think i was talkin about?” I took a bite of my half.

 “I do not understand all of your slang, pup. I only got it when you said, “ Demyan paused and sat very posh like, “buggery” he made his own British accent.

 I dropped my sub back down on the paper and put a hand on the table, looking away and trying not to laugh and spit my food out as well as not fucking choke on it. When i was all calm and composed again i turned to see Demyan with a very cocky look on his face. “Fuck you dude.” I  gave him a quick middle finger to go with.

 Demyan seemed very pleased with himself. “But thank you for explaining it, pup.”

 “Soooooo.” I leaned in closer to Demyan.

 “Hm?” Demyan turned his head slightly and raised his brow.

 “What are you attracted to?” I smirked before taking a sip from my cup.

 “Women.” He answered bluntly.

 “Damn it.” I leaned back and slumped in my seat. Demyan chuckled and eyed me. Sitting back up, “nah i figured you were straight. A girl you’re interested in?”

 “Was...interested in.”  Demyan’s voice lowered a bit and he looked away.

 “Are still interested in?” I asked,nodding my head slowly. Demyan was quite and still not looking at me exactly. “Yeah, you’re still into her.”

 “I am….” he mumbled, a slightly blush on his tanned cheeks.

 “Tell me about her.” I put my elbow on the table and rested my cheek in my palm. “We got all day mr love struck.”

 Demyan finally looked at me then sighed heavily. “She is like me of course, but pure….white. The opposite of me actually.” his voice grew softer. “She is extremely beautiful, so much that she is ethereal.” a smile twitched onto his lips. “She is so sweet, kind, smart, talented and so good that she should have been born a goddess. She is too perfect for my world….and i feel deeply in love with her.” His face then saddened and his voice dropped a bit. “But she was...Is a princess and i am not in any way a candidate of being a suitor to her. Yet we still managed to be together in secret.” he started to smirk, “we would sneak out during times we should not have, left our kingdoms behind us and our world was just the two of us wrapped in each other's arms.” Demyan ran a hand through his bangs, pushing them back and smiling with a small chuckle. “We were terribly in love with each other, and i hope if...and when i return home maybe...just maybe i will see her again and she will still feel the same way i do to her.”

 Holding my straw in my mouth i stared at Demyan. “Uuuuh.” I let go of my straw and straightened up, “what broke you two apart? If you dont mind tellin me that is.”

 “We were found out.” He had a sad smile on his face. “I was forbidden to see her ever again, i was kept under lock and check. Someone followed me everywhere i went, they believed me to be a spy essentially, but i was just a young man who loved a woman who was my goddess.” He scratched the back of his head, “I do not know what happened to her. I never got the chance to find out for i was sent to training to become a Magicae Socius and eventually sent to your realm.” he sighed loudly, “thus how you and i met, when you found me,”

 “So your romeo and Juliet who didnt kill themselves?” I asked setting my cup down.

 “I do not know that reference.” he stared at me through squinted eyes.

 “I’ll buy ya a copy of the play, you can read it on your free time.” I chuckled lightly before playing with my hair. “Im sorry about that though man.” Demyan looked at me with a softened face and slightly confused, “I hope you can meet her again and be with her some day.”

 Demyan smiled softly at me, his eyes the softest ive ever seen them be. He looked so moved by what i said that he could cry, his voice was low and soft as well. “Thank you, Adrian.”

 “Of course man.” I smiled at him a bit. “I dont experience the same problem like you, but i feel ya.”

 “Are you not allowed to be with someone you love?” he asked, leaning forward and crossing his arms on the table.

 “No not like that exactly, i dont love someone outside my family.” I twirled my hair on my finger. “For a long time though, Homosexual people werent allowed to marry.” Demyan looked at me with a slightly tilted head. “It was horribly frowned upon.”

 “And now?” He asked, his chin rested on his hand.

 “Its legal cross the country.” I smiled, “it was a huge moment for the community.” I felt my chest kinda tighten for a second. I remember the moment when i learned that it was legalized. I was at home and my mother came running into my room shouting my name and crying happily, she explained the news to me. I remember how i screamed in happiness and threw my arms up, my mouth hugging me and bouncing with me. Later that night my brother and sister came over and hugged me tightly as well. My brother and sister were both straight, but they were allies and were mostly just happy for me. My father wasn’t all bouncing and tears but he smiled at me and gave a hug that night as well.

 “So you can marry a man now if you wished?” Demyan had a soft smile on his face.

 “Yeah,but im not marrying any time soon.” I leaned in closer to him, “Cuz im not the only person they’d be marrying.”

 “Who else?” Demyan looked at me with confusion written all over his face,

 “YOOOOOU!” i leaned back and laughed, “you and i are a packaged deal buddy.”

 “Not if our contract breaks.” He leaned back, chuckling himself.

 “Do you plan to break it?” I asked.

 “Of course not.” he smirked.

 “Then you and be are like PB and J, bitch.” I got up and grabbed our trash to throw away.

 “I will take that as a good reference, yes?” he stood up.

“You learn fast.” I smiled up at him, then pulled out my phone. “We should head back to the dorm, i do have homework.”

 “That is fine by me.” Demyan smiled at me, then looked around us. “I will change when we are alone.” he walked in front of me off the patio.

 “That sounds kinky.” I looked at his back with a smirk.

 “Maybe i meant it that way.” Demyan looked back at me with a smirk then winked at me.

 “DID YOU WINK AT ME?!” I yelled, throwing my cup violently into the trash.

 “Maybe, what are you going to do,” Demyan paused and his smirk turned wicked, “Bitch.” he spoke in a very low deep voice.

 “IMMA KILL YOU!” I sprinted towards demyan who ran away from me.

 Demyan weaved through the minor crowd of people with grace and ease. Me on the other hand, not at all. I didnt run into anyone completely but i wasnt able to move like fucking running water like he was able to. Demyan would look back at me frequently to make sure i was still following him. I grabbed onto his varsity jacket that he was wearing, pulling it down off his upper arm. Demyan pulled his arms out of it and spun around to give me a cocky smirk before turning back around. I looked at the jacket then viciously shook it, tying it around my waist. The tank top that demyan had on showed a sinful amount of his back and chest to the whole world. How he ran so fast in skinny jeans was beyond me too, but he must feel light as a fucking feather compared to those puffy pants he wears so often.

We eventually made our way back to the campus on this wild chase. Demyan stood in front of me, his hands on his hips and his chest rising and falling with his heavy breathing. I ran up next to him and fell backwards onto my ass, throwing my head back and leaning back on my hands, breathing heavier than demyan.

 “Twas a good work out, was it not?” Demyan looked down at me with a cocky smile.

 “Shut. the.Fuck.UP.” I huffed and showed him my middle finger.

 “Do you need help, pup?” He asked and held out his hand.

 “You owe me!” I took his hand and he helped pull me up.

 “Of course.” he chuckled lightly.When i was up on my feet again, he looked around and smiled. Black smoke wrapping around his body and there was his little bat form flying in front of my face. He flew closer to me and touched his little head to my forehead. “I enjoyed today.”

I smiled and chuckled lightly, still out of breath. “Yeah, same.”

“Thank you adrian.” He then flew into my pocket, when i looked down i noticed that the jacket i had wrapped around me was gone.

“No problem, lets do it again sometime, aight.” I slowly walked up the stairs to the third floor. My thighs fucking burning from the run demyan and i just had. I leaned against the wall beside the door the lead to the apartment Val and I shared.”never again am i chasing after you.” I sighed heavily, taking some deep breaths. Opening the door, i peered in to see if Val was in the living space. No brightly haired ginger, and it was silent in the apartment. “Must not be home.”

I walked in and closed the door gently behind me. I felt gross and sweaty and tired. I tied my hair up into a messy bun on top of my head and headed to the bathroom. I opened the door not too eruptly but quick enough that what i saw before me was not what i expected. 

Wet bright red hair clung to porcelain white skin. His skin looked so soft, smooth, and delicate as fuck. That if i were to touch him, I’d just break the poor kid, or worse dirty up that beautiful perfect white skin. How did he not have scars or fucking anything, didnt even have freckles, he was just white as fuck like he was carved from Marble. His torso was not defined like mine was, but he had beautiful swoops and curves that showed he was fit enough yet unimaginably flexible. His thin arms hung beside his body as i trailed down to look at one his cock that was actually not bad to look at, but holy shit his thighs. I wanna touch his thighs, they just look so fuckin nice. His body was a whole canvas that i wanted to dirty with kisses, hickies and hand marks... but his thighs were something i just wanted to kiss up and down on. Leave scattered kisses, hickies and bite marks on his inner thighs, hide a mark or two on the back of his thighs or behind his knees. I slowly trailed back up to look at a prominent collarbone that had water trickling down and rolling down his torso. His neck was framed by wet hair that clung to the skin, when i reached his face. His lips were parted just enough and his face was as bright red as his hair, his eyes wide with shock. I looked him dead in the eyes, and i could feel my own face heat up and my lips twitch into a smile. Fuck i must look crazy as fuck right now.

I held up a finger, my mouth parted wide open and my other hand holding the bathroom doorknob. I was just kinda opening and closing my mouth before i pursed my lips together and felt my brows come together and a very loud “HMMMM.” came from behind my closed mouth and i backed out of the bathroom and slammed the door behind me. I felt Demyan shift around in my pocket and little giggles coming from him.

A weird sounding giggle came from my mouth, that was louder than i had wanted it to be and I walked to the sofa and grabbed a throw pillow off of it and covered my face.  “Fuck fuck fuck fuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuck!!” I started chanting very loudly, “GODDAMNIT, i wanna fuck his body up!” I yelled into the throw pillow and hunched over, squatting down onto the floor.

[loyal-royal-panda]

A shy kiss Po and Tigress

@lightningwolfomega

Tigress made her way though the palace barracks. Everyone was away, and she and Po had pulled the short straws for watching the Jade Palace while master Shifu and the rest of the five played arbitrators and peace keepers for two feuding family’s over land disputes. And since Po was off trying to meditate at the Dragon Grotto, she was on her lonesome. So she decided to be a bit mischievous and peruse though her friends belonging.

Monkey’s room was spartan and a tad plain. She surmised it had to be his love of hiding his belongings out of sight were he could meditate, secure in their safety from prying eyes. Po was still having trouble finding his almond cookies after he moved their hiding spot for the third time.

Cranes room was filled with walls covered in his beautiful calligraphy. Words and symbols conveying perfect meaning and definition. He had tutored all of them at one point or other. Po was his newest project. His once sloppy but legible writing was now starting to rival Cranes own brush work.

Mantis’s room could be considered a full scale model of the training hall. And even more fit on the table in the center that contained his whole living space. Small scrolls on the basic physiology of all morphological builds of the species that lived across China. With four or five comparably large ones donated by the Pandas. Mantis was ecstatic to finally have scrolls that helped him on a pandas heath needs instead of drawing on, and potentially ruining, perfectly good scrolls just to accommodate one panda.

Vipers room was perfectly clean and filled with everything that had even a remote relation to her. Her dancing ribbons. Pictures of her family. Dry, but well preserved flowers from her mother. And a letter Po sent her asking about when Mei Mei was going to need his support for her performance for the valley. The reply in short said, no. Mei Mei was fine and just needed practice in rehearsal.

Finally she came upon Po’s room. Which could be described as a well organized mess. The wall lined with posters of Kung-fu masters present and past. More then a few of the Furious Five, obviously featuring her. In fact they made up the majority of the posters. And on his desk were his hand carved wooden figures. All of the five, save her, in a battle ready Kung-fu pose. Her figure was in a relaxed tai-chi pose. She suddenly found herself realizing the special treatment she was receiving from Po. He made no secret that she was his favorite in his days before knowing the five more personally.

Then their was the revelation that she was his first experience with Kung-fu, the day he saw her take down the villain Boar. She was his idol from day one. She was his first crush. So of course he would be awkward around her. If you just straight up told your hero upfront that they were the object of  your desire it would cause major problems. But Po handled it pretty well, dropping it on her sooner rather then later that he harbored feelings for her that, in his own words, “Id soon grow out of.” She had to wonder how much of it he actually grew out of. He always seemed…enthusiastic to be around her.

Well she had to have feeling about him too. Seeing that he had become something she had desired. The Dragon Warrior. And he was the only other animal her size in the whole valley. She had to guess that her being the same to him was a factor of his infatuation. They were both giants in a place filled with, and built for animals smaller then the two of them. She once believed that she was the largest living thing in the valley. Meeting Po changed that. He was taller, and wider.

Fine by her though. He was as soft as he was big. And Po loved hugs. She never realized how touch deprived she was before she learned to accept that Po was a very physical animal. Once again she had to realize that being as big as he was at a young age must have kept him from being able to play rough. She was lucky. Her adoption into the palace gave her a place to cut loose. Po? He must have lived his whole life being careful with his strength. It showed with his claws. He chewed them down into blunt stubs. Normal panda claws were as deadly as tigers. And non-retractable to boot.

Her eyes fell upon a book on his desk. She opened it. Inside were…admirably well drawn sketches of her, the five, Shifu, Mr Ping, the villains they faced, and himself. All of it well inked with flowing lines and curves and the dates in small symbols next to each doodle.. The style was simplistic, yet also carried weight. The dynamic poses. The addition of plants like reeds and bamboo shoots at their feet. All of it made the contents from cooking and dancing to relaxation and fighting stand out.

She flipped back to the pages of the book. She wanted to see what Po drew before he lived with them. The drawings were slightly more amateurish. But still well done for what must have been his growing skill. But she began to notice a running theme. Some of the painting were colored. Reds and whites and vertical black streaks dominated everyone of them. Like a snowy forest bathed in a sunset or fire.

And she saw it. In everyone of them. A great white smear, like a formless monster, dotted with red eyes. Accompanied by smaller shadows with similar red eyes.

On the days following his defeat of Tai-Lung and his moving into the Jade Palace. When Po began sleeping in the barracks after moving, she often noticed at some nights he would wake up suddenly, get up to sketch, then eat. Not the hungry eating that she saw everyday. The upset eating every time Po felt distressed.

She then heard the wood floor creaking under the weight of a three hundred pound bear.

“You know if you wanted to look you just had to ask.” Po said. His unoffended expression said he was just a bit annoyed with her breaking into his privacy. And more then greatly amused that she could even be doing what she was doing.

She was once again hit by how much older they had become after their last great victory. Her fur on her cheeks were just a bit droopy and longer. It had been a while since Viper took her out for “Girl time.” And the white fur of Po’s chin was starting to sport the beginnings of a longer beard. So he must have neglected or ignored his grooming rituals.

Tigress spoke. “So, Dragon Warrior, how did you know about my…snooping.” Po walked over next to her. “Oh it’s just my super awesome Enlightened superpower of knowing when someone is in my room messing with my stuff.”

Tigress wore a puzzled but equally amused expression. “Also, Zeng saw you and told me after my meditation. That little snitch needs a hobby.” Tigress chuffed a laugh. “You are the grand master of the palace. Should you not be informed of what happens in your Dominion?” Po smiled broadened. “If it means I get to catch snooping tigers then I guess so.”

He looked past her to the open page of his sketchbook. “Oh look at that! You found my little collection of bad dreams!” Now was the time to ask. “How long had you’ve had dreams about him?” Po’s expression grew somber. “Since I was a little cub. I couldn’t understand any of it. My dad never let me sleep alone until I got myself under control. Its kinda hard to be a kid if your dreading going to sleep.” He sighed “I don’t think ill ever be OK with what happened that night.”

She halted. “What about your inner peace?” Po smiled. She had just walked herself into another moment of Po being unexpectedly profound. “Inner peace isn’t a lifetime deal Ti. You have to constantly reevaluate yourself, your state of mind. Becoming enlightened or having an epiphany doesn’t mean all your inner strife is magically solved. It means that you understand why you are the way you are.”

Tigress absorbed her master’s wisdom. Digesting every word. “Your right Po. It is strange to hear you becoming the next Oogway.” Po laughed. “Well at least I’m not becoming Shifu. I don’t think I can act like I’m constantly about to kick someone down the stairs.” She blew a stifled laugh through her nose. “There is only room for one Shifu. And a second might tear a hole in space and time.”

Po smiled and sighed “You know it’s you saying stuff like that that makes it hard to get over my crush for you.”

Tigress considered her thoughts. “Well Po…you becoming wiser and more mature has…showed me how I might find someone like…you…worthy of my attention.” Po was paused. And then he was unpaused. “Are you saying that you consider me, attractive?”

“In small doses.” He smiled a smile that became dangerously coquettish. “What about me do you find attractive?”

“your heart mostly. You know how to speak to people. Even if they wont listen. In body, id say your belly. Its your best feature.”

“No kidding that’s what pandas love best!” He looked her directly in the eyes. “But you still have reservations…on me as a partner.”

“I’m not looking for a relationship Po. But I can…attempt to…sample what its like. But even if it fails. We’ll still be friend?”

“Yeah Ti. We’ll always be friends.”

She moved over towards him, slowly. She had never done this before and was more than a little nervous. And gave him a kiss on his cheek.

The smile plastered on his face spoke volumes  “So just to be sure, you’re not just looking to be the one who deflowered the Dragon warrior right?”

“Don’t make it weird.”