#its kinda like. the perfect length and speed. its good if you want something interesting and bite sized that isnt a time sink like emh or mh

[roger-paladino]

making that WF video was like. reminding me how much and how deeply Mo cared for Lee it hurts soo so so bad

[sheerbeautyreigns]

DESIRE

Part 48

Joe was still sound asleep then Paul came back from his run the following morning. He undressed and got into the shower. All he could think about was the day before and how something had changed for the better in Joe. He didn’t know what exactly prompted it but he wasn’t going to complain. He also thought about Nadja”s gathering on the 17th. Initially, he was hesitant about it but after the shift in Joe state of mind, he was having second thoughts. There was no harm in at least asking him?

He dried off and went back into the bedroom. Joe was nowhere to be seen. Moments later, he could smell the smell of coffee getting stronger. “Morning baby.” He smiled as Joe entered, wearing only his black boxers. He was holding a tray with a cafetiere and two cups. He still looked sleepy as he forced a smile, setting the tray on the bedside locker. “Have you been up long?”

“Since about 7:30. Notice I didn’t wake you? Thought you could do with some rest after yesterday.” Paul explained, taking the cup he’d just poured. “I appreciate it but I feel fine.”

“You don’t hurt?” He checked as Joe snuggled close to him against the pillows. “A little but not as much as I thought I would.” He took a sip. “Maybe your body’s getting used to it.” Paul pondered. “Maybe.” Joe shrugged. “That’s a good thing then.”

“More opportunities for me to punish you.” Paul grinned, placing his hand on Joe’s thigh. “Speaking of which, did you want to talk about what got to you yesterday? I mean, It’s OK if you don’t, I just-” Paul shut him off, by gesturing his hand. “Sorry…”

“My friend in New York called. The dominant.” He started. “Oh? He pissed you off?” Joe asked, trying not to dig too much. “He can be a cocky bastard sometimes.”

“I thought you liked him?” Joe questioned, turning to face him. “More respect than like. He’s been doing this for years and is respected by a lot of people in this scene. That’s why he was the guy for you. He seems to have taught you a thing or two about your role.”

“He did. I just want to be the best I can, not just for you but for me as well.” Paul extended his arm and cupped Joe jaw. “You already are perfect to me…” There was a moment of silence. It looked like Paul wanted to say something. “Was there something else?” Joe was not used to seeing him like this. Like, he was nervous. “There’s a gathering coming up. He called to let me know.”

“Are you going?” The young man asked, setting his cup aside. “I told him probably not.”

“I thought you liked them?” Joe questioned. He sure as hell was curious. “You’re a curious one aren’t you.” Paul commented. “Sorry.” Joe blushed. “It’s OK baby. Things are different now. I have you. I don’t need to go.”

“What are they like?” Paul shuffled on the bed. “They’re pretty exclusive. Limited numbers, classy, safe. Most of the time.”

“Have there ever been any bad situations?” Joe asked moving closer to Paul’s side. “Things have gotten out of hand a few times but it’s been fine over the past couple of years. “I don’t mind if you want to go, you know. You’ve been going all this time…” Paul’s eyes met Joe. “It wouldn’t feel right without you baby. I’d want you there but I know it’s not something you’d feel comfortable with.”

“I just don’t know if I’d be ready for that kinda thing…” Joe blushed again. “I disagree. So does my friend. He thinks you’re very obedient. He’s actually told my friend Nadja about you. It’s her gathering.”

“Who’s Nadja?” Joe asked. “She’s German, quite stern when she wants to be. I had some time with her in the past.”

“Is she submissive too or… “

“She’s a switch, more dominant than submissive though.” Joe pondered for a moment. “So you think I’d be OK there?”

“I think it’d be an good experience for you. You’d meet some interesting people. Do you think you’d want to go? I don’t want to pressure you at all. It’s not for everyone.”

“I’d go for you. You did say it’s very private and confidential before. When is it?” Joe asked. “It’s the 17th. A few nights after Clash of Champions.”

“Oh man, I’m gonna be hurting.” Joe started. “It’s OK baby, we won’t go.” Joe placed his hands in Paul’s. “No, I want to go. I want to do this for you.”

“It’s completely up to you babe. I’d just have to let her know for sure to arrange paperwork for you.” Paul explained “Like some sort of confidentially agreement?” Joe asked looking at him. “Exactly. What happens there, stays there.”

“Is it, like, some sort of orgy?”

“So to speak, yeah. There are normally private rooms too for a more one to one experience. So what do you think?” Paul asked hesitantly. “OK. Let’s do it.” Paul pulled him close and kissed him softly, brushing his hair aside. “You surprise me everyday, you know that?” This lead Joe to smile. “I just want to be more open minded.” He said before kissing him back.

“I wish you didn’t have to leave today baby. I could have so much more fun with you. You’ve been so good for me.” Paul’s hand found its way down to Joe balls, causing him to gasp, wide eyed. He grabbed them firmly. “I sure could use you for just one more day.” He squeezed harder at those words. Joe eyes were locked with his, his lips parted, breaths quickened. “I’ll stay.”

“Atta boy,” a devilish smile crossed Paul’s lips as he lead Joe off the bed, still holding his balls. Joe limped behind him into the dungeon. “Never too early for the dungeon.” Paul observed. “Stay.” Joe stopped dead in his tracks, looking down at the dark wooden floor as Paul opened the cabinet. “This will get you going for the day.” He said taking out the Sybian machine and setting it on the bench nearby. “Sit on it. Go on.” Joe mounted the machine, taking a moment to lower his hole onto the attached dildo. Paul took out what looked to be a metal harness. He secured the thick collar around Joe neck and locked his arms in place halfway up his back. “Good for your posture.” Paul smirked and went back to the cabinet and took out a set of matching shackles which he used to secure Joe’s ankles to the bottom of the bench, forcing Joe to lower further onto the bench, causing him to groan. “Is it uncomfortable?”

“Yeah.” Joe finally said trying to move his arms. “Good.” Paul smiled, cupping his jaw and licking Joe’s lips before he went to the cabinet again, grabbing two lengths of chain. He attached each chain to the metal frame above them and tied them to the harness. “That’ll keep you upright.” Joe immediately struggled but was barely able to move since the harness was so rigid. He let out an exasperated sigh. “You’re going nowhere baby.” Paul took hold of the remote for the Sybian and flicked the switch. A low humming came into play. The vibrations caused Joe to shudder “Feels good doesn’t it.” Paul walked around the bench. Running his free hand along Joe’s skin. “Yes Sir.” Joe said between moans and groans, clearly enjoying the sensations. When Paul came to the front, he cupped the young man”s face and kissed him passionately. He could tell that Joe was trying hard to concentrate on the kiss. Paul moved away to adjust the speed. “Aww fuck.” Seems he’d put it higher than he anticipated or else Joe was feeling sensitive this morning. He went to the nearby drawer and sifted through a few things. “Please, aaah fuck.” Joe cried in the background as he started to feel the intensity of the machine. Paul approached him holding a ball gag. “You’re gonna need something to bite down on for what I have in mind. Open up.” Joe eyed him as if to say, I don’t want to but he really didn’t have a choice. Paul lightly slapped him across the cheek “I said open.” Joe swallowed and obeyed. Paul shoved the ball in and fastened it tighter that usual at the back. The young man let out a muffled groan before struggling against his bonds. “Struggle all you want. You know it only makes my dick harder.”

Paul went back to the drawer and came back with something that looked like a thinner chopstick, with a pointier tip. He kneeled at Joe’s side and took hold of his right foot. Joe instantly flinched as Paul grabbed it. He let out a loud whimper as Paul prodded the sole of his foot. Joe was relentless in his struggling and whimpering. He hated having his feet touched and it was even more unbearable on the sybian. He started drooling a lot much to Paul’s amusement. He kept begging “Please!” through the gag until Paul eventually stopped. He undid the gag and set it aside. Joe was sweating now, his front a mess of drool and his cock, rock hard.

“Aww fuck!” he cried out as Paul increased the intensity. Paul wiped the drool from his mouth using a wipe “I have a call or two to make so be a good boy while I’m gone.”

“No please! Don’t go!” Joe wriggled on the machine and against the chains. “Be good. Or else.” Paul told him, before leaving the room, shutting the door.

[neverendingparable]

So You Want To Fuck An Alien...

This post is focused on the species Vichtels (Jonathan, Maelle, Dmitri, Annemeike, etc) and how sex works for them. 

For obvious reasons, this post is 18+ and will feature lots of nasty, sexy, kinky words~

The Biology

Vichtels are quite similar when it comes to biological sex, except that men tend to grow more hair and women tend to be taller, plus females can be a bit more aggressive than the males (kinda how for humans, males build muscles easier than females. A human female can build just as much of muscles than a guy and a vichtel male can be just as aggressive as a female, but you get my point)

They have a nook & bulge, shamelessly stolen from Homestuck. Nooks = vaginas (without a vulva though) and bulges = tenta-dicks. 

The Bulge

The bulge rests inside the nook until they get aroused, which is when it slips out. It can move on its own without the Vichtel controlling it, and it can vary speed.

Alike human genatilia, it comes in various girths and lengths and can look differently, but it is usually thicker at the base and more thin at the top. It also carries the semen (which dribbles out in much larger amounts than a human cums)

The Nook

As mentioned, the nook doesn’t have any vulva lips or clitoris, or anything similar. It’s just as stretchy as a vag, despite that the children don’t come out from their nooks, but from their chests. It has a small room near the stomach where the bulge is curled up.

Erogenous Zones

Top Zones are their necks, thighs, butt and a fine line that runs across the middle of their chest. They don’t have nipples, as they don’t feed their young from their own bodies, but that line is where their chest will ‘open’ to let the bud (aka baby) out. It’s very sensitive as the skin is incredibly thin and if one isn’t careful, they can seriously hurt their Vichtel lover if they mess around that part. (So don’t dig your nails there, unless you want blood)

Sex

Vichtels don’t have intense gender roles. Some say that women are meant to fight and men are supposed to provide for their homes, others say that women are better with kids, some say that a true family consists of two men and two women and they should take turns, etc. When it comes to arguing, they’re just as good as humans. 

When two of them meet and they click, they may go back to their homes for a one-or-more night stand. Since the concepts of purity and marriage aren’t as strong, quick sex isn’t shameful for most. 

They usually have sex standing as it’s easier for them, but some may be so bold and lie down oor even sit on each other’s lap. During intercourse, bulges may intertwine, but usually find each other’s nooks. Without protection, the one that cums last is the one who gets pregnant*. 

The Dangers

Protection

Diseases exist, and so does protection. It’s not that different from ours, condoms for both nook & bulge, mouth and finger guards, pills to keep from getting sick or pregnant. 

There are also magic protections, as it is an energy exchange and Vichtels are all psychic. If they had sex with someone from another species who was also psychic, there could be some negative influences for both parties. It’s different though, if this is a romantic couple, as they will have gotten used to each other’s energies, or are strong enough to handle it. 

Pregnancies

Vichtels can get pregnant from other species. So far, it can be done with a little extra medical help, but they can carry human (+and other) children. However they need to be registered together with their alien lover if they are going to start a half bred family. It’s illegal not to be, this is for the safety of the children (as half breds are quite beloved in illegal slave / pet markets)

Injuries

YES you can get hurt badly or even die if you aren’t careful! God help you if a Maelle catches wind of you trying to have sex with a Jonathan without having read a manual first. 

The first way to get hurt is oral sex. If you’re a big fan of giving blowjobs, this species may not be one for you. The bulge acts by its own will and what it wants is to find somewhere warm and wet to crawl into. If you give it your throat, it will try to go all the way down and there is a good chance you will suffocate (which is not worth it. Even in the Office, Jonathan will cry if he accidently hurts his lovers)

Vichtels are almost always taller, stronger and sometimes heavier than a human (or a humanoid person) and can accidently injure them. They are also naturally more violent, which shouldnt be a problem unless you try to have rough sex with them. Some of them can forget how easily breakable a human’s body is and it can lead to broken bones and bruises at best. 

In rare cases, having sex with a Vichtel on Earth can give their lover awful nightmares. Vichtels may be much more durable physically, but there is something about living here (or in the Ofice) that royally fucks with their brains. After a while, they can get used to it, but particularily sensitive folks (such as Jons) can end up suffering from night terrors and more, which can be passed down for a short while to their unfortunate victim. (Thankfully, they do have great medicine to combat this)

Kink & BDSM

The kinkiest ones are the kismets (another term stolen from Homestuck, kismets are basically hate-lovers/enemies-in-love/partners who hate each other romantically)

Pain, rope and all kinds of other play are a big hit with them and there is stigma against matesprits/lovers being kinky because it’s “socially claimed” by the kismets. 

For personalized scenes, Vichtels use their powers to make play more interesting. Jonathan can create illusions of himself, or places in which he would like to take his lover. Maelle, having the power of grounding, can ‘pin’ a certain feeling to someone (like pleasure or pain) and make them feel it for as long as she wants. 

Popular play types are fighting for power, hunting / catching, master/slave roleplay and guardian/weakling. Power play and pride is a big topic in their society, as their entire history is based off wars and families dictating and taking over weaker families to steal their riches + property. So D/s relationships are quite common in the bedroom. 

Toys

Vibrators, dildos, pocket pussys and the like are modeled after their anatomy, clearly bigger, longer and more powerful. Lube is not very common, as their genatilia self-lubricates a lot and there is really so much to lube up, but some people have preferences for them.

Now onto toys that don’t resemble human ones. 

There are power enhancers (chewed like candy, fit for those who want to play with their powers but get distracted easily during sex), ‘bulge stoppers’ (sleeves that keep the bulge from wriggling out of the nook - the bulge will try to escape anyway and end up rubbing against the sleeve for stimulation), fake sex slaves (aka what would happen if a meeseeks box crosses over with a horny anime maid) and aphrodisiacs powerful enough to give someone an orgasm without stimulation (it tastes like candy and can be fed to a sub / be taken during masturbation)

~~~

In short, don’t try to swallow a bulge, you’re safe to get creamp*ed if you’re a human, you can have babies with your alien lover and lots of fun with them too~

*The last one who cums gets pregnant - sounds like the title of some weird porn but its true, the ‘top’ (the one who manages to pleasure themselves first, remember they are very into conquering each other) releases a special hormone that makes the other receptive to their seed, and it works vice versa - the ‘bottom’s’ body reacts to an orgasm from their partner(s) when they didnt come yet themselves and opens itself up to being receptive. It’s okay when they’re with a human partner or from another species, only in rare case will they get pregnant.

It’s extra risky when they have group sex (Vichtels can be v poly) because then multiple folks can get pregnant if they dont have protection. Perfect for a big family, awkward for an orgy. 

[rwbyremnants]

WARNING: Watersports (heavy emphasis), facials.

NOTE: Last Dustmas is entirely written by NaughtyButWeiss, and could basically be taken as a canon sequel to Dustmas Cookies or non-canon, however you choose to view it really. Thanks again to RuBee for helping to make this happen! If you’re interested in requesting something look us up on Tumblr for details (to be posted soon, we promise)! Happy Dustmas!

----------------------

A year had passed for Ruby and Blake. A year of minor trials and tribulations, struggling to figure out who they were to each other while at Beacon Academy. Everything settled eventually – especially now that they were out to most of their friends. That helped in bucketloads.

They were doing their best to console Yang this year. Weiss had been called home to Atlas to celebrate with her family, despite her numerous protests that she would rather spend that time with her friends. To make matters worse, they had just gotten in a fight the day classes ended because Yang was begging her to come out to them so they would understand. In Weiss’s words, “If I do that I might as well be saying goodbye to the Schnee family forever,” which had led to a whole new realm of bickering. Less than a fun holiday sendoff.

“Awww, come on, help me with these popcorn chains.”

Yang barely uttered a “mmm” as her sister nudged her. Blake shrugged helplessly as she kept running the needle and thread through more pieces of popcorn.

“Well… okay, what about if we put on your favourite Dustmas movie? Oh No I’m Alone 2: Lost In…”

“Lost In Atlas? Yeah, maybe not right now.”

Shoot. Ruby definitely hadn’t meant to remind her of Weiss yet again; she couldn’t help that the movie was set where her girlfriend was, practically on the other side of the world. Still, she had put her foot in her mouth and decided to leave it shut for now.

“Maybe we should go out caroling,” Blake suggested softly, trying for a small smile. Hoping to cheer up her battle partner. “Get out of here for a while and see the rest of Patch – maybe show me around Signal?”

“You saw Signal last time.” After a second or two, Yang sighed and looked back and forth between those two. “And Dad’s up there right now, and I just… maybe I’ll go spar with him. You two should just hang out here and ignore me.”

Both of her teammates wrapped arms around hers on either side, cuddling in slightly. “But we want you to have a good holiday!” Ruby protested. “Eggnog? Cocoa? Mulled cider? Oh – cookies always cheer you up!”

Finally, her big sister cracked a smile. “No, cookies always cheer you up. You don’t need me as an excuse to make them.” Then she reached up to ruffle Ruby’s hair, earning a little giggle. “But seriously, I’m gonna take off for a while. Let me brood and you guys have fun, and… I dunno. Maybe I can shake this mood eventually.”

“Alright, Yang,” Blake put in gently as she sat back to let Yang get up. “But we’re here if you need us.” She brandished her scroll warningly.

“Got it, loud and clear. Thanks, guys.”

Still, the heavy atmosphere hung over the two of them now that the usually-boisterous party girl was gone. They slowly started finishing the popcorn chain again.

“Well, this blows.”

“I know,” Blake sighed, eyes sad as her nimble fingers worked. “I really thought we could stick by Yang’s side and keep her from missing her girlfriend. But I mean, at least it’s a step up from throwing me into the snow.”

Ruby snorted and scooted closer to Blake. “Yep, she’s a big sister and a hothead. But she’ll cheer up, y’know? Weiss promised she’d call tonight, and would fly out for the new year, even though her dad is throwing a big fit. So like, compromises and stuff.”

With a little nod, Blake kept stringing as Ruby patted her thigh. She braced for impact. Any second now…

“Wait… Blake…”

“Yes?”

“Are you-” Ruby leaned over to peer up at Blake’s face. While Blake tried to look nonchalant, eyes pointed off toward the fireplace. “What the heck?!”

“Shh!” she hissed back, cheeks just starting to pinken. “Keep it down.”

“Why? Nobody else is here! Why are you like this now? Do you have some kinda thing for popcorn?!” Then she folded her arms. “Do you have a thing for my sister?”

“WHAT?! NO! I mean, she’s really hot, but that isn’t…” Sighing, she threw down the popcorn chain into the bowl. “You know they upped my dosage. I can’t help it if some days are different than others!”

It was true. Because Blake was born differently than most girls, she needed special medication to maintain her girlish figure; a mixture of herbal remedies and a couple of different varieties of Dust particles. T o offset the testosterone trying to reassert itself, they had increased her prescription from once a month to once every three weeks. There had been times since then where she had no interest in sex at all for days at a time. And then, at other times…

“So you literally are hard as a rock for no reason? Like, not even because I’m here?”

Blake shrugged awkwardly, thighs squirming and causing the bump in her shorts to shift . “I’m still crazy in love with you, but no, I wasn’t thinking about you or doing anything like that. And before you ask, no, I am not sexually attracted to popcorn.”

“Huh. So… I mean, would it be bad to take care of it? Or good? I dunno, since it’s because of the drugs…”

“I don’t think that part matters,” she snorted. “But you can ignore it. Even if it doesn’t go away, it’s no big deal.”

O f course, a second later Ruby got that same sneaky look on her face that she wore so often lately. Before they stole into a broom closet or under the bleachers again. Then her hand wrapped around the bulge and began to stroke.

“Mmhh… or we could take care of it,” Blake sighed, eyes closing as her hips twisted from side to side. “That’s… good, too… God, Ruby!”

Soon the bowl of popcorn was sitting on the side table and Blake was being jerked off in earnest by the younger girl. Ruby painted herself along her girlfriend’s side as her fingers finally worked that beautiful cock free of its confines, encircling it with just the right amount of pressure – as she had been learning over the past couple of years a little at a time. It was so warm and smooth in her hand, and her own heat was definitely starting to grow from knowing how much her Blake enjoyed this.

“You wanna… put it in me again?” she breathed huskily, eyes full of the promise of more.

“Mmm, Ruby...”

Instead of really answering, she just claimed her mouth, tangling their lips together as she was slowly stoked to blazing. Ruby moved to straddle her lap, mewling into the kisses in just the right way to make her unable to ignore. By now, they had evolved beyond condoms – because Blake wasn’t the only one with a prescription. The smaller of the two worked her own shorts aside and wasted no time sinking down on that gorgeous cock.

“NH! Oh wow… y-you’re so wet, why?”

“Because you feel good,” she squeaked, eyes screwing shut as she weathered the initial discomfort of being entered. She was still tight even after so long together, but if they worked up to it slower there was no discomfort at all. Trouble was, sometimes they were impatient. “Nnh! Oooh… yeeaahhh, there we go…”

All Blake could do was lean back and take it. Not that she was complaining. When their relationship had begun, she was very uncertain about taking a smaller, younger girl and “claiming” her – being the dominant party with the typically male equipment. Lucky Yang, her girlfriend was the same age and bossy, and both of them had the same equipment. More equality. However, Ruby had quickly shown her that she was just as enthusiastic in bed, and wanted to take charge all the time. She got just as excited about this as she did about fighting Grimm, or milk and cookies.

Maybe that was weird.

“Nnhh!” Ruby moaned as she rolled her hips harder, almost forcing Blake to start thrusting up and into her. “Ohhhh yeah – yeah, right there! Wow! S-so good!”

“Ruby!” she panted, already feeling the telltale tingles that signalled an end to their lovemaking. After a whole two seconds; how disappointing. But she forced herself to focus on gripping Ruby’s backside, thrusting harder while trying to think about Vytal Festival statistics to pull focus from how amazing it felt and delay her climax.

Their lips crashed against each other again, cutting off any further discussion. What was to talk about? Their bodies fit together perfectly and Ruby always felt perfect in her lap, with or without sex. The shifting ramped up until her girlfriend was literally bouncing on her cock, letting out a little squeak into the kiss with each landing until she couldn’t maintain the kiss.

“Blake! Holy shiz, I’m- I already feel like I’m gonna–”

“Wait, Ruby! Just… a few more… okay! I’m almost there, come for me! Please?”

“AH! Y-you got it!” The girl actually gave a weak thumbs up before she gripped both of Blake’s shoulders…

And threw it into overdrive. On top of everything else, this girl was a speed demon, more than capable of bouncing up and down at speeds no other citizen of Remnant could have hoped to achieve. Except maybe some of the Faunus who were naturally gifted with speed. She was going to milk Blake dry in a matter of seconds.

In a flash, it was all over. Blake came over and over into her girlfriend, head thrown back and mouth dropped open as she felt her entire length pulsing inside of the warmth of Ruby Rose. Ruby timed it almost perfectly, starting her own flutters and pulses of her inner walls immediately after she felt Blake spurt for the first time. She kept up the bouncing of her hips as long as she could before collapsing against Blake’s chest, heaving for breath.

“Whoa… I… like… that was really… maaaaan…”

“I know,” Blake laughed weakly, basically half-dead. But she did manage to move a hand to rest on Ruby’s rear. “Wow… thank you.”

“My pleasure. Like, literally, right?”

“Yeah.”

The room was nothing but the crackling of the fireplace and the laboured breaths of two satisfied lovers for a full minute. Then Ruby leaned up to kiss Blake on the cheek before nuzzling her neck hard, humming her obvious joy.

“Merry Dustmas again, you lioness.”

“Don’t call me that,” Blake chuckled. “Or I’ll go back to calling you my flower.”

“God, we were so lame,” she snickered right back as she cuddled her. “But… at the same time, it was really cute. You’re still my lioness.”

“Ruby… I love you. Like, probably too much, but I wanted you to know.”

With a little smile, she whispered, “Got it, amiga. Don’t worry.”

“Mmm.” Then she cleared her throat and squirmed a little.

“What? Something wrong?”

“No, not really. Just realised I really need to run to the ladies’ room. I drank too much hot cocoa earlier and after fucking you…”

Ruby’s brow furrowed slightly. “Wait, after fucking me, what?”

“Well…” When Ruby still didn’t seem to get it, she lowered her voice to whisper, “I usually have to pee after we do these things. You probably noticed that.”

“Huh? O-oh, no, no I didn’t. But now that you mention it… you do always run to the bathroom. Guess I figured you were just cleaning up – scraping off all the Ruby-goo.”

“That, too,” Blake snickered as she pet over Ruby’s hair. “Even if it’s my favourite goo. But I can tough it out for another minute or so.”

The smaller girl nodded, trying to remain contented. However… for a reason she didn’t really want to share, her hips began to move again. Seeking out more pleasure. That went on for another minute before Blake half-chuckled and whispered, “Okay, you are making it worse now.”

“Sorry! You just still feel really good, I dunno!”

“Okay, okay, but now I have to get up.” Ruby pouted as Blake lifted her bodily and stood her on her feet – both of them groaning a little as their bodies parted. “Mmhh… wow, I have to pee so bad.” “Nnhhh…”

Blake squinted at her suspiciously. “Do you want to go again when I get back?”

“No… it’s dumb, don’t worry about me. Just go take care of you.”

“No, hang on.” Even though she was visibly squirming, she cupped her girlfriend’s cheek. “Out with it. Why are you still horny but don’t want me to help you? If you think it’s greedy… I mean, you’ve jerked me off before and asked for nothing in return. Let me repay you.”

“It’s not… exactly that. But I’m super embarrassed, and you’re gonna think I’m a weird, gross girl, and I dunno!”

“What?” Ruby hid her face behind her hands, but she reached up to pull them away. “Hey… I could never think of you as gross. Do you know that?”

“Oh… you sure will when I tell you…”

But Ruby didn’t tell her right away. Just took her hand and started leading her toward the stairs. Only once they were going up them did she continue.

“So… u-um, I don’t know if you know… that you sleepwalk.”

“What?” Blake stared at her for a moment, then came over thoughtful as she gripped her chin, amber eyes staring off toward the distance. “Yeah. I’ve noticed that a couple of times I wake up in strange places. It’s more common with Faunus, especially if their animal traits are from animals with nocturnal tendencies; cats sometimes have ‘midnight crazies’ where they have to run back and forth and burn off energy for no reason.”

“Oh? Huh, that’s… kinda cool, kinda weird, kinda cute. Yep! Wow, that’s fun.”

“Ruby… you’re getting off topic. On purpose.”

“Yeah,” she admitted with a grimace. “Anyway, um, one time a couple of Dustmases ago – you probably had no idea – you sleepwalked into the bathroom while I was on the toilet.”

“What? Oh… oh Dust, I’m really sorry. Did I…” Her lip curled. “What… did I do, exactly?” No response. “PLEASE tell me I didn’t sit down on you and-”

“NOPE! No, no, not that one!” she reassured her quickly, and Blake looked extremely relieved. “But the other one… yyyyeah, you kinda did.”

“I did?”

“Yeah.”

Blake’s lips pressed into a thin line as she swallowed hard. “W-was it… did you move out of the way?”

“I… did not.”

“What?! You mean…” She had to say it, or she would always be tortured by the unknown. “You mean I actually peed on you?!”

The poor girl’s cheeks were flaming red as they entered the bathroom. The scene of the crime. “Y-you didn’t mean to do it. Obviously! And like, you’re right, I should have moved cuz I was the one who was awake and all, but it was so weird to have a dick pointed at me back then still, and also super hot, a-and I wasn’t sure what to do, and then it was too late!” Licking her lips, she quickly finished with, “And you were hard, too, and I had to really stop myself from doing anything because you weren’t awake and that’s not okay, a-and I had to clean the bathroom, anyway!”

“Ruby! That is… I don’t know what that is!” Her mouth was hanging open as she stared at her girlfriend, completely beside herself.

“Me either! What the hell IS it? A-anyway, now you can pee and I’m gonna go away. Probably from the whole planet.”

Before Ruby could edge out the door, Blake caught her by the elbow. “Hey… wait. I need to ask you one more thing about this before you take off.”

“Do you? Do you need to? Because I’m already so embarrassed I wanna die.”

“Yes.” Blake made sure to pull her in closer, to hang onto both of her elbows so she couldn’t bolt. Sometimes they had to do that from each other, since both of them tended to run from embarrassment. “Did you like it?”

No response.

“Ruby… did you like it when I whizzed on you?”

“Well gee, now I feel better when you say ‘whizzed’.” But the deep red blush answered for her.

“Oh wow.” She felt a little uncomfortable now, knowing that had happened, that it turned Ruby on, and that she had been completely unaware all this time. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because you couldn’t help it!” Ruby whispered urgently. “How do you bring that up? Like, ‘Whoops, ya peed on me, and I thought it was super hot, but don’t worry about it since you weren’t even conscious’?! That’s pretty dumb! And you and me was still really new back then, s-so I didn’t wanna make you think I was gross, but I am, I’m a weird, gross girl that you should definitely break up with!”

With a little sigh and a slight smile, she released one elbow to reach up and pet over her girlfriend’s hair. “Come on, you know that isn’t… I mean, I would have been a little disgusted no matter when it happened. It’s urine, it’s… a waste product. But even before we confessed our feelings, I wouldn’t have let it stop me from loving you.”

That brought the brunette’s head shooting up so fast her red-dyed forelock bounced from side to side. “Really?! I mean… you don’t care?”

“No. And what’s more… I want to make you happy, Ruby. Relationships are about compromising. So if you want me to pee on you, then I’ll do it.”

“Oh. Oh, no no, no way,” she laughed nervously. “This wasn’t- I really didn’t mean to like, sell this as a thing we’ll be doing! Nope! Just w-wanted to explain why I was all blushy, since yeah, we’re together and you deserve to know things like that.”

Blake chuckled as she held her close. “Oh, I know. It’s okay. But I’m saying, that as your girlfriend, I am deciding that I’m okay with trying it at least once. To see if we can both be into it, even. I don’t think I’ll enjoy it like you do but I’m also very certain it won’t hurt me in the slightest to test the waters.”

Ruby had been blushing and looking away right up until the end. Then she smiled a tiny, shy smile. “Test the waters, huh? Is that a Yang-pun? Because ‘watersports’?”

“Wow, you caught me,” she deadpanned. But then she smiled and Ruby smiled back. “Okay, um, get naked and then we can test this out.”

“Huh?” The smaller girl blinked rapidly. “What, right now?!”

“Yes, right now. I mean, I really, really gotta go – and I would like you to hurry?”

Blake was certainly dancing on one leg, holding her own crotch. Ruby realised that her girlfriend was in pain, so she was a lot more expedient about shucking all of her clothes than she normally would be. Kicking the last sock out into the hallway, she stood nervously in front of her.

“Okay, um… n-now what? I’ve never done this before. Well, like, I have, but not on purpose.”

“You say that like I’m any more experienced than you!” she protested, and Ruby giggled. “Alright. I think… you should sit in the tub. Or kneel, or be in whatever position you want to be in, I guess. But sitting or crouching, so I can actually do this without standing on the toilet.”

Obediently, Ruby climbed into the tub and knelt down. God this was making it difficult… normally she would already be sprung by looking down at Ruby kneeling there, naked as a jaybird. Between having just climaxed and bladder full to bursting, she wasn’t… but the urge was still there.

“Alrighty!” she piped up, excitement flushing her cheeks and stiffening her nipples. “Lay it on me!”

“That’s what you’re going to say? Before I do this… really unusual thing?”

“Um… open fire?”

“Ruby…”

“Okay, okay,” she giggled as she settled in a little more, sitting back on her heels. “Like, just do it whenever. I’m ready.”

Blake took a few quick breaths to steady her nerves. Took aim. Licked her lips. Shifted from foot to foot as she aimed her half-hard cock at the girl practically bowing before her.

“So…”

Blake grunted. “I don’t… know if I can.”

“Huh? Why not? You aren’t going to hurt me; I promise, it’s just pee.”

“Well yeah, but I can’t… pee… with you looking!” she finally admitted, her own cheeks starting to flush now. It was an interesting shade against her olive skintone.

The girl’s head tilted slightly to one side. “Really? Why not? Oh – wait, waitwaitwait, I’ve heard of this! Shy bladder! Right?”

“Yes! Now will you stop drawing more attention to it?!”

“Oh! Sorry!” She slapped her hands over her eyes. “Is this better?”

Blake just stared at her for a moment before chuckling and leaning down to kiss the backs of said hands. “You… are perfect. I’m sorry, I just… I don’t think I can do it, too weird. But I’ll try again.”

“Okay.” This time, when she lowered her hands it was to reveal closed eyes. And they stayed closed. “Just think of waterfalls or something.”

“Thanks,” she snorted. Then she really did attempt to relax. To let it all flow.

Nothing. At first. Then the muscles she had been clenching to prevent an untimely accident gradually began to relinquish their hold…

And then…

“WHOAB!” Ruby burst out – the end of the word turning into a different sound when she slapped her lips shut to keep any more pee from seeping inside. Because it was splashing everywhere. She sputtered a little to clear her mouth as it poured down through her hair, over her face and neck and shoulders, dripping from her peaks. The pool around her knees and feet slowly began to grow before running down into the drain.

And Blake felt extremely guilty. This was a highly depraved thing to do – and they had talked about tying Ruby up again many, many times since the night she had found her under the Dustmas tree, wrapped with a bow. How could she do this to her girlfriend?

Because she asked her to. That’s how.

“Nnhhh,” she sighed as the stream began to taper off to just a few drips, reaching down to play her fingers through her own wetness. “Ohhhh Blake… it’s so nasty…”

“O-oh, I’m sorry.” Then she squinted. “Or… am I not sorry?”

No, no reason to be sorry. Ruby was clearly getting herself off because she was so happy to be covered in Blake. “Nnhhh… Blake… I’m all yours!”

“Of course you are,” she told her with a small smile. “Always.”

“No…” Ruby’s other hand gripped the edge of the tub. “You marked me. Now nobody else can have me, ever! R-right? Mmhhh… right, Blake?”

A dark flush shot into the entirety of her face. Now Ruby was talking about something else – something that Blake had really tried hard not to think about. Especially after her past with Adam.

Faunus could mark their partners. It wasn’t permanent; they had to re-mark or the musk would wear off eventually, or sooner if they took a lot of baths. This was more useful in a more primitive society, but still useful today. However, she had not been thinking about that in the slightest until this moment, because she didn’t often ruminate on the more animalistic ancient traditions of the Faunus people.

“That’s… not exactly true, but um… Ruby, you do know…”

“What?” Blake laughed nervously, cheeks only getting darker, so Ruby persisted, “What, did I do something bad?”

“Not really ‘bad’. But when we get back to school, Velvet and some of the other Faunus students will, um, probably instantly know that you’ve been marked. And it won’t take much more investigation to figure out by whom. And they’ll also know I’m trans, because… well, biological markers like those don’t change when you transition.”

For a second Ruby just blinked up at her. Then she snickered and waved a hand. “But that’s weeks away. I’ll have showered a bunch of times.”

“No… you don’t get it.” She knelt down so she was on Ruby’s eye level. She could also feel her cock was rigid yet again; even if she wanted to warn Ruby, it didn’t mean she could ignore how much her libido loved this. “The strong smell is gonna wash off, but the musk, those… pheromones or whatever, those won’t come out for a while. Especially out of your hair. Even if you shave bald, though, it’ll still linger.”

“So…” Her hips shifted impatiently, cheeks flushing a little brighter. “They really will know I’m all yours?”

“Yes. I’m sorry, if I remembered that…”

“No, it’s okay.” Her arm started moving again, little mewlings erupting from between her lips as she prodded her body toward another climax. “Nnhhh… I don’t care if they know. I want them to.”

God. Now the scent was becoming powerful enough Blake couldn’t avoid breathing it in, and she almost hated it… but also was incredibly turned on by the idea that her Ruby was literally covered in this essence that belonged to her.

Marked.

“A-ah,” Blake sighed quietly as she started stroking her firm cock again, eyes only for Ruby and the way she was punishing her clit, nearly doubled over. She sort of wanted to kiss her, but that meant going into that leftover stench she had created. And even if Ruby found it kinky, she had no desire to touch her own. That was for sure.

But how was she supposed to resist? With Ruby’s mouth so close… so she claimed it, tongue swirling over the sharp, salty taste.

That made it a lot faster. Both Ruby and Blake were moaning and shifting their hips faster in no time at all, begging for release without asking either of them. Some things were just perfectly understood, even when left unsaid.

“MMHHH!” Ruby groaned into her lips when she came, trembling from head to toe as her spine kinked and her hips wriggled in their happy little puddle. Then she drew back with a gasp. “Ohhhh, WOW, Blake! That was so freakin’ HOT!”

“Y-yeah?” Blake panted as she jerked harder and faster. Unlike Ruby, her orgasms were more difficult to reproduce when closely following the last, not easier. “Then… then I’m s-so glad for you! My flower!”

Her eyes lit up. “You’re gonna cum? Again?” Becoming a little more animated again, she hissed, “Cum on my face!”

“WHAT?!”

“Hurry! Just stand up and do it – I wanna try that, too!”

“What the hell has gotten into you today?!” But Blake was too horny to argue. She struggled to her feet so fast she knocked over a bottle of conditioner, which bounced across the floor as she started jerking it harder and faster, panting with the effort of trying to drag the orgasm out of her body.

“YES!” Ruby squeaked, bouncing up and down in her excitement – and causing her breasts to do the same. That certainly didn’t hurt. “Do it, Blake! I wanna feel your cum all over me!”

“Okay! It’s… it’s coming, Ruby! NHH!”

A few more strokes and it came. And it was… not very exciting. She had cum so hard already that now it was only a few minor spurts before it was simply dribbling down on her girlfriend’s upturned features. She still sighed and smiled, shivering in delight, even though it was such an underwhelming display.

“S-sorry.”

Ruby shrugged with a grin. “Why? You came on me. That’s what I asked you for, right?”

“Well, yeah, but…” Then she snorted and rolled her eyes, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly to release her anxieties. “You are too cute. Always know how to make me feel better.”

Something about the way she was grinning with that essence clinging to her cheeks… was both cute and a little arousing. But Blake was totally spent; nothing doing now.

“I try,” she whispered. “And… it’s cuz I love you.”

“I love you, too.” Then she pecked her lips and drew back. “Whew. That’s starting to get rank, you’d better shower.”

“Mmm, shower with me?”

“No. I don’t need to, I didn’t pee on me.”

“I could pee on you!”

“Nnnno thank you.”

“Awww, come on! Just a little? I’ll pee on your leg!”

Shaking her head, she turned to start pacing out of the bathroom with a smirk on her lips. “Ruby, you need help. Seriously, I’m calling a therapist.”

“BLAKE!”

--------------------------------------

Once Ruby emerged from the shower, she apologised for getting so overzealous about their watersports adventure. Having had time to process and decompress, Blake waved it off with a kiss and another insistence that Remnant was home to many different walks of life. It was foolish to assume none of them would like to be urinated upon.

Now they were both dressed warmly, and decided Yang had been gone long enough that they should probably go check on her. Which they did, hiking toward Signal with hand stuffed in pockets as their boots crunched in the snow.

“So… I’ve been thinking about something.”

“Oh wow,” Blake said with a wry smile. “Is that your New Year’s resolution.”

“Hey!” She bumped her with her hip, earning a slight chuckle. “Um… so like, you marked me.”

“You made me mark you,” she corrected. Hoping she could pass off the rouge in her cheeks as a reaction to the chill in the air.

“Yeah, yeah. Anyway, does this make us like… engaged?”

The Faunus nearly tripped over an errant snow drift, she was so distracted. Once she found her footing – partly thanks to Ruby’s hand shooting out to grip hers – she goggled at the shorter girl.

“En… engaged?”

Her smile was so brilliant. “Yeah! Y’know, to be mar-”

“YES! Yes, I know what it means, I…” She swallowed hard, head so light she felt like it may float away. “You really like me enough for that?”

“Sure, Blake! Can’t you tell I’m all about you now?”

“W-well, I…” Now her own small smile was blossoming. “You know, you have had worse ideas.”

Now Ruby was pouting as the school came into view over the crest of the next hill. “Hey, I have plenty of great ideas. All the time!”

“Oh yeah? What about that time you wanted to go bungee jumping off the roof of Beacon?”

“What? It’s not my fault Weiss didn’t change out of her skirt! And Jaune didn’t seem to mind!”

“Of course he didn’t,” she snorted, all grinning now. “But I’m not such an easy girl to hook, you know. I expect you to ask me formally.”

Ruby tapped her chin. Then she took a few quick paces forward and knelt down in the snow. “Blake Belladonna…”

Just for a moment, her heart stopped. Then she held up a hand and said, “No.”

“Huh?! But you just said-”

“You don’t have a ring, do you?” No answer; just a lot of squirming from the girl getting the knee of her leggings damp. “Then it’s not a real proposal. Try again when you have a ring, and I will very seriously consider your offer.”

“Oooh, you’re mean.” She got up and started walking again, brow furrowed and lips pursed so hard they almost met in the middle over her nose. Blake chuckled and slipped her arm through her girlfriend’s. Completely contented.

Signal was basically deserted, but they saw some flickering lights in one of the classroom windows. That was an easy lead. Heading upstairs, they quickly oriented themselves to the floor plan and found said room.

“-absolutely atrocious,” a tinny voice was saying as they eased the door open. “He is such an insufferable little twerp; I can’t wait to get out of this house.”

“God, I can imagine,” Yang laughed. She was sitting at one of the desks near the window, kicked back with her boots up. Her Scroll was in her hand, opened so that she could get a better view of her lady love’s face as they chatted.

“You really cannot,” Weiss countered. “And be grateful! Oooh, the less I see of Whitley, the better!”

Ruby’s sister nodded in sympathy as they both edged quietly into the room. “Speaking of seeing less of your brother…”

“I know, I know. And I’m working on it. I think I’ve complained often and vocally enough that they are seriously considering letting me visit you, despite the New Years Gala being such an important event for the Schnee Dust Company.”

“That’s my girl,” she said with a smile. “Nobody can throw a ‘May I speak to your manager’ fit like my Weiss.”

“And just what is that supposed to mean?!”

Yang was about to answer when she saw the other two hovering in the doorway. She sat up straighter and called out, “Hey! Not cool, Sis – you really gotta lurk and listen in on my conversation? This is a private girlfriend thing!”

“As if we’re really doing anything private,” Weiss scoffed. Then she called out louder, “Hello, Ruby! Is Blake there?”

“Hey!” Blake said as they approached. “We started to get worried about Yang, she was in a bad mood.”

“Awww, I know. Sulking like a true Schnee. Almost makes me think she would be accepted right away into my family.”

Yang rolled her eyes. “Thanks a billion, you guys. Really feeling the love.”

“Happy Dustmas,” Weiss continued airily to the other two.

“Merry Dustmas, Weiss!” Ruby piped up, leaning over so the camera on the device would catch her waving. “Hope you’re having a good one!”

“It’s cold and my family is egregiously annoying. But I suppose I have received some passable presents.” Then a small smile began to tug at her pouting lips. “Well… and one very nice one.”

“So you like ‘em?”

“Shhh!” she hissed urgently. “They don’t need to know about such things.”

“This about the panties that say ‘Weiss Queen’?” Ruby asked.

“YANG! You told her?!”

Yang shrugged carelessly. “I mean, she’s my sister; she went with me to pick ‘em out. Plus you know Blake is our teammate, so…”

“I won’t tell a soul,” Blake said with a hand raised as if swearing an oath.

“Well… fine. But yes, I do very much cherish them. Oh, and I also liked the coffee mug from you, Blake, and the hot cocoa set from Ruby. Especially since I will be able to use the gifts in tandem.”

“Yeah!” Ruby piped up happily, glad her battle partner enjoyed her gift. “And you can use ‘em together, too!”

After a brief silence, Weiss sighed. “Never change, Ruby. Never change.”

“Oh!”

At Blake’s quiet exclamation, they all turned toward the window. Snowflakes had begun to drift down from the skies, blanketing the nearly-melted snow and browned grass of the Signal grounds. It was heavy enough that in no time, the entire landscape would be a winter wonderland.

“Yeeeessssss,” Ruby breathed, eyes huge and cheeks bunched with the force of her grin.

“Nice,” was all Yang said, reaching up to fistbump Blake. It took her a moment to notice and bump the fist.

“You say that like I made it snow myself,” she snorted.

“Nah, nah. Just gave us a heads up. Merry Dustmas, you guys!”

“Happy Dustmas!” Weiss insisted, sticking to the more traditional Atlesian greeting. Yang only laughed.

Either way, it didn’t matter. Ruby and Blake slipped their hands into each other’s and squeezed as they watched the gentle descent of the snow, deciding to wait on telling the other two they were soft-engaged – soon to be real-engaged when Ruby picked out a ring. Or about the marking. Right now, none of that mattered because they all had each other, and a picture-perfect view. And that was the best Dustmas gift of all.

The End

[royallyprincesslilly]

Late (20.3)

Chapter Warnings: Angst, Plot, Blood

Word Count: 3640K

Note: Wheeew, I know, I know, I know. This took FOREVER. I’m sorry, truly. I told you guys I wanted to make this perfect especially because we are at the end and I don’t want to put out half-assed work and I wanted to make the necessary connections. I hope you guys enjoy this. I also have been going through a writing drought and haven’t felt the want to write. I know my issues and not yours, I’m sorry. Without further a due, ta-da!

***Loosely edited/proofread

******Interactive Chapter(KINDA, PICTURES COUNT :) )***

Thank you guys for reading. I appreciate it. If you enjoyed this, please LIKE and REBLOG. ❤️ ❤️ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wakanda was abuzz with the latest gossip of Ma’Uchi, Nakia, Tandra and W’Kabi and the attempted coup. No one could believe the lengths Nakia went to and no one could believe the fate the group shared and how T’Challa had went from one side of the spectrum to dropping the full weight of Wakanda’s rule upon them.

Everyone was now wondering when the king would finally give into his love for Y/N. In truth Wakanda was ready for the dawn of the era the king had promised.

You sat in the garden watching the sun set behind the Jabari mountains and smiled. You now had more of a fondness for the Jabari and their leader Lord M’Baku and you were excited about the potential for not only Wakanda’s growth but also the Jabari. You’d decided to finally unite all the tribes for a stronger Wakanada, all that was left was to reason with the king and help him see the logic of your words. You didn’t think it would be a hard task especially after he knew of the details of today.

You took a deep breath in and slowly released it. As you did you felt the stress and anxiety from the last few months dissipating. As you took another deep inhale you felt a sort of freedom you hadn’t felt in months. You closed your eyes hoping to relish the feeling for as long as you could. You didn’t know how long you sat there but by the time you opened your eyes you saw the queen mother sitting next to you. You jumped in shock before she placed a soothing hand upon your knee.

“It is just me,” Ramonda calmly voiced.

You smiled and nodded, relaxing yourself. The sun had disappeared behind the mountains and the sky was filled with hundreds of stars. The same stars that always made you think of T’Challa. You smiled to yourself.

“By yourself?” Ramonda asked.

“Yes.”

“Hm, interesting. I did not expect you to be by yourself. In fact i expected you and my son to be deep in conversation at this time,” she continued.

“The king is a busy man. After the debacle of today i am sure he had a lot to see to,” you reasoned.

“I am sure he did, but I didn’t expect anything to be more important than you.”

You sighed and looked to Ramonda’s face. She had a sly smile on her lips as she stared up into the star speckled night sky. After a few moments she looked to you and smiled wider.

“Unless it is you who is hiding,” she finished.

She’d guessed it, hit the nail right on the head, stolen the cookie from the cookie jar, pieced it together. You doubted it was a hard puzzle to put together. You looked down to your hands and entangled your fingers together before untangling them only to do the action again and again.

“Why are you hiding?” Ramonda asked when minutes passed of silence and her careful observation of your face.

You didn’t know the right words to speak, you didn’t even know what to say.

“Y/N?” Ramonda urged.

“A lot has happened. The last forty-eight hours have sped by like a tornado and in it’s wake everything has changed but quite possibly nothing. All that is certain is there is so much uncertainty,” you rushed out in one breath.

“You are right, a lot has happened. A lot has changed because of what has happened, but the only way to shed light on the unknown is by addressing it,” Ramonda counseled.

You knew what she was saying was true, still when the chance came you ran away.

“Wakanda owes you a debt Y/N. I owe you a debt.”

“You owe me nothing. I did this for Wakanda, for you. You all deserved to know the truth, you deserved some form of peace. I only hope that by dredging up the painful past I have not disrupted T’Chaka in the ancestral plane and I have not broken your heart all over again,” you confessed.

Ramonda took your hands within hers and firmly squeezed them as she turned to face you.

“Y/N, T’Chaka blesses you. I have been consulting with the ancestors and they are forever indebted to you for your actions. For rooting out the evil within Wakanda. What you have done is no small feat, but it’s benefits will spread across the land. As for my pain, it will never go away, never but you have lessened it by shining light on the truth. A grave injustice was done to our family, an injustice that broke us down, but you are the piece that will mend us and build us up, starting with the king,” Ramonda spoke.

You allowed her words to seep into your brain.

“How can I mend anything. I am not Wakandan.”

“Like hell you are not. Do you think you are Wakandan just by being born here, by being born with the blood in your veins? If that were the case all of the world is greatly mistaken of their heritage. You are not merely Wakandan because of blood, or birth but because of your heart, your soul. You were Wakandan when you put the happiness and prosperity if its people before your own happiness and prosperity. You are Wakandan when you embody the ways of our practices and teachings, you are Wakandan being true not only to the spirit of Bast herself but by being true to the land. All of which you have done since the day you got here and every day you continue to do so. You are Wakandan because even when your heart broke you chose the ways and people over your own wants, your own love. My child you are Wakanda,” Ramonda finished.

You smiled to yourself and looked up to the sky.

“But, you must stop running. You must forge ahead.”

You nodded and sighed again.

“You’re right.”

“I know I’m right,” Ramonda teased. You snorted and let out a laugh. A laugh you didn’t recognize. It had been so long since you last laughed—too long.

“Now, I am going to tell my son to stop pacing a hole in the floor of his office and to follow his heart and senses to you and you are going to sit here looking as beautiful as ever and forge ahead,” she ordered. You smiled and nervously nodded.

Ramonda stood and gently touched your forehead before she walked away back inside the palace leaving you alone again in the garden. You took another deep breath realizing your heart was not pounding at a maddening pace.

“Relax Y/N, relax,” you calmly recited.

You sat there running through the endless possibilities in your head at break neck speed. You went through tens of scenarios all ending differently, but all evoked the same feelings in you. You felt as if you were going to pass out from the anticipation and the unknown. You wondered if he still felt the same way, wondered if any part of him still wanted you. You wondered if everything had changed for him. You worried about so many of his feelings or lack there of that after ten minutes you began pacing the stone walkway in the garden obsessing over it all.

“Y/N.”

You quickly spun around with a distressed look on your face to see Okoye standing there.

“Okoye.”

“Was I interrupting?”

“No, no. Well yes but I'm grateful. I was going down an endless rabbit hole of what ifs and it had to stop, so thank you,” you said as she approached you.

“Are you all right?” You nodded only lying partially.

“Okoye, i wanted to thank you for today, thank you for all you have done in this crazy scheme of mine,” you began.

Okoye smiled a rare smile that paused you.

“I was happy to help Y/N. I should be thanking you for saving me from a fate worse than death if I had married W’Kabi,” she said with a look of disgust on her face.

“I still can’t believe his part in all this,” you added.

“Neither can I, I never suspected and I feel like such a fool,” she continued. You took her hand gently.

“Okoye, you are not a fool. He was simply good at covering his tracks, they all were. So if you are a fool so is the rest of Wakanda, the king included,” you teased.

Okoye smiled again.

“Well I have always been convinced the king was a fool, and was further proved right watching him these last years,” Okoye laughed, a laugh you joined in on.

“Speaking of the king, I have something for you,” she said holding out an envelope with the Wakandan king’s seal.

You took the envelope and stared at it.

“The staff have prepared your old bedroom for you,” Okoye informed. You nodded and watched her turn and begin to walk back inside the palace. Before she walked inside she stooped and looked back to you.

“Y/N,” Okoye began. You looked to her.

“He is lucky to have you.” Okoye said then the corner inside the palace.

You stood there for a few more minutes before you decided against opening it. Instead you walked back inside the palace toward your bedroom contemplating what he’d written in the envelope.

Once you were safely behind your familiar doors you looked around and took in your surroundings. Everything looked the same as if nothing had been touched. The walls were still the way you’d requested, as was the decor. You leaned your back against the door and pressed the envelope to your chest willing your heart to slow.

After a few moments, you walked further into the room toward the window at the moon shining in. You stood there and unsealed the envelope to open the king’s stationary.

“Wakanda owes you a debt.”

Short and simple, short and mysterious in meaning. You looked at the back of the card bu there was nothing else written. Confusion began to rise as you realized he was most likely not going to meet you tonight.

You put the card down on your desk and looked around the room again. You walked to your bed and softly traced your hand along the patterned duvet to one of the posts. You walked around the room taking in everything. You didn’t know how much you missed this until just now. You’d missed it greatly. you walked into the bathroom and began filling the copper claw-foot tub. You’d missed this tub. While it was old fashioned it was decked out with modern luxuries. At the touch of a button it could be transformed into a luxurious whirlpool, jetted spa escape filled with over fifteen massage patterns. This bad boy was the reason you’d been changed to a bath lover again after nearly a lifetime of preferring showers. Now you spent hours upon hours sitting in this tub.

You began undressing out of the Dora uniform and filled the tub with the luxuries you loved, essential oils, flower petals, bath salts, a special blended soap that produced the most exhilarating bubbles that some how worked to easily melt away any stress leaving you and your body in the most amazing state of relaxation. You couldn’t wait.

As you walked around the bathroom preparing things for your bath you did your best to not think about anything or anyone. If you thought anymore your head would burst. Once you’d freed yourself and only had your bra and underwear on you swirled your hand in the water to test the temperature was right. Smiling you began to rise but was struck back down by a kick to the back of your calf. You dropped back to the hard floor. Before you could turn to see who or what it was the mystery intruder grabbed your head and pushed it into the tub submerging your head under the water. You screamed in the water which produced no sound. It only brought water into your nose and lungs. You flailed your arms around behind you trying to grab the person. Every time your hand made connection to a garment of clothes they pulled away and sunk your head even further under the water.

After a minute of struggle your actions slowed, your head became heavy, your vision became speckled with bright lights. Your logic told you that you were running out of time. You tried your best to think about your immediate surroundings. You stopped trying to grab the intruder and began to reach for the retractable shower head that was attached to the tub your plan clear in your head. It was difficult to maneuver as your actions slowed more and you felt yourself begin to involuntarily convulse. In the recesses of your mind you knew you only had seconds. Your hands grasped the shower head but it was stuck. You yanked as hard as you could freeing the retractable cord. Gripping it you swung it back behind you and heard an enraged grunt. The action gave you a few seconds of reprieve. You pulled your head out the water and gasped for the precious commodity you desperately needed.

Again you felt the intruder trying to overtake you. You swung your head back connecting with their head. In an instant you felt dizziness ring through your head. Now you were righting two battles, lack of oxygen and dizziness, the odds were definitely stacked against you. You tried to get up but slipped on the flooded floor and dropped back down. You slid and spun around seeing Nakia standing there.

“Nakia?” you spoke in complete shock and confusion.

She dove to you but you ducked instead grabbing her calves and hoisted her up and over your head. You heard a loud crash and a scream. You spun around and saw Nakia splayed on the floor atop the broken the shards of the glass shower door. She groaned as she slowly rose to her hands and knees. She looked to you, blood dripping from several cuts on her face. She looked like pure rage.

“How did you get free?”

“I’ve lived in this place longer than you. I know every hidden tunnel and path. I’ve always known how to get in here. I could have killed you any time I wanted but a Queen doesn’t dirty her hands. She watches as other do her bidding, but now you have pissed me off and if you want something done right you have to do it yourself,” Nakia spat before she dove for you. She landed on top of you tackling you to the wet floor. She drew back her hand and landed a blow to your face. You struggled with her trying to overpower her. You rolled on top of her and punched her three times before she rolled to reclaim the upper hand. She managed to get her hands around you neck and began to squeeze.

“You thought I would just let you win? Did you really think I would just give up and go to the island? You are even dumber than I thought. You will never have him, you will never have Wakanda.”

You gagged and pushed your hands between hers and pushed them apart forcing her to release your neck. A move T’Challa showed you in one of your many sparring matches. You wasted no time grabbing her wrists and twisting them. She screamed loudly and you kicked her off of you over your head into the wooden panel along the wall. You rolled to your knees quickly watching her every move. It was past reasoning with her. There was no reasoning with her. No granting her mercy, nothing would work. Nakia stood up wiping the blood from her mouth. You stood and stared at her, expecting the worst, preparing for it.

Nakia took up a crystal candle holder and charged to you attempting to strike you. You evaded every attempt recognizing she was no longer strategizing, she was attacking on pure rage. She was at her weakest. You took the opportunity to punch her, but she pushed you on the wall and returned the hit. You sunk down and slid through her opened legs. You turned in time to see her coming for you, you kicked out the vanity stool to her forcing her to trip over it. You hurried to the door but saw it was locked from the outside. Nakia wrapped her arm around your neck placing you in a choke-hold.

“No escape, only through death.”

You elbowed her feeling your anger rise to the dangerous level. You turned and kicked her in her gut. She staggered backwards and tried to unsuccessfully evade your onslaught of hits. Each of your hits landed with precision. You felt stronger than you had in a long time. You took a deep breath in and charged Nakia. She landed on the hard floor with a loud thud. You wrapped your hands around her neck and squeezed with all your strength. She gagged and tried to pry your hands free. The fear in her eyes rose and it filled you with even more strength, it was intoxicating. You heard your Kimoyo beads ring from across the room. In the commotion they must have fallen off. In your distracted stare Nakia managed to grab a sliver of the broken glass and slash your collar. You drew back from the pain, she took the opportunity to roll on top of you and inch the glass closer to your jugular.

Every second she inched closer and closer, you struggled back and forth with her strength. When she gained an inch you pushed her back an inch only for the cycle to continue back and forth. You groaned as you saw the glass mere centimeters from your skin. Nakia smiled sinisterly as she kept her eye on the prize, your neck. You felt the sharp edge of the glass puncture your neck, pain rang through you and alarm filled you. You fought against the urge to panic, instead you released one hand to reach for the large shard you saw to the side. The action gave Nakia more leeway to sink her shard further into your neck. You gagged tasting your blood in your throat. You quickly lunged to the shard allowing the glass to sink a few more centimeters into your skin. It was the only way. You grabbed the shard and quickly slammed Nakia to her back and rammed the glass into her chest. Nakia gasped out in shock, but her actions into stop. She reached for a smaller piece of the glass and stabbed it into your abdomen. You gasped and convulsed taking in the impact and the pain of the object.

“You—will not—have—him,” Nakia stuttered out.

You raised your mouth into a vindictive snarl.

“Neither will you!” You shouted and pulled the glass from her chest to ram it into her chest again. You repeated the action two more times, on the final stab you sunk it into her heart. Nakia gurgled her blood oozing from her mouth as she stared at you, all her actions seized. You heard her cough and release her last terrorizing breath.

You sat atop her waiting for her to spring back up like the horror show she was, but after almost thirty seconds of no movement you let go of the shard of glass still sticking from her chest. Your bloodied hands violently shook and weakness overtook you. You toppled of her to the blood covered floor and began gasping for air. You reached your hand to your neck and felt the glass still protruding from your throat. You heard pounding at the door but it was too far for you to make it there. You’d never make it. Your hand slowly traveled to the second piece of glass sticking out from your abdomen and felt tears sting your eyes as reality crept in. Reality was you were dying, reality was Nakia had finally gotten what she wanted, reality was you’d now killed two people. Reality was that these were your last moments. You stared into the ceiling at a replica of the Wakandan night sky and saw a bright light creep in from the corners of your eyes. You heard a loud snap and shrieks of horror before scuffling footsteps. You heard your name as if it was someone far away and it was then T’Challa dropped to your side with a haunted look on his face.

Everything moved in slow motion and you heard nothing but muffled voices. T’Challa hesitated touching you as he examined your body. When his eyes landed on the glass protruding from your neck the look on his face spoke of fear. Your reality had finally registered with him. T’Challa looked away from you and shouted. You felt the trickles of his tears drip on your cheek and a deep sorrow filled you. You slowly lifted your hand to his face. You traced your bleeding hand along his cheek, down to his jaw. There was so much to say but no time, you opened your mouth to speak but no sound came out.

Fresh tears streamed down your face as you realized this was your last moment with him. T’Challa clasped his hand over yours and nuzzled his face into your palm, but you didn’t feel it. You’d read somewhere that when you were dying your senses would slowly fade. You could not smell him, you could not hear him, nor could you taste the blood you knew filled your throat and mouth. You saw his lips move but the light that was at the corners of your eyes now took over and with that, your sight went.

To Be Continued...

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Author’s AFTER-NOTE: Are y'all OK?

[poorvioletdraws]

Tom vs. The Underworld

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10

Chapter 5: Good Thing

I decided to wait until the next day to head out and see Raya again in order to give my family enough time to cool down from the excitement. My Mom seemed especially happy for me but I don’t really understand why. Raya was just a girl. I have many friends that are girls. Her and I just hit it off well. I mean, she cheered me up when I was feeling down and helped me get through some of my problems. Her family was very welcoming of me too; my parents would really get along with hers probably. I also think I just really see myself hanging with Raya more considering how the use of portals were finito and I can’t just run to Echo Creek to third-wheel it with Marco and Star all the time now…

I let out a sigh as I tried shaking the thought from my head. I know I support my best friends finally being together but why do I still feel empty? Am I trying to fill that emptiness by seeking out Raya…? Maybe right now I just want to be around someone who is different than what I am used to. She is someone who is consistent, and her life is normal. I really liked that feeling back in Yomi Town. Maybe I just want some form of regularity apart of my own world again. That has to be it...

As I soared through the sky with my fire blazing from my feet, I took in my surroundings. Was the beach always so lively? I guess I never really noticed since I was so engrossed in my relationship with Star when we were here together. I saw the vastness that was the Lake of Fire and the monsters that crowded the Dock of Unending Torment getting ready to partake in recreational activities that were anything but tormenting--fishing, swimming, sailing, etcetera. The sandy shoreline was just as littered with beachgoers that even all the Skull Ball courts were full. I then came upon Rochelle’s busy shop and saw she was getting rather slammed with customers waiting in a long line that weaved out the entrance and around the back. I bet she misses having her sister around to help. Maybe even as much as I miss her...

Instinctively, as my mind thought about Raya, my hands traced over the necklace we made together around my neck. Why have I been feeling like this about her? I’m not entirely sure but this is how I felt when I first liked Star… Ugh, it’s just because of my recent breakup that I’m still so emotional. I mean, it’s nice being committed to someone... Amazing, really... But I don’t want to use my friendship with Raya as a reason to rush into something serious so soon… Or do I? No, that wouldn’t be fair to her. I would just be selfishly trying to put her in Star’s place… But that’s not what I feel like I’d be doing nor how I feel about her… What am I feeling about her exactly... I need to know for sure.

And with that, I took my flame up a notch and jetted across the coastline of Lava Lake Beach with tremendous speed.

I came to the leisurely beachtown of Lava Shores within no time at all. It was quiet compared to the commotion down from where I started. This was a town where many of the more affluent demons and monsters came to retire to in their old age so there wasn’t much to see. Basically, it was kinda boring. 

I strolled through the streets in hopes of seeing anything that would catch my eye like the gloriousness of Yomi Town, but I was disappointed. There were gigantic dunes making up the landscape behind the lakeside civilization that could have been used for sick off-roading or skeleton horse racing, yet it was fashioned into a golf course for a country club. Lame. There were an abundance of wineries, cigar lounges, and high-end designer stores like Zergdorf Badman and Siks-Six-Sixth Avenue being frequented by patrons old enough to be my great grandfather. Double Lame. I’m sure when I’m much older these kind of places would interest me more, but at the moment they were the epitome of LAME. Just a lot of snooty stuffed shirts too consumed by their own ego to notice their demon Prince casually walking by. 

Before my lame-o-meter could tilt further, I came to a pathway leading out of town with a large gaudy sign pointing in said direction. 

“Madame Morguerite’s Manor for the Magnific.” I muttered the name aloud a little bemused. That definitely sounds like the place Rochelle mentioned, plus the address matches. I can only imagine what I’m in for by heading to an establishment that sounds that cringey. How can Raya subject herself to something like that?

Not wanting to waste anymore time, I blasted off toward the finishing school, accidentally singeing the pompous sign with my fire.  

The school was every bit as showy as the sign leading to it. Everything St. Olga’s was, this institution was not. It was an extravagantly posh chateau as if from a fairytale brought to life with walls made of gold that blinded you if the light caught it just right. It screamed wealth right down to its great entrance door made of marble. I swear I heard trumpets sound and a heavenly chorus sing just from looking at it. 

“This really exists in the Underworld?” I questioned.

I was ready to move toward the building when I heard a shrill, sultry voice speak loudly enough as if to gather the attention of a group. I levitated around the side of the school and hid behind some hedges to observe what was going on.

There was a small assortment of teenagers dressed in school uniforms sitting at art easels in the middle of a flourishing courtyard containing all sorts of vibrant flowers and shrubbery clipped into angelic figures. Their demon teacher, the aforementioned Madame Morguerite, headed the class. She wore a tight floor-length gown made of white silk and a ridiculously long brimmed, veiled hat. Her eyes were covered by ivory cat-eye glasses and she took deep drags from her long cigarette holder in between instructions. You couldn't picture a more perfect headmistress for this place.    

“You darlings will come to find that art is one of the greatest pleasures of the most esteemed Lord or Lady. To have an eye for it, you should first come to understand the work that goes into the creation in order to respect it.” The Madame spoke as she slinked between each student.

I peered at each teenager and tried to locate Raya. It probably would have been easier if the teacher didn’t walk in the way of my limited view from the bushes.

As if on cue with my complaint, the headmistress returned to the front of the class and the demon girl I had been searching for was revealed to me from behind her teacher’s previous position. My heart began to beat quickly seeing Raya again. She was in uniform but had her jean vest and a black beret covering her head as her wild scarlet hair fell down the side of her right shoulder. With each stroke of her brush, she looked quite proud at whatever she was painting.

“That’s why I had you copy this fabulous piece by a famous sculptor in order to give you a better understanding of timeless art.” The Madame gently touched her fingers to a pedestal positioned in front of the class. The figure atop it looked to be an ordinary bowl of fruit made of stone--though it didn’t look like a bowl of fruit to me, more like a bowl of misshapen large rocks.

“What’s so great about that pile of rocks?” I mumbled to myself as I glanced over to the ‘art’ in question.

“Now I will proceed to grade you on what you have completed.” Madame Morguerite announced.

As she inspected the canvases by her students--each one having mimicked the drearily gray figure down to the last monotonous detail--she gave praise and said how “splendid” they had done. Until she came to Raya.

“EH! What is that?” The Madame groused.

I shifted over to the other bush to see what Raya had created on her own canvas. While the other students kept their design simplistic and dull, I recognized the array of colors immediately. There were gradients of oranges, pinks, blues, and purples swirling across the page with half-circles of yellow splotches peeking from cloud-bursts. Raya remarkably recreated the scene of the dimension with a thousand sunsets! It was breath-taking and realistic as I felt the nostalgia coming back to me when we had gone there for the first time. Remembering that day made me want to keep feeling it and other new experiences, with her… That was what I was most certain of now.

“It’s my artwork.” Raya responded with a smile.

“Darling girl, this is not art.” Madame Morguerite snipped.

Raya (and I) looked at her puzzled. She replied, “... I’m sorry, ma’am--”

“Madame.” The headmistress corrected her.

“Oh, um, Madame,” Raya repeated, “I just wanted to paint a special place that I was able to see thanks to a great friend... Not many of us get to travel to other dimensions so I wanted to share this place with everyone. That’s what art should be after all. You know, something special to you. And not copying someone else’s work.”

“Ha, ha! A girl is a comedian, I see.” Madame Morguerite scoffed as she over exaggerated her laugh and began strutting away to the front of the class again. “How can you understand what is special and what is not when you can’t recreate a famous sculpture on paper.” 

Raya began twiddling her fingers as if internally debating whether or not she should respond but then decided to speak up anyway, “Well… I think I know a thing or two about sculptures, being a Stone Demon and all… That’s just a pile of rocks anyone with basic knowledge could do. My sister has created better pieces than that--”

“Do not insult real artists!” The Madame snapped at Raya, turning on her heels to confront the teenage girl again. “Did you come here to waste my time and your fellow students’ time? I suppose we should all just learn from the city girl instead of the professional and accomplished teacher?”

“Madame, that’s not what I’m implying-”

“Your classmates come from Nobles, Lords, and Ladies and aspire to carry on such status. You, Darling Raya, should be more grateful to me for accepting you into my program in order to help you find a proper place in life. Or do you just want to be known as the daughter of any old stonemason and blacksmith?”

Raya grew defensive, “Excuse me, Madame, my parents are not just any--”

“Silence, we’ve no time for your bickering. We must carry on with the next lesson. You may taken upon yourself to now apologize to your classmates for also hindering their success.” Madame Morguerite commanded.

Raya glanced at the faces of her glaring classmates. She muttered an apology and hung her head, looking frustrated as she tried to hold in the creeping tears welling up in her eyes.

I was furious! I felt every sting of the words that the headmistress attacked Raya with as if it were directed to me. How dare that rude crone talk to her like that. How dare she insult her family like that. I can’t just sit by and allow someone to treat those I care about like they are nothing. Not today, not ever again!

Trying to remain hidden, my eyes lit up and I raised my hands to the sky. All of the paint cans by each student began to tremble and rise while they remained mystified in their seats. Suddenly, the cans shot towards the headmistress who was still unknowing due to her back being turned. The students had no choice but to gasp at what they witnessed next.

As the paint dumped onto the Madame Morguerite, turning her all white attire into this muddy mix of colors, she let out a bloodcurdling scream.

“Eeegh! What in the Underworld is this! You little brats, how dare you!” She shrieked while frantically wiping the paint from her face. “Who did this?!”

The students grew worried from being unsure of the culprit so they stayed silent. I on the other hand was trying to hold my mouth shut from busting out with laughter at the new appearance of the headmistress.

“Fine! No confession then no recreation time as scheduled for the rest of the week!” The Madame announced.

The students groaned in unison and tried to protest against her.

“Silence! And no points for this lesson for any of you. You will come to learn that harboring a TROUBLEMAKER is detrimental to your reputation and success. Now clean all this up and assemble in the Great Hall in ten minutes!” Madame Morguerite scolded the class and stormed out of the courtyard.

I saw Raya was trying to keep her giggle from being audible but had quickly changed her composure when she noticed the other students were glaring at her again. I heard them murmur “troublemaker”, “commoner”, and “city girl” as they proceeded to clean up their station. 

Raya grabbed her canvas and took off in one instant, not wanting to hear anymore of her classmates’ remarks.

Maybe I shouldn’t have interfered… But I couldn’t just sit back and let her be talked to like that. Why would she want to go through something like this? These guys don’t know anything. Is this really how the social classes of the Underworld treat each other? None of these snobs are deserving of who Raya is. She’s amazing… Why doesn’t she see that? There has to be a reason behind her wanting to put up with this place and I need to find out.

As the other students began to head into the chateau, I quickly—and stealthily—followed behind them.

As the ten minute deadline passed, I was hiding behind a large pillar in the Great Hall of the school and saw the students were now sitting at long tables with Madame Morguerite walking between them. She was now much cleaner and wearing a high-end white suit with her hair pulled into a tight bun.

There were soup and salad bowls sitting in front of each pupil as waiters and waitresses went around filling them up and placing other dishes to the center of the tables.

“Dining etiquette is very important for the most esteemed. This is a time where you honor your guest and hold conversation about your expertise, business ventures, or entreat partnership with the invited.” The Madame explained.

“Geez, we don’t even do this at home.” I muttered.

“We must give interest to our party first and foremost. Engage them and show an interest in what they have to say because you never know where their status can get you later in life. Enjoying the food comes second.” As Madame Morguerite finishes her statement, the students proceeded to make small talk with each other while occasionally taking small sips from their soup.

Instead of conforming to the same practice as the others, I spied Raya completely ignoring the students next to her. She was gulping her soup bowl down and asking her waiter for more repeatedly. I chuckled at the sight. That girl really can eat.

“What are you doing?” Madame Morguerite asked peeved.

“Eating.” Raya replied between sips of her soup. The Madame shooed the waiter away before he could fill the bowl up for a fifth time.

“Have you not listened to what I have said?” The Madame looked ticked as she questioned the girl.

“Yes, ma’am—I mean Madame. But if you spend your time talking, the food will get cold, or my siblings will usually steal it.” Raya responded between mouthfuls of her salad she now partook in instead of her endless soup. 

I saw a vein pop on the Madame’s forehead as she spoke, “Young ladies of prestige do not stuff their faces like piglets.”

“Well the portions are so small, you have to eat tons more between courses.” Raya complained as she was now gulping down the beverage in her goblet.

“Are you mocking me?” The Madame rebuked.

All the other students stopped conversing with each other and focused on what was going to happen next between the defiant pupil and the teacher.

Raya had been reaching for the dish at the center of the table but, upon hearing Madame Morguerite’s words, immediately stopped feasting to sit with her hands in her lap. She realized what she must have done wrong and told the headmistress, “No, Madame, I’m sorry if you feel that way… I meant no harm…”

The demon girl’s face was flushed with embarrassment again and I could feel myself starting to get angry at the impending backlash she would receive.

“No harm? If such restrictions as conversation with your party—who is someone more important and less gluttonous than your supposed upbringing—are beneath you than by all means, carry on. Eat, darling. A girl must be starving, it’s not everyday you get to consume delicacies as lavishly as this considering where you come from.” The Madame chastised the demon girl scornfully.

Some of the other students began to snicker and make “oink” noises under their breath as they joined in with their headmistress’s ridicule. Raya held her head down slightly with her bangs covering her eyes.

How dare they insult her like that! What kind of teacher is this? How can they be so cruel?! No matter where you come from or what your social class is, no one has the right to treat another so rudely! I had it with this place! I need to get her out of here before it gets any worse!

As I was preparing myself to intervene, the demon girl did something totally unexpected. To her headmistress’s dismay, Raya began to start vigorously eating again despite her classmates taunts. The students all quieted at once and I, now entirely confused, halted my charge.

Madame Morguerite grew agitated and snarled, “What are you doing?!”

Raya stared up at the headmistress with a sophisticated seriousness and replied, “I’m eating. You said to carry on so I intend to do just that and follow your instructions. Food may not be as important to you where you’re from, but for me and my family it is something we are grateful for. And we would never treat the ones we serve with such disrespect.”

I silently cheered for Raya as she stood up for herself; You tell her!

“You insolent girl! I’ll show you disrespect!” The Madame threatened while she raised her hand as if to slap the class troublemaker!

Raya was alarmed and held her hands up for protection but luckily I acted quickly enough before any harm came to her. I used my telekinesis once again to cause all of the bowls on the table to shoot out like an open hydrant and drench the headmistress with their soupy contents.

Everyone in the room was holding their breath as the Madame exploded with rage yet again.

“Eeeeeek!!! You little monsters!” She shrieked. 

But instead of waiting for their headmistress to deliver their punishment, the students all fled the Great Hall with impeccable speed.

“No points for any of you for this lesson! I shall find which one of you brats is doing this, no matter what! With King and Queen Lucitor as my witness, I’ll find you!” The Madame declared.

I doubt my parents would see eye to eye with all you represent, Madame ‘Morgue’. Not their circus, not their monkeys. This is all me.

The rest of the day had kind of calmed down after the incident in the Great Hall. The students were confined to their dorms up until the Madame decided to proceed with the last lesson of the day. I was unable to retrieve Raya since she was in a “Girls Room” and, prince or no prince, my Mom taught me to respect females well enough to not go peeking in their private quarters.

It seems the students were all going to learn something that did actually pique my interest. They now stood in lines listening to their headmistress’s instruction on formal dancing. The ballroom was grand with a small orchestra playing classical music from a theater stage. I positioned myself behind a row of statues and observed once again, waiting for the opportunity to step in when Raya needed it.  

“You darlings should be appreciative of me for giving you a chance at redemption.” Madame Morguerite commanded at the center of the half-circle the students formed around her. She was now less soupy and wearing a white poofy bell-shaped gown that was bedazzled with shining gemstones. “I will reward all points lost as well as the ones for this lesson to those that follow the criteria exceedingly well. Is that understood?”

The students unanimously gave a resounding, “Yes, Madame.”

“Now, choose your partner to complete this lesson. You will not pass without performing the dance together and as accurately as possible from how we practiced over the last few days. So I suggest you choose wisely and begin at once.” She warned while stepping away from the dance floor.

I noticed how all the students glanced over at Raya once Madame Morguerite finished speaking. They quickly separated from the Stone Demon girl and coupled up with those amongst themselves.

Raya was disappointed as the other students began to dance around her. She slowly took the walk of shame to the side of the dance floor where chairs were placed and slumped down into it defeated.

I couldn’t allow this to go on any longer. Wanting to change for the better is all well and good, but she doesn’t need to be treated like this no matter what her reasoning is behind it. And she definitely won’t continue to be treated so harshly with me just bearing witness to it any longer. 

Raya let out a sigh and hunched over her lap with her hands cradling her chin. “Of course this happens… Even here everyone thinks I’m a failure so much so that I can’t even get just one partner to complete this lesson…”

“Well lucky for you you’re going to have a partner that is THE best dancer at the Silver Bell Ball.” I smirked while standing in front of the demon girl with my hand out and finally revealing myself to her.

“T-Tom?!” Raya gasped as she automatically accepted my reach.

I brought her into a closed dance hold and gave a nonchalant “Hey”, though my heart wasn’t as relaxed as I played myself off to be. It began to beat rapidly and the nervousness from before returned; however, the music was steady so the pace I took would hopefully calm my palpitations with each step. Having her in my arms really affirmed how I’ve been feeling about her. I just hope I don’t mess things up between us because of my own desires.

I saw Raya blush once I started to lead. She stammered, “Y-You’re here!” 

“I’m here.” I smiled as I dipped her.

“But why?” She asked as she came back up into position. I noticed a lot of her classmates were now focusing on us, and they were rather intrigued too. Of course, I tend to have that effect.

“More importantly, why are you here wasting your time with this place?” I replied while turning us around in a small circle.

“Oh… um… Well…” She trailed off for a second as I slowly spun her in place. “...I just wanted more training... And lessons in proper etiquette…”

“Uh-huh, and why?”

“Well… You are a prince and I’m just an… ordinary girl from the city… From an ordinary family…” Raya murmured. She now tilted her head away towards the ground and her bangs veiled her eyes. 

“Okay, so what?” I asked as we stopped dancing completely but still holding on to each other.

Raya continued to speak while not meeting my gaze, “I don’t know, I’m just constantly referred to as the black sheep of the Belmontes--a daydreaming slacker with no interest for the family trade… I’m rather unconventional, I guess…”

“There’s nothing wrong with that, you do know that right?”

Raya still looked uneasy as she tried to clarify, “... I just thought this would help me find more direction... But I feel I still can’t even get this right anyway. Everyone is so passionate and... headstrong... and ambitious when it comes to who they want to be. They are the future Lords, Ladies, and Nobles that will serve you one day. You are and will always be surrounded by royalty and all that… I just didn’t want to be an embarrassment if I were ever in your presence again…”

���You would never be!” I blurted out a little shocked at Raya’s revelation. My change in tone startled her but also made her finally lock eyes with mine. How can she be so clueless to what I think of her. I would be miserable if I were only able to associate with people like the ones here for the rest of my life. I mean, if she were to even meet Star, she would understand where I’m coming from and that lofty titles doesn’t represent your personality. 

I gave her a half smile and continued, “You don’t need any silly lessons and you definitely don’t need to try and impress these boring guys. And you and your family are anything BUT ordinary. I think you’re great the way you are. Don’t let some lame stuck-up tell you otherwise. Dance the way you want to!” 

Raya’s soft grasp on my hand and shoulder became firm as if seeking some form of intimate security. Her honey eyes were radiant in the ballroom light while her lips were parted in a way that almost gave off a hint of invitation for me. I probably would have kissed her right this moment if it wouldn’t make it weird. I mean, I haven’t even asked her out yet. But still.  

“What have I done?” Raya said with a sigh as she looked around the room. “I really thought this would help me but it just made me almost lose myself. I mean look at this place. It is boring, isn’t it?”

“And lame.” I added as we both started to laugh. 

Suddenly, I had a great idea. “Hey, why don’t we liven things up a bit!” I suggested while grinning mischievously.

“Huh, how?” Raya asked curiously. 

As if on cue with her words, I raised my head up toward the ceiling and began chanting while all three of my eyes glowed brightly. I slowly levitated both Raya and I slightly off the floor, though I almost lost focus when I felt her press against me surprised from the sudden change in footing. The room began to tremble and shake making it difficult for everyone to keep their balance. The musical ensemble ditched their instruments on stage and escaped from the room as fast as they possibly could. And from the ground where they once stood, a new group of undead musicians took their place as they emerged from the now split surface on the floor. But instead of suits and clean-cut appearances like their previous openers, this group had ripped jeans, leather jackets with studs, spiky hair, piercings still in tact on their rotting flesh, and all sorts of rebellious staples. They picked up the instruments left behind, if they didn’t have any already, and belted out harsh melodies of standard Metal.

Immediately following the spectacle, a great crack tore open on the dance floor as more undead partygoers dressed in Rock ‘n’ Roll attire began to thrash around, causing quite the ruckus. Raya and I on the other hand were jamming out with the rest. It was awesome!  

“What is this horrid display of downright--Gah!” Madame Morguerite tried intervening but was pushed repeatedly aside by the fleeing students. She glanced over to see Raya and I enjoying the entertainment and became furious. She started for us in a mad dash as she screamed, “How dare you besmirch my school, you uncivilized monsters!”

“Hey, thanks for the compliment.” I mocked. I held on to Raya’s hand and led her away from the ensuing commotion.

The undead rockers weaved in between us and the headmistress, grabbing hold of her and tossing her around in the air, now involuntarily crowd surfing.

“Eeeekkkk! You’ll pay dearly for this!” She shrieked.

Raya and I couldn’t contain our laughter as we watched the scene unfold. Justice was indeed served.

Watching Raya happy ignited that feeling once again deep down inside of me. Even though I’ve known her for a short time, this felt right. This is how it should always be. Us together just having fun. Well, just us together doing anything really is fine with me. I know now what I must do. I can’t wait any longer. I need to tell her now. I want her to know how I feel about her. 

I looked over to her and told her, “Hey, this place is the worst. Let’s get out of here.”

Raya smiled back at me and replied. “Alrigh--whoa!”

In an instant, I swooped the unsuspecting demon girl up in my arms as if she were a damsel being rescued by a superhero and eagerly jetted us off toward the nearest window without hesitation. She had her arms instinctively wrapped around my neck for support so I was able to bring out the hand that was holding her back and blast away the glass with my flame effortlessly. We then proceeded to fly away in hopes that this would be our last encounter with Madame Morguerite’s Manor for the Magnific.

We landed just outside of Lava Shores on one of the many sand dunes bordering the town. I knelt down in order for Raya to regain her footing onto solid ground again. But before I could stand up completely, it was my turn to be surprised as the demon girl unexpectedly closed the space in between us and embraced me in a friendly hug. I definitely wasn’t going to complain.

“Thank you, Tom!” Raya exclaimed. She released her grasp, though I mentally objected, and now clutched her hands together excitedly as she spoke, “I didn’t know you could do any of that. So it was you all along, wasn’t it? You did all that with the paint and the soup bowls too?”

I itched the back of my head with one hand and replied, “Yea, sorry for interfering. I just couldn’t stand by and watch how that hag treated you. I hope you aren’t upset.”

“Of course not, that was so wicked cool!” She gave me a genuine smile but suddenly grew concerned after realizing something. So she asked, “Um… Not that I’m not happy to see you, I really am. But what happened? I thought you went back to work everything out with your girlfriend?”

Taken aback by her question, I thought over the best way to answer it without her worrying if the outcome may be a result of the time we spent together in Yomi Town, but there was no need. She helped me reach a decision in a way that benefited everyone. So I just went ahead and told her straight up,  “Yea well… About that… We kind of decided that it would be easier if we… broke up…”

“Oh, no! I’m so sorry!”

“No, no. It’s cool, actually.” I assured, “It was something we both mutually accepted and all that matters is that we can still be friends. All of us…”

Raya raised an eyebrow still unsure and asked, “Are you sure? It still had to have been very important to you and hard to come to such a decision… I’m glad you were able to figure it out but are you really okay?”

“Yea totally. I thought I would be in more pain than what I am, but a lot of… events happened after our breakup and I think it all helped me realize some things about myself. The both of us were just heading to different places in our lives.”

Raya gave me a reassuring smile as her response.

I took a deep breath and continued, “So... It kind of… Brings me to my other reason of… of why I’m here t-today…” 

I started to get nervous as I looked into her eyes. Why am I feeling this way all of a sudden? Am I anticipating some kind of rejection? No, I think we both are on the same page here. It’s going to be okay.

“Tom?” Concern crossed Raya’s face while still waiting to hear what I was trying to say.

I took another deep breath and tried to tell her, “Okay, look, you helped me a lot when I was going through all of that angst and… Um… You see, you’re really--Um… Your family is really…” I couldn’t stop stumbling over my words. Looking into her eyes were weakening my confidence all of a sudden. “Okay, this is rather embarrassing. I knew what I had to say but now it’s not coming out right… Ugh!” I clenched my eyelids together in frustration. Why was this so difficult?!

But suddenly, I felt a warm hand gently cup the side of my cheek. I shot my eyes open to see Raya’s reassuring gaze and felt that strange, indescribable feeling return once again.

“It’s alright… Try to calm down and take your time, it’ll help you gather your thoughts.” Raya spoke in that benevolent voice of hers as she brought her hand away from me. Was it wrong of me to want her to touch me again? It made me feel as if I could do this and tell her what I wanted to say--what I should’ve said before leaving her after our time in Yomi Town.

I cleared my throat and let my courage carry me through as I said, “Okay, if it wasn’t for you, I think I would still be hurting and I never would’ve realized what is best for me right now or for the future of the Underworld. You didn’t have to spend time with me through that moment of crisis, but you did. And I’d like to believe it wasn’t just as a service to me for being a prince but more for who you are as a person.” I took both Raya’s hands in mine and stared at them through half-lidded eyes. “And that is something that I like about you very much. So… I think I want to see where this goes...”

It was hard to tell if Raya understood where I was going from the look on her face. She seemed perplexed by my revelation but had those same dreamy eyes I’ve been falling for. This is it, I can do this.

So I tried to clarify better while looking into her eyes. “What I’m trying to say is… I think we got a good thing going and… I don’t want to see it end...”

“I love that song!” Raya exclaimed happily as she clasped her hands together, releasing our bond.

“Hm?” It was my turn to be confused.

 Raya smiled coyly at me. “D-do you want to... hang out sometime?” she asked.

Yes! She understands!

“I would like that very much…” I grinned as I went in to hold her hands again but this time Raya stuffed her own hands in her pockets as if searching for something.

“Alright! My friends and I are meeting at the arcade, Tartarus, this weekend. You should come.” Raya suggested, completely oblivious...

No! She doesn’t understand… 

“Oh… Okay.” I felt a little let down from her response. Was it not obvious enough of what I meant? Or was she playing as if she were clueless just so we’d stay friends? No this is genuinely her. I need to try harder and show her how I feel about it…And I guess it is best to take things slow and not rush into anything just yet… Sucks though...

Raya took my hand in hers and pulled a pen from her pocket. “Is it okay if I write my address here?” She blushed as she asked.

“S-sure…”

“Alright.” She beamed. “You can pick me up from my home at like noon and we can walk there together, if that’s alright?”

“Sounds great.” I gave her a half smile.  

As I watched her scrawl her address on the back of my hand in cute bubbly letters, I couldn’t stop thinking about how much I cared about her. How could she not know? I came back in part to see her again and was upset if she were one of the ones I’d never see again from that incident at the gate. I told my family about her already. She came into my life unknowingly and doesn’t notice how important she has become to me. From all the heartbreak and stressful moments I have been having lately, Raya has become apart of my best days here. If this is how life in the Underworld will be than I’ll gladly accept it. She has shown me things I’ve never known before and I want to see more with her. We have so much fun together and I need her to see that.

So I suggested, “Hey, you want to race back to your sister’s store?”

Raya got nervous and said as she blushed, “Um, I don’t think I would win that race. I’m not fast and can’t fly like you can.”

“Haha, nah, I have a better idea!” 

As the day was drawing to a close, Raya and I galloped across the sandy shores of Lava Lake Beach on skeleton horses. Our laughter and cheers filled the air as we rode on, joining the sounds of all those joyous beachgoers I had seen from earlier. I wish time would just stand still at this very moment. The future of the Underworld was becoming one I could definitely look forward to, even more so now than ever. I hope that it can always stay this way.

But little did I know, an otherworldly being not too far off in the horizon had other plans. While the waves of molten rock growled, so did something from beneath that took refuge lying in wait for its time to strike; recharging its energy after its failed attempt at keeping the gate to the Underworld within the Musty Mountain sealed.

[cjostrander]

Nine Inch Nails: Pretty Hate Machine

Hey everyone! Today i was planning on tackling another of the more notable albums up on my list for an anniversary review. I was planning on Ratt’s Out of the Cellar since they have two up this year; Instead i’m going to do the debut album by Nine Inch Nails. I saw that this and the Downward Spiral were up for review so it was a no brainer to scratch at least one off before i got too far in the year and slacked. Last year a lot of goodies were missed and i’m looking to do a bit less of the odd ball albums this year in return. This album has an 80′s synth that is fitting being released at the tailend of that decade. It can probably be viewed as Trent Reznor’s most rudimentary work in terms of straightforwardness but that should be a decent thing for new listeners to ease their way into his work; because his work only continued to get more diverse and experimental from here on out.

Head Like a Hole (Single): We begin the album out strong with arguably his biggest and most mainstream hit (Discounting Closer as mainstream of course). It begins with some interesting click effects before drums arrive to give a rather powerful but contained metal bash. The guitars and synths infuse that 80′s vibe into it full of tension that would be hard not to want to dance to. Trent’s vocals are delivered very straightforward with a sense of angst and gradually grows more frustrated till he arrives at the chorus. The chorus is a perfect crowd pleaser with a loud pouring from Trent of catchy verses to sing along to without going into overdrive in terms of speed. It helps to create a fair degree of momentum to start the album off strong before introducing the listener into Trent’s more unconventional style. I would recommend this as one of your initial tracks to check out when first checking out this band because this is as straightforward of a single as the band gets besides maybe his With Teeth album (Reviewed already). 9.5/10

Terrible Lie: This song begins with a smooth transition from the last song and ventures into a dark and gloomy guitar/drum combo. It melds with Trent rather smoothly to create a rather erotic atmosphere that would be perfect for a bondage session with the misses. The vocals are delivered softly in between back and forth screams that emphasize that disgust in his lyrics rather firmly. It creates a rather catchy flow that would be interesting to see live and follow along to lyrically. The middle section features a real nice build up of tension with minimal instrumentation. The bass is a good help in giving just that little gradual increase for Trent to infuse for angst in his delivery. The back and forth emotion does give it a rather interesting bipolar effect that will further intrigue the listener and hopefully convince them to venture onto the rest of the album. 9.5/10

Down in It (Single): This is the second single for the album and is personally the weaker of the singles. It begins with a stronger 80′s club drum opening and joins with subtle synths and more prominent guitars to create a strong dance atmosphere. Trent is a little more conventional in his vocal style and is a bit more instrumental in the role of his voice. The lyrics are a bit odd to follow along to in terms of substance but it creates a near hip hop like groove that further enhances it’s dance appeal for the era. This one will probably be viewed as one of the most dated tracks on the album due to there being no mistake that it is an 80′s album. Other than that; there’s really nothing to truly complain about because it adds to the album’s flow effectively and maintains a sense of smoothness without those low points of boredom (due to either slowness or general length of the album or songs); that occur during most of his later work. 8.5/10

Sanctified: This track starts off with an interesting drum loop and fantasy themed synths in the background before arriving to meet with a rather firm bass groove. It’s a nice showcase of the bass that creates more of that firm dance appeal for fans of very gloomy night life music. Trent is a bit slower in his delivery which matches the progression of the song and helps to maintain a firm level of smoothness as the guitars gradually introduce more aggressive but spaced out effects. The guitars definitely get more artsy on this track so be sure to pay attention to what they do; even though they are not a commanding force in the song. The lyrics are pretty well done and will enable the listener to have ample substance to follow along to in order to keep the nearly six minute runtime from overstaying its welcome. 8.5/10

Something I Can Never Have ( Featured in the Natural Born Killers film): Now this song is definitely a hidden gem that any fan of Quentin Tarantino’s early classics should immediately recognize. It begins as a very easy fade in from the previous track with a very soothing and blissful key open. It contains a sense of complexity that fully encompasses the less is more format. The Keys work with subtle synths to create a sense of wonder and euphoria that Trent’s vocals deliver a surprising sense of focus and captivation. They deliver on the less is more approach as well due to the level of strength in its lyrics and clever use of electronic effects to pick up potential dull points and infuse it with a strong sense of consistent support. This is certainly best viewed as an example of a very risky experiment for the artist that pulls off with surprising strength and is an easy highlight on the album. Definitely recommend checking it out during a brief browse of the album. Other than that it is a very good way to close the first half of the album; even if it could of easily been the finale track as well. 10/10

Kinda I Want to: This track begins with subtle animal samples before the instrumentals return the album to its 80′s club tone. Trent takes on a more aggressive but firm vocal style that delivers his lyrics with a good sense of emphasis that enables them to succeed in terms of substance and draw. The electronic loops do very well at elevating his vocals and boosting the chorus with a nice sense of life. They bring forth an interesting little guitar jam towards the end which brings forth a little extra diversity in the instrumentation. Other than that it overstays it welcome just a bit but after only feeling that way on a Nine Inch Nails album this far on; its a good thing. 8.5/10

Sin (Single): This is the final single of the album and probably the most aggressive as well. It begins with an eerie synth before drums arrive to really infuse it with a nice dance vibe that will be perfect for a live performance. Trent arrives with a nice sense of erotic swagger that contains some very strong lyrics to follow along to. The instrumentals do very well at elevating the sense of adrenaline in the song and is perfect with the chorus in that regard. The use of electronica really shines on here and even experiments with the guitars to create some very compelling jam segments. This will further elevate it as one of the most performance friendly tracks on the album and is perhaps one of its most mainstream friendly tracks on here as well. 10/10

That’s What I Get: A nicely emotional synth drum opening begins this song on a very complex note before keys arrive to further fill it with a very spiritual energy. Trent arrives with a very vulnerable vocal presence that places firm emphasis on his lyrics and brings forth a sense of wounded emotion that seems rightfully placed at this point in the album. I would definitely recommend checking this track out after warming up to the others because it is definitely a nice treat to come across when in an experimental mood. 9/10

The Only Time: The bass begins this track with a bit of a jazzy like vibe which gives Trent’s more drawn out vocal delivery an interesting flair this time around. The guitars and drums then arrive when Trent’s aggression increases to create an odd yet interesting groove to dance around to somewhat. This track immediately sets itself up to be one of the more oddball tracks on the album but being this far in may work to its advantage if the finale tracks pulls itself off well. 7/10

Ringfinger: This nearly six minute album finale begins with a more straightforward drum synth opening that is groovy and soothing yet simplistic. Trent arrives into the background with a more echoed tone. The lyrics continue to maintain a consistent level of substance that the listener should be able to follow along to fairly well. It does get a little too low at times vocally but still experiments with guitar effects and loops to help keep it from feeling to airy in the background. It ends the album on the a bit of a lengthy note but a filling one nonetheless so cant complain much personally. 8/10

Overall album rating: 8.9/10

Well it’s kind of fitting that an album that came out in 1989 gets a score of 8.9/10 It dethroned With Teeth by a margin of .3 to take the top spot for my Nine Inch Nails reviews. It’s probably the easiest album from him to get into and is very likely responsible for the high score. I would recommend checking it out either this or his more rock centered mid 2000′s work before really getting to in his more diverse work. I hope you guys enjoy the review and maybe if things go right i will put up a review for The Downward Spiral later on in the year. Enjoy your weekend everyone!

*Reviewer’s Pick*

[lachalaine]

HOW I RUN MY BLOG

SPEED: my god i am slow. i am the slowest of the slow - the slowest slow to ever BE slow. i have threads in here from two months ago and asks from three months ago and it’s not that i don’t have the will nor the muse to answer any of it tbh. it’s more so that i just don’t have time. between juggling work, friends, family and the additional need of trying to make up my overtime hours for the dates i’ll be overseas in august and october, it’s been more than a little difficult to try to keep everything afloat. that’s one of my issues. 

my second issue is that i... tend to try to write in depth threads and responses, as much as possible; and i’m a perfectionist of my work to the worst degree. to the point that if i don’t have the right idea or the right flow of words at the time - my work is not getting posted. at all. in fact, i’d likely rather delete something i spent two hours working on rather than take the risk of posting it only to hate it for the rest of my life. it feels like shame for some reason i don’t ??? get it ???

like i want to try to create variety, but also i want to try to build an actual story. something that will be fun for both me and my partner, that will be a thread that will have some possible semblance of weight to future interactions. and sometimes the ideas don’t come as quickly as i would like. or they do, and then my brain runs out of vocabulary. and throttles a pillow i hate it, i hate that my standards for myself are like this, but my god - it’s the only way i can be confident about my work and know that i’m not wasting mine or anyone else’s time and it just has to be my own standard of perfect or i run myself into the ground with my anxiety and have a minor breakdown and that’s the worst thing i can do to myself, honestly asdbhsabdha !!!

REPLIES: i write long replies, unfortunately. though i never expect people to match ( and honestly it fluctuates; sometimes it’ll be long, sometimes short, so there’s no pressure or requirement at all really ) , and all i care about at this point is i’m given something to work with and it’s not the kind of thing where it’s a reply for the sake of a reply. i also would prefer to have threads where people add stuff to the threads, and like... i don’t really have to run the show by myself to keep things interesting? that would be nice tbh. in terms of length however, i will likely do at least two or three paragraphs, because one paragraph threads don’t quite encompass everything my muse tends to feel, and sometimes it can get longer - meaning like... two word document pages long. though that type of novella is usually reserved for people i know can match it, otherwise, i try my best to keep it as succinct as possible. 

my brain sorta has this.... organization thing going tbh? where its like i can only do ask replies today, or i can only do threads today, or i can only do headcannon or ooc stuff today. sometimes it even goes by verse, where it decides if it can manage pokemon threads, or main threads, or fate threads, etc. which i understand isn’t quite the... best way to go about things, and it’s weird. very, very weird. but that’s also really the only way i’m able to sort of figure out where to put my attention nowadays. so everything gets replied to in truth, it just. it takes a while. :c :c :c please be patient with me, i’m trying my best!! 

STARTERS: i hold starter calls a lot. sometimes it can be every two months or it can be ( most likely ) when i get a new influx of followers and i want to interact with them. though it can tend to take a while for me to get them out, even if i have them on a list. usually its because i want to try to create starters that will be interesting enough to keep going ( which is sorta my overall theme with everything on here, if you’ll notice ) and sometimes the ideas don’t quite click. or, like with the organization thing, my brain needs to be able to conjure up starters in particular for anything to work. 

more often, i will do inbox calls instead, and those i do personalize according to the muse i’m sending it to. that way if the other mun replies with a response i like, i can continue it into a thread, so that’s sorta like a reverse starter call in that way, i guess. i always clear out my starters owed though, i promise. it just takes me a good while. 

INBOX: sucks in sharp breath 

i’m gonna be way honest here - once upon a time, i didn’t get that many asks at all, so i thought like, if i got like 20 of them, that already was a heck ton and i had to get the number lower. and then somehow i got an influx in asks a few weeks ago and that number jumped to thirty. and then it kept going until forty. and then i thought ‘okay you know what, so long as its not 50, you can still get it down, you’re good!!’  

let me tell you - i am at 76 right now and i am confused as all fuck as to how it got to this point. BUT I HONESTLY DON’T MIND. i love getting asks !! even if i take a while to answer them, because like the starters, i try to give it an actual moment and not a quick snip of an interaction that doesn’t matter in the long run. so asks? same length - two or three paragraphs and more, nothing less. and i tend to do anons first because i know whoever sent it might check back and i don’t want them scrolling through the whole blog thinking they missed it, but tbh, i try to do my older asks first overall. and sometimes there are some asks that require a lot of emotion on jackie’s part, so those get long and take a wee bit longer than most, but i always try to make the wait worth it. luckily, things appear to be going kinda well on that end tbh. i have a good pace set up so i don’t feel like i’m drowning in stuff, and if i could just have ONE DAY WHERE I CAN WORK, I CAN CUT BACK THAT NUMBER EASY, I SWEAR TO GOD. 

i just. i need that day dashdhabdha

but on that note, please. feel free to send me anything you like at any time, i’ll get to it asap, even if i have six asks for you in my inbox still from past memes. and tbh, i’d rather i always have the option available to answer that particular interaction rather than leave it so it never happens no matter what. so always remember, as always - 

FEEL FREE. 

SELECTIVITY: severely selective. to the nth degree. i follow about less than 180 rp blogs because the rest are aesthetics at the moment, though i’m always looking for more. i try to find blogs with muns that i feel really care about their muse as a whole, and blogs that have a pretty good grasp on writing. i decide whether or not i can make jackie work with them somehow, and then i sorta check the writing itself to make sure i can jive with it, and then that’s when i decide to follow. 

i have. a very particular standards with other blogs that need to be checked off tbh? because i want these interactions to actually matter. so besides the writing, honestly the thing that rings out the most for me would be their passion and their ideas. like, i want to make sure i can create something new with this mun so i just try to see if they will match what i give them with their own ideas, because coming up with a majority of the plots on my own is the most exhausting thing, and i can’t do that consistently. if i can get that sense from them that they’re willing to try to push their own ideas forth, that’s really what makes me follow them back asap !! on the other hand, i also check the mun - make sure they’re not the type i’ll likely have trouble with down the line. i check tags, i check ooc posts, i check everything. i am a self proclaimed blog stalker and tbh, its the only way i keep my dash in check. and so far its worked out very well so it’s all good on my end, even if that means less people to interact with.

quality over quantity, always. 

WISHLIST: FIGHT THREADS. POTENTIAL ROMANCE THREADS. FWB THREADS??? though i am selective on that one. SMUT THREADS FOR ROMANCE PEEPS. PLATONIC THREADS. ADVENTURE THREADS. HARD TO GET THREADS. CRIME THREADS. JACKIE FUCKING UP YOUR MUSES LIFE THREADS. ANGST. MURDER. HEARTBREAK. INJURY. ROAD TRIPS. NAPS. LATE NIGHTS IN THE CITY. JAIL. HAUNTED HOUSES. MUSIC FESTIVALS. MUSIC COLLABORATIONS. FATE VERSE THREADS. POKEMON THREADS. PERSONA THREADS. I DON’T CARE, I LOVE IT ALL, JUST GIVE IT TO ME, AND IF YOU HAVE A PARTICULAR THING YOU WANNA TRY, LEMME KNOW AND I’LL MAKE A VERSE FOR IT NO PROBLEM !!! 

but also i have a wishlist here :”> and i will love you if you boop me for it, thank you !!

HONEST NOTE: i love all my mutuals. i love all my non mutuals. i love people that like my posts. i love people that reblog my posts. i love when people feel comfortable enough to plot with me. when they’re comfortable enough to send me stuff randomly. when they’re patient with my sloth like tendencies and still they find the muse to respond to my threads even if a whole month has passed. i love people that are understanding and don’t mind the wait, because i do promise that i don’t delete anything. it’s there, and its waiting, and its only taking a while because i want to provide you with something good. something that will make you smile, and make you want to pursue the interactions with my muse. i want all this to mean something, and its never because i’m bored of you or your muse or our thread.

my brain just has a filing cabinet i never asked for. 

but honestly, come plot with me, just boop me randomly, send me all the things no matter what it is. i promise you i will LOVE IT and in truth, NOTHING at all makes me HAPPIER than that. and though fair warning i am exhausted a lot which impacts my response speed ooc - it’s honestly never because i don’t want to reply. my timezone as a whole is shitty and my energy levels doubly so, and i want to be sure that once we start talking or plotting, i can give you as much energy as i can spare, as much energy as you deserve. not five minutes of conversation and then i pass out. so if that means taking some time to respond, please understand that i’m trying my best. 

please be patient with me, that’s all i ask. and i promise you, i will make it up to you. as best as i can. as fast as i can. no matter what. 

thank you, i love you, have a amazing day xx 

TAGGED BY: S T O L E N

TAGGING: anyone who actually went through and read this as a whole heckie !! I JUST NEEDED TO GET THIS OUT IN CASE ANYONE WAS CONCERNED BECAUSE I SLOW, PLEASE UNDERSTAND. I’M TRYING MY BEST I LOVE EVERYONE WITH ALL MY HEART AND SOUL AND ENERGY I PROMISE T.T

[tsundere-model]

 RP Comfort Meme A valuablememe for any role-player! Come display your comfort levels so your role-play partners are aware of what they can do, and of what they should avoid! A healthy relationship between role-play partners is the key to a good time! While this meme shows the basics, please remember to communicate with your role-play partners!

Tagged by: indirectly tagged by neo since she said anyone who dares and here I am Tagging: this is too long... I’m gonna spare y’all the tag.

RP Basics

RP Methods I am comfortable doing:

im: Not for rp really. It makes it hard to follow and just complicated. Use it for ooc messages, plotting or chatting. Not for rp. Please.

Asks: I tend to lose asks in tumblr so I don’t trust it much. If I reply to a question and you wanna make it a thread, do it in a different post.

Other messaging systems: I’m ok with using skype or even discord for an rp, but I prefer tumblr bc formatting is nice.

Google Docs: Yup, yup, I’m ok with this specially is its kinda longish.

OOC/Headcanoning/RP Planning Methods

im: Yes this is perfect for that, I’m always willing to engage in plotting, even though i’m not the most creative person when it comes to plots or hc.

Asks: I tend to lose my outbox and sometimes asks gets eaten by tumblr so i don’t trust it much, but you can ask me stuff through here if you prefer it..

Skype: I’m mostly in skype so if you have me just send me a message and I’ll get to it asap.

.Participants I am comfortable with:

One on one RP’s: Most common and convenient yes.

Up to three people (including myself): Possible through maybe a bit difficutl

Four or more people: I would be willing for the thrill but it also seems pretty hard to follow.

. RP Style I am all right with:

Lit/para: This is basically my default and I love it. This is the easiest for me and so i’m very much down with that.

1-3 lines: If you wish for shorter threads, I can do this. For shorter threads, I try to match the best I can. For longer threads, I tend to just write however much feels right to me. ;;;;

[text]: I can do these, though I tend to make them a bit on the long side eventually. OTL

.

Post Length

I usually write about:

1-3 Pragraphs: I can do this if my partner so prefers it but I tend to extend myself quite a bit.

3-10 paragraphs: Usually this. Mostly +5.

PAGES: This can happen if I’m really engaged in the rp and have a lot to say. If that overwhelmes you just let me know

.Partner Post Length I am comfortable role-playing with people who write:

1-3 Paragraphs: fine as long as it gives continuity and material for me to work with.

3-10 paragraphs: since its my usual style I’m more used to this but I don’t prefer it or anything.

Pages: if you want to do it, do it. I’ll do my best to match length bc that’s what i do

RP Speed

I usually reply:

Within hours: If its super short and I’m online and mega hyped. Not very common. Do not expect this to happen. Though it might happen and then you’ll be surprised.

Within the same week: If we have a constant thread going on I’ll try to reply in a few days.

Sporadic: The most usual one and it can be from months ago. I just reply to stuff I find and that I have the interest/muse to reply so this might be the most common. Unless we have a pretty constant exchange or I’m in vacations and rping my soul away.

.I expect my partner to reply: 

Whenever: I don’t really mind waiting or having immediate replies since I can be a bit of both. I’m always glad to see replies, not even if its been months of minutes since the last one, so just do it at your own pace and I’ll do the same!

Role-play Requests

The people I’ll take rp requests from:

Group: Since these are affiliated blogs I’ll only accept from ppl of the group. That’s the only condition really.

People that wanna interact with me or my characters are specially welcome ofc.

.Expectations

I expect my RP partner to:

Decent grammar: English isn’t my first language so I'm understanding in this matter, but I expect my partners to do the same effort I do and give me something understandable..

Romantic Relationships

** Important: Communication is the key to a real life relationship, it shouldn’t be abandoned for a fictional one either! Be sure to talk to your partners when considering romance! Shipping I am comfortable shipping my characters:

With chemistry: I’m not super picky about shipping matters, but its more enjoyable when there’s chemisty is it not? So I will always put this first. If a couple doesn’t have it, then I might suggest another of my characters that might work better for the situation. You are also welcome to do the same.

Pre-estab: If its all properly sorted in ooc then I’m more than ok with this.

Unhealthy ships: Yes, since its interesting and I love the drama. However, it must be throughly planned and have some sort of story that will developed. Just keeping a toxic relationship for the sake of it isn’t an interest of mine.

.If you want to ship with my characters:

Ask: I’ll prolly be super ok with it so don’t worry. Like honestly, I’m a shipping whore and I’ll be more than ok with it.

Getting involved: I will get involved. That’s the truth.

NSFW material

NSFW material i’m comfortable with:

Violence/blood: Yes. ofc, absolutely. Give me. Actually pain for any of my characters is fave. except maybe mika. he deserves only the best.

Smut: Yeah, ofc, obviously. I’m a kinky shit and I’m probably ok with almost anything so just ask me about it.

[clan-fuildarach]

birb story chapter 6

nuala learns how to do ~blood magic~ and nit reveals its true identity 

translation notes: ok over here we don’t ever call our cops “police”, they’re called an garda síochána (literally guardians of peace). and they’re called that because they don’t carry guns. one is a garda, the plural is gardaí, and as a colloquialism/anglicisaion of it we call them guards. (eg. “i was robbed so i called the guards” that kinda thing) 

so when i refer to guards or gardaí just know i’m talking about the actual police 

~

They didn't speak for almost an hour. Nuala drove in silence, her fatigued mind focussed on the sharp bends of the roads. Every so often, Nit would make a piteous noise of distress.

 Eventually, though, they made it down from the hills and mountains on the coastline and into the wide, flat plains in the centre of the county that had given its name. The road straightened out, the speed limit rising comfortably, and Nuala finally felt as if she had put enough space between herself and the compound to speak.

 “Okay, Nithanael,” she said, flicking a dark glance up at the rear view mirror. “Time to talk. You knew that monster, and it's fairly obvious at this point that you've been keeping secrets from us.”

 In the back of the car, Nit sat pressed against the left wall to make space for its right wing. Its horns had gouged several long marks into the ceiling upholstery, but that hardly mattered. Emily was beyond caring. As Nuala spoke, Nit shifted uncomfortably and glanced out the window, at the wide, flat valley-plain they were driving through.

 Mountains stretched up in the distance in all directions, to clouds that seemed incongruously white and gentle, after all that smoke. In the centre of the plain, to Nuala's right, a man-made forest of fir trees made a dark, threatening blot in the bog. The lines of fir trees were too straight, the pointed tops evenly serrated like the teeth of a saw.

 “I did not... keep secrets,” Nit said slowly. “I just – I thought we had more time.”

 “So when were you planning on telling me I was a prophet?” Nuala said.

 “I didn't know that,” it muttered.

 She directed another glare at it in the mirror.

 “I knew you were something, and so did you,” Nit said. “I didn't realise you were a prophet until last night. My prophet.”  “Well, that other thing – Haamiath, right? – seemed to know right away.”

 Nit flinched slightly as the car shot over a speed-bump without slowing. It glanced around, its eyes wide, and wrapped a hand securely around the safety bar set into the car door.

 “There is a special – uh, there's a special connection,” it said, “between a prophet and their, um... spirit. Because we were so close, you were hidden from others, and so was I. This is why Haamiath sensed you as soon as I moved far enough away.” “That's why I didn't want you flying,” Nuala said slowly.

 Rain pattered against the windscreen. Nuala flicked on the wipers and headlights.

 “Yes,” Nit said. “That's not a problem now, though, I won't be flying for a long time.”

 The car jolted over a tiny hump-backed bridge and Nit yelped, both hands flying to the safety bar. Poor thing probably didn't have a clue about cars, or how they worked.

 “And what about your name?” Nuala said. “You lied about that too, didn't you? There's a big difference between 'Nit' and 'Nithanael'.” “Yes, well,” Nit said, “I didn't, um. I didn't want you to think I was... evil, or bad.”

 Nuala drummed her fingers on the steering wheel. “There are seventy-two of your kind, you said. Your name sounds super biblical, so I'm going to take a shot in the dark and guess that you're not an air spirit, or whatever?” She glanced over her shoulder briefly, raising her eyebrows. “In fact I'd almost guess that Nithanael and Haamiath are angel names. From the angelic Host.”

 Nit mumbled something under its breath and glanced away, its feathers pricking up defensively.

 “Sorry, didn't catch that,” Nuala said triumphantly. An air spirit, well, she had no idea what that was about. But an angel? That she understood. Being the prophet of an angel sounded like a huge step up from 'college student'.

 “I said,” Nit muttered, “I'm not an angel any more. Please, I know how humans think about us – sometimes they're right, like with Haamiath, but I'm not like the others.”

 Slowly, Nuala put two and two together. Her eyebrows shot up.

 “You're a fallen angel,” she said.

 Nit nodded, gouging the ceiling a little more. For the first time since their escape from the compound, Nuala noticed that one of Nit's horns had cracked near the tip and lost several inches of length.

 “But you're not evil?” Nuala said.

 “I fell – wow, English has very strange terms for these things – because I wanted free will,” Nit said. “I don't have proper free will, like, human-level free will, but when I was not-fallen I didn't have any. I think. I don't remember. One of the trade-offs for falling is that you lose all your power, your holy weapons – that's not an accurate word, but your language doesn't have anything better – your knowledge of the first language. I have the gift of tongues, we all do, but some things are... inaccessible.”

 Nuala nodded slowly. “And, like... hell, and the devil, that's real too?”

 “No,” Nit said. “Some of the fallen started to hate humans for their free will and they organised into, like, ranks and things, but others just didn't bother. Hell is an interesting word, I don't... I don't really know what that is.”

 “The opposite of heaven, which is where the angels live,” Nuala said. “Not in this plane of reality. Good humans go to heaven when they die, bad humans go to hell.”  “Oh,” Nit said. “No. That's not right. Everyone lives here, on this world.”

 Nuala rubbed soot off her palm and onto her trousers, not really concentrating on what she was doing.

 “Back in the day, we were... not liked, by humans,” Nit said quietly. “The humans didn't like the not-fallen either, or the spirits, or the púca, the cú dorcha... any of that, they didn't like them. But eventually the fallen who hated humans the most tried to kill everyone. They banded together and tried to make a, what's the word... an apocalypse. The not-fallen hated the fallen for betraying them and defecting, so they destroyed the rebellion. Humans got this into their head, that the not-fallen are good.”

 Another car flashed past on the right, the first vehicle Nuala had encountered yet on the narrow road.

 “You weren't a part of that, I'm guessing,” she said.

 “No, why would I? I love the world, I love humans and what they can do – you have everything, you have this metal moving machine and the lovely pig meat inside pastry and chips and the oil eggs that go flat and white – and the cake, oh, and big metal flying birds, the, uh, metal bow and arrow that's long and has sleeping arrows, wow!”

 Nuala smiled for the first time in what felt like hours. “That's a gun,” she said. “And this is called a car. I guess your gift of tongues isn't quite perfect, huh?”

 “There are so many new words,” Nit said apologetically. “The flying thing, that's a car too?”

 “No, that's an aeroplane.”

 “Ae-ro-plane,” Nit said. “Eitleán.”

 “Can you do any other languages?” Nuala said curiously. “Like Chinese or something?”

 “Not until I hear someone using the language,” Nit said. “Then I know.”

 “So who did you hear talking Irish in the compound?” Nuala said. “It must have been when you were asleep.”  “Yes, there was someone talking to themselves – or maybe on a telephone.”

 A brightly-lit luxury spa hotel appeared up ahead on the left. Nuala stared, for a moment utterly thrown by something so commonplace and non-supernatural. Nit watched the hotel move past, their eyes widening.

 “Are there other buildings that size?” it demanded. “Or is that one special – the human leader lives there, maybe? Someone important.”

 Nuala actually laughed. Or, well, she tried to. Her throat burned and ached, and she could only manage an amused rasp.

 “Yeah, Nit,” she said. “That one's the biggest structure in the entire world.”

 Nit's eyes gleamed and it turned its head sharply to watch the hotel move past.

 “I'm joking,” Nuala said. “It's just a hotel. It's a big one, but sure there are bigger ones around the place. Wait til you see Galway.”

 “Is that where we're going?” Nit said.

 “Yeah. My family lives there, I can't think of anywhere else to go.” She sighed, the last remnants of her smile fading away. Behind her, the sun – or what was visible of it – had started dipping towards the horizon.

 Nit carefully drew one of its remaining primary feathers through its palms. The end of the feather was bent at a right angle near the tip, filaments crumbling off at the slightest disturbance. For a moment, it seemed as if Nit was about to cry.

 “Hey, it's okay,” Nuala said, injecting some emotion into her voice. “They'll grow back.”

 Nit let go of the feather, brushing burnt filaments off its fingers. “So you don't have any advanced human medicine that could help me?”

 “I read an article about feather transplants, recently,” Nuala said, “but for, like, jackdaws. Tiny birds.” She yawned, momentarily losing contact with the steering wheel. The car swerved across the centre line, but luckily there was no one around for her to crash into. Her heart jolting uncomfortably, she steered back onto the left of the road and kept her eyes fixed ahead.

 The sky was darkening, going from cottony grey to a deep, saturated blue. It was a balm after all those flames earlier. Sparks whirled through Nuala's imagination, and for a second she saw Emily flying through the air again, breaking against the lorry door.

 “Hey, uh,” Nuala said quietly, “thanks. For saving me from Haamiath. It probably would have killed me if you hadn't attacked it.”

 Nit offered her a faint smile. “You're my prophet,” it said. “But, um, Haamiath wasn't going to kill you. There are many kinds of humans with connections like yours but there's a big difference between a consort and a priest – um, monk? Disciple? - and a prophet. They are too precious to kill. I think Haamiath would have injured you so you couldn't fight back, then taken you. I don't know where.”

 Nuala shot Nit an incredulous glance. “Are you fucking kidding me? I'm precious? Does this mean that the moment you move away from me, some winged monster is going to drop from the sky and try to kidnap me?”

 “Yes,” Nit said. “To tell the truth, I'm a little shocked – and kind of honoured, honestly – that I would get a prophet. I didn't hope for anything more than a consort or a devotee.”

 “As soon as we have the time,” Nuala growled, “you're going to teach me as much magic as possible, so I can maybe defend myself next time Haamiath or whatever else comes looking for me. Or at least tell me how to actually start making prophecies, because knowing the future would be really handy.” Her grip on the steering wheel tightened. Haamiath was going to fucking pay for what it had done. And so would everyone else on its side.

 “I don't know much,” Nit said. “Basics, really.”

 Lights blared in the distance. Nuala narrowed her eyes, trying to figure out what it was – the flashing whirl of blue and red looked like garda lights. Then she rounded a corner, passing by an enormous elderflower tree leaning over most of the road, and slammed the brakes.

 A trio of flashing garda cars were parked across the road, forming a roadblock. Nuala's car skidded uncontrollably for a moment on the tamp tarmac, finally coming to a halt dangerously close to the neon yellow striped side of the nearest car.

 A guard in a reflective vest approached Nuala's car. He shone a torch into the diver window, then indicated for Nuala to open the door.

 Trying to plant a relatively normal, I'm-just-out-driving-for-no-reason look on her face, Nuala reached for the door handle.

 Nit grabbed her wrist, stretching across her and right into the guard's line of sight. But he didn't scream or panic. In fact, his expression did not change.

 “Don't open the door,” Nit said in a tiny, pained voice. “That's not a human. They're already searching for us.”

 Nuala's gaze flicked over to the guard again, her heart accelerating. The light from the torch in his hand drowned out his expression, so that all she saw was a black silhouette, backed by dizzily whirling red and blue lights.

 The guard reached out and tapped insistently on the window.

 “What'll I do?” Nuala breathed.

 Another sharp tap on the window.

 “Draw a circle on the transparent bit,” Nit said.

 “In blood?”

 “Yes, what else?”

 Nuala raised her voice, calling through the window. “Hold on a moment, I think the window's broken!”

 She cast about the car for a sharp object, her heart pounding. Outside, a second guard – identical to the first, right down to the torch and 'Officer O'Leary' name-tag – had joined the first. The two discussed something with their heads together, then one of them pulled a gun.

 “An garda síochána, ye are not,” Nuala hissed, grabbing at the only sharp thing she could see – the tip of Nit's splintered horn. She cut across her left thumb, letting the blood well up, then quickly smeared a circle on the inside of the window.

 Nit warily raised its head – in cutting her thumb, she had inadvertently shoved Nit's face into the handbrake.

 “Now a cruciate,” Nit said, speaking rapidly. “An, um, a cruciform...”

 One of the fake guards tapped the window with his gun.

 Thank god for Nuala's Christian archaeology module, otherwise she wouldn't have had a clue what Nit was saying. She smeared a cross into the centre of the circle.

 “Then another circle, on the right tip.”  She did so, wincing slightly as the blood of the circle and cross began to combine with the condensation already on the window. The diluted blood mixture dripped down, staining the upholstery.

 “Now the hand,” Nit said.

 “Really? Every time?” Nuala demanded. She tore off her bandage and stretched open her right hand until the scab broke open. Gritting her teeth, she worried at the wound until blood began flowing freely.

 The gun tapped the window again. Then, without any further warning, the guard fired on the car. With a deafening blast, the bullet passed through the driver's door and embedded itself in Nuala's seat. She almost froze up, nausea rising to her throat. But she forced herself on, spreading blood over her palm, and quickly pressed a  hand print into the centre of her circle.

 For a moment, nothing happened. The guards seemed to have frozen. Nit pulled away, returning to the back of the van, and flattened itself to the floor as much as its injured wing allowed.

 Nuala's heart battered against her ribs in time with the ringing in her ears. Less than a centimetre thickness of plexiglass stood between her and a real life gun. Aside from Jennifer's dart gun and a few ancient shotguns mounted in the back of pubs, Nuala never seen a gun in her life. In a way, even the magic blood circles were more familiar to her than guns were.

 Then, slowly, the guard lowered his gun. The two of them turned away as one and walked to the cars in sync. Nuala stared, hardly daring to breathe.

 The guards didn't move their cars to let her through. With fumbling, slick hands, she shoved the car into the reverse and executed clumsy three-point-turn in the centre of the road. She'd have to find another way past – though the last turn-off she remembered had been quite a while ago.

 “So,” she said. “What was that that we just did?”

 “A gamble,” Nit said. “They were either spirit-possessed humans or automata. A spirit in a human would not be fooled by that. So they were automata. Hollow soldiers. The circle you did was an illusion circle that make the automaton forget everything in the bounds of – inside, uh – beyond the circle? And they had to look through the circle to see you, so... they forgot you.”

 Nuala nodded, shocks and jolts fraying at her nerves as the gunshot played over and over in her head. Wind howled through the new hole in the driver door.

 “Do I have to cut myself every time?” she said.

 “No,” Nit said. “Well. When you have nothing else, yes. But if you prepare, and use substitutes for the blood, you won't have to. But I don't know any of them.”

 “Great.” One handed, Nuala struggled to wind the bandage back around her palm. All of Emily's cleaning efforts had gone to waste – in the act of clawing open the scab, she'd probably introduced even more dirt and infection. The new cut on her thumb stung, but the gash on her palm ached dully.

 “While I'm still freshly bleeding,” she said, “we should probably draw that circle on all the windows, right? Because if they're chasing us, those two aren't the only ones they'll send.”

 “Good idea,” Nit said.

 Nodding, Nuala pulled up on the side of the road as soon as a hard shoulder appeared. Then, with a little difficulty in the tight space, she started painting the inside of each window and the back windscreen with more illusion circles. Of course, she had to leave the front windscreen clear, so she'd be able to see, but hopefully that would be enough.

 “It's a pity you can't help,” she said pointedly, once the job was done. She squeezed past Nit and settled back into the driver's seat.

 “My blood is useless,” Nit said.

 “But you don't have any special powers?”

 Nit looked out the bloody window thoughtfully. The tip of its forked tongue flashed out, catching a drip of blood coming off the circle.

 “Gross,” Nuala muttered, starting up the engine. “Listen, how long will these things last?”

 “As long as the circle is unbroken,” Nit said. “So... until the blood dries. When it dries, it'll crack and break the circle.”

 Good thing the interior of the car was so damp. To help more condensation from on the windows, to keep the circles damp, Nuala switched off the heating. Cold sank into her skin almost immediately.

 “Okay, finally,” she said, when the headlights caught the reflective surface of a road sign pointing out an upcoming T-junction. Further signs promised that if she took the turn, she'd be following along the 'scenic' route, alongside the great western greenway. She had only the vaguest idea of what the greenway even was, but the sign looked safe and touristy.

 The sky darkened. Nuala kept her eyes on the road, glancing from side to side every so often to check for police lights. Once, distantly, she could have sworn she heard sirens.

 The problem was that everyone knew about Nit. Once the initial curse sickness had run its course, and the panic had died down slightly, the scientists had turned their attentions to Nit. And almost instantly, they'd gone on record confirming what Nuala had already known, but what came as an earth-shattering revelation to everyone else: that Nit was a living creature, as real as any other animal.

 Only the threat of illness had saved the compound from a media storm. But even Nuala's parents, both of whom had trouble telling one end of a mobile phone from the other, had emailed her enquiring about Nit, the 'Cnoc Mór Devil'. People all over the world had started publishing articles and going on the radio and appearing on TV, all talking about Nit. The notes about Nit's birdlike anatomy had become public alarmingly fast.

 So even if real, non-possessed, non-automaton authorities had reached the compound, they'd know instantly that something important was missing. Everyone would be out searching for Nit. It was too important a specimen to let slip away, just like that. Jennifer's actions had proven that, anyway.

 The greenway road cut across the centre of the plain, yes, but it was also hopelessly twisty and devoid of signs. As the darkness outside became complete, Nuala found herself driving faster and faster, pushing the boundaries of safety. Who knew what sorts of monsters were chasing her?

 She reached over and flicked open the glove-box, blindly thumbing through it until she found a map.

 “Here,” she said, tossing it back to Nit, “can you read that for me? Just find Cnoc Mór, then follow the main road to Westport until the greenway splits off – that's where we turned.”

 Nit unfolded the map and spent a few seconds turning it over and over. Nuala watched in the rear-view mirror, slowing down slightly to compensate.

 “Got it?” she said.

 “Yes,” Nit said. “Wait. No. This is upside-down.” It rotated the map until it was the right way up.

 “Well?”

 “Or... this is upside-down,” Nit said, turning it over again.

 “Just read the town names,” Nuala said.

 “Wait... wait...” Nit flattened out the map on the ground and stared hard at it. “Actually, I can't read.”

 Nuala's eyebrows twitched. “I guess you pre-date writing. Hold on til I park up here...”

 She pulled over and squeezed into the back of the minivan. Flicking on the indoor lights, she crouched beside the map and had a look. After a moment's pause, she sighed and turned it so that it really was the right way up for Nit.

 “Okay, here's Cnoc Mór,” she said, pointing out the tiny tangle of roads on the western coastline. “Here's the main road, and here's Westport. Which is where we're going right now, since there'll be signs pointing us to Galway. Which is down there. But what I need to know right now is where the hell I am.”

 Together, they studied the map. Then Nit touched the tip of a claw to the paper. “There. This is the road bend, that's the river we passed a minute ago. We're here.”

 All right. Nuala traced the rest of the road down to Westport, trying to visualise any potential ambush spots for fake gardaí. The road was so bendy that she could easily imagine the guards at any corner, hidden by bushes or more coniferous plantations. Despite all the potential hiding spots, she felt herself sigh with relief – they were actually fairly close to Westport, maybe twenty minutes away at most.

 It was one thing to have strange, non-human monsters chasing her in the pitch darkness of the plains. She couldn't imagine being chased by anyone in the bright, modern-ness of the city.

 So, feeling a lot better, she returned to the diver's seat and started down the road again.

[roseusuitta-a]

HOW I RUN MY BLOG.

SPEED:

Varies. I tend to have more productive days than others. Day time when most people on the other side of the water are still sleeping is when i’m most productive so i don’t get distracted. Evenings i enjoy seeing memes on the dash and being able to join in with no pressure. ALSO bc i like to write lengthy stuff at the moment, it takes a hot minute and don’t let me get you started on formatting...

REPLIES:

UGh, at the moment i’m kinda into writing lengthy replies. I worry this may put people off replying to our thread, thinking they have to match that length. Sometimes i get a bit airy, fairy setting the scene and such, so please never feel like you have to match. As long as I have something to work with it’s all good. Just i can’t stress enough to not feel the need to match me. 

STARTERS:

I have a permanent stater call on my page & you can always go and give that thing a like, i may also get a interest post out. I UNderstand some people are shyer than others but i will welcome you with open arms <3 I’m r UBBISh at starters though, as in, i can either write somethin as long as the bible, but EVEN still sometimes its just ramble ishgygfh.

INBOX:

Atm i have 9 asks in there, ( it was 32 ) and i actually am getting through them ( y e ah boi  ) and some are hella old. I have a habit of reblogging a meme, getting 8 of them in my asks, replying to like 2 and then i’m worried people are sad and think i just didn’t want to reply to them but i m just slow …. But please always send me things,  i think they’re perfect for first interactions sometimes. 

SELECTIVITY:

I am a mutuals only blog, which means i only roleplay with those i follow & whom follow me back. That being said, i’m not off limits to those that follow but I don’t follow back. I’m only low key here bc of lockdown so its just so i have a nice easy dash uvu, but that doesn’t mean we can’t be friends. If i follow you that means i can see us interacting, so don’t ever be afraid to pop up/send something in. also, if i dont follow u back feel free to send me headcanon things or interesting anons? Bc I appreciate your love and support for aerith. I may just not follow you bc i don’t know your fandom?? i’m game for crossovers/au’s but i’m also shy to ask about these things -- so if you follow me, and i not back, feel free to pop a message and say yo -- if you’re interested, this would be a good interaction for us etc.

WISHLIST:

Hmmm.. Interacting with more people involved at ShinRa would be great. Other FF games, that would be rad too. Kingdom Hearts bc i need a verse for that tbh ??? some other au things i have on my wishlist 

HONEST NOTE:

I DON’T WANT ANYONE to feel like they can’t approach me, if you knew me irl you’d know i’m the biggest dork & if you  @ me w/ starbucks or taylor swift we can be friends for life. But on a more serious note. I like to get to know people ooc if there’s gonna be shipping involved, but i feel people are hesitant to ask me abt it??? Idk i just get a vibe ??? 

TAGGED BY:  Stole it. 

TAGGING: whomever wants to do it.