#like a small 9yo

[casimircrane]

so in the m9's campiagn we all remember when they got their first beacon, right? the attack on zedash, the assassins from the dynasty, ect?

i cant stop thinking about how those assassins had to be high ranking to get a holy artifact from a foreign country. and since they are, they mightve connected to the beacon once or twice. and we know in the lore that those who connect to a certain beacon and die near it, they get reborn into another body. y'all seeing where im going with this?

since those assassins died near the beacon, they had a chance of being reborn in zedash. inside human bodies. where they will get their memories back. and remember the fuck heads that killed them. im guessing here on time, and based off of luc's 'age', they should be around 8-10 years old. we dont know when they get their memories back, buut it would be very funny for a 9 year old to just wake up one day and tell their parents "you arent my parents, im from the dynasty, i need to go get revenge."

[haganez]

kaeya in every aspect is like they tried to make worlds most neurotic baby. hello small child u are our last hope and now have the weight of an entire nation on your shoulders. good luck and bye. gets put with a bunch of white people and just has the craziest case of anxiety you’ve ever seen in a 9yo. also he’s autistic. he finally feels at home again with his brother and then his adoptive dad DIES. reveals where he’s from and his brother almost kills him

like he was 100% going to die if not for suddenly gaining a vision. anyways his brother fucked his eye and left and he’s like 19 with gods most intense abandonment issues + alcoholism + constant intense anxiety about. well. everything

[tubborucho]

Personally, I perceive them as pre-teens, like 10-12yo (Pomme 10, Richas 11, Tallulah 11.5 and the rest are 12)

If the age range is too small for the answer (aka you think there are big age gaps between eggs), choose the option for the older eggs, because there’s more of them

[levinbolts]

we bought a zoo ass roundup under the cut (aka introducing 80% of my and my partner’s pets)

CATS

sebastian (sebby!). 10yo. the favorite and is very aware he is the favorite. shy around strangers but very sweet and clingy with people he’s familiar with. if one of us is on the bed, he has to be on or touching one of us at all times. very chatty and trills to his name being called every time. will literally let us move and toss him around without complaint he’s so chill. very mean to other cats when there’s treats or catnip involved.

sherlock (sherl!). 9yo. absolute chonker of a cat (20lbs). loves head rubs and belly scratches and WILL demand them if you’re in his sight longer than 5 seconds. announces every time he uses the litter box?? so we’ll know??? has his head in the food bowl or asleep on a pillow 99% of the time. only meows when he’s going to the litter box or wants pets.

prompto (prommy!). 3yo. MENACE. wants to play all the time and will swipe at you if you walk past him too many times in a short time span. thinks any small sudden noise is a toy and will run over to pounce on it every time. teeniest tiniest meow i have ever heard oh my god it’s so cute. likes to snuggle and suckles on patches of his own fur while he does it?? but then he falls asleep while he’s doing it and it’s real cute.

misty (mismis, ms. miss!). oldest animal in the house at 14yo. can’t see very well at all, so we think she’s going blind. very sweet and loves to be around people. comes running in to say hi when she hears us in the kitchen or living room. also loves head and belly scratches. does NOT like other cats so she doesn’t come in the bedroom even though she really wants to :(. we’re worried she’s on her way out.

DOG

rumlow (rum, rummy, rumple!) the only dog ! 3yo. clingiest dog i’ve ever met. literally has to be up someone’s ass at all times if he can see or hear them or he’ll die (whine and bark nonstop). thinks he’s a teeny tiny puppy still and not a 90lbs adult dog and tries to climb into people’s laps. has a big scary bark but is so sweet and lets the cats bully him (he’s terrified of prompto). neediest animal in the house honestly.

BIRDS (idk exactly how old any of them are so they won’t have ages)

matcha. my personal favorite of all the birds (i got to name him). chatty chatty chatty. knows how to say a lot of things but his favorites are “pretty bird” “pretty boy” and “gimme kiss”. he will actually give kisses if you put your finger up to the cage (sometimes he’ll bite instead if he’s hungry or cranky tho so you win some, you lose some). loves to be around people. WILL try to take your phone if he sees it, whether he can carry it or not. loves to splish splash take a bath.

bucky. sweetest of all the birds honestly. only has one little foot so he hops around everywhere. loves the color red and will sing to you if you have something red in front of him. knows the andy griffith theme and the addams family theme. loves head pets. the best flier of all the birds, though he doesn’t do it much. mostly just wants to be held.

pineapple. used to be in the same cage as bucky but bucky didn’t like her so we moved them. she’s still obsessed with him though and spends most of her time staring at him from across the room. pretends to be mean but mellows out after a couple head pets. terrible and landing when she flies and just smacks into shit. the only other bird that likes her is ramen noodle.

ramen noodle. hates everything but his bell toy and pineapple (who doesn’t even like him). very quietly mimics all the other birds and they hate it. usually if the other birds are screeching and we can’t tell why it’s because of him. idk he doesn’t do much else.

apple jack(lyn). i couldn’t get a good picture of her because she’s a bitch and wouldn’t be still. meanest bird of all time. yells at anyone that walks in the room. will try to bite you if you come within 8 feet of her cage. obsessed with her little bell ball toy and will get PISSED if you touch it for any reason. we thought she was a boy but when we found out she wasn’t, she became apple jacklyn instead of apple jack.

you’ve already met snapple in my last ask so i won’t put him here but he looks very similar to apple jacklyn

[emmashouldbewriting]

How'd you get on with the first few days back to school?

It was great, thank you! 9yo went up to the Year 5 & 6 Class to the best football mad teacher whom he adores (a lot of our local schools are so small there's like 100-ish students so we have two year groups together at primary level, and his teacher has been their football referee every lunchtime, so he already knows him really well!) and my shy boy has said he'd like two friends to come over for pizza and football for his birthday this month which makes me deliriously happy. He's such a sweet, smart ball of energetic chaos, and I love that he's made so many friends in just a year of being there :)

12yo has adjusted to her changed schedule incredibly. Truly. Her English teacher is the one she had at the end of last year and she adores him, and she's already been dubbed the class dictionary, so she's on cloud nine. He said, "If you don't know what a word means, ask 12yo," and she came home laughing almost hysterically with happiness. I think she's starting to realise how advanced she is in this subject matter and it's doing wonders for her self confidence. I know her well enough to know she's been bored and restricted until now, so I'm hoping that a more challenging academic regime in English will help her thrive in the way I know she can.

I am once again thankful I listened to my intuition and made the leap of faith last year to change their schools. :)

[kabillieu]

We made it back to Omaha in one piece. My 9yo Subaru with over 100,000 miles is sort of falling apart. I do NOT want another car, but Dominic is definitely going to buy a new car. Honestly, the only thing wrong with my car is that it has an oil leak and an ant infestation (yes, it happened to me AGAIN; I went to Alabama and got ants in my car). Also it needs new tires.

Dear Tom is feeling better, up to his annoying old cat antics, begging for food. I'm not certain that he's eating very much, but he's sounding more like his old self, at least. It was a minor miracle that we got him back here alive. He has a vet appointment tomorrow afternoon. I'm very thankful the long two-day drive went well for him and we didn't have to euthanize our cat in, say, Missouri.

When we got back to the house at 8pm, it was exactly as we left it in June: a disaster. I never had time to clean up from the chaos of having a baby then going back to my PhD work. It's a disaster here, and now it's work because our packed stuff for the summer has exploded. It looks like hoarders live here (maybe we're hoarders.) I don't know how this is going to get better in the week and a half I have left before I start my fall semester. One thing that will help is clearing out some of the baby stuff that R no longer needs. He went through a big transition this summer. He no longer needs all his bottles. I no longer need all my pumping supplies and the giant bottle sterilizer that takes up half of the counter in our small kitchen. I also don't need all the breastfeeding clothes and dresses I bought. I am still breastfeeding but starting tomorrow it will just be twice a day, in the morning and at night, and I don't need special clothes for that. My closet is jammed packed, a result of pandemic-spending and then buying maternity and then nursing clothes, and I just don't need most of that stuff anymore. It's going to hurt because I barely wore some of the things I bought, but I need to let those things go, and I need to free up space in my old-house closet (it is tiny.)

R goes back to daycare tomorrow, and I am sad about it!!! It feels ridiculous to be sad. I don't want to sit around all day tomorrow by myself and watch him in this dirty, cluttered house. Our house isn't even baby-proofed. He's so much more mobile now, and we are not prepared for it! But he's my buddy. We've spent every single day this summer glued together.

Baby Jesus be with me as I try to get through the transitions of the next three weeks.

[spoonietimelordy]

Questions to people older than me, but I've seen a trend amongst 50-60 yo lefties of being extremely scared of children being exposed to porn very early on the Internet (I'm speaking of 8 to 11 yo here). Like they are persuaded that 9yo are seeing porn everyday on the Internet, but that's not what the studies about it say at all, from what I've seen the average age of the first exposition to porn is around 13yo with small variations depending of the countries. And with the the current capitalistic "purification" of social media I feel like falling inadvertently on porn is becoming less and less of a concern.

Am I just completely out of sinc' with what pre-teen see on Internet or is it 50yo people who are?

[my-dark-happy-place]

I'm babysitting my cousin rn and I really wasn't in the mood to be totally honest and then when I just put him to bed he went "I love you. Good night."

That boy is 9yo and has never said that to me unprompted and then 5min later he said it again and honestly I needed that, small moments like that make it worth it.

[spaceorphanssecondbreakfastclub]

SO's Bookclub : The Specter

Title: The Specter Author: Joan Lowery Nixon Genre: YA Mystery

Goodreads Summary: Seventeen-year-old Dina is fighting cancer and is angry at the whole world. But when Julie, a nine-year-old survivor of a car accident, becomes Dina's roommate at the hospital, there's no time for Dina to keep on being angry. Because Julie is frightened. Desperately frightened. She's sure that someone caused the accident she was in ‒ someone who will return to kill her. Now she's insisting on being with Dina all the time. But by befriending Julie, is Dina making herself the target of a dangerous killer?

Review: It's now 1982, a year skipped, because JLN was probably writing one of her hundred Orphan Train books (this woman was prolific, and yet most people don't remember her - weird, right?).

Keeping watch over some trope-ish things I've been tracking -- Set in a small Texas town? Check. Religious community? Check - and this time in Spanish. Male hero popping up half way through the novel but romance is never firmly sealed with a kiss? You've got it! I've also noticed that these books often have some kind of older matriarch in them. In Christian Lattimore - it was her grandmother who ran the family. In The Séance - an elderly aunt was the caregiver. In this one, a retiring, Hispanic nurse takes care of the two kids. Interesting, right?

Oh - and conversations about college. Our main character, Dina, is really obsessed with college -- but it makes sense that she's preoccupied with it, because she has Hodgkin's Disease and doesn't know how long she'll live.

Oh boy, is this an uplifting book...

The story revolves around Dina dealing with her cancer treatment - all the meanwhile, a strange girl named Julie ends up in the hospital bed next to her. (Now that I think of it -- Julie, a car crash survivor, probably wouldn't end up in the same section as the cancer patients - but it's probably best not to think too hard about these plots.) The book is split up into two distinct parts - the first part dealing with everything that happens at the hospital and the second half dealing with being fostered by a retiring nurse.

Oh right, because both the teenage Dina and the 9yo Julie are orphans. This book just doesn't stop hitting you with these tragedies, but they're all in service to the plot that Nixon is trying to sell. Does it all work? Mmmmm - I suppose it's better than everything that happened in Christina Lattimore.

Here's the thing - it's kind of hard to talk about this book without getting into spoilers because all of it kind of hinges on the 'twist' that's at the end of the book. I will say - even if I hadn't remembered (and I was surprised at how easily it came back to me) it's pretty obvious what the twist is. Even the cover is spoilery once you know what's happening. It might have been intentional, though, to drum up drama. You're one step of all the characters in the book the whole way, and that adds to the tension.

The crux of the book lies on the growingly complicated relationship between Dina and Julie - and the mystery surrounding what happened in Julie's past that got her to this point.

I can't say that this was the most intriguing plot. Honestly, it might have been better as a short story - as the character development of Dina trying to cope with her cancer going into remission just felt like filler and padding time to get back to the, somewhat thin, plot of what was happening with Julie. I can say that Dina was at least a decent main character - and better written than either Christina or Lauren, but, while this is still a quick read, the book drags -- especially when it pushes in on the drama and consequently stretches out the mystery.

I should also note - while there is quite a bit of tension in the novel, it's not steeped in that unnerving late 70s/early 80s horror-esque feel. While definitely dated, it feels more generic than feeling of a single time and place.

Alright - so I am going to talk about the twist, so that'll be under the cut. The non-spoilery ending of this review will be -- it's fine. Not my favorite, not terrible, but not great either. Meh.

Rating: 2.75 Stars

**spoiler section**

Okay - so here's the thing. The whole twist is that after her mom decided to run off with this dude who nearly killed her father, Julie decided to cause the crash to kill them all. (Or did the guy kidnap them? I'm a little fuzzy on this.)

The thing is -- I feel like the ending is trying to paint Julie in a sympathetic light at the end. Oh, this poor girl and all the trauma she's been through. And her dad is alive - and they'll go live happily ever after.

But here's my issue. The kid is a freaking psychopath. Everything she does with Dina is psychopathic behavior. And she tries, multiple times, to murder people without really any kind of remorse. Everything she does is manipulative and selfish. And I guess I don't buy that the basis for all of this is psychological trauma from what happened to her. Not saying she wouldn't be traumatized because she would be. But the girl is also a psychopath. And I'm worried for her dad once he comes out of that coma...

The thing though, too, is that Julie is really what made me not like this book. She is terrible and annoying. The rest of the characters are fairly interesting (if a little dull). Dina is a find MC. Her love interest, Dave, is the first male hero I've liked. And her Hispanic community she gets fostered into are really fun. But Julie and all of her games - and the fact that they all keep making excuses for her is really annoying. The twist isn't that hidden, and like I said earlier, probably purposely done - but it makes it even more frustrating seeing it coming. I know times were different back then, but would they really so easily shuffle this girl, with these behaviors off so easily? Ug.

Anyway - that's my two cents on that. I still found it overall a better read than Christina Lattimore, though.

[little-orphan-ant]

🚢 please i need it

hmmm i am giving you my child Alfred Rush (Alfie!!!)

(ant from the future: jesus christ this was supposed to be short. warning: it is Not Short)

he was 15 when he boarded the titanic and turned 16 on the 13th (?), a couple days into the voyage. it was a very special occasion for him because it was the first time he was allowed to wear long trousers. (i want to hug him so bad im screaming) he was travelling to his brother in Detroit with family friends, Frank and Emily Goldsmith and their 9yo son Frankie. Emily became friends with Rhoda Abbott, meaning Alfie knew/was friends with Ross!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

when the boom hit iceberg oh no sinking oh no Death happened, the Goldsmiths, plus Alfie and another friend they were travelling with named Thomas Theobald (most superior name ever btw), did actually make it up to the deck, unlike most 3rd class families. Emily, Frankie, and Alfie were somewhat near in the crowd to the Abbotts and also Bruce Ismay, as they all ended up at the same lifeboat. as Ross and Genie were turned away, Alfie was allowed in, because he looked younger than he was and was also Quite Short (we have that in common <3). but he didnt want to go!! he said, and i quote/maybe paraphrase bc i cant remember what his exact words were: 'No! I'm staying with the men.' and dklfjdsafsjdf. like i know he was just being a little boy who wanted to grow up quickly (yes hes older than i am but shut up) but!! Alfie staying back probably made room for another kid. or fucking Bruce Ismay. wait never mind. fuck Bruce Ismay.

but i seriously go batshit abt the parallels between Ross and Alfie. Ross was forced to grow up too fast, while Alfie (as the youngest of 9 kids and kinda spoiled i must admit) wanted to grow up but wasnt allowed to. screaming crying throwing up i love these boys.

we dont have any confirmed pictures of him :( but i imagine him looking something like this

he is Small and i want to embrace him lovingly but sadly i cannot :(

[goji-pilled]

MK-S: Guess I was reading a little too far into that. Here’s an idea inspired by that miscommunication: Outside of Mitakihara, the rumored story of Mitakihara’s Executioner has a variation with Oktavia referred to as “Mitakihara’s Butcher”, with implications that Oktavia is responsible for most murders in the city; this isn’t true, and is just a product of the rumor mill (or a game of Telephone). However, Incubators are quick to pounce on these rumors, with their usual half-truths:

“I’ve *heard* a witch in human form is roaming as a serial killer.”

“*They say* the Butcher of Mitakihara skins her victims first.”

“She’s killed dozens of Magical Girls (That we manipulated to attack her first.)”

Exploiting existing rumors to both propagate them further, and manipulate magical girls into trying to attack Oktavia and other domesticated witches. They could also use these rumors to trick children into becoming magical girls, using a “hypothetical” serial killer (clearly alluding to Oktavia) as their motive for wishing. In fact a tragedy could emerge that it was these rumors that prompted some magical girls to attack Oktavia in the first place.

Ohhhh that has to be one of the most interessting things I've heard,,, because like Kyubey absolutely would tell them just enough of the truth to manipulate girls into going to Mitakihara or making contracts with him.

He'd especially do that to younger kids, like I'm talking about Nagisa age, because those kids can easily be perusuaded and sweet talked into making contracts to be heros. And because they're so young they're also much more prone to turning into witches themself.

Imagine Kyubey leading that kind of girl he just contracted through Mitakihara, telling her about the evil witch that supposedly uses a human face to kill people left and right, only for him to get stabbed through the skull by a cutlass.

So there's this like 8 or 9yo kid being approached by someone who she assumed killed Kyubey for good, and that someone's Oktavia, not that the girl knows that mind you. She first assumes it's just an older magical girl.

But the stranger doesn't seem threatening at all (just a bit intimidating considering how tall she is) despite what she just did. She really just kneels down in front of the girl. "Never trust a word the Incubator says," she says.

And when asked why Oktavia explains carefully and slowly how soul gems works, what witches really are, how witches are domesticated and how over the years Mitakihara has built a sort of second-secret-magical-society. Full of magical girls snd witches that work together, she even hands the girl a card with the number of the soul gem cleaning seevice.

And then Oktavia tells her that she's the Executioner. She tells her that its not a job she enjoys doing, she prefers to keep killing as a last resort, how it's her way to keep their little part of the world from hurting anymore (Always without any of the gruesome details of course) and that she has no intention of hurting her.

In fact, Oktavia offers to take her home. To which of course the girl is incredibly unsure now. And Oktavia decides to hand her something small and cold, and it's her grief seed.

"Why?"

"Because I trust you and want you to trust me."

(And if this is how the mermaid witch shattered Kyubey's plan by accidently emotionally adopting a child then that's fine too.)

[jaytmann2]

It was two weeks before my 15th birthday. Mum, Emma and the baby were still at Aunty Julie's and Brad was at work so I was home alone and bored shitless. My dog was sniffing at the sliding door so I got dressed in a pair of light blue tight boxer briefs, my favourite grey trackies and a plain black t-shirt and my nike runners, got the dogs lead and took him for a walk.

I was a mild Saturday morning, people were mowing lawns, washing cars, walking, running, kids playing, the neighborhood was a hive of activity.

As I walked up my street I saw a couple of girls from school and a younger girl. It was Gemma, her little sister Tia and Gemma's friend Rebbecca. The 3 girls got up off the lawn and ran out to me calling at my dog and asking his name. I told them his name is Billy. They all bent down to pat him which he loved. Gemma gets up and says "hey isn't it your birthday soon?" I said "yeah, how do you know?" Gemma said "heard it from someone at school.......hey it's my birthday soon too!" I thought I'd be polite and ask when? Gemma said "on the 19th!" I said "cool, mines the 20th" we laughed, I felt a little awkward as Gemma piped up with " I'm turning 14yo, what about you?" I told her "15yo"

Gemma was just a tiny bit shorter then me, slim, long straight brown hair, big brown eyes, definitely pretty, her tiny waist highlighted her shapely hips and round butt and small budding boobs. Gemma was wearing some short pink shorts and a yellow tank top with a little red bra. Gemma had one of those squeaky high pitch voices that sounded more annoying then cute! Tia looked like a much younger version on her sister with the typical 9yo look and wearing a blue dress and Rebecca was a little taller then Gemma and I, she had long darker brown hair, Rebbecca was what you'd call a big girl, solid. She was 14yo blue eyes, REALLY big tits for a girl her age, big wide hips with a big butt to match thick thighs and a bit of a pot belly. She wasn't gross fat but definitely a thick girl. She was actually had a really pretty face and a sexy voice. Rebecca was wearing old faded blue cut off Jean shorts, with a tight blue tank top with string straps that looked 2 sizes too small.

Gemma and Rebecca had lots of dark eye makeup on and were kinda looking a little "skanky or slutty" Gemma and Tia 's family lived on the poorer end of the street.I lived in the new development end where the girls lived in the older end. Every 2nd house had a wrecked car in it and rubbish piles etc. The girls asked what I was up to and I said "just taking Billy for a walk. They asked to come, I tried to think of an excuse but they just wouldn't take no for an answer. We walked alone the street toward the huge park a few large blocks away. Gemma wouldn't stop talking, a real chatter box!

We eventually got to the park, I threw a ball for Billy a few times before Tia begged to play with him and said her dog is mean so she can't play with it so I happily let her. With her younger sister distracted, Gemma asked if I was still with Renee and I said "no, we broke up ages ago but still great friends" she asked if I was with anyone?, interested in anyone? And a million other questions.

One thing to know about Gemma is there was talk in the neighborhood that she was "easy and skanky" so her look matched her reputation. Mind you my reputation at school wasn't that clean, I was know as a "hung manwhore" which is funny because I'd only gone out with Renee! Little did everyone know what I was really like in private!

Gemma's conversation was getting flirty and Rebecca was chiming in. Tia was distracted by my dog. Gemma just blurted out "so everyone says you have a really big dick Jay" as she glances to my crotch and says "kinda shows too" in a rather slutty tone. I said, "maybe, I wouldn't know" and smirked. Gemma said "well can we see?" I played dumb and said "why would you wanna see it for?" I was starting to get in the mood and really wanted to flash my cock but didn't want to seem too eager.

Keep reading next page..........

[ghostofnibelheim]

[Four Seasons] Where Crossroads Part

One-shot drabble for the “Four Seasons” Divergent Megaverse!

Of how Fuhito and Reisi, childhood friends and rivals, separated to follow their calling.

Involved Characters: Fuhito Fushimi, 10yo ( @fuhitoofavalanche​​ ), Reisi Munakata, 9yo ( @roleplay-abiogenesis2​ )

References: Before Crisis -Final Fantasy VII-

Settings: Wutai Village, July εγλ 1976

It was on summer days like these, when the scorching heat of the sun caused irritating tears of sweat to run down under the clasps of his spectacles, and the cicadas droned incessantly in his eardrums, that Fuhito found the very act of existing to be a challenge.

The bugs’ singing mostly. People said that you got used to it over time. Eventually, on these dull hot days, their sound would become so regular to blend in the background, and you wouldn’t notice it anymore unless the cicadas stopped abruptly.

He knew what that phenomenon was called: the subaudible. 

That’s because you got used to it, but one shouldn’t be fooled, that sound was always there. Even in a house where there aren’t any baseboard heaters, there are noises. The fridge goes on and off. The pipes thunk. The floors creak. The traffic goes by outside. You'd hear those things all the time, so most of the time you wouldn’t hear them at all…

That was how it was supposed to work, and yet… not for him.

Fuhito’s mind worked differently from the rest of the village. And with it, so did his perception. He couldn’t stop noticing the cicadas. Or the pipes. Or the creaking floors. His eyes and ears took in each meticulous detail, incredibly aware, and analyzed it. Filed it somewhere. Incessantly. There hadn’t been a moment in his life where he could recall to not be thinking about anything at all.

Genius, his family called it. But to him, it was a curse.

For as much as his mind raced to observe and study each little detail of this world, nothing around him changed. This place and its people were enslaved in a preternatural state of stasis that he simply could not bear.

So small… Wutai was so, so very small to this young boy. He hadn’t been on this Planet for a decade yet, and already he felt so very tight and constricted in this place. How was he supposed to endure this torture any longer?

Dark brows furrowed slightly, at nothing in particular; fixed on the rippling waters of the lazy creek that flew under that lonesome bridge on the edge of town. A fish hunting for bugs. Would that fish could fly to eat cicadas, he thought. That would solve both of their present problems.

But that small fish couldn’t go anywhere out of the small confines of that river. Pathetic and hopeless.

¬

There he was, standing on the bridge. Approaching at a calm pace, Reisi wasn’t surprised in the slightest. Not unusual for him either; even at his young age, where the world should be new and full of wonderment, hardly anything fazed him.

He’d always been a little special like that, by his family standards. The odd one, blessed with an incredible mind that was so frustratingly complicated and deep for his parents to fully grasp.

Even now, as he strolled alongside the river that slithered across the village, one would think the boy to be simply enjoying the summer, perhaps seeking the cool respite of the water from the heat of the blazing sun. But that wasn’t it at all: simply put, Reisi was headed to his destination.

He hadn’t been summoned by his friend by any means (and between the two of them, the term ‘friend’ had its own peculiar meaning); no agreement had been made to meet there and then. The boy with that strange dark, blueish hair simply knew this was where he was meant to be today.

It was a strange talent of his, to know exactly where something or somebody belonged. Not in the sense that he could find anything he wanted with some magic trick; he was far from being a miraculous detective. But he knew when he was looking at something that did not belong where it was, or when it did belong.

Looking at Fuhito, he’d always known from the start that he did not belong anywhere in the village. But, if he had to be in Wutai, on a day like this, with a mind such as his own, this little bridge is where he’d be.

Would it be the last time he’d meet him here? He had a feeling. The two of them would soon be entering adolescence besides. It was time for change to come. And though perhaps not in such a poetic way, Reisi thought that Fuhito believed the same.

“They seem louder than usual today, do they not?” He greeted with that provoking question, one hand rising to habitually adjust his heavy glasses over the bridge of his nose. The smile on his lips was a little smug. A bit of childish pride in his ability to read his favorite challenger so well.

¬

Fuhito scoffed… inside, anyway. On the outside, it displayed only through the slow, heavy closing of his eyes and a quiet sigh that would have been subtle enough, were it not for the fact that it was Reisi Munakata he was dealing with. This boy seemed to see through people as though they were made of glass.

“… I’m leaving.” He announced, refusing to beat around the bush as his ‘friend’ would like. His hand rose in the mechanic habitual gesture of adjusting the glasses on his nose, much like Reisi had.

¬

“Oya, that’s sudden.” Munakata turned his head in the slightest, flicking a glance at the other. Even from someone as unexpressive as Fuhito, he could tell the determination in that claim. The boy was not joking around.

“But not unexpected. You’ve always been a difficult one to take root. I suppose it was a matter of time before the wind would sweep you away from your family.”

¬

“My family… is nothing more than that.” A small world within a world that was even smaller before the grand scale of the Planet. Never mind the universe itself. Did a speck of mold on a tree stump care for the rest of the mold from which it had spread? Fuhito would never understand why something as abysmal as that mattered so strongly in Wutai. It was a constricting thought; it suffocated vision.

A light ‘humph’ huffed through his lips, and with the shortest tilt of his head in the direction of the other boy, he asked “I thought you might share the sentiment. Do you not?”

¬

“Are you asking me to come with, Fuhito?” Hands clasped behind the back, Munakata turned in full to face his friend this time; the teasing grin on his lips was smug.

Yet, it wiped almost instantly on his face, as something else caught his attention. Past Fuhito’s shadow, in the distance, a thin trail of black smoke tainted the sky.

¬

“….” A tough question that Fuhito couldn’t answer there and then. The timely distraction was rather welcome. Catching a glimpse in the reflection of Munakata’s glasses, he half-turned around to also spot the same thing.

Funny how something so familiar could still startle a boy’s heart.

“… Looks like he’s back at it.”

¬

“The forge hasn’t been burning for a few days. I thought he’d finished.” The blue-haired boy spoke, with a mildly bitter note in his voice.

He looked at Fuhito, and their agreement was unspoken but physical. Without another word, the two boys headed up the dirt path that led up the hill. A little further away from the village, to the small residence of the swordmaster.

The blacksmith of Wutai used to be a wise, pious man. Dedicated to his craft, strong even after many years beating the hammer, breathing the fumes of coal and melted steel, breaking his nails clumping dirt to make clay. Someone people looked up to, and considered without rivals even after successfully passing down his knowledge to two different apprentices.

But then, things had changed.

¬

Tragedy was an infection that spread misery and madness. Fuhito had witnessed that personally, lately more than in the past. Ever since the outside world seemed to have gained an interest in the archipelago, Wutai had been shaken off of balance. Visitors had brought instability; disease; and questions.

The latter had certainly affected him, he wouldn’t lie to himself.

For the swordsmith, it had been disease. His only daughter had been the first to go. Then his wife, killed by foreigners. Unknown people in blue had been scouting alongside the mountain ridges, deep within the caves where monsters came from. Where the earth cut open wounds and bled with light and colored fumes. A forbidden place to the village, that had been disturbed. The legend said going there would allow demons to steal your soul. Maybe the swordsmith’s wife had climbed up there out of concern for the foreign visitors.

But she’d never come back. And when her husband himself had gone to find her, he hadn’t come back as the same man. Maybe there was some truth to the myths. Or maybe, as Fuhito suspected, myths were nothing but truth dumped into a bog of ignorance and superstition.

Even with this strong belief in mind, he was well aware of how both of their feet had slowed down the more they approached the forge.

“… I heard you have been helping your neighbor. She went into labor the other day, did she not?” He asked the other boy, rather out of the blue as they came to a stop.

¬

Munakata turned his head with a curious rise of one brow. Was Fuhito… stalling? It was uncharacteristic of him.

But he indulged him and nodded. “She had a healthy boy. Tseng, I believe she named him. You should go see him before you leave.”

¬

“Kisaragi-san will not be pleased with you.” Fuhito quickly deflected, keeping a passive frown in his eyes as he cast a sideglance towards the other.

¬

“Hmph…” A small chuckle. “I will deal with it when that time comes.”

He knew what Fuhito was trying to do, and the attempt was deflected. He wasn’t going to leave with him; certainly not out of fear of the head of the village.

¬

Fittingly countered, just as expected by the most promising swordman in the village. But Fuhito’s disappointment was short-lived.

For the full front of his mind was brutally struck by disgust. Almost sickness-inducing, hitting straight at the nose.

“What the…?” He coughed, both he and Munakata quickly covering their faces with their hands. He pinpointed it then, by the cue of the ear. Intense buzzing of flies, right by the fence that framed the property of the swordsmith.

Beside the small gate lay a pile of different containers, half-open and ravaged by the wild. Food long spoiled, now a feast to the birds and critters, a nest for larvae, already crawling in the recesses of baskets and ceramics. The sight threatened to double his nausea.

¬

“Offerings from the village…” Munakata spoke barely, his words quick as not to breathe air more than necessary. “So he’s stopped eating, as well.”

To say the swordsmith had been neglecting himself since losing his family would be an understatement. Horror tales were coming from the quarry, one of the few places he’d still show up to, to get more materials. Even more gruesome were the stories from the polisher, the second most important authority in the realm of weapon-making in Wutai. The polisher was to a blacksmith what a musician was to a composer; their relationship was inevitable however unpleasant of late.

The man told of a swordsmith that barely resembled a human being anymore. Having forgone tending to personal hygiene or health, he stumbled into the shop in tatters, followed by the stench of sweat, blood, and excreta that his body or mind no longer controlled. A man with dead eyes, speaking incoherently, addressing the invisible. Only his hands still moved with expertise, as though his very soul clung to those limbs for a final job before tearing off what remained of a once strong body, now reduced to little more than brittle skin and muscles.

¬

Fuhito had also heard the stories; albeit uninterested, he could not deny the morbid curiosity behind the man’s fate. Or his condition entirely. When their tense silence was broken by the sound of a hammer beating on hot iron, his feet found new resolve to move. Climbing the steep hillside to the top, he approached the forge’s entrance, where the sun couldn’t reach. The open doorway was eerily dark, with red faint shadows of light flaring every now and then, as though a dying star hid inside.

Just an accomplice sideglance to his friend before he stepped inside. And soon enough, there he was. Curved like a dying old tree over the anvil, the hammer rose and fell in rhythmic blows like a storm in the clouds. Again, and again. Ignoring the protesting limbs, the shake of legs just about to give in. A bald scalp nodded at each strike, like the pendulum of a grotesque clock, as if the man himself was working in his sleep.

And maybe he was. Fuhito suspected the few days of quiet had been just a spell of rest; maybe the man had passed out in this very room, only to resume his craft as soon as consciousness had returned to him.

They stood there in silence until the hammer came to a stop. He’d noticed them, but the swordsmith did not rise his eyes from the burning red rod of iron in his hands; he just turned, barely, to lamely move towards the slack tub.

“…Go away, boys.” A voice barely above a whisper croaked. “Away from this cursed place.”

¬

“Okazaki-san…” Munakata spoke up in return but trailed off, his thoughts derailed like they rarely would be. For a moment, his focus on the man’s conditions was shifted, all in a split second the translucent red metal entered the water and the water hissed. It felt as though the Leviathan herself infested that small tank, and expressed her wrath at the weapon’s intrusion.

That blade was… off. Everything about what he was seeing could be described as that, but the craft itself stood out more than anything, even more than the barely breathing corpse who moved and spoke before them.

“What are you doing, Okazaki-san? The length of that sword… it’s unnatural.”

Average swords took a good year to forge. The finest blades could take up to eighteen months. It was as far as Munakata’s expertise in the field went.

But the swordsmith had been working on this one ever since his return from the mountains, and the death of his wife.

It had been two whole years. Had insanity ensnared the man into a never-ending process of smoldering and fusing steel with more steel to no end?

“If it gets any longer, no one will be able to wield it properly.”

¬

“… Not yet. It isn’t ready yet.” The husk of a man muttered once the steam began to disperse. He left the tank for a minute, moving to the bellows. Arms once large and strong lifted and lowered the equipment, pushing air into the furnace. The embers burst brighter with light and heat, the wave pushing through the room, threatening to scorch the clean, soft skin of the children who observed.

The moment he turned to grab the blade and bring it back to the fire, Fuhito thought he saw something new. Green stains had bloomed in the once perfectly black irises of the swordsmith. They shone like fresh flowers in the darkest forest.

And Fuhito thought they were beautiful, however frightening.

“Nobody…” The man whiskered against the sizzle of fire on cold steel, nearly repeating the words of his friend. “Nobody will wield it properly.”

He directed his attention to them no more. Fully refocusing on his work, bellowing, hammering, forging, driven to hysteria, he continued to whisper, and then rumble, and then scream those words, over and over. Until their ears could take it no longer.

“NOBODY! NOBODY!! NOBODY!!!”

[...]

“… Reisi.”

Fuhito had broken their silence first. They were at the edge of the village now, and his bag was ready. No goodbyes had been necessary; his family was busy doing what they did… absolutely nothing of interest. Only the bespectacled boy who had accompanied him to the boundaries of the village was needed.

He’d called him by name; something he typically wouldn’t do. Something too intimate perhaps. But Fuhito figured if the other would laugh at him for doing so, he’d be soon long gone to hear it.

“What happened to that man might be just the beginning of a change this place isn’t ready to face. Do you sincerely not care to know more?”

¬

From where he’d moved to sit atop a fallen tree, Munakata lifted amethyst-colored eyes back at Fuhito. His name sounded always strangely endearing on his lips, for how little he’d ever heard it. A bit too graceful on such a serious voice.

“I do.” He reassured him. “Maybe just not in the same way you do.”

¬

Fuhito’s eyes could be cutting blades underneath that front of absolute apathy that was his face. They met that violet and drilled into it sharply. After a few silent instances, a pull to the corner of his lip to the downwards betrayed his disappointment.

“You haven’t asked me where I’m going.”

¬

“Because I do not plan to come and find you.”

Maybe Munakata had survived that clash of stares, but it hadn’t been without breaking a sweat. His fingers rose to gently pick the silver-rimmed frame, bringing it to his lap where a purposefully kept piece of fabric was produced from his pocket to wipe at the lenses.

“Next time we meet, I will be right here.”

¬

“… You believe you’ll be staying here, and that I will fail. Return with my tail tucked between my legs in shame.”

¬

“Oya. That’s quite some lofty words you’re putting in my mouth, Fuhito.”

Munakata chuckled when his careful cleaning of the glasses was finished, and he could look back at his friend once again.

“What I believe in is order.” He then spoke, standing back on his feet, and moving up to where the other stood. “There is an order to everything. All of us here belong to some place, to some cause. And right now, where I belong is here.”

Slowly then, with maybe just a hint of hesitation, he raised one hand in offer. A more in-land method to part ways, perhaps, but he figured if he had to let Fuhito go, it would be with the gift of early practice for what awaited beyond the sea.

“Please, indulge me in my belief that your cause will bring you back someday. However different things will be.”

¬

“… Stubborn to the end.”

No matter, he thought. He always worked best alone. Munakata was brilliant, for all intents and purposes. And maybe Fuhito had been immature in thinking their heads could serve best together to make something great.

But things could be great without necessarily working to the same cause. In that, maybe his friend had a point.

What change was to come for them, and how it would shape them up as men, he did not quite know yet. But there was a fire, undoubtedly, that burned bright with curiosity to find out. Until the day he would be able to brandish that fire to shed light properly on his own fate and that of the Planet, Fuhito would walk alone in the dark; maybe with at least the comfort that a set of familiar, understanding eyes would be watching from behind.

Even if it was from a safe place he’d never come back to.

With respect, he took Reisi’s hand for a shake. No further words needed to be exchanged; just one last knowing look behind crystal lenses.

[littleteacupdragon]

I have such a weird relationship with the concept of children. There are peeps who don't like kids and peeps who love them, good for them in either case! My closest friends don't like kids, don't want to have kids, all the more power to them to deal with the society's views on that.

But me? I honestly don't know. My family is small, I never really had much contact with kids younger than me, and if I had it always were just random, one-off things. I don't know how to act around kids, not really. I definitely never really had contact with infants. I've tutored a kid that was 7yo and I couldn't connect with him, for the life of me. But I've also tutored a kid that was 8-9yo and she was such a little sunshine, so energetic. I've been a part of one St. Nick's day activity for kids but again, couldn't connect at all. I've painted faces for kids about the 9yo range as well and that was really fun, actually! Maybe because I knew what I was doing. I remember playing with my young cousin when I was a tween and she's a good decade younger but that was just accompanying her, and I was a kid back then as well. And I coloured some with a young daughter of my mum's friend when we visited, and I really didn't mind having her in my lap or anything, but I came out of that visit so drained.

But i don't mind kids in general. I don't scowl at them when I see them on little trips when I go to classes, or in shops in general. Kids can be cute, definitely. But they can also be loud and yes, nobody likes a baby crying, but sometimes kids just talk really loud and it's not the most fun I've had. And if somebody asked me if I wanted to have kids of my own - I honestly can't say I know the answer. First off, I'll need someone to have them *with* but there's all of that that goes into it. I've always said that if it came to adopting I'd like to give a chance to an older kid, I don't mind not being blood related because blood relation is bullshit either way.

I can't say I don't like children, but I also can't say I love them. I don't understand them and I'm afraid I'll do something wrong because of it. I'm not entirely indifferent either when I get drained like with any strangers. It's so weird

[angelwiththeblue-box]

okay you get context now.

when the 9yo was like 3/4 she fell down the stairs and lost a tooth

earlier today she dropped the margarine down the stairs and the container cracked a teeny little bit

so

sturdy as a small child

ahhhh

[suckitsurveys]

Is it currently raining where you are? No, but it is snowing, though. I think it’s going to be a mix at some point today, though.

What’s something that you have been wanting to say to someone? I REALLY want to fucking say something to my brother in law but I don’t want my relationship with my nieces to be strained. What’s your favorite thing to do at the end of the day? Just chill out? Maybe have a small sweet snack and play something on my phone or computer or watch TV with Mark. When did you last use a lighter or matches? The other day.

  Do you or anyone you know have covid or the flu? Not currently. Do you have a hard time letting things go? Yeah. What did you last have to eat? The last thing I ate was last night’s dinner which was cajun chicken sandwiches. Are you allergic to anything that is unusual? Some medication called bactrim or something. It’s for UTIs. When did you last feel fear? Always in a stare of some kind of fear/panic honestly. What did you last drop? A food container. Luckily nothing spilled out of it. Have you ever been to a Halloween themed amusement park? Fright Fest at 6 Flags? What’s something about your health that you would like to change? My weight. When did you last look on the mirror? This morning.  What color is your favorite shirt? Black. What last made you smile? A picture I saw on IG. Have you ever walked through a sunflower field? Yes. How often do you listen to music? At least once a day, in some form or another. Are you a fan of Taylor Swift? What’s your favorite song from her? She has some incredibly catchy songs and I’m actually digging her new album a lot. My favorite song off of there is probably Maroon. But All Too Well (10 Min Version) is definitely my favorite of her’s. Would you be happy if you got a lifetime supply of the last thing you purchased? A lifetime supply of gas would actually be amazing. What’s something great that has happened to you recently? I mean, a small handful of things. How old were you when you had your first best friend? Kindergarten. Do you believe that anything is infinite? No. What did you last order from a fast food restaurant? I took my nieces to McDonald’s the other day after school and I ordered a small root beer and some fries for myself; a double cheese burger (with JUST pickles, Auntie!!!!!!!!!), fries, and a small root beer for my 9yo niece; and a4pc McNugget Happy Meal with fries and a chocolate milk for my 4yo niece. How often do you have to purchase shampoo and conditioner? Maybe once a month or more? Mark has like no hair and I don’t wash mine that often (dry shampoo is my best friend), especially when it’s freshly dyed. What was the last pain you’ve had on your body? My feet are killing me. Is there anything currently bothering you? ^The aforementioned feet Would you ever paint your bedroom bright blue? Certain shades of it, perhaps. What’s your favorite way to eat rice? Weird, this question was on the last survey I did too. I think I said “with my mouth” as the answer like a smart ass, but now I will say “rolled up in sushi.” Do you currently have a window open? No, its freezing here. What kind of jacket do you like wearing most? A puffy one that goes past my butt. Do you own a sherpa blanket? Yes. Are you currently wearing something green? I am not. Have you recently lost something? I can’t remember. What’s something that has really impacted your life? My brother in law entering my sister’s life. What scents can you currently smell? The perfume I used a bit of this morning. What did you last have as a snack? A Snickers bar. Are you currently listening to music? No. Would you say you’re a strong person? In some ways, sure. What’s something you miss from the past? Road trips. When did you last rush for something? ...this was in the last survey too....I rushed to get to work again today. I absolutely need to work on this. I need to go to bed earlier. Do you require a lot of personal space or do you enjoy being around people often? I like space, but I do like being around people today. Have you drank enough water today? I am starting to think this survey stole exact questions from another one, or vise versa, because this one was also in the last one. Anyway, it’s still early. Do you like lima beans? I’m not sure, actually. I haven’t tried them in a while. What was the last lie you told? Uhhhh. What did you last plug into an outlet? The Christmas lights in the office. Do you have anything due soon? The credit card bill is due tomorrow. How many bottles do you see from where you’re sitting? I can see two water bottles, a bottle of some sort of cleaning agent, and a bottle of hand sanitizer. What was the last thing you took a picture of? A couple of ornaments on the tree.