#like ohhh no if I touch that then it will judge me (impossible) and I can’t do it because it’s too much!

[crowcryptid]

you ever get hit with the obsession beam so bad that you can’t directly interact with the Thing because it’s too much

Does that make sense

Like if you were cold but your only option to warm up was to be in a room that’s on fire

Oh no, that’s Too Much. so you must remain cold

[callous-and-misunderstood]

Marlos 44 or 117 for the ask game?!

Thank you so much!

Marlos, and 117: “Can I do your hair?”

This got a little sappy, but I love to write a vulnerable Mal...so here’s an angst/fluff one-shot!

It was Saturday. Saturday was Mal’s favorite day of the week because it was the start of the weekend, and breakfast on Saturday was always pancakes, which she always topped with strawberries and whipped cream. She even woke up early to get a full plate, though she often went back to bed after she’d eaten.

But it was now noon, so breakfast was over. And Mal was still in bed with no pancakes or strawberries.

Mal was in a very, very bad mood.

It had been brewing all week, a slowly growing storm her friends had been eyeing nervously. Mal’s bad moods were notoriously destructive, though when her friends worked together they were able to keep her somewhat docile.

But this weekend, only Carlos was on campus. Evie had left the night before to spend the weekend with Snow White and ‘bond’, whatever that meant. The tourney team had a game in Sherwood Forest, and the cheer team had gone with, meaning Jay, Ben, Lonnie, and Jane were also gone. So, just Carlos and Mal were wandering the mostly empty halls of Auradon Prep.

Normally, Mal would relish the quiet on campus, especially since Audrey and Chad were in Sherwood Forest with the tourney and cheer teams. But after her last class on Friday, she’d crawled into her bed, pulled the covers over her head, and hadn’t moved since.

Carlos rapped on her door firmly, unsurprised by the lack of response. He pulled out the spare key Evie had given him and Jay, and let himself into the room.

“Ugh,” Carlos wrinkled his nose as he took in the state of Mal’s side of the room. She hadn’t picked up anything all week, so dirty socks, crumpled papers, and half-eaten granola bars littered the floor.

“Go AWAY!” Mal grumbled from her cocoon of blankets.

“I have strawberries,” Carlos countered, pulling a full carton out from his bag.

Mal paused, then stuck a hand out from her nest.

“Give them.”

“Nope, you gotta get out of bed if you want them,” Carlos said.

Mal groaned loudly.

“M, come on,” Carlos coaxed, waving the strawberries near her, trying to use the scent to lure her out of bed.

It sort of worked. Mal pulled herself up into a sitting position, keeping herself wrapped in the blankets so only her face was visible.

Mal did not look like Mal. Her skin was washed out in grey, her eyes dull and unfocused. This was not just a bad mood. Something big was bugging her.

“Hey, dragon,” Carlos said softly with a smile, keeping his worry out of his voice.

“Hi,” Mal muttered, itching her nose. “Can I have those strawberries now?”

Carlos relented and handed her the carton, which she tucked into eagerly. A bit of warmth came back to her face as she ate her favorite food. Carlos made himself comfortable at her desk, gingerly throwing out a rotting orange and moving aside a stack of assignments that hadn’t been done.

“So,” Carlos said once the strawberries were mostly gone. “What’s up?”

“What’d you mean?” Mal asked nonchalantly, well aware why he was asking.

Carlos gave her a look, which Mal turned away from.

“Come on, dragon. You’ve been grumpier than the actual Grumpy this week, and you didn’t even get out of bed for pancakes this morning. What’s up?”

Mal grumbled, sinking further into her blanket pile. Even after nearly a year in Auradon, she still hated actually talking about her feelings. With Jay and Evie, she could play it off, but Carlos…he always knew. No matter how much she hid it, he would find her with a raised eyebrow and something that soothed her into talking through the issue.

But strawberries weren’t enough to bring her out of her slump this time. This was more than just a bad grade on a test or an art critique that was too harsh or being bullied by a fellow student.

Carlos watched Mal for a moment, taking in her withdrawn energy and the scattered mess in the room. Then he stood, and wandered towards Evie’s side of the room, finding the hairbrush with purple hair wrapped in it on Evie’s vanity rather than Mal’s.

“Can I do your hair?”

Mal looked at Carlos directly for the first time, her eyes watering a bit. That…sounded nice.

Mal wasn’t a fan of physical affection, but her earliest memory was Maleficent brushing her hair to soothe her tears about…something. She didn’t remember why she was upset, but she did remember how loved she felt while Maleficent ran the broken hairbrush through her short hair, humming a song that sounded like something she’d heard in a dream. Of course, as she’d gotten older that feeling of love had died, but. Yeah. Carlos brushing her hair sounded really nice.

“Sure,” she agreed, and let her blanket-hood fall.

Carlos climbed on to the bed, perching on his knees as he assessed the damage. She obviously hadn’t brushed it in a few days, judging by the size of the knot at the back of her head. But it wasn’t anything Carlos couldn’t work through—he’d brushed Cruella’s hair enough to know what was beyond repair.

Gently, he took the brush and began to comb through Mal’s hair.

“It’s so much longer now,” he commented.

“Well, no one’s going to grab it in a fight anymore,” Mal shot back, though there was no malice in her retort, as they both knew that was the actual reason she’d kept her hair so short.

“Hmmm,” Carlos agreed, gently detangling the purple knots.  

Long hair on the Isle wasn’t smart. Jay and Evie had been inconvenienced many a time in a fight by someone grabbing their hair, but they both refused to do anything about it. Mal had her hair length used against her once, and ever since then it had never grown past her chin. But now, it was trailing well below her shoulders.

Mal sighed, letting herself relax into Carlos’ comforting touch. They spent a few more moments in silence, Carlos moving slowly through the rat’s nest in the back to avoid hurting Mal.

“It’s just…” Mal began, then stopped.

Carlos said nothing, knowing that Mal needed space to sort through her thoughts before she spoke.

“I don’t feel like me,” she whispered after a long pause.

“How so?” Carlos asked just as quietly.

“I dunno, it’s just. We spent so long trying to…survive. And I spent so long trying to be my mom, or at least please her. And I know I’m supposed to be all good now, and all Auradon-perfect, but I just. Can’t forget what I spent my whole life being.”

Carlos hummed, setting down the hairbrush once the knots had been detangled. He deftly began to plait her hair into two braids.

“Like. Am I just a pretty pink princess from now on? Not someone from the Isle? I mean, even the other kids have stopped acting like we’re scary. I can’t even get Jane to jump when I say ‘boo’ anymore,” Mal pulled her knees tightly to her chest, letting a few tears fall from her eyes. “I just. Don’t know what is me, and what is someone else telling me who to be.”

Carlos tied off the braids then turned Mal to face him. She looked into his dark brown eyes and saw herself reflected in them.

“Mal, I know I haven’t known you as long as Jay, or even Evie, but I know that we will always be part of two vastly different worlds. We will always be trying to figure out what we actually want, us, not what everyone else wants us to want. We can’t avoid that. I mean, even if we spent our whole lives on the Isle, it wouldn’t be perfect. We would be trying to live up to impossible expectations. It’s the same here, because we can’t just forget where we came from. I can’t forget what Cruella did to me, anymore than you can forget what your mom wanted from you. But now, we have a real chance to figure out who we are, what we want. Yeah, Auradon isn’t the fairy-tale they pretend it is. But we have room to grow, to make our own way. And I’ll be with you the whole time, whoever you end up being.”

Mal was weeping openly now, and Carlos pulled her into his arms, tucking her head under his chin. He rocked her slightly, letting Mal cry herself out.

She should have talked to Carlos sooner, she realized. He had had the hardest time adjusting out of any of them; a year later and he still woke up screaming from nightmares about Cruella. He would never be fully Auradon, no matter how much therapy and medication he did. And neither would Evie and Jay, though they were so good at fitting in. But just because Jay was the school’s star athlete and Evie was running an incredibly successful fashion business did not mean they weren’t from the Isle.

No matter how well they adapted, that was one thing they could never get rid of. The past didn’t just disappear, even though Mal often wished it would.

“What’s that saying, from Mogwli’s human family?” Mal sniffed against Carlos’s chest.

“What?”

“You know, the boy from the jungle, but who’s still a human boy.”

“Ohhh, I see someone was paying attention in history class.”

“Shut up,” Mal headbutted Carlos softly.

“Mm, you can take the boy out of the jungle, but you can’t take the jungle out of the boy?”

“Yes. But it’s us and the Isle.”

“Exactly,” Carlos pressed a gentle kiss to the top of her head. “You can’t take the Isle out of us, but that doesn’t mean it defines us.”

[lillupon]

Doctor!Mingyu x Pilot!Wonwoo

Some Doctor!Mingyu & Pilot!Wonwoo smut inspired by the devastatingly hot clip simsminwon on twitter posted earlier this week (*/ω＼)

This oneshot is also available on twitter

Mingyu stands and opens the door for his last patient of the day. She bows and says, "Thank you, Dr. Kim."

"Of course. Give me a call or shoot me an email if you have any questions or concerns," he tells her. She thanks him again. Then, handbag clutched under her arm, she leaves.

Quiet descends once the front door closes after her. There are no other noises save for the burbling of the fish tank in the waiting room. Mingyu is left alone in his clinic. He sent Chan, his secretary, home an hour ago, assuring the boy that he would be able to lock up on his own. Mingyu's in no rush to get home tonight. There's no one waiting for him at home, so he may as well wait out the traffic in the comfort of his office. He had to skip lunch this afternoon because he was behind schedule; he'll have a late lunch before he leaves, and pick up dinner on the way home.

Mingyu sighs. Scuffs the floor with a petulant kick of his foot. Wonwoo was supposed to arrive home two days ago, but adverse weather conditions delayed the flight, turning what should have been a ten-day absence into a two-week one. He should be used to it by now--they've been together for three years--but part of him still aches for Wonwoo when he's gone. Part of him still worries, even though he knows the odds of anything bad happening is infinitesimally small.

Mingyu heats up beef bulgogi in the microwave and then takes his meal back to his office. A few mouse clicks later, he pulls up the medical research articles he had bookmarked: a bit of light reading while he eats.

A spoonful of rice is halfway to his mouth when he hears the front door opening. He wonders if it's a patient who left something behind. He sets aside his food to go greet the visitor. When he opens the door to his room, he comes face-to-face with Wonwoo, who is still dressed in uniform, though sans hat.

For a brief second, Mingyu can do nothing but gape. The only sound that escapes his mouth is a, "Wha--?"

A smile breaks across Wonwoo's face. "Hey, you."

Wonwoo's voice jolts him out of his stupor. He cups Wonwoo's neck and swoops forward to kiss him. Their lips meet in an off-centered smash and it's perfect and everything Mingyu has been missing for the past two weeks. Wonwoo laughs breathlessly against him, lips curving into a grin that has their teeth clacking together.

Mingyu parts. Keeps his hand on Wonwoo's neck--needs to be touching. "I thought you weren't supposed to be back until Thursday."  As he speaks, he strokes a thumb absentmindedly over Wonwoo's throat.

"Same here," Wonwoo says. He tips his chin up, inviting Mingyu's touch. "There were no more delays after the blizzard, if you can believe it."

Mingyu leans in to rest their foreheads together. "I'm glad you're okay," he whispers.

"M-hm. Was just a little cold. That's about it," Wonwoo tells him, voice quiet. His breath puffs over Mingyu's lips. "Wish you could have been there to keep me warm."

Their mouths find each other again. Wonwoo's arms go to wind around his shoulders. Mingyu wraps an arm around Wonwoo's narrow waist, pulling him close so that their bodies are pressed flush together. Wonwoo moans softly, angling his head so that they can deepen their kisses.

Yeah, he would have kept Wonwoo warm on those snowstorming days. Would have stripped them both naked, blanketed himself over Wonwoo for some skin-to-skin contact. Nothing like a bit of SSC for heat exchange and thermal control. In perfect contrast to Wonwoo's perpetual cold, Mingyu runs hot as a furnace. Even now, he feels heat sliding down his spine, pooling low in his gut. Wonwoo's tongue ignites a flame between his loins, fuels the fire with his soft and sweet moans. His trousers are starting to grow tight, and he can feel Wonwoo's arousal nudge against him in response.

Wonwoo's arching into him, trying to force them impossibly closer together. Mingyu runs both palms down the seductive curve of Wonwoo's back, lower still. He grasps Wonwoo's asscheeks in his hands. Fingers digging in, he grinds their hips together.

Wonwoo breaks away with a gasp. Mingyu doesn't miss a beat, dragging his lips along the angle of Wonwoo's jaw, mouthing hot and wet down the pale column of his throat. Inhaling the scent of him.

"Gyu," Wonwoo moans shakily. "Oh, Gyu. Want you inside me..."

Mingyu groans. Doesn't need to be asked twice--wants to be inside Wonwoo as badly as Wonwoo wants to be filled. After one more hard kiss, he pulls away to root through the cabinets for a tube of lubricating jelly. He's shaking with his desire, over-eager hands knocking over bottles and containers and instruments in his search.

By the time he turns around, Wonwoo has already discarded his belt and is unzipping his trousers. Mingyu shuts the door to his office and crowds Wonwoo against it; his nose finds the hollow of Wonwoo's throat, while his hand helps to shove down Wonwoo's pants the rest of the way.

Wonwoo turns around to brace his forearms against the door. Gets on his tiptoes and sticks his ass out. The muscles of his hamstrings flex and release beautifully, quivering with the effort of holding himself taut.

Mingyu preps Wonwoo hastily, slicked-up fingers opening Wonwoo's hole to make way for his cock. Usually, he likes to take his time doing this, likes to see the slow but sure way that Wonwoo loses control from his fingers alone. But they've both been apart for too long, and his want makes him impatient. Wonwoo, is too, judging by his moans. Normally, it takes a little more work on Mingyu's part to draw those kinds of sounds out of Wonwoo.

Maybe he loves it. Maybe he can't resist teasing Wonwoo a little, just to hear him whine. Mingyu rubs the tip of his cock over that needy hole, pressing in the tip to give Wonwoo a taste, only to withdraw.

"Gyu, if you don't fuck me now, I-I'm going to--" Wonwoo tries to threaten, only the effect of it is ruined by how wrecked he sounds, and the fact that he can't finish his sentence.

It's so cute.

All of it is so cute, Mingyu thinks he might die: the way Wonwoo tries to push his hips back; the way his hole squeezes and clings to Mingyu's cock, unwilling to let him slip free; the little growls of frustration.

It's only been a handful of seconds, but at this point, Mingyu's starting to feel like he's been a bit mean. His baby wants it so much. Mingyu has been denying himself, too.

The noise Wonwoo makes as Mingyu sheathes himself is one of utter bliss and satisfaction. A groan shudders out of Mingyu as the hot clutch of Wonwoo's inner walls pulsate around him.

Mingyu plasters himself to Wonwoo's back and rasps into his ear, "So tight, baby. You feel so good." He wraps a forearm around Wonwoo's chest, like a crossbar locking him in place. With one hand braced on the wall as support, he begins to rock his hips with short and shallow thrusts.

"Oh, Gyu, ohhh," Wonwoo sighs, letting his head loll back onto Mingyu's shoulder. "Mmm... Deeper, baby."

Mingyu shifts to get an arm under Wonwoo's thigh, hiking it up. Wonwoo keeps himself balanced by planting a forearm on the door. He twists his torso, winding his other arm around Mingyu's shoulder. The change in position allows them to face each other, while also offering Mingyu better access. The next time he presses forward, his cock reaches the deepest parts of Wonwoo.

The effect is instantaneous: Wonwoo moans, long and low. His lashes flutter.

Goddamn--the way Wonwoo looks at him, brows drawn together with pleasure, eyes smouldering and half-lidded, lips parting on a moan... It gets to a guy's head. Makes him feel like the only man in the world. He wonders if he looks at Wonwoo the same way. Probably. That's how all of their friends knew they were crushing on each other, even before they had realised it themselves.

A surge of feeling rises in his chest. He can't resist leaning in for a kiss, which Wonwoo returns with equal passion. The roll of his hips turns slow but just as deep as they exchange kisses. Already, his gut is starting to clench with his impending orgasm. His balls are drawing in tight to his body. In his defense, he's barely touched himself since Wonwoo left, knowing that his release would be all the sweeter if he waited.

Wonwoo pulls away with a gasp. He braces both forearms on the door. Lets his head hang between his shoulders. Mingyu snaps his hips forward, forceful, and is rewarded with a cry.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Wonwoo chants. His words stutter on a moan every time Mingyu thrusts into him. "Ooh, just like that, Gyu." The cadence of his breathing quickens, voice going high when he moans Mingyu's name. He's close.

So Mingyu does exactly what Wonwoo tells him to do: keeps fucking into the tight heat of Wonwoo's body with short and sharp thrusts that have Wonwoo's fingers fruitlessly scrabbling for purchase on the wooden door.

"Gyu," Wonwoo gasps out. He's growing tighter around Mingyu's cock.

"Gonna come, baby?" Mingyu grits out. He'll never get over how hot it is that Wonwoo can come without a single touch to his cock; a good dicking from Mingyu is all he needs.

Wonwoo barely manages an, "Oh, fuck--" and then his cock is shooting off, streaks of white landing in stripes over the door; his insides clamp down rhythmically, spurring Mingyu's own orgasm to a crest.

Mingyu shoves his face into Wonwoo's shoulder, muffling his groan there. His cock twitches as he empties himself inside Wonwoo. The aftershocks of his orgasm shake through him. His hips jerk of their own accord, once, twice.

They are quiet, save for their panting as they catch their breaths. Mingyu slips out of Wonwoo. For a moment, nothing: Wonwoo's hole contracts around empty air. And then Mingyu's release starts to slide out of him.

They lie down on the examination table, curled towards each other like parentheses. Trading languid kisses in silence. Mingyu loses track of time. Wonwoo has that sort of effect on him.

It might be minutes or an hour later when Wonwoo nudges Mingyu onto his back. Wonwoo pushes himself to seated, gets a thigh over Mingyu's hips in a straddle. His slender cock stands straight at attention, the tip of it wet with fluids. He's smiling, impish.

Mingyu swallows. "Insatiable minx," he whispers.

[cynicalrainbows]

Inner Voice Chapter 6

Tw for refs to emotional abuse.

**

 She waits, biting her lip, for them to shuffle uncomfortably and exchange glances, she waits for them to widen their eyes, the ‘Ohhh yes I see it now!’ moment that she’s been dreading since she met them.

What she doesn't expect is for Cathy to give a very unqueenlike snort of laughter.

 ‘Oh my GOD!’

It’s even worse than anything she could have expected from any of them, and fresh tears sting her eyes even though she’s trying desperately hard not to be so pathetic.

Anne swats her hard. ‘Cathy! For fucks sake, don’t be such a bitch!’ She moves closer to Kitty and puts a hand on her arm as Catalina shoots Cathy a look that sobers her quickly. ‘It’s ok Kit, she doesn’t mean it like that-’

‘Oh!’ Cathy’s eyes widen. ‘Oh no I didn’t- Kitty, I wasn’t laughing AT you, I swear, just- you know-’ She waves her hands expansively. ‘Snap!’

‘What?’ She’s so confused but Anna is nodding and even Anne is looking at Cathy like she’s been placated by the explanation.

‘He said exactly the same to me- to the letter, almost,’ Cathy explains. ‘You have a cruel soul, Lady Parr-’ 

Her attempt at imitating Henry is not especially skilled but it somehow makes Kitty want to flinch back all the same, and it’s only the fact that Cathy is substituting her own name that she doesn’t. 

It’s also very odd though- because Cathy’s soul could never ever be described as anything close to cruel, she knows.

 She remembers Cathy spending a whole evening patiently hunting down a spider that had gotten itself lost in the living room, both to reassure Jane and Anne that the threat of it crawling on either of them was entirely neutralised and to save the creature from being trodden on- accidentally or not.

 (Like Anne and Jane, Catalina also dislikes spiders. Unlike them, she is not too afraid to touch them and therefore tends to do so rather firmly and suddenly.) 

She hasn't spoken much to Cathy yet, she’s still awkward when the two of them are alone together, and shy of her in company…..but she knows, perhaps more strongly in this instant than in any other, that Cathy is the very furthest thing from cruel.

‘But you’re-’ It bursts out of her, but then she falters, feeling foolish.

‘What, Kitty?’

‘But you’re- lovely-’ She feels her face get hot as she says it, and she wonders if she's embarrassed Cathy too, but when she risks looking up from her lap, the girl is smiling at her warmly. 

‘You’re very sweet.’ She shrugs. ‘It’s a shame Henry wasn’t as nice as you.’

It feels funny to hear it- the idea that she, in some ways, might have been better than Henry- head of the church, head of the country, her Lord and Master. 

That he was wrong, in one way at least. 

Perhaps even in lots of ways.

‘Did he really….say those things to you?’

Cathy's face changes, she blinks.

‘Of course.’

‘Why of course? What did you do?’

‘I didn’t do anything-’ Cathy shakes her head, almost impatiently. ‘That was just what he was like.’ 

The others are nodding; Anna hums in agreement.

She feels wrong-footed: she’d expected Cathy to list some minor faults that Henry had perhaps judged her overly harshly for. She’d been prepared to explain to Cathy the difference between them.

The others are all looking at her expectantly, as if there’s been some sort of revelation made, but she just doesn’t see it: Henry may have made similar accusations to Cathy in error but that doesn’t mean that he wasn’t right about Kitty.

Catalina leans forward.

‘Kitty, it was nothing to do with you at all. Nothing to do with what you were like or not like.’

‘But he said-’ She doesn’t want to repeat it.

‘He said all kinds of things’ Anna shrugs. ‘It doesn't make them true-’

‘But he knew me, he knew what I was like-’

She can’t explain it properly- she can’t explain that Henry really was only confirming what she and everybody else had known all along, that there was something wrong with her. 

(She’d known it, felt it, since childhood, from the moment Mannox looked over at her during their third lesson and smiled hungrily at her, his tongue whetting his lips and a sort of recognition in his eyes: ‘Did you know, you’re very different from the other girls, Katherine…’ At the time, she’d thought it to be a compliment.)

Henry hadn’t been the first to see it, merely the first to put her wrongness into words.

‘And what was he like?’

Anne’s question takes her aback.

‘Henry?’

Anne nods.

 ‘Well….he was the king. He was….clever. And….handsome-’ She’d never found him so, but she’d been reminded often, by everyone it seemed, that the King in his youth had been the golden prince of Europe. ‘And- and-’

‘Was he kind?’

‘What?’

‘Did you know him to be kind, when you knew him?’ Cathy asks gently.

‘I - I don't know.’

‘So….no.’ Anne is more blunt. ‘And was he honest?’

‘Of course.’ How could the King, chosen by God, not be honest?

‘Did you know him to be honest?’ Anna presses. ‘In his dealings with people, in what you saw of how he was?’

‘Yes- I mean no, I mean-’ She falters. ‘Its different for a king-’ She tries to remember what it was that he had told her once, back in the early days when her Uncle was pleased with her and she was England’s Rose Without A Thorn. ‘He needed to be on top of everyone to keep them in line, so sometimes he had to, to test them, to trap them-’

When he had told her, she had nodded like it made sense but now she’s the one saying it, it doesn’t sound so very-

‘He wasn’t kind, Kitty. He wasn’t honest.’ 

‘But even if- even if-’ 

Even if it’s true- that doesn’t mean he wasn’t right about her.

Anne looks at her seriously. ‘Kitty. He was a cruel old man who liked to hurt people. Liked to mess with them- with their minds. He enjoyed it. Don’t tell me you didn’t notice it.’

She thinks back to Henry’s expression when he’d scold servants for things they had or hadn’t done, change his mind in the blink of an eye and then laugh at the confusion.

‘He- he said-’ She can’t remember what he said to explain it, and she’s not even sure now if it’s because she’s forgetting or if it’s because he just never attempted to justify it to her because he saw nothing wrong with it.

‘He said cruel, awful, completely untrue things to you because he wanted to hurt you,’ Anne says flatly.

Cathy nods. ‘It was nothing to do with how you were, with anything you said or did. Don’t you see Kitty, there’s no way you could have been different.’

‘But how do you know?’ She surprises herself that she can’t bring herself to reject the theory outright- as she surely should- but she can’t fully believe it either.

‘Because he said the same things to us- to all of us. Oh, of course he changed it up a bit. He said I was committing the sin of vanity, when I was unhappy that he made mock of my age with his friends.’ 

Catalina says it lightly but there’s the faintest twist to her lips and for a moment, Kitty can see the faintest shadow of a long ago humiliation.

 She would never have been able to imagine the dauntless, self-contained woman (who can be intimidating even while wearing pajamas and fluffy slippers) being hurt by anything before but now, she actually finds herself feeling a flicker of anger, mixed with sympathy. 

Catalina’s so brave, she’s so clever- how dare anyone (even a king) make her feel lesser, Kitty thinks- how dare Henry?

(She’s never really felt anger towards him before- she hasn’t let herself.)

(The sky does not fall in.)

She doesn’t say anything but perhaps her thoughts play too plainly on her face because Catalina reaches out and squeezes her hand, as if they’re friends, as if they’re on the same side.

 It feels a bit strange but there’s a little frisson of solidarity there too, a picture growing in her head of her and Catalina and Cathy and all the others on the same side.

Allies.

In all the lonely months of her marriage, in all the terrifying months of her imprisonment, even as she tortured herself over and over again by thinking of her cousin's fate, of Anna’s abandonment, she never before considered the idea that she and the other wives (just names to her, at that point, apart from Anna) had something in common.

In her own mind, they’d always been separate. Weak.

‘Oh he was excellent at pointing out what was wrong with people-’ Anna breaks in. ‘Never quite enjoyed it so much when people did it to him though, as if we just weren't supposed to notice that he was a-’ 

She visibly bites back her next words when Jane gives her a look and changes tack. ‘He couldn't bear not being seen as he was, it was pathetic really-’

‘He was too used to his golden days’ Anne adds ‘Not that he liked being seen as anything other than perfect even then, he liked having someone to blame things on. Even tiny things, like the general mood dipping, jokes falling flat….He said it was me, that I made the room darker when I came in, spoiled things, put everybody into a bad mood…’

Anne trails off and swallows, then smiles brightly. ‘Everyone said court was duller after I…..left, even historians agree, from what I've read, so it just shows how much he knew!’

‘He said I could make a holiday into a funeral’ Anna adds. ‘He said I was too dull and stupid to enjoy things, or to let other people enjoy them. Of course, I was still learning English so he probably said worse-’

‘He said I was impossible to be around, that I was incapable of just letting things be, that everybody must dread my presence because of it’ Cathy adds. ‘He said I was manipulative, that I forced everybody into having things my way with tricks and lies-’

‘Snap!’ Anne holds up a hand- Cathy high fives her reluctantly and Catalina rolls her eyes with a small smile.

It’s the strangest thing, hearing accusations that she’d considered to be her private shame from the mouths of the others.

 Stranger still is the fact that even though hearing them being said out loud makes her want to flinch and cover her ears, she can also feel the tiniest change, the start of a slow leeching of power from the words, as if part of their strength was from their secrecy….

It’s also odd to hear that the insults that she’d always imagined as being unique to her- carefully chosen to describe her personal failings and flaws- have been flung at all the others too.

‘He really was a twat, wasn’t he?’ Anna’s bluntness draws a laugh from everyone before she makes her face serious again. ‘But just because he said all that stuff- to all of us- it doesn’t make it true.’

She’s earnestly looking at Kitty as she talks, as if she’s willing her to believe her.

‘He was an evil old man-’

‘He was a total mindfuck-’

Jane doesn’t say anything- she hasn’t said a word for a while- and Kitty wonders if it’s because it’s hard for her, to hear her husband- her reportedly adoring husband- being spoken about like this.

She wonders if Jane disagrees- and the thought feels unpleasantly sharp. She finds doesn’t want Jane to agree with her, to support her in defending Henry- she doesn’t want Jane to see bad, shameful qualities in her.

But when she twists around a bit to see her face, Jane is biting her lip, her eyes suddenly a little too shiny. She doesn’t look shocked- she looks like she understands all too well what they’ve all been talking about.

When she notices Kitty watching her, she smiles, a trifle tremulously.

Catalina catches her eye and tilts her head, a silent question, and Jane shakes her own in response and turns to face Kitty.

‘You’re a good person Kitty. You’re sweet and kind and- and you shouldn’t think any differently about yourself, not for a moment. Not for a second.’

It’s like benediction.

Part of her tells her to keep arguing- it whispers that it’s wrong, it’s all wrong, that again, somehow, she’s managed to ruin things and trick them into coddling her, cosseting her, that they’ll surely be cross when they realise…..

And then Anna gives her hand a squeeze as if cutting off the thought spiral, and she blinks. 

No manipulation, no anger being stored up for later. 

Just five very earnest looking women, doing their absolute best to make her feel better, to make her feel reassured. 

To make her feel loved.

She is loved, she realises- and for the first time, the thought doesn't bring the sick feeling of guilt, of knowledge that she’s trapping yet more unwary victims….

She looks round at the others- all on her side, all looking out for her…. 

They all look so sincere. They all look as if they care so much- and maybe they do.

Maybe she can even be worthy of them.

(Maybe, says a new voice, she already is.)

[currentlyreadingmanga]

Toilet-bound Hanako-kun Chapter 21: The Tea Party (Part 1)

Previously: we went on a very stressful and very emotional trip. We finally learned Hanako’s brother’s name: Tsukasa and he continued to unsettled me like he does every single time he appears. Mitsuba actually passed away, this time for good, it seemed and it made me tear up a bit ngl. After that, the chapter decided I hadn’t suffered enough so it punched me while I was down and showed us how Hanako feels about the existence of the dead as ghosts in general and how that reflects in his own sense of self. We also got another glimpse of the mermaid and she said some real ominous shit :)))) if anything happens to Nene istg :)))))) Sigh And last but not least, Natsuhiko went to see Nene at her classroom and I’m,,,,concerned,,,,

Now onto the next chapter!

Personal update for the 50 (holy shit?) of you that still follow this blog: Well…..hi there, it’s been a while ^^;; Looking back on it, quarantine really hit me like a bag of bricks and burned me out. It’s not the first time that has happened, and what it means to me is that I just can’t bring myself to consume new content; I might have loved it so far but my brain is like “nope, we’re not doing that today” and well, this time it happened for almost two months. Also, one of my cats went missing for a little over a week (he’s home now, thankfully) and that just added to the general distress I was feeling. But over the last week I actually wrote small fics for another fandom and it finally pushed me back into a creative state, so I went back to re-read the last couple of recaps I did for JSHK and it made me realise that I miss my babies and I really want to know where the story goes, so here I am c:

Ohhhh that’s right, we’re starting a new volume with this chapter! Our main trio is front and center and judging by the colorful pastries and the tea, it is a reference to the tea party that was alluded to in the preview of the last chapter. Also, I see the ropes are back again, but this time Kou also has some around him! Nene and Hanako seem to be tied together with pink, blue and yellow ropes, Nene and Kou seem to be tied together with an orange rope and both Hanako and Kou seem to have another rope each that it’s not connected to neither Nene nor each other. Hanako’s is red and considering the way in which we’ve seen him tied up before, I would guess this represents his connection to Tsukasa. Kou’s is pink and considering everything that just happened, could his rope represent his connection with Mitsuba? Like, I know he’s dead dead now and their actual friendship was short-lived but I would also like to think that even though he’s gone, his memory will live forever with Kou, hence the rope. But I’m speculating and I already went on a long enough tangent for the cover page so let’s move on.

The next color page has the main trio again as the central focus in what seems to be the inside of a place that has a clockwork-like mechanism. On the corners of the page we have who I assume will be important character during the following arc(s): Aoi, Akane, Yamabuki and Teru (the latter one worries me slightly ngl). 

Ohhhh okay, the content page says that one of the arcs is called “the three clock keepers” so the art on that page now makes more sense.

……….I really don’t trust him hhhhh please be careful, Nene, please don’t let your weakness for pretty boys cloud your judgement.

Ohhh it could be because of Nene’s dress and the bunny ears (and the twins) but the title page gives me strong Alice in Wonderland vibes. It’s a cute picture but Tsukasa is there and Nene is tearing up so I’m,,,concerned 

Okay so Nene followed Natsuhiko outside and 

Are you reciting her your dating profile or something? also “call me Natsuhiko-senpai ♡” omfg he’s one of those, huh? Like, it could all be an act but he’s looking less and less threatening by the minute lol

Nene, bless her, has the common sense of asking him why he wanted to talk to her all of the sudden and he says it’s because “someone wants to meet her”. Gee, I wonder who that could be :)))))

…………….oh, oh no. Nene, sweetie, I need you to run and to run fast because this boy is up to no good and you’re not gonna  like what’s gonna happen. (Edit note: also this brings up a question: how did the chaotic trio know that Nene turns into a fish when she touches water? Like, I know they had been keeping tracks on her and Hanako for some time, so maybe they found out that way? Oh, maybe they use the Mokke? Because the Mokke were there in Yako’s boundary when Hanako pushed Nene down the waterfall)

Hhhhhhh and to the surprise of no one, there’s Tsukasa here to make Nene’s day more difficult.

asdasgdjash please do not make my daughter share the same fate as the puffer fish, she doesn’t deserve it (ﾟдﾟ；) (ﾟдﾟ；)

Nene fainted (can’t say I blame her jfc) and now she’s waking up in what seems to be the tea party and the floor is wet! so she thinks she could be on another boundary. Interesting, I wonder which number would this one be? Because the boundaries are assigned to the seven mysteries, right? So one of them should be in control of this place. Could Tsukasa be in control of this one? But that wouldn’t make much sense because he managed to get his “physical” form only recently, right? However, Hanako also spoke of a traitor that was changing rumors and we know that these three are responsible, so if they’re not the owners of the boundary maybe they somehow managed to manipulate the mystery that does control it? Oooor it could also be that there’s another boundary that managed to go under the radar and in turn the other mysteries don’t know about it.

sjdgjjasd she’s so done with them lol I know I call them the chaotic trio but it’s really the chaotic duo + Sakura. I’m so curious about how this whole *gestures wildly towards them* arrangement came to be.

Ohhhh this great! So Sakura got everything under control and from her introduction to Nene we now know that she’s a third year and we have confirmation that she became Tsukasa’s assistant in the same way that Nene did, in exchange for a wish. B U T, again, that brings up even more questions because Tsukasa said that while Amane granted the wishes of the living, he granted the wishes of the dead. So like (⚆.⚆) what’s up with that?? Is she an exception? Is she dead? Another supernatural? Or, maybe, even though it should be impossible considering what we know so far, could her wish have something to do with her being ‘alive’ in the school right now? Mhmmmm…...suspicious.

Okay but like, I actually really want to know how he fits in all of this because okay, Sakura and Tsukasa are linked together by the wish she made, but why is Natsuhiko here? Who is he? How did he end up working with these two?  He seems silly and completely whipped for Sakura, so maybe they knew each other before she made her “contract” with Tsukasa?  Hhhhh idk let’s keep reading.

Sakura says that she wanted to meet Nene because they’re in similar positions and she thought they could be good friends. And like, that’s a fair point…...but I don’t trust like that, no sir. Even if she didn’t want the boys to be so rough when they brought Nene here, the fact remains that they still kidnapped her so if this was just a friendly meeting, why would they need to do it in such a convoluted way?

Okay good, Nene is suspicious because of their methods and the amount of knowledge they have about her.

………………...sigh, I shouldn’t be surprised but bby no please don’t trust them so easily. She’s venting to Sakura about Hanako’s unpredictable behaviour and Sakura says that she can empathize with most of her struggles while Tsukasa is sitting on top of her shoulders and wrapping his arms and legs around here…...I can definitely see why she said he was cat-like because my cats do things like that when I’m sit down to write at my desk. But again, I know he’s technically a kid but I really need him to stop acting so cute because it unsettles me a lot.

Even he can see the romantic chemistry between those two. Well, thinking about it, that’s probably why they dragged her here, because she’s important to Hanako.

(;;⚆.⚆) NOPE, no, no thank you, I need you to back tf up please jfc

Nene snaps out of it and realizes that she let herself be drawn in by girl talk. She thankfully knows it was a stupid thing to do but she was just relieved and happy to have found someone who seems to understand what she’s going through, so I’ll cut her some slack. And she mentions that they don’t look like bad people but like I did, if they had innocent intentions, they wouldn’t have had to bring her by force.

………………...I feel like I’ve mentioned this before but I really hate it when either of them does this fucking face, it’s so creepy >n< also, Nene, sweetie, once again I’m asking you to run, run far and don’t look back because that look doesn’t spell anything good, especially paired with Sakura’s scared/resinged look (which makes me think that maybe her own intentions had been more innocent that I had originally given her credit for)

Hmmm. This is concerning; like, yes, Nene has to help Hanako with whatever he needs as his assistant as part of their deal and he does threaten to turn her into a fish when she pouts but I never got the feeling that it was malicious. On the other hand, Sakura’s wording (especially calling Tsukasa “Master” and saying she “can’t” disobey) and the look Tsukasa gave her make it seem like her punishment for not following his orders would be much more severe. hhhhh I really don’t like where this is going

Σ(ﾟДﾟ|||) Σ(ﾟДﾟ|||) Σ(ﾟДﾟ|||)  WHAT THE HELL THIS THAT THING WHAT THE EVER LOVING FUCK OH MY GO D

“We’re gonna have you disappear now” okay so, yeah, he’s doing this specifically to upset his brother. the room is fucking sinking though and omfg what even is this room?? is it really a boundary? Since this happened at this very moment, it looks like they do control it so my questions from before remain, the biggest one being “how”. Also I’ve just noticed that the eyes all over the place are very similar to the ones in the broadcasting room and now this tells me that those weren’t an artistic choice and that is terrifying.

…………………..excuse me, w h a t??? why? hello??? “she’s like this sometimes” ????? Sakura what???? I have….so many questions, the main one being why do you let her treat you like this??

……………………………………...oh…..y’know, I hate the term simp with a passion because I feel like it’s been memed to death but wow.

Hhhhhhhh it looks like she can’t stop sinking and that (and the fucking eyes) tell me that this is not normal water (since she would have turned into a fish already). She’s yelling out for Hanako and that’s how the chapter ends. I’m still :)))))) concerned :))))))))

[mioriia]

ワン | Chapter 1 | Arc 0.1

The Wandering Maiden | Chapter 1

❝𝕀𝕥'𝕤 𝕤𝕥𝕣𝕒𝕟𝕘𝕖 𝕙𝕠𝕨 𝕨𝕖 𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕝𝕚𝕧𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕚𝕟 𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕘𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕥𝕖𝕤𝕥 𝕕𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕞𝕤 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕨𝕠𝕣𝕤𝕥 𝕟𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥𝕞𝕒𝕣𝕖𝕤 𝕒𝕥 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕤𝕒𝕞𝕖 𝕥𝕚𝕞𝕖❞

•:•.•:•.•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•☾☼☽•:•.•:•.•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•

White.

Everything was covered with whiteness from buildings to the floor, there were people standing in line on both sides. They were smiling at me but I couldn't see their faces, all of them have white mist covering from their head to their eyes as the rest were around their lower bodies making me feel rather weird.

Like deja vu feeling or whatever they call it.

Is this heaven? Did that guy actually kill me when I blacked out? That sneaky little jerk!

❝Ugh...Whatever, It's too late to remember my past now that I'm dead-❞

That's because this is your memory.

❝Huh- Who's there?!❞

I turn my head from left to right, searching for the source of the voice who sounds so dangerously close to where I am but all I see was the blurred buildings and the people.

Idiot, I'm hidden which means you can't see me

❛Hey- That was rude!❜

Whatever

❛If I can't see you then how come you're talking to me right now?❜

We're demons obviously, we have that kind of advantages

❛Who are you?❜

I'm the voice

❛And why are you inside my head?❜

I'm not, rather I'm communicating through your mind

❛Quick question, are you a female or male?❜

... I beg your pardon but what kind of question is that?

❛Well I couldn't tell since you're hidden and your voice sounds quite feminine-❜

I'm a male

❛Ohhh I see! Well Mr. Voice, Am I really dead?❜

No, like I told you before this is your old memory

❛Anddddd What's kind of "old memory"?❜

I'm not going to answer that

I groaned, annoyed by this "so-called-voice".

❛Geez... What a stubborn girl-❜

I heard that and will you move it for once?!

❛Alright, Alright I will!❜

I heard he tch at my response before he start giving me orders to where to go and what NOT to touch even though this is my memory, he's acting as if he owns the place.

Do not touch THAT, didn't you hear me?!

❛But why?! It's so shiny!❜

You're acting like a child

❛I meant, you're not wrong though❜

You were supposed to deny it-

I've decide to tone out his voice, I could only walks down the road, passing them slowly before they suddenly disappeared and never be seen ever again and when I turn around a darker part of this place or should I said "my consciousness" . Something about this part is... feel rather strange like as if it was calling out to me.

I come across with sort of a invisible wall and how did I know? I actually bumped into it without realizing its existence, I look up in thought, humming to myself as I tried to think of a reason why there was a wall here in the first place.

However that was cut off short when my eyes caught the sight of something blurry just right ahead, the wall was the only thing prevented me from going near towards it, unlike the others which were the reflection of people, this one has a dark shape and outlines of a person.

❛Silhouettes?❜

Judging from how they look like, it's appear to belong to a female's and there were at least five or more from what I can see. From beyong this wall, there was nothing but a pitch black darkness with those silhouettes as its only source of lights.

I cupped my face, pressing against the wall to get a clear view of those silhouettes. It was almost impossible to see in there as if it was forbidden for me to find it's secrets...

I let out a gasp when my eyes were met with someone's, it was a young girl and just like the rest, her face was hidden but I saw the corners of her lips raise when I stare at her. She was mouthing something to me but I couldn't really get the full sentence, only a few caught my attention in the end.

Don't

Remember

Past

Evil

Took

Died

Protecting

My eyes widen as my mouth drops in shocked, trembling uncontrollably with shaking hands. I didn't know why but my body suddenly starts to shake in fear for no reasons, the girl from before suddenly vanished with the rest, following after her.

I dropped on my knees as I covered my mouth with both of my hands, trying to choke back the noises from coming out as my body continues to shivers nonstop, breathing heavily as if my lungs were running out of air.

❛What does she meant by that? Don't remember the past? Who died?❜

I didn't want to know the truth for some reasons yet I want to know no matter what. If my guess is correct then it's have to be involved with my memories loss and I want to know what happened to me, to find out who are those people to me, to find myself again for whatever my real identity is.

It's didn't matter if I suffered from finding the truth, this curiosity could be the death of me one day yet it's a good thing at the same time.

They once said "Curiosity killed the cat"

❛Oh, you're still here?❜

Of course I was, idiot!

❛I thought you already left since you were so quiet a moment ago❜

That's because you ignored me, you ungrateful br-

❛Oh, look! I found a book!!❜

Don't you just ignore me, you little-!

I found it suspicious at first since I was sure there was nothing but the Invisible wall here. Did someone place it here when I wasn't looking? I didn't want to question about it any further and I was already getting tired of this "secrets over here and there" thing...

I picked up the book from the ground and decide to examine it, the cover has a few shades of light blue but it was fill with burns and claws marks. There was a writing on the middle of the cover, the words were almost unreadable but I could make it the color of those, it was made out of gold.

The one who is responsible for this must be really strong to make it's almost unrecognized, I place two fingers on the words. Who knows? This could help me figure something out at least.

❝...Rei...na?❞

Is that my name? It's could be my given name from my parents seeing how the other two words were unfortunately wiped out completely so I couldn't read them even if I tried.

I gaze at the book intensely, growing frustrates by the second. Maybe a peek won't hurts right? After all there's a possibility of this book belongs to me who has the memories of the past. If it wasn't then why was it here in the first place? In my own mind?

But what I didn't know that my own curiosity could be the cause of the beginning of my worst nightmares.

The moment I flipped the book open, I struck by words coming out from the pages as unwanted images started flashing in front of my eyes. I didn't realized that those screams were coming from me, I couldn't heard his voice as if he was so far away...

Now you have done it, you fool...!

It was the last thing I heard before everything begin to crushing down on me like a broken glass sipping its drinks.

•:•.•:•.•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•☾☼☽•:•.•:•.•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•

[365daysofsasuhina]

[ 365 Days of SasuHina || Day One Hundred Thirteen: Garden Spirit ] [ Uchiha Sasuke, Hyūga Hinata ] [ SasuHina ] [ Verse: River Runs Deep ] [ AO3 Link ]

He’s been traveling for weeks.

Tasked by his lord to fetch the pelt a rare white deer, he’s been tracking a promising herd through the mountains. The wary creatures have yet to let him close, but a glimpsing flash of white has kept him on their path. Through the winding peaks their game trails he’s toiled, the rocky and root-ridden terrain perilous...but a samurai is not one to be so easily dissuaded.

At first, he’d assumed the assignment a fool’s errand. Why task a samurai with such a job? But with the completion of his mission will come great pride, honor...and coin. None of which he can bring himself to refuse.

And so, Sasuke follows the imprints of cloven hooves into the north, swords at his hip and bow at his back. Hunting, at least, he knows he can do. Many times in his youth did his brother take him tracking boars in the forests. And he’s not the novice he was then. All he needs is the patience for the proper shot...and he’s sure he won’t miss.

Their path, he admits, confuses him. He knows of migrations into the mountains for the sika, but surely the coming of Spring means returning to the lowlands as the grass renews?

Where are they going?

His confusion lingers as they travel further and further into the range. But then, at last, he sees what they’ve been seeking. The trail descends steeply between two peaks...into a lush and untouched valley.

For a time, he simply stands at the trailhead and stares in wonder. Tall camphor trees litter the inner sides of the peaks and the valley itself, waterfalls cascading from the snowy caps. A winding river of sapphire glitters, barely seen along the vale’s spine.

It’s beautiful…!

Once his awe fades, Sasuke gives a shake of his head. He still has a pelt to fetch, and standing here won’t get him home any faster. With careful steps, he makes his way to the valley floor.

It’s there he finds something wholly unexpected.

Though the trail leads first to the northern end of the valley, the rest spanning south, a short path leads a bit further up. At the fork, a worn torī gates stands. Are there...people here? He’d seen no houses from his view atop the trail, and there are no footprints, only tracks of game. Perhaps those who’d lived here have long perished. Judging by the age of the wood and the peeling vermillion paint...it’s not been tended to for quite some time.

...and yet…

Such a gate marks the threshold between mortal and holy ground. Sasuke sees no shrine...but the landmark makes him wary. Should he hunt in such a place? His lord has given him an order. He cannot disobey. But which does he fear more: an angry clan head, or vengeful kami?

True, Sasuke isn’t a devout follower of any faith. Samurai adopt a variety of beliefs: Buddhism, Zen, Confucianism, and even the land’s own religion of Shintō. But though he may not actively believe such tales...nor is he foolish enough to tempt what he cannot confirm does not exist.

For now, he steps through the gate...but rather than south after the deer, he treks north. It isn’t far to where the valley begins to slope steeply upward, but something grand has caught his eye.

Oddly isolated from the camphor boughs and trunks of the rest of the valley, a lone wisteria tree stands. Tall and branching, it looks over the head of the valley like a great amethyst crown, graceful branches sweeping the ground with their violet tendrils. Petals litter the grass, making its perch appear almost alien as it’s completely covered with purple blooms. And among them, small and worn, are tiny stone jinja.

Twisting and curved, the trunk is wider across than his arms outstretched: clearly hundreds of years old. Never has he seen a tree of greater age or beauty.

It’s like looking at a goddess taken flora form.

For the second time this day, he finds himself staring in unabashed awe. He’s almost certain of it, now: the gate, this tree, the valley...it’s all touched by gods. But what to do about his quest…? Surely taking a life for so vain a thing as a single pelt - not even meat, though he himself won’t waste it - will see him smote.

Looking over his shoulder to the west, the sun is already far below the peaks. Soon it will be too dark to make his way. He should make camp...he can weigh his options, and then sleep on making a decision.

A fire he makes back down the slope, cooking a rabbit he’d slain that morning before entering the valley. Water comes from the obliging river, refilling his skin and letting him nurse the cool clear liquid as he thinks.

...perhaps…

He looks over his shoulder to the wisteria tree. Even from here, he can see the tiny shrines. A decision weighs upon his shoulders. He could...pray. Ask for guidance. He may not be a staunch believer, but...well, surely it cannot hurt. Once his meal is done, he smothers the ashes with earth, carrying a torch back to the tree to kneel at its base.

Something about it raises the hairs along the back of his neck.

Extinguishing his flames, he braces his hands on his knees before leaning reverently forward. “O-kami-sama,” he offers vaguely, having no named deity to address. “I ask you passage through your valley...and a sample of your bounty. Among your herds of deer is a stag I seek. One of a white coat, sought by my master. His decree weighs upon me...but so too does the mark of this holy land. I will take only what I need. If that is not too much to ask...give me leave, and I will complete my task...and then leave this land in peace.”

A soft wind rolls through the valley. Along his cheek, a branch gently whispers.

But he hears nothing.

Sighing, head bowing further in what feels like defeat, Sasuke continues to think in circles.

Before he realizes it...he falls prey to a weary sleep.

He is slow to wake.

Sunlight faintly dapples his face, bleeding and shifting through the dancing boughs of the wisteria in the morning breeze. Leaned back against the trunk, a hand rests loosely atop the hilt of his katana, the other along his waist.

In his dream, he can feel arms drape over his shoulders, silken hair slithering along his neck.

Dark eyes slowly open, for a moment at a loss as to where he is, and why. But his journey slowly returns, and he sighs. What a place to doze off...it’s like he’s wandered into a kami’s palace of boughs and blooms.

As he watches, a figure seems to manifest before his eyes between the sweeping tendrils of branches.

Breath stoppers in his lungs.

A woman of short stature stands at the edge of the tree’s grasp. A layered kimono of lilac, violet, heather, and wine flutters in the breeze. Hair, straight as a blade, drapes down her back and across her brow, alight amethyst in the sun. Even her eyes are pools of lavender. Everything purple save for the milky white of her skin, and the faint pink of her lips.

She stares at him, otherwise unearthly still beyond the dance of her garment. Every so often, he sees tabi-clad feet atop impossibly-high geta.

It’s then Sasuke knows...he’s staring at a goddess. The spirit of this heavenly garden. It feels sinful to stare, but he can’t look away…!

“Humble hunter.”

She speaks like silk, soft and delicate...and yet unspeakably strong. Her gaze never wavers as she addresses him.

“You have traveled far at the whim of another...and here your search has brought you...to a vale of spirits and gods. While many would take without a second thought...you have asked of me permission to have what you seek.”

His heart flutters like a bird trapped behind glass against his ribs. Surely he still sleeps...this must be a dream…! And yet he’s felt so awake...so alive…

“The white buck you track is a sacred beast...your lord covets it for his own. You, who serve his beck and call, are merely the tool...not the desire. This I cannot fault you. But it is not I you must ask, and appease. I am but one spirit of this valley. There are others far mightier than I. They too know of your task...and that I gave you shelter.”

It’s then she begins to approach him, untouched by weaving branches despite her unwavering path. Not a single petal stirs at her passing

“It has been many a year since a human slept beneath my boughs...or spoke amongst my blossoms. It brings...a melancholy feeling. A reminiscence of loneliness…”

He can’t move, can’t speak, frozen beneath her gaze as she closes the gap between them. In a fluid motion she kneels, and hands - cool and smooth, like a freshly-bloomed flower - cup his cheeks to behold him.

“...I was young when the humans withered here...when we kami were left to our devices, no devoted voices left to speak to us. I admit...I covet your presence...it’s been so long since my beauty was last admired…”

Sasuke can do little more than stare.

“...but you are not mine to keep. I will take you to the others. The heart of the mountain, of the river, of the camphor. It is they you must appeal. Prove the purity of your intentions, human...and you may have what you seek. Just remember the weight of your prize...and the wake it will leave.”

At last, he manages a nod: small, jerking, and entirely human in the face of her grace.

A fond smile curls her lips. “...may I have your name, child of man?”

“U...Uchiha. Sasuke.”

“...you may call me Hinata.” Toward the sun. A fitting name for such a blossom-laden beauty...for he knows there’s no mistake: she is the kodama of the wisteria.

With just as smooth a motion as her kneeling, she returns to her feet. “Uchiha Sasuke...are you prepared to plead your case…?”

Still sat among the jinja, he stares up at her, yet still entranced. Never has he seen a woman of such beauty. Though many have labored to conquer it...with a single glance, she’s stolen his heart. A dangerous thing to give a kami, he knows.

But there’s little taking it back now.

“...I am.”

“...then let us walk.”

     Ohhh man, I REALLY like this one! I want to add more parts, for sure...but I had to stop myself here, haha - it's late, and I don't want any of these to get too long xD      It took some digging, but I managed to find a way to turn this prompt into something Shintō-related. Kodama, though often depicted as separate spirits, CAN also refer to the trees themselves. So I did a little extra (and admittedly rushed) research into them, and samurai, and just...wung it, lol - and I really, REALLY like the result. Hinata as a wisteria tree spirit? PERFECT! And maybe later on we can have Sakura as...well, a sakura kodama. Maybe Naruto as a kitsune. We'll have to see!      But for now, it's late, and I need sleep after a sleepless night last night (yay toothaches, lol) - but thanks so much for reading! See y'all tomorrow n_n

[akingdomtheorist]

KH Catch Up: KH2FM The FINAL PART

THE FINAL PART WITH LESS THAN TWO MONTHS TO CATCH UP. HOLLOW BASTION

"I forgot how to play this game."

-fleeing enemies- "Because why deal with your problems when you can just nyoom."

SPACE PARANOIDS

"So how does it feel to be pewpewpew'd back?" "Is this what I do to people?"

"I give these Heartless a 3/10. Not a fan."

He went Wisdom Form had no pewpewers remorse after that.

"Is this way to the I/O Tower?" "Well if you walk up to the entryway it'll tell you. You may have to go through a few maps." "Well okay that's great but which way is the I/O Tower?" -literally walks up to the entrance- "I'm sorry."

"Why don't they just reformat the computer?" "That's what the disc is for." "You don't need a program to do that!" "You do when they're sentient!" "Why don't they just CTRL+Alt+DELETE the MCP then?" "He's Win10." "Even Win10 lets you do that! He's Win11."

"Wait, did Leon not put the fuckin' disc in the computer? Aerith put it in the drive?! Leons from a futuristic setting!"

-walks into boss fight- "I didn't save."

"Man, he did deresolution him, he's at 144P now. He's like a JPEG."

Poor guy has hit the Limit Break instead of Delete so many times.

"We just deleted System32."

HOLLOW BASTION IS NOW RADIANT GARDEN

I force him to try Assault of the Dreadnought with the ships I have.

And then we realized where the Full-Auto setting was after all this time and he laughed at my agony.

"This is the most StarFox this game has been." "You don't even KNOW."

"This isn't bad. I've played StarFox Assault and that's not bad."

"Sorry I'm gonna disappoint you with the panic." "Oh we're not there yet."

I got to Mission Level 3 for him to try. Just waiting for the moment... He died BUT MY ENGINEERING WORKED SO WELL! We created Code Rave and our new Teeny Ship 'MAXIMUM PEW' to take on this break in the story. After finding out we need the power of Neon Orb all day all the time, we go back to Atlantica.

ATLANTICA

"We kind of destroyed her (Ursula) last game. Right, that's a thing we did?"

"Did we just have a fight off screen?" "Nah."

"She's plagarizing her!"

"Way to go Eric, you really... really leaped into action there."

"Just kill her, you have a trident, stab her."

"Really? We're having a dance-off to save the universe?"

"Why didn't Triton just impale her? Like Eric just did? When his daughter was in danger?"

Now we need to come back later with Thundaga. Except we don't the game just kicked us out anyway.

There was some trouble that totally didn't happen  with the last song.

"Wait we didn't use Thundaga once."

TWILIGHT TOWN

"Oh it literally won't let me go anywhere else. Well at least they could give me a skateboard."

"Hey Mickey-wait guys stop everything I gotta restart Share Play."

"Well since that's the obvious direction of the plot, let's go the other way."

"Touch. The beam..."

"That's my data. That's me!"

Then he spent 5 minutes theorizing the name because clearly Xehanort is a Nobody name.

"Hi Axel. Why should we leave?"

"Ohh... it's just me..."

"Axel's just like 'don't mind me I'm just casually dying here'."

"Oh stop making puns while you're dying motherfucker."

"Aw he just wanted to bring his boyfriend back."

"Alright fuckin' wannabe Sephiroth." He's upset at Saix.

THE WORLD THAT NEVER WAS

"I'm betting it's Riku."

"Oh it's Roxas!"

"What's my dodge button? That's not the button-THAT'S NOT THE BUTTON!"

"You gotta dodge my dude." "Yes-thank you."

-tries Strike Raid- "OH NO THAT WORKED ON RIKU THAT DOESN'T WORK ON YOU!"

He died. Take 2.

He died. Take 3.

He died. Take 4.

Through the power of technical use of Limiting for more magic and drives, the lock on+dodgeroll tactic, FIVE TIMES THE CHARM.

The Two Become One has been obtained. I await the moment

THREE ANTI-FORMS IN A ROW. I made him try Master form and IT FINALLY HAPPENED. FINAL FORM ACHIEVED.

"Alright these mother fucker's got a giant flyin' saucer..."

"Namine's like, 'I'm bustin you out!'"

"Is this to the final boss?" "Nah."

"He's disguised! He's disguised, that's Riku. He's disguised right?" "Not exactly."

"Kairi's just like no, we're not- no, it's not happenin'."

"KAIRI GETS HER OWN KEYBLADE!"

"Is that DiZ? I mean I knew he was Ansem the Wise but I called that like ages ago."

"Is he gonna Luigi's Mansion all the Heartless into that thing?" "No." "But it looks like it does!"

"Organization XIII is real sassy for people without emotions."

"What are his weapons? How is he supposed to use them? Oh they're guns! I didn't think they'd give him actual guns."

"He doesn't have just a gun it's a fuckin' Halo Needler!" "Does this upset you?" "No, I just think it's a little cheap." "Oh it will though."

He died.

The second time around he abused the speed of Anti-Form to avoid ALL THE BULLETS and ended with a "FUCK YOU" to Xigbar.

"Did he (Berserker Nobody) just Minimize- did he just fuckin' minimize? No more of that."

"Oh Kairi just- cats outta the bag!"

"Riku took hair tips from Axel."

"Oh he's gonna Luigi's Mansion Kingdom Hearts!" "No he's gonna reverse ReBoot it."

"Ohh these are all the Organization Members I've killed? What's Marluxia the- oh of COURSE he's the Graceful Assassin."

Now it's time to play a game with Luxord. It was fairly easy though late on learning all the games was fun to watch in failure.

"Of course your weapon is called Soul Eater you edgy bastard..."

Time to go beat up angry moon barbarian.

"Oh what happened did you lose your weapon buddy?"

He did it first try.

"Yeah no Roxas didn't spend eight hours fighting this fucker."

"Too bad it's impossible [For Roxas to meet Sora] but I'm not gonna say it's 100% impossible, because this is Kingdom Hearts."

"Calling it now this is gonna change Riku back into Riku. I CALLED IT HIS HAIR IS BACK TO NORMAL. Back to his Axel hair."

"Riku get your bangs out of your face."

"Riku is a tol."

"We're finally working together! WE ARE GONNA FIGHT SOMEONE TOGETHER!" "Yeah, you are." "YES, YES-I can't shout because people are sleeping-BUT YES."

"He's- oh my god I'm basically playing as two people. I love this."

"Oh his sword- look it has an angel wing! I just noticed that! Riku dah best."

AND THEN THE GRINDING OF 8 HOURS COMMENCED

We are joined by one more friendo who has completed the game. They will be F2 in conversation quotes.

"Oh that's a lot of Heartless."

"You murdered people. You had a choice to not murder people."

"Okay, is this round one? Yeaaaahh..."

"Okay first round done. I've played the first game I know how this is gonna fuckin' end."

"Well he's dead, we can go home!"

It’s victory, or oblivion. "Well I have Oblivion so, it's just victory then."

"Is the castle fucking alive?"

"Oh we Dr. Strange now."

-uses slicer reaction command- "ALRIGHT Sora just, slice a building in half."

He thinks this is the best part, and he's only just begun.

"We're destroying the engines now? Oh no they're giant Death Star lasers."

"Of course this wouldn't be a Kingdom Hearts game if it didn't have you fighting an old man on a spaceship."

"Mickey uses his powers of darkness! No."

"Is Namine about to Cortana us--OH GOD OH GOD ROXAS JUST WALKED OUT OF ME."

"Roxas and Namine shipping Sora and Kairi together just because they wanna hang out."

"Riku, why do we always lose Kairi? Can we put a tracker on her so when we inevitably lose her again we can just find her?"

"Hey Riku do you wanna pick me up? This seems incredibly unsafe, I'm just standing on a platform."

PHASE FOUR INITIATE

"Did we do it? At least this phase? Are we onto the next phase?" F2 "-laughs- Oh ho ho we're only just getting started buddy."

"That looks bad. Hey Riku I don't like what's happenin' right now. This is a solid 3/10 experience for me."

"Okay Lich King wannabe round 2."

PHASE FIVE INITIATE

"Is it safe to use my drives? Is it? What if- OHHH FUCK." "Remember when I said what if you got knocked off the edge?"

"Oh whaaaaaat oh no."

"Let's just throw buildings at him, that seems to work."

"Hey remember how you have that reaction command that's a shield?" "Shhhhhhhhhhh."

"LET ME AT THE BUILDINGS!"

FINAL PHASE BEGIN

"Buddy... buddy... you are not the Aztec concept of nothing!"

"I can Limit Form!"

"Nope, nope nope, NOPE. STOP IT!" He isn't a fan of the lasers.

"Was he actually damaging me during that?? Let's just heal up!"

"You're gonna wanna spam Reversal." F2 "The DBZ fight continues!"

"Press the button as fast as you can." "Oh, OH IT'S A LIMIT OHHH."

"Oh hey we Roxas now."

"I think I did it?"

"I know you're in Kingdom Hearts 3 Riku, you won't die. Or at least you'll come back."

The final cutscene.

"Awww, Riku's a sap now."

"Sora how does your hair stay like that, you were underwater."

"Mickey just, Pikachu'd Riku." F2 "That's just how things work in this world, don't judge." "I didn't know Riku was Mickey's Pokemon Trainer."

"Riku get your hair out of your face. Don't you have a mom that can cut your hair?"

"Who are you? Some Anubis motherfucker-WHO ARE YOU? Why are we in Destiny now?!"

"Those are our keyblades..."

"Oh my god... that's a lot of Keyblades."

KH2FM has been beaten! At least, the main game anyway. I have a few more things I'm going to make him do first.

LINGERING WILL ATTEMPT TIME!

"Why is there a black hole in our castle?" F2 "I think we should go into that black hole."

F2 "Remember that place you saw thirty seconds ago? That is not this place."

"UHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH...."

"I don't like this."

"I'm not Xehanot, I'm not-I'm not-I'M NOT!"

"OH GOD HIS HEALTH WHAT THE FUCK?!"

He died in about thirty seconds. His second attempt was in two seconds!

"Well that's it for that boss!"

CAVERN OF REMEMBRANCE

-sees the car heartless- "Nope we're not dealing with these fuckers nope."

-takes look around the second room- "Help."

"Help. Help. Hlep."

Yes I helped him, I'm not a demon. No that third one is not a typo.

"That might have been the one time you wouldn't have wanted to revert." "Oh really? Whatever."

"Wait, is this the longest hallway?" "WELCOME TO THE LONGEST HALWAAAAAAY."

-beats first quarter- "Am I done now?" "Oh you sweet summer child." "You know you could just say no." "Yeah but that's boring."

Nothing says the longest hallway like eleventeen uses of Final Form!

"Fuck that place, fuck that hallway."

"Garden of Assemblage? Oh it's a place to redo all the boss fights!" "You're missing some because you need to do the absent silhouettes." "Aaaand we're done with this game!"

I made him to attempt Sephiroth.

"So a tip. When you fight Sephiroth, spam triangle." "Okay?" "While the cutscene is loading, spam triangle."

"Why do you have knee wings Sephiroth?"

He tried twice and gave up.

Well that's it, it's now 358/2 Days watch next! That’ll be all one part

[play-read-write]

Assessing the Situation

Fandom: RWBY Characters: Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Glynda Goodwitch Words: 2349 Description: Weiss and Ruby meet the new tutor hired to guide Weiss. (Summoner AU, chapter 4. other chapters 1, 2, 3, 5)

“Sooooo where are we going?” Ruby asks, walking backwards in front of Weiss.

“To a training room.” Weiss says, walking along the large hallway of her manor. “My Father has seen fit to give me an instructor for some reason.”

“Really?” Ruby asks, “I thought you said they didn’t teach much.”

“Usually.” Weiss says, “It’s more customary to learn from summons themselves, experience being the best teacher. However in some cases getting a tutor to help does happen. While they can’t guide the same way a summon can since they can’t feel the bond we have, but they may be able to provide some aid and guidance.”

“So they’re here to watch you do stuff and tell you when to do it.” Ruby says.

“Somewhat more than that, but yes. It’s often considered a pointless extravagancy so I’m surprised my Father bothered at all.”

“Maybe he wants you to get stronger, you know so you can be all watcha hiya!!” Ruby says and throws a few kicks and chops.

“For some reason I highly doubt that.” Weiss says, “Anyway, we’re here.” She opens a door, heading into a moderately sized room, mostly empty except for a few chairs and a single desk. Sitting at the desk was a woman with blonde hair wearing white and purple clothes. In front of her, perfectly arranged, were a riding crop, a few papers, and a pen.

“Hello Ms. Schnee.” She says, “Precisely on time.”

“Of course.” Weiss says, “Are you to be my tutor then?”

“Yes. My name is Glynda Goodwitch. Ozpin sent me from Beacon to aid in your training.”

“What’s a Beacon?” Ruby asks.

“It’s a place for summoners.” Weiss answers, “Many summoners gather there in order to train in a safe place, as well as to give a central location to anyone seeking jobs and other such things.”

“Cool.” Ruby says. “So you’re a summoner then?”

“Clearly.” Glynda says, “And you’re a summon. Now would you both like to have a seat?”

“Sure.” Ruby says, skipping over and sitting down. Weiss follows taking a seat next to her more slowly. “What now?”

“First I would like to ask a few questions.” Glynda says, “I’ve been informed that you are capable of maintaining two summons currently?”

“That is correct.” Weiss says, “Fairly easily as well.”

“And you have a bond with one other than this girl here?”

“Also correct.”

“She’s my sister.” Ruby says.

“Thank you.” Glynda says, “This sister, I was told that you used an interesting method to summon her.”

“I don’t know if interesting qualifies but yes I did do it differently than normal, with Ruby’s help.” Weiss says.

“That’s me, I’m Ruby.” Ruby says and raises her hand, “Ruby Rose.”

“Do you know what it is the two of you did?” Glynda asks, looking over her small glasses and steepling her fingers.

“Sort of.” Weiss says, “Instead of trying to sense the presence of summons and get a feel for them Ruby instead entered her own realm and maintained the bond. Then I followed it with a bit more awareness to another summon, her sister Yang. I was able to be aware of who the summon was before reaching out to them, and track them down easier as well.”

“Yes, that is one way of putting it.” Glynda says. “The exact term for it is the Hansel and Gretel method, it is a type of technique called a duel worlds method. Do you understand why?”

“Because I maintained the bond while Ruby went into the otherworld?” Weiss asks.

“Exactly. It is not something that is recommended, or commonly done.”

“Why?” Ruby asks, tilting her head.

“Because it is dangerous.” Glynda explains, “The otherworld is a dangerous place for humans. It is not like our world and sending even part of your mind into it is risky. If you get lost, which is quite easy to do, you may never come back, and if you do return you might not be the same.”

Weiss pauses as the gravity of such a thing sets in. “What do you mean not the same?” She asks nervously.

“The people who have spent too much time there before returned, for lack of a better word, insane. They lost touch with reality, incapable of separating the real from the imagined, unable to judge distance, or time. They couldn’t adjust to the otherworld, but could never readjust to this one either.”

“That sounds horrid.” Weiss says.

“Yes, which is precisely why I must ask you not to do so again. The method you chose was, luckily, the least dangerous method. With your summon’s guidance you were less likely to wander and didn’t have to project as much of yourself into their world, however doing something like that again could have consequences.”

“Yes, of course.” Weiss says, “I wasn’t aware there was such a risk.”

“Me either.” Ruby says, “Sorry. It was kind of my idea.”

“Oh really?” Glynda asks, looking at her, “Where did you get that idea at anyway?”

“Well uh,” Ruby looks down at the floor as she speaks, “Weiss kept summoning me here to practice keeping her summons up, but she was busy anyway sometimes so I started reading stuff. I read about like how summoning worked to try and help. Then when I went home I found some stuff on it too and kind of put a few pieces together.”

“Hmm, interesting.” Glynda says, “I suppose it’s not unreasonable. While such methods are usually kept hidden due to their dangers it’s not unreasonable to find pieces of the information in some unrestricted texts.”

“So we’re not in trouble?” Ruby asks.

“Not if you don’t do so again. I must say I’m impressed you managed to do so at all, projecting yourself into the Otherworld, even at that low level, usually takes practice. It’s quite different than a normal summon search.”

“Oh, thank you.” Weiss says.

“Now it seems you only have one with you today, is your other summon not here?” Glynda asks.

“No, she is not.” Weiss says.

“Yang’s busy right now.” Ruby says, “She knows a lot of people so she gets summoned by others sometimes. I think she only keeps the bond with one other right now though, so she’s probably helping him. She breaks up fights and kicks jerks out of his place. I think it’s a dance club.”

“Perhaps on another day then.” Glynda says, “For now, I believe it’s time that at least the two of you start to test your bond a bit more than simply sustaining it.”

“Ohhh, do we get to do something fun?” Ruby asks.

“I suppose that depends on your definition.” Glynda says, “If you truly want to be a powerful summoner you’ll have to be able to support your summons. A summon can be quite powerful given the training, but even the strongest is limited by a weak summoner. Their powers come from their own world, but using their powers requires drawing on that world. It is quite the complex arrangement, but all you need to know for now is that the more power they draw the harder it is for them to maintain their presence here. It is up to you to be able to supply them with the power and anchor to remain in this world.”

“I see.” Weiss says, “So the more Ruby uses her abilities the more it will draw on my strength for her to stay rooted her and not vanish back to her own world.”

“Precisely.” Glynda says.

“As if it wasn’t hard enough already.” Ruby says with a grumble. “Your world is just so stiff; it’s hard to do all the fun stuff I do in my world.”

“That is why you must draw on your own world, Ms. Rose, and bring that power here.”

“I suppose I can do some of it.” Ruby says.

“And the more you train the more you will be able to do.”

“Cool.” Ruby says, “What first?”

“Start simple.” Goodwitch says. “Today’s lesson will be short, especially since not everyone is here. I simply wish to assess your strengths.”

“Alright.” Ruby says and stands up. “Let’s see what I can do.” She slides a foot back and leans forward a bit, like a runner about to take off. A breeze flows through the room despite the closed doors and windows, rose petals blowing off of Ruby as her cape moves with the wind. She focuses, furrowing her brow, more petals flying around the room.

“Ruby.” Weiss says in a strained voice. She watches as Ruby starts to flicker, as if fading in and out. The bond to her feels tight and drawn, like a strained rope holding too much weight. “Ruby!” She says louder.

“Huh?” Ruby says, looking back at her. “What’s wrong?”

“Too much.” Weiss says, the bond relaxing again, no longer feeling like she was lifting a weight with her soul itself.

“Sorry.” Ruby says, “Guess that’s why I was having so much trouble. Over in my world it would have been doable.”

“Yes, but you’re not there.” Glynda says, “Perhaps try something simpler?”

“Alright.” Ruby says, taking the pose again, “Let’s see what really pushes it.” She takes a deep breath and focuses, feeling the bond again, an intangible connection, yet one she could feel as easily as her cape. She focused on her own world as well, on what she could do, trying to pull the power to her until she felt the bond start to tense again, giving her a better judgement of what was possible. “Got it.” She says and burst forward. Rose petals trail in her wake and she’s suddenly on the opposite side of the room.

“How did you...?” Weiss asks, looking at where Ruby was before and where she was now.

“Interesting.” Glynda says, “Spatial reduction?”

“Nope.” Ruby says, “Just fast. There’s no WAY I’d be able to do something like that with how stiff this world is. I’m still learning how to do it over in the real- I mean my world.”

“So that was all you could do?” Glynda asks.

“Well no.” Ruby says, “It was as fast as I could go though. I mean, I can go faster in my world, but I can’t do here what I can there. It’s kind of like… hmm how do I put it…” She puts a hand to her chin and looks down as she thinks. “It’s like being outside is my world, and this one is a house. I can draw on my world to make it bigger but it’ll never be the same, not as open. Things that are easy there are hard here and things that are hard there are impossible here, no matter how much I draw on. Not a good comparison but it’s all I got.”

“She says that a lot.” Weiss says, “That this world is confining, restricting.”

“Well it is.” Ruby says.

“That’s a common statement among summons, especially newer ones who aren’t yet strong enough to manifest their powers easily.” Glynda explains.

“I can still do this though.” Ruby says. Holding out her arm vines grow from it, a large thorn forming before the whole thing burst into rose petals, revealing a scythe. She swung it around a few times, before resting it on the floor. “It’s harder here, but I can still do it pretty easily.”

“So you wield a scythe.” Glynda says. Standing up she grabs her riding crop and looks at them. “I believe I’ve learned all I can today. I will come up with a training schedule as best I can and return tomorrow. Ms. Rose, do inform your sister she will be needed.”

“Will do.” Ruby says.

“Good day.” She says, nodding to them both before she heads out the door.

“Hey Weiss.” Ruby says once she’s gone, dismissing her scythe into more petals.

“Yes, Ruby?” Weiss asks, standing up and fixing her skirt.

“Why didn’t you tell her about Blake?” Ruby asks, tilting her head, “She’s reading in the library right now, wouldn’t that affect your strength? Plus she thinks you just have two summons, but you’ve got more. So you’re stronger than she’d get from that.”

“I know.” Weiss says, opening the door and leading the two of them out. “But she doesn’t need to know that.” She gives a small smirk. “What she doesn’t know won’t hurt her, but it might hurt anyone else who thinks they know my strength.”

Ruby grins at her. “Secret weapon, awesome.” She says, “I didn’t know you could be sneaky.”

“I live in a house with my father and have to attend meetings and balls with worst of people, of course I can be sneaky.” Weiss says as they walk. “I was just worried you wouldn’t take the hint.”

“Hey I’ve got a big sister; I know how to read ‘this is a secret’ hints.” Ruby says.

“Good. Let’s just keep it that way for now. We can tell her later.”

“If you say so.” Ruby says, “What now?” She asks, “Wanna tell Blake about what’s going on?”

“I don’t know if that’s the best idea.” Weiss says, “She doesn’t seem to care for being around people much.”

“She’s just quiet.” Ruby says, “She’s actually pretty nice.”

“Wait, how do you know that?” Weiss asks, looking at her.

“I told you I studied summoning stuff, I did that in the library. When you’re busy without us I’m usually either with Yang or there, and she’s always there too. I get spending time in your room, I do it a lot too, but you’ve got an actual library to study in, I’m sure she’d be nicer if you just hung out with her more.”

“Maybe you’re right.” Weiss says, “I should get to know her if we’re going to keep the bond.”

“Well, now’s as good a time as any.” Ruby says.

“I suppose it is.” Weiss says, “Let’s go, we might as well let her know about what’s going on.”

“Might as well.” Ruby repeats as they turn, now headed for the library.

[khoicesbyk]

The Good Captain.

Author’s Note: This is my version of what book 2 of Distant Shores should be like. Y’know the book 2 that we readers of Distant Shores rightfully deserved! One more thing: in this fanfic, the MC’s last name has been changed to Bennett but; in the game it’s Carter. I decided to change it from Carter to Bennett; because Bennett sounds better to me. Also; her original occupation has been changed as well.

***Rated: Mature 18+. Contains sexual content, nudity, some violence and strong language.

***Bolded and/or italicized words are conversations and thoughts of the characters.

***Characters: Captain Edward Mortemer (LI), Kyra Bennett (MC), Robert Finnegan (Main Antagonist), Charlie, Ginny, Jonas, Maggie, Samuel, Octavia, Henry, Axton, Adelia, Kendrick and Oliver Cochrane (Side Characters)

***Disclaimer: All character names (except MC) and/or some dialogues belong to Pixelberry.

Current Word Count: 2,784 words.

To make this chapter, a little more accurate; I’m timing this around winter 2019/early 2020.

Chapter 2: The Revelation…

As the sun sets; Captain Edward Mortemer gazes over the ocean and watches the colors blend into one another. She’s on his mind again. Her smile. Her eyes. The touch of her skin. He clenches his fists; in order to fight back the emotions and tears that were creeping up on him. She was just in his arms then she was gone.

He missed her. He longed for her. He wanted her back. He loved her.

“I knew I could find you here!”, a familiar voice called out to him. It was Charlie coming to check on him.

“Aye. I’m here.”, he replied.

“Thinking of the lass again?”, she asked.

“Always, Charlie. Always…”, he told her.

“She’s out there Edward. You’ll find her.”, she said reassuringly.

“Aye. I will find her. Wherever she is. I WILL find her.”, he responds. Charlie pats him on the back and leaves him to his thoughts.

“Kyra…wherever you are. Just know; I will not stop until I’ve found you. I will not give up until you’re in my arms again.”, he tells himself before making his way back to town.

She’d been gone for almost 3 1/2 months, at that point. Just vanished into thin air. And poor Edward; the man drove himself crazy, endlessly searching for her. He never got to tell her; what she truly meant to him. He never got to tell her; that he would move heaven and earth for her. He never got to say the words “I love you”. That’s what he wanted. To tell her, that he is MADLY in love with her. He had to find her. No matter where she was. He was GOING TO find her.

But for now, he had to shift his focus to this mysterious Captain Finnegan he’d been hearing about. Apparently this new captain and his crew; had been terrorizing many across the Caribbean. And always at night. This new captain sailed aboard the Dios Del Mar. He and his crew were effective and brutal. Leaving nothing behind; but terror and destruction.

They had even struck down the first of the Seven Lords of The Sea.

Whereas Edward and his crew sailed aboard The Jewel Of The Sea. It was slightly bigger and more agile of a ship than; The Revenge. It did the job he needed it to do.

By the time he reached the tavern; the sunset had turned to night but a ominous dark cloud started to form. He couldn’t put his finger on it but; after looking at the cloud for a brief time something didn’t sit right with him. An eerie feeling was in the air; and he and the crew were about to discover why.

After ordering pints for everyone; Edward settled into, what supposed to be a night of being with his crew. They were his family. Even though; Samuel and Octavia had crossed and mutinied against him. He forgave them. He welcomed them back into his life, his heart and his crew once again. They were all sitting around Kendrick, singing the shanties of old, drinking and laughing. It brought joy to his heart; to see the family he created together again.

That’s when thunder started to rumble; and the winds picked up. It sounded like a hurricane was brewing outside. But as Edward and his crew would discover; this was no ordinary storm. A violent wind blew into the tavern, dousing all the lamps. And then suddenly; they were reignited and when they reignited, a familiar figure stood before Edward and the crew.

“Hello everyone! What a time to be alive!”, he exclaimed.

No one could believe who it was they were seeing. It was Robert. He was alive. He had returned.

“What witchcraft is this?!”, Charlie asked. She was the first to shake herself of the initial shock.

“Ahhhh my dearest Charlie! Such a quick one, you are.”, he replied.

“You’re supposed to be dead! You were killed by the Admiral!”, Edward says to the man who was his former first mate and friend.

“And yet; here I stand before you, boy! As nimble as ever! And with my own crew to boot!”, he replied as he gestures to the crew behind him.

“You can’t be alive! You’d have to be a God to have survived.”, Edward said to him. His hand wrapped tightly around the hilt of his sword.

“I’m not a God my boy. Well; at least not yet.”, Robert casually replied.

“This is impossible!”, Edward exclaimed.

“You know, that’s funny. She said the same thing.”, he answered.

“What are you babbling about?”, Edward asks.

“Ohhh I think you know exactly what I’m referring to Edward. Or should I say; I think you know exactly who I’m referring to?”, he replies.

“Robert…”, Edward sneered. His jaw clenched tight.

Robert merely rolled his eyes.

“Kyra, my dear boy.”, he tells him. Edward froze in his place.

“You…you’ve seen her?!”, he asks.

“Ohhh yes! We had lovely little conversation in future. That’s how I got this!”, he says before producing the golden compass, “although, she might not be happy that I stole it from her.”

“If you did anything to harm her; I swear I will have your head!”, Edward growled as Charlie and Jonas restrained him.

“And there in lies your problem, boy. You’ve always let your emotions cloud your judgement!”, he replied.

Edward was livid. But, Robert once again just rolled his eyes.

“Calm down, boy! I never touched her!…Pearson did!”, he said with sly grin as he gestured to his first mate.

“You bastard!”, Edward hissed, clearly ready to pounce. He was going to kill Robert.

“Would you lot like to see her? That way Edward can finally calm down, about the girl he clearly loves.”, Robert asks the crew, clearly overlooking Edward’s fury. Most of the crew nodded their heads.

“Very well! Mari! Be a dear and show them the girl, will you?”, he commanded one of the women in his crew to do.

“Sí, mi capitán”, she replied before waving her hand, and producing a screen that gave everyone a view into the future. The tavern was mostly empty at that point; save for the two crews.

And there she was. She was alive and judging by the look on her face; clearly troubled. She was sitting down but he wasn’t quite sure what; but it looked like she was in some kind of room, surrounded by strange contraptions. Edward couldn’t believe what he saw. He thought he’d never see her again, but there she was. And although he was rightfully furious at Robert; he was thankful and his heart overjoyed to see her.

“Are you happy now?”, he asked, obviously annoyed at this point.

“When was this? Where was this?”, he replied with questions of his own.

“When? About a month ago. Where? A doctors office.”, he replied.

“Doctor?! Is she sick?”, Edward replies; clearly trying to hide the concern in his voice.

“Watch!”, Robert replied.

Just then the door opened.

“Good afternoon Miss Bennett! I’m Dr. Everett. I’m here to take good care of you.”, he said as he greeted her with a handshake.

“Thank you Dr. Everett.”, she replied sheepishly.

“I know you’re nervous Kyra, but I can assure you that I will do my very best; to offer you the best care possible.”, he tells her.

“I know…I’m just…I guess I’m still in shock.”, she replied.

“I can understand that. But as I said; I will do my very best; to offer you the best care.”, he says with a warm smile.

“Thank you again doctor. So; what do the results say? I can’t be that far along can I?”, she asks.

“You’re actually a lot farther along than you think, Miss Bennett. You’re currently at 11 1/2 weeks.”, he tells her. That was right on time with her timeline.

“Holy shit…”, she thought to herself before asking the doctor, “so, what happens now?”

“Well today, you’re scheduled for an ultrasound. We have to calculate what your due date will be.”, the doctor replies.

“Okay. I can…we can do that.”, she said.

“Excellent! Right this way!”, he says as he gestures for her to follow him.

“That’s enough for now Mari.”, he tells her. That’s when the screen vanishes.

“Happy now? She’s fine! Well…as fine as she can be; given her condition anyway.”, he tells everyone.

“I don’t understand. What condition she be in?”, Henry asks clearly confused.

Robert lets out an aggravated sigh.

“You lot never were all that bright. So, allow me to put it plainly: she’s with child. More specifically; she’s with his child.”, he replies, nodding towards a now very pale looking Edward.

“M-my child?”, he asks.

“Yes, my dear boy. She’s having your child. You’re not only a captain but soon; you’ll be a father as well. The doctor she went to see, helps new mothers give birth.”, he explains.

Edward was stunned into a dead silence. Kyra was having his child; and he wasn’t there with her. She was in the future and he was currently in the past.

“My God…”, he said still trying to process this new information.

“I’d order you a celebratory pint buuuuuut seeing as how the tavern is empty; I’ll just have to owe you one.”, Robert says to Edward.

“So, you’re doing all of this was to torture me?”, he asks Robert.

“No not at all, my dear boy! I’m only here to offer peace…and to get you and the crew to stand down.”, he replies.

“Stand down?! For what?!”, he asks Robert. That’s when he gave Edward and the crew, the rundown of the legends of Atlantis and Poseidon’s Trident. He told them how he was going to find the the trident, and use it to become the greatest pirate of all.

“Yer mad Robert! Absolutely mad!”, Maggie exclaimed.

“Why thank you Maggie darlin’!”, he replies with an icy smile.

“Captain Robert sir, I’d like to point out that; we all know the legends. And we all know that; the trident as well as Atlantis can never be found. Sir.”, Samuel quipped.

“That’s why I intend to be the one to find it. To prove you all and the world wrong. The trident will be mine!”, he proclaimed.

“Robert what the hell happened to you?! You used to be brave and smart and strong! And now? Yer babbling about old legends that ain’t true!”, Charlie says to him. That’s when he shows them the first of the seven key fragments. “But it is true! As you can plainly see! Once I have all the key fragments; it will only be a matter of time!”

“We will stop ye!”, Ginny yelled at him.

“My little one! Ever the fierce protector you are!”, he replies sarcastically as she sticks her tongue out at him.

“Enough! This madness ends now!”, Edward growls as he draws his weapon. And when he draws his; Robert’s crew draws theirs as does Edward’s crew. All ready to strike at one another.

“Don’t be daft boy! Think of your child! What will Kyra think if she were to find out that you died being foolish?”, he asks him.

“You blackguard! You won’t touch her!”, he sneered back.

“You’re right. I won’t. But if you die here; neither will you.”, he tells him.

“What are you talking about?”, Edward asks.

“Callie hand the boy the amulet, won’t you?”, he tells one of the women with him. With a flick of her wrist; she tosses him an ornate amulet. “This is the amulet of Atlas. It’s one of three amulets. I have the amulet of Orion. Can you guess who has the other one, my boy?”

“Kyra has the other one?”, he answers.

“Aye. That she does. I gave it to her. They give you the power to transport you to the future and to the past. Consider them as presents from me and my crew; to you and her on the impending birth of your child.”, he tells Edward.

“You’re lying!”, Edward told him.

“Mari! Show him please?”, he commanded. Once again the screen into the future was up. “This was ohhh…about a week ago.”

There Kyra was sitting at her desk; clearly showing the biggest sign of pregnancy: her stomach had grown. She was going through stacks and stacks of papers, scrolls and books in both English and Ancient Greek. She was trying to figure out two things. 1.) how Robert got his hands on that key fragment; and 2.) the legends of Atlantis and Poseidon.

That’s when a noise startled her from her studying. She knew that it wasn’t good.

“Not again. Not now.”, she muttered. She knew not to leave her office; but she had to find out what that noise was.

And there stood Robert and his evil company. “Why Kyra! You’re pregnant and glowing! How are you doing dear? Are you alright? I hope the last time we spoke; didn’t leave a bad taste in your mouth.”

“Go fuck yourself!”, she snapped at him.

“Quaint as ever I see. Well you’ll be happy to know that; I’m not here to steal from you. I’m here to give a gift, actually!”, he explained.

“Thanks but no thanks! If it’s coming from you; it’s a curse not a gift!”, she replied.

“So, you’re going to be defiant, eh?”, he asks her.

“I think the term you’re looking for is stubborn; and yes I am!”, she said to him. Although she’s pregnant; and clearly in danger, she was not about to back down. She then asked him, “What do you want?”

“Callie? Be a dear, won’t you?”, he commands her. And just like with Edward she tosses Kyra an amulet. “Now pay attention girl! That is the amulet of Triton. It’s one of three. The others are the amulet of Orion and the amulet of Atlas. I have Orion. All of them, give you the power to travel back and forth in time. To use it; think of the place and time you want to be or the person you want to be with; and the amulet will do the rest. I discovered that in my studies; as I’m sure you will in yours.”

“Why would you give me this?”, she asked him.

“Don’t you think Edward should know, that you’re pregnant with his child?”, he replied with a question of his own. “I mean unless of course you’ve already told him…ohhhh wait!”

His crew snickered behind him. She stood there fuming.

“You really are a sick bastard! You do know that, right?”, she told him.

He merely shrugged. “You may see it that way; but to answer your previous question; I’m giving you that amulet for the same reason, I’m going to give the other one to your beau: to get you both to stay out of my way!”

“So this is a threat, is that what I’m to understand?”, she asked.

“Think of it as a promise my darling girl. A promise that if you get involved; you, your child, your dearly beloved and even the crew might not survive.”, he sneered at her.

“I will stop you! And even if I don’t; I know that Edward and the crew will!”, she snapped at him.

“It’s adorable to see how loyal you are to them. And I’m sure when I see them, they’ll be just as loyal to you. Well I don’t want to keep you; I know you’re busy studying, so we’ll see ourselves out. Goodbye for now! And ohhhh! At least, think about my promise to you?”, he says to her; before disappearing into the shadows with his crew.

“What am I gonna do?”, she says to herself while clutching the amulet to her chest and holding her very growing belly.

When screen vanishes again; Edward is furious. “You dare threaten her and my child?!”

“I’ll tell you; as I told her. It’s a promise not a threat. As long as you and the others stand down; no one will be hurt. But if you get involved no one will survive!”, he says to him. Clearly annoyed by the defiance he then asks, “let me guess my boy, you’re going to stop me?”

“We all will!”, Charlie growls. Edward was poised and ready to slice Robert’s head clean off his shoulders.

“I was hoping to avoid this but; so be it! If you plan to stop me you might want to do it fast…like right now!”, he says before a lightning strike hits the tavern; setting it on fire and trapping the crew inside. Edward had to get out. He had to see her. The amulet was his only hope…

Stay tuned for chapter 3! 😘

K. @txemrn @choicesficwriterscreations