#miran chang

[lonehearts-a]

starter call. / @unfinishedjulyrain ; jasper to ??

"you look really nice today. not that you don't usually look nice, but that color really compliments you, you should wear it more." it's a soft, casual observation, and jasper offers an equally gentle smile before speaking again, fidgeting with one of his earrings. "so what's up ?? you needed help with something, right ??"

[heart-of-decay]

okay. I guess I'll post here too

[everlastlady]

Husband Lord Dimitrescu

✘- Author's Note: I've been wanting to do these for a while the Lord Dimitrescu artwork belongs to MetalLoveCake. I've decided to finally post some Lord Dimitrescu content. It's 3am for me but I have insomnia and can't really sleep so why not just put out something new. Remember to eat a meal or a snack, drink some water, get some fresh air, take your medicine, and remember that you are loved. If you loved this story remember to comment, click or tap that heart button, reblog with tags, and blaze if you can. Always remember to support your local writers. ♡♡♡

✘- Story Contains: Blood, Sucking Blood, Husband Lord Dimitrescu, female reader, Romance, Fluff, Smutty shit, The author is a virgin, & cute moments.

✧- Husband Lord Dimitrescu, who loves to tease you for being a human. You are so tiny and fragile that it's funny. But he would never hurt you. He's quite gentle with you and doesn't like to cause you any harm. He's very cautious when you both sleep in bed, he doesn't want to roll over and crush you like he did last time. Even with his claws he has to remind you not to touch them because he doesn't want you to cut yourself.

✧- Husband Lord Dimitrescu, who loves to spoil you. You are his beautiful rose. And he wants his beautiful rose to always look beautiful. So he gets you the best outfits, jewelry, and anything you want. Sometimes he doesn't understand the things you request but he happily gets it for you. He also spoils you in affection; loves to give you kisses all the time. Whenever you two are together he will give a passionate kiss, he doesn't care who is around.

✧- Husband Lord Dimitrescu, who likes when you play with his hair. He doesn't want to cut it for that reason. He loves when you scratch his head or run your fingers through his hair. He also loves it when you scratch his back because one time he couldn't reach his back and thought it was a good idea to use his claws. Poor man sat on your guys bed while hissing and cussing while you tending to marks on his back now he knows how his victims felt when he sliced them.

✧- Husband Lord Dimitrescu, who loves to eat you out like you are the last meal on earth. He loves watching you squirm while his tongue draws along your wet cunt. How his tongue slips in and out of your cunt. Even if you already had came, oh he's not done with you because he wants your legs to tremble even if he's done he wants your cunt to feel like his tongue is still there. He loves to bite down on your soft squishy thighs to taste your blood and leaves marks. He does the same with your breasts. Lord Dimitrescu is a large man and not just in height. He has to make sure that you are prepared before he fills you up with his hot load. (Kill me.)

✧- Husband Lord Dimitrescu, who gives you the best after care. He'll have his servants change the sheets while the two of you take a bath. He'll praise you and tell you how good you did, how sweet you tasted, and how much he loves you. He'll get you into some cozy pajamas then grab you some water, gotta stay hydrated. If you are hungry, he'll get you a meal. After all that is done he'll cuddle with you in bed and sing you nice song. He'll admire your beauty while you sleep and eventually fall asleep himself holding you.

✧- Husband Lord Dimitrescu, who has three sons Cass, Daniel, and Beu. Of course you are their step mother and yes they love you. They always wanted a mother, seeing human children having loving mothers, reading books on loving mothers, and those movies and shows with loving mothers. Oh, it made them crave a mother, so they were over joyed when their father said that he was marrying you. Whenever Lord Dimitrescu is busy with paperwork or with Father Miran. The boys are always with you. One time Lord Dimitrescu came home late and didn't see you in the bedroom. He looked around and eventually found you in the room in Cass's bed along with Daniel and Beu all three boys are cuddling you. As you had a story book since you read them a bedtime story. Lord Dimitrescu chuckled he could survive one night with out you, he threw a blanket over you and the boys then left the room.

✧- Husband Lord Dimitrescu, who drinks your blood with permission. He doesn't take much but whenever he does, he makes sure that you drink and eat something. He likes the taste of your blood and only drinks whenever he wants a "snack" it used to hurt but you have gotten used to it. The only time you have tasted your own blood is whenever you and him have engaged in your sexual acts in passionate kissing.

✧- Husband Lord Dimitrescu, who hates when you cry, who made you cry? Lord Dimitrescu is definitely going to kill them especially if they physically hurt you. You have seen Lord Dimitrescu kill people for experimenting or just for fun. But seeing Lord Dimitrescu enraged while killing was a sight. He eventually calms down because he doesn't want to scare you. Now if you are crying because you are upset or feel self conscious. Lord Dimitrescu will sit down and hold you on his lap. He'll tell you how important, beautiful, smart, and amazing you are. He'll pick up a mirror and want you to say self affirms to yourself. He never wants you to tear yourself down.

✧- Husband Lord Dimitrescu, who feels bad whenever he has to cancel plans because of meetings with Father Miran. He hates the has to cancel plans you both had. But Father Miran will be up Alban's ass if he doesn't attend those meetings or assist him in experiments. But Alban Dimitrescu will make it up by taking you to expensive place or do whatever you want him to do.

✧- Husband Lord Dimitrescu, who doesn't mind if you want a child. Especially if it means you and him can make the baby. Of course he'll plan it with you especially since you are a human and he's giant fucking vampire. The boys are excited to have a little sister or brother. They even bicker over what the gender will be. Father Miran is interested upon hearing this, you and Alban having a baby? How wonderful, definitely wants to see the outcome.

✧- Husband Lord Dimitrescu, who is thrilled when you give birth to a healthy baby girl. She looks just like you and him. The boys are happy to see their little sister. Lord Dimitrescu tells the boys to leave the room so you can rest. Lord Dimitrescu will take care of the baby while you rest. You both named her Dawn. Lord Dimitrescu is protective of the baby, while you are recovering from having to give birth. Lord Dimitrescu is taking care of the baby, he doesn't trust the servants. But whenever he needs to rest or work. You assure him that the servants will care for the child.

✧- Husband Lord Dimitrescu, who eventually turns you into a vampire. You waited because you wanted to know more about vampires, you also thought about your friends and family. Lord Dimitrescu made sure to guide you while he turned you. He is glad that you joined him and the kids in immortality. Of course he makes sure that you and him have the best blood especially you. He is impressed how much you learned about vampires.

That's all

[boyfhee]

യ CRUSHED : PARK JONGSEONG TEASER

SYNOPSIS : fifteen years, a lost love, untold feelings, a breaking heart— crushed. they say if you wish desperately enough for something, the whole universe gets together to give it to you. perhaps, it's the reason why you find yourself back in your highschool, fifteen years ago, with a fluttering love, some lingering feelings, a doting heart, and your first heart break— park jongseong.

or wherein, life gives you another chance with your first love.

GENRE : fantasy, angst, romance, time travel

WC : teaser is 0.7k, est 10k+ for fic

WARNINGS : angst but with a happy ending guys trust me, a lot of mentions of crying, alcoholic drinks, more will be added in the main fic post

NOTES : i knew my jay era would give birth to a jay long fic i say we cheer :› NO BC THIS MAN IS SO FINE just like this fic i'm planning saur. please read. i hope u enjoy the teaser, send an ask / drop a comment to join the taglist

it’s the invitation you’ve been looking at for ten minutes now, standing outside the venue. papers coloured rose, golden letters engraved, names and air spilling with love. it’s the mood of the day, the flow of a typical august wednesday that carries you inside the venue, to the celebration hall. the air inside smells of fresh roses, it’s expected when you see a huge bunch used as decoration in every corner and on table tops. and then you look at the invitation again.

joo miran weds park jongseong.

your best friend weds your other best friend, your first best friend. your first crush. your first love.

the subtle silence in the air was deafening until you see jay sneaking into miran’s suit, or so you assume, although it’s true. from sneaking into her classes to sneaking into her room at night to take her out for a midnight date, sneaking across hallways to catch a glance— just one look, even a fraction of a second is enough— to now, sneaking around the wedding hall to savour that ‘just one look’ at the bride, his bride, as if a lifetime isn’t waiting for them. 

“i thought grooms and brides weren’t supposed to see each other before the wedding,” it’s your voice that stops jay from kissing her cheeks, although you know he would’ve still done it if he wanted to.

“ah well—” he rubs the back of his neck, it’s a habit that gives away his nervousness. habits are hard to change, let alone letting go of one. “do you really expect me to hold back when she looks like this?” and he looks at her as if she put the stars in the sky, or as if she’s a star herself, graced upon earth for him, and only for him. knowing jay, he would say it. 

“you look good too,” you look perfect, you wanted to say. however, you don’t. you don’t know why, it’s normal for friends to compliment each other. you don’t know how many times you’ve called him handsome, you don’t know the last time you called him that. “congrats, by the way,” 

and loving jay is a habit. 

“thanks,” she smiles, looking at you. “wouldn’t have been possible if not for you,”

it’s something you can’t get out of yourself. no amount of blind dates can do it for you, no amount of heartbreaks can colour him bad. 

“no really,” his voice pulls you out of your thoughts, and you unconsciously smile a bit more. “thanks for setting me up with miran,” 

no amount of time can push you forward to move on from him. fifteen years, a lost love, untold feelings, a breaking heart— crushed. the world moved on, you did too, yet your heart is still there— gyeonggi suwon international school, fourth floor, the first class from the stairs. fourth desk, the one right next to the window, a view expanded across the school ground, a way for you to watch jay’s football matches between lessons. 

his heart is with someone else while yours is where you realised your feelings for him, left behind— crushed. 

and it’s a shame to live like this, as if there’s no point to life. to hold back tears at your best friends’ wedding, to force a smile when they kiss, to stare from a distance when she threw the bouquet, to cry in the washroom after all is done. head buried in your hands, muffled sobs as you hear a few women talk outside your stall. you don’t pay attention to them, you couldn’t. you had realised you couldn’t pay attention to anything that wasn’t him or about him. so you just sit there, head buried in hands, eyes closed, not paying attention to anything.

yn.

you hear your name. 

once.

yn?

twice.

“yn,” thrice. “are you okay?” and you turn around, it’s the same scenario— gyeonggi suwon international school, the fourth desk by the window, the sunlight falling upon. your eyes meet his, and then his smile. your best friend, your first best friend.

your first heartbreak.

“wanna get ice cream on our way back home?” you nod instinctively, habitually. it’s how things went fifteen years ago when you had realised your feelings for him. it feels the same, fluttering love, lingering feelings, a doting heart, and park jongseong.

crushed. 

[extrajigs]

The MODERN MIRAN SCRIPT. Basically the continuation of the old school Chimeric that I covered in this post. That has most of the nitty gritty and this is more so about the branch of the language. The BIG info dump below the cut!

Chimeric is the original, a purely written language used by chimera when talking is unavailable. Written in a circle heading inwards with two defined lines of dialogue. The subject/action 'real' substance and the tonal, emotional intent of the writer and sometimes reader. Chimeric is still used by the remaining population to talk within their ranks, but nearly every chimera is at least bilingual depending on where they ended up. Back in Mirum the written language of Chimeric stayed behind but has been pretty heavily modified to better suit the reading style of the people that remained. Mainly Histin who cut out pretty much all the fluff and added a bit more structure.

So! As opposed to the radial style of Chimeric, Miran has double decker sentences. With the top row being the remnants of the Subject quarter and the bottom row being the Action quarter. Linkage of subjects and actions take place between the two lines. Plus there is a new form of linkage, the priority/influence links which show which subject is acting upon who, and define action sequences. While Chimeric is written inwards radially, Miran is written top to bottom, starting going from left to right then right to left and alternating down the page. Also circular paper is swapped for rectangular, think a standard 8x10. Still, you are expected to enclose sentences within two parentheses, lil hold over from the circular days. But to the outside perspective the largest difference between the two is their tones, or well overtonage of one and lack of tone in the other. Chimeric is the 3 paragraph overly detailed text, Miran is the single word response. Lest to say they do not mesh super well.

ANOTHER fun hold over I want to add but am still thinking over characters for is that for rare fancy words (poetry/music/heart speak) Miran can slide in a THIRD ROW in between the first and second. There the spoken tone quarter manages to eek out a meager Miran existence through a few dozen sets of characters to convey certain emotions and the like. Songs in Miran very often have multiple sets of lyrics overlaid in this fashion, the largest can have 5+ tonal rows.

Oh that reminds me! Miran DOES have a spoken equivalent. Or rather, the original shared Histin/Diagrevies language has been stretched over to fit better with the written word. That in itself has split the spoken word in Mirum in two once more, with spoken Miran and Draconic being the two main talkings. Histin typically only speak and read Miran, whilst Diagrevies will speak both; with their preference being draconic. A Diagrevies will typically have a Histin under their employ to read and write for them since ya know, they cannot see.

All this taken into consideration though, Miran and Chimeric are still basically two ways of writing the same basal language. Not that modern speakers like to admit that. But small character additions and style changes aside, if you can read one you can get the gist of the other. Miran is by far the most spoken in modern times tho. Its a little more accessible for different species than Chimeric.

Want to get more into the modern Mirum dealings. The chimera may be absent but their influence is still very plain to see if you know where to look.

[tessenpai]

Kono Oto Tomare! Chapter 132 Scans and Rough TL

Disclaimer: Please DO NOT use this translation to make your own TL of the chapter!! The KOT TL group works very hard to give you the most accurate translation, that does as much justice to the original script as possible. This is a ROUGH translation. That means is faulty and there must be mistakes in certain places. This is just for impatient people like myself to get a grasp on what is going on in the chapter! You can REFERENCE my TL if you want to discuss the chapter but never USE it as it was your own.

Scans: Kono Oto Tomare! - Raw Chapter 132 - KL (klz9.com)

Page 1

Imari [memory]: Of course we are frustrated!!!

Imari [memory]: Everybody's holding in some emotion or another!! Have you ever thought about that!?

Side text: The words no one had said to Miran, until now.

Chapter Title: #132 A story: Ours.

Imari [memory]: What you are lacking, is imagination!

Miran [thoughts]: Wha-

Page 2

Miran [internal breakdown]: I made her cry. I hurt her. I did it. What do I do? I haven't gotten a single solo, have I!!? Do you think we don't feel anything about that! You haven't realized that, have you!? What do I do? I made her cry. I hurt her. I hurt her. What do I do? I did it. A performance is not something you do alone. Of course we are frustrated! I made her cry. I hurt her. I made her cry. I hurt her. It's imagination!

Miran[sfx]: Ba-dump.

Page 3

Miran[sfx]: Ba-dump, ba-dump, ba-dump.

Miran's mom [memory]: Hurting others to get what you want is a cowardly and awful thing to do.

Miran's mom [memory]: Never do this again. Never!

Miran [thoughts]: Again, I... I-

Imari: hic

Miran: Ah

Page 4

Imari [sfx]: hic

Imari [memory]: Are you this self-centered?

Miran: ...

Luka: !

Page 5

Miran [sfx]: Wipe, wipe.

Imari: Wha-

Imari: Whaaaaaaaaaat----??

Miran [sfx]: Wipe, wipe, wipe, wipe, wipe, wipe, wipe, wipe.

Imari: Wai- That's enough, already. Your necktie is gonna get dirty--

Page 6

Imari: ----

Imari: I'm going to wipe my face, give me a minute.

Miran: Ah, wai...

Tougo: I'll go after Imari. You should cool your head a bit too, Miran.

Page 7

Kio: The person who knows Imari-san the best is probably Tougo-kun. It should be fine.

Kio: Those two are childhood friends, apparently.

Miran: ...

Luka: Hey, Miran. When those two come back...

Luka: Why don't we all take it easy and talk, just once?

Miran: ----....

Imari: ---So

Page 8

Imari: Why did you insist on doing this outside?

Luka: The weather is so nice, I just thought it would give us some sense of freedom.

Kio: We could've sat on that bench over there.

Luka: But this feels more informal, doesn't it?

Imari: Well, I don't really care. Whatever.

Luka: Fu

Luka: I've always thought that music is a way to communicate even if you don't understand the language or don't know another person.

Luka: I figured I didn't need to ask more than I had to about everyone else either. I don't like to pry, you see.

Page 9

Luka: ...But just now, Imari... She let us listen to the voice of her heart, even though she probably never meant for us to ever hear it.

Luka: And even though it was shocking, it made me really happy.

Luka: "Aaah, so that is what we are lacking!", it opened my eyes.

Luka: If you'd like, I would love to hear more about you.

Page 10

Imari: What do you even want me to tell you...

Luka: Anything is fine! Your upbringing, the things you like, the things you hate, even something you are not happy about. It doesn't matter as long as you feel comfortable talking about it.

Luka: If we got to know more about each other, I bet our performance would also change.

Imari: If you say that... Then you should go first about telling us about yourself.

Luka: ! I see! You are absolutely right!

Page 11

Luka: Well then. My parents adopted me when I was one year old, and then---

Imari: Waitwaitwait.

Imari: Eh? Wha-? Ehh!!? Is that something you feel comfortable sharing with us!?

Luka: What? Yeah, of course.

Luka: Meeting my adoptive parents is the luckiest and most joyful thing that ever happened to me.

Luka: It is my greatest pride.

Imari: The- Then it's fine, I guess...

Page 12

Luka: My parents are very big music lovers.

Luka: So ever since I was little I've been exposed to all kinds of music. Thanks to that, I met the koto.

Tougo: How exactly did you meet the koto?

Luka: What?

Tougo: I'm curious. What drove you to begin playing the koto? Did you listen to someone's performance, or something like that?

Luka: Oh... umm... It's nothing like tha...

Imari: What is it? Don't be coy now, say it!

Luka: You... you won't laugh?

Imari: What?

Luka: You gotta promise you absolutely won't laugh. Promise!!

Imari: I won't laugh, what is it!?

Page 13

Luka: Hmm...

Luka: When I heard the koto was an instrument resembling a dragon... I just thought "That's the coolest thing ever!!!!" and wanted to play it...

Kio: ...Eh? That's all..?

Luka: ...Yes...

Imari: Ahahahahahahahah!!!! Are you for real!? And here I was expecting some noble reason!!

Luka: You- you said you wouldn't laugh!! That's just how children get hooked on things!!

Imari: You are even studying abroad for it, so I'd say it worked alright.

Tougo: Did your parents ever oppose the idea of you studying abroad?

Page 14

Luka: They were super supportive.

Luka: It's just that when it was decided that I would be studying abroad my dad was diagnosed with an uncommon illness...

Imari: What?

Luka: Ah, he had surgery to treat it, so he's alright now!

Imari: Dude, you've been bad for my heart ever since you started talking!!

Luka: Sorry.

Luka: In any case, with my father's condition, I decided not to study abroad and stay in my hometown. And they fervently opposed to that.

Luka: I wanted to be by my father's side... But then he said, "I refuse to be the reason my child is dragged down!"... He just wouldn't hear it. I got into a huge fight with my parents for the first time.

Page 15

Luka: We worried a lot. We talked it through, a lot. Both of them consider my future to be the most important thing. And so, here I am today.

Tougo: You have great parents.

Luka: Right!?

Tougo: Are they coming to listen to us at Nationals?

Luka: Yeah. It will depend on how my father feels then, but that's the plan.

Luka: ...I would love to give them a great performance.

Page 16

Miran [memory]: It's because you are here! It's your fault!

Imari: What about you, Kio? You are just as much of a mystery to me as Luka.

Kio: Me?

Kio: I'm just a normal guy. Your average "Failure" born into a prestigious family.

Imari: Failure?

Kio: I hate it when people tell me what to do. The more someone tells me to do something, the more I want to do the opposite.

Imari: You are such a pain in the ass...

Kio: Haha Isn't that the truth?

Page 17

Kio: My relationship with my house is terrible because of that.

Kio: …It's the kind of house where your path is already decided even before you're born, and where you grow surrounded by pride and traditions.

Kio: And so, I rebelled against my house. I was pretty naughty at times. I was almost excommunicated on several occasions.

Imari: What in the world did you do?

Kio: Do you want me to tell you?

Imari: On second thought, no...

Luka: The way you speak is so polite that it's hard for me to picture you being naughty, Kio.

Kio: Ah--... I'm a bit of a jerk when I speak plainly.

Luka: I see!

Luka: But if it's like that, why did you decide to still inherit your house and take over it?

Page 18

Kio: Ahhh. Because I thought I would be able to destroy the "Akane Group" once and for all. Clap

Imari/Luka: What...???

Kio: Please, do not share what I just said with anyone.

Kio: I have not been officially appointed as the next heir yet. I will get debarred for real this time if they find out.

Imari: I didn't sign up to hear such a terrifying story!

Luka: When you say destroy, do you mean to dismantle it?

Kio: Hmmm... If it comes down to that, I may do it.

Kio: When I say I want to destroy it, I mean "The way things are done in the Group".

Page 19

Kio: For my parents, everything should be inside a pattern. That's the way they were taught, and that is the way they teach.

Kio: New ways are absolutely forbidden.

Kio: They believe that's what "Preserving and passing on tradition" means.

Kio: They are not mistaken in thinking that. If that's what the person who entrusted it to them wished, then that's how it should be.

Kio: However

Kio: If I were to entrust something precious to me to someone else.

Kio: I don't want that person to whom I entrust my work to be "just another entity who will pass it on to the next one."

Page 20

Kio: The life of that person.

Kio: Their thoughts and feelings.

Kio: I want them to pass on the proof of their lives.

Kio: That's how I want "Passing on tradition" to be.

Imari: What the heck? You have given this a lot of thought, haven't you?

Kio: Haha Did your opinion of me get a little better?

Page 21

Kio: Well, I may say all that but

Kio: After the entrance ceremony, when we introduced ourselves... When it was Miran-san's turn my sarcastic side came spitting out at her. I'm sorry.

Kio: "Got in through connections", I said?

Kio: That was very cruel.

Kio: I know that. I regret saying it.

Kio: Miran-san, you are completely free and unbound by anything.

Kio: I was envious of you.

Page 22

Tougo: Well, hearing your stories made me realize I'm the most normal out of all of us here.

Tougo: I was born into a normal family, and can't think of any remarkable thing to say about me---

Imari: No. What the heck are you even saying?

Imari: This dude over here!!! He is my stalker!!! Ever since we were children up till now!!!

??: Eh!!?

Imari: He lived in the house next door.

Imari: He's been following me around since we were three years old.

Imari: Whatever I did, he would follow my lead!!

Page 23

Imari: From beginning to play the koto, entering competitions, even applying to this school. He aaaalways follows me in what I do!!!!

Kio: We- well, it could be a coincidence...

Tougo: No, I'm following Imari. Because I love her.

Kio: You can't be serious...

Kio: I'm sorry, Tougo-kun, but I'm very creeped out right now

Tougo: That's fine, I don't care what anyone other than Imari thinks.

Imari: I was always creeped out!

Imari: It's not only that. The scariest part of this guy is that he had no musical sense to begin with! But because he wanted to be next to me, he practiced like an absolute idiot, won a prize at a competition, and got into Ichiei..! Isn't that freaking insane!?

Page 24

Luka: Tougo, I didn't know you were such a passionate man!! You must be head over heels for Imari!!

Imari: That is not what I said!!

Tougo: I am in love with you, though.

Imari: Shut. Up.

Kio: So you were that kind person, Tougo-kun... Why haven't we seen you act like this before?

Tougo: Because I promised Imari.

Imari's rules: Don't stick to me. Don't stare at me. Don't talk to me unless it's necessary.

Tougo: She said, follow the rules or die.

Kio: Woaaah...

Kio: We've been working together for a little over a year, so I thought I knew you reasonably well, but…

Kio: You really never know. People...

Luka: That is true! It's so interesting.

Page 25

Luka: I wish I had asked about you from the beginning. Such a pity I didn't.

Imari: What are you saying? It's not like I would talk about these things with a complete stranger.

Kio: Exactly. It is now that we can talk about them.

Luka: !

Luka: I see!

Luka: What about you, Imari? Your mom is a koto teacher, isn't she?

Imari: That's right.

Imari: Ah, but not from a prestigious family, like Kio's. Just a normal koto class teacher.

Imari: I've been playing the koto as far as I can remember. When I was five, I entered a small competition for the first time, and won it.

Imari: From then on, I started participating in prefectural and regional contests.

Page 26

Imari: Because of the amount of awards I was winning, they began to call me a prodigy child.

Tougo: She even appeared on TV.

Luka: Amazing!

Imari: But when I got to my third year of primary school, I entered a national competition for the first time

Imari: And there, I lost to Luka's beloved Hozuki Satowa.

Luka: !!

Imari: At the time, I felt like I was at the top of my game. I didn't bother to listen to Hozuki Satowa's performance, or the other kids' for that matter.

Imari's mom(?) [memory]: Imari, aren't you coming to the venue?

Imari[memory]: I'm not interested.

Announcer [memory]: Winner: Entry number 5. Hozuki Satowa.

Page 27

Imari: After that, I heard that she was to be the next head of a very famous koto school. "I'm sure her family used their power to win her the competition", I thought. I felt like an idiot for trying so hard, if things were like that. I started skip off in practice.

Imari: But after that, we both participated in another competition, and I got to hear her performance for the first time.

Imari: And then, I realized just how small my world was.

Page 28

Imari: The fact that when you hear someone perform, you can hear all of what that person has accumulated until then.

Imari: That's what I learned that day.

Imari: From then on, I started to take the koto seriously again, but everyone around me also got better and better, to the point I never got first place again.

Imari: To tell you the truth, there were a few times I thought about quitting. Still.

Imari: I just end up realizing "There is nothing else for me but this".

Page 29

Imari: And that's how it's been until now. Super lame, isn't it?

Luka: That's not true!

Luka: You are super cool.

Imari: ...

Imari: Speaking of, that's why I blew up saying pretty conceited things to you. I also---

Page 30

Miran [memory]: What you need to do is prop me up like all the rest.

Miran [memory]: When I'm the main star of the song...

Miran [memory]: You always get in my way...!

Page 31

Miran [memory]: Know that I would never give you the slightest consideration!

Miran [memory]: Being called a rival of yours makes me sick in the stomach!!!

Miran [memory]: It's because you're here.

Miran [memory]: Shut up, shut up, shut up!!

Miran [memory]: I'll do the solo!

Page 32

Miran: I'm so sorry.

Page 33

Miran: For all the hurtful things

Miran: That I've done because of my selfishness

Miran: For all the things I've said

Miran: I'm very sorry.

Page 34

Luka: Hey, Miran...

Luka: Now

Luka: Why don't you let us hear your story?

Luka: It's okay if you take your time.

Page 35

Kifune-sensei[thoughts]: ---Finally.

Kifune-sensei[thoughts]: Their worlds are now beggining to connect.

Side text: Taking it to the next level----....

---Kono Oto Tomare! will continue next month!---

[nattinatalia]

Jack Harlow x Reader Instagram AU

* I asked you guys what you wanted to see next, and half of you said baby number 3 😳 so here it is.*

•••••••••••••••

Liked by jackharlow, urbanwyatt, claybornharlow, neelamthadhani, champagnepapi, and 6,789,345 others

yourusername Baby Harlow number 3 ❤️🥺

View all 1,900 comments

jackharlow 🥺❤️

champagnepapi Jack said fuck it 😂 congrats fam

jackharlow 😬😬

druski2funnny FUCKING FINALLY!!!!!!!

druski2funnny I’m going to be godfather y’all

urbanwyatt 🥺🥺🥺

neelamthadhani Another baby 🥳 so excited

yourbestiename Can finally share all the pictures I’ve taken of you and your bump ❤️

yourusername Urb has taught you good because you’ve been taking all my good angles

💘



Liked by yourbestiename, claybornharlow, urbanwyatt, neelamthadhani, and 6,788,345 others

jackharlow 3 👶🏻 ❤️

View all 1,900 comments

brysontiller Congrats 🥳

dojacat Y’all really not wrapping it up out here huh. Congratulations tho ❤️

theestallion 🥺 my baby always looks hot but her pregnant just hits different 🥵

jackharlow Can agree to that

mamamaggieharlow I’m so happy I get to be grandma for the 3rd time 🥺❤️

yourusername 🫶🏻🥺 You’re the best we love you

💘

Liked by urbanwyatt, neelamthadhani, quiiso, jackharlow, and 8,677,345 others

claybornharlow My niece or nephew is cooking in there ❤️❤️ came to annoy her a little bit

View all 1,500 comments

yourusername Cooking 💀😂 btw, you never annoy me, I enjoy everyone’s company especially when my man is on tour.

jackharlow Don’t annoy her, she’ll take it out on me later.

yourusername 🤨

jackharlow Kidding baby 😘

druski2funnny He’s not kidding y/n! Beat his ass!!!!!!!

urbanwyatt For someone who’s been wanting to be godfather for some time now, you really stirring the pot when Jack can change his mind 💀😂

druski2funnny 😞 They can’t take it back, they promised, it’s on paper. Don’t make me get my lawyers now.

yourusername 💀

💘

Liked by urbanwyatt, yourusername, jackharlow, princeroyce, and 7,567,345 others

yourbestiename My baby mamiii looking so sexy even while pregnant 🥵😍

View all 1,500 comments

princeroyce ❤️

badbunnypr 3? Wow 😮 si Que le están echando ganas. Felicidades hermanita 🫶🏻

yourusername LMAAAO NO TENEMOS TELE POR ESO 😉 💀

badbunnypr Te compró una si quieres 😂

yourbestiename Biiitchhhh hahhahaha

normani The cutest pregnant mama ever ❤️

jackharlow 🥵🥵🥵

yourbestiename Sit down boy

💘

Liked by urbanwyatt, jackharlow, champagnepapi, neelamthadhani, and 6,577,355 others

druski2funnny Jack sends me this pictures and says “you ready godfather” the way I yelled and ate shit on how excited I got 😂 happy for these fuckers. 📸 @ urbanwyatt

View all 1,899 comments

jackharlow 😂 I wanted to see you eat shit

yourusername 😂😂😂😂

champagnepapi I got next kid

yourusername Anything for you Drakey Pooh 🤎

jackharlow Babe stop calling him that 🙄

yourusername I always call him that and he has never told me to stop, so you chill.

champagnepapi Listen to the pregnant lady Jack

urbanwyatt ❤️I took this one so 🙃

urbanwyatt Also wished someone would’ve recorded you eating shit 💀😂😂

💘

TRANSLATION

“Si que le están echando ganas, felicidades hermanita” : You guys are going in, congratulations little sister

“No tenemos tele por eso” : We don’t have a tv that’s why.

“Te compro una si quieres” : I’ll buy you one if you want.

In my family, whenever someone would have kids back to back, we would always use that saying, “es Que no tenemos tele” or “cómprense tele” or “para Que tienen tele si no la miran”

Which translates to

“We don’t have tv”

“Buy a tv”

“Why have a tv if you guys don’t watch it”

Basically trolling and saying “damn y’all don’t have a tv, y’all just be having sex out of boredom, watch tv or something”

[esuemmanuel]

Recién cuando pierdes a alguien, ya sea que muera o siga viviendo, cargas con el pensamiento constante que surge del dolor de la pérdida...

"No podré continuar sin ti".

Este pensamiento castra a cualquier otro que aparezca en pos de la esperanza. En el momento en el que se pierde a alguien, se miran sólo sombras; la luz se va con esa persona, pero no tus ojos... tus ojos siguen mirando, pero ahora miran el vacío, la oscuridad, la nada... y tu alma entra en pánico, en uno doloroso, triste y desesperanzador. Nadie llenará ese hueco, y lo sabes, por eso lloras y te lamentas. Sin embargo, al pasar del tiempo, aprendes a sobrellevar ese vacío. Recordarás lo vivido, te enfocarás en lo bello y lo escribirás sonriendo, mientras una lágrima resbalará por tu álgida mejilla. La nostalgia te abrazará, pero estarás en paz. El dolor habrá menguado y olvidarás...

Así me pasó contigo...

Te lloré.

Te odié.

Te recriminé por haberte ido y cambiar.

Mas, luego de escarmentar con el duelo la fatiga de la propia llaga, agradecí haberte conocido.

Hoy estás lejos de mí... y ya no dueles.

Al fin, te has ido.

It is only when you lose someone, whether they die or live on, that you carry the constant thought that arises from the pain of loss…

"I won't be able to go on without you."

This thought castrates any other thought that comes along in pursuit of hope. The moment you lose someone, you look only at shadows; the light goes with that person, but not your eyes… your eyes are still looking, but now they look at emptiness, darkness, nothingness… and your soul goes into a panic, a painful, sad and hopeless one. No one will fill that hole, and you know it, that's why you cry and mourn. However, as time goes by, you learn to cope with that emptiness. You will remember what you have lived, you will focus on the beautiful, and you will write it down smiling, while a tear will slide down your cheek. Nostalgia will embrace you, but you will be at peace. The pain will have diminished and you'll forget…

That's how it happened to me with you…

I cried for you.

I hated you.

I reproached you for leaving and changing.

But, after mourning the fatigue of my own wound, I was grateful to have known you.

Today you are far from me… and you no longer hurt.

At last, you are gone.

[dlstmxkakwldrlarchive]

miran park (A&R team manager) igs update with ONEW's Cough: the change of seasons,,,

[lovistella]

PRIMADONNA (프리마돈나) is a fictional girl group under JUPITER RECORDS. the group consists on BELLE, PHOEBE, MIRAN, VEGA, JIHYE, YOOBIN, SERA and ELARA. they debuted on january 1st, 2011 with debut single, DIVA.

PRIMADONNA are best known for their regal princess image, their commanding stage presence and it girl status. they portray the FIRST HOUSE in jupiter REPRESENTATION.

CHOI SUAH (최수아), known professionally as BELLE, is the leader and eldest member of PRIMADONNA. as the embodiment of the deity BELLONA, the goddess of warfare and conflict, she commands great honour and reverence within the company. within PRIMADONNA, she personifies the fierce determination, guiding the group through adversities and strives for victory. she is best known for her ferocious attitude, chaotic destructive tendencies and courageous rap style.

stage name belle korean name choi suah birthday february 25, 1989 birthplace daegu, south korea position leader, main rapper, lead dancer, vocalist faceclaim park gyuri

OH YEEUN (오예은), known professionally as PHOEBE, is the main dancer of PRIMADONNA. she personifies the essence of youth and rejuvenation, symbolising JUVENTAS, perfectly complimenting her fake maknae persona. her youthful and radiant charm fosters rejuvenation within PRIMADONNA, often symbolising the beauty in life's every-changing journey. she is best known for her graceful dancing, heartfelt interactions with her fans and living in the moment sentiments.

stage name phoebe korean name oh yeeun birthday august 19, 1990 birthplace dunedin, new zealand position main dancer, lead rapper, vocalist faceclaim kim hyoyeon

HAN MIRAN (한미란), known professionally as MIRAN, is the variety diva of PRIMADONNA. as the embodiment of the goddess of war and agriculture, MARS, she brings a fiery and nurturing energy to the group. her dynamic persona and warrior-like image inspires a profound sense of vitality and passion among PRIMADONNA's dedicated fanbase. she is best known for her visual charisma, extraordinary vocal prowess and being the glue that binds the group together.

stage name miran korean name han miran birthday september 9, 1990 birthplace incheon, south korea position lead vocalist, face of the group faceclaim tiffany young

UM HYERIN (음혜린), known professionally as VEGA, is the versatile ace of PRIMADONNA. she is the enigmatic essence of the goddess of the underworld, PROSERPINA, infusing the group's performances with an otherworldly allure. her enchanting artistry not only distinguishes the group apart but also forges deeper connection amongst the PRIMADONNA members. she is best known for her entrancing talents, magnetic stage presence and captivating personality.

stage name vega korean name um hyerin birthday june 16, 1991 birthplace miami, united states position lead vocalist, lead rapper faceclaim yoon bora

PARK JIHYE (박지혜), known professionally as JIHYE, is the main vocalist of PRIMADONNA. as the manifestation of the goddess MINERVA of wisdom & victory, JIHYE brings an intellectual and assertive presence to the group's musical landscape. her transcendent vocal prowess and deep artistic wisdom inspire not only fans but embody the ideals of MINERVA herself. she is best known for her soulful vocals, entrancing personality, and the songwriting genius of PRIMADONNA.

stage name jihye korean name park jihye birthday november 10, 1992 birthplace suwon, south korea position main vocalist, face of the group faceclaim im jinah

LEE YUBIN (이유빈), known professionally as YOOBIN, is the ethereal visual of PRIMADONNA. as the embodiment of the goddess VENUS, representing love, beauty and desire, she brings an alluring elegance to the group's musical tapestry. her captivating presence and divine visuals inspire passion and desire among fans, mirroring the very essence of VENUS herself. she is best known for her favouritism from fans + the company, photogenic qualities and popular CF appearances.

stage name yoobin korean name lee yubin birthday may 13, 1993 birthplace seoul, south korea position lead vocalist, visual faceclaim son naeun

GO SERA (고세라), known professionally as SERA, is the regal princess of PRIMADONNA. SERA brings a fiery elegance to the group's captivating performances as the goddess of fire and forge, VULCAN. her spoilt presence and princess-likecharisma ignite fervor and admiration among fans, embodying the very spirit of VULCAN herself. she is best known for her majestic dancing, blazing artistry and her natural inclination for always being the center of attention.

stage name sera korean name go sera birthday july 22, 1993 birthplace busan, south korea position main dancer, vocalist, center faceclaim lee sunmi

MOON EUNHA (문은하), professionally known as ELARA, is the chaebol maknae of PRIMADONNA. she brings a unique blend of grace and vitality to the PRIMADONNA's artistry by manifesting DIANA, the goddess of the hunt, wild animals and the moon. her graceful and ethereal presence invoke admiration and reverence, epitomizing the very essence of DIANA herself. she is the best known for rich, chaebol upbringing, radiant personality and sophisticated talents.

stage name elara korean name moon eunha birthday dec 1, 1994 birthplace london, united kingdom position lead dancer, lead rapper, vocalist, maknae faceclaim krystal jung

[whump-me]

Conquest, Chapter 26: The Pit

Chapter 26 of Conquest, a novel-length fantasy whump story about a timid royal clerk captured by the disgraced prince who needs their help to rule their newly conquered country. This series is best read in order. Masterpost here.

Contains: fantasy setting, nonbinary whumpee, male whumper, royal whumper, reluctant whumper, emotional whump, rotting corpses, degradation

---

Miranelis

“Get yourself cleaned up.”

The voice didn’t belong to one of the Wolves this time, but to Kezul himself. He had brought a fresh change of clothes down to the stable, along with a bucket of water. If Miranelis watched closely, they could see Kezul limping a little as he lugged the bucket into the stall.

But that was the only sign that the fight last night had actually happened. Kezul showed none of yesterday’s anger on his face. His expression was as tightly controlled as if he had been born here. Miranelis had had that thought about Kezul before, but it had never been as true as it was today. Kezul was getting better at this. Sometimes, he was more controlled than Miranelis themselves.

At least Kezul turned around to let Miranelis clean and dress themselves, which was more than the Wolves generally allowed. At best, they would stare Miranelis down as Miranelis scrubbed the sweat from their skin. At worst, they insisted on scrubbing him down themselves, with their ungentle hands that were, more often than not, filthier than Miranelis was.

Miranelis didn’t understand why Kezul would be willing to turn his back on them after yesterday. Wasn’t he afraid? Clearly not, which was chilling in itself. Miranelis had drawn blood, and still, Kezul didn’t see them as a threat. Kezul could stand there, mere feet away from them, his back turned, and not be afraid of an attack.

And why would he be afraid? There was nothing Miranelis could do. Not without a weapon—and probably not even with one. He had they’d had one last night, and how much good had it really done them?

As they scrubbed their body with the cold water and the rough cloth Kezul had provided, he took the opportunity to think. Bathing had always been the easiest time to think for them. It was as if scrubbing off the layer of dirt on their skin cleared away the old grime from their thoughts as well, leaving room for fresh ideas to appear. Somehow, that was true even here, with water so cold it hurt and a cloth that scraped at every wound until they had to bite their lip to keep from crying out in pain. Even with the enemy standing close enough that he could have snapped their neck if he chose.

They wondered which Kezul they were facing today. Was it the one who had kicked them last night, and kicked them, and kicked them, until they gave up on trying to stand again? The one who had ordered the Wolves to burn the academy? Or was the other one? The one who had been proud of the deal he had made with Faraille, the deal he originally hadn’t even wanted to try for? The one who had begged them—begged them—to help them go back to the way things had been before his father had arrived?

If it was the first, they didn’t know what to expect, only that there would be pain. They only hoped it would be the physical kind. They were getting used to that. Another trip out to of the capital… another academy burning… they didn’t think they could endure that. They might throw themselves out of the carriage before it got that far.

Except they wouldn’t. They were too much of a coward for that.

And if it was the other version of Kezul… that was terrifying in its own right. Not only because they couldn’t give Kezul what he wanted—they couldn’t make it possible to save Danelor in secret while continuing to destroy it at Kezul’s father’s behest. But because if Kezul was ready to go back—if he was ready to take whatever steps were necessary to remove his father from Danelor—that meant Miranelis had to work with him. They had to forgive him, for the sake of Danelor’s future. Forgive him for everything he had done to Miranelis since his father had arrived.

Forgive him for burning the academy.

They had done it once before. Kezul had taken the queen’s throne while it was still wet with her blood. He had made Miranelis clean their friends’ blood off the floor. And Miranelis had helped him.

But that had felt different. More straightforward. They had been working for their enemy, for the sake of Danelor. Kezul had only gradually become something other than an enemy—not a friend, never that, but not solely the loathed conqueror either. And by the time Miranelis had been consciously aware of the change, Miranelis’s advice had already borne fruit. Danelor was, if not thriving, at least surviving. Because Miranelis had forced themselves to work with Kezul. Because Kezul had swallowed his pride enough to take their advice.

This was different. They couldn’t go back to the days when Kezul had only been their enemy. Now Kezul had betrayed Danelor, and he had betrayed Miranelis personally. That required more than steeling themselves to do what had to be done. It required forgiveness. And with the smell of burning flesh still in their mind, they didn’t know if they had it in them.

They scrubbed as much of the dirt and sweat from their body as they could. It was harder to clean themselves up than it had been the last time they had done it. Last time, they hadn’t had nearly so many fresh wounds. They stood for a moment to let some of the water evaporate from their skin, but they didn’t dare wait too long. If they did, Kezul would start asking them what was taking so long.

They pulled on their fresh clothes, wincing at the pain it sent through their partially healed injuries. But that was a pain they were growing used to—they felt it every time they stood, every time they sat, every time they moved the slightest bit. The clothes were the attire of a palace clerk. Miranelis knew Kezul couldn’t have chosen these clothes by accident—he knew what a clerk’s clothing looked like by now. Maybe this was the second version of Kezul, then—the one willing to show them kindness, if they would give him what he wanted.

The version of him that Miranelis had to cultivate, if they wanted to save Danelor. Even if it required forgiveness they didn’t know if they could give.

Or maybe… maybe it wasn’t that Kezul after all. Kezul’s father liked to clean them up nicely. It wasn’t because he had any kindness in him.

But Kezul wasn’t his father.

Kezul turned around just as Miranelis finished getting dressed. Miranelis hastily smoothed their expression into blank, controlled neutrality. They didn’t know quite what their face had shown a moment ago, but they knew it wasn’t anything they wanted Kezul to see.

Looking down at themselves in the royal clerk’s clothing felt disorienting. If they avoided looking at the bare patches of their skin too closely, they could almost believe they were the same person they had been before the conquest. They barely remembered who that person had been. That person had hidden in a pantry, quivering, while their friends had died outside the door. If this new version of Miranelis had been there, they would have… what? Not taken up a weapon. What would they have done?

Their old self felt so far away they might as well have been a different person. And yet they didn’t know who their new self was, or what they might have done in the old one’s place. They shook their head, suddenly disoriented.

“What?” Kezul demanded, mistakenly reading the gesture as being directed at them.

Miranelis lowered their eyes, and hoped it was the second version of Kezul they were dealing with.

A shiver washed through them as Kezul’s hand grasped their wrist. There had been a time—several weeks, at least—when Kezul had stopped touching them. He had even directed their Wolves not to touch him—he must have, because they had all stopped at once. Even when they had wanted Miranelis to move out of their way, they had stood still and awkwardly gestured instead. But now it was as if that had never happened. Kezul’s fingers tightened around the tender skin of their wrist. It just brushed the edges of their burn. The salve Gyoras had used had healed the burn in an astonishingly short amount of time, but the new skin was still exquisitely tender.

The walk out of the stable removed any uncertainty as to which version of Kezul they were dealing with. Miranelis couldn’t even have said what it was about Kezul’s demeanor that got the message across. It wasn’t just the brisk way he pulled them along, or the way he refused to look at them. It was something harder to quantify than that.

Kezul walked like his father. Every stride held that same vicious authority, that same cold immutability, like he was a god walking the earth and wanted everyone else to know it. That was how Miranelis had seen Kezul the first day they had met, until they had learned who he really was. Until they had seen the fear lurking beneath the surface—the fear and, maybe, the desire to do the right thing.

Neither of those were in evidence now. The Wolves who saw Kezul drew back when they saw him, as Kezul led Miranelis out the stable doors and down the path.

Halfway to the palace steps, they turned away. They took the smaller path through the palace grounds, the one that used to run through the gardens. Unlike the courtyard, the gardens had been purely ornamental, meant to gaze at from the windows but not to spend time in. The flowers were chosen for their looks alone—some smelled unpleasant to walk past, and others greedily took up all the space allotted to them and more, making it difficult to find a spare corner of earth to have lunch. The narrow path was meant for the gardeners’ use, and took the most efficient route possible for tending to every flower and shrub. was narrow and meant to be unseen from a distance. It had never been intended as a walking path, even though Miranelis had felt the need to test that for themselves when they had first arrived at the palace, just like all other new arrivals.

Now the gardens were a tangled ruin. The room Kezul had given Miranelis in the palace hadn’t looked out on the gardens, so Miranelis hadn’t realized what had become of them. When they thought of the palace exterior in their mind, they still pictured the rainbow of flowers and bushes and ornamental trees, arranged in an intricate design only the royal gardeners understood. But of course the royal gardeners were dead now. And the Wolves certainly hadn’t taken the time to maintain their work.

The path was all but gone. Kezul fought his way through the warring bits of foliage, hacking away at branches with his knife when he grew impatient. Sometimes he held them aside for Miranelis; more often, he let the branches snap back into Miranelis’s face, leaving Miranelis to fight their own way through.

“Where are we going?” Miranelis asked.

Kezul didn’t answer. He only sped up and tightened his grip on Miranelis’s arm. Miranelis didn’t say anything else.

By the time they emerged from the jungle that had once been the gardens, Miranelis’s skin was covered in shallow cuts and scrapes from fighting their way through the branches—as if their skin had needed any more abuse. But they barely noticed—it was nothing compared to the injuries the Wolves had done. The worst part, by far, was not knowing where they were going.

Was Kezul finally taking them to be killed? If so, why not simply do it in the stable, and let them bleed out onto the straw? Why not send them to the courtyard and let the Wolves loose on them? That would be sure to make the Wolves happy.

Then Miranelis had to stop thinking about that, because just the thought was making them tremble in Kezul’s grip. However much they had changed, they were still a coward. And they were at peace with that. But that didn’t mean they wanted to advertise the fact to Kezul if they didn’t have to.

Kezul led Miranelis through a small stretch of tall grass and toward what looked, from here, like an endless forest stretching out in front of them. Miranelis knew the truth. It was a half-moon-shaped stretch of woods—the size and shape of it was visible from the palace, if you chose the right window. From there, it would have been easy to see that it was nothing more than a small piece of wilderness, ruthlessly trimmed into its crescent shape, the only remnants of the forest that used to be where the capital now stood.

But the crescent was fat enough that someone could disappear in there for a short time without being seen. The trees’ canopy was broad enough that if a person went in there, no one could see them from any window. A person… or two people. Officially, the small piece of forest was purely decorative, of a piece with the garden. Unofficially, everyone knew that the clearing at the center—not visible from the windows, but sunny and warm when the rest of the woods were in the shadow—was where you went for a tryst. Not Miranelis, of course, nor any other of the royal clerks. That was one of the things they had given up when they had entered into the queen’s service. But there were others in the palace were not so sworn. By unspoken agreement, no one asked questions if one person took a too-casual walk down the path to the woods and another followed shortly after.

Miranelis had never walked down this path before, let alone seen the clearing with their own eyes. Because of its reputation, they had always taken it as a given that it wasn’t meant for them. The courtyard had always been enough natural beauty for them—and besides, they had feared coming across some couple who had expected privacy. But they had heard it was beautiful. And even the Wolves’ neglect of the palace grounds couldn’t have done much to dim the natural beauty of the woods.

If that was where they were going to die, there were probably worse places. In the courtyard, for instance, which would never be beautiful for Miranelis again.

At least in the woods, it would only be them and Kezul. And unlike the Wolves, Kezul wasn’t likely to be cruel about it.

Although Kezul had done a lot of things lately that they hadn’t expected. They no longer knew what to expect from him anymore.

But another thought followed on the heels of that one. A small, bright flicker of hope—foolish hope, most likely, but hope nonetheless. Before the conquest, the woods had been known as the most private place on the palace grounds. Perhaps Kezul had the same thought as all those people who had gone out there in pairs. Not the exact same thought, of course—just the idea made Miranelis’s skin crawl, and likely would have even if they hadn’t been sworn to higher service. But Kezul’s father’s eyes and ears were everywhere among the Wolves. Maybe Kezul thought there was no private place for them to talk—none but this. The way Kezul walked, the sternness in his voice, the way he seemed to be a copy of his father… maybe that was an act he was putting on for anyone who was watching.

A foolish hope. But even a little hope was better than none.

As soon as they entered the trees, Miranelis smelled it. They recognized the smell instantly—they remembered it from their hours scrubbing the banquet hall. It was the smell of rotting flesh. Fainter now than it had been then, but still unmistakable. They gagged.

Maybe the Wolves had found a way to spoil the natural beauty of the woods after all.

The shadows of the trees closed around them. Under other circumstances, it would have been far from unpleasant. Even now, Miranelis wanted to see it as a peaceful canopy, shielding them gently from the rays of the sun. Even with the days starting to get cooler, the shadow didn’t make the air uncomfortably cold. And some leaves were already turning a vibrant orange, a striking sight against the green.

Miranelis hung back. “This isn’t you,” they said. “You’re not your father.”

Kezul’s hand tightened painfully around their arm. “Oh? Then what am I? Are you going to call me a coward again? Are you going to call me weak?”

“You’re not cruel like him,” said Miranelis as Kezul tugged them along. “You aren’t…” They hesitated, unable to find the right word for what Vorhullin the Unmaker was. Ruthless. Terrifying. Mad? Kezul had understood the merits of Miranelis’s advice, even when he hadn’t liked it. His father, though… his father only wanted to see Miranelis so thoroughly defeated that they would cut off their own finger without a second thought. He would rather see that than see the land he had conquered—the land he had paid for with the blood of his warriors—thriving.

Maybe that wasn’t madness in the Unmaker’s world. Or in Kezul’s world. But if that were the case, Miranelis was glad that was a world they didn’t understand.

At first, Miranelis didn’t realize they were still following a path. The path leading deeper into the woods was even narrower than the one that had led through the palace gardens. And the summer hadn’t treated it any better. Miranelis doubted this path had ever been maintained by the gardeners, but no doubt it had been kept clear well enough simply by the frequent passage of furtive feet. Now there were no more secret lovers to keep the weeds at bay or discourage the branches from stretching across the place where the path had been.

The smell got stronger as they walked, until they emerged into an oblong expanse of sunlight. Miranelis could see how it would have been beautiful once. The remnants of that beauty were still there. The waving grass along the edges, dotted with pale purple flowers. The leaves waving in the soft breeze like a welcome. The sunlight, soft and warm and welcoming, falling on them as they stepped out of the trees, like it had finally found them after a long search.

But those few scraps of beauty the Wolves had left were overshadowed by the horror they had brought to this place.

Most of the grass that must have once filled the clearing was gone, churned up to make room for the pit the Wolves had dug. The pit took up almost the whole clearing. They had needed all that space to dispose of all the corpses they had created in the palace.

They hadn’t even covered them up.

The bodies lay carelessly atop one another, all in a state in a state of partial decay. Some bones around the edges of the pit were gnawed clean—animals had clearly gotten at them. Flies buzzed around the bodies, and Miranelis thought they saw something crawling along a patch of grayish, putrid flesh. Some kind of insect, maybe more than one, but they didn’t want to look closely enough to find out any more detail than that. They were having enough trouble controlling their stomach as it was.

Was this where they had brought the queen after they had killed her? Was this where the small body of the child prince now lay?

So Kezul had brought them here to die after all. They drew in a shaky breath. At least it wasn’t the courtyard. At least Kezul wasn’t going to let the Wolves play with them before they died.

They straightened their shoulders and remembered Havedrial. Even though they were a coward, and would be to the end, they could still die with something like Havedrial’s dignity. If they had found the strength within themselves to do that in the courtyard, they could do it now.

“You’re not your father,” he said one more time, and tried to believe it even as Kezul stared down at them with his father’s eyes. “You can do good here. We were doing good here.”

“But that’s over.” Kezul’s voice, too, was nearly identical to his father’s. Anyone else might have had a hard time telling the difference. Miranelis was the only one who had spent hours talking alone with him over the past few months. Miranelis was the only one, they suspected, who knew what it sounded like when Kezul was afraid and trying desperately not to show it.

“I asked you for help,” Kezul continued, anger thick in his voice. “I begged you for help. You must have known what that cost me. And you gave me nothing.”

“I gave you an answer.”

“You gave me impossibilities. My father’s way is the only way I have left.” He tightened his hand around Miranelis’s arm.

Miranelis thought again about Havedrial, and wished they were as brave. Havedrial might have been able to stand here without trembling. Miranelis couldn’t, nor could they stop their voice from shaking. All they could do was stand straight and keep their chin lifted as they said, “Then do it quickly.”

“Do it…?” Kezul frowned in what looked like genuine confusion. Then he shook his head. “I’m not going to kill you.”

Miranelis had time for a brief moment of hope before Kezul continued, “That isn’t what my father wants.”

Then Kezul pointed to the pit. “Get in.”

Miranelis stared where he was pointing, at the half-rotted bodies of the people they used to live and work alongside. They stared at the buzzing flies and the crawling insects. The smell seemed to grow twice as strong as Miranelis forced themselves to look at the scene in front of them. They gagged.

“Get in,” Kezul repeated. He let go of their arm, and in the same moment, gave them a light shove that sent them stumbling forward. “You can come out when you know it’s not your place to insult me or to advise me. When you know the only difference between you and those bodies in there is that I’m allowing you to keep breathing for now.”

The words didn’t belong to Kezul. Not the Kezul Miranelis had known. Not the one he had strategized with all summer. But they hung in the air, impossible to forget. They had come unmistakably from Kezul’s mouth.

Miranelis didn’t move. They didn’t look over their shoulder at Kezul. To move forward seemed impossible. To look back, even more so.

Then another shove, sharper this time, pitched them forward and into the pit.

Their hands came to rest on spongy flesh. Something soft and sticky smeared across their cheek, something that sent the smell of rotting flesh into their lungs so thickly they couldn’t imagine there was room for air in there. They coughed and coughed, like they were trying to expel the odor from their lungs, but it didn’t leave. They wiped away whatever was on their cheek, but now it was on their sleeve, and they could see it. A wet, grayish smear. A piece of someone they had known.

They tried to push themselves away from the horror underneath them, but they only sank deeper as the yielding flesh shifted under them. They gagged again, and vomited bile. It spilled across the front of their tunic, mingling with the rancid smell of the bodies. The sticky substance was all over them now. Their left hand was resting on something hard and smooth that they knew had to be bone.

They still didn’t want to see Kezul. But they couldn’t stop themselves from looking up and over their shoulder, at the one place from which rescue might come. And there he was, staring down at them, impassive. His control was perfect. It was as if, over the summer, he had grown into an adult, with an adult’s emotional control. How far he had come.

When he had begun his rule, he had been so ignorant he had needed to ask advice from a prisoner. Now he was a copy of his father.

Miranelis didn’t know what their own face showed. But they knew their control was gone. Tears spilled from their eyes and ran in hot trails down their cheeks. They didn’t know whether it was from emotion—fury, horror, and despair, all rolled into one—or simply their body’s reaction to the sensory assault. Either way, the tears didn’t stop. And Kezul showed no reaction as he stared down at Miranelis’s tearstained face.

Miranelis looked away. They stopped struggling. They couldn’t fight their way free of the dead flesh; no matter how they moved, it shifted under them, drawing them deeper down. Welcoming them in. And if they did manage to fight their way free, what then? Kezul would only shove them back in.

Kezul had made his choice.

Miranelis tried not to look at the bodies. But there was no way to avoid it. Some wore the uniform of the Queen’s Guard, while others had been palace servants. A few were dressed as royal clerks, their clothing bloodstained and eaten away by the weather, but still recognizable.

One of those had a long white braid.

Havedrial.

Miranelis tried to push away from Havedrial’s body. The other bodies seemed to push back, shoving them into Havedrial’s embrace. Miranelis’s chest pressed against the bloody scraps of their tunic and the rotten flesh that lay beneath.

They didn’t scream. They felt a distant flicker of surprise at that. If there were ever a time when a scream of pure horror would have been warranted, it was this. But there were no screams left in them. No tears, either. The tears on their cheeks had dried, and no new tears spilled free to replace them. They were empty of sound. Empty of tears.

Empty of feeling, as they stared into the empty eye sockets of what had once been Havedrial’s face.

When they thought about Kezul, standing above the pit and watching all this, they felt no anger. The sting of betrayal was gone. They felt no fear when they wondered how long Kezul would leave them in here, or what worse horrors awaited them afterward, or even what would become of Danelor now that Kezul had given up on ruling it well. They felt no sadness at everything they had lost, both before the conquest and after, even though they had thought that sadness would never fade.

As they stared into Havedrial’s face, they felt no grief. Only a vast emptiness.

Even the horror was fading. They sank deeper into the bodies as the fight went out of them. They didn’t care. They curled into a ball and let the dead take them.

They looked up. The sun was shining into the meadow, as warm and welcoming as ever, hastening the work of decay. Standing above them, Kezul looked satisfied.

---

Tagged: @suspicious-whumping-egg @halloiambored @whump-in-the-closet @whump-cravings @sunshiline-writes @annablogsposts @whither-wander-whump @seaweed-is-cool @bloodinkandashes @sonder35 @cakeinthevoid @looptheloup

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[fungaloids]

please consider sharing + donating to help get these gazan boys to safety!!!!

Marilyn and Miran raised Fahed and Talal from the ages of 2 and 3 years old. They have been like mothers to their younger brothers their whole lives. As children they lived close to the beach in Gaza City and loved to go there together, eat ice cream, corn on the cob, and sweet potatoes sold by vendors. Talal, or Lulu as they call him, would build sandcastles; Fahed would knock them down. At home, Miran was the one who cooked, Marilyn read to the boys and helped them with their school work. To Marilyn and Miran these two boys are still their children. Marilyn and Miran left Gaza in 2021 because of their human rights advocacy which left them in profound danger. Knowing that their life in Gaza would always be punctuated by aggressions and suffering, they went in search of a better life for them and their brothers, far from occupation, wars, and death. They moved to Turkey where they were accepted into the Human Rights Defenders program. The Canadian Government has established a dedicated refugee stream for Human Rights Defenders at risk who, due to intense persecution, are looking for a permanent resettlement option in Canada. Marilyn and Miran arrived in Newfoundland on Oct. 10th, 2023. Their brothers, Fahed and Talal, have been in extreme danger since October. On November 14th they took the grave risk of fleeing Gaza City alone, leaving behind their entire family who would not be able to move as quickly or as far as these two young boys. They moved through air strikes, sniper attacks, and risked arbitrary detention, witnessing extreme violence along their route to Rafah on foot. They described the road to Rafah as a road of death. The trauma they experienced along this route is beyond words.

When Fahed and Talal arrived in Rafah they had nowhere to stay and were evacuated to Khan Younis, where the IDF began to bomb. The boys fled again back to Rafah. Everyday they move to a new place within Rafah as safety and conditions change rapidly. They are currently sleeping in a tent in this city that was built to accommodate 250,000 people but is currently home to 1.5 million displaced Palestinians. Conditions are severe, food and clean drinking water are scarce, infectious disease is rampant and the boys are often sick. Even their young and strong bodies cannot withstand the intense bombardment and lack of basic necessities. We are working with a lawyer to get Fahed and Talal to Canada. As soon as they are permitted by the Canadian government, the boys will leave Gaza via the Rafah crossing into Egypt.

Your donation will support the following expenses:

Legal expenses for the immigration process

Travel costs from Rafah to Egypt

Their stay in Egypt while their transit is processed

Travel costs from Cairo to Newfoundland

A New Beginning: Your donation will help the Kasken brothers start anew in Canada, offering them safety and stability.

Settling In: The raised funds will aid in settling the brothers into St. John's, covering essential expenses like rent, food, clothing, and furnishings for the first year.

Funds for medical treatment (their visas would not provide MCP coverage) and for mental health support as both brothers have suffered from severe traumatic stress over the past three months.

[wiffhuff]

Version 1 line up of the main trio in the AU. I'll probably make changes in the future, but I'm glad I put something down to kick start what they would look like ^^

I like Frye's outfit the most since it had some XCX inspo there as well. I honestly had no ideas for H.B. so I copied elements from the Gen 8 trainers lololol. For Yelv, I took various pictures of Pokemon breeders/ranchers as references.

A small tidbit of the AU:

Set in a new region called Miran (Not tied to any canon regions atm)

Everyone is aged down cuz I wanna fit the Pokemon universe a bit more, but also I can write funnier stuff

There is XCX creatures planned to be in the AU, but still figuring out the logistics and balance of pokemon design and XCX design philosophies

Tyrants are going to be a major thing in the AU and I am VERY excited to figure out that stuff

There's a plot I'm still writing out, where pokemon catching is illegal and being a pokemon trainer is more of a job to protect citizens from dangers outside of cities

Frye is a new pokemon trainer, Yelv is a ranch hand working at an illegal Pokemon farm, and H.B is a rich dude who got tied up in their mess

Yeap there's gonna be an evil team like in Pokemon games

Main character is Frye cuz I am biased

[yuseonghqs]

🌊 GREETINGS FROM YUSEONG BAY !

JUST LANDED: CHU, JIHYUNG. / / FROM: SOUTH KOREA. / / AGE: 30.

–––– ( FOLLOW ? ) / / ( READ MORE ? ) / / ( MAILBOX ? )

tw / death

oldest of three; summer/winter vacations in yuseong bay (dad's hometown), but raised in inland jeju city. parents are/were professional chefs in fine-dining and hospitality. he follows their path but with eyes set on dining service.

dad passes away weeks after jihyung completes his military conscription, age 20. with one less parent to help with the bills and three kids still to graduate, he gruels away at preparing for the suneung in hopes of landing a scholarship at his target school and his parents' alma mater.

he makes it, fortunately. leaves again for seoul december that same year, but not without pacifying his little sister's tantrum for his moving away.

despite becoming a single parent, mom is a big guns top chef at lotte hotel jeju, so they're not direly strugglingㅡmakes just enough to get by with all things in moderation and, on jihyung's end, a part-time job and a spruce of frugality.

he graduates college eager to work and lands himself a job at lumenㅡa michelin-starred contemporary restaurant in seoul. works his way to server and team leader in the breadth of two years.

along the way, connects with a loyal patron who happens to be a fellow jeju native and hotel recruitment director. as these things go, jihyung is offered work at their jw marriott property in jeju. it's: a) a ticket back home, b) a bigger paycheck, and c) more opportunities on the horizon, so he bites.

once he's back, finds out mother has new flame. he's protective at first, but she can take care of herself.

goes from server to supervisor to manager-in-training during his tenure, surrounded by a management team both terrifyingly strict and remarkably generous. he grows, not just in knowledge of dining service, but front-of-house operations as a whole.

sadly, slew of new nepo hires in top management changes the place overnight. he's not the first to leave, and he's not going to be the last.

upon news of his unemployment, dad's distant cousin aunt miran shares that there's a new resort opening up in yuseong bay. jihyung never would've seen it coming. he applies, qualifies for assistant operations manager, and joins the pre-opening team december of '23. moves into his dad's childhood home, vacated since grandma's passing.

not much has changed here. not for now, at least. but he'd grown up in downtown jeju city; he's familiar with the motions. it's with a little fear and guilt and melancholy that he wonders how long it'll last.

[eclec-tech]

This is what happened when I decided to write a single little one-shot about Tech. I got the writing bug HARD and now I can't seem to stop! All stories are on Ao3 under AmberOwl24.

Completed Works and One Shots

The Archium A tour of the treasures within the Archium changes things between Phee and Tech.

A Crosshair Carol Crosshair is visited by a series of spirits who show him what will happen to him and his family if he remains in the Empire.

Don't Die Here Crosshair and Echo unexpectedly meet when both their ships are shot down.

Five Dozen Things Tech Would Like You to be Aware of as a Guest Aboard His Ship  Tech issues a few friendly warnings for guests traveling aboard the Marauder.

Hand Signals Wrecker is better at hand signals than his brothers realize.

Happy Hatch Day Hunter's stance on pets is turned on its head when he encounters an animal that needs him in order to survive.

It's Weighing on Him  AZI-3 offers Echo some unconventional therapy.

A Life-Changing Decision Full narrative version of @lightspringrain's comic of Tech coming to Hunter for advice of a very personal nature.

Only if You WANT to Die Tech has been a vampire for centuries, only drinking from those who say they want to die. But when he finds you grieving and sets out to make you his next victim, he finds that he wants nothing more than for you to live.

Plan Seven Young Tech's exuberance when learning about new things rubs some of the other cadets the wrong way. Luckily, his squad is there to show him that they appreciate what makes him special.

The Presence: A Spooky Bad Batch Tale  Something strange is going on in the barracks of Clone Force 99.

Sequins of Events You are certain Crosshair would never consider you romantically because of your looks, but he sees more in you than you do. (reader insert)

Tambor's Monster Once a mindless killer, Echo attempts to live out the rest of his unnatural existence in solitude. But your appearance in the woods one fateful morning gives him reason to hope for more.

The Tank Hunter visits a sensory-deprivation tank and makes some startling discoveries.

Tech's New Data Pad A very lost Crosshair gets unexpected support from a certain liberator of ancient wonders.

Upon a Fulcrum Tech is the brains behind Luthen Rael's formidable ship, but the rebel mastermind has more in mind for the reluctant former soldier. (Bad Batch/Andor crossover)

We Need the Credits Echo turns the tables on Hunter after being sold as a droid.

You are My Shelter Omega's brothers do their best to ease her worry when the Marauder is stranded in the path of a powerful storm.

Rise of the Clones AU (in chronological order)

“A Hard Case to Follow” (chapters: 6, stand alone, two years prior to Order 66/20 BBY) Hardcase wakes up on Kamino immediately following the explosion over Umbara in the body of a teenage cadet.

************************ “The Geniuses” Series (fics: 4, intersects with "Psychology of a Sniper" series in the months leading up to Order 66/19-20 BBY)

"A Genius Walks Into a Bar" (chapters: 1, stand alone) Tech leaves the ship for some social interaction at the urging of his brothers and meets an engineer who changes his life.

"An Evening Out with a Genius" (chapters: 5, best read in series order) Tech introduces Miran to his brothers and gets a tour of her GAR lab.

"Another Evening Out with a Genius" (chapters: 5, best read in series order) Tech meticulously plans out a day with Miran that ends in quite differently than he intended.

"Last Evening Out with a Genius" (chapters: 6, best read in series order, crosses over with "Eyes that Miss Nothing") Tech and Miran spend an unforgettable evening together, but then Order 66 tears them apart.

************************ “Psychology of a Sniper” Series (fics: 2, intersects with "The Geniuses" series in the months leading up to Order 66/19-20 BBY)

"A Sniper Walks Into a Bar" (chapters: 1, stand alone) Crosshair meets a grieving psychologist one night at 79's and finds himself inexplicably wanting to help.

"Eyes That Miss Nothing" (chapters: 13, best read in series order, crosses over with "Last Evening Out with a Genius") Crosshair gets more than he bargained for when he enters into a friendship with a psychologist who sees him for the person he really is.

************************ “An Echo Through the Force” (chapters: 27, stand alone, runs concurrently with "The Journey and the Journal" in the months following Order 66/19 BBY) The Bad Batch, Rex, and Ahsoka Tano meet a young woman who somehow recognizes Echo from before his Techo Union capture and discover there is more to her than she knows.

************************ “The Journey and the Journal” (chapters: 11, best read after "The Geniuses" and "Psychology of a Sniper" series, runs concurrently with "An Echo Through the Force in the months following Order 66/19 BBY) Miran and Luvari are on the run together as they try to figure out how to free the clones from their inhibitor chips, while Omega tries to figure out what her brothers are hiding from her.

************************ "Family Found" (IN PROGRESS, best read after all of the above, picks up right after "An Echo Through the Force" and "The Journey and the Journal" almost a year after Order 66/roughly 18 BBY) Everyone is reunited at Miran's secret home on Alderaan, where the Clone Force 99 family grows and the future of the newly freed clones now hinges on what they do next.

[frozcnlight]

x - @lachrymosestorm

“You… you know that they are real?”, curiosity peaked, as Miran stared at the other female for quite a while. Cup in one hand filled with tea, she took one sip of it, humming as she thought about whatever to continue with the topic after all or to listen to her wish of changing the subject.

She wanted to know more about it. Could those really exist in this world? “You know… I'm soon to go to Osaka to visit my grandmother's grave. She believed in ghosts as well and would often tell me about it. However, my family always told me to not believe her nonsense. So I often feel conflicted about who to believe - the woman who treated me with so much love? Or those, who only see me as a way to keep their reputation and money running? It's really difficult.”.