#so split wood is pretty boring to work with and also a lot harder to carve bc of the grain

[milkweedman]

Need everybody to look at this sickass mini spindle i just whittled.

It's from a small stick i found that had worms in the bark (hence the shapes at the base), dried sap (red streak) and then some incredible spalting (gray streaks, early sign of decay but doesnt affect functionality). And then on the inner rings little speckles, which i'd guess are vascular structures but im not an arborist so i cant say for sure. The wood was also obligingly easy to carve, so i was able to do some delicate shaping on the bulb even though it's a very small spindle.

Haven't used it yet, hoping it spins as well as the other mini spindle. Even if it doesnt that would be ok tho, im so happy with the form and the beauty of the wood that it would make a good art piece.

[writing-in-april]

Spooks

Raymond Wadsworth X Female Reader

Summary: Raymond starts sticking his nose where it doesn’t belong at the next haunting he’s investigating.

A/N: Hey heyyy- here’s my second fic for my 30 fics in 30 days for April 2021!!! I had this spur of the moment idea in the middle of the night and ended up writing a pretty long fic for it (at least long for me lol) I had a lot of fun writing it and really liked the idea- I hope you all enjoy it too! Drop something in my ask box here if you’d like!! I’m always looking for feedback and my requests are open as well! Thanks for reading!!!

Warnings: 18+, Ghosts & poltergeists, Smut, Sub Raymond, Unprotected sex, Sex in a car, Slight cum play

Main Masterlist Word count: 3.2k

Your job description wasn’t an easy one to describe, you could say Mulder and Scully would be the most accurate equivalent. Though as with all tv shows it was portrayed with a set of rose tinted glasses, giving a filter to any realities you faced on the job.

You and your department preferred to call yourselves spooks, truthfully only because the pun was funny. In reality your 8 person department were called agents just like the rest of the FBI, you guys were just more secretive than the others.

Most of the time you ended up getting handed the short straw when getting new cases as you were still the newest on the team, despite being there for several years already. Unlike most professionals in law enforcement you did not have a partner, it only slowed you down. Every place that you were scheduled to decontaminate was an in and out procedure streamlined for effectiveness, adding another body to be hyper vigilant about was a hassle. You operated alone.

Any type of paranormal phenomena that you could think of was thrown in front of you. In your opinion the cases you had the most fun on were the ones that dealt with aliens, though some ghosts could be fun on occasion. The most recent case I had to deal with was a nasty poltergeist, the worst type of ghost. They always wreaked the most havoc on whatever house or place they occupied.

The family in this house had moved out a while ago, the request to decontaminate the home had been sitting on one of your supervisors for a while. It was an old house, built around the late 1800s. Old enough that it had a bunch of unnecessary rooms, like the parlor room that you found yourself trapped in.

And, you weren’t on your own either. Trapped with you was a man with fluffy brown hair flying in any direction, his eyes a darker shade of brown that were filled with fear- yet also curiosity. He was wearing a blue romper, it looked good on him, from what you had seen while you were frantic. But, you highly doubted that it would be effective clothes for a paranormal investigation, maybe he had just stumbled across this place out of curiosity. Either that or he was the type of an inexperienced investigator who had probably had one encounter with a ghost. It did not change that he was cute though.

“I’m a paranormal investigator- uhh technically a supernatural detective! My name’s Raymond! Who are you?!” He sputtered out, ranting probably to try to push aside his fear. You were standing side by side holding the double doors of the entrance to the parlor room, pushing them down to prevent the poltergeist from ramming it down and attacking us.

“Not important!” You snapped back at him, throwing a glare at him. Even if it wasn’t such a tense situation, you weren’t supposed to give away your identity or your job description to just anyone.

With another gasping breath he asked another question, even though you hadn’t answered his first inquiry, “I came with a girl, her name’s Becca- did you see her?”

This one you would bother to answer as he was quite obviously worried about the well being of his companion, “I may have seen her speed away in a red car after she was thrown out of the house. Was that your car she took?”

Not that you really cared all that much, but if he had been stripped of his transportation by his partner you’d have to take him in your own car. Not that you really wanted to, you still would have to help him even though he was seriously hindering your decontamination. “No, I came in my own car.” He answered which made you breathe a sigh of relief, you wouldn’t have to deal with another issue after you escaped, “I don’t blame her honestly, if I could leave I would.”

You were about to answer when your pressure on the doors wasn’t enough, making you both stumble forward. When you stumbled forward your keys, along with your badge, fell out of your pocket. Your badge flipped open front and center to reveal your name, plus the exact agency you worked for in a bold logo.

“You’re an FBI agent?!” You could not confirm or deny what he had asked, you were firmly focused on scrambling to get your things and avoid the ghost that was now throwing furniture at the two of you.

When Raymond finally took notice of the being that was pelting heavy objects around you, a ghostly shape in the form of a woman with a tortured look on her face, he screamed bloody murder. It was not unlike that of a scooby doo cartoon, him obviously resembling Shaggy almost perfectly. If only he had a dog to jump into his arms before he comically zoomed away while remarking “zoinks!”

His frazzled response to the ghosts giving a rather mediocre jump scare made you wonder whether he had the credentials to back up his job title as a paranormal investigator- or as he called it a supernatural detective. You racked your brain to try and recall anytime you had seen a Raymond or a Becca on the long lists of people that were being monitored for potential involvement, coming up with nothing. Well, maybe they were new, as his reaction seemed to indicate.

Your own reaction was stoic as usual, your nerves no longer jumped and your heart no longer quickened to the visage of a ghost trying to spook you. It was in no doubt for some arcane reason probably linked to revenge towards people that no longer existed. One would normally say don’t assume anything about people, that it might offend them to assume, but dead people in your view also had dead opinions- plus relying on precedent was usually a good option when a ghost might be trying to kill you. Despite the absence of fear from you there would be no call out of “Let’s split up gang!” either. It was you mostly not wanting to explain to your employer how you lost a citizen in the middle of this place and- besides that you couldn’t deny that you didn’t want him to die no matter how much undeniable extra trouble he was causing.

“Let’s go.” Your voice was firm, no discernible room for argument or questions.

Raymond somehow found a way to wriggle in to asking yet another question, “Where are we going?”

You yanked his hand out of the room that you think might’ve been a parlor room back in it’s day. You shouldn’t have bothered to answer as it would breed more questions from him, you already gave away too much about who you are and what you do. Any extra questions you answer from him was just creating a bigger breach in your security. Yet you found yourself justifying an answer, his eyes that were probably pulled into an adorable curious look laced with fear bored into the back of your skull as you dragged him out of the room and to the nearest exit. It was only a harmless question, it didn’t even have a satisfying answer, “Anywhere but here!”

Weaving my way through the house that was better characterized as a maze was hard to navigate through. At every turn some sort of iteration of the poltergeist tried to capture us, to pull us into death with it.

The two of us did eventually find the front door, only to find that we could not pull it open, the handle was stuck.

“Step back!” You shouted at Raymond to get him to move out of the way while you prepared to kick the door down. He skittered over to be right behind you, looking over his shoulder in paranoia. You used your right foot to kick the door, using all the leg strength you could muster. After three kicks, the door burst open, letting you both free.

Scurrying quickly to your government given work vehicle, looking back for a second to make sure that Raymond was following you. You couldn’t let a civilian die here, no matter how much of a nuisance he was, and he was cute of course.

Pulling out the last resort from the trunk of your car, gasoline, you then shoved a container of it to your unexpected companion.

“Cover as much of the house as you can!” He made no argument with your plan, running right behind you back up to the house to cover it all in gasoline. Once you had both covered it as much as possible you made sure Raymond was standing back before you lit your lighter and chucked it into the wood wet with the accelerant.

As soon as you could confirm with your eyes that the house had sparked with fire, you grabbed Raymond’s arm again to drag him to your car, not even caring about the one he had come here in. You basically threw yourself into the driver's seat, starting to drive away immediately after Raymond had sat down, before he had even shut the side door.

Adrenaline was coursing through your veins, causing your heart to pound hard enough that it felt like it could burst out of your chest. It was not unusual in your field of work, to feel death brush right by you.

“My car?!” Raymond screamed, his body turned so he was looking out of your back window.

“Sorry no time to go back! The U.S government will reimburse you for that- maybe…” You said quickly, while trying to step harder down on the gas pedal to speed away.

The house behind you was burning so bright from you could hear the crackling from the house turning to ash. You imagined that the flames and smoke were big enough to be seen for miles, considering how much accelerant you poured on it. So much for being subtle, your boss was definitely going to chew you out for that.

When you had gained a sufficient enough distance away from the flames you pulled off into a parking lot adjacent to a park. Pulling into the parking space fast you then hit the brakes hard, jostling you two a bit.

Taking a deep breath you slumped forward to rest your head on your steering wheel, just for a moment of relaxation.

“You know burning it down won’t necessarily get rid of it.” You only grunted in response to his matter of fact statement. Your lack of response seemed to make him even more anxious, tapping his fingers on any surface that was around him to preoccupy his mind while you took your breather. He tried to fill the silence that was making him uncomfortable, “So what do you actually do?”

You sighed deeply against the steering wheel one last time, then leaning off of it to sit back in the seat. You decided that you might as well give him a small morsel of information that may satiate his curiosity, “That’s highly classified, but you could probably figure it out.”

His insistence to bring up what your job is was making your insides twist with anxiety. You were already dreading what would happen when you got back to the office. It would be a lot of paperwork to explain everything that happened, plus you’d have to submit an application on behalf of Raymond to get his car reimbursed.

The adrenaline that had spiked in your veins born out of fear was still present. It was overwhelming, and you felt the need to use it for something different than wallowing in your fear.

You redirected your gaze to fixate on Raymond, who could surely help you redirect your adrenaline. He was an attractive man, who’s personality did help make him even more desirable. Even though he was a pain in your ass, he was a cute and funny one.

His own eyes were fixated on yours as well, with a different look than what you had seen earlier. His eyes were deepened with lust, not fear, though there was still an ounce of curiosity in them- probably still wondering who exactly I was.

Grabbing the hairs at the back of his neck you then pulled him forward to crush your lips onto his. He reciprocated immediately, though did not try to challenge your dominance over the kiss. He let you slip your tongue into his mouth, exploring him with diligence.

You wanted him closer to you, feeling every inch of him. So you swung your legs over his lap as best you could with the space you had to straddle him. When you did so you barely let his lips come off your own, too greedy to let them separate from yours.

A thought however was nagging you in the back of your head as you continued to melt yourself into the kiss, he had mentioned a companion that he had been worried about earlier. You did not want to step on any toes, nor endorse any type of cheating. You separated your lips from his own, even though you wanted nothing more than to envelop him in another kiss.

“This ok with you?” Your words were said right into his lips, mingling your breath with his, “You’re not with that Becca girl are you?”

“Not anymore- and yes I’m totally ok with this.” He confirmed before surging up to meet his lips with your own again. You wasted no time in starting to grind your hips onto his cock that was swiftly growing underneath his shorts. Just from grinding you could feel how large he was, even through a couple of layers.

He moved his hands to the button of your pants when you moved your lips to start nipping and sucking on his neck and jaw. You tried to kick off the articles of clothing on your lower half, panties included, without removing your lips from him. Unfortunately you had to do so because of the amount of space. You cursed under your breath, wishing that the government had paid to give you a larger vehicle.

You were already slick with arousal, also aided by sticking your fingers into his mouth to get them sufficiently wet. He bobbed his head up and down on them eagerly until you were satisfied. Removing them from his mouth you ran them up and down along your slit, getting you even more wet.

You guided his length to your entrance, not sinking down immediately. You undulated your hips so his length was coated with your arousal as well. When he bucked his hips in impatience you just pushed them down back into the seat. Then you leaned down to whisper into the shell of his ear to be patient- he’d get what he wanted.

“Fuck me.” Was all Raymond could muster up to whimper when you sunk down onto his cock, his head falling back to hit the headrest. You wasted no time in starting a fast pace, bouncing up and down on him with vigor. Raymond grabbed onto your hips when he couldn’t find anything else to hold onto, digging his fingers into your hips hard enough to leave bruises.

His large cock bumped up against your cervix in the most pleasurable way possible as you swivel your hips over him. Your own head tilted back, your mouth opened wide to let out a loud moan when his cock hit a particularly pleasurable spot inside you. You also felt the need to hold onto something as your release began to build inside you, getting ready to snap. So you grabbed onto the best thing you could find, running your hands through his hair and pulling on his strands.

One of his hands then moved to toy with your clit,his movements were a bit fumbled, but it swiftly made your orgasm start to crest. You were almost disappointed about how quickly this was going to be over, you however couldn’t deny that it felt amazing even with the frantic pace. In the back of your mind you couldn’t help but imagine all the other things you could do to Raymond if you were given the chance.

You fell apart above him, your eyes rolling back into your head. The adrenaline still coursed through your veins, and it felt good to have it redirected to a pleasurable experience instead of fear. You kept yourself impaled on his cock for a bit after your orgasm had finished, relishing at the feeling of him inside you.

Slipping out of him was a little bit awkward because of how cramped the space was. Once his cock slipped out of you, both of you groaning at the loss of him inside of you, you wrapped your hand around his length. You started to pump him slowly in your hands, taking your time compared to earlier. Your adrenaline had abated a bit and now you wanted to see how long you could drag this out, in case you never got the chance to again.

However, It still didn’t take much movement from your hands for him to get close, he was already close to the edge from being inside you. His hips bucked up into your hands a bit before he begged, “C-can you put- your hands- around my throat?”

“Should’ve known you’d be into that.” You snarked back a bit in response to his plea. Your tone had no sympathy for him, making him obviously think that you weren’t going to oblige him by the look in his eyes. That look of pure desperation in his eyes, with his kiss swollen lips, and his curls disheveled made you buckle. He groaned loudly when you put your free hand around his neck. You only applied a small amount of pressure, but that was all Raymond needed for him to cum all over your hand.

Once you had helped him ride out his own orgasm you removed your hand from his neck and his cock. You did need to clean up the hand that was covered in his thick ropes of cum, so you brought it up to your mouth to lick it clean.

“Fuck me…” Echoing his previous words, this time with an even bigger whimper. After you had cleaned yourself and him up enough to be decent you flung yourself back to sit in the driver’s seat again.

Raymond was silent for a minute, which seemed odd if you were going off of what little experience you had with him so far. Though maybe he was still going through his post orgasm relaxation just as you were. He then broke the silence, by asking the same question again, even though you had wanted to answer it just about 30 minutes ago. You’d bet money on the reason that he kept asking, being that each time that you answered you gave him a small hint, “Will you tell me now what you actually do?”

“Maybe- if you get to know me better.” You turned the key to start the engine again then asking with another hint as to what your job was, “Consider this your lucky day, you’ve got a spook as your chauffeur. Now, where next Raymond?”

—-

Tag lists (message me if you want to be added):

All works: @shotarosleftpinky @90spumkin @kyra-morningstar @s1utformgg @takeyourleap-of-faith

All MGG characters: @muffin-cup @willowrose99

[writingpuddle]

“Don’t you ever get lonely?” Nicky asked, digging in his pack for a chocolate bar. To their left, the cliff dropped away precipitously, sheer granite cliffs like sentinels at the end of the world.

Neil stared at Nicky. “No,” he said.

“What, never?”

Neil looked out across the sweeping vista of mountains before them. A speck that could have been a hawk or a raven or a sparrow spun against the sky, too small and distant to judge. He’d stood in the middle of busy cities; he’d gone to school with hundreds; he’d even tried out for a track and field team once. He’d been surrounded by people, and he had been so ferociously lonely it had been like a knife in his chest.

“No,” he said, because he didn’t know how to explain—didn’t even want to, really. He’d felt more alone back in the so-called real world than he’d ever felt in the wilderness, miles from any other person. When there was no one around, there was no one to miss.

~~~The Long-Distance Hiker AU (A Bullet Point Fic)~~~

So after Neil’s mom died he kinda of ghosted around for a while and eventually ended up in a small hiking town in California

He met a bunch of thru hikers and figured, hey, my dad probably won’t find me if I’ve fucked off into the wilderness

So he starts hiking

And pretty soon he realizes it’s the best thing he could imagine

He spends all summer in the mountains and when winter rolls around he finds a temporary job in a skiing town working in a second hand gear shop

He’s an ultralighter in the most accidental sense possible

His gear is weird and cobbled together and his shoes are held together with dental floss

He sleeps under a tarp with a down blanket and a thin foam mat and he’ll eat the same shit day in day out without even registering it while he covers frankly obscene distances every single day

It basically gives Kevin an ulcer

Kevin’s an ultralighter, but in the stuck up, rich bitch way; his gear is probably worth thousands of dollars and he’ll lecture anyone who listens about ripstop nylon and is super snobby and elitist about who is a so-called “real” thru hiker (hint: anyone who doesn’t do it his way isn’t a real thru hiker)

(don’t worry he’ll get smacked around a little by people like Dan and stop being such a little bitch about it but he grew up rich so even though it might’ve been shit living with Riko he really doesn’t always take into consideration the context of how much fucking money gear costs when he’s preaching about ultralighting)

(yes I’m taking out my dislike for pretentious rich ultralighters on him, okay, but the difference is he’ll have character growth versus the people I met are probably still being preachy and self-important to this day)

Andrew’s like the exact opposite

His pack weighs like seventy pounds and he’ll pull a six-inch knife (a gross misuse of smart gear weight management) at anyone who comments

He has a completely contained single person tent that’s big enough to sit up in and a four-inch inflatable mattress

His sleeping bag is rated to like -20 even when he’s hiking in the summer

Nicky swears he once saw him pull a full-sized chocolate cake out of his backpack three days down the trail and everyone says that’s stupid and made up but secretly think its totally true

Andrew likes to hike alone but somehow he’s never more than a day away from Aaron and Nicky and when he keeps showing up near them it gets harder and harder to pretend like he doesn’t actually care about them

Nobody says anything, obviously, but Nicky gets a little teary when he starts to notice the pattern

It was Nicky’s idea; in this universe Erik got him into hiking when he was in Germany so he got the cousins into it as a bonding exercise and then it turned out it was the best family activity they had ever found

This is several years after they graduated and they’ve scrounged together enough time and money to hike the Pacific Crest Trail

Now the upperclassmen:

So Stephanie Walker is a trail angel: one of those people who lives near a long trail and provides snacks and rides and somewhere to stay and basically helps out anyone who comes by with whatever’s going on; she’s pulled a lot of people out of frankly dangerous situations and she’s not afraid of anything the trail has to offer

So Renee finds herself and her faith while living this life of meeting new hikers every day and it’s almost inevitable that she starts to hike and find solace in the wilderness

Allison is one of those Wild types: she’s done some hiking (much to her parents’ chagrin) but she’s never done a thru trail or even much overnighting before, but she’s ready to throw herself into it and doesn’t care how dirty she gets

She totally carries a tiny spa package though

The other women are very skeptical because they take pride in being free from societies expectations and make up and shaving but they come around after Allison pulls it out one time when they’re seven days into a ten day section and gives them face masks and they all have a little pedicure pampering session (so, so needed when your feet are being beaten and bruised by hard terrain all day)

She has a lot of new, expensive gear and is super touchy about people trying to help her (because a beautiful woman absolutely gets people trying to “help” all the time and it’s infuriating and condescending) but she learns to accept help from her closest friends

She was showing off near the beginning of the trail drinking with a bunch of guys and probably got too sloshed trying to act tough (alcohol hits you waaaay harder at high elevations dude, if you’re not expecting it you can get Fucked Up really fast)

It’s Seth who realizes things are getting out of control and pulls her out before the guys can do anything shitty which is how their friendship and eventually their relationship gets started

They piss everyone off with their constant breaking up and getting back together on the trail, sometimes hiking together for days and then splitting up and going to hike with other people but they find a lot of healing out there in the woods

Seth’s mom is totally dismissive and condescending of his hiking, she thinks it’s a stupid waste of time, but she thinks everything he does is a stupid waste of time so at least when he’s out there without cell service he has an excuse to not respond to her

Now Dan

Dan’s trailer trash, right

She’s got no fucking cash but she has this dream in her head to hike the PCT and she’s going to fucking well do it

Her gear is probably most similar to Neil’s except where his is a mess of weird priorities and held together by spit and twine

Hers is meticulously planned

It’s cheap, some of it’s over forty years old, but it’s hers

It’s probably the only stuff in the world that’s actually hers

She accumulated it over about four years, hitting all the second-hand gear events, saving up every penny, packing and repacking and writing everything out in great detail until David Wymack got wind of her plans at a gear event

He’s one of those guys who hiked the PCT thirty years ago back before anyone knew what it was except instead of feeling superior about that it means he knows exactly how much impact experiencing the wilderness can have for disenfranchised people

He approaches Dan and offers to sponsor her hike

She’s resistant at first; she planned this hike, she got all the stuff together, she was going to do it without anyone’s help

But he comes back and says he just wants her to write about her experiences and publish it on his website

He’ll pay her for the work, of course

And she wavers and finally caves because this will move her plans up by about two years if she can make money while she’s hiking instead of having to hoard up enough cash to take six whole months off

Her blog posts are a huge hit

She doesn’t preach about how the mountains saved her, or get too metaphorical about hiking or anything like that

She just talks about the real, raw experience of hiking

The friendships, the trials, the triumphs

The infuriating people whose mental image of the hiking community doesn’t include poor black girls who grew up in a trailer park, who say she’s an inspiration like they actually mean something else

She talks about the days that she flies up the mountains and the days that she can barely drag herself out of her tent and the day she realizes that Allison and Renee, these women she thought could not be more different from her, are the best friends she’s ever had in the world

And she’s takes fucking amazing pictures

She’s also very determined not to have a trail romance

That’s stupid and cliché

Look that guy Matt might be hot but she’s not interested

He’s clearly working through some stuff and she’s not here to be some guys savior or whatever

So Matt then

His mom helped him get sober a couple years ago and he’s been struggling with it ever since

She got him into hiking as an outlet and a healthy hobby and he took to it like a fish to water

He’s got legs for days and he doesn’t mind carrying a heavy pack, he can hike for hours without stopping

(The fact that he’s faster than her pisses Dan off a bit, but sometimes you gotta accept that you’ve got short legs and just hike your own hike, there aren’t any prizes for speed)

He relapsed again a couple months before his hike started and he and Randy weren’t even sure if he was going to be able to do it but he’s damned well going to try

So anyway

Pretty much everyone is trying to actually hike the PCT except Neil

He drives everyone bonkers

His motivation isn’t really about the trail so much as staying out in the wilderness where there are no gangsters to murder you

So he just does whatever he wants and keeps showing up at random points

He’s technically got one of the thru hiker permits but he frequently goes off on side trails not on the PCT and ends up hiding out in the woods so rangers won’t find him

He’ll just hitchhike straight through boring sections or anywhere that you pass through too many towns where he’d rather not be remembered

He keeps coming back to the PCT but it’s more like it’s a rough guideline of where to go than an actual route he’s taking

He’s got his natural colouring back because who’s dying their hair or wearing fucking contacts on the trail?

But also

Who would ever associate a runaway mafia kid with a guy with overgrown hair and a stained t-shirt who’s sitting serenely on a mountain pass in a photo on David Wymack’s website?

Nobody

That’s right kids, Nathan doesn’t have a role in this one because he doesn’t find Neil

Maybe he gets killed in a shoot out or something and some other gangster steps up and takes over, and in the shuffle Neil’s just kinda forgotten

Maybe he finds out months later and he just stares at the computer in shock because he should have known, shouldn’t he? He should have felt it when his father died

He should have realized that he was free

That happens later though

Who fucking cares what Riko’s doing honestly

Kevin has somehow attached himself to Andrew and is driving him up the wall with advice to improve his hiking/base weight/distance/etc and he sees this guy (Neil) who regularly covers like thirty or forty miles a day (obscene!) and is like YES this guy is my people!

Except when he starts talking to Neil he realizes he’s this total weirdo who doesn’t even have a cook set he just eats cold food (a common enough thing among ultralighters, but not like this. Oh god, not like this)

Neil’s just sitting there gnawing on a pack of uncooked ramen like a fucking animal

And he’s not! Even! Hiking! Properly!

You’ll never finish the trail if you hike like this!

Neil just gives him a blank look

He’s got no interest on getting on some “verified” list of people who hiked the PCT, he just likes hiking

Andrew likes him

I mean obviously he despises him what the hell is with that janky ass setup but also he’s so unconventional and unapologetic how could Andrew not be into that?

They’re the kind of people who give wilderness rescue personnel grey hair, but for completely opposite reasons

Neil keeps running into them because even though he covers so much ground every day, his meandering route means he doesn’t actually move down the trail very fast

They’ll be like wait weren’t you like a week ahead of us and he’s like oh yeah I heard about this cool waterfall and took a sixty mile side trail to visit it and nearly ran into a momma bear with two cubs, it was awesome

And they all start to grow on him, and each other, almost accidentally

Look none of them are out there romanticizing the trail as some kind of magical place where the problems of the real world disappear and the people are somehow more pure and true or whatever

People are people and they bring their issues wherever they go

But there is a paring down

When your daily concerns are just mileage and shoes and food and weather, a lot of other stuff fades into the background

And well the truth is a lot of people are on those trails to work through stuff

And they find each other

Gradually, without even really noticing

They team up in June, groups of three or four with crampons and ice axes to get over the Sierra’s.

Neil was planning to just do side hikes and wait for the snow to melt—he isn’t so reckless he wants to go over the ice alone, but Kevin insists he join them and for the first time he hikes in a group with Kevin and the cousins all together.

It’s weird

He’s not used to people talking to him when he’s hiking and he frequently doesn’t respond and it’s not because he’s being rude he’s just so focussed on what he’s doing and what’s around him that he literally doesn’t hear them

And then

Nicky slips

It’s not his fault, they did nearly everything right (Kevin may be a pretentious ass, but he does know his shit) but sometimes shit just happens for no reason

And they’re at the edge of the ice sheet so Nicky’s just untying himself from the rope that links them together, he’s not even moving, and the snow beneath him shifts and he doesn’t even have time to scream before he’s hurtling down the snow below the trail towards the cliff at the bottom of the ice sheet

Neil doesn’t even hesitate

He dives after him, ice axe in one hand like a fucking gladiator and gets his arm wrapped around Nicky’s waist

He slams the ice axe into the snow and it drags behind them, and it looks like it’s not going to catch, and the edge is getting closer and closer—

Until the axe catches something, and Nicky and Neil lurch to a halt, clinging to each other, hanging off of Neil’s one arm and the axe.

Neil looks up and sees Andrew, Aaron and Kevin in various places on the slope above them, their axes dug in and long gouge marks in the snow beneath their heels, strung together by a ropeline that’s still attached to Neil’s waist

That rope is probably the only thing that slowed them down enough that Neil could stop them without ripping his arm clean off

It’s hardly a by-the-book rescue, and in fact it was pretty stupid, but they’re okay, they’re okay, that’s all that matters

That night they light a fire down by a lake and Nicky cries on Aaron’s shoulder and Andrew keeps clenching his fists because he’s never felt so helpless in his life and it was Neil that jumped, not him

He knows that he was at the far end of the line and he would’ve made it worse if he had, but doing nothing while Neil risked his life to save Nicky

They don’t really talk about it

But you kind of can’t help being friends after that

And even after they’re out of the high mountains and back on solid trails Neil keeps tabs on them

And Nicky befriends the others and without even meaning to they start to develop a sort of loose trail family vibe

They’re not hiking together all the time like some of the groups they meet, but they check on each other all the time and wait up in resupply villages and bond over firepits and shitty hot chocolate mixes and swap tips on how to keep the butt-chafing at bay

Neil sticks to the outskirts, mostly, but he starts to open up a little, in fits and spurts, tiny non-specific things that wouldn’t even register to most people but that this particular group knows means more than that

He’s slowing down, too, sometimes hiking entire days with people and covering half his usual distance even when there’s no cliffs or glaciers threatening him

He likes hiking with Andrew the most, though

Because neither of them are big talkers when they’re hiking and Andrew’s pack might be absurdly heavy but he’s got legs the size of tree trunks and endurance to match, so he might not be fast but he can outwalk half the people on the trail by sheer relentlessness

They both like to camp up high, near treeline (so Neil can set up his tarp) and in the places that it’s legal they’ll start a small fire and Andrew will loan Neil his pot so he can actually cook his fucking ramen for once and sometimes they’ll watch the Milky Way rise and share secrets under the open sky, not looking at each other so they don’t break the illusion, and sometimes they won’t say anything at all but it’s okay, because they’re saying nothing together.

It’s nice

It’s maybe more than nice

The summer draws to a close and Neil is starting to realize that he doesn’t want it to

He never wants the hiking season to end but this time it’s different

This summer has been perfect

And he knows deep in his bones that once they leave the trail things will change

The others have lives to return to, and Neil…

The trail is all he has

And if he’s barely hiking alone at all these days, well, who’s going to call him out on it?

The others like having him around because he stops them from getting too fixated on the Trail to see the trail

He still takes side trips but now sometimes people will come along and he’ll stand at the base of a canyon staring up at the glossy white walls and Dan will snap a photo for her blog and smile, because the PCT is just a line on a map, but the hike is all of them; together

He’s hiking with Andrew in September when a storm hits, this time vicious

Neil huddles under his tarp in resignation

Storms suck, he always gets wet, no matter how much he lowers the tarp, but he’s used to it; he just waits it out

But it’s just getting worse

Hail lashing at the tarp and pummelling the ground and maybe for once he regrets camping so high up

And Andrew has to shout to be heard but finally Neil realizes he’s offering to let Neil come into his tent

You’re going fucking freeze, just get in here

Neil goes

It’s weird

It’s instantly weird

The tent is not built for two people, so they’re both sitting cross legged with their heads ducked to not press against the roof

The storms probably not going to let up soon, Andrew says

Yeah, Neil says.

Andrew sighs

Lie down, he says, and Neil does, and Andrew lies down next to him, shoulder to shoulder

It barely works, only because neither of them are very big people

Neil’s pack is outside wrapped in his tarp and all he has is his damp down blanket but he’s not cold anymore, not with Andrew bundled up in his ridiculous sleeping bag right next to him

The storm rages for nearly two days and what passes between them in that tent, nobody knows

If they’re barely ever seen apart after it, well. You only see people so often on the trail. It could easily be a coincidence

And if Neil doesn’t even set his tarp up on rainy nights anymore, well. They never camp near other people anyway, so who’s to know?

In early October the snow blows in, blocking the route to the finish.

They drift around a resupply village for almost two weeks, waiting for the trail to reopen, but finally even Kevin accepts that it isn’t going to

After all of that, none of them are going to finish the trail

It’s a disappointment—of course it is. For most of them, the end of their trip is now a nondescript exit into a village, no fanfare, no closure; they didn’t even know they were done for days

Still, it’s not so bad

They’re all together

Allison suggests Vegas, but they all laugh it down; they wouldn’t even know how right now, bearded and hairy and ravenous as they are

They go to South Carolina instead

It’s not really even discussed that they’ll stay together, they just all go; Allison hosts them at her resort and they laugh at the incongruous weirdness of seeing each other in real clothes, and it’s different, but it’s also okay

They stay for another two weeks, and they don’t hike another fucking inch

We should try the Continental Divide Trail sometime, Dan says

Her blog is so popular now that she’s got sponsorships from more than just Wymack waiting for her

She could make a career out of hiking and blogging and doing gear reviews and it’s a dream she’d never even realized she wanted until she had it

And if she accidentally fucked up and ended up with a hot trail boyfriend? Well, nobody’s perfect

And he has a great butt

(she has photos of it on her blog, from when they jumped into a glacier lake naked back in August)

Everyone is jealous

How about that trek in Iceland? Matt suggests

Or the whats-it-called in New Zealand, Allison says

Oh, I bet there’s some good ones in Europe! Nicky says. You guys can all meet Erik!

And it’s going to be different, but it’s not going away, and Neil feels calm in a way he never has at the end of a hiking season before

Eventually everyone has to start making plans to return to their lives, and jobs, and Neil sneaks out to the back of the house to sit in crisp fall air and watch leaves spiral down out of the trees

Andrew follows him

They sit together, watching the moon rise over the hills, and when Andrew asks Neil to come home, Neil says yes

[hockeytrashgoblin]

Ice Cold ~Part 11

A/N: For once in a story I’m writing, I’m not going to be writing any actual smut. Wild I know. I’m just not feeling like it’s very important for this one. Hope you guys understand and if you want that kind of thing I have many other stories and one shots that you might enjoy. But in the meantime enjoy this also lol

Ps: This one is pretty cute AND COMPLETELY   F I C T I O N    NONE OF THIS IS REAL AND I’M NOT SAYING IT IS.

I ended up deciding to move in with Will and Kasperi. It had been a really wonderful three months in the apartment. I felt safer and working so close to where I lived now was so handy. There had been a few nights where Amy slept over because it would be more convenient for work. I loved that I could do that. They were very clear that what was theirs was mine even though I couldn't pay a lot for rent. The boys were going to be home from a road trip any minute and I was so excited. I still hated the road trips a lot. Never got used to being alone in this place.

I heard William's loud happy laugh from down the hall. I opened the door and ran down the hall to him. He smiled wide as I got to him and jumped into his arms. I kissed his face all over with smiley kisses.

"Happy to see me?"

"Pfft no." I replied kissing his lips once before jumping down.

"Yeah everyone really believes that." Kasperi said rolling his eyes, holding up his phone.

"Hi Kappy." I gave him a big hug around his waist and smiled up at him.

"Hi you little shit."

"I made some cookies for you guys!"

"That is so sweet of you love, let's go inside."

We went in and I followed William to the bedroom. He was unpacking his bags with his back to me. I went up and smacked his ass before hugging him from behind. He laughed loud, and heartily. He grabbed onto my forearm and twisted so he could face me. He held my face and kissed me hard.

"You're so funny. I love you."

"Love you." I kissed him again until we heard a throat clearing.

"Hey, I'm gonna um.. go for a walk." Kasperi said awkwardly.

"Dude if you need to feed just say so. I can tell you know. Your eyes kinda give it away."

"Oh shit true. How bad are they?"

"They're pretty much all red."

"I'm sorry (y/n)."

"Kasperi. Stop. You don't have to act human all the time. I know what and how you guys are. I'm not scared of you."

"We just don't want to make you uncomfortable, love." William said, playing with my hair.

"I'm not though. I want you guys to be comfortable as yourselves with me around. I'm going to be around for a long time and I don't know when I'll be like you. I don't want you guys to hold yourselves back until then."

"Don't talk like that."

"Alright well then I'm going to the woods around Mo's. I should be back by morning, I might spend the night."

"Alright bye Kas."

"Bye!" I called out as the door closed.

I was quiet after he left as I left the room heading for the living room. I was feeling really upset that William shut me down all the time when I said I was going to be like them. I just kept thinking about it. I couldn't help it, it was a little crushing.

"What's the matter?" He asked softly, coming to sit beside me on the couch.

"What?"

"Your eyebrows are creased and your jaw is tight. On top of that your heart is beating harder, like you're mad."

"Do you not want to be with me for a long time?"

"What? That's crazy talking. Are you serious right now my love?"

"Yes. Every time anyone mentions me turning and being around for a long time you get mad. Do you not want me around for a long time?"

"Baby of course I want you around for a long time. I want you around forever. You're going to be with me forever. I'm sorry if I ever made you doubt that." He held me face and brought me in for a really short but incredibly intense kiss. "I love you and can't wait to spend forever with you."

"Then why do you get so upset when I talk about it?"

"I've seen how awful it is to be changed with Mitch. He couldn't stomach the blood, he just kept puking so because Auston wasn't controlled enough to bite and inject the venom without drinking his blood and Morgan had to do it. It was really painful for Mitch. He was in so much pain for a couple of days. I keep thinking about him and I'm so afraid that you're going to have a bad experience like he did and regret everything."

"William I love you more than you could ever know. If I have to be in pain for a few days to spend my whole extended life with you I will. Gladly."

"You're perfect." He kissed me again but Mitch busted through the door. "Way to knock Mitchell."

"This is important, hide me."

"Mitchy what's wrong?" I asked, trying to calm him down.

"(Y/n) I need to talk to you in private. Will please stop Auston and take him somewhere else."

"Mitch-"

"I don't have time for questions William! Please! Just do this for me right now and I'll explain later. Please!" He was exasperated, running his hands through his hair and pulling on it.

"Willy obviously this is important. Please just take Auston out and we can relax together when they're good, okay?"

"Okay." He said with a frustrated sigh.

"See you later." I gave him a kiss and he ran out of the apartment.

"Mitchy what's happening?"

"I don't want to say anything yet. Can I just get a hug?"

"Of course you can honey, come here." I opened my arms and he fell into them crying. "Oh Mitch."

"It's okay, I'm just really flustered right now. I don't know what to do."

"Is everything okay?"

"No. How was your day?"

"It was boring. I really missed you guys."

"I know it sucked that we got split up on two flights. I don't even know how that happens. Fucking stupid. They're lucky we didn't have a game this afternoon."

"It was probably because of the snow storm. A lot of planes were grounded. What time did you guys get in?"

"Half of us got in last night around 4am."

"Gross that's such a shitty time."

"Like yeah it is but Auston drove so I slept the whole drive home."

"Poor sleepy Auston."

"He's good."

"Are you ready to talk yet?"

"Yeah they should be far enough away to not hear me."

"What happened Mitch?"

"I thought a lot about what you said. About Steph and stuff. I broke up with her this morning."

"Oh man. I'm sorry Mitchy, that's never easy."

"She was devastated. She thought I was cheating, then she thought I was gay, then she thought I was just scared to get serious, then she thought I was trying to ruin her 10 year plan..she was big on those. Before 10 years she wanted to be married with at least one child. I couldn't do that hurting for Auston the way I was. It was all a big mess."

"That sounds awful."

"It lasted for literally 3 hours. It was a three hour breakup where she kept me trapped in the house."

"God that's awful. Do you want something to drink?"

"Alcohol. Strongest you've got, I beg you." I went to the kitchen and came back with a white coconut lime flavoured wine and two glasses. He downed his first glass like it was nothing.

"This stuff is strong, you might want to pace yourself."

"After the day I've had, I don't care."

"So what happened after she stopped freaking out?"

"I had brought her stuff back from my place, she threw it everywhere and broke stuff. I didn't have much at her place but she threw all that stuff too. Only broke one thing though and luckily it wasn't that important."

"That's insane."

"It legit was the worse case scenario."

We kept drinking as he explained what happened with Stephanie. I was shocked. I understood heartbreak but I didn't understand psychotic meltdown. The more he explained it, the less sense she made and the drunker we got. I was only tipsy but Mitch was getting pretty drunk. He was laying on the floor with his feet up on the couch still.

"So wait how did that turn into you running away from Aus?"

"Oh shit right! So basically I came home upset, as you can imagine. Auston wasn't home until a couple hours later. I was in bed sad and he came in. He asked me what was wrong and I told him what happened. He tried to cheer me up but it wasn't working so he volunteered to bring me here to talk to you, see if you could help I guess."

"That makes sense so far."

"So we're walking and suddenly out of fucking nowhere he unblocks his thoughts!"

"Oh for fuck sakes." I said face palming.

"I was so surprised that I could hear him again I didn't even realize what he was thinking. His mind's voice was screaming at me though. Yelling for me to pay attention so I did and God it was intense. It was so much and I was so overwhelmed."

"Oh jeez."

"Oh jeez is right! Like it was every thought he's had about me was right there."

"That is a lot. I can't even imagine that."

"I thought he didn't even like me but he loves me (y/n), he really does. He's not grossed out that I'm a guy, he's not worried about me being young or annoying..he's not ashamed of me. He loves me."

"I know honey, I figured it out when I was talking to him like a month ago. I told him to unblock his thoughts."

"You told him to do this?!"

"I suggested it because it might be easier for him than working up the nerve to talk about it. I meant for him to do once he was out of that cell not after you broke up with your girlfriend."

"I don't care. I want to know. I'm so happy that I know. I love him so much. I can't believe I just took off."

"Do you want me to get them back?"

"Yes I need to see him. I need to talk." 

"Okay I text William and he said they'll be here in a couple minutes."

"I can't wait. I'm gonna kiss him as soon as I see him." He said smiling and kicking his legs a little. I laughed at how cute he was. We were quiet for a little while, I didn't know if he wanted to talk anymore or not. After a minute I spoke up again though. I couldn't keep my mouth shut if I tried.

"You doin okay down there?"

"Yeah I'm just thinking."

"About what?"

"Auston."

"What about him?"

"I just hope I didn't ruin everything."

"You didn't." Auston and I said at the same time. I whipped around making William snort, I hadn't heard them come in.

"Aus, I'm sorry for running." Mitch said getting up. He stumbled a bit but ran over to him pulling his head down to smash their lips together in a sloppy kiss. "I'm sorry I was just really overwhelmed."

"Don't be sorry. I was a little shit to do that to you after today. I'm sorry, Mouse." He said into Mitch's hair as he held him close.

"It's okay. It's okay. Can we talk more about this tomorrow? I don't want to be drunk for it."

"Of course we can. I'll give you all the time you need."

"Can you take me home? I wanna go back home."

"Absolutely. We can do whatever you want." He kissed Mitch's head and pulled away holding his hand.

"Sorry that we interrupted your guy's night." Mitch said swaying into Auston. "And drank all your wine."

"It's okay Mitchy, no harm done."

Mitch gave me a big hug and to my surprise Auston gave me a hug too. It wasn't like the one Mitch gave, it was only a one arm thing but I was still surprised.

"Thank you for everything." He whispered to me before they left. We waved goodbye as they left the apartment and shut the door behind themselves. William wrapped his hands around my waist and pulled me close to him.

"You did that babygirl. That happiness? You help them find it. You're incredible."

"I just wanted them to be happy. Auston was having a really hard time, Mitchy was really upset. I didn't like it."

"You're so lovely."

"Will stop." I said blushing.

"No. You're the sweetest girl I've ever met in my life." He lifted me up and I squealed, wrapping my limbs around him. 

"I am so in love with you."

"And I with you." He smiled the prettiest smile I had ever seen in my life and I couldn't help but smile back. He sat me on the kitchen counter which was a surprise because I didn't know we were moving at all, so wrapped up in the beauty of him.

"You guys can do normal pictures right?"

"Love you literally take pictures of me for a living." He teased kissing my nose.

"Yeah but that's with a professional camera I was just wondering with phones and stu- okay. Stop laughing at me you ass." I hit his shoulder angry.

"Baby how can I not? You should know the answer."

"Maybe I'm drunker than previously thought."

"Yeah those cheeks are awfully rosy. Get into the wine did we?"

"Don't pinch my cheeks! I'm not a child." I smacked his hand.

"Oou a violent drunk." He teased again, grabbing my wrists and pinning them beside my head on the cupboards. I whimpered lightly. "You okay?"

"Um yes."

"Why are you making those little sounds?" He asked breathing against my neck while running his bottom lip against it. I shivered and he chuckled. "Use your words baby."

"I um..I like this. A lot. Too much probably."

"Yeah? You're into giving up control?"

"Y-yeah.. I like it a lot." 

"We can play around with these kinds of things later on if you want? I'd like to explore the things you like."

"I want to do that too with you." I tried to kiss him but he pulled back biting the smirk on his lips. "Kiss me right now."

"Ah, ah, ah baby. Be patient."

"I caaaan't."

"Fine, I'll let it slide this time you big baby."

"Your baby."

"Yes darling, my baby." He let my hands go to grip my hips. 

"Please?"

He didn't answer, just pressed his lips to mine in a fevered kiss. It was really intense and my head was spinning. He ran his tongue across my bottom lip and I opened my mouth slightly to meet his tongue. I wrapped my hands into his hair and pulled him closer to me. We were making out pretty heavily until the door opened and Kappy walked in.

"Oh shit, sorry! I uh decided to come back. Mo and Tessa were fighting. Forget I was here." He said, wiggling his eyebrows.

"It's fine Kas." William said stepping away from me.

"Your ugly face kinda ruined the mood anyway."

"Excuse me?! My ugly face? Have you seen my face? I'm gorgeous."

"Sure Kappy if you say so." I shrugged.

"I'm going to bed, I've had enough drunk (y/n) nonsense."

"I'm not that drunk!"

"Whatever." He called closing his door.

"I'm sorry that we got interrupted princess."

"It's okay Will. I wasn't kidding though, he did ruin the mood."

"I'm glad he did."

"Why?"

"I wouldn't have been able to stop and I have plans for us next weekend. Special plans."

"Just us?"

"Yeah. A little vacation just you and me."

"What are these plans?"

"I've rented a cabin for the weekend. I have a game Friday night but the plan is to leave that night after the game to go up north to Bracebridge. We stay all day Saturday and Sunday. We leave Sunday night after dinner to come back for work Monday."

"I love that! You're not gonna try to make me ski or something are you?" I asked suspiciously, eyeing him up.

"You ski? Absolutely not darling. I'm not even going to risk that. No we're probably going to be inside for the most part. Aside from those winter walks through the woods you like so much."

"Can we try to feed birds?!" I asked getting excited.

"You can try. I don't think I'll have much success."

"How come?"

"Animals don't usually like vampires much. There's always exceptions but most don't want anything to do with us."

"Fair enough I suppose. But! You can stay super still so maybe birds will want something to do with you!"

"We shall see baby, we shall see."

"I'm so excited to go spend time just us. It sounds romantic!"

"It will be."

[mvneyshot]

𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐑𝐎𝐃𝐔𝐂𝐈𝐍𝐆

          [  simay barlas  .  20  .  female  .  she/her  ] just saw 𝐀𝐘𝐋𝐀 𝐂𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐖𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐑 dragging their suitcase up the steps to 𝐁𝐀𝐗𝐓𝐄𝐑  .  good luck living with 𝐇𝐄𝐑  ,  i hear that that they’re 𝐍𝐀𝐑𝐂𝐈𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐂  ,  𝐀 𝐏𝐄𝐎𝐏𝐋𝐄-𝐏𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐄𝐑  ,  𝐅𝐑𝐄𝐄-𝐒𝐏𝐈𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐄𝐃  &  𝐎𝐁𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐕𝐀𝐍𝐓  .  makes sense the chose that house now  ,  doesn’t it  ?  let’s hope this new living situation doesn’t affect their 𝐉𝐔𝐍𝐈𝐎𝐑 year of 𝐀𝐃𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐓𝐈𝐒𝐈𝐍𝐆 & 𝐏𝐇𝐎𝐓𝐎𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐏𝐇𝐘   [  oliver  .  22  .  they/them  .  est  ]

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐇𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐋𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐒

          sports run deep in your family. your grandfather, your father, your older brother : the triple threat of sports, each cutting their way through their own league ( the mlb, the nhl, and the nfl — RESPECTIVELY ). you were never as gifted as any of them athletically — good enough, smart enough, but nothing more than a decent athlete that could hold your own. no, instead you picked up a camera and this is how you fit in.

          AESTHETICS: she is like the summer nights when the stars are far away and the fire is dying out, the sun’s warmth a comforting memory and all the potential of tomorrow ready to be spread out before you ( worn out timberland boots, pink lipstick, short and flowy dresses, fireflies in a jar, a denim jacket covered in patches, the heat of a sparkler against your fingers, do no harm but take no shit, coy smiles because you want something, the smell of balsam and pine needles )

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘

— she was adopted when she was just under two years old from turkey when her parents decided they wanted a little girl, so the clearwaters have always felt like her family to her. she knew the greater part of growing up that she was adopted, it just never was an issue for her. recently, though, she has felt like she should reconnect with her native middle eastern heritage.

—  the clearwaters are a triple threat in sports : her grandfather retired mlb player and coach, her father a retired prominent defenseman in the nhl and current dartmouth men’s hockey coach, and her older brother michael ( 26 and always mikey to her ) is making a splash in his third year in the nfl as a wide receiver.  however, her parents made sure she and her brother had a ( fairly ) average “middle class” bringing up, though they had their fair share of money in the bank. didn’t have to struggle, really, but didn’t get everything she wanted either. had a summer job scooping ice cream for two years in high school.

— grew up in norwich, vt, real big on nature and hiking and all that jazz. she’s always down for an adventure and to go hiking.

— when she was ten she got one of those kid’s polaroid cameras ( u know the ones where the film is only a little bigger than a postage stamp ) and she was obsessed. she worked her way up through cameras over the years, having a natural eye for it.

— one of the first games she ever shot was one of her brother’s high school football games which sounds sweet but it was actually because she was so bored out of her mind and wanted something to do. needless to say, though, that was the start of it. some might say it was kind of inevitable she gravitated toward sports somehow — she was a clearwater at heart. since then she has gained a lot of knowledge and respect for all different kinds of sports.

— for college she was torn between dartmouth, nyu, and halston. she ultimately chose halston because it was somewhere new, though the elite photography program at nyu was hard to pass up.

— her freshman year ayla was at as many games she could physically get it every weekend, shooting and shooting and shooting, until eventually the office took notice of her. her sophomore year she split time between the men’s hockey and football teams ( and a few other games of other sports where she could grab them ). a couple of her photos have been used for the banners outside the football field and hockey arenas, one across the header of the football team’s website, and several in the yearbook, including a two page spread shot of roo carlson that she’s very proud of.

— PROFESSIONALLY, she has managed to shoot a few kings, dodgers, and lakers games as well. she’s held an internship with the la galaxy from the spring of her freshman year to early fall of her sophomore year. she then accepted an internship with bernstein associates, official photographers of the la kings, clippers, dodgers, and lakers, this past summer.

— she does a little freelance work as well ; mostly for friends or friends of friends, though she’s been considering lately trying to make her skills and business available in a more professional manner to begin building an image for when she graduates. she does do a lot of photographing for herself — a lot of candids ; she thinks they capture the true spirit of a person moreso than when they’re posing or prepared for a photo.

𝐌𝐈𝐒𝐂

— just got a new camera + lens ( nikon D500 + fancy zoom lens ) last summer as an early birthday present to herself. she practically become one with it over the course of the summer and she’s rarely separate from it. that thing cost her so much money and is her baby okay.

— she hopes someday to be the team photographer for a professional team, hopefully in one of the “big four” ( mlb, nfl, nba, or nhl ), and she thinks her prospects are looking very good.

— she played field hockey and lacrosse through high school.

— ayla thinks she’s better at shooting people. part of what she loves about being a sports photographer is how active and unpredictable it is to shoot a game. she’s had to learn a lot to try to predict what she can. they say you make your own luck and for a sports photographer that is true. part of it is down to chance, but there are things you can learn about the game in order to increase your chances of being in the right place at the right time.

— very much a morning person. has never had a problem waking up in the morning. typically goes for a run at sunrise, and has showered, gotten ready for the day, and is at a local cafe shop editing photos / making graphics and drinking an iced mocha by 8. truly couldn’t be me… 

— you can often find her watching practices, not just to practice shooting but to learn more about what makes each team and player tick in order to improve her ability to predict their tendencies ( which in turn makes her chances of getting a good photo go up ). she takes her craft very seriously.

— she has a policy of not sleeping with or dating players on the teams that she shoots — it’s called professionalism, boys !! she likes to be respected and somehow doesn’t think that sleeping with the players goes very far for her in that regard. that doesn’t mean the players don’t try, though...

— she has struggled a bit with people who think her opportunities have only arisen because of her family pedigree ( which some have gone so far to tell her they’re “not her family” — which, don’t even go there, lads... ), and that has made ayla work all that much harder to prove that she’d gotten where she has on her own merits.

— so desperately wants to be that girl with tons of cute aesthetic plants in her room but tragically plants always die in her care no matter what she does. probably has gotten one of those tiny tabletop sand zen gardens to make herself feel better tho she still keeps trying with plants. so far the only ones that have lived any length of time are the air plants. there is no hope.

𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐘

— she’s generally well liked, with a hint of sass and humor. she comes across as a bit of an air-head at times, but that’s part due to a persona she put on from a young age. she has an observant eye that drew to her photography in the first place and will often allow her to draw certain conclusions about people. 

— ayla has a very down to earth outlook and approach to life, often taking things as they come. she’s adaptable to situations, but manages to usually stay to the original path she saw for herself.

—  she’s well versed in all the sports she shoots, something that tends to surprise a lot of people, but how is she supposed to be good at her job if she isn’t ? if she gets bothered during games she typically shuts people down with wide eyes and some obscure bit of knowledge in her cute, raspy lil voice. dareisay… elle woods, what like it’s hard ? energy ?? she’s a hard worker, and strives for everything she posts or hands in to be perfect.

— a few of her downfalls include her narcissism and need to be liked. she looks to look and feel pretty, by her own standards, and is a queen of the self-timer and remote self photography : has two instas because of it – one for her sports photography and one that’s a “personal” and mostly just pictures of herself. 

— her need to be liked is something she doesn’t even realize. she likes to be seen in a positive light and it can on occasion lead to her agreeing to do things she doesn’t really want to. at the same time this is constantly in conflict with her desire to be independent and be her own person. 

— she also just believes that everyone just does like her because she is a likeable and very down to earth person — both of which are true for the most part, but reveals the blurring line she has between confidence and arrogance. she can be quite judgmental at times, especially towards those who are overly dramatic, but they’re confined more to just thoughts than any actual voiced words or actions. in a way, this feeds into a sense of her own self-arrogance.

𝐀𝐏𝐏𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄

—  alya stands at 5′3″ with a slim but athletic build. she has a runner’s body, deceptively strong, lithe, and built for distance.

— warm brown eyes that look like they’re laughing more often than not.

— her hair is naturally brown, but is dyed to have blonde highlights near the bottom. often styled half up & half down, kept down and loose, or in a messy bun.

— she does not need glasses or contacts and has no tattoos.

— piercings & jewelry: both lobes and cartilage. often wears simple black studs in all of them ; has an affinity for simple silver rings, often wearing two on each hand ; a black timex watch she bought for $20 at target that’s waterproof

— style : she’s almost always wearing the same pair of beat up timberland’s she’s owned since like sophomore year of high school. she likes to be able to move easily ( bc homegirl absolutely cannot walk in heels at all ). despite this, she also likes to look cute at the same time, often pairing them with short, flowy sundresses or skirts + crop tops. when she shoots games, however, she’s dressed rather practically in skinny jeans, a crop top, and a cardigan ( if necessary ).

— PINTEREST BOARD HERE

𝐖𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐍𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒

— pretty girl like you ( any ) : someone who does not understand why ayla is “wasting” her talents on sports and thinks she should try moving into the fashion or modeling business. i don’t think this is necessarily a negative connection — it could be well intentioned, or maybe it is truly just meant to be scathing.

— you & me were never meant to be ( any, female wld be real lit tho 👀 ) : an ex from her earlier years at halston. i imagine they broke up either before the summer of her sophomore year or early in her sophomore year. there’s not much ayla loves more than her photography, and i think maybe they didn’t understand. could have been mutual, could have ended poorly, could have just.... fizzled out. pretty open !! i’d just like her to have an ex.

— you just don’t get the message ( male ) : someone who is just relentlessly pursuing her ( not in an overly creepy way, y’know tho ). someone she’s told no multiple times and yet he still keeps trying rip. — TAKEN BY OWEN

— my brother, what ? ( any, probably female tho ) : just someone who is a big fan ( honestly fan or like... fan 😉, y’know ?? ) of her brother and she’s like please stop my poor ears don’t want to hear this.

— and i just love to vibe ppl !! ayla is a pretty friendly and outgoing person so... let’s just have at it :)

𝐎𝐎𝐂

hello friends. oliver/ollie back here again ( 22, est, they/them ). i also play caz !!

[agentmarymargaretskitz]

Us Against the Universe

Happy massively belated birthday, @fezwearingjellybananas! I’m sorry this took so long and I hope a Marvellous Ladies of DC has been worth the wait.

AO3

              A loud wail came from the bassinet just as Zari finally got her piece to the other side of the checkerboard. Her mother looked directly towards her baby brother and got out of her chair. Zari watched her mother pick up her baby brother, shushing him and rocking him back and forth. It didn’t calm him down, so he either had a dirty diaper or was hungry. Probably both.

“Zari, I think we need to pause the game for a while until he calms down,” her mother said as Behrad wailed louder.

“Nah,” Zari pushed her chair back. “He’s probably hungry or something. I’ll just go read.”

She stomped off towards the stairs. The prospect of having a little brother was exciting when Mama and Baba first told her. She’d seen the other kids in her class talk about their younger siblings and been a little jealous she didn’t have that. But Behrad was too little to do anything fun. All he did was cry and sleep and poop and he couldn’t even eat halva yet. Her parents were always busy with him and barely had time for her.

“Zari.”

She looked down from the steps at her mother, still swaying with an angry Behrad. “I know it’s been harder to do things together, but we’ll be able to do it more when he gets older.”

Zari shrugged. “Okay, Mama. I think his diaper’s getting full.”

“You’re right. I’m going to change him.”

              She rushed off and Zari trudged up the steps to her room. After shutting the door and opening her window, the young girl flopped heavily on her bed. Staring at the ceiling got boring quickly, so Zari grabbed the new book Baba had given her and sat next to the window. She had been meaning to read it for a while. Now seemed like a good time.

“No!” came a scream through the window.

“I’m so sorry, Lily. I-”

“I HATE you!”

“Lily, please-”

              The commotion made Zari peer out her window over at the next-door neighbors to see Lily Stein crying out in the backyard. The Steins were good friends with the Tarazis and had let her stay with them when Mama had to go have Behrad. They were really into science and insects, but they had talked to Zari about their computer and how it worked. She really liked them and hoped everything was okay.

Zari stuck her head out the window. “Lily!”

Lily’s lip trembled. She didn’t respond, but just ran toward the bushes. Zari knew exactly where she was goin.

“Wait for me! I’m coming down!”

              Zari backed up and grabbed her backpack. She stuffed in her new book and Mama’s old Walkman inside. Zipping it up, she bounded down the stairs and to the front door to get her shoes. Mama was sitting on the couch with Behrad, watching Zari as she stuffed her feet in her sneakers. “Going somewhere?”

“Next door to see Lily,” Zari explained.

“Be back for dinner.”

“I will! Bye, Mama!”

              She ran out the door and around the house towards the bushes she’d seen Lily go through. She ran through the bushes and looked both ways before crossing the road to get to the park. Once she made her way to the other side, Zari bolted towards the woods and ran along the trail until she found the hideout that she and Lily had built. Her friend was inside, clutching her Beebo doll and crying.

“Lily?” she called out.

Lily stopped her sniffling momentarily. “Zari?”

“What’s wrong?” Zari asked as she crawled into the small fort made of sticks and branches. “Is everything okay?”

Lily shook her head. “My dad’s dead.”

Dr. Stein was dead? Zari didn’t get it. “What happened?”

“He and Mom were going on another business trip,” explained Lily. “Mrs. Jackson came over with Jax to watch me. They were supposed to be back two days ago, but then Mrs. Jackson got a call that it was going to take longer. Then Mom came back and told me Dad was dead!”

She started crying again. Zari reached out and patted her shoulder. It wasn’t fair at all. Lily’s dad had come into their class sometimes to do science demonstrations. He let her help him fix the computer when she’d been staying with them. Hearing that he was dead was awful and scary. Poor Lily.

“I’m sorry,” was all she could say.

Lily sniffled and sat Beebo between them. Zari remembered it’d been a Hanukkah present from her father. “I want him back.”

Zari nodded. She couldn’t imagine how she would feel if Baba was gone and didn’t want to.

“Want to listen to music?” she finally asked after a few minutes of silence.

              Lily gave a small nod. Zari pulled out her Walkman and passed the headphones to the other girl so she could listen first. She also took out a notebook and pencil too for hangman. They played for a little while, going back and forth with different topics to eventually make each other laugh. It wasn’t until a drop of water hit the paper that either girl realized it was starting to rain. Zari stuffed everything into the bag before it could get too wet and took off with Lily.

              The rain was coming down harder and the sky was getting darker as they raced down the trail. Lily grabbed Zari’s hand and pulled her back as a tree branch came crashing down on the trail. They ran through the mud and weeds to the clearing where kids played soccer. Once they were out of the woods, Zari saw something large in the clouds as lightning split through the sky. She ran further into the field with Lily on her tail, now a lot more curious.

“Did you see that?” she called over the rain. “Lily?”

“Zari!”

              Beams of light suddenly shone down on her. Zari held up her arm and looked up to see something hovering above her. It was some massive thing, floating up in the sky. The lights grew brighter and Lily ran forward to stand at her side. Colors began to swirl around the two of them. Zari grabbed Lily, who clung back to her as they were lifted into the air. She shut her eyes as the light grew too blinding, holding onto Lily tighter.

              Then the brightness cut out and Zari’s sneakers touched down on something solid. She cracked an eye open, then the other. No longer was she on the soccer field with Lily. They were on a pad in some large metal room. The people surrounded them all wore red jackets, but they didn’t look like people. Some had scales, others were slimy. There was a fellow with two heads and one with just eyes.

Aliens. They were surrounded by aliens.

They said something in a language Zari didn’t understand as another alien came forward. She (Zari thought the alien was a she) seemed almost human, but there were blue markings under her eyes. Pointing in a direction, she barked out something. Three aliens grabbed her and Lily and lead them away.

~~~

They put Zari and Lily in some kind of cell together and locked it. Almost immediately, they both started making a racket and screaming to be let out. Yelling felt good for Zari. But then a large alien growled something at them and gave them a stern look. Zari was pretty sure that they wanted them to shut up. She screamed at the alien again only to get a roar back that got alien spit on her before they were left alone.

“We’re on a spaceship,” Lily commented quietly as Zari took a seat on the bench next to her. “I thought if this ever happened, it would be more like Star Trek.”

“You’ve thought of being on a spaceship before?”

Lily shrugged. “It was more fun in my head.”

“Whatever happens, it’ll be an adventure,” Zari assured her. “We’ll get home and we can have dinner at my house and tell our families everything. We just stick together, and we’ll be okay.”

“You and I against this,” Lily grinned for the first time since their hideout.

              Then the aliens came back but there was no yelling at them this time. They unlocked their cell and guided them down a bunch of halls. It didn’t seem like they were letting them go though. Zari reached over and took Lily’s hand as they were brought into a cabin. The woman with marks under her eyes was seated inside, two cups in front of her. Both girls were put in seats and aliens held them down as the woman approached with the cups. Zari felt her mouth get forced open and something went down her throat, despite her attempts to gag it up.

“What was that!” she shouted as Lily got the same treatment.

The woman put the cups down on their desk. “Ingestible translators.”

Zari gaped at her. “You speak English.”

“It sounds like English to you Terrans, but I’m speaking in the tongue of my homeworld,” the woman said. “Now you can understand what everyone is saying and stopping screaming your heads off at us.”

Lily narrowed her eyes at her. “Who are you?”

“Captain Mary Xavier, and this is the Refuge.”

“I’m Zari Tarazi,” Zari introduced. “This is Lily Stein. Can you take us back home? We live on Earth and I’m probably late for dinner now.”

Captain Xavier laughed and shook her head. “You’re a long way from Terra, child.”

She pressed a button, opening a shade behind them. There was no Earth. Just stars and blackness and something of swirling colors. It was beautiful and terrifying all at once.

“Terra’s three jumps away,” Captain Xavier continued, motioning for the other aliens to leave. “You’re not going home, kids.”

“But my parents-”

“Won’t miss you,” Captain Xavier barked. “You’re part of the crew now.”

“How?” Lily crossed her arms. “Aren’t you supposed to sign something? I didn’t sign up for this!”

“You have now,” Captain Xavier smiled at them. “You’re with us, girls. No going back.”

Zari crossed her arms too. “I don’t want to be part of your crew.”

“You should consider yourself lucky, child. If it wasn’t for me, the rest of the crew was going to gobble you up. They haven’t tasted Terran before. You owe me, child.”

Zari really didn’t want to be eaten. She uncrossed her arms, and Lily followed her example. “So we’re part of your crew then, I guess. What do you do?”

“We’re Ravagers. We find things and get them to people who pay us the biggest price. Sometimes we have to fight for them.”

“Like pirates? Just in space.”

Captain Xavier nodded at Lily. “You’re right. Both of you are small. You’ll be good at thieving in the tight spots.”

Zari and Lily looked at each other. Stealing seemed better than being eaten by aliens.

“Listen here,” Captain Xavier’s voice became a touch softer. “You’re with the Ravagers now. We look out for each other. You two already seem to do that. The rest of the crew’s gonna see you as Ravagers soon instead of the next meal. Okay?”

Zari nodded.

“Now, get yourselves to the galley. Food’s gonna be served and you’ll miss it if you don’t hurry.”

Lily got out of the seat. “Where is it?”

Captain Xavier sighed. “I’ll show you two today. You’re on your own tomorrow.”

~~~

              Dinner was a mishmash of things that Zari had never seen before and didn’t know if they were okay to eat. Lily wasn’t sure either until another crew member whose skin reminded them of a hedgehog came over and talked to them about the food. She didn’t know much about Terran religion but seemed interested about halal and kosher food. There were other religions in space too with their own requirements about food. They ended up eating everything except the meat before Captain Xavier came and showed them to their room.

“You two share this room. Don’t start any fights or you’ll get floated.”

She shut the door, leaving them alone. Lily let Zari have the top bunk and settled into the one below.

              Zari stared out at space from the small porthole. This was a whole lot different than the videos she had seen at school and when her parents took her to the planetarium. Her parents were probably worried sick about her now. She’d missed dinner for certain. When she’d left, she’d said bye to Mama but not to Behrad. Zari had been annoyed by him for so long, but she missed him and Mama and Baba so much now.

A muffled cry came from below. Lily.

Zari leaned over the edge. “You want to come up here?”

It didn’t take long for Lily to scramble to the top. Her eyes were red and puffy in the light from outside of the spaceship.

“I miss Mom,” she whimpered. “And Dad and Mrs. Jackson and Jax.”

Zari felt her own eyes well up. “I miss my family.”

“I told my mom I hated her.”

“I was jealous of my baby brother. Mama didn’t have time to play checkers with me.”

“I feel really bad,” Lily cried, staring out the window.

“Maybe it’s all a dream,” Zari suggested. “Maybe we’ll wake up tomorrow and today was a bad dream. We’ll be home and your dad will be there.”

“And if it’s not?”

Zari had to think about that now. “We’ll find a way to break free. We can run away from the Ravagers in a spaceship and go back home to Earth.”

Lily smiled. “Terra is a cooler name though.”

“It is. And we’ll make it home to tell people. Even if it’s us against the universe, we’ll make it.”

~~~

              A month passed, or at least they were sure it was. Zari was using an old class calendar from her folder to keep track and Lily had made a twelve-month calendar on a sheet of paper. They’d been with the Ravagers long enough to pick out the ones who were nice and those who were mean. Captain Xavier wasn’t so bad. She acted like a mother, a teacher, or a captain. Zari had heard her once whispering with another alien about them and ‘Mon-el’ but missed the rest when she’d heard them coming and ran.

              Today was their first job. Captain Xavier had a buyer asking for them to steal fuel cells. The Refuge’s crew would provide cover while Zari would go steal the cells with Lily and another crew member. It was a lot of responsibility, but the captain felt that they were ready. If they failed, the crew would eat them. Success was very crucial for their survival.

              One upside of space and the Refuge was the technology and how much more advanced it was than on Terra. Zari had spent a lot of time with Lily learning about the ship and its computers and how they worked. She was doing great with learning about how to use different settings and systems. Lily was too, but she preferred learning about the mechanics of the ship.

They’d also become exceptionally good in lockpicking, diffusing energy fields, and fighting offensively from Captain Xavier’s lessons.

              After a stressful hour of crawling through vents and avoiding sentries whilst holding a case of powerful but tiny fuel cells, Zari was back on the ship with Lily. Both were grimy and sweaty and had some small burns from the cells, but overall alive. Captain Xavier had been satisfied with what they’d done, and a few other Ravagers even congratulated them. For the first time, Zari felt like she’d found her place.

Then she remembered Mama and Baba and Behrad.

~~~

“What are we doing out here?” Zari asked as she followed Captain Xavier into the forest.

“You said your birthday was today,” the captain said, ducking under a branch with orange vines that seemed to be moving. “Figured I can teach you something more useful now.”

Zari climbed over a fallen tree and ran forward a little bit to catch up. “I know how to start up the ship and reboot it. I can control the thrusters now too. That’s useful.”

“You’re still a long way off of me letting you fly. No, today you’re learning how to use a blaster.”

“A blaster?”

“Yes, child. I can’t keep sending you and Lily out on your own unprotected.”

She unclipped her blaster and showed Zari how to fire it. Then she took a few shots, taking down tree branches. The young girl watched with wide eyes while they fell to the floor, like the tree branch had in the storm before the Refuge had taken her.

“Your turn.”

Zari took the heavy weapon in her hand. Captain Xavier knelt beside her, talking her through the steps. Aim it the right way. Check the levels on it. Aim again. Turn the safety off. Squeeze the trigger when ready.

“Watch out for the kickback,” Captain Xavier warned gently when Zari was ready.

She squeezed the trigger. Its force made her stagger back a little, but there was a burning hole on the bark of the tree she’s been aiming for. Captain Xavier looked proud as Zari turned the safety back on.

“I hit it,” she murmured.

“You did,” the Kree woman ruffled her hair a little, causing a few pieces of her braid to come out. “We’ll practice some more.”

“Okay.”

Captain Xavier stood back up. “You don’t like using it that much, huh?”

“You kill people with these. I don’t want to kill people.”

“That’s a good thing. Good people never want to kill.”

“But the Ravagers kill sometimes.”

“We do. I don’t like to. Some evil just needs to be taken out. Others you have to just run from.”

She got a faraway look for a moment. “Evil might come for you one day. I want you to know how to protect yourselves. I was younger than you when I got taken away from my family and forced to work for someone else before the Ravagers saved me. If I’d known how to defend myself, then I would have never been taken away in the first place.”

“But then you wouldn’t have met the Ravagers.”

Captain Xavier shrugged. “I probably would have found them eventually. I was a bit of a free spirit.”

Zari scuffed her foot against the dirt. “I don’t want to use a blaster though.”

“How about a stunner?” Captain Xavier said. “You’ve seen them. Had to use that with the Dominator that snuck onboard. It doesn’t kill, but it does sting like crazy.”

Zari nodded. “I like that better.”

“Fair. It works like a blaster. You can take a few more practice shots with it if you want. The rest of the crew is probably still getting supplies out here. There’s time.”

Zari hefted up the blaster. “Okay.”

~~~

“Come on!”

              Lily was a few paces ahead of Zari as they ran down the hall of the Valeronian outpost. In the two years they’d been in space, a lot had changed. They were Ravagers now, which sounded more official than space pirates. Zari had become masterful at putting together and taking apart electronic systems. Lily worked well with small pieces and mechanical bits. When they put their skills together, they created some great things. It was enough to let Captain Xavier start trusting them to go on assignments without someone watching out for them.

“I though you said it would work to keep the door jammed!” Zari sped up a little, which was hard while holding a large axe they had been tasked to bring out.

“It was supposed to! I need something stronger to keep the bolts powered. Like dwarf star!”

“Lily, we can’t get dwarf star on the Refuge.”

“Well, I’m saving credits for-”

She skidded to a stop as a large Valeronian came out of the crater in the wall the Ravagers had blasted for them to slip through. Zari stopped, nearly running into her. The axe this guy had was a lot bigger than the one they were stealing.

“Stay back!” Zari shouted, holding the axe they had out.

Lily backed up beside her as he drew closer.

Something blasted him through the other wall. As the dust settled, Captain Xavier was there, blaster in hand. There was murder in her eyes.

“Get back to the ship,” she ordered. “Now!”

Zari and Lily didn’t waste time. They booked it.

~~~

“Beebo la-la-loves you!”

Zari pulled off her headphones. “It still works?”

“Yeah, you just have to squeeze him a little harder. Wonder if Terra still sells these things?”

“Maybe they do. We could go and see it one day.”

“How?” Lily set Beebo back on their desk, away from some of the tools so they didn’t set it on fire again. “We’re with Mary’s crew. You don’t just leave the Ravagers.”

“You can if you have a fast ship. Remember the last gathering? People say it’s happened.”

Zari closed her book and slid off the bed. “Think about it. When we get old enough and have enough credits, we can leave. It doesn’t have to just be Terra we go to. It can be anywhere! We can see all kinds of galaxies. See if Krypton is really still out there. Find the Lantern Corps. A whole life of adventure for you and me.”

Lily grinned. “I like it. But it means we’re running from the Ravagers forever.”

“But we can outsmart them! I know we can! And we’re both learning to fly and you know how to fix the ship and I’m good at managing the programming of it all. Just think of it.”

“We’d be like outlaws for the Ravagers. Outlaw space pirates. We’d need names.”

“Good point,” Zari glanced out the porthole at the stars. “Something with space.”

The preteens were silent for a few minutes, watching the stars and a few bits of space junk floating off in the distance.

“I’ll be Star Lady,” Zari finally declared. “How about you?”

“Cosmonaut,” Lily told her. “Like astronaut, but with cosmos. It sounds cooler.”

“You know, it does. Makes me think of the nebulas.”

“Star Lady and Cosmonaut, explorers and rogues of the galaxy.”

“Us against the universe. We’ll be amazing.”

~~~

              Zari stared out at Xandar as she flew the ship in closer. She brushed a stray piece of hair back as she waited for the clearance to come through to the ship. Maybe she should have taken up that offer from Lily to cut her hair short. It looked really good on her friend, who was seated off to the side.

“So what are you going to do once we get the clearance?” Mary asked.

“Gradually accelerate, but not too much to damage the shield,” Zari answered. “Coast on the descent and don’t aim downward.”

“Good. Now do that as soon as we get clearance.”

Zari nodded. Lily strapped herself in as they were approved to go in.”

When they landed, Mary patted her on the back and congratulated her on the landing. Then she ordered the girls to stay on the ship while they sold off some of the things they’d picked up and stock up on supplies. Zari and Lily could practically say the speech with her now, but never knew why they had to stay aboard. Mary never disclosed the details.

“Lily,” Zari said, turning to her friend as they watched the rest of the Ravagers leave. “I want a ship.”

“Me too. But ships cost money.”

“Then let’s start saving credits.”

~~~

“Hey, Zari?”

Zari had nearly been about to drift off to sleep when she heard Lily’s voice. “Hm? Everything okay?”

“Yeah…I just want to say something.”

“Do I need to turn on the light for this?” Zari asked, pulling off her covers. It would be easy to get to the lights now that she was on the bottom bunk. Lily had wanted to switch a few months ago and Zari was happy to have her feet on the floor without having to jump down.

“No, you don’t have to. But I want to tell you something now before I chicken out.”

“Lily, you’re scaring me.”

“No, no, no! I’m fine. It’s just, um, I don’t like men. I…like women.”

“Oh,” Zari blinked. “Okay.”

“You knew?”

“Not quite,” Zari didn’t exactly lie. She had noticed that Lily always blushed more around aliens who identified as female than she did with males. “Had a feeling but I didn’t want to assume. So I figured I’d wait until you said something before I did.”

“What do you mean?”

Now it was her turn. Zari inhaled and braced herself. “I like women too. And men. Women more though.”

“That’s great!”

“Yeah,” Zari nodded. “I don’t know I would have figured it out if I was still on Terra. I didn’t know you could even like women. When I did, I figured it was either one or the other. And then we kept growing up and seeing more and learning more and…it hit me a year or two ago. But I didn’t know if I could tell you.”

Lily’s head appeared upside down from the bunk. “Why not?”

“I was afraid that if I did, I would lose you.”

“You wouldn’t. And you won’t. You’ll never lose me, Z. It’s like you always tell me. Us against the universe.”

“Us against the universe,” Zari repeated. “Star Lady and Cosmonaut stay together, no matter what.”

~~~

Zari fell back as the fist crunched against her nose. “Ow!”

“Take that, Terran- hey!”

Lily had jumped on the new girl’s back and drove her elbow into her shoulder blade. While the two fought, Zari, wiped the blood away with the back of her hand and swung her fist at her. It connected with the other girl’s eye, toppling her and Lily back. Zari was ready to go at her again before she looked up.

“Uh-oh.”

“I should say,” Mary snarled, looking down at the three of them. “I thought I told you two to teach Eve about taking inventory.”

Lily scrambled away from Eve. “She called us stupid Terrans.”

“She did.”

Eve scoffed and crossed her arms. “They are.”

“You’re one to talk. I pulled you out of that cesspool of a town and I can easily put you back there. You respect everyone on this crew, no matter from where they came from.”

Eve scowled and picked herself off the floor.

“And you two…”

Zari grimaced as Mary turned to her and Lily. “You’re old enough to know better. Both of you are. You need to show her the way. There’s still time for the crew to taste Terran.”

She’d been using that threat for years. Zari and Lily knew she’d never see it through, but they had been kidnapped from Terra nearly ten years ago. They were stuck with the Ravagers, even though they were working to get a ship and fly away from the Ravagers. Still, they’d make it out one of these days and explore the galaxy.

“What’s she mean by ‘taste Terran’?” Eve asked after Mary stalked out of the room.

“If we don’t do as she says, she’ll kill us and feed us to the crew for dinner,” Lily explained. “Probably in a stew. It’s easier to hide whatever meat is in there that day. Everyone on the Refuge could eat us and then realize afterwards we weren’t there.”

Eve wrinkled her nose. “I don’t eat meat.”

“Then we can count on you not eating us,” Zari nodded. “Now let’s just finish this inventory so we don’t have to stay in the same room for much longer.”

~~~

“You’re really trusting us to run our own job?”

Mary nodded. “You’re old enough, Zari. You can fly a ship, hack any system, and you and Lily are a good team. I trust you to do this without getting yourself killed.”

Zari nodded eagerly. This was their chance to finally escape the Ravagers. Lily was looking over at her, not saying a peep but no doubt having the same thoughts run through her mind.

“I’m still sending you with two other Ravagers,” Mary continued. “Back-up. I don’t want to lose my best thieves.”

Zari felt her heart sink a little. They wanted a clean escape. She and Lily could fight, but they didn’t want to get freedom that way. Maybe the Ravagers weren’t the best people morally, but they had been family for the last thirteen years.

“Can Eve come?” Lily asked.

If they got Eve to come, then that could help. They were on better terms with her now. She also didn’t mind getting her hands dirty if it came to it.

Mary shook her head. “I’m still teaching that girl how to fly. She’s staying around. So what are you thinking of taking?”

“We need to take a moment to do some research on what we can take,” Lily spoke up. “Right, Zari?”

“Right. Thank you for this opportunity. We’ll get back to you on what we’ll take.”

The two left the cockpit and headed to their room.

“We’re so close,” Lily sighed. “If Mary didn’t have us being supervised still, we could make our break.”

“I know,” Zari nodded, brushing loose strands of her hair back. She’d let Lily cut it short this time. When she grew it out long, she was going to keep it that way again. “How much do we have right now?”

Lily opened Zari’s old backpack where they were keeping the credits. “Probably enough for an engine and some controls.”

Zari pursued her lips. Still a long way to go. “We just need to keep saving up.”

“Yeah. Do you think Mary will pick which ship we can use?”

“If we can, we have to pick the Waverider. That’s the best one.”

~~~

              Their first solo theft was a success. Mary even let them keep a share of the profits of the refined metal they stole from an Almeracian ship. She started trusting them to run more operations on their own for the Ravagers. Unfortunately, they were always supervised by at least two Ravagers that were supposed to serve as ‘muscle’. Zari just saw them as glorified babysitters.

              Years kept on passing for the two girls. Even though more of their lives had been lived in space than on Terra, their home planet was not forgotten by Zari nor Lily. They still held onto their traditions or what they remembered of them, celebrating holidays and birthdays according to their Terran calendar. Everything from Zari’s backpack was around the room they shared, remnants of their culture reminding them where they came from. But they celebrated other festivals on different planets that held significance to their lives now. Space was as much as home as Terra had been.

              Zari wondered about her family back there. At this point, Behrad was older than she had been when the Ravagers picked her and Lily up. Did her parents think she’d run away from home or that someone had taken her and Lily? Did they still remember her at all? And what about Lily’s mother? What became of her- losing her husband and daughter on the same day?

“Zari?” Lily peeked her head up from the floor. “Hey, Zari?”

Zari looked down at Lily’s grease-streaked face. “Huh?”

“I asked if you’d pass me the wrench. The little one?”

Zari found what she was looking for and handed it over. “Do you ever wonder about your mom?”

Lily stared stonily before shifting her eyes down and ducking beneath the floorboards to use the wrench. “Sometimes. I don’t like to.”

“How come?”

“Because the last thing I said to her was that I hated her. I wish I could have done something different that day.”

Zari thought back to how eager she’d been to leave the house to be with her friend and not stay around her brother. “I do too.”

~~~

Zari sat upside down on the bench, tapping her foot against the wall. Lily was pacing.

“Mary isn’t going to be happy with us,” her friend finally stated.

“You think?” Zari asked, picking at the hole in the pocket of her pants. “Here I thought she’d be pleased we got arrested!”

“It wasn’t just because of me.”

“Okay, Lily. But you’re not totally innocent.”

“Because the Infernian fled! He tried to drug us!”

“So you punched him?”

“Because he was trying it on another girl. When I stopped him, he punched me first! And then you joined in.”

“I’d say sorry, but I wouldn’t be sincere about it,” Zari admitted, examining the burns across her knuckles. “He was disgusting to Eve. I would do it again. But at least she made it out.”

Lily finally took a seat next to her. About time, since she’d been pacing for at least twenty minutes. “Do you think she told Mary?”

“Stein, Tarazi!” a guard came in with a key.

“Actually, she’s Star Lady and I’m Cosmonaut,” Lily piped up with a grin.

The guard rolled his eyes and unlocked their cell. “You’re free to go.”

Zari swung her legs down so she could stand upright. “Say what now?”

“Nova Corp took a look at it, and they’re after the guy now,” the guard told them. “But you’re still in our systems. Next offense and your stay here will be longer.”

“Thank you,” Zari smiled as she exited the cell with Lily. “We wouldn’t dream of causing any more trouble.”

Lily raised an eyebrow, but waited until they were outside before saying more. “We wouldn’t dream of causing any more trouble?”

“I might have thought the rest to myself. We wouldn’t dream of causing any more trouble and then get caught by the Nova Corp.”

“Good idea on not saying the rest. Now let’s go find Mary and make up a reason for why we didn’t make it back last night.”

~~~

“Tarazi!”

Zari quickly stowed the credits she’d been counting under her bunk and ran to the door, meeting Mary just in time. “Hey there.”

“I heard you didn’t bring in anything on the last assignment.”

“It’s true,” Zari crossed her arms, staring Mary down. “I gave it away.”

“You did what? I know I’ve taught you better than that. We’re Ravagers-”

“There were kids,” Zari’s voice broke. “They had children in captivity. Apparently, they were planning to sell them off to the high and mighty of the galaxy as servants. More like slaves. So I backed out of taking the haul for us. Eve, Lily, and I set the kids free. We gave them the credits we were taking and got them to ships. We left a beacon for Nova Corp to find them and get them home.”

Mary tilted her head. “So your plan that took a week just got thrown to the wind because of some children.”

“I won’t ignore a crying child.”

Mary was silent for the longest moment before nodding. “Did the children get picked up by Nova Corp?”

Zari nodded.

“Good. But you’re going to have to make up for those lost credits.”

“And I will.”

Mary walked off and Zari exhaled, shutting the door.

Lily sat up from her bed. “Are we getting closer to our own ship?”

“More than halfway there. But we might have to lose some of it to make up for giving the kids the credits.”

“That’s okay. The universe might have taken this round financially, but we win morally.”

Zari smiled to herself. “I hacked into the Nova Corp when we got back. They found the kids’ families or ones that will take the orphans. We did a good thing.”

~~~

“Well then, Star Queen and Cosmos again?”

“Star-Lady,” Zari grumbled as she and Lily sat in front of the desk of the Nova Corp officer.

“And it’s Cosmonaut,” Lily mumbled, trying to move her hands up to wipe the blood from her cheek.

“Eh, you’re still officially Tarazi and Stein in here. So what was it this time?”

“Mine,” Lily raised a hand. “My date was not who she said she was.”

“And I had to help her out. So I followed her to where they were holding her and set her free. Yes, there was some fighting, but we didn’t know there was flammable material.”

“And no one died. That’s important.”

Zari nodded. “She’s right, no one did die. Just a few minor burns.”

The officer groaned. “This is the third time I’ve seen you this cycle.”

“Did you miss us?”

“No. You’re about to lose a bunch of credits for bail.”

Zari’s shoulders slumped. They had to get better at dealing with their money.

~~~

              The Dominators had invaded Terra. It was buzzing all across the galaxy. Zari didn’t think it was a coincidence that she grounded the Refuge when they first got the reports. Someone had managed to get footage of what was happening on the planet. Lily and Zari watched together, wondering about their families again.

              But there were people fighting back. Mostly a bunch of people in colorful costumes. A beautiful woman with dark hair with a hammer used lightning to fight back. A robot flew around sending energy blasts out while another with pale skin and white hair frozen them solid on the streets. Two archers fought from above and on the ground. The most surprising to both of them was a woman dressed like Captain America, who Zari remembered hearing about in a book when she was in school.

              Then it all ended. The Dominators all collapsed dead on the streets. Their hive had been hit and severed their links, rendering every single one lifeless. A whole species gone in an instant. Even if they had been warriors used for muscle, it still chilled Zari. If something ever happened to Terra and everyone died, it would truly be them against the universe.

“It’s still there though,” Lily said that night. “Terra. We can go back one day.”

“One day,” Zari agreed.

They just needed more credits.

~~~

              The banner was silver and blue, rippling in the wind in front of the museum. Zari stopped and looked up at it. When she and Lily had been younger, Mary or someone else had taken them to museums on other planets. Part of it was teaching observation with some light pickpocketing, but it also served an education purpose. As a result, Zari knew about most of the habitable planets along with some dead ones. She had never heard of Morag before, but what was the harm in asking about it.

“Hey,” she greeted someone who looked official when she walked in. “You’ve got a banner out about an exhibit on Morag. What’s that?”

The alien smiled, her three eyes focusing on Zari. “Most people haven’t. It was once home to an advanced civilization before global warming wiped the whole planet out thousands of years ago. The only people who really know about it are archaeologists. With the artifacts we’ve found, we figure we can teach people about the influences they gave to the galaxy as well as a warning about the fragility of the environment.”

“Artifacts?” Zari asked.

“Mostly tools, a few books, and remnants of a temple. We sent a team to search for the Orb, but the water levels were too high. Now we’re trying to raise money for a recovery of it since the water levels lowered.”

“What’s the Orb?”

“No one knows,” the alien smiled dreamily. “From what we’ve recovered, it was an object of great power. Too much power, according to some texts. The inhabitants of Morag built a temple to guard it from those who might try and steal it for their own selfish purposes. After the planet flooded, the temple became inaccessible with the increased water levels.”

Zari frowned. “I thought you said the water levels were lower and you could recover it.”

“The seas lower every couple hundred years. This might be our only chance in my lifetime to retrieve it if we get enough funds. If we do, people will come from all across the galaxy for it.”

“So it’s a pretty big deal?”

“Extremely.”

              Zari thanked her and headed out of the museum. If this Orb could bring people across galaxies to see it, then it had to be worth a lot. She and Lily could get it, sell it off for money or give it to the museum for a reward. But they would definitely get a lot of money out of it. It would likely be enough to buy their own ship and leave the Ravagers. They could do everything they planned, including Terra.

She set out to find Lily, thankfully finding her coming out of their favorite fence’s office. “Hey!”

“Hey, yourself!” Lily laughed. “Guess who just got us another hundred credits.”

“You didn’t sell Beebo, did you.”

Lily put a hand to her chest in mock offense. “I wouldn’t dare!”

“Good, because I’ve got an idea of a new job.”

[straykidsscribbles]

Slowly, Suddenly, and then All at Once

So, it’s here. The elusive CEO AU has made an appearance, after quite a lot of waiting. I’m so sorry it took so long, and thank you for waiting so patiently. 

See my masterlist for my other work!

Special thanks to @kim-squishmin for proofreading, especially seeing as I have yet to learn the meaning of the word concise.

Word count: 6840

This vlive had such CEO Chan vibes I can’t

You pulled your knees up to your chest, snuggling into the blanket in front of you and the person next to you.

“You lot are way too nosy aren’t you? Well, if you must know, I’ll tell you the story of how we stopped hating each other and became your unofficial parents. But I’m warning you, no interruptions, otherwise the story ends.”

Eight heads nodded at you, and you began your tale. “It all started back when we were in college.”

---

I pulled my bag closer to myself and craned my neck to see through the crowd. I just want to see the test scores, and then I can go home and sleep. Slowly, I managed to get close enough to read the list posted on the classroom door.

Where am I… I scanned the page, going up from the bottom. Not here, no, not even by the tenth score. Wait. Is that my ID? I let out a small gasp, as I saw my ID code at the top of the list.

I’d set the curve for our first midterm. Well, that just means a lot to live up to now.

“Hey, Chan, you almost set the curve for this test. Pity you didn’t make it!” A tall boy with blond hair nudged his friend.

“Yeah, it sucks. But I mean, with the curve and all I still did okay. I wonder which crazy nerd managed such a high score.”

I felt a small needle of rage prick my insides. I had worked hard for that grade, I’d studied for three days, made study guides, and even done about half the practice problems the professor had given out. I had earned that grade through effort. Who was that upstart little twat who thought just because he got beaten by a few points?

“Excuse me.” My voice was as icy as I could make it. “Instead of complaining about people who got better scores than you, maybe you could actually try studying a little harder next time.”

“No one asked you.” The boy sounded defensive. “Unless you’re the one who managed that score? What did you do, live in the library?”

“Fuck. You.” I twisted on my heel and stormed away, feet tapping out an irate staccato on the pavement. He wants to play that game? Fine. I’m never letting him beat me on anything.

Unfortunately, that didn’t exactly work out for me. Bang Chan, as I soon learned, was about as brilliant as I was, and pretty hard working as well. We fought for top class rank, top test scores, valedictorian, you name it.

And if you think I let any of those go easily, well, you don’t know me.

Suffice it to say, Bang Chan and I were enemies. We hated each other, and that would never change. We hated each other through our masters degrees, and then even as we worked our way up the ranks of the same company. That chip on my shoulder would always be there.

I am not one to just give in and lose.

---

This is it! I bet the board will finally tell us who’s going to be the next CEO! I slipped inside the board room and went to my normal seat, throwing the usual glare at Chan, who was seated opposite me. If he ends up as CEO, I think I might quit.

“Alright, Ms. _____, Mr. Bang. We, the board of directors, have finally come to a decision. Seeing as our company has been growing at such an astronomical rate, we have to acknowledge that both of you have brought unprecedented success to this company. In light of that, we will be declaring both of you as joint CEOs of the company, effective immediately.”

My jaw dropped. “I’m sorry, sir, did you just say joint CEOs?”

“Joint? No one has joint CEOs now!” Chan’s indignance was clearly audible.

“Both of you, control yourselves! There are plenty of companies with more than one CEO, just look at Oracle or Samsung! Now then. You will be moving to the offices on the chief executive floor, and you’ll be working together to make this company even more successful. You’re both dismissed!” The board representative was clearly very irritated. Best not push it.

“Yes sir.” The two of us chorused in unison. We then glared at each other as we moved towards the door. Chan got there first, and held it for the board members as they exited the room.

I made it a point to go through the other door. I'm not being petty… okay maybe I sort of am.

Just outside my own office, Chan stopped me with a hand on my elbow. “Wait. Look. If we want this whole thing to work, all we have to do is split up the work between us. That way we don’t have to talk, and any interaction between us can be limited.”

“Fine by me. The less I have to spend with a blundering baboon, the better.”

“Oh like you’re much better with your holier-than-thou attitude and your-”

“Come in then. Let’s get this over with.” I shoved my door open, taking out my remaining frustration on the slab of wood. I sat down in my chair, and Chan loomed behind my shoulder. Pulling out a pad, I began listing duties, and we argued for the next hour over who would be doing what.

Still, I think I came out slightly on the upper hand. I got most of the things I wanted, and Chan has to deal with the lawyers, which is definitely a good thing.

Now all I had to do was do my job so well that I’d get another promotion, and Chan would get demoted to an underling’s position.

Oh, and move offices.

---

“Oh wow, this place looks so much more open without those awful dark curtains!” I exclaimed, balancing the box of files on my hip as I entered the main office area.

“Wait, will we have to share the floor? How long would it take to set up walls in here so I don’t have to see her irritating face all the time?” He’s right. We’d be sharing the huge office space. I mean I get that this would work, with CEOs who actually tolerated each other, but us? No. Thank. You.

“We will not be setting up walls, you’ll just have to work like this. We need to present a united front to any potential investors.” The board executive’s secretary, a bored looking young man, rolled his eyes. “Just have your desks facing away from each other and it’ll work.”

“Fine.” “Fine.”

I dumped the files on one desk, pulling out the chair and flopping onto it. This is going to be exhausting. Why do we have to be joint CEOs?

Chan flopped into the other chair, throwing his legs up on the desk. “You know what. We’re now CEOs, we just got promoted. I am taking the day off to celebrate. Bye Ms. ____, Mr. Kim.” He waved and got up, throwing his suit jacket over one shoulder.

Can he even do that? I wondered as I tucked the last set of files into the cabinet next to my desk. “Have someone finish alphabetizing these. I have personal business I need to attend to as well.” I grabbed my own coat and headed towards the elevator. If he gets the day off, so do I.

---

“Can you believe his nerve? The bastard actually had the nerve to go and just walk out of our office!” I yelled through the phone at my brother, Hyunjin. “He literally walked in, dumped his stuff on the table, and waltzed out the door.”

“And so you just left too?”

“Well yeah, I wasn’t going to stay and do work when he wasn’t. It’s not fair and also as CEO, I now have underlings to do that sort of stuff for me.”

“Don’t come and complain to me then if you end up with all of your stuff misplaced and your papers not organized the way you like them.”

“Hyunjin no one asked you for this kind of slander.”

“It’s not slander you’re the pickiest person ever! You literally alphabetize your bookshelves.”

“IN OTHER NEWS, how is your latest interior design project going?” I rolled my eyes. He has plenty of quirks himself, I don’t need to listen to this.

“Pretty well actually. I found this photographer the other day, and his night photos look so beautiful. They’ll be perfect for the new apartment buildings. He’s actually a photographer for one of the newspapers but he dabbles in artsy photos and so I’m glad I discovered him.” I smiled to myself as I poured myself a cup of tea. Jinnie might be a little crazy and annoying, but I love listening to him talk about his work. It’s nice to see him happy.

Settling into my chair with tea in hand and a stack of books nearby, I left the phone on speaker. Hyunjin would ramble, I would read, and we could enjoy our time together even if we weren’t in the same city. After all, that’s what siblings were for.

---

The next morning, I quickly got ready and headed downtown towards the office buildings. Even the prospect of dealing with Chan could dampen my spirits; a cinnamon roll and coffee for breakfast had already begun the day on a high note. After all, how could a day with cinnamon rolls be sad?

I entered the lobby of the building, heels making sharp clicking noises on the hardwood floor, bag swinging from my fingertips despite its weight. There was something to be said about nice shoes on a good day. They just made things better. I waved to the receptionist and headed towards the elevator, rolling my eyes at the two or three interns huddled in a corner who were giggling at- who else -Chan.

The elevator doors closed, and we slowly headed up, stopping every so often to let other people get off. There were about ten floors to go, and now it was just Chan and me in the elevator. Ugh this is so awkward. Is this how it’s going to be all the time in our office? He’s annoying and a brat but I don’t want work to always be this awkward. Still, I’m not making the first overtures. He started this, he can apologize first.

Then, a loud creak came from outside the elevator. Scrchhhhhhhhhhhhh, went the mechanism pulling us up.

And then, the elevator stopped.

Another slightly ominous creak emanated from right outside the doors, and then- silence. Utter silence.

Chan pressed the buttons on the elevator panel, trying to get the elevator to start working.

Nothing happened.

“Let me see.” I came over to the panel and pressed a few buttons too.

Dead silence.

“Okay, let me try the fire alarm? Maybe the speaker thing works?” He pressed the red button and again, nothing happened.

I took out my phone, only to find a lovely ‘NO SERVICE’ staring up at me from the top of the screen. “I don’t have service, do you?”

“Nope. Wait. Today they had scheduled maintenance for the elevators! We’re stuck here.”

“Why today of all days?” I leaned against one of the walls. And getting stuck with him? Fantastic.

“Great.” Chan rolled his eyes and dropped his laptop bag on the floor before sitting down himself. “This is just wonderful.”

“You’re telling me? Our first day as CEOs and we get stuck in the blasted elevator.” I’m not standing here, in these shoes, for who knows how long. Might as well sit down too. I thumped down next to him, stretching my legs out and crossing my ankles.

“Of all the people really, I had to get stuck with you? Why is my luck always this bad?” Chan seemed to be talking to himself, but I couldn’t let such an insult pass unchallenged.

“Okay, seriously what is your issue?” I snapped, turning to face him. “Literally from the second we met you’ve been nothing but insulting. At best you’ve been passive at times; but you aren’t even civil. Why do you hate me so much?”

“I don’t hate you exactly… It’s just…” he looked down. Could I have somehow managed to reduce the irrepressible Bang Chan to speechlessness?

“Just. What.” I demanded flatly.  We’re going to be trapped here for the next few hours, why shouldn’t we get this out of the way now.

“You’re intimidating? And I put my foot in my mouth the first day we met and that was sort of bad. And then you clearly hated me after that so it was just easier to hate you too.” The words came spilling out, seemingly against his will. I’m intimidating? Really?

“Well, I was hurt afterwards, but I should have given you a chance to apologize. And I shouldn’t have been so mean afterwards… Besides you're more intimidating than me! I'm tiny, I don't know how you think I'm scary. I mean- You can’t say I’m blameless in this I’ve been pretty rude to you over the years too.”

“Yeah. I guess we both were hurt and we took it out on each other.”

“Your insults are pretty creative you know Chan. I don’t think anyone else has called me a jellyfish flavored popsicle.”

“I think your best one was ‘I’d rather get stuck in an elevator for four hours than spend another minute in your presence.’”

“That certainly played out well. Way to tempt fate, past me.” I sighed and leaned my head against the wall. “How long do you think we’ll be stuck here?”

“Depends? I mean I heard someone say that it took five hours once, but we’re the CEOs, people should miss us right?” He scratched the back of his head. “It’s been what, five minutes? I’m borreeeedddddddd, _____.”

I think that’s the first time he’s called me by my name without any sort of secondary inflection behind it. It’s… sort of nice actually. He has a nice voice. “Wait, do you have your laptop?” I asked suddenly.

“Yeah? I have it with me. But it won’t last very long, I was working late last night and I forgot to charge it afterwards.”

“Darn. I guess we could share mine then? We could watch a movie or something on Netflix?” I reached over to my bag and slid the thin silver laptop out. “Any preferences?”

“Wow, you’re letting me choose? Really?” His voice was higher pitched when he was excited.

“Don’t get too happy, it’s a one time thing. But yeah, go ahead.” I opened Netflix, moving the cursor to the search bar.

“Actually, could we just watch Daredevil? You have it on your recently watched, what episode are you on?” He leaned closer to me and pointed to the icon.

“Oh, I only just finished the first season. Is that okay?” He nodded, and so we settled in with the laptop in my lap, shoulders just touching.

About two and half episodes later, there was a sudden crank and the elevator started to move upward once more. The doors slid open and our secretaries slowly peered around the edge of the door. Are they trying to see if we killed each other? I wondered. Chan stood up and held out his hand to help me up as well.

“Wait… are they touching? And not in a passive aggressive annoying poking or death by handshake way?” My secretary whispered.

“I think they are… this is so weird. Quick pinch me, maybe I’m just dreaming,” muttered Chan’s secretary.

Chan rolled his eyes and stepped into our office. “Honestly, we weren’t going to kill each other. We just talked for a little while.”

I smirked over at the two gaping secretaries. “When you think about it, we really do have a lot in common you know.” We walked towards our desks, sitting down and beginning our work.

“I think we broke them.” Chan whispered as he wheeled his chair a little closer to me.

“There’s no think about it Chan, we definitely did.” Maybe things will be better now.

I think I’ll quite like being friends with him.

---

“_____, I’m boreeeeeeedddddddddddd.” Chan whined as he rolled his office chair towards my side of the room. He slid next to me and caught sight of my computer screen before I could close the window I had open.

“Wait. Are you playing card games online? Really. Card games? Online? When you have a perfectly good me to play with?” He grabbed my hand and yanked my chair towards him. Pulling out a deck of cards, he quickly dealt for a game of Go Fish.

Which turned into three games. Which turned into five. Which turned into us taking a half day to deal with the stress.

We played Go Fish, War, Rummy, and even attempted a round of online poker… which we lost.

We couldn’t be good at everything after all.

But at the back of my mind, I couldn’t help but wonder why on earth we hadn’t done this before. Why hadn’t we tried to get along before? We could have had years of just messing around together.

Almost as if he could hear my thoughts, Chan spoke as he was shuffling the cards. “I’m glad we decided to make up. Better late than never, right?”

“Yeah. Better late than never.”

---

“You look nice sis!” came Hyunjin’s voice from the phone speaker. I was trying to frantically get ready for the annual corporate party and I had called Hyunjin for some moral support as I prepared. This year would be the first where I would be giving a speech, and I was both excited and terribly nervous.

I adjusted the curls that were falling out of my up-do and fixed my skirt. Company colors… is that too much of an overkill? But they do look nice…. Blue looks good no matter what, and it ‘ll be good to match the branding.

“Okay, I’m ready. I’ll text you when I get back home okay? Don’t stay up too late!” I called into the phone as I reached for my shoes.

“Don’t mind me, I have color palettes to look at anyways. Are we still on for the movie next weekend?”

“Yup! I’ll arrive on Friday night hopefully. Bye!” I hung up, grabbed my purse and keys, and headed out the door. Show time. Better get used to this speaking business, it’s your new lot in life as CEO _____.

The drive passed in a flash, and soon I was pulling up to the hotel doors, where the party was being held. I handed the car keys to the valet and clicked nervously up the steps to the doorway. Breathe, in, out, this is just another party. You’ve done plenty of these, all you have to do differently is speak at this one.

Straightening my spine, I walked in the double doors. Almost immediately I was swept away by one of the board members.

“____, this lovely lady is the head of the regional bank! Mrs. Lee was just telling me how they were considering investing in the company, do you mind giving her more details? I must go find my wife, she wanted to bid on one of the charity auction items.” He walked off, leaving me in the company of an older woman with steel gray hair and a sharp smile. Her eyes were hard but intelligent; clearly, this was a woman who’d worked her way up in the bank as well.

“How can I help you Mrs. Lee?” I asked, turning fully towards her. A new banking partner would be wonderful for the company, especially as we were dealing with a great deal of financial expansion. Let’s hope this works…

As we were talking, I heard soft giggles coming from behind me. There were a few interns, probably here for their first corporate party, standing in the corner and staring openly at Chan, who was talking to an older gentleman with a cane in one hand. I rolled my eyes. Some things never change. Those look like the same idiots that were giggling in the lobby earlier. Honestly why are people such idiots?

I finished up the conversation and handed Mrs. Lee a business card, asking her to stop by my office any time. Now then,  to deal with those imbeciles. They’re ridiculously loud and they are being completely unprofessional.

As I walked over to their corner, I noticed Chan approaching them too, from the other side. Good. If both of us tell them off, they can’t do anything.

“Excuse me, do you three mind? This is a corporate occasion, and you should be acting with a little more decorum than you are currently.” My voice was scathingly cold.

“We were just admiring Mr. Bang. That’s not a crime, is it?” One of them blinked innocently at me, but I was having none of it.

“I don’t care what you were doing. You were all loud enough to be heard a good twenty feet away, and this is not the time for you to be behaving in such an unprofessional manner. You may be young and inexperienced, but that’s no excuse at all.”

Just then, Chan came up behind me, sliding an arm around my waist. What is he doing? We’re barely friends at the moment WHAT DOES HE THINK HE’S PLAYING AT?” I turned to look at him, eyes already narrowed sharply.

“If you all could just please keep it down?” He asked, smiling at them. “You’re being terribly disruptive to everyone here.”

One of the girls, the most brazen of the lot, opened her mouth. “Oh, Mr. Bang, is she your date? You guys are matching.” Fuck he’s wearing company colors too. We had to have the same outfit ideas great this is wonderful.

I was just about to protest, but Chan cut in. “Yes actually, she is. So… if you could excuse us?” He maneuvered me away from them, and shook his head when I turned towards him, ready to ask just what he was playing at.

Behind us, I could just make out the tail end of their conversation. “Well, I wonder if the other CEO is here too? Maybe we could get them to go out with us.”

Chan took me into a side room, and immediately dropped his arm from around my waist. “Okay before you say anything, those interns have been basically following me around for the past three days. They’re all freakishly persistent, and I just needed an out please help me? Please, ____ I’ll buy you expensive chocolate too.”

“You do realize they’ll notice when we’re back at work right?”

“But tonight they’re being especially persistent. They were following me ____. Following me.” He pouted sadly at me, and I figured I had to take pity on him. He looked miserable.

“Okay then. Come on. As it is, we were supposed to sit together for the dinner anyways. Are you speaking before or after me?” I pinched the bridge of my nose. “Also, we should probably look into getting them assigned to the mail room or have them sorting through databases or just something mind numbingly boring as punishment for making both of us uncomfortable.”

“I’m speaking right before you. And thank you. Really. I was so sick of them… Hopefully this works.”

We wandered for the next hour or so, making small talk and just generally networking. All the while I could feel my nerves getting worse and worse. I’m going to talk in front of so many people what if I mess up what if I forget what if I just stand there and blank. My mind just kept running a loop of bad scenarios- the worst things that could happen.

Then. Show time.

I slipped into my chair as Chan walked up onto the small raised stage at one end. He spoke for a good five minutes, yet I heard absolutely none of it. See, he’d done a speech last year, as his pet project was one of the main expansions of the company at the time. He had at least some experience.

Oh. He’s waving me up. Okay. Let’s go. I slowly left my seat, focusing on just getting up there and not tripping over any of the speaker cables on the floor.

Five minutes of insane courage. Five minutes. You can do this. I shuffled the index cards I’d hidden in my clutch and gripped them tightly. “Good evening everyone, thank you so much for coming out here. It’s my pleasure to be welcoming you as one of your new CEOs. Chan and I have great plans for the company, and we hope we’ll be able to take the company to new heights.” I steadied myself with another deep breath and continued on, discussing the vision I had for the company and what new ideas we would be trying to implement for the next few years.

All too soon, it was done. I smiled, introduced the board president, and left the stage, tottering back to my seat on wobbly yet satisfied legs.

“You were fine, well done love.” Chan whispered into my ear as I sat down next to him.

“You did well too, thanks Chan. I’m just glad its over and done with.”

It didn’t register until I got home that he’d called me love. And I’d liked it quite a bit.

---

“So. Chan asked you to fake being his date, and called you love, and you matched, however accidentally, and you didn’t collapse after your first speech in front of the whole company. Well done ____ you’re alive!” Hyunjin threw a pillow at me. “Why are you so good at overthinking stuff?”

“Jinnie shut up you’re being mean! It was scary and there were loads of people and you know I’m still not used to it. I guess the only thing that was funny was seeing those interns’ faces when they saw I was the other CEO. One of them actually had his mouth wide open in shock it was glorious.”

“You know what _____ you seem to be enjoying yourself aren't you? And things seem to be better now that you and Chan are getting along.”

“True.” I pushed a lock of hair behind my ear. “Work is definitely a lot more fun. Last week we actually were both so sick of finance reports that we ended up just playing cards the entire afternoon.”

“Did you win?” Hyunjin’s eyes were wide with humor. “If you lost you better have milked it for all it was worth.”

“I lost a couple games… and maybe Chan owes me expensive chocolate now… maybe. But I'm admitting to nothing.” I smiled into my tea cup.

“Look at you you're actually smiling like an idiot just thinking about him. You know I had no idea I was getting a new brother in law so soon. You're still having me as your man of honor right?” He winked at me cockily, referencing our childhood agreement. As tiny children we had decided that if we ever got married we would be each other's best maid/ man of honor. I should have known that would come back to bite me. Why did he automatically jump to marriage I don't even like him like that. We're friends. That's all. Though… I mean Chan is sort of handsome. And smart. And clever. And he has a great sense of humor.

“Shut up Jinnie I don't like him like that. We are barely friends.”

“Last year you said that if you had to choose between kissing a frog and shaking hands with Chan you'd kiss the frog. And now you're blushing just thinking about him.”

“Drink your tea before I throw it in your face.” Hyunjin just rolled his eyes and got up, picking up a sofa pillow.

“You have three seconds to run before this turns into a pillow war.” His voice was completely deadpan but the grin on his face said otherwise. I just reached for a pillow of my own and attacked back in turn.

Sometimes all you needed was a pillow fight with your brother to get rid of annoying, hallucinatory, and clearly false thoughts about a certain CEO.

That night though, I slept fitfully. All I could picture were chocolatey eyes and dark hair that curled softly in the heat of the banquet hall and a soft voice comforting me.

Okay so maybe Hyunjin wasn't totally wrong. Maybe there is something going on here. It's just a crush though. I'll get over it soon. Bet it'll be gone in a week, I told myself.

---

Two weeks later, I was clearly rethinking said earlier idea. My little crush hadn't abated; in fact it had just gotten stronger. I spent most of my time burying myself in paperwork so that I would be able to avoid Chan’s friendly overtures.  

It wasn’t working.

He. was. just. so. persistent. He brought me coffee one night when we both stayed at the office until 2 am, he wouldn’t stop thanking me the day I got takeout sandwiches for both of us at lunch.

How on earth was anyone to get a grip if there was literally no respite from his charm?

I was in the middle of looking over the latest deal with a new company that was trying to expand into a more international area when Chan’s voice broke into my thoughts.

“Hey, _____, do you like rap?” The question was a bit out of the blue. That’s an… odd question to ask?

“I mean, I do like it I suppose? Why do you ask?” I turned in my swivel chair to face him.

“Well… you see, a couple of my friends and I sometimes have little rap gigs at this one club near by? I was wondering if you’d be interested in coming to watch us perform.” His voice was a little higher than normal, almost as though he was… nervous?

“I- I’d love to come! When is it? Should I bring anything with me?” I hope I don’t sound like some sort of idiotic ditz.

“Our next show is this weekend actually, on Saturday. I’ll text you the address later, yeah?”

I nodded softly, and we both turned back to our desks. But at the back of my mind I couldn’t stop thinking about this new information.

Chan raps? Since when? I had no idea! Does he mean this as a date thing? Or is it just a “hi, let’s be friends” thing? I’m overthinking it, he’s just being friendly and trying to get to know me outside of work.

Enough wishful thinking, _____. Get a grip.

---

That Saturday, in the back of the club, Changbin and Jisung were treated to a very interesting spectacle.

The Irrepressible Bang Chan, CB97, CEO of a major company and a respected musician and producer, was pacing their dressing room with one of the worst cases of pre-performance stage fright nerves ever.

Pacing. Wringing his hands. Frowning. Mumbling to himself. Turning right before he hit the wall only to almost trip over a chair and wipe out on the floor.

“Channie-hyung, this is weird. Normally Jisungie is the one freaking out like this?” Changbin raised one eyebrow at Chan. “What’s going on?”

Jisung just smirked happily. “I know why he’s panicking~” he said in a very smug, singsong tone.

“Jisung you will keep your mouth shut if you want me to buy you cheesecake any time in the next week.” Chan’s voice was tight with nerves.

“I’ll buy you cheesecake every day for the next two weeks.”

“Done. Channie-hyung’s flustered because _____ is coming tonight.”

“Ohhh that makes sense don’t worry we’ll put on a great show for your girlfriend!” Changbin waggled his eyebrows at Chan, who just flopped into a chair and thumped his head on the table.

“She’s not my girlfriend, she’s the other CEO at work, and we literally started getting along like a month ago so you can shut it.”

“Wait isn’t she the one you used to complain about to Woojin basically every day when we were in college?”

“You know what Jisung? Your cheesecake privileges and your Jeongin privileges are gone. You aren’t allowed to talk to my son anymore.”

“I thought we were your sons too!”

The room devolved into chaos, and a makeup brush and some cords were thrown back and forth. But somehow Chan’s heart felt a little lighter after his friends’ gentle teasing.

They’d always be there for him. Even if he managed to completely ruin this. Which was looking more and more likely by the second.

---

I slipped inside the club after showing my ID to the bouncer. It looks pretty packed. Oh, yay, corner table! I sat down and ordered Coca Cola, not wanting to risk getting anything strong.

A few minutes passed and I was well settled in, facing the stage.

A spotlight turned on, and three boys stood, clustered in the middle of the stage. Chan stood in the middle, wearing baggy sweats and a t-shirt, his hair tousled lightly. The other two boys were dressed similarly as well.

The music began, and they started whispering amongst themselves. “Hey look over there, she’s pretty!”

“Where? Where?”

“In the gray, over there.” To my surprise, one of the boys next to Chan pointed right at me.

The boy who had pointed looked oddly familiar. Is he one of Hyunjin’s friends? I think he is. He began rapping, sticking to a soft slow rhythm. He had on a flannel and what appeared to be oversized boots with the laces wrapped multiple times around his ankles. His voice was sweet and sort of lazy sounding, like he was trying to lure you in with his words.

The music changed, and all three spoke at once. “Wow, oh man, she’s hot.” I raised both eyebrows, shocked a little at the directness of the song. Well, they certainly weren’t messing around were they?

The first boy continued for a little longer, then the one on the other side of the stage continued. “With a smirk I suddenly enter / I’m sorry sorry you’re already hit on and deflated.” His rap was more nasal sounding and faster, clearly distinct from the first boy’s style. He wore all black and a baseball cap pulled low over his eyes; he held his mic close to his lips with one finger over his lips. “There’s nothing to be envious about” he finished, and they began the chorus again. This time the audience laughed along with them and sang a few of the words with them. Clearly, this was a pretty popular song for them.

Then, Chan started rapping. His voice was softer than the previous boy’s, and it sounded incredibly good. I can’t believe he never said anything about this! He should have mentioned something, he’s amazing. I let the words wash over me, just listening to the music.

Suddenly, his voice broke into my thoughts. “I’m just a nice guy with a lot of money”

My head snapped up, eyes widening. Did he just say he has a lot of money? Who writes these lyrics? Wow Chan I get that you’re a CEO and all, but this is a touch blunt.

His eyes swept over the crowd, meeting mine just as he said “Let me take you to a restaurant.”

I couldn’t stop the blush that erupted across my face.

He kept going, and my blush just got darker and darker. I had to fight the urge to hide my face in my hands. His eyes were locked with mine as he rapped.

I barely heard the end of the song.

As the applause began, the three of them bowed to the crowd.

“Hey guys, we’re 3RACHA! I’m CB97, this is J.One, and this is SpearB.” The other two bowed and waved in turn. “We hope you guys enjoy the show! This next song is called Hoodie Season.”

This time a drum beat opened the song and I could stop myself from nodding along to it. This is really catchy. They’re so good, I wish I’d heard them before!  But are they actually talking about their love for a hoodie? Can’t say I blame them.

The night went on for a while like that. They performed a few more songs and then bowed their way off the stage to thunderous applause and cheering from a few somewhat crazy looking boys in one corner of the club.

I swirled my Coca Cola in its bottle, staring into the brown whirlpool it formed. What on earth did Chan mean by inviting me and then literally staring at me when saying things like “Hey baby I’ll make you my lover / I’m thankful that I’m warm in the fall / I’ll hug you wherever I go.” Is he just going along with the lyrics?

Just then, Chan slid into the chair opposite me. “So. _____. How was it?” To my surprise, he actually looked a little nervous, as though he was unsure of my response.

“You were amazing! I can’t believe you’ve been hiding that skill for so long! You’re a really good rapper and your vocals are so smooth.” I couldn’t stop myself from gushing after seeing the enormous grin that spread across his face as I spoke.

“I’m glad you liked it.”

“How could I not? I’m only sad I didn’t get to hear you sooner. Though you have no idea what you’ve unleashed, now I’ll be asking you to sing all the time at the office.”

“Well, with such a lovely audience, how could I ever refuse?” He winked at me, and I felt my cheeks heating up again.

A small gurgle sounded, and to my surprise, Chan’s ears got a little red as well. “Ah… after a performance we normally get pretty hungry.”

“Well, CB97, how about I take you to a restaurant?” Where is this confidence coming from ABORT ABORT.

“After you then, my lady.” He held out his hand for me and I took it, wrapping my fingers around his.

We stepped outside, a wall of cold air hitting us as we left the warm club. Turning down a couple of sidestreets, we entered a chicken shop that was open late on weekends.

“Order what you want, I said I was treating you!” I mock glared at him as he tried to pull out his wallet. He complained but ordered anyways, and we settled into a booth to eat the chicken happily.

We didn’t speak much while we ate; Chan was clearly quite hungry. After our meal Chan insisted on walking me back home before heading to his apartment.

I invited him in to warm up for a bit before heading back home, and he came in willingly. I made green tea for us both and was just about to turn off the kettle when Chan came into the kitchenette.

“_____, I sort of have a confession to make. I invited you to see our performance because I really wanted to impress you.” He took a deep breath and, forestalling anything I could say in return, spoke. “I like you. A lot. I understand if you don’t really like me in that way, I mean we only just became friends recently, but I would like to be more.”

My mouth dropped open. “You- you actually like me? I thought you were just trying to be friendly this whole time. I like you too Chan, I mean how could I not? You’re really sweet, talented, and I mean… after tonight’s thing I’m not entirely sure I’m worthy of you.”

“I’ll be the judge of that.” He moved closer and pulled me into a hug, wrapping his arms around my waist.

The kettle puffed away behind us, forgotten.

Chan went home that night a little bit giddy. I lay awake in bed going over the night’s events in my head.

Who would have thought after the worst first impression in history we would end up… dating I guess?

---

“And that’s how we got together. Happy now? Curiosity sated?” you asked as you finished your tale, sipping water from the glass in front of you. After that long story, your throat was dry from talking so much.

Chan poked you in the ribs gently. “So you started to fall for me at the party? I was way before you I was crushing on you by the time we were trapped in the elevator together.” He leaned over and hugged you tightly, nuzzling into your neck.

“Ewwwwww! Affection! That’s it, I’m out!” yelled Jeongin and Seungmin as they jumped up from the floor where they had been listening to your story.

You rolled your eyes. They did ask for the story didn’t they? Whatever.

And you snuggled closer into Chan’s arms.

[muwi-translates]

木の葉隠れの陣 謙信&佐助V.S.顕如&蘭丸～フリースタイル忍者バトル～

Ikemen Sengoku Drama CD 4: Hidden Battle in the Foliage, Kenshin & Sasuke VS Kennyo & Ranmaru ~Freestyle Ninja Battle~ Part Two

Part One **Please don’t move this translation or claim it as your own.**

Requested and links courtesy of @nyktoon-ikemenlove!

Note: I will mainly be focusing on the Chinese subtitles, with light cross-referencing of the Japanese, since the former is the one I’m more comfortable working with. There may be some slight differences between the languages, but the general story should be the same. Enjoy!

Note 2: Sasuke uses a lot of English-loan words, and to not make things so confusing, I have italicized them. You’ll be able to hear them, of course!

Sasuke: Now then, let’s begin the Freestyle Ninja Battle.

Ranmaru: ‘Fu- furisutairu? Ba-batoru?’

Sasuke: It’s a style of competition where we have the highest degree of freedom, and mutually display our ninja arts, where the winner is the one who is capable of showing the highest degree of ability. The judging can go to Kenshin-sama and Kennyo-san.

Kennyo: But then Kenshin can pick you, and I can pick Ranmaru.

Sasuke: When it comes to determining victors, Kenshin-sama is a fair person. And I believe Kennyo-san is also that kind of person.

Kennyo: Don’t overestimate me. I am a demon that lives for revenge...

Ranmaru: Isn’t that a given? Kennyo-sama is just and upright, and also compassionate.

Kennyo: Ranmaru. Don’t interrupt when people are speaking.

Ranmaru: Sorry...

Kenshin: If you’re done boasting, hurry up and start.

(0:52)

Sasuke: Yes. Then, I will begin first. First... (heh and hah noises)

Kennyo: Oh, he can walk and scatter caltrops at the same time. I see he is a nimble one.

Ranmaru: He~eh, he’s not bad.

Sasuke: From walking caltrops to running caltrops.

Kenshin: Hoh, he’s accelerating.

Sasuke: And here, I turn! Triple axel caltrops!

Ranmaru: He rotated and scattered the caltrops?!

Sasuke: Now... moonwalk caltrops. 

Kennyo: What a strange way of walking. He pretends to be walking forward, but is actually walking backwards...

Sasuke: Ina bauer [1]... um, caltrops.. 

Ranmaru: What an amazing arch, his body is pretty flexible!

Kenshin: Just then... did he almost forget the two words he put in front of ‘caltrop’?

Sasuke: And then, somersault caltrops!

Kennyo: A somersault technique, I’m surprised he didn’t lose consciousness.

Ranmaru: That being said, he scattered so many, the fact that he hasn’t step on any is a bit amazing.

Kenshin: However, just being able to scatter caltrops cannot be the key point to determining the victor.

Sasuke: You are too naive, Kenshin-sama. The path of the ninja... begins with the caltrop, and ends with the caltrop. Am I right, Ranmaru-kun?

Ranmaru: Eh? I- Is that so? Anyhow, I felt Sasuke-dono’s mysterious passion for caltrops!

Sasuke: The one who controls caltrops can say they have controlled the way of the ninja. Besides, I did not just scatter them about. Please take a look at the ground.

Kenshin: This is... He wrote something out of caltrops?!

Ranmaru: What? You’re lying!

Sasuke: It’s decided. Ultra C [2].

(2:49)

Kennyo: What did he write? ‘I...’

Kenshin: ‘...love...’

Ranmaru: ‘...you’? ‘I love you’?

Sasuke: If you use this skill when you’re confessing to the person you like, I guarantee you will be able to put on a good show.

Kennyo: But I feel like the chances of the other person feeling bewildered is quite high.

Sasuke: That’s strange. If I was being confessed to, I would give them a high mark.

(3:16)

Ranmaru: That said, does Sasuke-dono have a girl he likes?

Sasuke: That’s...

Ranmaru: That’s...?

Sasuke: A secret.

Ranmaru: If it’s a secret then there is someone! You were definitely thinking about your special girl just then, right?

Kenshin: Oi, Sasuke. The woman you were just thinking about... is it that one who’s your friend?

Sasuke: My friend? I don’t know who you’re referring to.

Kenshin: Don’t play dumb. The woman who smiles carefreely, in Azuchi.

Kennyo: Azuchi... perhaps it is that girl. Indeed, her smile is carefree. Perhaps you can also say pure...

Ranmaru: Kennyo-sama, do you know her?

Kennyo: Yes. She’s a strange girl.

Ranmaru: Hm~ if Kennyo-sama says it like that... I want to see that girl too!

Kenshin: No. A suspicious brat with doubtful origins like yourself should get lost.

Ranmaru: Even if you say that~ Kenshin-sama and that girl don’t have any relations either.

Kenshin: Sasuke’s part is over. If you don’t hurry up and start, I will forcibly give this competition a victor.

Ranmaru: Gyaah! Scary~ don’t do that!

Kenshin: I don’t believe this ninja has the qualifications of a victor. Just let me-!

Ranmaru: Ha! You shouldn’t underestimate me. Ninja don’t just merely rely on strength to battle.

Kenshin: Hoh, what an impertinent mouth. So this is your true self.

Sasuke: That cunning behaviour... it’s to throw off his opponent!

Kennyo: No, this is just his hobby. Probably.

Sasuke: ... Hobby.

(5:00)

Ranmaru: Alright! I’ll give it all I’ve got and show you my ninja arts! Ninja Arts~ The Art of Sexual Appeal! [3] 

Sasuke: !! His hair unraveled!

Kenshin: It’s getting harder and harder to tell if he’s a man or a woman.

Ranmaru / Orchid: My name is ‘Oran’ (Orchid) [4]. I live in the small village nearby, I got lost in the woods when I came out to buy things... I’m scared that wild beasts might come out... Look, my leg is shaking... look here ♡

Sasuke: A high level technique in which you roll up the hem of your clothes to let your legs become visible! This is the Art of Sexual Appeal...

Kenshin: When his opponent is looking down, he uses that split second to approach and dispatch them!

Kennyo: It appears no matter happens you can always think in such a dangerous direction.

Ranmaru / Orchid: Um... can you... hold my hand? If you do that, then I won’t be scared anymore.

Kenshin: This time, he’s planning on closing the distance between him and his opponent, and taking his hand to limit his movements before killing him in one strike.

Sasuke: It really is a dangerous way of thinking. Well, as an assassination method, it does have its effectiveness.

Ranmaru / Orchid: Eh? What kind of men do I like? Those kind of things... Orchid doesn’t quite know yet... Buuut~ if I must say, it would have to be a person who warmly and cutely adores me! Just like... you. Aha~ If you want to, we can go to a place where the two of us can be alone together. And slowly~ talk a bit~?

Kenshin: If this is a man with poor taste, these sweet words are enough for him to take the bait.

Kennyo: To have even the woman-hating Kenshin’s approval, then Ranmaru’s Art of Sexual Appeal is worthy of evaluation. Aside from the ridiculous name.

Ranmaru: After all, to be a ninja, it’s important that you need to sometimes know how to win the enemy over and infiltrate to get information.

Kenshin: I only said my general thoughts. You won’t find a weak man who becomes careless when a woman greets him in my Uesugi troop.

Ranmaru: Is that so? If the girl Kenshin-dono likes came to greet you, would you not become careless? Likeeeee, the girl we were talking about?

Kenshin: Why are we talking about her again?

Ranmaru: Who knows? But I was just thinking, if you don’t have any relations to her, your reaction is pretty excessive!

Sasuke: Even though I won’t deny it. But that sentence, I feel like that can also be asked at Kennyo-san.

Kennyo: !!

Ranmaru: Ah. He wavered a bit. I’m becoming more and more interested in this person!

Kennyo: I did not waver.

(7:49)

Kenshin: I don’t know why but I am starting to feel excessively unpleasant. I really feel like cutting down everyone here.

Sasuke: Aaah, that’s bad. Let’s go back to what we were talking about. Winning over the enemy also counts as a ninja art. It was perfect with no blind spots.

Ranmaru: Sasuke-dono probably can’t do it. Sasuke-dono is, how to say it, expressionless.

Sasuke: Mm. But I think my emotions are plentiful.

Kennyo: It is utterly impossible to see.

Kenshin: A ninja art where you smile happily at the opponent is not something my ninja needs. However, someone who cannot beat a ninja like that is also unforgiveable. Sasuke. Smile for me. It’s an order.

Sasuke: Kenshin-sama. I believe that even if it wasn’t me, with you pointing that sword, the amount of people who can smile right now is quite small.

Kennyo: However, Sarutobi Sasuke needs to show the God of War that he is not just an expressionless man, and that he is also a man who is hard for Ranmaru for win over.

Ranmaru: Really? Kennyo-sama! Which side are you on?

Kennyo: Didn’t you say that I was going to be fair? However, finding a winner among these two ninjas with different directions is going to be difficult.

Kenshin: Not to mention it was a boring competition. If you don’t show me more exciting ninja arts, you won’t move my heart.

Sasuke: An exciting ninja art... huh.

[1] Ina bauer - an ice-skating move. Imagine Sasuke doing this.

[2] Ultra C - originated from the Japanese Olympics gymnastic team in 1968, it;s a colloquial term for one’s trump card, or to do something that goes beyond the ‘best score’.

[3] Art of Sexual Appeal - a Naruto parody, I suppose?

[4] Oran - comes from the first word of Ranmaru’s name, meaning Orchid. ‘O’ is polite suffix.

This was really fun! I’ve never actually done this long of an audio translation before but I really enjoyed it ;v; I’d actually like to do the ones that haven’t been done in the series if there are subtitles!

[thebuckybrigade]

Healing Hands Part 3

At first you didn’t know why you had awoken, you only knew that your instincts were screaming that something was wrong. Adrenaline throbbed through your body with each beat of your heart and as you sat up slowly in bed, you heard the soft, but distinct sound of footsteps on your wood flooring. 

In a beat you were rolling over to open the gun safe beside your bed, not needing to check to know the Beretta was loaded. Gently, you slid from bed, feet barely a whisper against the floor as you crept towards the door to try and hear better. 

Whoever it was in your apartment, they were stealthy, you had to give them that. You could barely hear their steps, and it was only the creak of the floorboard outside your door that gave away their position. 

“I think you should know before you come any further, I’m armed and I won’t hesitate to shoot,” you called, loud enough for whoever was on the other side of the door to hear. 

There was a long moment of silence and then whoever it was, started firing. The cheap plywood door shattered under the assault, debris flying past your face as you took cover behind your dresser. 

The remains of the door crashed against the wall and a large masked figure stalked in, Desert Eagle in hand. 

Jesus that’s a huge fuckin gun you thought wildly as the man glanced around the room, searching for you. Leaning around the edge of the dresser you lined up your shot and fired, nailing him in the thigh and then the left foot. 

With a scream he went down, firing wildly. Swearing, you ducked behind the dresser and then sprinted out, kicking the gun from his hand as you held him at gunpoint. 

His chest rose and fell rapidly as blood seeped out from his thigh wound and you glared down at him. “Who the fuck are you?” you demanded, growing even more annoyed when he refused to answer. 

His gaze from beneath the mask flickered over your shoulder and you almost didn’t turn, but there was a soft sound from behind you, and your instincts screamed once more. 

Turning, you had a split second before you saw the butt of the gun coming towards your face and then there was just pain splitting through your skull and a ringing in your head you couldn’t shake. 

Distantly you could hear the men talking, and when you managed to open your eyes for a moment, you saw another masked figure dragging the injured man out the front door. 

The pain in your skull throbbed harder, and darkness rushed up around the edges to consume you. 

“Doc, Doc, come on, wake up darlin.”

The deep velvety voice was familiar, but you hadn’t heard the urgency in it before, and a frown furrowed your brow as you tried to figure out why. 

“Doc, you need to open those eyes for me, come on now.”

Cable, it was Cable...you recognized that voice. 

“Nate,” you rasped, eyes fluttering open. You smiled faintly at the slightly haggard and craggy visage above you and then winced as pain shot through your skull.   

“Easy darlin, easy,” Nate urged, a large hand covering your shoulder and keeping you on the ground with very little effort. “What happened?” he asked, glancing around at the damage to your bedroom. 

Frowning, you peered around too and then it all came back in a rush. “Someone--two men, broke in. They shot through the door and I-I got a drop on one, shot him in the thigh and foot so I could question him, but his partner pistol whipped me,” you told him, voice raspy. 

Nate looked around, left eye glowing as he assessed the damage. His jaw hardened as he turned back to look at you, “Did they take anything?” he asked gruffly. 

Shaking your head faintly, you winced at the pain and sat up a little, trying to peer around. It didn’t seem like it...

“I don’t think so.” A thought occurred to you and you grabbed Nate’s arm, fingers tightening around his firm muscles. “What about the police?” you demanded worriedly. 

“I got the shots fired notification for your address, we hacked their system to make it look like someone had already responded. They won’t be coming,” Nate told you firmly. 

You weren’t sure if that made you feel better or worse. 

Nate’s gaze softened as it landed on you once more and one of his hands lifted, his knuckles brushing against your cheek for a moment before it shifted and his thumb was swiping delicately over your brow, a sharp pain following the touch. 

When he pulled his thumb away it was coated in red, and you stared at it in surprise. Nate stared at it for a moment and then sighed heavily, shaking his head as he leaned over you and lifted you into his arms. 

Squeaking in surprise, you tried to slap his shoulder but instead just clung to it while your head throbbed. 

“What am I gonna do with you, huh doc?” he asked softly, and you could have sworn there was affection in his voice as he carried you to your bed, but maybe that was just the concussion...

“You don’t have to carry me,” you protested tiredly, though it was somewhat futile, your eyes were already beginning to close again, and the sick sensation in your head was exhausting. 

“Mmmhmm, well, I don’t think you’re quite up to walking yet doc,” he replied softly, his voice a low purr in your ear. A moment later you were lowered to your bed, the sheets pulled up around you and when you opened your eyes, you found Nate peering at you with a soft expression on his face. 

His lips pulled into what you thought was a smile and he held out a couple of pills and a glass of water. “Here you go doc. Drink up,” he encouraged, his hand coming up to guide you up so you could swallow the pills and drain the glass. 

As you sank back down to the pillows you felt his hand rest on the top of your head, “Get some rest doc, I’ll keep watch,” he assured you, voice warm. 

Nodding loosely, you smiled faintly up at him, eyes already falling closed. “Thanks Nate,” you whispered. 

It took two days before you could get out of bed without your head spinning in a sickening manner. Two days in which Nate slept on your couch, made sure you were eating, repaired your door, and changed the bandage on your split brow. 

He had even called out of work for you, explaining that he was your boyfriend, taking care of you while you suffered through a stomach bug. Apparently everyone at work was so shocked by the idea that you had a boyfriend, they hadn’t questioned anything. 

On this, the third day, Nate was sitting on the couch beside you, cleaning his frankly impressive array of guns while you watched from the corner of your eye as a cooking show marathoned in the background. 

It wasn’t that you didn’t like guns--you had been in the military after all--it was just, some of Nate’s guns could vaporize people, and well, it was weird. Plus you were pretty sure you had seen one of the firing pins fly across the table and into his palm. 

What was that about? 

More than a little bored out of your mind, you turned to watch him fully, not caring that it was probably rude, or that you were staring at his muscles as he worked because really, it was ridiculous how good looking Nate was. 

If he wasn’t married with a kid--from the future so they didn’t even exist yet--your brain naggingly insisted, you would have been all over him. He never talked about the family he had lost and he didn’t like to talk about how he had stayed behind to help Wade, but he also didn’t seem to regret his choices when you had asked him about what had happened to keep him here. 

He had also been taking care of you for three days without argument or complain, and in fact, had seemed to relax around you more than you had seen him do in the past. 

He had made you meals, perfected your tea, watched House Hunters without complaint (though his muttered commentary about the unrealistic expectations of international buyers never failed to make you laugh), and even helped to fold laundry. 

Watching his large, muscular hands fit the delicate pieces of his guns together into large cohesive wholes sent a weird thrill through you, along with the urge to have his hands on you instead of the guns. 

“Hey Nate,” you murmured carefully, smiling when he looked up at you questioningly. His eyes were warm when they met yours and a hint of a smile played at his firm mouth. 

“Would you rub my head like you did the other day? I have a headache again,” you lied, brow furrowing to sell the story. Nate studied you for a moment, a faint glow emanating from his left eye before he nodded slowly and finished assembling the gun. 

As he set the weapon aside you shifted on the couch and sidled back until his thigh pressed into your lower back. Crossing your legs, you reached up and tugged your hair from its tie, letting the thick brown waves fall around your shoulders. 

You could hear his breathing as he shifted behind you and then, his fingers were working into your hair, pressing into your scalp, and a soft moan was slipping from you.

It wouldn’t be a lie to say that Nate had incredible hands. Whether they were killing, cooking, or massaging, you happened to like them a lot. If you were slightly distracted by the ideas of what else they could do, well...no one could really blame you for that, could they?

What little tension there was in your body slowly slipped away under Nate’s touch and you dropped your head forward a little, moaning as his hands found knots in your neck and shoulders. 

“Ahhh that’s amazing Nate,” you breathed, a tiny whimper escaping you at the intensity of the muscles releasing. It was like pain so sweet it was blissful. Like a bruise you kept poking or a Charlie horse releasing, it hurt so good. 

Nate made a soft sound from behind you and his hands gradually stilled. “Uh, all good?” he asked, sounding uncertain. 

Half turning to smile at him, you nodded lazily. “So good. You should do that all the time, you’ve got a gift,” you told him warmly. 

His lips quirked and a smile crept onto them, chasing away the hard lines of his face. “My wife used to tell me she thought I musta been a masseuse in another life,” he agreed softly. 

“She was right,” you agreed, smiling warmly, “But, why don’t you let me return the favor? You’ve been taking care of me so much, I should at least do that much as a thank you,” you reasoned, watching as his face closed off with a wary set to his jaw. 

“No thanks darlin, I’ve gotta finish cleaning these,” he muttered, turning away to focus his attention on the weapons once more. The rejection stung more than you cared to admit, but instead of saying anything else, you rose from the couch, left him to clean his guns, and went to shower. 

Flipping on your favorite playlist of sultry songs, you blasted the music while you sang along under the shower, making a plan in your head to finally seduce Nate. When you had shaved, shampooed and rinsed off, you shut the water off and stepped out to slather on lotion scented with amber and sandalwood. 

Tying your robe closed, you went to your dresser and stared into its depths, frowning at the scant lingerie inside. You had seen Nate stare at your breasts a few times since you had stitched him up in the hospital bathroom, and had even felt what could have been an erection when you had been sitting practically in his lap this week getting one of his signature massages. 

Each time you had been in sweatpants and a tshirt and you had to wonder if maybe simple was better for Nate. With a sigh, you reached for a pair of ice blue lace underwear and a matching bra. 

It was simple, light material that you could see your nipples through, and if you played this right, just might end up on your bedroom floor courtesy of those hands you had been fantasizing about for months. 

Slipping the garments on, you once more tied the silky robe around yourself and fluffed your wet hair before peering into your mirror and grinning. Your brow would need a new bandage, and well, now was the perfect time. 

Strolling out as casually as you could manage, you watched as Nate’s shoulders stiffened slightly at the sound of your approach. “Hey Nate, can you change the bandage on my brow? I’d appreciate it,” you murmured as you rounded the end of the couch, drawing his gaze up. 

His eyes widened in shock and you could see his pupils expanding as his gaze ran over your body, the robe barely concealing your form or the lingerie beneath it. His hands closed convulsively around the gun parts in his hands and you could hear the protesting squeal of metal from his left hand as the gun was slowly crushed. 

“Nate?” you murmured, lifting a brow and waving a hand in his face, “Earth to Nate?”

He huffed out a growl and nodded, looking away hastily. Smirking, you sank down on the couch beside him once more and handed over the bandage, turning your chin so your hair fell to the side, and coincidentally, so did the shoulder of your robe. 

The strap of your bra was exposed, along with a good swath of skin, and you could hear Nate’s sharp inhale before he muttered, “Jesus Christ.” His hands remained steady as he applied the bandage, though his gaze remained firmly above the neck. 

When he had finished you smile sweetly and leaned in, taking him by surprise with a kiss to the cheek. “Thank you for taking care of me Nate. I hope I haven’t been too much trouble,” you murmured in a soft, sultry voice. 

He let out a choked laugh and shook his head, a thick strand of his hair falling forward into his eyes and when you reached forward to push it back, his gaze rose to meet yours once more. 

“What’re you doing darlin?” he asked gruffly, shaking his head, “You don’t want an old man like me.”

Smirking, you lifted a brow, “Oh? Because I’m pretty sure I do,” you replied firmly, rising up on your knees as your hands went to the tie of your robe. Nate’s gaze was dark and hungry as you undid it and let the silky fabric slide from your body, leaving you exposed before him. 

“I’m pretty sure I’ve wanted you since I started to get to know you at the hospital,” you told him softly, standing up slowly, his gaze steady, watching your limbs unfold from the couch. 

“I’m pretty sure I’ve been flirting with you for months, and I think you’ve noticed,” you said with a wry smirk, stepping sideways until you could step forward between his spread legs. 

Stepping forward until there was nowhere else for you to go but into his lap, your grin faded and you stared at him seriously. “I’m pretty sure that you want me as much as I want you,” you murmured, slowly sinking down onto his lap. 

Nate stared up at you with wide, dark eyes, hands at his sides rising to slide up your thighs slowly. A shiver ran over your skin and his gaze sharpened at your reaction. 

One of his hands slid up your back and into your damp hair, holding you in place as he sat up, mouth just a breath from yours. His eyes were steady on yours as he whispered, “You’re playing with fire darlin.”

“Good,” you hissed, grabbing fistfuls of his shirt to pull him closer, “Because it’s been burning me alive, this desire for you,” you whispered. 

Nate growled and smashed his mouth against yours. It was a bruising, all consuming kiss that stole the very breath from your lungs as it seared itself into your skin’s memory. Moaning into the kiss, your hands slid up from his chest to furrow through his silver black hair, mouth hungry against his. 

His taste was intoxicating, and when you nipped at his lower lip and heard him groan, you decided it was the most beautiful sound you had ever heard. Digging your nails into his scalp, you sucked his lower lip between your teeth and flicked your tongue against it, reveling in his groan. 

Rolling your hips against his, you moaned deep in your throat to feel his thick erection beneath you. Tearing your mouth away from his, you seared kisses down his jaw and over his throat, sucking mark after mark onto his skin in a show of possession that came from your very soul. 

Nate moaned as your teeth closed on the skin just above where the metal began and you pulled back slightly, “Did that hurt?” you asked worriedly. His hands tightened on your hips as a negative sound came from his throat. 

“It’s good,” he panted, rolling his hips into yours to provide proof of his point. 

With a hum, you licked over the spot and made a soft noise at the taste of his skin. Slightly metallic, salty from leftover sweat, and deliciously warm. Your teeth closed around part of his metal flesh and your tongue laved against it, eliciting a low, rumbling moan from Nate. 

Your hips were grinding together in a mimicry of what was to come, and you could feel his breathing grow slowly unsteady. Sliding out of his lap, you sank to your knees between his legs and smirked up at him as you undid the belt on his canvas pants, palming his cock as you went. 

Nate rumbled out a groan, arching into the touch. 

Sliding his pants down his thighs a little, you let out a tiny choked noise of delight when you saw he was going commando. His cock was thick, and long, with a veiny underside that you couldn’t wait to run your tongue over. 

Wasting little time, you leaned in and slipped his fat heat past your lips, opening wider as he slipped deeper into your mouth. Your jaw ached a little, but you didn’t mind, not with his cock finally in your figurative grasp. 

Nate moaned brokenly, hips jutting up and you groaned as the thick head of it hit the back of your throat. Sucking on him as you pulled back, you pumped the base of the shaft as your tongue traced every vein and thick ridge of skin. 

“Fuck! Oh god, yea, just like that!” 

You hummed happily as Nate growled out compliments, his metal fingers twining in your hair and tugging faintly. The tang of pre cum flavored your tongue and you lifted your head to suck eagerly at the tip, flicking your tongue along the weeping slit. 

Nate’s hips jerked in response, a string of expletives coming from him that slowly grew louder and less coherent as you continued to suck him off. 

“Fuck! I’m gonna...darlin!” he shouted, trying to give you warning, but you didn’t stop, instead you sucked and licked harder at the sensitive area around his foreskin until he was shouting your name and coming in hot waves down your throat. 

You swallowed him eagerly, licking his cock clean until with a shudder, he gently pulled your head away with a faint grimace. “Gimme a minute darlin, I aint as young as I once was,” he joked, a smile coming to his lips as you rose up to kiss him, neither of you caring that you had just swallowed down his cum. 

Rising to your feet, you held out a hand to him, pulling him up so you could fix his pants and lead him back to your bedroom. Pushing him down onto the mattress, you leaned over him and pulled his clothes off, a small groan of delight coming from deep in your throat at the sight of his naked body. 

His cock was still half hard, lying against his thigh, but you left it be for the moment. Instead, you straddled his waist, peering down at him lustfully. “I’m going to sit on your face and you’re going to eat me out, sound good?” you murmured, grinning when he nodded eagerly, hands pulling on your hips. 

Rising up, you slid forward until your knees were on either side of his head and your lace covered pussy was over his mouth. His dark eyes met yours as his fingers spread over your ass, tugging on the material as he asked, “You want these off?” 

Shaking your head, you grinned, “Consider it a challenge,” you murmured, though he could probably smell your arousal, and see it on the light colored material. Nate just grinned and tugged on your hips, pulling you down until his hot breath hit your pussy. 

His mouth went to work, sucking your pussy lips into his mouth, dragging them past the fabric of your lingerie as he slid his tongue up and over it, soaking the material slowly. 

Heat had already been building in your cunt, a slow, steady ache that was only continuing to grow as his mouth devoured you. His fingers dug into the flesh of your ass, pulling you so close you distantly worried about him suffocating. 

He didn’t seem to mind though. 

No, he seemed entirely focused. 

Nate’s teeth tugged on the fabric of the lingerie so his tongue could slide past it and fuck into your cunt, the material restricting his movement, but still, it was...delicious. 

Your back arched into the sensation as tiny ripples of pleasure built within you, spreading outwards. Palming your breasts, you rolled the nipples between your fingers, whining softly at the achy pleasure radiating with each touch. 

Switching to light circles of your nipples with your thumb, you breathed unsteadily as Nate licked up, tongue flicking over your still cloth covered clit. It wasn’t enough, not yet. 

Abandoning one breast, you reached down and tugged aside the fabric, too eager to have his mouth on you properly to care about the challenge you had set him. To Nate’s credit, he didn’t argue, just put his talented tongue to work. 

He switched between rapid flicks and slow, hard laves, alternating between the two styles to keep you from falling over the edge. You gasped and moaned loudly as your peak grew closer once more, only to have it fall away as his tongue moved away for a moment, letting some of the tension break. 

“Nate, ohhhh, fuck! Stop...fucking around!” you demanded heatedly. You could feel his laughter against you before he shifted and sucked your clit between his teeth, the sharp edges catching and sending you careening over the cliff. 

“FUCK! Ahhh, Ahhh, oh GOD!” you cried as he continued to suck, your cries growing louder as two of his fingers suddenly slid into you, curling and finding that sensitive spot within you with unnerving accuracy. 

Shudder after shudder ran through your cunt, waves of release too powerful for you to even attempt to fight. You could feel it coating your thighs and heard how wet it sounded as his fingers fucked into you and god, it just made you hungry for his cock. 

When the last of the shudders had run over your body, you rose up unsteadily and slithered down Nate’s body, mouth covering his in long, lingering kisses. His hands went to work, unhooking and tugging off your bra, sliding off your soaked underwear and tossing the balled up fabric over the edge of the bed. 

Fisting a hand in his hair again, you kissed him harder as your hips sought out his cock, a low groan wrenching from both of you as your slick pussy slid along his hard length. 

Nate rolled his hips and you reached down to align his thick cock, sitting up so you could watch. Your chest heaved as you sank down slowly, the wide head of his cock stretching open your cunt, making room for the rest of him. 

You watched in fascination as your pussy lips spread around him, your cunt swallowing him slowly, that familiar ache still burning in your belly. 

“Fuck Nate,” you moaned, reaching down to touch the part of his shaft not inside you, your gaze dazed as it met his, “You’re so fucking thick,” you told him breathlessly. 

His jaw was tight as he nodded, both his hands were gripping your hips tightly and you knew he was holding himself back from plunging deeper. As you took the last of him in, you moaned and rocked, a shiver running over your spine as his cock pushed deep within you. 

Slowly you rolled your hips, riding him. Nate growled your name desperately, fingers nearly bruising on your skin, but you didn’t care. His cock was filling you so well, and the only thing you wanted was to feel every inch of it as you fucked him. 

Sweat broke out on your brow as you rode him, your pace increasing gradually. Your hands found purchase on Nate’s chest, fingers curling into flesh and metal alike as your hips rolled into his. 

“Fuck, Nate, god, I can’t...” you slurred, unable to form a coherent thought. 

“Yea darling...it good?” he asked, panting as he thrust harder into you. 

Nodding, you moaned and leaned forward to kiss him unevenly, a gasp falling from your lips at the change in angle. “Ahhh! Oh...fuck me from behind,” you gasped out the order, and Nate groaned, eagerly complying. 

Rolling you under him, he slid free from your cunt with a groan, shifting so you could roll to your belly beneath him. His large hands grasped your hips and pulled until you were up on your knees with your forehead resting on your arms. 

Sliding his cock between your pussy lips slowly, Nate groaned at the wetness coating him. Each pass had his wide head nudging against your clit so your hips jutted back, not so silently asking for him to be inside you. 

“Nate, please, I need you inside me,” you gasped. 

“I got you darlin,” he promised, running a soothing hand over your back. His metal fingers curled through your hair and he leaned forward as he thrust into you, sliding deeper than before. 

His lips found the nape of your neck as his hips ground into you, pressing his cock even deeper and a feral cry of pleasure ripped from your throat at the sensation. 

“You want me to fuck you good darlin?” he growled in your ear, hips snapping into yours for a deep, hard thrust that sent a bolt of pleasure up your spine.  

“You want me to make you come so hard you can’t walk?” he demanded breathlessly, fucking you harder, faster. 

You nodded unevenly, “Please Nate, please, please,” you moaned, fingers curling into the sheets as he pounded into you. 

“You gonna scream my name when you come on my cock?” he demanded, squeezing your hip before he reached under you to find your clit and pinch it. Ecstasy so sharp it bordered on pain rolled through you and you wailed as your cunt throbbed around his cock. 

Nate growled and thrust into you harder, still rubbing at your clit. “Yea darlin, you hear that?” he demanded, “your cunt is soaked for me,” he gasped, “all for me.”

“Yes, yes, yes,” you moaned in agreement, shudders still running over your body. You couldn’t think, couldn’t breathe, could only feel, and it was glorious.

“Fuck, give it to me,” you gasped, arching back as Nate pushed at your back, making you arch even deeper. A high whine slid from your throat as his cock began slamming into your gspot, over and over and over again, each slide of it against your cunt eliciting a moaned expletive. 

“I’m gonna come!” you rasped, words garbled slightly by your dry throat. Nate growled his approval and pinched your clit between two fingers as he thrust into you, his shouts of your name ringing in your ears. 

Your cunt trembled and then spasmed; hot waves of release rushing through you as his cock continued to pound into you. A sharp cry broke in your throat as his cock slammed into you, prolonging and spawning new waves of release until your cunt was to tight it was like a vise around him. 

Nate growled and curled over you, his teeth closing around your neck in a sharp line of pain that blended seamlessly with the pleasure consuming you. His gasp of your name in your ear sent another shiver over your skin, and you moaned as you felt him coming deep inside you. 

His chest was pressed to your back and you could feel his heart pounding as you both collapsed to the bed, his weight more reassuring than crushing. Eventually though he rolled off you and you turned your face toward him, a lazy smile on your lips. 

“Pretty good work for an old man,” you teased. “I definitely can’t walk,” you admitted, still feeling residual shivers run over your body. 

Nate, to your surprise, smiled. It was wide and genuine and he reached out to trace the ridges of your spine, watching the trail of his fingers. “Glad to be of service darlin,” he murmured, eyes wary when they met yours. 

Frowning, you rolled to him, pinning him down against your mattress with your upper body. “Service? Nate, I wanted you because I like you. Because I want you,” you told him firmly. “This wasn’t an itch to scratch or some booty call.”

His brows furrowed at the unfamiliar terminology for a moment before he gazed at you curiously. “Yea?”

Smiling softly, you shook your head as you leaned in to kiss him, soft and slow and sweet. 

“Yea Nathan Summers. So unless you have plans, I’m kinda hoping you’ll stick around,” you murmured against his lips, brow quirking in question. 

Nate smiled slowly, hand tangling in the mess of your hair, the other pressing to the small of your back. 

“Course darlin. Can’t argue with those healin hands of yours,” he murmured before kissing you softly. 

Smirking at him as you pulled back, you lifted a brow, “Healing hands?”

He nodded, a warm light coming to his eyes, “Sure thing. Healin my damaged, broken ass aint easy, but you’re putting the pieces together. Don’t deserve it, that’s for damn sure, but I aint gonna say no, not when it feels this good,” he admitted. 

You stared down at him, wide eyed and emotional, trying not to cry. Leaning in, you kissed him, harder this time. Nate grunted in surprise and kissed you back, holding you close. 

“You aren’t the only one with damaged pieces Nate. You’re doing your own bit of healing here too,” you admitted, kissing him again. 

And maybe that’s what you were for each other; broken and damaged pieces of a puzzle that didn’t make sense to others, but together, you found the right connections, coming into something that resembled a whole picture. 

Smiling against his lips, you kissed him more firmly. 

You liked the picture that was forming. 

I DID IT Y’ALL. I WROTE DIS BITCH. God...it was so hard! And I don’t even know why?!? lol I really hope you enjoyed it, I tried to make it fluffy at the end, and I think it came together okay. Let me know what you think!! Another HumpDay update will be out on Wednesday, since I’m not doing shit on July 4th. 

xoxo

@queenropagrim @sarasxe @bringmetoawonderland @acutecupidity @fabulouskilljoyonpatrol @lil-mixed-chic @thecrazyoneshavetakenover  @thanos-the-rad-titan @egonic @neganrpblog @bananzaa @booklover2929 @silver-stormy @only-a-nerd @nat-1-2 @xxmusic13luverxx @mightiestheroes @the-undateable @nerd-terd @snippychicke @lillypet95 @afluffybunnycalledbucky @lucifers-trash-stash @headoverhiddles

[kitsunix]

Title: Who Likes Gherkins?

Chapter: 1/???

Fandom: Scream Street

Pairing: BatShift (Resus Negative/Dixon Sneer)

Characters: Resus Negative, Dixon Sneer, Cleo Farr, Luke Watson (mentioned), Otto Sneer (mentioned), Carla Black (mentioned), No Name (mentioned), Doug (mentioned), Dig (mentioned)

Rating: K+

Summary: If Resus were to be asked where all his troubles began while lying on a shrink’s couch, he’d have to say it was the time he lost his cloak.

Word Count: 3342 words

Catalyst

The first thing Resus registered was the splitting headache. The second was the cold, hard floor he was currently lying on. Not exactly the signs of waking up in a familiar coffin.

Resus winced as he tried to recall the events that led to him waking up in a not-so-familiar location. Okay, Doug happened to spot Carla Black stepping off the rollercoaster linking Scream Street to the Normal World, accompanied by NoName… he told Resus, Luke and Cleo, so with Dig’s help, the three of them tracked them down to Sneer Hall to see if they were up to something… sure enough, she was proposing to Otto that rather than try to drag the “freaks” to the Normal World to display them in her zoo, they’d bring the Normal World to the “freaks”—turn Scream Street itself into a giant zoo and charge normal people admittance to gawk. She’d even provide the traps and cages, since they knew the Scream Street residents wouldn’t exactly volunteer to put on a show for the normal folks…

Now that Resus thought about it, they shouldn’t have been surprised. It wasn’t exactly beneath Otto to exploit the residents of his town for monetary gain of any sort, and he already viewed them as little more than animals, he made that perfectly clear… that didn’t stop the outrage. How could those two treat the paranormal like this?! Round them all up in cages, put them on display for a jeering crowd… for money?! What made them think they could get away with this under President McDread’s nose?!

Then they started coming up with unique ways to provide—or rather, provoke—entertainment from each resident.

It was hard enough restraining Cleo when Otto suggested having paying customers poke and prod at her and her father’s displayed hearts to watch them react. It was even harder repressing his own fury when Black announced they’d cut off his family’s blood supply so the crowd could see some bloodthirsty vampires, then offer to give it back if they agreed to transform into bats on command.

So when the two of them agreed the crowd could try to provoke one of Luke’s werewolf rages while he was caged up—say, by… putting his parents in another cage and threatening them—all bets were off.

Covers blown on both sides, chaos erupted. The crooks got to witness a werewolf rage first-hand, Cleo boldly announced they’d go to McDread about it, Otto ordered his accomplices to get rid of the evidence, there was a mad scrabble for any and all incriminating documents and blueprints, and they all scattered to different parts of the manor.

Resus remembered Luke charging NoName and Black, who made a beeline for her tranquilizer gun; Cleo leapt clean over any debris thrown her way in pursuit of Otto; that left Resus to take off after Dixon.

As he chased the shapeshifter through the ground floor and down into the basement, one thought that had raced through his mind—other than how the hell he was supposed to restrain him after catching up, really, Cleo should’ve been the one to take on Dixon—was why Dixon would even be in on this. Sure, he was on board with any plan that Otto came up with, being his apprentice and all, but surely he’d realized he was exactly the sort of “freak” that Carla Black would love to display in her zoo! It was only a matter of time before the two crooked Normals shoved him into a cage—one he couldn’t shapeshift out of—and made him transform on command for the audience’s entertainment.

Even with everything Dixon had pulled on them since becoming Otto’s apprentice, he didn’t deserve that…

Resus had heard a metal slam as he exited the spiral staircase and wrenched open a solid wood door, and he’d found himself in a long, stone hallway, with damp walls lined with rusty suits of armor, dimly lit by green lanterns suspended from the ceiling. There were barred doors lining both walls—tons of doors. Great. Dixon could’ve disappeared into any one of them…

As he crept down the hallway, Resus had remembered the slam and realized that was the sound of a door closing, and all of the cells were open. So he looked for one that was closed. He’d finally found one directly across the hall from a suit of armor with a green feather on the helm, and peered into the dark cell, trying to spot anything that shouldn’t be there. The cell had been pretty bare, not a lot of places for Dixon to hide, strange that he would duck in there... wait a minute... didn’t the suits of armor have red feathers...? His thoughts had been interrupted when he’d heard a rusty creak from behind him and felt the blow to the back of his head.

Which led him to where he was now.

Groaning, Resus pulled himself up into a sitting position, rubbing the back of his head to alleviate the pain. He gave his surroundings a glance—damp stone walls, thin cot, rusty shackles on the walls… yup, he was in a cell. He didn’t even need to look behind him to know the door was locked.

“’Bout time you woke up! I was starting to get bored.”

Resus growled and forced himself unsteadily to his feet. Figured that Dixon would stick around to gloat… or maybe the others had also been caught and he’d come back to gloat. Either way, like hell he’d face him on the floor. He wouldn’t give him the satisfaction.

“Ugh… you may have gotten the drop on me, Dixon,” he spat the other’s name, “but I heard everything. Every little detail of Otto’s plan. Like what he has planned for my parents.” The very idea still made him seethe. “You can’t hold me. Not while my family needs me.” Keeping his back to the other boy, he subtly brought his hand to his left side. “I’ll get out of here. And when I do, your boss had better watch his ba—” His little declaration of war was cut short when he felt nothing but air between his left arm and his side. His stomach dropping out from under him, he checked his right side. Nothing. In the dim light coming from outside the cell, he could see his arms, clad in his white dress shirt, his waist, in a grey vest… all that was missing was—

“Looking for this?”

Resus whirled around to finally face the shapeshifter, who was casually leaning against the wall opposite Resus’ cell, an infuriatingly smug grin on his face, and—

Oh, Helsing, no!

—he was wearing his cloak. The smug bastard was wearing Resus’ cloak. His family’s cloak!

Resus lunged for the door, clutching a bar tightly in one hand, his entire other arm reaching through the bars, grasping at air in a vain attempt to retrieve his cloak.

He took it back. He took it all back. Everything about Dixon not deserving to be exhibited like an animal in the zoo. He deserved all that and more.

“Give me back my cloak, Dixon!”

“Not a chance! You might as well ask me for the keys to your cell, for all the good that’ll do you. Besides…” The smirk was back on Dixon’s face full-force. “It looks a lot better on me, don’t you think?”

Resus clenched his teeth as he watched Dixon examine himself in the cloak, strike a few “glamour” poses, even twirl around once just to feel the cloak billowing behind him. Resus had tried getting a fistful of his cloak at that point, only for Dixon to grab one of its corners and bring it to his chest, wrapping the cloak around himself in yet another classic “vampire” pose.

“Oh yeah, much better. Y’know, I always wanted to perform to a captive audience.”

Both of Resus’ hands were gripping the bars now, as he fought to control his temper. He wasn’t like Luke, jumping into dangerous situations without a plan, able to channel his anger to get him out of trouble. He could think his way out of this. Especially if the one he had to out-think was Dixon.

“I can’t wait to see the look on Otto’s face!” said shapeshifter continued, half to Resus, half to himself. “A cloak that can give you whatever you want? Imagine what Otto can do with this!”

Oh. So he didn’t know just how selective the cloak was concerning those it served—namely, the Negative family. That’s good. He could use this.

“Well, I’ve got news for you, gherkin-head—” Here Dixon snorted. That wasn’t half-bad for an insult. “That cloak will only work for its rightful owner. Which, wouldn’t you know it, happens to be me. It’s useless to you—hell, nine times out of ten it’s useless to me, so why don’t you just hand it over…”

“If it’s so useless to you, why do you want it back so bad?” Resus opened his mouth to answer, but no retort came out. He hadn’t expected Dixon to just hand over the cloak, but he also didn’t expect him to call his bluff. Dixon just smiled that little half-grin he got when he was feeling cheeky and continued. “And besides, did you really think I’d just leave you locked in a cell with something that had a chance of giving you what you need to escape? How daft do you think I am?” Dixon paused, before shooting Resus an annoyed glare. “Don’t answer that.”

Resus threw his hands up in mock frustration. “Fine. You know what? You’re right. It’s not that helpful after all. It would probably just leave me here to rot. I don’t even want it back.” He turned his back to the other boy. “Good luck with your new fashion accessory, ‘cause that’s all it’ll ever be to you.”

Dixon blinked in surprise, and a little disappointment. Clearly he hadn’t expected him to give up just yet. “Aw, c’mon, don’t be like that. Maybe I can ask the cloak to get you something.” Wow, he must be even stupider than he thought, if he still thought he could make the cloak work. “Maybe some tomato juice?” Resus rolled his eyes. Let him try, if that’s what it took to hammer the fact that it wouldn’t work for him into his thick— “Wow, thanks, cloak! Here you go!”

Resus whirled around, to see Dixon holding out a bottle of tomato juice—still too far to grab the cloak, unfortunately. His jaw dropped.

“W-where did you get that?”

“… from the cloak?”

“No. No, no, no, that’s impossible. That cloak’s never worked for anyone but its rightful owner—it’s been that way for generations!” He pointed an accusatory finger at the shapeshifter. “You’re faking it! I don’t know how, but you’re faking it! Ask for something else!”

Dixon blinked, before setting down the bottle of juice and reaching into the cloak again. “All right… how about… a hammer?” He pulled his hand back out, now grasping a shiny silver hammer with an ebony handle. Resus gaped, and Dixon grinned. “Oooh, fancy! Otto never would’ve gotten me one this good!”

Resus gripped the bars again as he struggled to find words. “A-ask for something else!” Maybe Dixon wasn’t wearing his cloak at all. Maybe he just shapeshifted one over his uniform—he could do that, right?—and hid the real one away, knowing it wouldn’t work for him, and this was all an elaborate joke? “Something you couldn’t possibly have!”

“Still think I’m faking this, eh? All right then… Cloak, could you give me the answers to last week’s English test? I failed that one…” Sure enough, he withdrew a sheaf of papers from the cloak, gave them a once-over, then handed it to Resus. “Read it and weep, Resus!”

Resus snatched the papers and scanned the answers, his grip tightening on them with each correct one. This… this couldn’t be true… but there was no way Dixon could fake this. No amount of shapeshifting and foresight in the world could’ve summoned these test answers from thin air. Not even for a practical joke. But how…

“What else have you got for me, cloak? Maybe a spatula?” Sure enough, he withdrew a brand-new spatula from the cloak. “Aw, you shouldn’t have! Think you can top this?” Next he pulled out a spiffy black top hat with a purple band, which he immediately donned. “Nice one, cloak!”

Was the cloak spiting him? For calling it useless?

“All right, cloak, let’s share the wealth… something Otto needs? His birthday’s coming up soon, I have no idea what to get ‘im.” Dixon reached into the cape again… and pulled out a container of wart medicine. A rather large container. Dixon stared at it for a moment, before he burst out laughing. “I-haha-I like the way you think! You’re my kind of cloak!” He placed the container down next to the steadily growing pile and wiped a tear from his eye. “Priceless! Literally!”

Resus threw himself against the door, the test answers scattered at his feet. “Cloak! I’m sorry—I didn’t mean to call you useless, I just wanted Dixon to give you up—”

“So you admit it.”

“—you know how much you mean to my family, how much you mean to me, and you know how dangerous you can be in the wrong hands, that’s why you’ve only ever worked for us! Just—” Resus clenched his eyes shut. “Why Dixon…? How is Dixon more deserving of your respect than me?”

“I dunno. Why don’t we ask it?” Grinning broadly, Dixon reached into the cloak again. “Cloak, why are you working perfectly for me when you almost never work for Resus? C’mon, give us a hint!”

To both of their surprise, Dixon pulled out a photograph. Resus couldn’t see it, but he could see Dixon’s reaction: a blank stare, followed by an amused half-grin. Resus, meanwhile, had lost his patience. Nothing inside that cloak could excuse it spitting in the face of logic and tradition so it could work for Dixon.

“It’s only supposed to work for NEGATIVES!”

Dixon turned his attention from the picture to the enraged not-vampire, but his expression didn’t change, save for him lowering his eyelids in a sly, almost… coy manner.

“Are you proposing? Because I don’t see a ring~”

As if on cue, he pulled out a black diamond ring from the cloak.

Resus snapped. He thought he’d snapped before, but that had just been lightly testing the limits of his patience and sanity. Those limits had been smashed to pieces by a tag team of an insufferable gherkin-head and a treacherous cloak. Now, he pushed against the bars with reckless abandon, clawing at the air with both hands, screaming every insult, every threat, every profanity that popped into his head—seems his brain to mouth filter had been taken out, too. Looking back on his temporary fit of insanity, he’d never thought he was capable of swearing death on someone in so many imaginative ways. It was like a werewolf rage had been awakened in him as well, and he felt strong enough to rend the bars into so much scrap metal—yet they held fast.

And all the while, there was Dixon, shocked at first by his outburst, then laughing his head off, which only infuriated him more. Oh, when he got his hands on him, he’d wipe that grin right off his face, make him beg for death before denying him, over and over and over again—

Dixon’s laughter—and consequently, Resus’ tirade—cut off abruptly, and the green-haired boy fell forward on top of his pile of ill-gotten goods. Cleo stood behind him, her hand raised in a karate chop around where the back of Dixon’s neck was.

“There you are. We were beginning to think something might’ve happened when we couldn’t find you… then we heard the screaming.” She retrieved a keyring from Dixon’s pocket and stepped over him to unlock the cell door. “Thanks for that, by the way—we might not have found you so quick. Luke offered to sniff you out, but between the effects of the tranquilizer and the smell down here, he might not have had a good time of it.” She gave him a concerned glance, and he coughed and held his throat, raw from his tirade. “What was he doing to you, by the way? I’ve never heard you scream like that…”

No way. There was no way his friends could know. If they found out not only that Dixon, freaking Dixon, had managed to master the cloak in a way he could only dream of, but what the two of them were insinuating—which his mind was still struggling to comprehend, it was just so wrong—they’d never let him hear the end of it. By keeping them in the dark about this, at least he could gather up a shred of dignity.

“He… er… I mean…” Absently, he pointed in Dixon’s direction, and Cleo’s eyes lit up.

“—stole your cloak? Typical Dixon.” She roughly yanked the cloak off the unconscious shapeshifter and handed it back to Resus. “Not a good look for him. Especially since he can’t even use it.”

Resus was quick to tug it on—despite his lingering resentment towards the cloak, he felt almost naked without it.

“Yeah,” he forced a laugh. “What was he thinking…”

“Knowing Dixon?” She smirked. “Probably not very much. Quick, before he wakes up—”

They hauled Dixon’s unconscious body into the cell Resus previously occupied (“You… do know that won’t hold him for long, right Cleo?” “Of course I do, but that doesn’t always occur to him.”), and Resus had a fun time explaining where all the random objects came from (“Instruments of torture?” “…” “… bizarre instruments of torture?”), before they took off down the dungeon hallway, Cleo explaining how she managed to blackmail Otto and Black into abandoning their scheme by beginning to call McDread while there was an unconscious, captured werewolf in the room, as well as retrieving the security footage from the cameras Dixon was supposed to have turned off. Resus paused long enough to snatch the photograph from Dixon’s hand, as well as the bottle of tomato juice from the pile—he had a feeling he’d be needing it later—opting to leave the rest behind. He glanced at the photo, recognizing it as one of many he took of the day their class took a field trip to a lake. The rest were in a photo album, but there was a good reason this one was tucked away in his cloak, never to see the light of day—why would he want to look at a picture of Dixon sitting on the pier in his swim trunks while guzzling a soda, anyway? Didn’t even know why he took it, honestly.

Sticking the picture back in his cloak, he held it up and hissed, “You and I are gonna have a long talk when we get home.”

***

The first thing Dixon registered was the pain in his neck. The second was the cold, hard floor he was currently lying on. Not exactly the signs of waking up in a familiar bed.

Groaning, Dixon pulled himself up into a sitting position, rubbing the back of his neck to alleviate the pain. He gave his surroundings a glance—damp stone walls, thin cot, rusty shackles on the walls… yup, he was in a cell. He didn’t even need to look behind him to know the door was locked.

Not that that would hold him for long.

Dixon winced as he tried to recall the events that led to him waking up in a not-so-familiar location. His eyes widened as the pieces fell into place… and a wicked grin spread across his face.

Things were going to be much more fun from now on… so much more fun.

[freegrain]

Fated : Hunted Ch4

{Freezerburn- Yang x Weiss}

The two Demon-Hunters, Weiss Schnee and Yang Xiao Long, are the greatest of their time. But when they're hired to hunt down a duo names 'Ladybug' their skills are put to the test.

_______________________________________

Part Two of the Fated Series.

Read on AO3 or FF.net.

_______________________________________

Yang could feel Weiss' arms around her as they drove out of town. The wind whistled past them, her motorbike helmet protecting her from its chill. The road was pretty quiet, only a few odd cars drifting by. The sun was out and shining, though it wasn't warm.

They were heading out to the woods that surrounded the Torchwick estate. After reports that the culprits had fled into them, they both reasoned that there would be the easiest place to catch a trail.

From the reports of their friend Pyrrha in the police force, Blake Belladonna had never been back to her family home. And since the demon didn't have any human property this meant that the duo had to be hiding out somewhere in nature.

How far from estate they'd fled Yang wasn't sure. Airborne demons were a lot harder to track than those without wings but the surrounding trees with high arching branches gave them a little bit of hope. Scents captured on the leaves from the brush of a wing or low flyer would lead them to their prey.

Yang pulled up at the side of the road, barely down the way from the entrance to the Torchwick estate. The place was even quieter than it had been yesterday, hardly a person in sight.

Usually the place, being a centre of business for certain people, hummed with life and car passing through almost every hour. But now the skeleton force manned the walls and no people entered through the gates.

It was gloomy and dull, a stage of mourning for the estate.

Yang slipped off the bike and removed her helmet. The air was light, breezy to the point of chilly. Which would be useful for scent tracking if they managed to find a trail. Keyword was if.

Weiss jumped off behind her, exhaling gently. Her partner smoothed out her skirts and glanced upwards, scanning the sky around them. There weren't much clouds and the sun gleamed down at them. It was truly a fine day to go hunting.

Yang pulled her gauntlets from the saddlebags, sliding her hands into her favourite weapons. They'd been modelled just for her and fit skin tight but comfortably. She clenched a fist and grinned.

"You ready to move, Snowflake?"

Weiss clipped her sword to her belt. Weiss was a fencing master. She'd once fought in the national championships and come out having won it but completely bored. Yang had never met anyone that seemed close to her skill. Besides fencing, Weiss was also physically adept with a few martial arts under her belt.

Yang herself was highly trained in several martial arts, ranging from uses in street fighting to fighting a dozen armed opponents at a time. So she wasn't a slack herself. She could keep up with Weiss no bother.

Weiss slid her 'glyph glove' on. An unofficial Schnee product that allowed her to create these glyphs to aid her in battle. Her partner nodded. "Let's move."

The two entered the forest, a silence settling over them. They were looking for tracks, a trail, something that would give them a clue where they'd find their prey.

But if the demon had wings, trails on land would be few and far between. Still they searched.

The woods were quiet around here, only a few animals or birds hopping around. Which was quite useful for them because they could listen for any unnatural noises. After a few minutes the two split off, heading for different areas. While Weiss stayed on the ground, Yang started to climb the trees. Up and up she climbed until she could no more.

From here she could see the extent of the whole forest and how far it stretched from end to end. The distant mountains marked the end and the many miles between could be hiding them anywhere.

She exhaled. This was going to be a long day.

She jumped from tree to tree, circling around the edge of the mansion. Something. She took a deep breath. Years of hunting had trained her nose to recognise scents that were out of the ordinary. Once found, the upgrades to her weapon would let her track it to their prey. But no matter where she ran, all she got was the damp scent of leaves and nature.

An hour passed and then a second before Yang's eyes spotted something. She almost missed it as she turned to jump into another tree.

Heading north towards the mountain was a dark shape. A winged creature. From this distance she could make out any details except that they were flying and at a high speed as well. She frowned. Were those… rose petals falling behind them? Red against the dark colour of the wings, falling like a light rain down into the woods.

There they were. Ladybug. Black and red.

Yang curled her hand into a fist. What were the odds. To set off on a hunt only to have them fall straight into your lap? These two, despite their apparent talent at fighting, were not good at hiding.

"Weiss! Weiss!"

It took a few seconds but her partner joined her on her branch. She opened her mouth to ask what was the matter but then saw where her eyes were angled. Weiss closed her mouth.

"It's them…." she breathed. "Ladybug…."

Already the excited gleam Weiss got in her eyes was burning. Yang could understand. The thrill, the burn, the tsunami of emotion you got from the chase, it was life changing.

Yang flexed her arm, feeling her blood starting to thrum. "Up and at 'em," she grinned.

Weiss drew her sword and leapt up so her feet were balanced on Yang's forearm. Yang planted her foot down, lowering her arm to get ready to throw.

This was their technique for catching the ones that run. Demons were naturally faster and trying to reach them on foot was near impossible. So Yang, using the power focused in her gauntlets, would hurl Weiss ahead to intercept them while she ran to catch up.

It worked every time they used it.

"Be careful Snowflake?" Yang warned.

Weiss gave her a smile. "Naturally."

And Yang flung her into the air, a high arching throw. She should have started running there but she paused, waiting to see what would happen.

Her aim was nearly perfect as always, Weiss heading straight for them. Midair her partner spun, a glyph shimmering at her feet. Weiss leapt and slashed. The demon's screech was audible from where Yang stood and she knew she had to move. Weiss and the demon fell from the sky into the forest and Yang started to run.

~•~•~•~

Suddenly there was a hot pain right across her shoulder and Ruby screamed. Blake was screaming something too but she couldn't hear it. Feet thudded against her lower back before pushing off again. Ruby plummeted through the tree, wings curling around Blake in an attempt to protect. Down and down, crack after crack. Branches snapped against her body like whips. Until they hit the ground.

Ruby hit the ground in a roll, her shoulder screeching with pain from the impact. They rolled until they hit a tree and Ruby let out a shuddering gasp. Blake had wriggled out of her grasp and was hovering over her, hands touching her face frantically. Her mouth was moving but she could barely hear it. Fuck. Fuck.

A person landed gracefully behind her.

Blake spun around productively, ears flattening against her head. Ruby's chest rose and fell and she crawled onto her front. Her wings rustled on her back, pain flaring up from that tiny movement. Whoever had struck her had struck in her a way that would make it utter hell to fly before healing. They'd grounded her.

"Ladybug, I assume," the girl said, her sword pointing towards the ground. She had long white hair and wore all white, save the slight red around her collar.

Her long thin sword dripped with Ruby's blood.

"Must say," the girl drawled, taking a step forward. This earned her a hiss from Blake. "You both are quite disappointing. Killers of Roman Torchwick? I expected better."

"Weiss Schnee," Blake snarled, raising her weapon.

The girl didn't even react. "Yes. And you are Blake Belladonna. Care to introduce me to your friend? She has such pretty wings."

Ruby stood, placing a hand on Blake's shoulder. She could stand, she could fight. She just couldn't fly properly. She ran her tongue across her teeth, showing off the sharp ends. "Ruby Rose. Her fated."

Weiss took another step forward. "Oh yes, that would make sense. You demons and your fates. Wow. I'm almost impressed."

Ruby reached out a hand and summoned Crescent Rose. With her weapon in her hand she felt safer. Stronger. Weiss raised an eyebrow, giving her an approving nod.

"You good with that? Let's find out!"

Suddenly Weiss was coming at them, her sword slashing in an x. Ruby grabbed Blake and jumped out of the way, only managing to parry the next strike. A foot looped behind her and a slash cut her thigh. Ruby spun away.

By God that girl was fast, another strike slashing before she'd even landed. But Ruby's whole thing was speed. She gritted her teeth.

Ruby lunged in, scythe arching through the air in a rapid spin. Weiss blocked and jumped back, feet landing on the tree behind her. She powered off towards her and Ruby side stepped.

Weiss was back again, lunging in towards her chest. Ruby parried and fired off a round at her. She missed of course, the white haired girl spinning.

Suddenly something black shot by Weiss and the girl hissed. Blake followed her weapon. She kicked Weiss across the face and spun around again. Weiss had already scrambled away, putting distance between the two. She was bleeding from a gash on her shoulder. But she smiled coldly at them.

Ruby was debating trying to fly away at this point. It would hurt like hell but if she used her power to its full potential, they could run. Weiss was human. No matter what she tried she'd never be able to catch them.

Ruby spun Crescent Rose and Blake joined her side. They exchanged glances.

"Hey, did I miss much?" a cheery voice broke through the woods behind Weiss.

A tall, blonde woman appeared behind them, cracking her knuckles. Purple eyes gleamed at them with frightening amusement.

"Babe you're bleeding," she frowned.

Weiss shrugged her off. "It's nothing." Her icy gaze focused on the two of them.

"Yang. Yang Xiao Long," Blake hissed. "The final part of Freezerburn."

So these two were the famed Freezerburn. Maybe she could see why they were legendary. They'd only slain Torchwick yesterday and here they were, ready to bring them in for justice. Mad. It was mad.

Yang exhaled, her hands smoking. Those were her weapons Ruby realised. Her fists, enhanced and ready. She could only imagine how much it would hurt for her to get a hit from them.

"Time to get cracking."

Yang and Weiss both lunged at the same time. Ruby barely had to time to dodge Yang's first punch before another caught her at the side. The pure force of it sent her sprawling into a tree.

Blake let out a screech as Weiss darted for her. Ruby felt a slight throb in her chest, Blake's pain. Shit.

Ruby's vision was suddenly blocked by mane of hair and then fiery fists. Ruby was kept on her toes to keep Yang off her. The fight was vicious but very few injuries were actually caused.

Ruby swung and slashed, going to the next of her ability to take her down. But Yang matched her blow for blow, block for block. She seemed to predict her movements, shifting her attacks right in her oath each time. Ruby had barely any time to block, nevermind much counters.

But for some reason every time she hit Yang, the girl came back faster and stronger. Of course they traded the few scratches and broken skin but nothing major was done.

But the first blow, the one across Ruby's shoulder, was starting to ache and ache. If they were going to escape they'd need to do it soon. Blood was dripping down her shoulder, leaving a trail where she jumped.

"Must say," Yang panted, barely dodging Crescent Rose for the sixth time. "You're pretty good. Maybe inhumanly good."

Ruby's attention was elsewhere. Yang and Weiss had somehow managed to place themselves between her and Blake. This wasn't good. They couldn't stay here with them. They were too strong and quick.

Ruby leapt backwards, firing at Yang. The blonde paused in her advance, deflecting the bullets away. Blake. She needed to get to Blake. Her fated's eyes darted towards her and for the second they connected, a message passed between them.

Blake nodded. Ruby twisted her body and spread her wings. Pain flared across her body but she jumped away. Feet pressed against the tree and powered over Yang's head.

Weiss turned towards her, blue eyes narrowed and sword ready but Blake kicked her arm out of the way. Ruby landed next to her, Crescent Rose vanishing.

"Don't you dare!" Weiss snarled.

Blake grabbed hold of Ruby's arms, chest rising and falling. "Go."

Ruby leapt into the air, the strain on her wings only increasing. Up they went over the trees until they were hovering in open air.

To fly Ruby was going to need to use her semblance. She rarely used it at all because of the strain it put on her body. But if she didn't do it right now they'd both die. She exhaled, feeling it deep in her chest.

"Yang!" Weiss screeched.

Her partner was at her side in a flash. Ruby could feel her power growing in the pit of her stomach. Only a few seconds. Just a few more. Blake clung tighter to her. Ruby felt her power reach its strength and she spun in the air, aiming for the mountains. And she tore towards the mountains at record speed.

But the very second before she took off she felt a hand close around each of her ankles.

Ruby's strength started to vanish as she crested the mountain, speed decreasing dramatically. Blake's hands ran up to her face.

"Ruby, Ruby, slow down," her fated begged. "You're losing too much blood. Ruby! Ruby please!"

But she couldn't slow down. Those two, Freezerburn, were clinging to her. Even now they'd hadn't let go. If she slowed down they'd only be able to attack. She couldn't give them that chance.

She flew over the mountain and over the forest behind it. These trees were different, taller, pinier. How far could she go? Her legs were kicking, trying to shake Freezerburn from her legs. But their grips were like iron, not letting go.

But then the pain in her wing seized up and Ruby let out a scream. It was too much for her, trying to carry four people while injured. She just didn't have the strength.

And so she felt from the sky, vision darkening. She could briefly hear Blake screaming her name and then Freezerburn yelling some unholy words.

"Ruby! Ruby! Ruby!"

Ruby blacked out just before they all hit the ground.

______________________________________________

Read Ch2/Ch3/Ch4/Ch5/Ch6

[ppaia]

Souls

Warnings: mentions of suicide Genre: fluff but mostly angst Pairing: Min Yoongi/reader Side note: italic is the narrator’s speaking Soulmate au -

Some say souls never leave earth. I never thought of that, in any case I never cared. But then I understood that they actually don’t…because I never did. After being around earth and humans and what? Non-dead nor-human souls I’ve come to understand what it seems to be the real afterlife. It seems that when you die, its only your body that vanishes, your soul stays glued to your planet and can’t go anywhere but that’s just until you meet your soulmate thats why its called it that way I guess? But what happens next? Well not a nice love story like most of us used to be told. If you get the pleasure to meet your soulmate you both stop being in that limbo between life and dead and come to life again through reincarnation but wait, you will have to go through shit to find each other in the new lifetime you got and then finally be happy. I guess that when you they say ‘enjoy this life’ was because they knew something awful would await. For me it’s been… I don’t know, ages? I’m still walking I don’t even know if I’m searching for someone, nevertheless I walk, and walk. No fixated destination. It is April,the calendar said so, 2119. Oh by the way, name’s Min Yoongi last time I checked I was 26 when I died and now I’m probably over 100? Maybe, maybe not? I’m trying to keep on writing this diary but I fail miserably because I forget about it after writing on it for 2 days or even just one. Life as a non-existent thing is… well boring kinda but also nice I guess. I get to scare people sometimes but it’s a lot of effort i have to put on so no. I found out one of my closest friend died in a car crash, haven’t seen him around. Probably will go out and find him very soon. Its May now, can’t believe that even if I have endless time I can’t keep up with such a stupid task as this one. To the point. I met a girl. Well not really, I saw her… from afar. I was out for a walk around an abandoned building I mean, I’m a ghost right? That’s where ghosts go. And she was there, she had some pinky big headphones on and I could hear the music just fine. She was crying. All of the sudden I felt like I could feel her sadness, as if it was my own. My chest felt heavy to the thought of her being this sad, so I ran away. June,time sure flies when you’re dead huh? Its Tuesday and I felt the need of going around the abandoned building, I didn’t know why but I did exactly know why. She was there again. Crying her heart out to some oldie song. She had red lipstick on, I got to see her ugly crying face and much to my surprise, it wasn’t ugly at all… but the tears wouldn’t stop and I wanted to help her. I guess this is the price a human pays for its sins right? I keep on thinking how would it be to touch her hand, when was the last time I felt someone else’s heartbeat? When was the last time I felt something? She was making me anxious but at the same time I liked ‘feeling’. I came to realize that we, limbo creatures, have no special needs. Just sleeping and no more. You can imagine why I brought that up, I’ve dreamt about her most of the days since meeting her. It’s July.It’s already July and I’ve seen her a total of 7 times. Number 8 was yesterday. And she saw me. Or so I think. I wasn’t careful enough I tripped over some wood and made a loud noise, she rapidly turned to see what was going on and her eyes met mine for a split of second, but again, I ran away. Am I running away from the fear of knowing this girl means something to me? August. Her name is Y/N. She is indeed my soulmate, but she doesn’t know. I know. I have to explain to her that. She’s not dead tho. But she can indeed see me. Yoongi had taken the habit of going to the abandoned building quite a lot. She wasn’t there all the time but most Tuesdays she would go. After the day their eyes met he felt the need to show himself to her. She saw him, at firsthand she thought she was insane because the pretty boy who tripped over wood had disappeared just like so before her eyes. On a Tuesday she went with something in mind, she would make him appear, maybe he was her guardian angel or something. - I saw you already, please show yourself. - she calmly said to no one in particular. He hesitated but the feeling of vulnerability when hearing her voice and the need to see her from up close were harder than his fear. So he did as she said. And boy was he shocked to the bone when standing so close to her. Gorgeous. He thought. - So you do can see me… - he said trying to break the ice. - I won’t lie to you, I’ve seen you around here a lot. Alone and with others. I was curious as to why you liked this place so much and then Every time I came around I couldn’t help but cry. I guess many souls have been wandering around this place. - He couldn’t say a single word, what was this girl? She was looking at him and looking everywhere while speaking and Yoongi thought of how amazing it would be to kiss her. - So you’re dead right? - I am… but you are not, how.. how is it possible for you to be seeing me? - Yoongi was lost of words, all he did was stare at her. - There must be a reason…- you’re my soulmate he thought, but couldn’t bring up the courage to tell her. September is here. Y/N is the most clever person I’ve ever met, dead or alive period. I haven’t told her about the whole soulmate deal yet. I want to do it soon. October.It’s weird to think people celebrate Halloween as the day the dead comes to earth and like we’re always here, hi. I don’t wanna be cheesy I know I’ll come and read this and cringe like never before but my time with her is always magical. After having no feelings at all this is all brand new to me, the bubbly feeling inside, the anxiousness I get whenever I’m going to see her. It pains me to be this cheesy but I would go life after life after life trying to find her and spend my days with her. Even though I’m dead and she’s not, I don’t want anything bad to happen to her. I came to know that she was always crying because of family and school problems. It made me really mad to not be able to do a single thing, but she told me she would handle it just fine. Eventually I’ll tell her about us being soulmates, I just don’t want to scare her. November is a nice time of the year, its almost ending but its not. I haven’t seen her cry for almost 4 weeks, at least not when we are together and I must say I’m proud of how she’s doing so well. I got to hear her singing, it made me feel complete, it felt so right I wanted to cry. I knew I wanted to spend my remaining lives with her. - Would you date me if you weren’t dead? - Yoongi choked on his non-existent saliva . She was so unpredictable sometimes. - Well… yes, you’re pretty…. I mean pretty interesting to being with. - Hey Yoongi do you have a favorite color? - I guess white? - Because you’re a ghost? - She chuckled while he rolled his eyes. - What about you, favorite color? - Brown - Brown? - he incredulously asked. - Brown. Just like the color of your eyes…. and everyone else I love. - They stared at each other for what it felt like years until both smiled like fools. They loved each other and both of them knew it. I don’t like December anymore. It doesn’t feel right anymore. The snow I can’t touch, the smells I used to like, a heartbeat that didn’t last. On the 19th she decided it was right to end her life. It was never known for me, her intentions I mean. She couldn’t handle it anymore, so she killed herself with a rope. A week before I was able to tell her all, about the soulmate thing I came to love. - Why did you do it?! - Yoongi screamed at the top of his lungs to the girl smiling before him. - I’m sorry love, I couldn’t take it anymore… - her eyes were sad even though she was smiling. She never felt like this before, she was finally free. - Does this mean we can finally find ourselves in another life? December ruined me. I was selfish to want her death to be natural, but all I wanted was for her to live life the fullest until her time came and we could start our journey to the other life. She told me she knew I was her soulmate, doesn’t know why but when she saw me she felt it. December came crushing down. Because it seems the soulmates thing doesn’t work when suicide is involved.

A/n: this is something I came up with today, I was thinking about Yoongi and then soulmates and well this came in mind. I’d be glad to write some more if you want to. Sorry its sad but that’s how I’m feeling right now. Thanks for reading

[biggaybunny]

My Hitman Level Reviews

I should probably wait until I finish Hokkaido, but I’m impatient so here are my thoughts on the levels in Hitman (2016) so far (note that I have mastery level 20 in all levels mentioned): Update: Now With Hokkaido!

Level: Paris

Rating: 7/10

Thoughts: Though there is a tutorial level preceding Paris, this level is really the introduction to the game’s full scope, and it does a pretty good job of it. The size of the level and the game’s ability to handle scores of NPCs are shown off in full. Past that, the level is pretty fun and creative, and the difficulty level felt just right.

Pros/Cons:

+ Does a good job delineating areas different disguises are allowed in

+ Harder to reach disguises are worth getting

+ Most opportunities are easy to pick up on

+ Emphasis on multiple routes and events to take advantage of

+ Verticality of level allowed it to create different “stages” of challenge

- Lots of the level unused, underused

- The wacky/fun opportunities were very lopsided to one of the targets

- Too many red herring devices / interactables

Level: Sapienza

Rating: 8/10

Thoughts: A fan favorite, and for good reason. Tons and tons of opportunities, many of which border on the absurd. There’s also much more story / lore to the level, and NPC interactions can become another tool in your arsenal

Pros/Cons:

+ Well used, varied level with tons of different environments

+ Still does a good job of presenting most opportunities

+ Unprecedented number of challenges, many of which are over the top in a good way

+ The amount of wacky stuff really deserves a second mention for how much fun it is. Kill your target with a circumcision knife dressed as a plague doctor. Knock them out and put them in the wood chipper. Drop a stalagtite on them. Shoot them with a naval cannon

+ Exploration is fun and well rewarded

+ Inflatable alligators

- Goes overboard with the disguises. There are so many that give almost identical access and restrictions.

- Moving around the house always a little bit of a pain, not easy to remove or distract observant individuals

- One of the targets has a painfully long loop that makes getting certain challenges just not worth the time it takes

- Certain areas just... utterly annoying to get to

- Ether virus objective was too much; makes runs longer, does not offer a lot of variety, is rather tedious

Level: Marrakesh

Rating: 9/10

Thoughts: My favorite level. The difficulty jump from the first two levels turns a lot of people away from Marrakesh, but it’s really a treasure to master. Really tasks the player to use stealth and strategy to maneuver the level effectively.

Pros/Cons:

+ Crazy/fun kills plentiful, and for once split evenly between targets

+ Clearly conveys which disguises allow what access

+ Tons of hidden tools to find and put to use

+ Both targets easy to observe / learn the routines of, but still harder to kill

+ Ups the difficulty level without becoming unfun

+ Exploration & creativity largely rewarded

- Some challenges require a lot of contrivance to set up

- Prerequisites to certain challenges unclear, poorly explained

- Lots of level is just filler, though at least some of it is used as a place to put opportunities / items

Level: Bangkok

Rating: 7/10

Thoughts: Though a much tighter level design than the other levels, Bangkok felt like a weird de-escalation of the whole series, both in setting and in difficulty. The level is solid, but doesn’t do anything particularly well -- except for maybe the storyline with one of your targets, Jordan Cross.

Pros/Cons:

+ Much heavier focus on reconnaissance than other levels -- not just random exploring, but actually learning about your targets

+ Has some of the most memorable kills in the series, admittedly

+ Level is very compact, making it easier to remember where things are or how to manuever

- Level is highly linear, with no side passages whatsoever to large (important) chunks of the level

- Level is incredibly easy, perhaps easier than Paris. Getting any disguise you want takes almost no effort at all, and access isn’t well gated

- Area access poorly conveyed, with guards not reliably stating when passing them would be tresspassing

- Once again, all the fun kills are stacked on one target, and there is very little interesting to do with the other target

- Several opportunities can break easily (as in, bug out) and even more are extremely difficult to pick up

- A lot of dialogues refer to opportunities that can be picked up, but do not count as learning about the opportunity

Level: Colorado

Rating: 5/10

Thoughts: Overall, disappointing. Colorado’s setting should be the perfect way to increase the difficulty without limiting the options available to the player. In reality, however, the level lacks teeth. And somehow, despite having twice the number of targets of any other level, Colorado has the lowest number of challenges available to it.

Pros/Cons:

+ Setting excuses a lot of odd equipment / items / environmental objects

+ Targets have a variety of guardedness, availability, and different routes that still can intersect for some combo kills

+ Despite the number of targets, the level generally doesn’t take too long to complete

- Level is utterly disappointing from a difficulty standpoint, with most disguises being near-perfect

- Level’s difficulty is further lacking by the fact that surveillance is almost nonexistent (cameras or guards), trivializing a lot of kills

- Several disguises are essentially redundant in terms of their benefits

- Disguises are very hard to tell apart at a glance, from a combination of a lack of variety in attire, and the fact that not all disguises are proper “uniforms” and take different appearances

- Access VERY poorly defined, with accidental trespassing easy to commit

- So many missed opportunities for kills involving farm equipment and/or makeshift military equipment

- Much of level is pointless, not even used to place items/opportunities/disguises/etc

- Incredibly small number of challenges, despite there being four targets with different backstories and routines / weaknesses /.etc.

- Some challenges are impossible to complete during the main quest, further limiting options

- What challenges do exist are usually boring, unoriginal / recycled, and/or not personalized to the targets at all

- having to complete the tornado shelter objective every time is pointless as it’s completely linear and offers no additional challenge or strategy

- several opportunities placed randomly or are difficult to find

I’ll update this with Hokkaido when I finish that.

Level: Hokkaido

Rating: 7.5/10

Thoughts: A fairly strong end to the first season, Hokkaido still suffers from many of the design flaws that began to emerge post-Marrakesh. Given the setting, and what’s at stake plot-wise, I went in expecting to need all my patience, focus, and game knowledge to work out the level. In actuality, while certain parts of the level can be tricky, Hokkaido ultimately is no more difficult than Bangkok, perhaps slightly harder than Sapienza. That being said, the level was creative and featured some very fun challenges.

Pros/Cons:

+ Level was challenging in interesting ways, primarily by nullifying or rendering less effective many common strategies from earlier levels

+ Easy to pick up on all the opportunities

+ Just the right amount of disguises to make things interesting, and certain disguises were appropriately tricky to obtain

+ Features some of the wildest kills the series has offered yet.

+ Largely immune to “brute force” methods of assassination

+ Lets the player do the sensible thing for an alternate “kill” of one target (trying not to spoil it)

+ Fun easter eggs

+ Level has a surprising amount to offer for its size, lots to do

+ Kai is amazing and slightly creepy. It was an interesting antagonist for 47, basically interfering with your plans without being aware / hostile about it.

- Not that many special kills for one of the targets (again)

- Level is too small. Just, frankly, too small. There were a couple of routes that gave you pretty much everything you’d need to pull of any kill, because there just wasn’t room to separate out items/disguises/etc. Not everything has to be the size of Marrakesh, but they crammed Hokkaido full of as much as they could, and it still kind of comes up short

- Level lacks difficulty. More guards, more enforcers, more cameras, or something novel, just, anything.

- Kai was underused. For a self-aware AI fully integrated into the entire facility the comprised the map, it was incredibly easy to dupe and largely absent from many routes and opportunities.

[thetaekooklibrary]

Yo, i was wondering if you knew anything relatively new that's long and promising, I've run out of long fics, thanks!

well, I haven’t had time to read a lot of longs fic recently, so I’m not sure about the quality of all of these, but they are all long and the plots look interesting. some of these are WIPs, I hope that’s okay (I’ll list the completed ones first tho). I’ll keep it above 20k!

complete

起死回生; To Live Again by mindheist - Fiction gives us a second chance that life denies us.

(AMAZING BEAUTIFUL PERFECT READ IT IF YOU HAVEN’T ALREADY)

(thought you knew) you were in this song by expplipo - Taehyung nearly chokes, but only nearly. Instead he raises an eyebrow and puts on the most suave smile he can manage. Hopes he looks far more collected than his for-some-reason racing heartbeat would let on, more suit-and-wine than elementary-schooler-with-a-new-crush. “You like me?” Jeongguk blushes, and looks at his feet. He’s smiling. “Of course.” “Really?” Taehyung says. “Like? Or like like?” (So much for suit-and-wine.)

(so so good, but also sad)

I Won’t Fall (in love with you) by taeharem - “You have to promise not to fall in love with me.”

(this was published in august but completed in december, so it’s kinda recent? it’s really good tho, so you should definitely read it if you haven’t already)

you and me, we’re bumper cars by syugaflake - “The more I try to get to you, the more we crash apart.” After a myriad of mistakes committed in his leather jacket with a cigarette between his teeth, Jungkook finds himself exiled to his aunt’s house in a quiet, faraway town for the summer. Nothing much goes on at the neighbourhood; or so he thinks, until he meets a boy with sunset-coloured hair named Kim Taehyung.

(again, this was published in the summer but completed in december. it was really good!)

Hiraeth by haruguk - Jeongguk has learned the hard way from the tender age of thirteen when his father pushed him down the stairs, that people are a disappointment. They always will be and so he breaks hearts instead. Hurt people hurt people. Jeongguk likes hurting girls, but he doesn’t like hurting Kim Taehyung.

Swamp Magic by GinForInk - Two witches lure Jungkook into their cabin in the woods.

(I haven’t read this, but admin guk has and she really liked it, it’s also by the author who wrote Hercules and I loved that so I trust that this would be good too)

This Is Heaven, Give It To Me by seikou - Taehyung just might have signed his soul to the devil.

I know a land called the land of the living by Pardon - Jeongguk thought hearing ghosts was way worse than people made it out to be. All their jokes were terrible.

Take It With A Swallow by seikou - Perverted minds do think alike. (or, alternatively: the fuckboys!au)

Shifting On My Feet by MarionetteFtHJM - With the ever-growing crime rate in the city there’s no telling what the leading figures will do to remain leading. The safety of the people is at risk and the possible collateral damage looms over the authorities. There is only one safe option, sacrifice a few to save the lives of many. Tear them from the inside, cool the situation down- should be easy enough, right? Jeongguk was just trying to live out his days peacefully, but running from one’s past never really worked out for anybody- so why would he be an exception? He’s not. Demons tend to find who they’re looking for in the end.

Fifty Shades of Happiness by Kookie_andCream - Taehyung’s plan is simple: fall in love with Jeon Jungkook and ace his final assignment. (Spoiler: it isn’t that simple.)

The Forest by Jeojahyungnim - Taehyung is a photographer in a college town nearby a forest nobody is allowed to enter. His life changes when he meets a boy in the woods known for being completely void of life.

Feel it Kicking in by rix - Jeongguk and Taehyung are just riding it out together, getting high on waves and drugs and each other—platonically, of course.

(I don’t read rix’s stuff since I’m not into bottom guk, but admin guk loves all of their stuff and a lot of people seem to love their stories, so I’m sure this is great!)

Mutual Fiend by kkumkkatcher - “I didn’t recognize you with your clothes on.” An AU where Jungkook needs to kill Taehyung, but Taehyung also needs to kill Jungkook, and things get (more than) a bit complicated.

make this feel like home by aeterisks - Taehyung has spent his whole life looking for excitement, but instead, he ends up finding Jeongguk; somehow, that seems to be even better.

hold me like i’m hope by jjks - “Uh,” he says eloquently, looking back at Taehyung. “Do you, like, want something?” “Nah, I’m just popping in,”  Taehyung says, looking around the place again. Jeongguk stares at him in confusion. “Wh–” he starts to ask when he’s interrupted by Taehyung grinning at him. “Yeah, I’d like to schedule a time to get a tattoo.” “Of course he wants a fucking tattoo, dumbass, why do you think he’s here?” It’s Hoseok, and honestly that warrants another punch to the shoulder, but Jeongguk decides to play it nice. He’s a good boy. OR: let me present to you the most cliché trope of all, starring tattoo artist jeon jeongguk & florist kim taehyung.

Candy-Wrapper Blue by Kookie_andCream - On 15 January 2017, Taehyung runs over a little girl named Im Yoona with his car. (It was an accident.) On 16 January 2017, his guardian angel comes down to earth. (His name is Jungkook.) Slowly but surely, in a whirl of wings and golden tears, the sinful and the angelic learn to love each other. (And it is a beautiful disaster woven out of light and shadows in a world of men and angels.)

Soulmates or not (You’re mine, and I’m yours) by taedybear - Jeongguk meets Taehyung on the most frustrating day at work in the bubble tea shop, and the world around him swirls into colours and patterns at the sight of the beautiful boy.

Daddy’s Lil’ Monster by BloodLikeRoyalty - Jungkook, also known as The Joker, is a notorious mobster that ruled the city of Gotham, and when Kim Taehyung, a man as beautiful as he is crazy, joins him and remains by his side, they prove to be a devastating menace.

WIP (as of 1/28/17)

vampires will never hurt you by snowmoney - taehyung had already had a pretty weird day, so really, being cornered into an alley by a vampire on his way home from work was probably to be expected. - “but what if a vampire drank the blood of someone who was anemic would they be seriously grossed out” au

(this one is recent, ½ chapters rn, 11k for just the first chapter, I like it so far)

Nyctophile by yururin - “Like I said, monsters aren’t real, Taehyung.” Jimin quickly pulled the closet doors open. At the bottom of the closet, sitting on the floor and leaning heavily against the walls, was a man with dark pink hair clad in dark clothes, bleeding and injured and looking positively close to death. Jimin didn’t know what to do.

We Make a Nice Pear by jeonnifer - Jeongguk tries to get the new transfer student expelled from the academy and fails. (Jeongguk tries not to fall for Kim Taehyung and fails even harder.)

Hustlers by tbz - Jungkook hadn’t meant to lose nine million. He certainly hadn’t meant to lose his kidney. And he hadn’t meant to meet Kim Taehyung.

i know you wanna go to heaven (but you’re human tonight) by moonlightae -Taehyung just thought it would be a one night stand, but he gets more than he bargained for  

Kiss With a Fist by justanotherstarlessnight - “Need a little help, love?” Jungkook asks, teasing him. “Nah I had it all under control, sweetheart,” Taehyung answers with a smile, blood oozing from his split lip. Goddamn even smiling hurt now. Fuckity fuck fuck. Jungkook only rolls his eyes, his cocky smirk never slipping and Taehyung almost forgets how much pain he’s in. prompt-Can you please write the “ kick his ass for me” prompt with taekook!

Assassin’s Order by TaeSyubDKook - CEO Taehyung gets tangled up in some illegal business without even knowing and when Assasin Jeongguk gets assigned to extract information from him after being caught, he realizes in what mess he’s gotten himself into and agrees to cooperate with the assassins, after learning their true reasons, to bring down his uncle’s company. What Jeongguk and Taehyung didn’t expect was falling for each other in the progress.

pulling shapes just for your eyes by aeterisks - The number one rule when you’re a producer on a show like Miss Right, Taehyung thinks, should be do not fall for the bachelor. It’s such a shame Taehyung has never been good at following rules.

I’m only human (after all) by Lalaithwen - Taehyung always thought, writing your own destiny was way better anyways.

Hold Me Through the Winter by KrellaTu - When Taehyung sets off for what should have been a boring lab expedition with Jungkook, his mage academy’s resident genius and total heartthrob, and Wonwoo, his devoted best friend, his life changes forever. Beneath Taehyung’s goofy antics is a dangerous past and an unbearable loneliness. Within his fragile heart is a secret power. The universe has more planned for him than he would hope. Can Taehyung and Jungkook’s relationship withstand the hardships to come?

These Grey Walls (Can’t keep me from you) by Gracetheorc - They aren’t allowed to love each other. Jungkook’s never liked following the rules.Trapped within the confines of an institution where even talking to someone else is prohibited, Jungkook and Taehyung just can’t stay away from each other anymore. No matter how much trouble it causes.

got a question or request? check our tags page first to see if what you’re looking for is already there, or use the search bar on our blog! if you don’t have any luck with that, feel free to send us an ask^^

[pretty-rage-machine]

The Young Wolves in Springtime: director’s commentary

Good friend @transversely​ requested I do a commentary on my Blade of the Immortal fic “The Young Wolves in Springtime” a long time ago.  I’m FINALLY around to it!  You can read the original fic here.

Before all the fights. Before years so steeped in blood. Before all that killing, so many people. They were just skinny kids. Magatsu had the muscle, Kagehisa the grace. Magatsu's first night. He felt homesick. Anotsu had watched him with fish-flat eyes all night and barely said a word. Grandpa Anotsu slept the next room over. The thin door was pulled closed, with a little gap left open. Kagehisa still watched with the same deadpan stare, sitting up with his sleeping robe fallen open to show his shoulders. There was little light except for the silver fall of moonshine. Kagehisa's eyes bored flatly into Magatsu. “Well, let's see,” his voice hardly a breath coming in the still air.   “What?” “They think you're good. Let's see.” What a weirdo. Magatsu sat up. He didn't feel like getting pushed around for however long by this kid whose ass he could probably kick with one hand tied behind his back.

Who the fuck makes friends like this? Only Kagehisa, that’s who. Let’s all be honest: he’s kind of a hyper-focused weirdo (I say this with love) even as an adult; as an awkward tween, he would have been far worse. I also imagine that Grandpa Anotsu is so horrendous to live with himself, and so unconcerned about Kagehisa having friends his own age, that Kagehisa’s social skills are bottom-tier no matter how good at fighting he is.

Magatsu, on the other hand, had a relatively normal upbringing. He seems to have cared a lot for his sister, so I presume his family loved both of them. He probably has friends. Now the only person around in his age bracket is Kagehisa, who is a complete freak, but the only peer Magatsu has.

Yikes.

Magatsu pulled his robe open, his right arm out of its sleeve, held it in front of him. He clenched his hand into a fist, curled up his hand to tense. It wasn't bad, he thought – he'd won fights. His growing muscle stood up like a burl from a tree. His skin prickled in the cold of night air. Kagehisa looked right back into his eyes. Did the same with his robe, his sleeve, his hand cocked up the same. The same muscle stood up. He was leaner than Magatsu, built different. The muscle the same, not the same, distributed different. Magatsu had been chopping wood for a good part of his life. He had some of the bulk for it, not all of it yet. But this kid was supposed to be good. Magatsu glared at him. Kagehisa smiled a weird smile. It looked like it kind of had a hard time on his face. Magatsu would bet for sure that he'd never got beat on by the big-kid coalition in town, when his dad took him in to help keep an eye on what they were selling.  “Not bad.” Kagehisa put his arm back and Magatsu did too, glad of it. It felt like he'd had a long life. He wanted to snuggle under the covers and crash into sleep. But Kagehisa watched with a curious face like a cat's. That was why it was so unnerving. “Welcome to the Itto-ryu. You'll get to try.”

Kagehisa is sincerely trying to be friendly here, which I think makes it all the worse/much more awkward/much funnier.

I’m a huge sucker for characters who don’t really understand how to be nice trying very hard to be nice, and kind of missing the mark.

“What the hell,” Magatsu said. This kid was his sempai now. What the hell. “I'm supposed to lead it.” Kagehisa didn't sound too sure at all. “Congratulations. You'll be part of an effort to revolutionize the country.” “What the hell.” No one Magatsu had met talked like that, ever. “We're going to reawaken the true spirit of swordsmanship in Nippon. It's fallen into decadent worship of techniques that are practically speaking useless.” The kid watched him. The words were fervent, the tone went over them sort of by rote. Still, Kagehisa head was tilted, keen and curious. “If they didn't tell you that, why are you here?”

Imagine, if you will, that this is said in a perfect robot voice. You’ll-be-part-of-an-effort-to-revolutionize-the-country-bleep-bloop-I-am-a-human.

“I just really hate samurai.” It came out in a quiet rush. Magatsu didn't know what he expected, but Kagehisa's face went still with thought. “Oh,” the kid said after a moment, without judgment in his tone. “I hate them too.”

They are off to an awkward start, but here’s the first moment of actual connection and having something in common. Kagehisa’s miserable life is sort of a byproduct of the system that makes and breaks samurai, so he doesn’t have quite the direct experience with samurai Magatsu has - Magatsu has lost someone he loved to samurai - but it doesn’t matter so much when the end results are the same.

Scene change!

There wasn't much money around the place, which Magatsu was used to. There were a lot of creepy guys that stayed around and about, which he wasn't. “Allies,” Grandpa Anotsu said, when asked. “Aren't you supposed to be chopping wood, you little brat?” There was no mellowness to his tone nor gentleness to his hands to soften the words.

I think it was probably healthy for Kagehisa to have Magatsu around. I feel like Anotsu probably never knew what it was like to have a warm and loving family who thought of him as if he were a child in need of protection. He was expected to perform like an adult from a very early age. Magatsu can’t change their living situation, but he is like a breath of normalcy who at least gives Kagehisa some hints that all is not well with his home life.

Kagehisa joined Magatsu as acting woodcutter. It was apparently not a chore he'd had before. He was intense, the kind of kid who's chop til his hands bled and then chop a little more. Lucky he already had plenty of calluses. Magatsu got the clear idea without ever being told that Kagehisa didn't spend a lot of time with kids. But they talked, between beating up on each other and the old codger beating up on Kagehisa.

I recall Manji (or maybe Shira?) telling Rin that one way to build practical muscle (which you obviously need for sword work) was by chopping wood, and in general doing hard labor like that. Grandpa Anotsu is apparently a follower of the same philosophy. I imagine Kagehisa and Magatsu do plenty of other drills and exercises, but a lot of their spare time is spent doing backbreaking chores for the cause and FOR THE MUSCLE.

One day they'd just got done splitting wood. It was early fall, and they'd chopped a lot of kindling. Enough Magatsu felt like they were sitting pretty for an entire winter, just like he'd felt when they chopped every other day. “We're selling it, of course,” Kagehisa said when he asked. The ax dropped to the ground. The handle was stained dark from the oils of their hands and Kagehisa's old blood. He'd had calluses but the handle of an ax was different than the handle of a sword. The pressures different. “I figured. Man, it's shit that we get landed with the whole damn job.” “Don't let grandfather hear you saying that.” Kagehisa turned his way with the same smile as usual, glib and dry as a lizard. “Let's let him know we're done.” “Let's not,” Magatsu suggested, on impulse. Then went on with haste when Kagehisa stared at him. “He's had us at this shit all day. He's just gonna give us another job. Let's do something else?” “What stunning diversion would you suggest?” Kagehisa said, by which Magatsu knew he had him. “Let's walk. Hey, let's explore. We can take our swords. We'll tell him we decided to practice together.” “That's hardly a diversion at all. I expected better from you.” “Yeah, well,” Magatsu said, deadpan back, “I'll work with what I've got.”

Another incidence of Magatsu being the breath of normalcy in the situation. By himself, Kagehisa wouldn’t rebel against his grandfather even in this small way. I’m sure he kind of hated Grandpa Anotsu, but he wouldn’t have risked getting beaten up or otherwise abused just to skive off work for a couple hours.

Magatsu puts them both at risk, but he also opens Kagehisa’s eyes to a different way of doing things, also occasionally doing things “just for fun” and not to serve some ultimate purpose.

Again, it’s Magatsu’s ‘normal’ background showing up again. He did plenty of work with his peasant family but also had time to relax, play, and enjoy himself. Kagehisa might not take the lead with such things and its influence might be hard to see, but it’s good for him to have someone so different from his grandfather and his minions.

They got their swords. It wasn't that hard. It wasn't hard to sneak off either, gramps off somewhere, probably ruminating bitterly about all he'd lost and how he could make their lives harder to make up for it or something. Besides his being a good swordsman Magatsu was not impressed with him as a sensei.

Ok I know Kagehisa is a revolutionary who wants to burn the system to the ground BUT I think especially as a kid he would buy into authority and be inclined to follow the rules, and if he broke rules he’d probably try to rules lawyer his way out of trouble. Magatsu, on the other hand, has a healthy distrust of anyone who aspires to be in charge of him. If I were writing a high school au he totally would have been a baby anarchist.

“I've explored everything already,” Kagehisa told him, once they were out of earshot of their little house. “There's not a whole lot around here, anyway. We might as well fight and then go back.” “Dude, I've never been. Don't make me sorry I invited you.” “Sorry to put a damper on your little outing.” Kagehisa shrugged, his sword resting on his shoulder bobbing with the motion. They were climbing up a gentle hill now, precursor to a larger mountain. Magatsu didn't feel like a hike, so he led them left and Kagehisa at least didn't complain about that part, just went on: “There's nothing exciting or dangerous to do. Tell me, do you even like being a swordsman?” “I like it but this training is shitty. No bandits or dogs or anything?” “Well, there were dogs.” Kagehisa's face still like the surface of a morning pond. “But not anymore.”

/IMPLIED MAKIE

I really love fics that are not just… about a duo. I like fics where characters have more than their ship partner or just one friend, even if it’s just implied. Makie does not appear in this story, but she’s very much on Kagehisa’s mind, just as she will be 10 years later.

Also again, Magatsu, the earnest anarchist, who just wants to explore and maybe chill a little and possibly have a normal friend moment or two with his weird lizard of a peer. Magatsu tries so hard.

Kagehisa and Magatsu aren’t naturally friends in this fic. If they weren’t sorta forced together by circumstance, they probably wouldn’t have become close. As it is, they don’t really have a choice.

It could have been a pretty walk. What leaves were left colored in red and yellow, branches scratched like ink strokes against the blue sky. The chill in the air even enlivened his skin like the scrape of a blade but Magatsu felt more aware of a hard winter to come and shivered with premonition. Besides that he kept an eye on Kagehisa. A furtive one. The kid walked with this weird look of still remove. He was always coming across glazed over, or several hundred ri away; a little slow sometimes, maybe. Except with a sword, where he was guaranteed on the ball. “I guess you know around here, huh?” Magatsu said it out a weird impulse to break the silence. “When did the dogs get lost?” “You talk so much,” Kagehisa said. Then, at a glimpse of Magatsu's offended place. “Not like that. Calm yourself.” “I do not,” Magatsu said, and sealed his lips up in preparation to maintain a manly silence for the rest of their jaunt. Kagehisa sighed. “Be an adult. If you have a question, why don't you ask it?” “I am an adult, and you are a real asshole.”

THEY’RE TWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEENS

I’m still proud of this little exchange at the end, and Magatsu’s determination to keep his ‘manly silence.’ I imagine before his sister died, he was a sweet, chatty, affectionate kid; I can’t see him as a comedian type (he’d love to do silly things but get flustered when people actually laughed. I have had students like this and I know the type) but he probably would have been quite open and pure in a way.

Unfortunately, circumstances nipped a lot of that inherent sweetness in the bud. It’s similar to what happened to Rin, who had to become a harder, more calculating person over the course of the series, just so she’d survive. Still, Magatsu has empathy for others, some sweetness, and an inherent interest in people, and it peeks out now and again, even when the audience is Kagehisa.

“Speaking as an adult,” Kagehisa said with a smirk, “A kindly demeanor doesn't get you far in the real world.” “Shut up.” “Why are you angry?” Kagehisa's tone tended steadily more clipped. “When you're fighting seriously a temper is a liability.” Magatsu knew that. The assumption that he didn't stung. He uncinched his lips to mutter. “We're not fighting seriously.” “You're taking it seriously.” Kagehisa shrugged and glanced away. Magatsu thought he'd get ignored until Kagehisa spoke again. “The dogs got killed years ago.” “Some kinda training rite from the old man?” “Well, he tried.” Magatsu could always recognize now when Kagehisa's smiles weren't real ones. “It didn't go so well.” They walked over hill upon hill. Zigzag branches diced up the sky. Up close, black bark shone rich brown or gleamed with blue highlights in the autumn sun. “It's nearby,” Kagehisa said eventually, “If you want to see the place.” It was a plateau that opened out into a clearing. “The dogs scavenged from town and came here to bed down at night,” Kagehisa said. “But they never found enough. They were always hungry. Sometimes they tried to steal from us. Grandfather finally got tired of it.” “So he helped you fight him.” Already, Magatsu could guess that wasn't how it had gone. “No, he sent me...” There was one tree in the middle of the clearing. Kagehisa went to it and touched it. The touch of an old man, Magatsu thought, or someone blind, reaching to understand... “There was a girl,” Kagehisa said. “Oh.” “Not like that, would you stop,” but Kagehisa's smile lost some of its lines of unfortunate strain there.

Tbh it’s a travesty we never saw Makie and Magatsu interact more in the series itself. I like to imagine they’re friends; they’re very different people, but have a lot of interests in common. I think they’d have compassion for each other. Someday maybe I’ll try and write a friendship fic with them.

Also, Kagehisa and Anotsu are definitely at the age where they’d notice girls, if there were girls around to notice.

A moment came. A precipice. Teetered on, and then fallen past. Two old men fought and then only one of them had his blood decorating the ground. That was how it was, that was how it had to be. Magatsu went to help Abayama. It seemed to have taken it out of the guy, killing Grandpa Anotsu. Magatsu helped him sit. Abayama didn't let go of his sword. Anotsu was still looking at the wreckage of his grandfather with his back to them both. His black ponytail fell limply over his tightly squared shoulders. Magatsu wondered if Abayama would have to kill him next.  Kagehisa turned and his face was wet, white and staring. Tight and confused, horrible with its tears. He stared at both Magatsu and Abayama as if surprised to find them there looking back at him. “I hated him,” Kagehisa said. “Take it easy, now,” Abayama said. “Family's family.” Men got crazy over less, Magatsu thought. Kagehisa stepped towards them. His eyes were still raw and staring, never having quite let out their tears. That was the moment that turned them both out into a new life.

Abayama definitely gave Kagehisa a hug after this scene change, Magatsu probably did too even though he was super embarrassed.

This series is haunted by Grandpa Anotsu’s ghost. He’s the one who was thrown out of the Asano dojo, and in a big way he’s responsible for setting Anotsu on his path. And he was a horrendously abusive guardian. Kagehisa is justified in hating him.

From that day they came a long way. It seemed like they were charmed with an easy work, or it was pleasant, as smooth as anyone could have wished. School after school, budding kenshi who’d never have blossomed anyway stamped out, the potentates gathered up. It became a blood-steeped story with more exposed entrails in it than Magatsu really thought there would be. The dead never went away. Not the new crowd, not his old tail. His sister was always at his heels, the flutter of her pink robes grabbing his eye from time to time. He could go a while without thinking of her and then circle back around and contemplate her existence for hours. Back around to her and Kagehisa and O-ren. Winter nights with their horrendous bite, summer nights slowing the world to a trickle, lulled in deep heat. Or the bitch-slap wind of spring. It came to a spring night with a nervous feel to it like a young horse taming to the saddle. A night at another brothel, one more upon an immeasurable number of flophouses and cheap inns. And nicer places. But the one night in particular: a brothel with a muddy yard, with a budding plum tree at the corner. A little sake for both of them. Half a bowl each. Magatsu had seen Kagehisa imbibe but they were past things like that. At least now was not the opportune moment for an alcoholic blowout. He who holds earth can conquer heaven but he who is too drunk to stand can’t even aim his dick to piss right. Magatsu would hesitate to say life was good, but it wasn’t horrible. And Kagehisa was filled with nervous, fever-bright energy.

I wish we’d learned Magatsu’s sister’s name in canon.

I like the imagery in these first paragraphs! Balancing dialogue, action and imagery is still a challenge for me. I can navel gaze with poetic images for paragraph upon paragraph, and it bothers me in my old work, but I don’t think I overdid it here.

Anyway, something that always bothers me in fiction is when characters so easily forget their dead. Magatsu is not perpetually sad about his sister, but I wanted to indicate that he never forgot her either, and always felt a bit haunted by her. He wants justice for her, not something that’s easy to find in the world of BotI.

He’s also not exactly a soft guy, but he is kind of sensitive to the awful things the Itto-ryu is doing.

It was hard to tell with him but they’d known each other for a long time. Kagehisa could always be controlled but his excitement gleamed in his eyes, the movement of his fingers on the ax-handle, his fixed smile. A warm spring night wouldn’t sway him. They drank together squatting in the yard. “Man, would you cool it?” Magatsu asked him finally. “You’re wigging me out.” “You talk so much.” “Yeah, well, try it sometime, maybe you’d scare off fewer women.” That made Kagehisa laugh. He could’ve pounded his hand bloody on a pulpit somewhere if he’d been raised to talk. Magatsu knew that much. Kagehisa had just been raised for something else. That was their high-water mark if Magatsu only knew it at the time. Kagehisa gazing up over the wall as the first stars wiped off their faces, Magatsu checking the Turk over, making sure it all fit quick, smooth and easy. They were on a trajectory towards greatness. They had so much to lose but it felt like anything lost would mean nothing. Would only be a move or two away from being won back. It wasn’t the first time Magatsu had heard the name Asano but it was the first time it stuck.

I imagine that Magatsu is one of the few Itto-ryu who’ll ever zing Anotsu, and probably one of the only ones (minus Makie) who could be called Kagehisa’s friend. They were kids together. Magatsu is one of the few people who remembers Kagehisa ever being vulnerable.

“They’re not a remarkable school,” Kagehisa told him, blasé and easy as always. “You know, it’s the one that threw grandfather out. The master has expressed some disrespect towards us now and, well…” His smile ironic: “You could say I’m putting grandfather’s soul to rest at last.” “Don’t go there, man. He was fucked in the head in the first place.” “Take care how you talk about the dead,” Kagehisa said with remarkable mildness, “They always might hear you. The master has a lovely wife and a young daughter, I believe. Almost fourteen. Somewhere thereabouts.” Magatsu thinks about that and then doesn’t. Almost fourteen, not much like his own sister at all. She’d be old enough to be wed by now, even. Maybe. Maybe with a child. “That shit’s not important. If they stand in front of us, roll ‘em over. But don’t do it because of your old man’s old man.” “I’ll do it for the Itto-ryu and the future of the country, not for him.” Kagehisa could do a cool snap withdrawal when it suited him. Like now. Magatsu looked sideways at him and Kagehisa looked back, steady. Family was always family. And, well – it was Magatsu’s ugly story too, there. But not all his. Magatsu likes little girls. In the healthy way, thanks, and he’s got the wherewithal to slice anyone who intimated anything nasty about his liking for them in half. He doesn’t show it much. It doesn’t have much place in the business. Just, he likes little girls, and bigger ones, watching them in the dusty streets, watching them shout at their brothers imperiously. Even the big girls. What his sister could’ve been. “That family must be put down,” Kagehisa says. He has a good capacity for casual cruelty. More than Magatsu’s got, enough like a leader needs. “Dude, kill who you want. I’m not attached.”

Of course this is a prelude to the incident with Rin. I would say the first cracks in Magatsu’s allegiance to the Itto-ryu showed there.

Gramps is dead, but Anotsu is still damaged by him. Honestly I don’t think he ever got over that damage. BotI was not a series that went easy on its characters, and frankly the Anotsu family line was not wrong that there was plenty wrong with the world they were living in. Magatsu is right to be uncomfortable with this though. Even as a kid he was always the more objective one regarding Grandpa Anotsu and his dream. Anotsu is going to do some terrible things in the name of avenging his grandfather and Magatsu can feel it even if he doesn’t know the exact details.

Abayama killed Grandpa when it became necessary but as they say you can’t kill an idea. Anotsu has carried the idea forward himself.

“We could spare the girl, if you like.” Kagehisa watches him. The offer sounds like it’s given without a care. His eyes have got no shine in them sometimes. He’s not paranoid but he’s always watching, and sometimes – Magatsu hasn’t got a hard-on for him. But sometimes it’s a look that’s vulnerable. “It doesn’t matter,” Magatsu returns, keeping the eye contact up, breaking it casually to turn back to the Turk. He would follow Kagehisa anyway. It was still the high-water mark. Before he watched his comrades rape a woman and walked away from it. Still there was no telling the future. What came ahead could be as important as anything that came behind. “I’ll keep that in mind,” Kagehisa says.  If Magatsu knew what was all to come. If Magatsu knew his life, and the tempestuous years ahead. The whole business, when he stopped doing it to mend sandals or work fields he remembered why he hated it, and then remembered again why he didn’t have a taste for the simple life. There was no place for a good man to rest easy.  Thinking like that he’d been on the run for all the part of his life that mattered. On the run, and putting his feet in Kagehisa’s footsteps. As terrible as the things they did were, as awkward and bizarre as Kagehisa was, it was just so familiar to be at his back. Magatsu felt sometimes at parting the squeeze of a bitter, fire-forged affection that would never rest easy between them. It had been more fair than he liked to say it didn’t matter what Kagehisa chose to do to the woman, to the girl. What Kagehisa chose to let others do to those women. Magatsu’d come much too far with him to cut it off easy right there, or not to go on with him for longer. They were brothers-in-arms by now.

I made myself emotional with my own fic, help

Anyway. The feeling at the end should definitely be that it’s maybe not a GOOD thing that these two are as close as they are. I would say Magatsu loves Kagehisa, I don’t make any distinction tbh if it’s friendship or a romantic ship; Kagehisa in all his weirdness and intensity is simply the most important person in Magatsu’s life at this time. And yet, he won’t be able to follow Kagehisa everywhere; he doesn’t always agree with Kagehisa.

The thing about Magatsu that makes him interesting is he basically is… too sensitive to comfortably live in the world of BotI as it is (which is why his ending of happily working in the fields was pretty terrible).

Kagehisa was never WRONG that the system he lived within was massively unjust and kind of broken and in need of huge restructuring. But the things he did to achieve that were absolutely wrong, and terrible. I believe he grew a lot over the course of the series (imagine end-series Anotsu redoing the scene with Rin’s parents; I think he might still have killed her dad, but things with her mom would NOT have gone the same way)... but no matter how much he grew I think he couldn’t do what would have been necessary to “escape” the system.  At least, by the time he wanted to escape the system in that way, so much had happened and so many bridges were burned that it was impossible.

Honestly, as I say that, I’m not even sure what “escaping” the system would have looked like, other than leaving for China, which in the canon’s case was not an escape but a sign of just how broken and defeated Kagehisa was in those moments.

Anyway, I think the fact that Kagehisa had genuine desires to create a better system, but he didn’t think through what worst-case scenario consequences would be for people like Rin. And Magatsu, in the meantime, couldn’t escape what worst-case scenario consequences would be for people like Rin. He was too empathetic to ignore those things, and too sensitive to injustice to be as ruthless as Kagehisa when it came to changing things.

What it meant was that even though Magatsu loved Kagehisa, their friendship would eventually break apart, as it does on and off in canon until the very end where Magatsu doesn’t meet up with Anotsu to go to China. And I think even when they’re not friends, they still love each other; that’s what’s tragic about them. They’ll always be unique people to each other, and irreplaceable. But… the cost of one of them following the other would always be too high.

[thedappleddragon]

Day 68 (Tuesday May 19)

I woke up, took a shower, and prepared for the day. I did a bit of laundry and put on clean pajamas and just kind of hung out inside until I got board and went outside.

All the plants in my backyard have like exploded with green in the last week and it was warm and humid out after a rain and it was beautiful so I walked around looking at all the plant growth. There’s a climbing vine on the side of the mini barn that’s grown taller than the side and is trying to reach into the gutters. There’s a semi-circle of something with lots of little clovers that looks like a thrown for the fae. Most of the wild violets have disappeared, but little yellow flowers are sprouting up in its place. There’s a mystery plant right next to our abandoned wood patio that sprouts out in a circle and then wag stem keeps splitting off into 2 and then 2 again and again and it’s really pretty. There’s something overtaking the space along the fence where edible clovers used to be. All the small trees along the fence look so much more alive with leaves on them now. The biggest tree in my backyard and maybe on the whole street had been holding onto some leaves from fall but now it’s full and beautiful and green again. There’s a vine thing along another fence near the trampoline that flowers!! I never knew it did that! There are dandelions in my sandbox over a foot tall, but they fell over in the rain. I didn’t explore the muddy area near the swingset but there’s not a lot over there usually aside from one of my brothers’ trees. The clover patches are bouncing back too and growing some FAT clovers. They’re not the same kind as the little yellow-y ones near the fae thrown or the back fence, they’re darker with a whiter band on the leaf if that makes sense. The grass has gotten long and I love it. I love how much different plant life is in my backyard and I wish my dad would never mow it.

Mentions of dead animals in this next paragraph, so be warned. Vulture culture kind of stuff.

Along with all the greenery in my backyard, I’ve been conducting an experiment. A while ago, I found a mouse that my cat had killed when she went into the garage, and instead of throwing it in the trash, I threw it into the backyard near the door where I could find it later. I left it to decompose so I could get the skull later, but I wish I had left it in an open container instead of on the dirt because it got rained on and made it harder to find today. I found the skull and some of the other bones, but I didn’t particularly care about those. I DIDNT TOUCH IT WITH MY HANDS that would be gross and unsafe probably. I used a stick. I grabbed a takeout lid and nudged it on there so I could gently slosh it in a puddle to get the mud and excess tissue off. I was amazed with how tiny the teeth were... I don’t think the skull was fully in tact, and some parts looked thin and almost see-through. Idk if that means anything, but it looked different than what I looked up online later. I left the skull on the lid and placed it somewhere it would be protected outside if it stormed later and unseen in case anyone else went outside. I went inside and washed my hand VERY thoroughly several times with soap and water and hand sanitizer, even though I didn’t touch anything. Better safe than sorry.

After hanging out in my backyard, I started getting ready for my friend’s drive-by birthday party parade. I didn’t really know what to expect. A bunch of her friends showed up to a park near her house to meet up beforehand and put streamers on our cars and talk for a little bit. It was such a fun time just being able to see people in person again. (We we’re keeping our distance and everyone had masks btw) I felt so happy and everything almost felt normal for a bit and I teared up ngl. It was also bittersweet because I wanted nothing more than to give some of those people a hug but I knew I couldn’t. We were joking around and hanging out and talking waiting for everyone to arrive, and then we all headed for our cars. As we drive down the street, I was so exited to see her reaction, because it was a surprise party. She was so happy she cried which made me super happy and I was so glad to see her and tell her I love her in person and I handed her the present and card I made and grabbed her hand for a second (I washed my hands before I went) and wished her a happy birthday and drove off and that was that. She texted my later telling me how much she loved her gift and it made me happy all over again.

When I got home, I had a calculus final to do. The teacher made us download a browser that didn’t let you use anything in the background while taking the test but I had my other laptop and my phone and looked up how to do everything. I thought I was doing great and only missing like 2 questions out of 25 but when I turned it in I got a 16/25 :( thankfully it was on a curve so I got a c instead of an f. Then my dad brought home subway and I worked on all my other work for the day and realized that my teacher changed the due date for the final essay to Thursday instead of next Monday so that made me mad and I had to immediately start reading the book to finish it. I’ve only read 3 more chapters because this book is kind of boring. Theoretically I could do one of the prompts from earlier in the book but i guess I’ll finish it >:/

While I was taking a break from reading I remembered my old math teacher from freshman year who committed suicide last semester. I got emotional thinking about he didn’t get to see me graduate and I wouldn’t get to go to the winter break party he held every year for alumni. I wanted to tell him I’m sorry, but obviously I can’t do that. But then I started writing this and got really happy thinking about my friend’s birthday again.