#so third time’s LUCKY AA

[plugnuts]

yeahh, it was a math exam so I didn't do great, but at least I passed. And it's ok the apple is already stuck on my frequent emojis too LOL, I'm making a mark I guess. I've got some books here I've been wanting to read so I'll probably do that for a while, anyway hope you have/had a good night! (depending on when you see this) ~ 🍎

A pass is a PASS my guy!! I’m proud of you! Maths is a bitch to deal with even to those who like the subject, so the fact that you passed is a WIN! And dude HONESTLY these exchanges of ours really said to our recent emojis:

And HELL yeah my dude!! I hope you enjoyed your reading, or if you’re still reading then you should probably put it down- but I’ve had an okay day!! Heavily infected with the tired sleepy but doing good :D I hope you’ve had/are having a great day yourself! 🍎

[mostlysignssomeportents]

It all started with a mouse

For the public domain, time stopped in 1998, when the Sonny Bono Copyright Act froze copyright expirations for 20 years. In 2019, time started again, with a massive crop of works from 1923 returning to the public domain, free for all to use and adapt:

https://web.law.duke.edu/cspd/publicdomainday/2019/

No one is better at conveying the power of the public domain than Jennifer Jenkins and James Boyle, who run the Duke Center for the Study of the Public Domain. For years leading up to 2019, the pair published an annual roundup of what we would have gotten from the public domain in a universe where the 1998 Act never passed. Since 2019, they've switched to celebrating what we're actually getting each year. Last year's was a banger:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/12/20/free-for-2023/#oy-canada

But while there's been moderate excitement at the publicdomainification of "Yes, We Have No Bananas," AA Milne's "Now We Are Six," and Sherlock Holmes, the main event that everyone's anticipated arrives on January 1, 2024, when Mickey Mouse enters the public domain.

The first appearance of Mickey Mouse was in 1928's Steamboat Willie. Disney was critical to the lobbying efforts that extended copyright in 1976 and again in 1998, so much so that the 1998 Act is sometimes called the Mickey Mouse Protection Act. Disney and its allies were so effective at securing these regulatory gifts that many people doubted that this day would ever come. Surely Disney would secure another retrospective copyright term extension before Jan 1, 2024. I had long arguments with comrades about this – people like Project Gutenberg founder Michael S Hart (RIP) were fatalistically certain the public domain would never come back.

But they were wrong. The public outrage over copyright term extensions came too late to stave off the slow-motion arson of the 1976 and 1998 Acts, but it was sufficient to keep a third extension away from the USA. Canada wasn't so lucky: Justin Trudeau let Trump bully him into taking 20 years' worth of works out of Canada's public domain in the revised NAFTA agreement, making swathes of works by living Canadian authors illegal at the stroke of a pen, in a gift to the distant descendants of long-dead foreign authors.

Now, with Mickey's liberation bare days away, there's a mounting sense of excitement and unease. Will Mickey actually be free? The answer is a resounding YES! (albeit with a few caveats). In a prelude to this year's public domain roundup, Jennifer Jenkins has published a full and delightful guide to The Mouse and IP from Jan 1 on:

https://web.law.duke.edu/cspd/mickey/

Disney loves the public domain. Its best-loved works, from The Sorcerer's Apprentice to Sleeping Beauty, Pinnocchio to The Little Mermaid, are gorgeous, thoughtful, and lively reworkings of material from the public domain. Disney loves the public domain – we just wish it would share.

Disney loves copyright's other flexibilities, too, like fair use. Walt told the papers that he took his inspiration for Steamboat Willie from Charlie Chaplin and Douglas Fairbanks, making fair use of their performances to imbue Mickey with his mischief and derring do. Disney loves fair use – we just wish it would share.

Disney loves copyright's limitations. Steamboat Willie was inspired by Buster Keaton's silent film Steamboat Bill (titles aren't copyrightable). Disney loves copyright's limitations – we just wish it would share.

As Jenkins writes, Disney's relationship to copyright is wildly contradictory. It's the poster child for the public domain's power as a source of inspiration for worthy (and profitable) new works. It's also the chief villain in the impoverishment and near-extinction of the public domain. Truly, every pirate wants to be an admiral.

Disney's reliance on – and sabotage of – the public domain is ironic. Jenkins compares it to "an oil company relying on solar power to run its rigs." Come January 1, Disney will have to share.

Now, if you've heard anything about this, you've probably been told that Mickey isn't really entering the public domain. Between trademark claims and later copyrightable elements of Mickey's design, Mickey's status will be too complex to understand. That's totally wrong.

Jenkins illustrates the relationship between these three elements in (what else) a Mickey-shaped Venn diagram. Topline: you can use all the elements of Mickey that are present in Steamboat Willie, along with some elements that were added later, provided that you make it clear that your work isn't affiliated with Disney.

Let's unpack that. The copyrightable status of a character used to be vague and complex, but several high-profile cases have brought clarity to the question. The big one is Les Klinger's case against the Arthur Conan Doyle estate over Sherlock Holmes. That case established that when a character appears in both public domain and copyrighted works, the character is in the public domain, and you are "free to copy story elements from the public domain works":

https://freesherlock.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/klinger-order-on-motion-for-summary-judgment-c.pdf

This case was appealed all the way to the Supreme Court, who declined to hear it. It's settled law.

So, which parts of Mickey aren't going into the public domain? Elements that came later: white gloves, color. But that doesn't mean you can't add different gloves, or different colorways. The idea of a eyes with pupils is not copyrightable – only the specific eyes that Disney added.

Other later elements that don't qualify for copyright: a squeaky mouse voice, being adorable, doing jaunty dances, etc. These are all generic characteristics of cartoon mice, and they're free for you to use. Jenkins is more cautious on whether you can give your Mickey red shorts. She judges that "a single, bright, primary color for an article of clothing does not meet the copyrightability threshold" but without settled law, you might wanna change the colors.

But what about trademark? For years, Disney has included a clip from Steamboat Willie at the start of each of its films. Many observers characterized this as a bid to create a de facto perpetual copyright, by making Steamboat Willie inescapably associated with products from Disney, weaving an impassable web of trademark tripwires around it.

But trademark doesn't prevent you from using Steamboat Willie. It only prevents you from misleading consumers "into thinking your work is produced or sponsored by Disney." Trademarks don't expire so long as they're in use, but uses that don't create confusion are fair game under trademark.

Copyrights and trademarks can overlap. Mickey Mouse is a copyrighted character, but he's also an indicator that a product or service is associated with Disney. While Mickey's copyright expires in a couple weeks, his trademark doesn't. What happens to an out-of-copyright work that is still a trademark?

Luckily for us, this is also a thoroughly settled case. As in, this question was resolved in a unanimous 2000 Supreme Court ruling, Dastar v. Twentieth Century Fox. A live trademark does not extend an expired copyright. As the Supremes said:

[This would] create a species of mutant copyright law that limits the public’s federal right to copy and to use expired copyrights.

This elaborates on the Ninth Circuit's 1996 Maljack Prods v Goodtimes Home Video Corp:

[Trademark][ cannot be used to circumvent copyright law. If material covered by copyright law has passed into the public domain, it cannot then be protected by the Lanham Act without rendering the Copyright Act a nullity.

Despite what you might have heard, there is no ambiguity here. Copyrights can't be extended through trademark. Period. Unanimous Supreme Court Decision. Boom. End of story. Done.

But even so, there are trademark considerations in how you use Steamboat Willie after Jan 1, but these considerations are about protecting the public, not Disney shareholders. Your uses can't be misleading. People who buy or view your Steamboat Willie media or products have to be totally clear that your work comes from you, not Disney.

Avoiding confusion will be very hard for some uses, like plush toys, or short idents at the beginning of feature films. For most uses, though, a prominent disclaimer will suffice. The copyright page for my 2003 debut novel Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom contains this disclaimer:

This novel is a work of fiction, set in an imagined future. All the characters and events portrayed in this book, including the imagined future of the Magic Kingdom, are either fictitious or are used fictitiously. The Walt Disney Company has not authorized or endorsed this novel.

https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250196385/downandoutinthemagickingdom

Here's the Ninth Circuit again:

When a public domain work is copied, along with its title, there is little likelihood of confusion when even the most minimal steps are taken to distinguish the publisher of the original from that of the copy. The public is receiving just what it believes it is receiving—the work with which the title has become associated. The public is not only unharmed, it is unconfused.

Trademark has many exceptions. The First Amendment protects your right to use trademarks in expressive ways, for example, to recreate famous paintings with Barbie dolls:

https://www.copyright.gov/fair-use/summaries/mattel-walkingmountain-9thcir2003.pdf

And then there's "nominative use": it's not a trademark violation to use a trademark to accurately describe a trademarked thing. "We fix iPhones" is not a trademark violation. Neither is 'Works with HP printers.' This goes double for "expressive" uses of trademarks in new works of art:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rogers_v._Grimaldi

What about "dilution"? Trademark protects a small number of superbrands from uses that "impair the distinctiveness or harm the reputation of the famous mark, even when there is no consumer confusion." Jenkins says that the Mickey silhouette and the current Mickey character designs might be entitled to protection from dilution, but Steamboat Willie doesn't make the cut.

Jenkins closes with a celebration of the public domain's ability to inspire new works, like Disney's Three Musketeers, Disney's Christmas Carol, Disney's Beauty and the Beast, Disney's Around the World in 80 Days, Disney's Alice in Wonderland, Disney's Snow White, Disney's Hunchback of Notre Dame, Disney's Sleeping Beauty, Disney's Cinderella, Disney's Little Mermaid, Disney's Pinocchio, Disney's Huck Finn, Disney's Robin Hood, and Disney's Aladdin. These are some of the best-loved films of the past century, and made Disney a leading example of what talented, creative people can do with the public domain.

As of January 1, Disney will start to be an example of what talented, creative people give back to the public domain, joining Dickens, Dumas, Carroll, Verne, de Villeneuve, the Brothers Grimm, Twain, Hugo, Perrault and Collodi.

Public domain day is 17 days away. Creators of all kinds: start your engines!

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/12/15/mouse-liberation-front/#free-mickey

Image: Doo Lee (modified) https://web.law.duke.edu/sites/default/files/images/centers/cspd/pdd2024/mickey/Steamboat-WIllie-Enters-Public-Domain.jpeg

CC BY 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.en

[alectoperdita]

Seems like Kaiba met him then 👀 What's Mitsurugi's comment to Kaiba if the latter refers to Naruhodo as a "third-rate lawyer" HAHAHAHA

Also also

How would they (mitsurugi and naruhodo) react if they saw mob jou

If they're both defense attorneys based in the same city, they'll likely have run into each other at some point. Given that Kaiba met Naruhodo at an event with others in their profession, and Mitsurugi would be there too.

Omg omg no! I just changed my mind! For maximum awkward, they met at Mitsurugi's birthday party one year. 🤣🤣🤣 Kaiba usually gets an invitation as a long-time acquaintance/family friend. Kaiba has probably heard about Naruhodo well before meeting him. Either from Mitsurugi in passing or just through the general law profession grapevine.

Man, I hope this Kaiba has enough social grace to not call Naruhodo that in Mitsurugi's presence. The "third-rate lawyer" impression is more of a holdover from Naruhodo's early days, when he was more fumbling in court and seemed to be getting lucky more than anything winning his cases. Hmm actually, Kaiba might have called Naruhodo "third-rate" to Mitsurugi's face before the final case of the first AA game. Then it's early enough that Mitsurugi might not take offense on Naruhodo's behalf.

How do they feel about Jou? Oooo that's a good question. 🤔

Mitsurugi would probably be suspicious that Kaiba has gotten involved with something shady. Jou's not exactly subtle in his signifiers about being in the yakuza. As for Naruhodo, that likely depends on the context in which they meet? If it's in a social setting, like both pairs just ran into each other on the street and made introductions, Naruhodo might just think Jou's a friendly guy. I mean his best friend is Larry, so not like Naruhodo doesn't already have friends that act kinda shady. 😅

[characteroulette]

"I love Apollo Justice it's my fave game in the AA series" I say as I proceed to *completely trash the third case every single time*

4-3 is such a hot mess. why the fuck did we all just. accept that a 14-year-old baby shot a man with a hand cannon and then lugged that fully grown adult man's dead body to the stage, without being detected???? excuse me??????

What bugs the shit outta me every time is the whole "Machi did it obvs and no other suspects exist!" Like!!!! Bitch he's a year younger than Trucy and you're telling me he not only shot a hand cannon without dislocating his shoulder, but also moved the dead body of a full-grown and giant man on his own without anyone else noticing him?????

Like no one even checks if he hurt himself shooting the gun because he didn't!!! I'm fucking incensed about this Machi Tobaye actually the strongest 14 year old ever I heard he can pick up a grand piano with one hand >T

Machi's whole situation was fucked, since he was gonna get executed if you failed to defend him. I wanna know the circumstances that led to Machi requesting Apollo specifically still. who told him that Apollo was a lawyer?? did Lamiroir talk to him about it? did Klavier?? is it the vague resemblance to Lamiroir Apollo has going on??? Did Machi recognise Apollo's bracelet????

also Apollo watched a man die? I don't think we talk about that as much as we should

Apollo literally heard the dying words of a man and was haunted by it constantly in 4-3 and yet it's totally forgotten about after the fact. boy needs therapy please someone ::::

Romein LeTouse sat on the ground, bleeding out for like 20 minutes before Apollo and Ema found the scene (and also oof he had to deal with those firecrackers going off right in front of him ;;; ) only for Apollo to sit with him as he desperately pleaded for them to listen to Lamiroir, whom he knew had "witnessed" his death because of the song playing as he was shot. interpol agents do not fuck around (and also Apollo's life is a nightmare ;m; ;;; )

(actually mentioning the firecrackers, what sort of fire-retardant shit were those made of so that the room didn't catch on fire?? what type of wacky firecrackers you got Japan??)

Shark boy also lucky we live in a world of dumbasses

in going over this case for my AU, I've realised that. the existence of the dying message alone indicates that he was shot long before Ema and Apollo heard the bangs.

the bullet holes from the gun also would've been like, smoking or had dust coming out of them if they were any kind of recent BUT maybe I'm also thinking about this too hard hahahaha and considering his time of death matches up with when Apollo and Ema found him, it would be very hard to prove when exactly he was shot, so like shark boy got REAL lucky :T

I dunno what the fuck Daryan's deal was, but he just comes off to me as having a personal Grudge against Apollo specifically??? I don't have any evidence to back this up, it's just a general feel I get because of how goddamn antagonistic he is towards Apollo throughout the whole case

like, all Apollo did was acquiesce to Klav's whole "point out who the fuck missed the cue here!!" minigame. then Apollo and Trucy talked about how the lyrics mirrored the crime and *gave him an idea to make his alibi more solid*

(which was move the fucking body Daryan you FUCKING WEIRDO)

but he's just. Hostile. for no good reason!!

the biggest twist would be if Daryan figured out a way to pin the crime on Apollo. Woof that would've been wild.

[gtanddragons]

Back with another old AA fic, woo! This one is a fair bit longer than what I usually post, and it’s (thankfully) more well-edited since I wrote it for @acetrainerhope‘s birthday a couple years ago. ^^ 

This one involves borrower!Franziska and Maya meeting for the first time, when they’re both about 13 years old! I thought it would be pretty fun/ironic if the von Karmas lived in the Fey & Co. Law Offices, so here they be. >v>

---

(Deep breaths.

In, out.

In, out.

You will be flawless. There is no other option.)

Franziska swallows thickly, even as she looks out over the sprawling expanse of the massive office space before her. From her perch on the bookshelf, she can see it all: the sofa tucked into the corner of the room, the light from a streetlamp outside dimly reflecting off of one of the framed posters on the walls… all is silent at this time of the night. 

Her task should be easy enough; she just needs to rappel down the bookshelf, swing across the gap to land atop the desk, and collect two paperclips-- maybe some push-pins, if she’s lucky. Then, rappel once more down the side of the desk to the floor, where she can then make her way to one of her family’s hidden entrances behind the bookshelves.

Relatively quick and efficient-- she feels a brief surge of pride, even despite her anxiety. Of course the plan was perfect, and the entrances and exits perfect, too; she would expect no less from her Papa and his decades of borrowing experience. 

(Relax, Franziska. Being perfect on an expedition this simple will be a cinch.)

As far as she was aware, thirteen years of age was considered rather… early for a borrower to go out on their first solo expedition, but she’s a von Karma, damn it! She can do this. She was born ready. She--

She looks out over the ledge, feeling a wave of vertigo threatening to take over her stomach. 

(...N...No… I…) 

Franziska clenches her fists, feeling the dig of her nails in the skin of her palms. Before her own racing, terrified thoughts can continue, she snaps out her grappling hook with an aggressive thwack.

(A von Karma will not be bested by heights!)

Clack-- THUNK!

Franziska huffs even as the grappling hook lodges into the wood of the bookshelf, ignoring the persistent stinging in her eyes. With a sharp tug-- and a satisfying lack of give-- she closes her eyes…

...And steps backwards off the ledge.

She lets out a sharp yelp despite herself as she plunges into open air, but she’s quickly brought back into reality as gravity, and her own momentum, cause her to swing back towards the bookshelves, and to whack her shin with a sharp crack against the unforgiving wood.

Her grip tightens on the rope, a sudden surge of rage flooding her entire body. She kicks off from the second ledge, shooting off into open air once more-- lowering herself further, to the third shelf. Another kick, another, steadier descent-- and, finally, finally, she’s only a little higher than the desk. 

(It’s time.)

She steadies herself on the fourth ledge down, her grip tightening on the rope in her hands and tugging it tightly between her clenched fists.

(I can do this!)

Her legs seem to move on their own-- backing away, before starting forward-- faster, faster, she has to go faster!

She’s jumping and the ledge is gone, the rope drawing taut in her hands even as she soars-- her heart is stilled. Nothing exists but her and the speed, the open air, the-- the--!

Her feet hit the surface of the desk with a loud clunk, the momentum sending her reeling forwards… but after a moment of stunned silence, Franziska stamps her foot and snaps the rope tight between her fists once more. An elated, high-pitched squeal escapes her lips before she can stop it, a delighted giggle slipping out with it.

(I… did it! I did it!! I DID IT!!!!)

With a flick of her wrist, the grappling hook is dislodged from the bookshelves looming above the desk, falling nigh to the floor and quietly thumping against the desk before she begins to reel it back up. A smug look settles on her face even as she hefts the coil back over her shoulder. Now, where was she--?

Cli-click…

Franziska freezes.

...Thump… thump, thump… click!

A wave of horror crashes down on her, even as, in the distance… the door leading to the office’s main entrance…

(The light… the light switch… there’s light shining from underneath the door!

Someone is coming!)

In a blind panic, Franziska darts behind what she can-- the base of the desk lamp will, hopefully, keep her shielded from any prying eyes… she hopes.

Much to her chagrin, the footsteps continue, leading into the office and opening the door with a slow creak.

“Urgh… she didn’t say it was gonna be this creepy in here at night…”

Franziska winces even as the lights are switched on, temporarily blinding her even as she huddles tighter to the base of the lamp.

(Please, don’t come any closer… please…!)

From her vantage point, she can’t make out much-- though, the sound of the approaching voice… she thinks she’s heard it before. It’s childish, not the voice of the office’s most common human resident, but she’d heard it once before when the office had switched owners, on moving day…

“Mmghh… I can’t believe she expects me to tell the difference between all these dumb files… they all look the same,” the voice mutters-- and, with a start, Franziska realizes that it’s practically coming from right on top of her.

“...AM-2… AM-2… Mmm…”

The footsteps are drawing closer, closer-- they’re rounding the desk and--

Franziska’s heart stops.

Towering above her is a human girl adorned in lavender robes, a seemingly-endless cascade of black hair tumbling over her shoulders and down her back, and--

She can’t seem to breathe, much less move, even as their gazes lock-- gray on gray, a moment of silence between the two of them… and then…

The human’s eyes widen even as she leans in closer-- closer, she’s too close!-- and it finally jumpstarts Franziska’s heart into a deafening roar. She’s running for her life in a flash, ignoring the surprised yelp that comes from behind her. She’s frantically unraveling the grappling hook even as she flees-- if she can just--!

“W-wait!”

It’s not coming undone fast enough she’s getting too close to the ledge, she can’t--!

B r e a t h l e s s.

For what feels like the thousandth time tonight, a completely weightless sensation overtakes the young borrower, her stomach dropping and leaving her behind, leaving her alone, leaving her with… with…

...With the pressure around her body.

Her heart slams desperately against the cage of her chest even as she’s lifted up-- held in place by a human hand, a human hand like the ones Papa told her about, the ones that crushed borrowers in one squeeze, the ones that effortlessly tugged arms and legs free from their--!

She can’t help it.

Franziska begins to sob.

An incomprehensible string of words floods from her mouth even as she cries-- begging, pleading, shrieking, rage-- she doesn’t want to die. Not on her very first borrowing expedition. Not so young. Not like this.

(Papa--! Miles--! Please…!)

“I-- oh gosh, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to--!”

(…?)

The grip around her… at first, she thinks she’s imagining it as a final act of desperation, but no-- it’s loosening. Her stomach drops again as she’s hurriedly moved-- but this time, she’s being moved back down. 

Her feet touch the desk, and she’s left staring, stunned, at the massive, retreating hand that had so easily snatched her up.

Trembling. She’s trembling, but she’s alive, and those huge, gray eyes are peering down at her even still. But they don’t… they don’t seem malicious, no. Not the way Papa always described them. They’re big, compared to the human’s face-- a soft face, barely past the years of childhood, so very unlike Papa’s-- or even Miles’, these days.

Soft, like her own face. This human girl can’t be much older than she is, herself… and she looks almost just as ready to cry as Franziska is, too.

“I-I’m so sorry,” the human blurts out, clasping her hands together and covering her mouth worriedly. “I-I didn’t mean to scare you, I just thought you were about to-- to jump, and--!”

A little girl. A little girl like her.

“And-- and I’m… I’m…”

Franziska can only watch in what she could only describe as a ‘the world as I know it is crumbling around me’ sort of way.

“I’m so sorry, again-- are you okay…?”

Franziska blinks, even as the girl bites her thumb and nervously stares down at her.

Waiting for an answer. Conversing, like… like a borrower. Not trying to crush her to death or cage her like in the stories.

“I’m fine,” Franziska croaks numbly.

(I’m fine.

I’m alive.)

“Thank goodness!” The girl chirps, before sheepishly rubbing her arm. “I, um… Oh, I shouldn’t be rude, um… rude-er, I mean-- m-my name is Maya! Maya Fey! What’s… do you have a name, too?”

(Fey. That name sounds familiar…)

“Franziska,” she manages. And then, she finally straightens up, shakily adjusting the grappling hook and rope slung around her shoulder. “...Franziska von Karma.”

Maya blinks in surprise, lowering her clasped hands from her mouth ever so slightly. If she’d been expecting a response to her question, it certainly didn’t seem like it.

“Oh! U-um!”

She pauses once more before regaining traction, rocking back and forth on her heels and shooting the borrower before her a small smile.

“That’s… that’s a really neat name! It’s so fancy, like something out of a storybook!”

(...Fancy…?)

Franziska can feel her face heating up even as she bites her lip.

“W-well…”

She suddenly tenses up-- and so does Maya-- as a woman’s voice calls out in the distance.

“Maya! Do you need help finding it?”

“N-no!” Maya shouts back. Franziska winces, her hands immediately shooting up to clap over her ears. “Uh-- I’ve got it; just one sec, sis!”

Maya bites her lip, her gaze lingering on Franziska for a moment longer before shifting so she can peer up at the bookshelves. “...Yyyyyyyoouuuu wouldn’t happen to know how to find a case file, would you?”

Franziska winces at that. If she lets on that she does know how to sort through the files-- Papa liked to read through them sometimes-- then she’ll almost certainly be giving away the fact that she lives here… but…

Then again, if she doesn’t hurry to help, she’ll have another human to contend with.

“AM-2, was it?” Franziska prods, and upon getting a somewhat startled, somewhat hopeful, nod from Maya, she gives the shelves a quick once-over. Even at this distance, she’s quickly able to point directly at one of the case files. “It’s on the second shelf from the bottom, there.”

Maya’s eyes widen even as she stoops down to check-- and with a triumphant smile, she comes back up with a manila folder clutched in her hands. Much to Franziska’s pleasure, she can see the bright, bold label of ‘AM-2’ from her position on the desk.

“Thanks!” Maya chirps. And then she glances between Franziska, down to the floor, and back. “...Oh, um! Did you need help down, Franzy?”

(Franzy?)

She quickly shakes her head. As genuinely kind as the human seems, she does not want to experience being picked up again… that, and she still has an expedition to complete. And although Maya seems a bit disappointed for a second at Franziska’s response, she soon perks up.

“Will I see you again?”

Franziska… hesitates.

It should be an immediate ‘no’. A borrower shouldn’t be interacting with a human, period-- and she doubts that Papa won’t freak out if he finds out that his own daughter had been speaking to one… held, even.

...But… somehow, she can’t bring herself to shake her head again.

“Maybe,” she finally settles upon, the word stinging guiltily on her lips… though, with it comes a quick flutter of her heart. A flutter of some strange sort of thrill-- the thrill of danger, perhaps? The thrill of such a big secret…?

“Maya, if you can’t find it, you can just ask for help--”

“No, no! I got it, I’m coming!” Maya shouts. Then she pauses to bite her lip before shooting Franziska a small smile. “...Sorry, I really have to get going… my big sis is waiting outside. But I’ll try to see you again-- soon, hopefully!”

She moves to take a step away from the desk before a flash of inspiration flickers in her gaze. She then bows in Franziska’s direction-- a deep bow, starting from the waist. Her eye level dips to the level of the desk’s surface.

“It was a pleasure meeting you, Madame von Karma. May the stars align for, um… for your health, and prosperity, and… uh…” she pauses before suddenly straightening up, clapping her hands together with a smile. “And for us to meet again in the coming seasons! Sorry, I haven’t exactly gotten that one down yet… but I’ll get it perfect by the next time I see you!”

Franziska blinks… and then, finally, despite herself-- a soft smile works its way onto her face.

“...Perfect, hm…? I… I look forward to hearing it next time, Ms. Fey.”

Even as Maya hastily waves and rushes out the office door-- switching the lights back off as an afterthought-- Franziska finds it hard to move from where she’s standing, that strange, warm feeling in her chest that had caused her to involuntarily smile like cotton, clogging up her thoughts.

After a few moments, though, Franziska swallows thickly and begins to gather what she needs from the desk-- she’s taken long enough, already, and she doesn’t want to worry Papa needlessly. Maybe she should grab a few extra rubber bands, too… that could, perhaps, make up for her lost time, even if the extra weight will be harder to carry...

Though, she remains blissfully unaware of the steel-gray eyes staring down at her from the very top of the bookshelves-- she’s too far away to hear the telltale rustle of fabric even as her observer clutches the cloth at his neck hard enough to whiten his knuckles.

[eisforeidolon]

Yeah, fuck this.  

Why is it that it's Jared's detractors who call him a giant manbaby, but it's actually his fans that treat him like one?  I'm fully aware he gets a lot of undeserved hate laced with lies and that's not okay.  Swinging entirely to the opposite position that literally anything he does is inherently beyond reproach, though, is certainly … A Choice.

We do not know exactly what happened, and it's quite possible we never will.  The options range from Jensen having suddenly out of left field decided to intentionally and spitefully leave Jared out to Jensen having told Jared something was in the works and Jared having forgot and/or not known it was at the point of drumming up publicity yet.  Even if Jensen thought for some reason Jared knew and/or wouldn’t care - since we don’t know whether it was just the announcement or more that Jared was blindsided by?  I absolutely think this is the sort of situation where you’d want to be 100% clear with someone you consider a friend.  So yeah, Jensen was careless at best.  But that’s between him and Jared, not him, Jared, and a bunch of over-identifying weirdos desperate to see Jensen publicly grovel because they effectively see themselves as Jared's very own overprotective helicopter parents.  So all this running around screaming about Jensen being a backstabbing evil snake who has clearly been abusing poor helpless woobie Jared in private all along, that bastard?  Especially in the context that it apparently took literally one phone call to clear up?  Is only a couple steps less absurd than when five seconds after Jared's arrest for assault you were insisting anybody he punched in the face OBVIOUSLY deserved it.  Jensen should count himself lucky he was the one that had to be talked around to agreeing to the finale, because if Jared hadn't liked it and Jensen had been the one that just stood by and shrugged because he was happy enough when Dabb said take it or leave it... hooboy.  That you've got to the point of being so hyper-defensive over a celebrity that you don't personally know that even when you have basically no details just the suggestion Jared could possibly ever be even partially in the wrong sends you into an overprotective frothing rage?  Well, stop talking about how crazy the minions and AA are and find a fucking mirror.  You're right down there in the mud with the other pigs, baby.

For Jared's part, this is not remotely the first time he's posted about someone upsetting him on social media and it caused his most rabid stans to go on the attack with hate and death threats.  The first time could have been a mistake made in the heat of the moment.  The second time, third time, etc.? Anybody with two brain cells to rub together is going to know what's going to happen at this point, so dropping bait about being “gutted” and then walking away for several hours before the obligatory, “Oh, gosh, no, don't send hate!” tweet is not what I consider an application for martyred woobie sainthood.  This is a known pattern of ill-considered behavior and at best, it's thoughtless and unprofessional.  I'm honestly disappointed because it had been so long since one of these I thought he'd learned some better impulse control where social media was concerned. But, oh, gosh, you say, it was his bESt fRIeND that BeTrAyED hIM, he couldn't think straight!!!  He's a grown ass man.  After fifteen fucking years, if a guy can't extend enough benefit of the doubt to his supposed BFF to pick up a phone and see if this is some kind of oversight/miscommunication/mistake before dragging it out in public to get his mean girls behind him?

It was absolutely reasonable for Jared's feelings to be hurt.  It even would have been reasonable for him to air them publicly if he'd actually found out that he was intentionally and/or maliciously excluded.  I’m not impressed with the other lot of stans jumping to the conclusion Jared is an evil mastermind who gleefully did this 100% intentionally on purpose to tank Jensen’s prequel because he can’t stand not being the center of attention, either.  You want to say Jensen is ~*totally a different person*~ than you thought because of some unknown degree of information deficit given to Jared in unclear circumstances this one time, fine, whatever 🙄.  But if you're seriously going to sit here and try to tell me if a friend of yours got some news that made them think you'd slighted them it wouldn't change your view of that person and their friendship when their first priority was to hit back by publicly oh-poor-me-ing to everyone you knew to oh-so-incidentally drum up vindication & sympathy for themselves over you?  Instead of talking to you to sort the issue like an adult who was actually your friend?  Liar.

[lol-jackles]

rock band anon again—

I appreciate that you have a sensible perspective on Clif — my friend died when he fell asleep at the wheel after a 13 hour work day and then driving out to pick his girlfriend up from the airport rather than getting her a cab. and I know more than one band that nearly killed a van full of friends because someone fell asleep at the wheel during a long haul.

I hate that the creep/parasite narrative about Clif and others is so prevalent in fandom bc reliable guys like that are sooo important when it comes to day-to-day operations and it doesn’t take much to foster a positive attitude around their work. In my experience it’s stuff like, if you treat the merch manager like crap or you let other people treat her like crap, then she’s going to feel entitled to skimming $20 off your profits whenever your back is turned.

obviously fandom’s bullshit isn’t nearly as impactful as we tend to think it is but I cringe when I see that crap about people working service jobs around the actors. It’s such an ignorant perspective and there’s nothing to gain from creating distrust — Tinhats and AAs in particular are so aggressive about anyone within ten feet of J2 and it’s dumb af. I’m surprised they haven’t said the caterer put glass in J2’s food. You’re not going to get any inside scoops or interesting anecdotes by being an asshole. Even as a teenybopper ages ago I learned roadies’ names and thanked them before and after shows, and that was a common attitude in that particular fan circle, and I don’t think it’s a coincidence that those bands considered our little hometown venue worth the drive even though it was way outside the normal tour route from big arena to big arena and a much smaller payout. And it’s no coincidence that friendly faces would be the ones who got tokens like setlists or invites to closed venue rehearsals and soundchecks. A little sense and positivity goes a long way and I am not seeing much of it rn 😪

As much as I like to make fun of Clif's claim of being a bodyguard specialist, I always give credit where credit is due. TV filming schedule is brutal.  A makeup artist I used to know talked about "coasting" on 10 to 12 hour work hours in soaps and other multi-camera shows, then she got a huge nasty shock in single camera filming (one-hour shows) where work hours are easily 18 to 20 hours and said it’s like working in a third-world country.  If you’re lucky you’re given a ten-hour turnaround, which is just enough time to drive home, sleep seven hours, and drive back to work.  That's why we always see Clif around Jared and Jensen, he drives them home after a 14 hours work day so that they don’t fall asleep at the wheel if they drive themselves home and to work.  

There was a “12 and 12 rule” movement that advocate a maximum 12 hour day with a mandated 12 hour turnaround period for all industry workers.  This started after a cameraman died when he fell asleep while driving home after a 19 hour day on the film Pleasantville.  But the union has not gotten behind the “12 and 12 rule” probably because many members want the extra money that comes with long work days.

[sandwichrin]

A Little into You (Junkyu x Reader) (Ch. 11)

Chapter 11 - One step

Word count: 4.4k words

Genre: Fanfiction, PG13, Comedy, Romance.

A/N: Chapter 11! Wow! Look at how far we’ve come! There’s still more to come in this story though :3 Thank you for waiting you all, enjoy this one <3

“For real? YG Entertainment??” you questioned your team leader again.

“Yes…y/n, you’re acting strange…”

“I-I just…I’m just surprised our company has a client this big,” you said, your voice slightly breathy.

Soomin wrapped her arm around your shoulder, and chuckled, “Yeah! We secured them last year! This is our second time holding and providing lessons for their staff too,”

You smiled at her, an unsure smile. But of course, she has no idea what was running through your mind.

“Oh, but last year we conducted the lessons at their old building. This one here is our first,” she continued.

“Ahh, I see,”

“Is that why you’re acting strange, y/n?” she looked at you, a teasing smile formed on her lips.

“W-what? What are you talking about?”

“You must be nervous seeing such a big building, huh?”

“Oh, that. Yes! You’re right, this building is kind of intimidating,” you nodded at her assumption of why you’re nervous.

“Don’t worry! We’ll be okay!” She said cheerfully. “Besides, one of my close friends work here, so we have nothing to worry about!”

“Aha yeah sure,” you smiled and nodded.

                                                                   *

 (YG Ent. – 5th floor)

 “Lim Soomin! As usual, a little earlier than our appointment!” a man said when he saw Soomin enter the department’s floor with you closely behind her.

Soomin smiled her pretty smile at him and extended her hand for them to exchange handshakes.

The man, also, as handsome and attractive as Soomin, in your opinion, smiled back at her. He peeked at you who was behind Soomin, and nodded as well at you.

You nodded and smiled timidly back at him.

“Ah, you’ve brought a little friend too,” he said to Soomin.

Soomin turned around and gestured at you, “Yeah! This is my friend, and also my new team member. Y/n, this is Bomin, the friend I told you about,”

“Ahh, nice to meet you,” you said.

“You wanna grab a drink at the cafeteria downstairs? Since you’re early and all,”

Soomin gave him a look, “Bomin…” she said with a cautious tone.

Bomin raised his hands, “Hey, just a drink. I swear, and then I’ll pass you your team’s ID card,”

Soomin turned to you again, “You okay with this, y/n?”

“I’m fine with anything, really,”

“Hmm…Okay Bomin. One drink, and then y/n and I will leave with our ID access cards, okay?”

Bomin grinned at her and nodded happily. “Sure, Soomin,”

                                                                *

 The cafeteria was filled with both Bomin’s and Soomin’s loud laugh.

It had been over 40 minutes, and their one drink had turned into 3 rounds of hot coffee by now.

You moved uncomfortably in your seat, holding onto your bladder that was struggling to stay in at this point.

You watched as Soomin and Bomin teased one another, talking about their school days. You smiled and laughed along with the stories they shared, not that you understand most of them since you don’t know them that well, but hey, at least you tried, right?

You stared at your third cup of coffee on the table in front of you. If only Bomin would stop ordering another round of coffee every time he finishes one, you wouldn’t have the struggle of finishing all the three cups that was served.

You let out a soft sigh as you lift the cup to your lips, praying that your bladder would be able to handle at least one more cup of this drink.

“Gosh, Bomin! You’re still as funny as ever!” Soomin said in between her laughs.

Bomin chuckled at this and raised his cup to his lips, “But of course. And you’re still as charming and beautiful as ever, Soomin-ya,”

You almost choked at your drink. Okay! Now is your cue to leave!

Listening to them goof around together was okay, but seeing them flirting with one another was already another thing. You felt like you were third-wheeling a couple’s date.

You placed your cup onto the table and stood up quickly, making both of them turn their attention to you.

“What’s wrong, y/n? Everything okay?” Soomin asked, concerned about you.

“I’m fine,” you said as you waved your hand at her. “I just…really…have to use the restroom,”

Soomin giggled at this, “Omg! Why didn’t you say so?? Sure, sure, you can go,”

You smiled at both of them and hurriedly waddled away.

Soomin watched as you leave the room. She smiled to herself, “She’s actually very cute, don’t you think so?”

“I guess. I mean, you’re obviously cuter,”

Soomin laughed at this and playfully hit Bomin on his shoulder. “Stop that! I told you, we can’t do this here,”

Bomin smiled and nodded at her.

Soomin was about to take a sip off her drink when she realised something.

“Wait! Does y/n even know where the restroom is??”

                                                                 *

 You walked down the wide, open hallway of the floor, glimpsing at every room’s sign and the signages available, hoping to find one signage that says ‘restroom’.

“They usually put the restrooms at the end of the floor right…” you muttered to yourself.

You hurriedly waddled past all the doors of the floor, just wanting to get to the restroom as fast as you could.

And lucky enough for you, you saw the restroom signage right at the end of the hallway.

And boy did you run.

You literally dashed towards the restroom, with the loud click clack of your high heels echoing in the hallway.

Once you’ve finally entered the restroom, you slipped into a cubicle, locked it and sat down to get your business done and over with.

                                                                   *

 Jihoon and Junkyu entered the main door of the building, scanning their access ID before being able to really enter the inside part of the building.

“Yooo they’re playing this music video after so long!” Junkyu exclaimed when he saw the large LCD screen opposite their escalators showing their ‘I Love You’ music video.

Jihoon too, noticed this and snickered. “Hah! Look at Doyoung! I almost forgot his hair was red for some time!” he said as he pointed at the screen.

A staff walked past them and they bowed and greeted the staff before deciding to go up the escalator.

“Come on, let’s head up,” Jihoon said to his friend.

As they were standing on the escalator, they suddenly heard a sort of loud noise approaching them as they got closer to the floor above them.

Junkyu furrowed his eyebrows and turned to his bestfriend. “Did you hear that? What the heck is that??”

Jihoon shrugged at this, his face confused as well.

CLICK CLACK CLICK CLACK CLICK CLACK-------

As soon as they reached the floor above, they looked around.

“Huh, it stopped,” Jihoon said.

“Yeah. I almost thought there was a dinosaur roaming our hallways,” Junkyu shuddered to himself.

Jihoon shook his head and laughed, “Okay but your imagination is just too wild, Junkyu-aa”

“Hey, you never know.”

                                                                   *

 You stretched your arms happily after finally being able to release your bladder a moment earlier.

You washed your hands at the sink of the restroom and made sure to check your appearance, just in case you smudged your makeup or if you forgot to tuck in your blouse into your skirt.

You leisurely walked out of the restroom, since you were sure that Soomin and Bomin were probably still busy catching up with each other right now.

You decided to just take your time and let them spend more time together.

As you were walking towards the cafeteria, you decided to take a long round walk inside it, and maybe only go back to Soomin’s table a bit later.

You observed the walls of the room, taking in the beautiful design of the place itself.

It’s only a cafeteria, and yet it looks so grand. It looks so classy and comfortable.

You smiled to yourself, thinking about your friends that are artists of the company. You felt glad that behind all of their hard work and practice, they were given a comfortable place to eat and rest.

As you were strolling in the cafeteria, you noticed that there was a path leading to an outdoor section as well.

You peeked at the section, noticing that there was no one there.

You took a step towards the outdoor section. Opening the door, you were greeted by a gentle breeze.

“Oh my god, it’s pretty here,” you said to yourself as you take in the scenery of the outdoor eating section. It looked like a private balcony, or a patio in your opinion. It looked cosy and homey.

You stood near the rails of the balcony (let’s just call it a wide-open cosy balcony).

You closed your eyes and let yourself feel the breeze that was floating in the air. It felt so nice. You inhaled and exhaled a few times.

To be honest, this might be the first time ever that you’ve ever felt this relaxed. You felt like you were in a safe space where no one or anything could ever bother or hurt you.

You opened your eyes again to be greeted by the warm sun rays. You smiled to yourself again.

If you were to be working here for the whole month with your team, this balcony itself would be the perfect getaway spot for you to relax.

                                                               *

 “Anyone else need anything else?” Jihoon checked with his group members before wanting to leave the practice room.

“Hyung! Can I come with?” Jeongwoo asked from one end of the room.

“No, Jeongwoo, I need you to stay and work on that leg movement of yours before we start dancing to the full formation,” Hyunsuk replied to him.

Jeongwoo pouted at this but he nodded and followed what Hyunsuk said.

Since no one added anything for him to get, he decided to just head out of the practice room.

                                                                *

 Jihoon entered the cafeteria, hurrying as well, since he didn’t want to take too much time from their practice, especially since they’ve only just wanted to start. He decided to just take orders for the drinks and bring them back to the practice room since most of them just got here as well.

“Hi, can I get two iced coffees, one chocolate milk and three iced tropical juice?” Jihoon ordered as soon as he arrived at the open counter that the cafeteria staff was standing at.

The staff nodded and made his way to make the drinks for Jihoon.

“I’ll come back to get it, yeah?” Jihoon added, since he decided to roam around while waiting.

“Sure,” the staff answered.

Jihoon pushed his hair to the back with his hand and made his way to his favourite spot of the cafeteria.

Jihoon heard loud laughter coming from the right part of the cafeteria and he tilted his head slightly to check out who it was.

There were two people of whom he wasn’t familiar with. Maybe it was one of the upper staffs, he thought to himself.

He shrugged and headed towards the outdoor balcony.

He stopped in his tracks when he saw a figure of another person there.

Jihoon stared at the figure curiously, especially since he knew that the trainees weren’t supposed to be having their break now. And his sunbaes’ were surely a whole lot taller than this figure right here.

Now, Jihoon couldn’t tell it was you because you had your back facing him, and given that your work attire was something he was still unfamiliar with, he couldn’t even tell it was you from the back of your head.

Jihoon was backing away from the balcony, wanting to quietly leave the place and not bother this stranger who seemed so immersed with the surroundings outside.

Jihoon stepped backwards, and accidentally backed himself against the door as he forgotten that he had closed it after he stepped outside earlier.

“Ow,” Jihoon said as quietly as he could.

The sound of him backing into the door made you turn around.

And you saw him, bowing slightly, his hand rubbing the back of his head.

“Oh?” You said.

Jihoon heard your voice, which made his head lift up to see you staring at him.

“Jihoon?” You asked, since he wasn’t saying anything.

You were sure it was Jihoon, since he was literally staring back at you, his face in shock.

And as if on cue, the wind started blowing a little stronger, making your hair slightly float along with it.

Jihoon couldn’t believe his eyes. He felt like he was in a Kdrama, with you staring at him questioningly and standing right in front of him; not to mention the sudden gush of soft wind.

You took a step forward towards him, now concerned since he still hasn’t said anything ever since you both made eye contact.

“Hey, you okay?” You asked again.

Jihoon shook his head slightly, blinking his eyes a few times.

He noticed that you were slowly taking steps towards him so he hurriedly turned around, opened the door and rushed inside the building again.

He ran towards the cafeteria staff, picked up his tray of drinks and ran off towards his practice room.

You, on the other hand, felt puzzled. Why did he look so terrified?? It was Jihoon, right? You were pretty sure it was the right Jihoon that you saw.

                                                                *

 Jihoon ran into the practice room, panting loudly and with the drinks tray in his hands shaking.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, hyung? What’s wrong??” Haruto asked when he noticed Jihoon’s panicked appearance.

Jihoon panted, “N-nothing. I just, I ran here so that I could get the drinks here as fast as I could,” he smiled a little, trying to lie his way out.

Haruto blinked a few times and shrugged. “Okay.”

“Okay, everyone! For those who ordered a drink, your drinks are here!” Jihoon called out, gaining the attention of the rest of them.

“Yayyyy hyung got me my chocolate milk!” Junghwan cheered as he ran towards Jihoon to grab his drink.

Mashiho and Hyunsuk both grabbed their coffees from Jihoon whereas Jeongwoo, Junkyu and Yoshi grabbed their juices from him.

The rest moved to their own spots in the practice room, relaxing and drinking their drinks before they began their full dance practice.

Hyunsuk stayed beside Jihoon though.

“Jeongwoo’s so good at the leg step by the way. I corrected him once just now and instantly he managed to do it 10 times better than what I showed him,” Hyunsuk said as he took a sip from his drink

“Waahh, that kid’s a genius I tell you! He’s growing up so fast too,” Jihoon said, sounding a little sullen now that he realised his kids were all grown up compared to when he first met them.

Hyunsuk chuckled at this, “Look at us, talking like real old parents,”

Jihoon smiled and nodded at him. His eyes roamed the room, looking at his members sitting on the floor and talking to one another.

Now, even though his eyes were looking around the room, he couldn’t get the image of your face from his head. He kept remembering the look you gave him when the soft breeze came blowing at the balcony earlier.

“….and better!” Hyunsuk exclaimed.

Jihoon turned his attention to his hyung beside him.

“I’m sorry, what?” he asked, since he didn’t exacly catch what Hyunsuk said before.

“I said, the coffee here just keeps getting better and better! It’s so good! You wanna try some?” Hyunsuk asked as he offered the drink in his hand.

Jihoon shook his head politely at his hyung. “No thanks, hyung. I’d want some of the juice the kids are having though,”

Jihoon saw Junkyu sitting on the floor not too far from him and Hyunsuk, sipping on his drink with one hand and his other hand holding onto his phone as he stares at it. He’s probably watching a video.

“Hey, Kim Junkyu,” Jihoon called out to him.

Junkyu looked up from his phone. “What?”

“Come here,”

“Why?”

“Just come here,” Jihoon gestured with his hand.

Junkyu stood up from where he was sitting, keeping his phone into his pants pocket as he walked towards both his leaders.

The moment he arrived near them, Jihoon pointed at the cup of juice in his hands. Junkyu’s eyebrows raised and handed it to Jihoon, immediately understanding that his bestfriend would like a sip.

Jihoon smiled and thanked him before taking the cup from his hands.

“Look at you both, you don’t even need to say anything and yet you get each other so well,” Hyunsuk said, his face beaming with proudness for his two kids beside him.

“Hyung, I think it’s quite obvious that Jihoon only calls me here to taste my drink. We don’t need to predict him wanting me here for anything else,” Junkyu snickered.

Jihoon rolled his eyes slightly at this. He handed Junkyu’s drink back at him.

“Whatever, Kyu. You’re just too shy to admit that we’re soulmates,” he said teasingly.

Hyunsuk giggled at this when he saw it was Junkyu’s turn to roll his eyes at Jihoon.

“See? Soulmates! It must be nice to have one,” Hyunsuk said.

“Yeah, sure, hyung. Like you and our Doyoungie aren’t soulmates,” Jihoon said sarcastically.

Hyunsuk stopped to think for a while. “Huh…you could say so. We understand each other quite well,”

“See? There you go. I think we’re all quite compatible for each other at this point,” Jihoon pointed out.

Hyunsuk nodded at this.

Junkyu was about to leave with his drink when suddenly Jihoon’s loud sigh stopped him.

“What’s wrong? You seem like you’re distracted about something,” Hyunsuk asked Jihoon who looked restless beside him.

Jihoon shrugged. “I don’t know…I mean, if I told you guys, you wouldn’t believe me anyways,”

Hyunsuk shook his head and ruffled Jihoon’s hair, “Heyyy, don’t say that! You know we’re always here to listen to you,”

“Hmm,” he lets out another sigh.

Junkyu started stepping away from his hyungs when suddenly,

“I was at that outdoor balcony in the cafeteria, hyung. I saw this girl there. She looked exactly like y/n!”

Junkyu, who was a few steps away by then, stopped when he heard your name being mentioned by his hyung.

He stayed in his spot, his cold drink still in his hand. To be honest, he looked like a statue at this point with the way he’s standing still.

“Pfft! As if!” Hyunsuk started laughing when he heard Jihoon’s sentence coming out of his mouth.

“See?? I told you, you wouldn’t believe me!”

“No, I mean—it’s impossible! You need access to enter this building. And, y/n is at work right now, isn’t she?? Why would y/n need any reason to be here??”

Jihoon lets out another sigh. “Right?? See that’s why I couldn’t believe it either. And did you know?? When I saw her, she was glowing radiantly too!” Jihoon exaggerated.

Sure, he saw you being all glowy and pretty earlier but the way he explained it left a different impression on Hyunsuk.

Hyunsuk furrowed his eyebrows. “Glowing?? You mean…she’s all shining??”

Jihoon shook his head, “She looked too pretty to be y/n you know?? I’ve seen y/n few times now and I’ve never seen her look this radiant!”

Junkyu, who was still quietly still on his own, blinked a few times to himself. That’s not true, right? You had always been plainly normal to him, but he wouldn’t say that you were never pretty to his eyes.

Junkyu, realising that he was now imagining what you look like based on Jihoon’s description, started shaking his head furiously. Why would he bother imagining your face at this time of day??

Jihoon noticed Junkyu shaking his head and he assumed that Junkyu was agreeing with what he said.

“Right, Junkyu? It’s impossible that’s y/n, but she sounded and looked so much like her!” Jihoon said, referring to the ‘you’ he met just now.

Hyunsuk kept quiet for a while.

Jihoon and Junkyu’s eyes are on him now.

“Could it be…” Hyunsuk said in a quiet voice.

Jihoon leaned in close to his hyung.

Junkyu too, started walking back towards the both of them, wanting to listen closely to what his hyung is saying.

By the time Junkyu had reached them again, Hyunsuk raised his head to look at both his friends.

“Hey, Jihoon…did this y/n that you saw earlier…did she smell good? Like, smell super, super good?”

Jihoon thought for a while. “Hmm…I didn’t realise what she smelt like, hyung. But! I noticed that the moment she turned around to face me, the wind started blowing. At first I thought it looked like a Kdrama scene but when I think about it…it’s strange that the wind started blowing at that exact time…” Jihoon said. He shuddered to himself.

Hyunsuk covered his own mouth with both his hands. “Oh my god,” he whispered.

“What? What is it?” Junkyu finally opened his mouth this time.

Jihoon too, started doing the same as Hyunsuk. “Hyung! Could it be??”

“Oh no, you both don’t think—” Junkyu knew where this is going.

“Jihoon! The y/n you met was a ghost?!!” Hyunsuk said, holding on to his shriek since he doesn’t want to scare the rest of his members in the room.

Jihoon started shaking Hyunsuk’s shoulders. “Hyunggggg noooooo! No wayyyy! Why meeee,” he whined dramatically.

Junkyu grimaced at his hyungs. He left the both of them to their drama and decided to just sit down in another corner of the room.

He scoffed to himself. How could his hyungs believe that there was a ghost in this building?? And in broad daylight??

Junkyu rolled his eyes and continued drinking his juice.

                                                                   *

 “Thanks for today, Bomin,” Soomin beamed at her close friend, looking like she’s the happiest person in the room.

“No problem,” he smiled back at her.

“Well, I guess, we better get going?” Soomin turned to you.

You nodded at her, “Sure,”

“Aight. Well, I guess we’ll be going off now,” she turned to Bomin and bowed slightly to thank him again before leaving.

The both of you walked towards the access point near the entrance of the building and Soomin took out a pack of access cards from her bag.

“Here you go,” she said as she handed one of it to you.

Taking the card into your hand, you looked at her questioningly.

Soomin waved her card in front of your face and grinned, “Let’s see how this baby works!” she said excitedly.

Soomin hurried towards the access point and scanned her card, making the barrier lift and letting her through to the other side of the hall.

She turned around, her bright, pretty smile showing when she waved her hand to signal you to try your access card as well.

You walked up towards the access point and waved your card at the scanner. Beep! The barrier lifts and you walked right through.

You reached Soomin, shock written on your face.

“Oh my god, I feel like I’m a secret agent entering a secret agent agency for work!” you said, your face still in disbelief that you just did something so cool.

Soomin giggled at you. “Right?? Our office isn’t as advanced as this so like, don’t you think it’s thrilling to have this kind of special access to one of the biggest entertainment companies in this country??”

You nodded at her happily.

“Alright, agent y/n, let’s head back to our boring and dull office,” Soomin said as she linked her arm with yours.

You groaned at her sentence. “Aww must we?”

“Yes, y/n! Now, let’s head back,” she said, giggling.

                                                                    *

 (That evening)

“Guys…don’t you think we’re invading y/n’s life by doing this?” Doyoung asked his hyungs.

“What are you talking about? Y/n should feel lucky that she has friends who are concerned about her like us,” Jihoon replied, though his eyes are still scanning the hallway, hoping to see your figure to show up anytime now.

“Doyoungie’s right, Jihoon. We could just ask her through text you know?” Hyunsuk sided with Doyoung.

Jihoon folded his arms against his chest and huffed, “And what? Scare the rest of our kids when we ask in the group whether the y/n we saw was a ghost or not in our building??”

“Well, technically…only you saw her there…”

“Hush! She could be here any time soon! We must greet her with a warm smile, just in case she gets rowdy since she might be all tired out from work,”

Hyunsuk glanced at his watch. 7.15p.m. They’ve been here for almost an hour now, and when they got off work at 6 earlier, Hyunsuk wasn’t expecting Jihoon to drag him here instantly. He was hoping to at least get some dinner first.

“Jihoon, let’s just text her. We can private message her too! I’m getting hungry, I’m sure Doyoung and Junkyu are hungry too,” Hyunsuk tried to convince Jihoon.

“Hyung, this is an important matter. We don’t talk about matters like these through text,”

Hyunsuk lets out a sigh. He knew it was no use arguing with Jihoon anyways. Maybe Jihoon needed this clarification since he must’ve been terrified when he saw the ghost that looked like you today.

“Besides, why did you bring Doyoung along? I thought I told you this was a leaders kind of investigation session,” Jihoon asked, as he restlessly glanced at his phone for the 8th time by now, checking the time.

“Hey, you brought Junkyu too,” Hyunsuk pointed out.

Junkyu stood quietly beside Jihoon, confused as to how Jihoon managed to convince him to tag along with this silly investigation of his.

Jihoon glanced over at his best friend beside him who was staring into space, a clueless look on his face.

“Meh, he seems fine with it. I only brought him ‘cause you brought someone else along first,”

“Dang, you both fight like you’re both a married couple who’s trying to make each other jealous. Chill you both,” Doyoung chuckled as he said this.

“Can we just go home already? I’m sleepy, and hungry,” Junkyu whined suddenly.

“Oh? You’re saying something now?” Jihoon said, amused with his best friend’s cute whine.

Junkyu shook his head. “I don’t care, I’m heading back. Our floor is literally 10 floors above hers so I might as well just leave,”

“Awww nooo don’t leave yet Junkyu-aa. Y/n will be here any minute! I promise!”

“Nah, who cares if y/n comes back or not, I don’t need to see her anyways—” Junkyu said as he turned around to leave.

And there, right behind him, was you, face surprised to see your friends in front of your house door.

“Y-y/n-“ Junkyu stuttered in all of a sudden, surprised to see you.

“Oh? Y/n! Hi!” Doyoung waved his hand at you, greeting you.

You nodded at him and looked at the four of them questioningly.

“Hi…Why…are you guys here?” You asked.

 To be continued….

[relto]

“appendix”

i ordered the physical books a while ago (theyre so pretty too..), and there were some presents in books 2 & 4.

let me know if you have ideas for improvement in the translations!

sorry that the pictures are lower quality. its entirely heavy shiny paper and tightly bound, so it doesnt scan or photograph well unfortunately. i feel like tungle is adding some extra blur, so click for full view!

each chapter also has a little drawing in front of it, i assume theyre the blog post drawings since most of them are in sius old art style. the fourth book goes up to mid hide and seek arc, to the scene where quant runs into aa’s setup!

first off, the covers:

(book 2)

”Now that 10 years have already passed since the begin of Tower of God's serialization, it finally (뒤늦게 - too late) ended up being published in book form. There are many reasons for the delay, but while I as a naturally lazy person learned to live a busy life, I think that all these things are extensive work. Apologies to everyone who waited, and I want to express my thanks one more time.

As someone who works as a webtoon author, I think that there is great significance in getting published. Because it's as good as receiving the recognition that between the many creative works on the internet, [this work] survives and is worth keeping.

(slap me if this is incorrect. this sentence was HARD.)

That's why this doesn't feel simple or like it's a given at all. There are many points that are embarrassing or lacking, so it seems that even now I end up questioning if I have the qualifications needed to take another step into the webtoon and publishing fields. 

But now that the books have been released, I hope that they sell well and that the result will be good. Haha.

I sincerely thank everyone who supported me in making it possible for these books to come out, everyone who helped, and above all those who made the serialization possible so far, and everyone who will help in the future. I keep saying this, but it seems that I'm a very lucky author. I will try to use this opportunity and repay with equally good work. 

Lastly, I want to say that I hope that the unfolding journey through the tower will be an enjoyable one, both for people who encounter Tower of God for the first time through these books, as well as those who have already read the webtoon.

Thank you. 

Let's make this a good journey.

PS.

Since some time has passed since season 1 has come out, I picked a few cuts from the previous drafts I thought were important to rework in the current art style, and attached them together with a short comment as a small bonus. (부록 - appendix) If the circumstances allow it, I will try to redraw several important scenes like this in the future. It's small, but I hope it's a good present”

“It's the scene where Bam rushes at the steel eel despite Headon's warning. I chose it because I think that it gives an impression of Bam's personality in the early story and shows the overall work's mood well.”

(i translated 신해어 as "steel eel" bc i remember it being called that, but its closer to "divine fish". also 이미지 is just "image" spelled in hangeul, but using that doesnt really work well)

“It's the scene where Bam and Khun meet for the first time and Khun makes Bam uncomfortable (?) (곤란하게 - awkward, embarrassing) after seeing the Black March. It's one of the scenes that led to the current Rakhunbam, so I picked it to draw again.”

(this is also the illustration on the sticker!)

“It's the scene where Anak confronts Bam with the Green April. In the Crown Game, Anak is definitely at her most active, and I figured that obviously I had to draw her once, so I picked something and tried to draw it. Haha.”

(book 4)

1. print release

(panel 1)

Bam: Khun-ssi! Rak-ssi! Look at this!! Volumes 1 and 2 came out!!

(panel 2)

Oh, I'm on the second book's cover. As expected, that useless crocodile was pushed back to the third book. What a relief. After all, I'm the most important.

(panel 3)

Looks like they're reserving me as a hidden wildcard to boost sales later on. Isn't it that that albino turtle's importance drops sharply after the second book? What a relief.

(panel 4)

Mm~ It's satisfactory. 

Bam: It seems that everyone is content, how fortunate!

I think it's well made. Wouldn't the third book make a good hot mat?

(something you set a hot pan/pot down on. i.. dont actually know a good universal word for it in english? research was inconclusive. any tips?)

2. Rakhunbam

(panel 1)

Bam: Khun-ssi! Rak-ssi! I heard that people call us "Rakhunbam"! That's interesting, isn't it? (Let go - you let go)

(panel 2)

The fact that I'm in the middle must mean that I'm the most important. After all, I'm the center of the world!

(panel 3)

Me being first means that I'm the leader!!

As expected, everyone recognizes me as this team's leader! This team's leader is me!

(panel 4)

Hey! Cut it out! Crocodile!!

Bam: It seems that everyone is content, how fortunate!

You stop first! Turtle!!

“Yu Hansong is one of the characters where it gets more difficult to know his true intentions the more his story is developed. I think so, not only in the first season, but also later on. He especially likes mixed coffee (?).”

“Khun likes the feeling of controlling and playing around with situations and people. I don't know if the blood of a great family was an influence, but he feels equal parts mischievous and serious.”

“Season 1 Rak was pretty imposing. As Tower of God's mascot, he's a true hero (for real). Haha.”

(thanks @ skimmilk11 for helping with this one!)

thank you for looking!

[themadauthorshatter]

Valentine's Day is over, but there's always a chance to be cupid.

I've already made two posts on this, so let's get the third rolling!!!!!

Here's what would happen if Cal was betrothed to Iris headcanons/story Part 3!!!!!

There are a lot of cameras on the way home, and Cal wants to break every single one after being exposed to the flashing lights and yelled at by interviewers.

It's silent when they actually get on the road home and head back, but there is high tension between the father and son.

"Just say it."

"Say what?"

"Don't try to keep it in, Cal. Just say it."

(After a minute of silence.) "There are at least ten ways this can go badly. We can't let our guard down."

"I imagine one of those ways involves those two chaining us to canons and throwing us in the ocean."

(Cue Cal's serious WTF face and Tiberias snickering because he thinks it's funny, even though there is truth in Cal's words.)

"I'm being serious."

"I know." (Tibe's smirk drops and he looks out the window.) "At least the war is over."

(Cal also looks out the window.) "Why did it take so long?"

(He's mostly talking to himslef more than anything because he already knows that Reds outnumber Silvers.)

There's a lot of fanfare when they get back to White Fire, and Cal is quick to escape to change his clothes, as he has a little bit of time to rest before it's back on schedule, with Maven following, after the cameras turn to Tibe instead.

The two talk and Maven admits that Cal probably has it lucky, since Iris seems to part crowds like their the Red Sea.

Cal ponders that Evangeline can do the same, but Maven reminds him of House Samos's reputation.

With Orrec and Iris, the two are approached by Elara, who is miraculous at hiding her disdain towards them both("Filthy Lakelanders in MY palace. Who does my husband think he is?"). Orrec plays nice until he sees and hears his daughter wince at his side.

He asks where Tibe is, to which the Nortan king arrives, fashionably late, and then, very cleverly, I must say, tells Iris to look for her betrothed, as it's best the two get to know each other before their wedding, get comfortable with each other's presence, if you will.

She nods and, after a quick fatherly hand rub from Orrec, leaves the adults to tear each other to ribbons- I MEAN... Converse pleasantly.😁

Tibe notes that Iris doesn't talk much, to which Orrec says he shouldn't be worried, as she is quite outspoken, and reminds him that she already VERBALLY swore herself to Cal.

While Tibe talks, Elara tries taking a peek into Orrec's head, but can only read "up front" thoughts and nothing deeper. Tibe brings up a very darkly colored ring on Orrec's finger, one that seems to be too common for a wedding band or a King to wear.

Orrec holds it up with a smirk and tells them it's "just a bit of silent stone to repel any whispering insects that try to puppeteer them." Elara asks if he's had experience, or any "trouble" with whispers.

"We used to. My men know how to deal with your kind, Queen Elara."

With a sudden chill, Elara and Tibe don't entertain what that means as Orrec asks Tibe to show him around, as he and Iris will be staying for a while.

Tibe obviously agrees.

Elara watches them go and SEETHES as she realizes the slight of hand trick that Orrec pulled with Iris.

I won't give it away, but the only hints I'll give you are they've had experience with whispers, they've erased whispers in the Lakelands, regardless of their House, and the amount of silent stone in Orrec's ring will keep Elara out of his head.

Speakimg of which, Iris wanders around for a bit, unable to find her absent, and undutiful in her opinion, betrothed. She finds herself near the garage and hears more classic rock music; it's blaring this time because she can hear the clanging of tools and metal.

She lets herself in and sees Cal working on the transport like before, more efficiently, I should add, now that he's not being a rebellious teenager.

Here is their conversation:

"Don't you have any Reds that can do that instead?"

(Cal yelps as he jumps and bangs his head on the part of the transport he'd been working on; he didn't really hear the door and got jumpscared.)

"My colors, I'm sorry! Are you alright?"

(While rolling out from under the transport and holding his forehead.) "It's-It's fine, don't worry." (Stands and gives a bow, despite the pain of headbutting what is a ton or two of metal.) "Lady Iris. My warmest welcome to Norta."

(Iris curtsies back, very tense because Cal is underdressed for his first official meeting with Iris and he isn't as threatening as she'd seen back near the Choke. She's also inwardly cringing at the pun.) "Prince Tiberias Calore VII, I presume?"

"Please, call me Cal, Lady Iris."

"Cal. Just call me Iris, then, considering the circumstances."

(Cal deflates and cleans his hands off with a rag, some unease growing on his face.) "Don't remind me."

(Iris takes note of the scars on Cal's arms and the back of his neck before she turns her attention to the transport.) "Is this what you Nortan people do for leisure? Lie under a three ton transport and hope for the best?"

(Cal turns back around and follows her gaze, a smirk growing on his face.) "I wasn't just "lying" there. And it's just under two tons. Good guess, though."

(Iris gives him WTF eye this time as Cal picks up some tools and rests back on the board he he was.)

"You're not REALLY going to go back underneath this, are you?"

"Well, someone has to fix it. It's been leaking oil. I'LL be fine, but I still don't want to take the chance."

(Iris hugs herself as she eyes the jacks holding up the transport and sees Cal working like nothing's wrong.) "And in the event this transport were to... fall on you?"

(Cal's turn to give WTF eyes as he rolls back out from under the transport. Iris is still standing straight and hugging herself out of sheer nerve, but Cal gestures toward the tool box on the table.) "Sorry, do you think you can stand over there? In case I might need something?"

"As in you need another hot on the head?" (Iris still stands by the tool box, just in case; temptation, temptation, temptation to end this betrothal and play it off like an accident on either side.)

(Cal rolls back out and sits up.) "Are you underestimating my ability to build, Iris?"

(Iris holds her hands above her lap, that one formal way princesses hold their hands, and gives a very "don't get ahead of yourself" look to Cal.) "I am starting to believe you are tempting fate, and trying to take the easiest and worst way out of our arrangement."

"Just because I didn't agree with this doesn't mean I won't be going through with it."

(Iris pulls him back out from under the transport and stares him dead in the eye.) "How coincidental that I feel the same way. Allow to make one thing clear, Tiberias: Our houses and countries may be allying, but I will not hesitate to wipe you and the entire Calore AND Merandus lines off the face of the Earth."

(Cal drops the reluctant groom-to-be and sits up, eyes burning through Iris aas he smirks again.) "It's funny you should bring that up, Iris." (The smirk drops.) "I was just about to say the same thing."

"You would really restart this entire war? Are the lives of your drunk father and bastard brother worth more death?"

"I imagine your father's done well in battle, at least enough to stop looking over his shoulder. He may be out of his territory, but I know how to deal with a man like him. And a lady like you."

"Is that a threat?"

"Try me."

The two have a glare down before Iris rises and walks away, warning to Cal to not challenge her again, if he knows what's good for him. And if he doesn't want to have any regrets about their betrothal.

Cal watches her leave and goes back to fixing the transport, slowly realizing that he might be in a similar relationship as Tibe and Elara, which he isn't too happy about. Sure, the same might've happened with Evangeline, but Iris is a blank slate and already they want to kill each other. I don't know about you, but I'd be pretty sad if THIS was the start of my marriage.

Nevertheless, a Queestrial is held FOR MAVEN, and Cal and Iris watch with the family, including Orrec.

NONE of the girls are happy Cal already has Iris with him, but they're not going to do anything because the war's over and they know NOTHING about Cal's betrothed.

Evangeline is especially pissed, giving Iris the same treatment as Mare, but Iris sighs and replies BACK to her this:

"How sad the only thing you people see in someone is how they can be used to your advantage. How sad, indeed."

This shuts Evangeline right up.

The betrothal to both brothers occurs, though Cal and Iris have another glare down before turning to their seats.

Cal notes the tattoo on her back and wonders when she got that done.

Nevertheless, there's barley opposition, because the war's over, but Volo Samos is still pissed, even though he can't argue with the results.

The night ends with Orrec escorting Iris to her room after all is said and done in the banquet. Maven muses that he and Cal sure are lucky, even though this is not what was probably meant to happen.

In his room, Cal hopes that things can at least get better between him and Iris. This may be a political marriage, but if Orrec and Cenra found love, why can't Cal and Iris?

And this has been Part 3! Kind of fanfic-y than parts 1 and 2, but I still hope you guys enjoyed

[more-fandon-than-friends]

Heather

A/N:I wrote a fanfic based on the song Heather from Conan gray. Missing part 5 it's on his way. Editing this on Tumblr is hell✨

Au:Canon

Pairing:one sided Anxceit, Prinxiety

TW:one sided love, sad Janus, pre-AA Virgil and Janus talking kinda bad about the light sides, self-deprecating, crying, Remus Patton and Logan mentioned (let me know if I missed any)

I still remember, third of December, me in your sweater

"I swear, why is Remus always so far in the imagination?", Virgil complained as he and Janus walked through a Forrest.

"I have no idea either, I feel like we will cross path with Light sides soon.", Janus joined in.

"Yeah, we walked for days, at least that's what it feels like. Careful, in a second Logic jumps from behind that tree and tells you facts over feelings without being able to take criticism", the Emo joked.

"Oh No! And behind that flower is Morality not getting the world isn't black and white!", Janus joined in, which made Virgil laugh. The most beautiful sight in the part-snakes option.

"it's so damn cold out here!", Janus complains as the wind got stronger having both arms around himself to not freeze too much.

"Wait here", Virgil says giving his grey jacket to the lying side.

You said it looked better on me than it did you

Only if you knew, how much I liked you

"Hey, No Vee, you'll get cold", Janus said trying to give it back.

"Nah, I'm fine don't worry, that's my job", Virgil said laying the jacket back around the others Shoulders.

"Alright, Fine.", Janus answers while putting the jacket on.

"Better be. Also you look kinda cool in that.", Virgil smirked at the other boy.

He was lucky that the faint blush on his cheeks easily was seen as being cold by Virgil.

But I watch your eyes as she

Walks by

What a sight for sore eyes, brighter than a blue sky

She's got you mesmerized while I die

They took another turn and were suddenly eye to eye with Roman, who took a more defensive stance upon seeing the two dark sides.

"Oh shi- We did went to far.", Janus sighed annoyed, knowing that fo they are on light-side they have a long way to Remus. He didn't miss that sparkle in Virgil eyes or light smile that turned into a neutral face.

"What do you want on my Imagination? Are you trying to steal something from me, you Fiends?", the Prince said, expecting the worst.

"Look, Prince Not-So-Charming, we don't care about your flowers or damsels in distress we just want to find Remus that annoying F-", Virgil nearly finished before being interrupted by Roman:"So you aren't here for me?"

"Nope, unless you want to.", Virgil smirked at that light Blush Roman got and Janus knew he stands no chance.

"I-Uhm No! What ever. Remus' side isn't far away just turn around and walk for like two minutes and you should be on his side again.", Roman answered, not flustered at all.

"We will do that.", Janus said and both boys turned around again.

Why would you ever kiss me?

I'm not even half as pretty

You gave her your sweater, it's just polyester

But you like her better

(Wish I were Heather)

Janus rembers that day as clear as day. Because that was the day he knew Roman doesn't hate Virgil and them being together is only a question of time.

And he was right, shortly after Virgil got accepted and not long after Roman confessed

Watch as she stands with her, holding your hand

Put your arm 'round her shoulder, now I'm getting colder

Another day, another time searching for Remus, but now alone. Janus has no idea where he goes and no one to complain to.

And as if the universe hates him he went to far again and sees Roman. Roman together with Virgil in a flower field.

Roman sits in the grass making a flower crown with Virgil having an arm around him.

But how could I hate her? She's such an angel

But then again, kinda wish she were dead as she

walks by

The lying side debates getting closer, does he really want to hear that? Does he want to get caught? Before he even answers all his worries his legs started walking to the next tree, so he wouldn't be seen immediately.

"I'm glad you're here with me, my dark knight", Janus hears Roman say while putting the finished flower crown in Virgil's hair and kissing him softly. 

What a sight for sore eyes, brighter than a blue sky

She's got you mesmerized while I die

Once the two lovers part Virgil smiles:"I'm glad you asked me to be here, Prince charming."

"You're so beautiful.", the Emo mumbles while pulling Roman closer for another kiss

Why would you ever kiss me?

I'm not even half as pretty

Janus eyes water a bit at this, of course Virgil deserves better than him.

Half his face is filled with scales, Virgil is so pretty it makes sense to take someone like him. Someone normal.  Not Janus.

You gave her your sweater, it's just polyester

But you like her better

(I wish I were Heather)

"Let's go, I'm getting cold, darling.", brings Janus out of his thoughts. Roman says it while standing up.

"Sure, here. I don't want you to freeze", Virgil says giving his purple black Hoodie to Roman.

"Thank you", he smiles while putting it on and taking Virgil's hand

(Oh) Wish I were Heather

(Oh, oh) Wish I were Heather

Only after the creative and anxious side start walking Janus notices his tears.

Virgil isn't his. Never was and never will. It hurts.

Turning back around to keep looking for Remus he whispers:"I wish I was Roman."

Why would you ever kiss me?

I'm not even half as pretty

You gave her your sweater, it's just polyester

But you like her better

Wish I were

[lambourngb]

Aaaaaany chance of a little tiny sneak peek at your Lost Decade prequel to Last Year’s Wishes?

For you, anything!

I’ve shared the first bit before, but here’s more of Michael’s first day as a rider, other than a laborer.

**

This was his third season at Fosters Homestead Ranch and Michael’s first off of the punishing duty of the “fence and feed” crew. 

Repairing breaks in over 100,000 acres of fence line or hauling endless fifty pound bags of feed for ranch’s dairy operation, had lent Michael strong wiry-bound muscle and burned his skin to a golden brown. Mindless, back-breaking labor had banked the anger that burned inside him, leaving him numb and able to drift through spring, summer and fall without taking much notice of how his siblings were passing him by. Isobel was dating a newly hired lawyer at her father’s firm, Max was finishing off his AA in criminal justice, and Michael? 

His aspirations were more a little more earthbound for once and closer on the Maslow order of needs.

He had an eye on an Airstream at the Chaves County impound lot, sitting under bank-repossession. His greatest hope was that he could spend a winter in the safe confines of his own home, instead of squatting in empty houses that were under foreclosure. The silver lining of the housing market crash was that he had multiple choices for his lock-picking brain. It certainly beat camping at the Wash, the makeshift homeless encampment nestled on the banks of the Berrendo Riverbed.

If Michael could have a place to call home, maybe he could convince Alex to spend his holiday leave in Roswell. Maybe the idea of being together wouldn’t seem so impossible to them both. Maybe they could part with a wistful ‘see you next time’ instead of a stone-cold ‘this can’t happen again’. There was news at least that President Obama was working to change and remove the DADT policy. Maybe he could finally be what Alex wanted. 

I want to be with you.

The admission of a worried seventeen year old’s desire for him kept Michael going. He just needed to meet a few markers of progress, even if he was mired in Roswell to keep an eye on Isobel. Alex would be done with his service in another two years, and he could decide to come home to Roswell, despite his father being a homophobe. If Alex had somewhere to go home to, he might stay. Michael needed to be ready.

The ache that hope brought sliced straight through his carefully cultivated dulled feelings, dropping away apathy and leaving him raw for a moment. 

It was just a fresh thin layer of skin barely stretching over his heart as protection. This was how seeing Alex always left him, a newborn toddling through life without the calloused layers. Dice and sliced up by hope. Not seeing Alex was objectively worse. He was just a painted up corpse then, lying in repose while the world moved on. ‘Here lies a promising student, made of lost opportunities’.

Not lost though, actively forsaken. To protect Isobel. He was the architect of that choice, but at least she could live safely in the cover his lie built.

“Hey Curly Sue, you paying attention?” A loud, annoyed voice cracked across Michael’s attention, dispelling the thoughts of the past. 

Michael looked up at the foreman Paul Foster, the young grandson of the ranch owner and shaded his eyes with his left hand, “yes sir, sorry sir.”

The crowd of this year's labor force twittered softly around him. Most of the group were somewhat familiar to Michael, the typical migration of men who were only suited for outdoor work. Following work with the ever-changing seasons, instead of the toil of monotonous cubicles and repetitive memos. The young ones, new to ranching, worked their way through the shit jobs, sometimes literal shit jobs of mucking, to earn a path up the rungs of responsibility to the trusted, returning crop of herdsmen and horsemen. 

“Joe, here,” the foreman nodded to the head of the outriders, “thinks you’ve done enough time digging irrigation lines for the hay fields, and doing feed and fence work, that it’s time we put you on a horse.”

“Mr. Joe is dreamin’,” a voice called out, “look at that hand of his, how the hell is he gonna ride a horse with two fingers?”

Michael dropped his left hand abruptly, shoving the evidence into his pocket uselessly. It wasn’t new knowledge at the Fosters Ranch, his first months out of high school meant he had hauled fifty-pound grain bags on his shoulders while the crooked breaks healed enough for him to hold a pitchfork for stall cleaning. Some of the workers had protested that he had skipped the worst of the chore duty as a green ranch hand. 

Stubbornness kept Michael frozen in place, even as he wanted to slink away. He could do another year repairing fences in the sun, it wouldn’t make as much money as the riders did but it was a job he knew. He’d even grown accustomed to the soft foggy place his brain took him once the hammers started swinging to secure wire and boards. His sense of spatial awareness, sharp and alien in nature, had kept him from hurting himself as he had drifted away in the meditative sounds of thunk, thunk, thunk.

Still making less money was disappointing. His goal of buying the Airstream would need amendment, or a trip to a casino further out than the Mescalero Res. Perhaps north to Isleta Pueblo casino, he wasn’t known there.

“Michael will be a better rider than you assholes. That hand means he can’t ruin a horse's mouth.” 

The unexpected shock of hearing someone advocate for him jerked his wandering attention back again. The head outrider, Joe, was watching him in turn. Dark, kind eyes, familiar but in the face of a stranger, met his from under a black cowboy hat. The head rider ran his gaze up and down Michael’s shabby jeans and Max’s cast-off hiking boots, before his lined mouth smiled, “besides, you’re supposed to ride off with your legs and ass, not off your damn hands.”

There was a moment where Michael thought Joe was looking at him in a different expectation than just riding a horse. That spark of interest. Curiosity about a man and what he could with his hands and generous mouth. He wasn’t wholly unfamiliar with that type of appraisal, but the look disappeared too quickly for Michael to really categorize it. He was probably just lonely or used to seeing that in a set of dark eyes set on similarly molded features.

With that, Joe swept off his black cowboy hat to mop off the sweat from his tan skin marked with sun damage, before resetting it on his head. His words were clear and invited no argument, secure in the knowledge that Mr. Foster himself waited every spring in hope that he was returning to New Mexico after working the winter cattle season in Argentina. No one could ride a horse, handle a herd, or command the type of respect in men better than Joe did and everyone knew it.

“Well?” The foreman Paul prodded pointedly, “why are all of you just standin’ there? Go get yourself a horse so Joe here can teach you something before dinner time.”

The lucky ones, Michael included, that were selected to work the beef cattle this year, headed for the upper field that held the horses. The rest of the new greenhorns and returning laborers headed to the equipment sheds to outfit themselves for fence repairs, or worse, start the task of mucking out the dairy barns. 

Without realizing it, Michael found himself falling in step with Joe as they headed for the fenceline. It was uncharted ground for him, but gratitude was circling his throat and he felt like he needed to say something. “Mr. Garcia, ah-”

“It’s just Joe, although my id says Joseph. But no Mr. And don’t thank me, kid.” He slanted his eyes over to Michael, another swift once over, lingering longer on Michael’s shoes then over to where Michael’s hand was still hiding his jeans pocket. “I meant what I said, you’ll be fine to ride.”

“I know I will be, I just appreciate the chance and I won’t let you down.”

“We all deserve a chance, and I’ve seen you work here for the last few seasons, uncomplaining and quick to pick up a skill. I mean you looked like a sullen raincloud most of the time, but you worked hard. And no one has ever complained about your attitude other than your penchant to flirt in town on payday. And man, I was a young man once too, so more power to you,” Joe commented dryly. 

Once again, Michael felt a little warm hearing that he had been noticed, but he didn’t comment as Joe slowed to a stop as they reached the horse pasture. The fenceline was decorated with worn nylon halters and mis-matched colored lead ropes hanging off of every fence post. Michael squinted in the bright sunlight at the herd of grazing horses spotting shades of brown, black, grey and even dull gold in the green grass of the ten acre field. It was a familiar sight from past years, he used to take his lunch and sit under the trees just to watch the ranch horses enjoy the fresh shoots of grass.

He had been told that in past years, the Fosters had needed to drop large bales of hay in the fields to keep their hard working four-legged staff fed through the long summer months, but every year Michael had worked there, the grass had grown thick and plentiful.

“Take out that hand of yours, I want to see what I’m working with here.”

Well damn. It was one thing to know his hand and disability was something of an open secret at the ranch, and even to old man Sanders at the salvage lot, it was another to let someone examine it closely. Brief bed partners, mainly the female tourists that were drunk enough to find his advances charming but not so drunk they weren’t aware of what was on offer in regards to casual sex, were mainly too engrossed with his efforts at bringing them to orgasm to notice his left hand. Max and Isobel had noticed, but both had agreed that a doctor would bring too many questions.

Alex, of course, knew. Alex, who had spent two weeks chasing his own demons in Michael’s body over Christmas, had made an effort to hold and touch his hand but still his gaze had skittered away from the scars and evidence of Jesse Manes’s rage.

Swallowing hard, Michael pulled his hand from his pocket and offered it meekly. Joe in turn pulled off his work gloves with his teeth and cradled Michael’s hand between his bare, rough palms. 

“Make a fist for me?”

Michael’s thumb and forefinger easily tucked into his palm, while his middle, ring and pinky finger slowly, crookedly bent into an awkward fan pointing to his wrist unable to curl fully in a ball. 

Joe made a soft humming sound in his throat, before reaching for the lead rope from the fence post. “Okay, open up for me.”

A squirming feeling snaked down his spine at the command, but Michael obeyed again as Joe draped the shot of line across his palm. Slowly he wrapped the line in a firm loop, squeezing Michael’s fingers over it, his eyes intent on the flexibility of Michael’s grip. The tug of line around his hand and then wrist sent another shock of almost arousal. Michael inhaled sharply, as Joe looked up in question. 

“Feel that tension? You’ll never need more than that when you’re riding, unless something has gone horribly wrong, okay? Less is more. I can teach technique, but I can’t teach you feel. That’s something you have to find on your own?” 

Michael wet his lips, struggling to focus again on the instruction and nodded.

After a moment, Joe made another off-hand humming sound, and unwound the rope from Michael’s hand and wrist. The strange atmosphere broke as he slapped the halter and rope into Michael’s right hand, and pointed out to the field, “see that horse over there? The one with the white butt but brown body? That’s Rocky. He’ll be a good one for you to learn on. So go get him and we’ll get started.”

It was strange, Michael felt both hot and cold as he fumbled his grip on the halter. It was like surfacing from a deep dive in the lake, his ears almost wanted to pop and his lungs felt tight. He tucked those feelings away and ducked through the slats of the fenceline.

[virareve]

30 Questions

Rules: Answer 30 questions and tag 5 blogs you are contractually obligated to know better.

Thanks for the tag @tiredandtoothless !

Name/nickname: Vira

Gender: Female

Star sign: Leo (I don’t know much else except something about me being primarily in the tenth house???)

Height: 5′4.5″ (that half inch really counts)

Birthday: July 29

Time: Approximately 3:30pm

Favorite bands: (in no particular order...) Aerosmith, Fleetwood Mac, Rising Appalachia

Favorite solo artists: (in no particular order...) Zedd, Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, Anuel AA, Chance the Rapper, Kanye West, Darius Rucker, David Bisbal, Maren Morris, Marshmello, Norah Jones, Ruel, Shakira, Yola

Song stuck in my head: La Bikina written by Rueben Fuentes. While not quite exact, this song reminds me a lot of Brienne in post-show and encapsulates a lot of the feelings I’d imagine she would have after GOT canon. I love this song very dearly and have listened to it with the written lyrics and without the written lyrics. It’s a haunted and beautiful song.

Last movie: That I finished? Princess Switch 2: Switched Again. It’s maybe the third Christmas romance movie I’ve seen in my life but I really loved this one. It’s a good bad funny unlike the first which was just boring lol. Why have two Vanessa Hudgens when you can have three? 

Last show: Avatar: The Last Airbender. I’ve been slowly rewatching it since it came onto Netflix in 2019. 

When did I create this blog: 2012 ( I had to check because I couldn’t remember lol.)

What do I post: Anything that interests me. Usually things I find funny or fandom stuff I would want to see again (i.e. artwork or meta).

Last thing googled: News on my aunt’s uncle who was taken by the government in our family’s home country recently. 

Other blogs: I only have this one but I’m thinking of making a sideblog just so I can keep organize all the patterns and inspo I get for Animal Crossing.

Do I get asks: Occasionally but sometimes they’re also just the randomest things that I think someone wants to just send me from anon  and not really meant to be answered. XD

Why I chose my url: I’m not exactly bi- or multilingual now but I was raised among many spoken languages. Vira was a name given to me by a friend, it is a play on my name in one of their languages. Reve is from a language I spoke as a child and no longer remember. 

Following: 81

Followers: 103

Average hours of sleep: It varies wildly but I’d say three to four days out of the week I get 8

Lucky number: I’ve never ascribed to any. 

Instruments: I used to have a rudimentary understanding of piano, violin, and harp

What am I wearing: Turtleneck, flare jeans, and heeled black mules

Dream job: trauma surgery but a physical health issue from the last few years  means I might need to rethink that if I go back, another dream job I want to run simultaneously (whether or not I return to medicine) is growing the company i work for

Dream trip: Going backpacking for a year or two through Europe and Asia and visiting some of the places the last few generations from my family came from before ending up in the US

Favorite food: Ramen, fresh churros, California burrito, mashed potato tacos, Pho, Kimbap, or Dolsot Bibimbap

Nationality: American (the second gen remix)

Favorite song: Hotel California by The Eagles

Last book read: The Pursuit of Mary Bennet by Pamela Mingle. (The story was was ehhhhh. It was first person and read a bit like a YA novel. Sometimes I felt the author imposing her beliefs a bit strongly. The MC also felt like she took a new character and decided to call her Mary Bennet. It was so-so, enjoyable but I wouldn’t recommend spending money on. If you find yourself intrigued by the idea of a Mary Bennet Spin-off, The Unexpected Miss Bennet by Patrice Sarath was a bit more true to the way I imagine the book character and more character-centric. One thing I do appreciate these novels for is painting the Bennet sisters’ relationship is a less harsh light.)

Top three fictional universes I’d like to live in: 1)  Pokemon (I want to be ten and go on adventures and get protected by plot XD) 2) Crazy Rich Asians (I just want to be friends with Go Peik Lin and Astrid Leong) 3) A:TLA post-hundred years war and without the existence of LOK (that’s too dark to retire in lol)

Tagging @twelvemonkeyswere @ladym-rules @writergirl2011 @treadcareful @hillaryschu

[powerwordsleep]

Sasuke Retsuden (Unoffical English Translation)

Prologue

Here’s the next installment! Enjoy~

DISCLAIMER: This is not an official translation and was not made for profit or distribution. This translation was fan-made and done for purely enjoyment and translation practice purposes. I do not own the rights to NARUTO or any of the related materials.

CONTENT WARNING FOR GRAPHIC DEPICTIONS OF VIOLENCE AND GORE.

Prologue | Chapter 2

Chapter 1

With his fangs still in the man’s body, Menō landed without making a sound. He suddenly opened his mouth and dropped the man he held in his mouth to the ground.

“...Ugh…”

He tried to crawl away, but Menō kicked him, sending him sprawling. He stabbed the claws on his foot into the man’s shoulders and started dragging him away slowly. He finally stopped when he reached the middle of the yard then opened his mouth, dripping red with blood, and took a bite out of the man’s right shoulder.

“AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” The man shrieked, his body contorting in pain.

Menō ripped at his flesh, and the blood dripping from the wound mixed with the steady stream pouring from his stomach, quickly forming a puddle of red on the earth. Making a fast meal out of the man’s head and chest would be enjoyable. Menō instead flipped the man’s body around and started to eat the shallow flesh of his hips. He pulled at the thin fibers of muscle, and the man cried out, his face pressed into the ground, sand filling his mouth.

Menō took his time tasting the man’s flesh and blood. He had purposefully dragged the deserter’s body to the middle of the courtyard where the other prisoners could witness his meal. It was a warning—this is what will become of you if you try to run.

“Eugh! I’m still alive! Please!”

The other prisoners watched from a distance, a grimace on their faces and pickaxes resting on their shoulders. Menō teared at the flesh like he was playing with it. When he finally got to the organs and the drip drip drip of blood could be heard from afar, the man’s scream faded out until they could no longer be heard.

“Well, that’s about it for Nogema. Quickly, back to your stations.” At the sound of the low voice from behind them, all the prisoners froze at once.

A slender man wearing silver-rimmed glasses slowly emerged from the building.

The director of the Tartar Astronomy Research Institute. Zansur. The person in charge of this place and Menō’s master.

“If you don’t move quickly Menō will make you his dessert.”

Although Zansur’s voice was light, there was an underlying intimidation to it; the prisoners paled at his joke. From within the sea of prisoners scattering to their various work stations, Sasuke observed Menō in secret.

Menō swung his large, long tail, using it to keep balance as he bent over, his head lost in the soft flesh and blood in the belly of the corpse. The hard skin covering his head was stained red with blood, the yellow pupil of his eyes shining brightly.

A carnivorous prison guard who faithfully obeyed Zansur—that was Menō.

A huge, bipedal lizard covered in thick skin, with nail-shaped fangs and sharp claws. When standing he was 80 centimeters in height, but if you measured from the top of his head to the tip of his tail, he was no less than two meters. What’s terrifying was the strength of his legs. Sprouting from under his torso are two horrible, spring-like legs that can move ten meters in a single leap.

This place was not a prison. The patrols did not keep watch over the prisoners 24 hours a day like guards should. There were no locks on their living quarters nor on any of the buildings' entrances. Nevertheless, the prisoners living here followed the rules obediently—because of Menō.

As long as there was Menō, who watched over the grounds authoritatively and showed no mercy in eating those who break the rules alive, then rarely would there be anyone who would dare try to escape.

***********

The prisoners’ job at the Astronomy Research Institute was mainly digging up dirt. Using farming tools, they were tasked with scraping up the frost covered soil. If they came across a large rock or hard clumps of earth, they had to carefully dig it up and remove it. And repeat.

It seemed that the work was necessary in order to build the foundation for a giant telescope, but the longtime prisoners said that for close to a year they’ve been forced to do this work endlessly.

“Ugh, it’s cold.”

Working next to him was Jiji, who was currently standing with his pickaxe resting against his hip, furiously rubbing his hands together. The mornings were particularly cold. The temperatures were low enough to freeze snot before it fell from their noses to the ground.

“Aren’t you cold, Sasuke?”

“Yes.” He answered honestly. Sasuke rubbed his hand against the handle of his pickaxe and warmed them up with the friction. He was used to working under harsh conditions, but cold is cold.

“Ugh, I hate it here... Why did they build the Astronomy Research Institute in such a cold place? The snow already melted a while ago. At this rate I’m going to end up freezing to death. Well, actually, after seeing that guy get eaten this morning, maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to freeze to death in my sleep.”

Did Jiji ever get tired of this monotonous work? He certainly never tired of speaking.

Jiji was a fellow prisoner and Sasuke’s cellmate. He was locked up on charges of stealing food because he had none. His sentence was a minimum of six months. Since they were about the same age and both in good physical condition, they were assigned to the same work division and were often paired together.

Jiji rubbed his reddened nose and then suddenly let out a yelp.

“Shit, I hurt myself. Ah, but this is lucky! Now I can go to the doctor’s office.”

“What’s so great about the doctor’s office?”

“Didn’t you hear? There’s a newly arrived lady doctor. Word on the street is she’s beautiful and kind.”

He chuckled and added, “And she’s single. No significant other.”

This caused Sasuke to look up from his work. “How do you know she’s single?”

“Because she isn’t wearing a ring.”

A ring?

Jiji noticed the blank look on Sasuke’s face and continued. “Oh yeah, you’re not from around here. It’s Redaku custom for people to exchange rings when they get married. If you wear a ring on the second to last finger of your left hand, that means you’re married. That lady doctor isn’t wearing a ring, so—ah, shit. The patrols.”

Noticing the approaching guards, Jiji cut his explanation short. He picked up his pickaxe, the blade worn and chipped, and set about diligently hammering away at earth, as was his duty. The patrols came up to watch this, swinging around their batons while walking by, scowling at Jiji. They did not, however, try to meet Sasuke’s eyes. They were afraid of him. Once the guards continued on their way, Jiji discarded his tool once more and let out the pent up breath he’d be holding.

“Ugh. Fuck this shit, I hate it here.”

Sasuke shared the sentiment. He let out a sigh and turned to look behind him. The Tartar Astronomy Research Institute sat quietly atop a desolate mountain range. Built 1,000 meters above sea level, it was a fierce stone prison. It is said that the Rokudō Sennin himself stayed at this place. He was supposed to have collected documents here. That was the reason Sasuke came here.

Naruto was suffering from an illness back in the Land of Fire. Sasuke was here to gather the documents the Rokudō Sennin collected for Naruto. That was his sole purpose. Being unable to do anything else at such a time was frustrating. Right now Naruto’s illness was getting worse with each passing second—

“What’s wrong with you? You’re making a scary face.” Jiji’s voice cut through his thoughts. His cellmate’s eyes stared curiously at him from beneath the shadow of his bangs.

“It’s nothing.”

“Really? You had a really serious look on your face.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Sasuke dexterously picked up his pickaxe with his arm, signaling the end of the conversation.

***********

After dinner Sasuke returned to his cell. As his hand touched the iron bars, he was greeted by a cut-off scream.

“AA—”

There in the middle of the cell, a gangly and petite man was lying prostrate on the floor. It was one of Sasuke’s three cellmates, Penzira. Jiji sat opposite him, legs crossed. Between the two men was a bowl with dice rolling around inside it.

“Jiji, you bastard! It’s snake eyes!”

“Heh, my bad. I’ll just take that cig, then.” Jiji snickered and pulled the cigarette on the floor towards him. It seemed that they were playing Cee-lo.

Although many prisoners become obsessed with gambling in a life of imprisonment without other forms of entertainment, Penzira has been an addict since well before. He loved playing dirty and doing underhanded tricks, but a series of successive losses earned him a pile of debt, and he got caught in multiple false marriage scams in attempts to pay it off. He had a minimum one year sentence.

Penzira noticed Sasuke. “Ah, Sasuke. Come play Cee-lo with us!” He shook the dice in the bowl incessantly.

“I’ll pass.”

“What’s up with you? So unpleasant.” Penzira frowned in disappointment and then turned his attention to the corner of the room. “Ganno! What’re you doing? Stop drawing pictures or whatever and get over here already!” He called out to Ganno, the third cellmate.

In the corner of the room squatting like a chicken on its eggs was Ganno, his back to Penzira. “Now’s no good.” He replied curtly.

Ganno, in his late sixties, was the oldest man in the cell. He was painting the loose skin on the nape of his skin completely red with paint.

“Are you still doing that? Aren’t you tired of it yet?”

“Don’t talk to me. I’ve almost completed an important part.”

It was one month ago that Ganno suddenly exclaimed, “I’ve found something great!” while out during his work shift, and returned to the cell with his pockets stuffed with red and brown rocks. Starting the next day Ganno would smash the rocks together, every morning and evening, not caring how raw his hands became. Over the course of five days the rocks were all crushed. Next he peeled off the skin from the soles of his feet. Then, he asked his friends in charge of the kitchen if he could borrow an open stove, and he used it before and after every meal for two hours; in total, he boiled the skin for close to 30 hours. Those around Ganno questioned his sanity when they saw the blood soaked bandages wrapped around his feet, but the man himself looked perfectly happy.

A broth of melted skin and a reddish brown powder made from painstakingly crushed rocks.

It was the day Sasuke arrived that Ganno finally had these two materials. While the others went to hurriedly greet the newcomer, Ganno began to mix both ingredients on top of pine leaves. Sasuke was struck breathless as he saw his cellmate completely absorbed in a task he didn’t understand.

The dull, reddish brown powder increased in viscosity when mixed with the both, and it transformed into a glossier color. After kneading the mixture for a few minutes, he completed the Kamain’s rock paint. It was a vivid red like Japanese plums. Every night since then Ganno has enjoyed painting, using pine leaves as a brush and his toenails as a canvas.

“Anyway, I’ll get rid of it before the inventory check next week.” Jiji was exasperated by this response and turned his back on the diligently working man, telling him the nail art didn’t suit him. “That’s why I’m hurrying. I’m already on my pinky finger,” replied Ganno. His voice was always cheerful.

A minimum sentence of 17 years in prison for treason against the nation. Ganno claimed his crime was painting a portrait for an aristocrat who opposed the Prime Minister. His father was also a painter, but he became obsessed and always had a paintbrush in hand, neither liking nor disliking what he painted.

A drawing that took one week to paint, done with a brush that took three weeks to make. Sasuke didn’t quite understand why Ganno would want to complete something that he would have to get rid of in a week, but any entertainment was important here.

The prisoners share what is basically a six-mat tatami room among four people. In such a confined space, adults breaking out in a fight was natural; beating each other until they were bloody and senseless was an everyday occurrence. In such an environment, Sasuke’s cell was comparatively peaceful. They weren’t exactly friendly, but so far no problems had arisen.

Ganno was absorbed in his art, and both Jiji and Penzira were upset at their dice rolls. Sasuke was gazing absentmindedly at the moon until it was time for lights out. This was what usually went on in the cell each evening.

“Yo, Sasuke, you should play too!”

“We’ll let you have the first go.” After each turn Jiji and Penzira would invite the lonesome Sasuke to play.

“No thanks,” came his short reply. He heard a faint noise and turned his gaze to the window that faced out into the courtyard. The white, illuminating light of the moon was blocked for a moment by a shadow. It was probably Menō out in the grounds. There was something about Menō that bothered Sasuke. If he were to do some research, now would be the perfect time.

“I’ve changed my mind.” Sasuke stood up and seated himself across from Penzira. “I’m your opponent now.”

“What, really? Hell yeah!”

“I don’t have cigarettes, so can I bet on something else?” Sasuke asked, reaching into his pocket and pretending to pull something out. He focused his chakra into his fingers, and using a simple Earth Style jutsu, activated the elements in the soil, arranging the atoms until they smoothed out and crystallized.

Rolling around in his palm was a red stone. It was a large ruby about the size of a cherry.

“Huh? Is that a jewel? Is that real?”

“No way, it can’t be. It’s probably glass or something.”

Jiji and Penzira inspected the jewel closely. Sasuke neither confirmed nor denied, but the jewel in his hand was certainly physically the real deal. Unfortunately, it was man-made.

“A pretty glass jewel, huh… we could take it and then melt it down in a fire and smoke it. That would be fun, yeah?”

“You don’t have any cigarettes left to bet on, I took everything you had last game. Bet on your meal duty.”

Sasuke picked up the bowl. “We don’t need cigarettes, and you don’t need to swap your meal duties. Instead, I want you to do me a favor.”

“A favor?”

“I’ll explain afterwards.” He placed the bowl on the tatami and grabbed three dice. He faced Penzira and asked, “What’s the best roll?”

“Of course you don’t know the rules. It’s snake eyes. You gotta get three digits.”

“Alright then, I’ll roll that.”

Jiji and Penzira looked at him. Even Ganno stopped working on his hand in order to watch Sasuke.

Sasuke channeled his chakra to his closed fist. The moment he rolled the dice, an imperceptible force guided them. With a clatter, the wooden dice rolled around inside the bowl.

“Seriously…”

Seeing three red dots lined up, Penzira’s mouth fell open. Like Sasuke had said, he, of course, rolled snake eyes. While Jiji and Genno were also sitting there stunned, Sasuke leisurely stood up.

“Looks like I win.”

“Rolling snake eyes right after saying you will—there ain’t luck like that. That was cheating!” Jiji smacked Penzira on the shoulder, ignoring his whine of protest.

“I told you to give up!”

When gambling with prisoners, cheating was a common occurrence. The unspoken rule here was if you don’t catch someone in the act of cheating, then it doesn’t count.

“You promised me a favor, Penzira.”

“... I can’t do anything too difficult.”

“Relax, it’s not bad.” Sasuke said and stood, heading for the door. “I’m going for a walk. When the patrols come around, cover for me.”

Penzira thought he was joking and laughed, but when he noticed Sasuke’s serious expression he followed after him, flustered. During the downtime before bed, you were free to do as you liked as long you stayed in the cells. The second you stepped foot out of your cell, you were breaking the rules.

“This is crazy! It’ll be obvious that someone is missing, how am I supposed to cover for you?”

“Stuff my futon.”

“Oh, we’ll just deceive the guards, is that it? They’re not children!” Penzira followed him out the door, complaining all the while.

“Sasuke!” Jiji called after him through the iron bars. “You get it, right? If you’re caught breaking the rules, you’ll be sent to receive punishment before you can offer up any excuses. If it’s Menō who finds you, he’ll eat you alive, no questions asked.”

“I’ll be back soon,” Sasuke replied calmly.

“That’s not the issue...” Penzira moaned.

***********

Within the grounds of the Tartar Astronomy Research Institute, there were two buildings located on the east and west end of the courtyard. Located on the west end was the multi-purpose building that housed the prisoners, which looked like it had been hastily put together with some branches that had been lying around. Opposite that, on the east end, was the headquarters of the institute.

Prisoners were forbidden from entering this building, but Sasuke held no such reservations as he boldly walked through the front door.

When he took his first step into the entryway, he was greeted by thick, fur-lined carpet. The headquarters was a completely different world from the barracks. It had been renovated since the Tartar era, and now was a magnificent brick building that resembled a royal palace. There seemed to be four stories above ground, and based on this country’s architectural standards, it was fairly large.

While the prisoners were forced to cry themselves to sleep on hard stone floors wrapped up in their thin futons, here the hallways, stairwells, and of course the rooms themselves were lined wall to wall with plush carpet. Thanks to the stucco-lined brick exterior, the building was naturally free from any cold drafts, and the guards’ rooms all had large fireplaces with which to heat their quarters. The difference was like walking on a cloud, compared to the barracks which would sometimes have icicles hanging inside the rooms during the snowy season.

As he walked through the corridors of the building, Sasuke would hide himself in rooms and attach himself to the ceiling whenever he heard the guards approaching on their patrols. But he purposely wasn’t masking his chakra presence, because of that giant lizard—it was to alert Menō. Since he couldn’t use words with his reptilian opponent, he planned on manipulating him with genjutsu to see if he could obtain any new information that way.

Menō surpassed other reptiles in terms of reflexes, speed, and power. No matter how you looked at it, Menō was a summon. Since he obeyed Zansur’s every command, there was a high chance that he was the one who gave Menō his powers. Originally, this country had no shinobi, but he’d heard that the Prime Minister had gathered rogue ninja here for a war.

It was likely that Zansur was a shinobi and he had summoned Menō using Kuchiyose, and now the two were connected via his chakra.

But a summon was not supposed to last this long. Menō was constantly stalking around the institute, morning and evening, keeping watch over the prisoners. That would mean Zansur was using Kuchiyose for at least 20 hours each day. That was way too long. Did Zansur have chakra reserves that large? Or perhaps the basic structure of this Kuchiyose technique was different from those passed down in the Land of Fire—

Tap tap. From down the corridor came the sound of nails hitting the floor.

Sasuke came to a halt, and met a pair of yellow eyes floating in the dark. Sidling out of the darkness came of the form of Menō.

“So you came.”

Sasuke raised his eyelids and focused his chakra to his eyes.

The Sharingan.

A red eye with three spinning black pinwheels met Menō’s gaze. He instantly activated his doujutsu, and dragged Menō into a genjutsu—or he intended to.

Whoosh!

Menō vaulted off the floor and leaped towards Sasuke. Sharp claws raked at Sasuke from the side and managed to cut off a lock of Sasuke’s hair.

Did the genjutsu not work?

Sasuke fended off the attack from Menō, and backed up until he hit the wall, then came to a stop. Winding up like a spring, Menō gathered strength in his legs before leaping forward, closing the distance between him and Sasuke in an instant. The pair of yellow eyes met his once again, but it had the same result. The genjutsu didn’t work.

As Menō thrust a fist towards him, Sasuke suddenly ducked down beneath his chest. He shoved him with the palm of his hand while his leg swept Menō’s feet out from under him. The sound of the floor cracking could be heard under Menō’s now prone form, and Sasuke ceased his attack. Leaving behind traces of a fight for the director and others to discover was dangerous. It made no sense, especially after all the trouble he went through to come here undetected.

Sasuke used the brief moment of reprieve to put some distance between them, when Menō’s eyes suddenly snapped open. Using his long tail like a whip, he threw himself at Sasuke and landed directly behind him. Sasuke barely dodged the hit, one that could’ve cost him his life.

He’s fast!

Sasuke used a Water Style jutsu to create a make-shift kunai out of ice, and wielding it, slashed at the sharp claws that were honing in on him then severed them from their fingertips. Without flinching, Menō continued his advance, and Sasuke continued slashing his way up the lizard’s torso.

“Gyah!” Menō let out a high-pitched scream and landed roughly on the ground. Yellow fluid poured out from a large, open wound in his stomach.

Oops.

Sasuke regretted the move instantly, but it was too late.

Menō staggered, then rushed to jump out a nearby window. When he came to the wall he smashed into it, toppling part of it over, and lept down into the courtyard below. He made a run for it at full speed, the yellow liquid drenching his body as it continued to spill out from his wound.

Sasuke bit his lip and dropped his gaze down to the palm of his hand, where a terrible sensation lingered. That last attack he landed with his kunai went deep. It was very likely a fatal wound.

***********

However—

The next day as Sasuke was looking out into the courtyard from his usual seat in the cafeteria, he spotted a familiar long tail swaying to and fro, and his eyes widened in shock.

You’re being foolish. It can’t be.

As if feeling his eyes on him, Menō faced Sasuke and met his gaze. However, as though he had no memory of the events from the night before, he huffed and quickly turned away.

Menō is alive.

Although he had suffered lasting damage, his body showed no signs of injury. Sasuke had no idea what this could mean. It was like he needed to get his eyes checked.

“So you’re the one who raised a hand against Menō. Number 487.” A voice abruptly came from behind him.

Zansur.

Sasuke had been waiting to initiate direct contact with him, but if he had revealed himself, then there was no point in hiding now. Besides, there were some things he wanted to ask him as well.

Sasuke activated his Sharingan as he turned around to face him. His eyes bled into red, and three pinwheels spun in his iris as he met Zansur’s gaze.

In the next moment—Sasuke sucked in a breath.

He only noticed it for the first time with his Sharingan. Behind the silver-rimmed frames of Zansur’s glasses were glass eyes.

“Your eyes…”

“Yes, yes, very good,” Zansur squinted at him, and the corner of his mouth lifted up in a smirk as he laughed. “You’re very keen. Every day my underlings can barely look at me, so no one else has noticed.”

Zansur reached out his arm and touched the windowsill behind Sasuke. His eyes moved naturally, and seemed to have good vision no matter where he looked. However, no matter how many times Sasuke checked to confirm, Zansur’s left and right eyes were definitely made of pure glass.

Zansur leaned in close and whispered in Sasuke’s ear. “It seems that you can use some ninjutsu… I’ll remember that.” The fake eye on the left made one full revolution in his eye socket, moving as if it were a living creature.

“It’ll take more than one measly ninja to take Menō away from me.”

[askaceattorney]

Dear Inferno,

Essay?  You just said the magic word.

Trucy’s a bit of a lengthy character to unpack, but I’ll see what I can pull out of my hat.

Trucy Wright, CEO, magic extraordinaire, and maiden of mystery, formerly Trucy Gramarye, the 8-year-old prodigy magician.  She’s the kind of character who never forgets to smile (that’s part of her creed, in fact), and always has a magic trick up her sleeve.  Or her magic panties, in this case.

This optimism and charm of hers do a lot to make her likable, both as the second non-Maya assistant in the series and as a side character who provides some comedy relief for the agency when morale is low.

But interestingly enough, this isn’t the sort of character she’s introduced as.

Trucy’s first “magic act” is to appear out of nowhere as Apollo is trying to contemplate how his boss suddenly became a murder suspect.  Rather than offering a smile and an encouraging message, she decides to play the role of a mysterious fortuneteller.

If I didn’t know who was saying this, I might think it was a Toad from Super Mario Bros. 3.

So far, all she is to Apollo (and us) is a mysterious messenger trying to help her father...until he realizes just who her father is.

This presents a new mystery for Apollo (and for us): How did a young magician wind up in the custody of an ex-lawyer?  And on top of that, why was a locket with her picture in the possession of a shady drifter...and why did Phoenix feel the need to take it from his dead body?

Unfortunately, Phoenix is just as cryptic as Trucy in her debut game, but it’s far from the end of Apollo’s interaction with them.

After two months of coping with the loss of his first position as an attorney and considering Phoenix’s offer to work at the legendary Wright & Co. Law Offices, Apollo finally shows up there to discover that it not only went through a name chance, but now has it’s own CEO -- the same mysterious girl he ran into before!

Before he knows it, he’s being interviewed for the Wright Talent Agency by a magician whose energetic and professional attitude completely contradicts her father’s calm, laid-back personality.  It isn’t until his misunderstanding is cleared up that she finally introduces herself:

It’s here that we also hear Trucy’s theme, “Child of Magic,” for the first time, which does a great job of conveying the sort of delightful, peppy aura Trucy creates just by being herself.  Speaking of which, Apollo gets to “enjoy” a bunch more of her optimism as she explains her and Phoenix’s current situation.  According to her, the former law office was converted into an agency for acquiring talented individuals.

She also describes what might be her most important role in Phoenix’s life, whether she knows it or not.

And so she did.  She may not have actually cooked for him (or maybe she did, we don’t know), but she did provide Phoenix, a well-respected lawyer who’d just been cheated out of his badge, with exactly what he needed at the time: a reason to keep going.  It’s hard to imagine what his life would’ve been like without her making her entrance into it, so to speak, but because of her, he was compelled to pull himself together, find a job, and begin to move on from one of the darkest moments of his life.  In short, Trucy became a light in his darkness.  Pretty impressive for an 8-year-old, huh?

We’ll get to that in due time, though.  The next thing we learn about Trucy comes from her Daddy, and once again, it’s pretty vague.

What could this “talent” of hers be?  Besides being a talented magician and motivator, that is?  We don’t find that out until after she’s spent some time as Apollo’s investigating assistant.

Thus she officially becomes Apollo’s “Maya,” a role she fills remarkably well, being just as cute, perky, annoying, and naive as Maya ever was.

Every good lawyer needs one of those, after all.

Then, when Apollo finally gets his first *cough* normal case, we get to see what Trucy’s capable of in the courtroom.  ...Well, after a quick diversion.

Has Professor Layton gone rogue and joined the mafia?  Nope, it’s just one of Trucy’s best tricks -- the Amazing Mr. Hat!

Not even going to ask how that works.

After this hilarious sideshow, Trucy reveals what her special “talent” is, and how it can help Apollo.

For the first time in the series, we have a courtroom mechanic that doesn’t involve pressing someone, presenting evidence, or asking the right questions -- instead we get to use a brand-new technique to slow time down and spot witnesses’ nervous habits when they tell lies, and our young magician friend is just the one to introduce it to us (much like Pearl introduced the Psyche-Lock mechanic to Phoenix).

She apparently knows about Apollo’s “perceive” ability from Phoenix, but how does she happen to have the same gift herself?  That remains a mystery until we learn about her past, which doesn’t happen until near the end of the game.

Thankfully, we aren’t playing the game here, so we can just skip ahead to that part.

During the third case, Trucy’s real father, Zak Gramarye, is given a brief mention, but all we learn about him is that he’s a magician who once belonged to Troupe Gramarye.  Who is he today, though?

It turns out his identity is none other than Shadi Smith, the card-playing drifter who was murdered by Kristoph (and the one partly responsible for Phoenix’s disbarment).  We could get into his *ah-HEM* wonderful fathering technique, but the important thing here is what we learn from him about Trucy and Apollo’s gift.

Whatever this strange ability is, it’s apparently hereditary, passed down from Trucy’s mother.  Also, as Phoenix deduces, Apollo shares this ability because, shocker of shockers, the two of them share the same mother, Thalassa Gramarye.

Who’d have thunk it?  Not even Phoenix, even though he’s a good thunker.

Speaking of Phoenix, let’s go back to his first meeting with young Trucy.

When she first entered his life, she was a famous magician’s daughter whose first “performance” was to help him escape a Guilty verdict.  She of course didn’t know at the time how long it would be before she saw him again, or the lawyer she was talking to would soon be replacing him.  It’s here, by the way, that we learn we she gets her charming grin from.

And then...tragedy.

With her father missing and no living relatives to take care of her, Trucy’s future looks even bleaker than Phoenix’s (which is saying a lot).  Thankfully, he offers to let her stay with him until her father comes back, and does his best to help her feel comfortable.  Luckily for both of them, her father already gave her some advice.

Then comes the big switcheroo.  As mentioned before, Trucy provided Phoenix with a reason to keep going after losing his job, but when we see how it actually took place, it becomes clear that she took it a step further than that -- she practically led him forward by the hand.

This makes me wonder something: could her vigorous encouragement have reminded Phoenix of another young woman who came into his life just after a tragedy occurred?

Maybe it’s just speculation, but it wouldn’t surprise me if Maya had crossed his mind.  He even told Trucy she could call him “Nick” if she wanted to.  If nothing else, that provided some serious heartfelt nostalgia.

One other thing I loved about AJ: AA is how it showed Trucy’s more fragile side near the end.  Things worked out pretty well for her after the ordeal with her father, but that doesn’t mean she felt no emotion about it.

We’ll never know how much of her sadness is due to her father’s death and how much is due to his sudden disappearance, but at least we’re given a chance to see her being less magical and more human.

And finally, let us fast-forward past Trucy’s adoption, her accidental reunion with her half-brother, and her antics in the courtroom to the final (and in my opinion, the best) big moment for her: The Magical Turnabout.  Here we get to see, through the magic of animation and voice-overs, how expertly Trucy performs and how confidently she speaks for the first time.

But just when things seem to be going better than ever for her and the new Troupe Gramarye...

What a way to go, huh?

Thankfully, that situation was an imaginary one (and she came out on top, as always), but then a real disaster occurs.

She’s lucky enough to have Apollo and Athena there to help her, but she’s left to wonder if Mr. Reus’s death was due to a fatal accident on her part.  If so, it would be a devastating blow to her magic career, besides destroying Troupe Gramarye’s reputation after it had just made a recovery.  Luckily, there’s one person who doesn’t believe she could make such a mistake, and who can see through her fake smile.

Then we get one more glimpse of Trucy’s human side, but for a completely different reason: Apollo’s faith in her performing ability, even as she struggles to believe in herself.

Unlike her previous crying scene, this one is more bittersweet than sad.  Having faith in your friends might be a cliche, but it’s moments like this when you see just how much it matters.

Things go from bad to worse when she suddenly finds herself in the Accused of Murder Club while her Daddy’s out of the country, but like always, the truth comes out in the end.  But here’s what I love most about this case: Trucy herself gets to play a role in proving her innocence, simply by doing what she does best: performing magic!

Besides giving her defense team new evidence to work with, her trick completely turns the room around.  Even Apollo couldn’t detect the sword switch with his kinetic vision.  Not bad for an impromptu performance, huh?

And if that wasn’t beautiful enough, the judge himself asks Trucy a favor before announcing a verdict:

Looks like she’s officially earned the title, hasn’t she?

So with all this in mind, what’s the best way to describe Trucy?  She’s a great magician, a strong motivator, a bringer of joy and encouragement to those around her, a comedy relief when one is needed, and...  Oh yeah, I forgot -- it turns out she’s also a bit of a sadist.

Sort of a weird character quirk for Capcom to give her, in my opinion, but not too hard to believe, I guess.

But most importantly, she’s a true entertainer, much like her old Daddy, and someone who knows how to smile even in the darkest of times and who has an eye (two, in fact) for the truth, much like her new Daddy.  You could say she represents the best of both worlds.

You’re still a jerk, though, Zak.

-The Co-Mod

[hats-paradox]

Aa! Thank you for explaining, everything's a lot more clear now, I've looked through your tags before, but was slightly confused on the general storylines, if you don't mind, could you go into more depth on the Gear in Time AU? That was one if them that caught my eye. -EclipsesEnd

Sure! In order to do that I should clarify that some things are still kind of iffy and the story sort of.. stops at a certain point? As in it doesn't really have an end, and it could branch off to several different things- I'll touch on that later.

Anywho Hat lives with her uncle and cousin, Tim & Timmy, and several robots. (Conductor, Grooves, CC, Snatcher, and Rumbi) Tim is a mechanic (with a robotic third eye) who has a miserable soft spot for machines which is how he ended up with so many (most of which don't really serve a purpose, and it's pretty uncommon to have a robot if it's not actively doing something for you) He and Thor had a pretty successful business, but they're retired now, though Thor still runs an old shop, mostly for older robots so that they aren't immediately thrown out should they happen to break.

The main story of it centers around Moon, though. He was, like I said earlier, the Prince. Vanessa shenanigans happen and she basically damn near killed him (she thought she did, he just happened to live long enough to upload his consciousness into two convenient bodies. Also speaking of, he kind of 'broke' mentally when Vanessa attacked his, causing a bit of a split in his personality, hence how we got Snatcher & Moon.)

Moon happened to get his body up and functioning before Snatcher (assuming that he died) and basically booked it away from there, managing to stumble upon the Facility which he quickly started to call home. Snatcher, while having to sit in a miserable stasis in a broken down shed for far longer than he would have liked, was eventually found by Tim & Thor. Long story short, Hat convinced Tim to let her keep him and although he was pretty aggressive at first, the two quickly created a bond and Snatcher was cemented as a part of their family.

While Snatcher was busy getting adopted, Moon got the wonderful opportunity to sit in all of his feelings, feeling pretty scared, but mostly vengeful and incredibly angry and confused. After being left by himself with only his thoughts to keep himself company (and the lovely trauma that Vanessa had given him) he quickly went off the deepend and started doing experiments. During this, he started to get considerably good at mechanics, having to repair himself several times with other robot's parts. He eventually started to kidnap/attack Mafia members (who just work around the junkyard) and after a while started to find out how to make them into robots without killing them. Being around them certainly didn't help his mentality, if anything it just made it a lot worse. He kept experimenting with it until he felt he had a great understanding of it, and decided to go after Vanessa, who seemed to be doing just fine without him. (Side note that really doesn't affect the plot, Badge Seller was one of the first people he worked on! They're only a cyborg, but unfortunately, being one of the first people Moon worked on means that they have several issues, and Moon may or may not have severally damaged their brain.)

He catches Vanessa, finds it incredibly liberating to feel like he's in control, and finds it just a little too fun to take his anger out on her. Deciding that he doesn't want that feeling to go away, he decides to never push her far enough to actually kill her, even going as far as to actively repair her at times. That basically becomes a pastime for him, whenever he's not doing other things, or should he get angry, he'll take his feelings out on her. It usually leaves him feeling a little odd and maybe a bit angry afterwards, but it's never enough to stop him from doing it again.

This continues for quite a while until Hat (who was exploring around the Junkyard, which is relatively close to her home) accidently falls into Moon's facility. She's initially freaked out by him, but lucky for her, she's young and that's enough to get Moon to not immediately try to kill her. She, being raised by Tim, offers her friendship to Moon. Moon, who hasn't had a positive experiance with anyone in who knows how long, almost immediatley latches onto that. At first he thinks she might be tricking him, but he quickly comes around to the idea that Hat genuinely wants to be his friend. (She of course, has no idea who he is or what he's done)

Things go well for a little while, though Moon quickly grows to be extremely clingy, insisting that she stays longer, even trying to get her to just sleep there a few times. That weirds her out for sure, but she still tries to see him, figuring that it's just because he's lonely. She's tried to get him to go up to the surface with her, but he refuses, claiming that he'll be hurt again if he tries to. She figures that he just has some trauma and that it'll take time to ease him into the family. Unfortunately, she isn't given enough time for that. Moon quickly starts to develop the idea that he's never meant a genuinely good human before Hat, and thus all humans are evil, and that she really isn't supposed to be one. He goes out of his way to convince himself of that, coming up with any excuse he can to justify it (like that she'd physically be sturdier as a robot) (funny how the same thing he did to hurt Vanessa is the thing he wants to do to 'Help' Hat)

He quickly grows to be dangerous for her to be around, and he damn near succeeds in making her a robot, except for the fact that she had been talking about him at home, so Snatcher's been watching her more closely, and that it was one of the few times he had convinced her to sleep there, so Hat's family were already trying to find her.

It basically stops there, really. Moon tries to break in and take her, etc. Etc. Effectively traumatizing Hat and her family, and that's where the story branches off a lot. Really, I imagine that they'd just.. move away. It's not safe there and Tim has the money to back it up, so no point in staying. There are also other possibilities like Hat being turned into a robot, Moon being killed, several things where Vanessa gets more involved (she's hellbent on murdering Moon, should she have the chance) etc. I don't imagine it'd just go with them trying to live with Moon doing all of this to them.

Anyways, sorry for the ramble- hope this helps!