#someone please take away the tism

[liliacult]

Well lookie here, Romeo’s back from the dead with a post game! Yuma redesign!!

I’ve actually been drawing a lot but I’ve been focusing on improving my art, and drawing ocs LMAO-

But I recently brought raincode!! So the hyperfix is coming back in full force (save me….)

Also I’m gonna open up comms pretty soon!! So if you’re interested be on the lookout! (I promise I have better art, I promise I’ve improved a lot, just look at my insta I’m so good at art guys)

[salora-rainriver]

*taps mic*

The thing about meditation is that it’s never just meditation,

(Hey- You there! Peeps with ADHD who are sick of being told to meditate! This is for you! This is about that frustration and the problem with that advice!)

There’s hundreds of spiritual meditation traditions in the world, and thousands of ways in which you (yes, you) could hypothetically begin to meditate.

Meditation isn’t one thing. It’s not sitting in lotus pose 🧘‍♀️ and emptying your mind.

Meditation can be done sitting in a chair, kneeling on the floor, laying in bed, standing, walking, even dancing! (please look up whirling dervishes)

Meditation also isn’t done for just one thing. It can be done to pursue inner peace, focus your mind, leave your mind, gain greater awareness of the outer world or the inner world, and even attain a higher level of spirituality (whatever that means for you / your religion).

“Mindful” meditation is done to exercise self-awareness and reduce stress.

Christian mystics meditate in the pursuit of understanding God.

Zazen is practiced as part of the daily traditions of a monastery, a mandated period of rest after a long day of spiritual and physical labor.

Often, people will “try meditation” AKA walk into a Mindfulness guided meditation, be told to focus on their breathing and let their worries go,

Then get frustrated because the Thoughts keep coming faster than they can push them away. And then they walk away deciding this isn’t for them.

Just so we’re all clear: no. You’re not supposed to push the thoughts away.

You’re supposed to notice the thought is there, take note of it, and then let it go.

Trying to push thoughts away just creates a “don’t think of pink elephants” situation, where thinking about not thinking about it makes you think about it more.

Hey, dude with ADHD, thanks for sticking with me. I’m sure i don’t need to tell you how annoying it is to hear “you should meditate” and then you’re stuck there going “but I cant just sit down and Relax for an hour bro” and then they straight up don’t believe you.

Yeah what if we had a deeper understanding of what meditation was and someone said “you know if you feel like you can’t sit still, maybe going for a walk and Focusing on the sound of your footsteps might do something”?

Does that maybe sound a bit more appealing?

Or maybe before you go to bed, you put on some music or the sounds of rain, and let it carry your thoughts somewhere peaceful and dreamlike as you Listen Closely?

Maybe you could dance? Or chant? Sing, even?

Run your fingers over some object and ruminate on its texture?

Meditation is a huge and diverse array of practices. The only thing they all have in common is that you enter some sort of peaceful trance as you do it.

However the hell you get there.

So yeah, I think people should be specific before they suggest “meditation” to someone.

Cause I know for a fact that sitting in an uncomfortable pose and doing Nothing for an hour won’t fix me,

but I sure as fuck Feel Something when I go Deep Listening to the sound of cicadas in a forest while Twin Peaks synth hums a mysterious drone over the misty scene. Or yanno, whatever the fuck sounds I’m feeling like at the moment.

Also, walking in nature feels good. I could go for a walk every so often.

Hey y’all, it’s springtime in the northern hemisphere right now. you might find some flowers if you go walking!

Edit:

“writing a thingy about meditation for adhd folks but also making it a massive wall of text is very gabycore xD”

Added page breaks and formatting and also some colorcoding. Hope that helps with readability. I have The Tisms, ok?

[soft-mafia]

Not Buggy simping for once but I am looking at your oc like the stupid little bisexual that I am and I am looking oh so very respectfully and I am so polite and I am not even trying to steal her away from the captain please captain put me down I did not stare at her bad okay, her bippedy boobedy boobas, her massive ockers on purpose I promise.

But real talk I like her. She cute. Would love to hear more lore if you ever have the energy

HAHAHAHAHA😭Buggy has to deal with people trying to snatch his girl from him 24/7 he’s used to it at this point.

But dw she’s as much as a simp as we are for him❤️(and as Boa is for Luffy😭)

Sorry if this seems really obsessive and is way too long or whatever but It’s so common for me to make so much lore whenever I make an oc specifically to ship with a canon character (I have ideas that could literally be a novel franchise for my Hisoka oc ugh) the tism in me just gets way too ahead of itself tbh and whenever someone is like “ooh tell me about them :D” I literally go crazy.

Veteran one piece fans, please let me know if any of this goes against one piece logic, I’m still really new to the fandom and this is a new oc too, so if I need to change anything/get rid of a piece of lore then please let me know😭

So if you haven’t seen my latest info post on her name is Ivyeri(pronounced Ivory) VanHelsing, she ate the stitch stitch fruit which is a mythical zoan fruit that’s a Frankenstein/Monster type.

This devil fruit her replace her body parts with quite literally anything, she can use whatever she replaces her parts with like it’s apart of her body; she often puts weapons on her body, and into her body as well.

In Impel Down, she lost her leg from severing it to get out of her chains so she had to replace it with the wolf leg.

Whenever Ivy takes off a body part, since it’s not connected anymore her brain can’t control it, so it becomes sentient. Since the parts she can control are determined by if her brain can connect to them or not, this means if her head is completely served her entire body can become sentient as well. Whenever Ivy does this(usually when she’s using her full body weapon suit which I haven’t drawn yet) she keeps her headless body sedated in a tank.

SO, on to her entire story and how she meets Buggy(under the cut if you’re interested bc it’s super long oof) warning for me rambling and on going sentences bc I wrote some of this on my break.

I created a town that she lives in, it’s a really corny name that I don’t feel like saying bc I’m gonna get roasted for it😭but, it’s located on a desolate island, literally nobody knows it even exists and the people who accidentally come across it just leave bc they’re so freaked out. Buggy and his crew see the island in the distance and he thinks “another town to pillage hehe” however, upon arriving there and making a flashy✨ entrance he’s met with the towns people just staring at him with dead glares in their eyes. Buggy and his is obviously freaked out, so he just tells his crew to just stock up on food and booze before getting the hell out of there.

Ivy sees him when he arrives and immediately falls in love, love at first sight. She wants to approach him but is too nervous and thinks her appearance will scare him away(she thinks her stitches make her ugly and grotesque). So Ivy comes up with the idea of moving some signs around to lead Buggy into getting lost in a graveyard. It works and when Buggy is lost in the maze of gravestones, Ivy appears behind him, sitting on a grave and subtly flirting with him, thinking that the heavy fog of the town obscures her appearance.

Buggy can clearly see her, but he has seen crazier people in his time of being a pirate so Ivy’s stitches don’t even register in his head bc he’s too busy panicking over getting lost in a graveyard and now some lady is talking to him?

They talk, flirt with each other, Buggy obviously letting her inflate his massive ego, Ivy offers to lead him out of the graveyard(even though she’s the one who led him there in the first place). Ivy leads Buggy back to his crew. One of the pirates accidentally bumps into her and she face plants right into Buggy’s chest and they have this “ooo accidentally falling right into your crush’s arms🥰” moment before it’s ruined by her wrist coming off and holding onto Buggy’s shirt when she pulls away. They’re both freaking out, Ivy apologizing profusely while trying to take her hand back.

Buggy screamed only for a moment before being like “This girl can take her body parts off too?!” And he falls in love and (politely)demands her to join his crew(not because he wants to bang her immediately or anything..) after that they’ve been together for 8 years🥰

She doesn’t really have a prevalent role in the orangetown arc, however she does take control of Buggy’s crew after he’s bazooka-ed to a whole other island.

While Buggy was presumably pronounced dead by his crew, Ivy strayed away from them to mourn by herself, which meant she didn’t get kidnapped by the cannibal tribe(she didn’t care about Buggy’s crew at that point since she thought he was dead) however, when Buggy came back with Alvida, Ivy was even more heartbroken than she was when she thought he was dead.

K so I kind of ripped off one of my own fan fictions with this part of her story, I just thought it would’ve been good character development for her so if you want the basics of what happens, here’s the fic.

Ivy breaks up with Buggy bc she thinks he’s cheated on her, or is going to cheat bc Alvida is literally gorgeous. After that, she leaves the Big Top and devises a plan to make a name for herself and become a fearsome solo pirate just to make Buggy jealous and show him that she’s doing just fine without him.

Overtime she becomes extremely brooding and even more colder than before; each one of her accomplishments are fueled by anger and jealousy. Over time she convinced herself that Buggy had forgotten about her and moved on with Alvida which fueled her to succeed even more.

Which, she did succeed, but she got way more than she wanted to. After an accidental conflict with the marines, she ended up getting a Impel Down level 5 worthy bounty.

Buggy and Ivy don’t directly interact much during Impel Down and Marineford bc both of them think that the other hates them/forgot about them, but when they do reunite they start this dynamic where the two of them are trying to look cool/badass just to get the other’s attention(Also, Ivy’s severed leg I mentioned earlier, it somehow found Buggy on level 2 and he’s been keeping it from her the entire time).

The entire time, Buggy didn’t know why Ivy broke up with him, he thought that she broke up with him bc of his “ugly red nose” and cried for months. Everything reminded him of Ivy. He hoarded all of her old clothes that she left behind and used one of her old tops as a pillow case.

They finally get back together during the cross guild, Ivy joins alongside Crocodile and Mihawk. When she sees the way that the two men beat and abuse him over everything she gets pissed off and vows to protect Buggy at all costs, leading to them having a heart to heart, finally talking things out and getting back together again.

I have more lore with her but it involves other ocs I’ve made for one piece and it doesn’t really add to her relationship with Buggy loool

I have another oc I’m not sure about adding to her lore since idk if this is already an existing character in One Piece bc he’s vaguely mentioned in canon, but Davy Jones is her father and had the same fruit as her when he was alive. They’ve never met.(This is an excuse for me to make a goth dilf)

More facts about her!

-Ivy is a weaponsmith, she makes weapons for herself and Buggy’s crew(when she was apart of it)

-She’s 5’9, 27 years old before the timeskip and 29 years old after

-Ivy likes collecting bones.

-Ivy has a pet cat named Princess who was Richie’s biggest opp. Before the time skip he was the same size as a regular house cat, but currently he’s the size of a Liger.

-She stole Alvida’s old ship when she left the Big Top and customized it to fit her vibe

-She stole a manticore from Impel Down, adopted it, and named it Buggy Jr.

-She also adopted a giant frog and named it after Buggy as well

-A week after the breakup Ivy tried to make a replacement Buggy by digging up a recently deceased guy and playing Frankenstein(using a toy ball as a replacement nose). Things didn’t work out when the guy regained his memory and reunited with his wife.

-As a pirate, people call her by her last name. No relation to the actual Van Helsing though I just thought the name sounded cool.

Her playlist:

[crestapex]

Hello! I saw a post saying COD matchups are open! If not, please ignore this ^^ Also, I haven't fone a matchup ask in forever, so sorry if I'm rusty...

I'm punk and it really shows in my appearance. I got a red mohawk, and some piercings and tattoos. I like to customise my clothes as much as possible, so battle jackets, studs, chains, pins and patches with slogans and band icons/names are my daily wardrobe.

I'm nonbinary, panromantic asexual and I go by they them pronouns. I'm trilingual and I love learning about stuff, mostly languages and time zones. I am very probably autistic, so I have issues with social interactions as well as sensory issues and I have tics, motoric and vocal. Usually I just chirp, repeat phrases or wave my hands around, twist my neck etc. But sometimes, when I'm anxious, my tics get more violent and I often punch/pinch myself. I struggle with depression a lot as well as some unhealthy coping mechanisms that involve pain, to put it lightly.

I love art, I consider myself a poet, I got one book published and I like to attend poetry competitions. I also draw a lot and paint. I like crafting as well, I have tons of little projects either going on or in my head. I have to journal a lot, because if I don't write it down you can bet I'll forget it :D I also like cooking :)

I love animals, I used to have pet rats and would want them in the future.

I think I'm kind, maybe a bit too much, I would do anything for my loved ones. My MBTI type is INFJ if that helps. I try to make others laugh and feel comfortable, I'm kind of a mix between the parent friend and the clown friend. My love language is words of affirmation and quality time. I tend to get into arguments, because a) people usually take me seriously when I'm being sarcastic or playful (another tism trait), b) because when it comes to things I'm passionate about, I always think I'm right and I have the need to convince the other person that my opinion is better. Also because I get frustrated when people don't get what I mean exactly.

My special interests are horror, in all forms, horror movies, horror books, video essays, deep dives...I like true crime as well and I like to collect bones and other things people often deem creepy (I have a bird skeleton/mummy in a jar).

I think that's it, take as much time as you need, and again, if matchups aren't open, feel free to just delete this <3

You’re all good 👍 (I’m not too familiar with the whole MBTI type of stuff, so I tried my best to look into it, lol.)

I match you with: Rodolfo ‘Rudy’ Parra!

I think he’d be pretty into watching video essays and deep dives with you. Rudy would have no problem setting himself on the couch right beside you, claiming that it keeps him educated and his mind sharp. But really he’d end up passing out in 30 minutes, one of his arms wrapped tightly around you as if you were to magically grow wings and fly away from him. The other resting gently on your arm or thigh if you find yourself sitting practically in his lap. It’s one of the few times he finds himself at true peace and serenity.

Having any shared friends means you guys are definitely referred to as the parents of the group. Drama at the grocery store? Off to go gossip with the two of you! Looking for relationship advice? Once again, off to you and Rudy. And when you guys get into a small, tiny even, slight disagreement in front of your friends? All of sudden it’s the end of the world and everyone is talking about having two christmases. 😐

But also most likely to be the one to bring you down from confrontation or arguments. He will tell you when it’s time to take a step back and calm down, and he’ll continue to talk you down from it and put a comforting hand on your lower back. And if you want to take a moment to continue ranting about it? Go for it, he’ll listen, only to voice his opinion on the situation if you ask for it and/or after you’ve come back down to earth. He’s pretty level headed (especially compared to someone like Alejandro… *side eye*…) and tends to have good judgment like that, so I think that would balance out your relationship, especially if you’re more on the temperamental side.

I can picture him as some sort of gift giver, which I’d imagine would go pretty well with someone who has strong collector tendencies. And they wouldn’t always be the most elaborate and luxurious gifts—though it’s not out of the question—it be something small or something he just found interesting and made him think of you. Think of a gem or crystal he found be sold at a little gift stand, or a small drawstring bag full of bottle caps from all around the world and from all kinds of bottles (that, or he’d be the one to gift you the bottle caps to add a collection, lol).

Loves your artistic side, especially your poetry. Write him little pieces of poetry on a sticky note or torn corner of a piece of paper and he will most definitely keep it in his pocket, only pulling it out to read when he’s alone and missing you—“Oh, mi cielo…” he’d whisper to himself and bring the piece of paper right over his chest, on top his beating heart. He’d close his eyes and let himself be overrun with thoughts of you, even if it’s just for a quick minute before he would have to return back to work. And while you may not believe it’s your best work, Rudy will think it’s one of the most beautiful things he’s ever read.

mi cielo = “my sky” or “my Heaven”

[erikatsu]

✮ NEW YEARS APPRECIATION ✮

i just wanted to take some time and thank those who have been with my through the year. first off, i want to thank my followers, especially those that have been with me since my first blog (rip spookydraken u r so missed).

*cue the golden girls theme song* i would like to give special thanks to:

✮ @twdottore — cat, u have been through 1838384 shit shows with me and we are still rockin' n rollin' together. you are my rod, my platonic soulmate. i want to thank you for always encouraging my wild ideas and listening to me rant ab theories and world building. thank you for all the fanart you send me, and all the tiktoks. thank you for always indulging me in selfship ideas and comms. you're my best friend and ilym (i win). i am so so glad u rang in the new year w me last year, and that you're still with me this year. here's to more.

✮ @dxlucs — ur the bubblegum to my marceline. thank u for dealing with me 15 dms + 3 texts in a row, for being there for my biweekly existential crises, and for allowing my to info dump even if it takes you a minute to understand what im getting at. i'd be so stir crazy without u. im so happy we became friends and that we're as close as we are now. i rmr when i fangirled over u following back LMAO. ily and thank u for tolerating me /lh

✮ @myalbedo — bestie. u always know what to say to make someone laugh. ur one of the funniest people i know and you don't even try. thank you for all the cute stuff you send me, for letting me scream when the 'tism gets to be too much, and for threatening to beat people with ur cane for me /lh. im glad that we've gotten close too. stay hot bitch /lh.

✮ @hanmas — ur so unapologetically urself and you inspire me to do the same. i love all of our meta-talk, our 4 am chats, and u giving me excuses to sneak away from work to run a domain w u. i'm so happy we're ikea gfs. i'm gonna buy u the most expensive candy and the giant ikea bear. ily, pretteeist girl in the whole world.

✮ @mxnjiros — ik ur not active here as much, but i love when u come back and my notifications are flooded by you. ur so supportive of ur friends and it shows what a big heart you have. i'm very thankful that i can call u a friend.

✮ @sennsational — i adore u, y'know? ur so talented and creative and every time you drop a new event i'm mind blown. u r one of the sweetest people i have ever met, and here lately u've been that refreshing sip of water i didn't realize i needed. thank you for that, and thank you for being so genuine.

✮ @dilu3 — i never know what you're gonna say and i think that's exciting. you could have me sobbing over my faves or almost peeing in laughter. you're so funny and sweet and i'm glad that we've gotten closer. thank u for letting me scream ab stuff to u and giving me good laughs

✮ @suyacho — you're also another person who is so genuinely sweet. you match my energy and also encourage me to keep going even if it's hard sometimes. thank you snow, for our little talk and crying over itto with me

✮ @alhaithms — i had to include u even though we've only talked outside of asks like three times. but each time i was able to tell how kind you are and it was so easy for me to hold conversation with you, which im not the best at honestly :,) thank u for being so warmhearted and immediately making me feel safe coming to your blog. i hope that we become better friends in the future <3

✮ mutuals — for my more recent moots who i don't know all too well yet, thank you for giving me the opportunity to make your acquaintance and for future friendships. you are all so unbelievably talented and i admire you all so much. if we haven't talked, it's probably bc im too shy/nervous to approach but i will with some time. if we have talked, im super glad we're starting friendships.

i hope the new year is full of good things for all of you. please be kinder to yourselves, you're doing great.

[comfy-whumpee]

Clare

Northlight demanded that I write this piece for April. @iaminamoodymoodtoday, @wildfaewhump, @ishouldblogmore, @lektric-whump, @that-one-thespian, @raigash, @paingeneering, @whumpywhumper

Cool spring breeze flows through an open paved plaza in the middle of a university. It’s the kind of place where people assume you are just in the middle of a difficult study period if you sit in the middle of the grass in an old coat and eat pasta with your fingers. A good spot for Northlight, without many curious eyes, especially with the book they are pretending to read in front of them.

The pasta is cold but well made, with the strange uniform flavour that food of this time often has, bland cheese and weak herbs with chunks tomato poorly integrated into the too-smooth sauce. It is quick to eat, though, and goes down easy with the paper cup of water they’ve taken from the library along with the book.

As they look out over the rest of the clearing between buildings, they notice someone else sitting on a bench. They look young, with a halo of Afro hair and their nose deep in an electronic device of some kind.

They’re swaying. Back and forth on their bench, a slight motion like reeds in a summer breeze. Like a bobbing leaf on the river of time.

Northlight licks their fingers and gets up, leaving the tub and their water on the grass. They cross the flat stones of the plaza and sit down on the fake-wood bench.

“Why are you swaying, stranger?” they ask, when the student glances their way.

The stranger has dark eyes and a shy smile. They fix their gaze on Northlight’s brow. Their voice is like old paper against fingertips. “Because it feels nice.”

Northlight feels themself tipping to the side, a longer swing than the stranger’s, like a pendulum catching itself before it touches the sides of the clock. They can’t help it. Just talking about the motion makes their stillness feel cold and heavy.

A spark lights in the stranger’s eyes as they tracked the motion. Their smile pulls into itself, but Northlight recognises it as a happy motion. “I saw you doing it on the grass.”

They nod. They try not to look too hopeful. “It feels like the world moves with a current and I have to move with it,” they offer tentatively.

Their heart sinks as they see a lack of understanding deep in the stranger’s eyes. “That’s a pretty way to put it,” they offer politely. “Oh, um, my name’s Clare.”

They hesitate. Then they smile and nod. “I’m Aurora.”

“Nice to meet you. I haven’t seen you at the Network.”

Of course, they think Northlight is a student here. They plead ignorance. “The Network?”

“You know, for autism? It’s part of the DSN.”

Northlight blinks, mind searching for connections and finding none. “Or-tism?”

The stranger blinks back, though they’re looking out over the plaza. “You don’t know what it is?”

Northlight shakes their head, finding a ragged end of their hair and tugging it nervously. Have they given themself away as someone who doesn’t belong?

“It’s like… You know stimming. Swaying, I like that one too, and I um, I have,” suddenly Clare digs into their pocket and pulls out a strange, marshmallow-looking thing shaped like a spherical frog. “A squishy.” They pinch it between finger and thumb, and the frog distends. “Helps with, makes me feel less stressed.” They reach into another pocket in their jacket. “And this, this is my favourite, it’s for happy um, happy feelings. You can shake it and it froths up like this, and it looks pretty and makes a good sound and then you can listen to the bubbles pop.”

They shake the little jar and Northlight watches with wide eyes as a galaxy of glitter swirls around and disappears into thin white bubbles.

Clare has treasures. They reach into their inner pocket and take out Patience Penrose’s hair tie, winding it around a finger to feel the pressure, letting the stranger see.

“That’s cool,” Clare enthuses. “I had one when I was younger that was like a cat’s cradle, I would use it all day while watching things and it kept my hands busy, otherwise I’d click my pen nonstop. But I have a clicky thing now, I don’t really use it because I have my frog. Do you like clicky things? Here, it’s, um, oh here it is.”

They produce a small, round toy with a smaller circle in the middle. Northlight takes it and presses it down with a thumb, and it depresses with a silent but tangible snap.

They lift their thumb and it lifts too. They press down again.

“Keep – keep it,” Clare says. “I like asking about synaesthesia, do you – do you have that? Like when all the words have colours, or something else where you can see things or feel things that other people can’t…”

“Voices have feelings,” Northlight says. They know this one. “Nobody else can tell but they do.” They pause, then add, “Yours feels like paper. It’s nice.”

Clare’s mouth twist-smiles again. “Yeah, like that. I don’t know, um, if you are autistic, but I like talking about it, if you…if you want to hear more?”

A story offered is a rare and precious gift. Northlight tucks their new treasure into their pocket. “Yes, please.”

Clare isn’t a time traveller, but maybe... Maybe they have found someone like them after all.

[agentlionheartofficial]

Just Scared Another Customer

I’m ADHD and have a touch of the ‘tism so social cues and what is ‘socially appropriate’ means nothing to me in the moment because I have to think about it for waaaay too long.

 ANYWAY, a customer comes up and is asking me the usual questions and such and a spider crawls across my desk. I just take my thumb and mash the sucker and then wipe my hands off, sanitize, then continue listening.

The nice lady I was talking too just stares at me and goes in a quiet, disturbed voice, “Did....did you just crush that spider....with your bare hands??”

“Yes. I did wash my hands though.” I give her a small smile and pick up the hand sanitizer, to assure her that the spider will no longer bother her. She just makes a grossed out huff/grunt and walks away.

So...someone who understands social cues please tell me why that was gross? Or just not normal? Help lol.

[agentwallflower]

Dull One Chapter 14

I wish I had a cooler chapter to come back on, but hey... one chapter’s better than none. 

Thanks for sticking with me, everyone. Next chapter will be in two weeks, so on the 20th. I’ll see you then!

“Keep sight of me, please. Captain would have my neck if I lost you.”

Mointz didn't even want to think about necks as they rode through the outskirts of the city proper. In many ways, it was what she had expected; it was busy, the buildings were of stone and of decent repair, and it was full of annoying people who had nothing to do but stare at them as they went by. Well, they were mostly staring at her, but it was the thought that counted.

Tisme's breastplate was further out than it had been before as she led the figurative charge. “What we're riding through now is where the normal folks of the city live. Emperor prides himself on keeping it clean and disease free. It's nothing like that little village you're from, right?”

Why do I feel like that was a thinly veiled insult?

Probably for the same reason that Mointz had to hold back a rather rude gesture once Tisme's back was turned. She settled for glowering as she focused her eyes on the back of her horse's neck, rather than on the road in front of her. She trusted it, even if she didn't like it much. A rabbit's ride was much smoother and the mount didn't try to eat her.

At least five languages were going at once, blending and melding until it created a strange cacophony that made her ears buzz uncomfortably. Even if she didn't understand what they were saying, body language was easy enough to figure out. A pointed finger was either an insult or 'look at that weird person on the horse, do you think they're a wanted criminal?'

When a child who couldn't have been older than 5 made a motion to her neck as her mother pulled her away, Mointz ducked lower. Her hand rose up to her bandanna to check that it was still in place. It was, but it didn't help her any as she tried to fight every urge to ride in the other direction and the tell them where they could stick their artifacts.

In her attempt to hide, she had apparently missed some very important and crucial chatter from her guide. Tisme was looking back at her, cheeks puffed out like a child who had been told there would be no dessert. There couldn't have been more than two years between them, if that if she was bad at guessing ages.

“Are you paying attention or not? I was telling you how to get around the city!”

Mointz shook her head and frowned. “Sorry, the noise; like you said, I'm not used to it.”

It softened the soldier's gaze slightly. “Forgot, you have sensitive ears like some of our citizens. They stay away from here too. Anyway, I was saying that the city was planned when the first Empress built the city. It's laid out in a grid pattern we follow to this day. All you need to do is follow the colored stones that match where you're going.”

Ok, maybe she had missed more of that explanation than she thought.

When her confused was evident, Tisme pointed down to the ground they were riding on. Because of the dirt kicked up by the hooves, Mointz hadn't noticed it at first. However, when she scanned ahead she could make out traces of color. The one they were on was black, but the path they were about to embark upon was tinted a faint red.

“Red takes you to anything having to do with soldiers in the city. That'd be the barracks, the training grounds, some of the execution fields. Pretty easy to remember, blood red on the rainbow road for the blood of the empire!” The sing song tone of the guard's voice did nothing to aid her explanation. “That's what we call it, by the way. The rainbow road. Explanation signs are on all major roads in case you forget.”

Man, if you couldn't see colors you'd be screwed.

Mointz nodded more for Voice than to what her guide said. Besides, it didn't seem all that useful at night. She eventually shrugged it off and just decided to roll with it. Red, blood, whatever. The signs would help better than any strange song.

The road that they headed down eventually led away from the district. They were now among open land, sandwiched between the wall that separated the city from the frontier and a wall of buildings. Up ahead, a smudge had to be a building, though it was hard to tell from that distance.

A few minutes later, and they finally got off the horse beasts. The girl all but groaned in relief as she leaned against the wall of the stable to stretch out her abused legs. Sitting like that for so long had done terrible things to her much abused knees, and the thought of bending them was days away from being real. However, since Tisme had bounced off somewhere, she had a few blessed moments alone to herself in the shade of the building.

Are you going to be able to sit or go to the bathroom at all in the next three days?

“Bathroom, yes. Sitting, maybe.” A wince corrected it to, “That's a no on the sitting for at least a few hours. How does the horse hurt more than the rabbit?”

You're a bad rider?

“Yes, we know that.” Mointz winced as she took a tentative step. “I'm going to be limping for days.”

Well, more than usual anyway.

Her brief respite was soon interrupted. Tisme was back, looking ridiculously chipper despite having been in the saddle for the same amount of time. At least she had the decency to look concerned when she caught her charge leaning against the wall for dear life.

“Are you alright? You didn't hurt yourself on the road, did you?”

Mointz shook her head as she tested her weight again; it was painful, but it held. She could walk. “Old injury. I'll live.”

Her guard thus convinced nodded and continued walking, motioning for her to follow. “Good, because the captain would have my head if I let you get hurt.”

Tisme started walking not towards the building at the other end of the barracks, but towards the training fields where a number of grunts were coming from. Confused, Mointz followed after her, a few steps behind thanks to her knee protesting the motion.

Wouldn't a top dog be barking orders?

The soldier must've guessed their confusion, but she never broke stride. “Captain hates doing paperwork in the barracks. She'll be out training the soldiers. Schedule said she's working with the new recruits this week. I don't envy them.”

Based on the wince, neither did Mointz.

Their trip took them to a wide stretch of field that was a decent chunk of distance away from the barracks. Like Tisme had said, there was a group of freshly minted recruits being yelled at by an imposing woman in full armor. The closer they got, the more the teen's ears hurt, but their path took them right to the yelling.

“If you keep holding your shield like that, someone's going to slide a sword through your ribs!” The captain demonstrated by tapping her sword right under the less than enthusiastic volunteer's chest plate. “Boom, dead. Do you got that?”

“Yes, Captain!”

“Good, now get back in line with the rest. Next victim!”

Another recruit stepped up, but the footsteps made Captain Paz turn. She wore the scars of battle clear on her face; one of her eyes was missing, covered with a heavy patch, and the scar extended well into her hairline. Her left ear, as pointed as Mointz's own were, had a slice taken out of it too.

“Private Tisme, status report from the outpost.”

She wasted no time, and neither did her underling. Tisme snapped to attention, back so straight that it made her ward's knees ache, and she saluted. Recruits were already staring, though they directed their interest more at the guest of the empire than their fellow soldier.

“Captain, we fell under attack by undead civilians, including one mage corpse still able to use magic. Heavy casualties reported, including both soldiers stationed to guide one Mointz of the Cerulean Peninsula to the capital.” Another salute. “I have completed their mission in their stead.”

Captain Paz nodded, though her expression never changed. “At ease, soldier. Mission completed. You may return to the barracks.”

However, she wasn't finished. That one lone grey eye was soon trained on Mointz, and right at that moment she felt as though she shrunk to half her size. Sweat began to bead on the back of her neck, and it trickled down the collar of her shirt.

Status report: shit's messed up, captain.

Why Voice wanted to make her laugh then, she wasn't sure, but the teen kept it off her face as she waited for something. Finally, the captain shook her head, and a rather annoyed expression crossed her face.

“Well? I haven't got all day, girl. Status report; I heard you were the one who saw the mage.”

This time, Mointz had to fight an eye roll as she nodded. “Yes, ma'am – er, Captain – I saw them. They were as dead as the rest of them, but this one could talk. It said they were being called back. I think they were taking orders from someone, but they didn't say who. That's about all I can tell you.”

It was somewhat of a petty pleasure to see the captain turn a little green around the gills, but she covered it up well. Maybe, if she was lucky, the soldiers weren't trained to deal with the undead. It wasn't as though she wished death upon them, but a small hope wasn't too much to ask for, was it? At least she didn't say it and actually wish it on them; it was half credit.

Captain Paz finally broke eye contact with a brief nod. “Figured that was about all I was going to get from a civilian. I'll tell our mages about this and double up training against magical opponents.”

A round of groans briefly broke out among the recruits, but they were all too quickly silenced with a deadly look that promised push ups and whatever nasty duties the captain could think of when she was done. Mointz took the chance to slump finally, knees aching from the effort of standing up straight.

She was really starting to dislike military procedure, to say the least.

It seemed as though her testimony was over, for the woman turned back to face her one last time. “That will be all. Until the proceedings conclude, you will be assigned a guard. He's on armory duty now. Just look for the one with the iron hand.”

And with that, Captain Paz returned to barking orders without so much as telling Mointz where the hell she was actually supposed to find the armory. Still, it was nice to be on her own for a little bit, and the girl sighed in relief as she slumped away. Now she could go at her own pace and rest if need be.

I thought she was going to tell you to give her twenty.

Once they were out of earshot, she added. “Would've needed a really big rock tied to me to do that, and someone would have to pull me up afterwards.”

Oh, come on... it would only need to be a medium rock.

For the first time in a while, Mointz barked out a laugh. “Fine, a medium rock.”

See, who says I don't ever compliment you? Now, come on. Let's go find whatever dropout they saw fit to stick to you.

Mointz figured it was probably the greenest soldier they had in the hopes she might get knifed in a back alley. Shrugging her shoulders, she closed her eyes and listened. Her eyes might have been better for this, but they were kind of out of commission for long distances. Smudges on the horizon wouldn't have told her much, but the pounding of metal on metal did. It was off to the right, somewhere in the distance.

She followed her ears, occasionally stepping to the side to avoid soldiers or horses alike. It was a busy area, as to be expected for the barracks in a major city. At least the stone roads meant she wasn't walking in mud, which was something of a relief after so much time on the road.

The armory itself was a medium sized building towards the edge of the walled off land. Smoke billowed from the chimney, so whatever was there was probably working. Ringing metal and sizzling noises pointed her in the right direction, and before long Mointz found the entrance.

Though, she though, finding someone with a metal hand might be hard if they were wearing gloves. Most of the people at the forge weren't wearing armor like soldiers, so they were crossed off her mental list. That might have also been due to the sparks of red-hot metal flying whenever someone swung a hammer, but that was really a secondary concern.

Think you could lift one of those? Might fix Spinner.

Mointz gave one of the hammers a less than friendly glance. “Doubt it.”

… oh I was kidding about that. But yeah, bit too heavy for your weight class. There's a soldier up ahead, maybe they're the one you're looking for.

“Thanks, that's all the Captain needs for right now.” The person speaking didn't sound like they came from the capital city, or the empire itself for that matter. Mointz felt her heart racing as she walked closer, trying to get details before she made herself too obvious.

There was indeed a soldier standing in front of a box filled with repaired swords. Like she had been told, they sported a metal hand. What hadn't been mentioned was the thin scars between the fingers of their other hand.

“Spae?”

The nickname caused the man to turn, and his eyes widened in surprise. Spaekna had grown a little taller, and a lot more muscular, since the last time they had seen each other. He almost dropped the box rushing over to her, setting it down once he got the chance.

“Mointz? Is that really you?”

Well... I wasn't expecting that.

Neither was she. That close, she was sure he was actually real and all of this wasn't some weird fever dream. No doubt he was thinking the exact same thing as he stared back at her, so opened mouth a small bird could have flown in.

Spaekna was the one to speak next once he picked his jaw off the floor. “I can't believe you're here. Last I heard you were down South.”

“And last I remember, you were going north!” Relief washed over Mointz in waves, and for a moment it felt as though a great tension had released somewhere in her shoulders. She hadn't even realized she had been carrying it until it was all too sudden easier to breathe and move about.

The rebellion leader turned soldier laughed slightly as he scratched the back of his neck with his flesh hand. “Well, we were. But... things happened and we wind up here. I thought we were done for when-”

He looked around, frowning, “This is probably the wrong place to have this conversation. We better go outside and deliver these to the recruit Sargent.”

With ease, Spaekna picked up the box and motioned for Mointz to follow him. Together, the unlikely duo left the armory, heading towards where the man needed to finish his task. When he wasn't behind bars, he was pretty fast when he wanted to be. That meant the girl had to force the pace a little to keep up, but for once she didn't mind.

Man, talk about weird. You save him, and now he's here charged with guarding you. Whatever deity is watching over, I don't know whether to say it likes or hates you.

“That's why I don't really believe in any.” Spaekna, to his credit, did not turn around. He did, however, drop the box of weapons off where he needed to, saluting the soldier in front of him with his metal hand. Their task finished, it was now back on the red road towards the city.

Her guide was understandably cheerful as he turned back to face her. “We've got some time before you're due in court. I can show you around until then. Might be good if they put you on labor duty after this.”

The man was so cheerful that the comment almost went over her head. However, Mointz stopped dead in her tracks the second she heard it. In place of that tension, apprehension filled her stomach and bubbled up like acid.

Nobody had mentioned anything about court. Just what was going on?