#thank you very cool why are you still able to operate after charging people double and then not giving them their tickets

[tacticalfemwile]

*stumbles out of the ticketek presale covered in blood and missing multiple limbs* I go sleep token :)

[ivushk]

HELLO. MAY I PLEASE HEAR MORE OF YOUR VAMPIRE AU…. 👉👈

OH MY GOD I'M SO GLAD YOU ASKED THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU

Okay, SO. BUCKLE THE FUCKLE UP 'CUZ here's what I've got so far:

Nishiki and Kiryu are still orphans at Sunflower. They come from a tiny village just a few kilometres west from the orphanage. It's a very close and closed-off community. The boys' parents died in a fire when they were very little (which is a common theme for the kids at Sunflower and isn't that a crazy coincidence? *smiles mysteriously*), however the Nishikiyama family house wasn't as badly damaged as Kiryu's so it's just sitting there, waiting for its former residents to reclaim ownership as soon as they're able to (I imagine Kazama would help them with that).

In the next years it becomes a home for Nishiki, Yuko and Kiryu (and Yumi, too, though she feels like a visitor for the most part) in everything but name. It's their hangout spot, their "base of operations", their not-so-secret meeting place. When Yuko's health deteriorates so much that she can't stay at Sunflower anymore, the siblings actually properly move in to make arranging the doctor's visits easier.

It's Nishiki's 17th birthday and all three of them are celebrating and playing games and eating cake and having a good time at the edge of the woods not far from the Nishikiyama residence. They're young and loud and stupid (and ignoring the fact that several people went missing over the course of the last few months) and if Nishiki's heart beats a little too hard in his chest when Kiryu gives him his gift - a beautiful, heavy silver pendant on a slightly-worn leather cord - he doesn't think about it too much (and if he notices that Kiryu stares at him just a bit longer than usual without saying a single word but his gaze is so, so, SO fond-- he doesn't think about it either). (he leaves these kinds of thoughts for restless nights because thinking about his best friend in that way during the day... it hurts. the hurt is good sometimes but it's overwhelming).

They're drunk on the cheap beer they've smuggled from Gen-san's fridge and high on happiness. Unaware that the very same night it would all go crashing down.

At some point they all quiet down and go a little further into the woods than they normally would but no one pays any mind to that. And when suddenly their trio turns into a duo with the sudden absence of the birthday boy himself no one immediately starts panicking. He's been gone for ten minutes, twenty, half an hour. Kiryu tells Yuko to go back to the village, to gather everyone, make them start a search party or something while he keeps looking for her brother (the only things he'll find are the pendant he's gifted to Nishiki with the leather cord torn and the broken shards of his own hope). They never find him.

A year goes by and they hold a funeral for Nishikiyama Akira. Even though there's no body for them to bury. Yuko doesn't cry (she doesn't believe he's really dead). Neither does Kiryu (he used all of his tears up that night, the guilt choking him, and the night after that, and the night after that, and the night-). Yumi does, however. And the nice old lady who gave both Nishiki and Kiryu money for helping her do chores around the house. And the man who gave Nishikiyama a part-time job at his shop (to put at least something towards the cost of his sister's treatment, he felt so indebted to Kazama, and that debt weighed down on him). And a few of the girls and boys from Sunflower too.

Another two years pass. Kiryu moves away to the big city at the behest of Kazama. "It's important for you to continue your education," he says. ("It's important for you to move on," he keeps these words to himself). Kiryu really tries his best. Even makes a few friends (although he's still on the fence about whether he can actually call Oda his friend). It goes as well as it could have considering his circumstances. They say that time heals but Kazuma Kiryu never finds out if there's any truth to those words because he recieves a very short letter - an invitation, actually. To another funeral. But this time it's Yuko they're burying. This time they actually have a body to bury.

Tachibana offers his condolences. Oda offers him a ride to the village and back. Kiryu accepts both.

He can't help but compare this funeral to the last one he's been to. There are fewer people. Fewer tears, too. More flowers. It's quieter and feels something like closure (in truth, it's anything but). Yuko also left behind a will (more like a bunch of wishes since it wasn't an official document but the community decided to honour them anyway). Almost all of her possessions went to the kids from Sunflower, except for the Nishikiyama family house (which on paper actually belonged to Shintaro Kazama) which she left to Kiryu. He can't quite believe it when he hears it and feels his heart break under the onslaught of childhood memories. Still, he goes there later that evening. He finds that little has changed in the time he spent away from the house, from the village, from... all of this, really. There are the same pictures on the walls collecting only slightly less dust. The same books on the shelves and under the broken legs of the old pieces of furniture. The same medicine bottles and equipment in the bedroom, though doubled in quantity. Kiryu's not as devastated as he thought he'd be when he walks around what he used to call his home.

He goes through all the rooms, taking notes of every single thing he finds and every single thing he doesn't. He probably misses a bunch of things (he's not as good at that sort of thing, Nishiki's always had a much better eye for details). Once back outside, he looks for the secret stash they made back when they were teenagers. It's like going through a time capsule. There's a pack of cigarettes he and Nishiki once stole from the teacher's bag, copybooks filled with ugly doodles, dreams for the future and dried flowers and leaves, caps from soda bottles, rocks they thought looked cool, photos and birthday cards damaged by time and weather... the pendant Kiryu gave to Nishiki the last time they saw each other. And a small notebook Kiryu's never seen before. A diary of sorts, a recounting of their days together and their days apart. The handwriting is unmistakingly Yuko's.

It fills him with nostalgia, tears welling up in his eyes, unshed. His heart sinks when he finally reaches the pages where Yuko recounts the last few weeks before she-

She writes about her brother, which is understandable. What's less understandable is the fact that she speaks of him as though he was there, with her. Physically present. Kiryu could chalk it up to the girl being delusional in her dying moments but it doesn't feel right to do so. It's stupid, it's absolutely impossible, he's confused, he's hopeful, why would Yuko hide her notebook there?

The last page. A message. For Kiryu. "Please, Kazuma-kun, help my brother".

Against his better judgement, Kiryu decides to spend the night in the house. Sleep doesn't come to him but that's fine. He sits in the living room, trying to make sense of everything. He sits there until it's way past midnight, until the distant barking of the dogs quiets down, until the rustling of leaves stops, until the very air around him grows still and silent and somehow charged with strange energy. And then he hears it. Three uncertain taps against the window. Kiryu turns his head. It's him.

"Kiryu... Let me in. Please."

He does, without thinking. (He could never very well say no to Nishiki. Even if it got them both in trouble. Even if he's not real.)

The quiet is deafening. It really is him. His best friend (whom he thought dead). His kyoudai. Before Nishiki could say anything, Kiryu wraps him in a tight hug. The only heartbeat between them is Kiryu's own, thundering against his ribs. Nishikiyama doesn't let the hug last, putting some distance between them. He looks guilty, tired; looks at Kiryu with sadness, with longing and something else that he can't quite decipher yet (and it makes him scared but why?). Nishiki also looks older than Kiryu remembers. Not a 17-year-old boy anymore, no. About the same age that Kiryu is now.

Has his gaze always been so sharp? Have his fangs always been this pronounced?

They talk until their throats are hoarse. Until Nishiki pulls out a bottle with some liquid that smells strongly of iron and drinks from it and in that moment Kiryu believes everything his friend has told him. It's crazy, but he does.

Nishiki was abducted that night. Taken from them. By vampires. They hurt him. Forced him to fight other humans (just like him then) for his survival. They fed on him.

It went on and on and on... Days turned into weeks, turned into months, turned into years. Only thoughts of Yuko, and Kiryu, and Yumi kept him going. He wanted to see them again. He hoped he would. That hope was crushed when Nishikiyama met his match in the arena. No, not his match. Someone far stronger. He lost and was tossed out to die. But another vampire saved him. It was a woman, whose face he saw often among the spectators of his fights. She stood out from the crowd, since she never cheered for any of the humans. Never put any bets. Only looked at all that madness with quiet horror. "Reina" she said her name was.

She gave Nishiki blood. Her own blood, and the blood of the vampires that were much stronger and more powerful than her (but not wiser), and human blood.

He turned and it was even worse than the years of anguish he had experienced. The pain and constant thirst almost drove him mad until he was taught to deal with them.

Nishiki was given a second chance. He escaped. And ever since that moment he's been trying his damndest to help other victims of those monsters. Both, the poor imprisoned souls and the villagers who might have shared his fate otherwise.

THAT CONCLUDES MY MAD RAMBLINGS BECAUSE I HAVEN'T THOUGHT OUT WHAT HAPPENS NEXT THAT WELL

also i don't remember the last time i wrote this much in one sitting and i'm tireeeeeed. i'm not cut out to be a writer and it shows nghghghhhhhh

but! but! but! i have a couple thoughts on where the story goes:

kiryu decides to stay in the village and help nishiki

they uncover the vampires evil plans and recruit a few other characters to fight on the side of JUSTICE (i.e. kazama, who up to that point has been kind of in cahoots with the vamps - hence trying to atone by means of creating the Sunflower orphanage; kashiwagi; yumi; reina; tachibana and oda; majima, and yeah he was actually the one that defeatead nishiki and unknowingly caused him to become a vampire, also majima himself turns into a vampire later in the story thanks to a certain mad simp nishitani)

yuko comes back as a vampire

at some point the scene from my fanart happens; something along the lines of kiryu and nishiki being found by the evil vamps and being attacked. then of course nishiki saves kiryu (who's still baffled that this shit is happening to them and vampires are REAL) and tells him to run which he doesn't but it works out fine in the end

the scene of nishiki drinking kiryu's blood is a MUST because i. love. that. shit. (it's also extremely horny dfjvhsdkfhiasdfhisd)

nishiki's personality is somewhere in between his ykz0 and ykz k*wami self (like, he's much colder now but he still cares about others and does things not just for the sake of his own ambition)

idk about the end but immortal boyfriends? sounds nice?

[chuusappleheart-blog]

danger just like parallel lines(m)- 1

Summary: A very lucky girl has to battle her interest for three beautiful Korean men, of which only one is her boyfriend. She also struggles to forget her dark past, which won’t let her love safely.

Pairing: Yoongi/Reader , Jungkook/Reader , Taehyung/Reader (I’m going with the flow and have not made up my mind who is main boy)

Genre: Angst, Fluff, Smut

Word Count: 2,103

Warnings: Subtle mentions of anxiety and depression as well as domestic violence in future. Also a semi emotionally abusive relationship. 

A/N: This is my first fanfiction ever, please be nice :) let me know if you liked it, also if you have any suggestions. Enjoy!

I was hunched over at the doorway, staring at my shadow that stretched into the dark room from the light of the hallway. I didn’t know whether to let him know I was there or to leave, we hadn’t spoken all day. I understood. Yoongi’s job was so stressful and the deadlines were forever crowding out the rest of his life. He looked so beautiful hard at work. I could only see the back of his head, his bleached, white hair completely disheveled from having brushed his hand through it. The quiet drone of the tapping at his computer was suddenly interrupted by a tiny, high-pitched squeak which escaped the back of my throat. Damn it, why do I always hold my breath when I’m nervous? 

The office chair swirled around and I was faced with those gorgeous dark eyes that I loved so much. “Hey,” Yoongi smirked but I could tell from the raspiness in his voice how tired he was. 

“H-hi Yoongi!” I stammered. Eew, that was gross. I coughed a bit to clear my throat and calm down. “How’s the new track?” 

“Fine. School?” I cringed a little at the coldness in his tone, at how obviously he didn’t care. Nevertheless, I charged forward in my miserable attempt to hold up a proper conversation. 

“It was pretty good. But I think my Calculus professor hates me, I never come on time!” I laughed. I hoped it would cause him to smile, at least a little. Seeing his eyes crinkled (sort of), I stepped into his studio and debated whether to sit down or stay standing. It was a little shocking when he patted his seat, moving back so I could fit. I could barely hide my excitement as my back moulded into his chest and his thighs pressed against me. His arms wrapped around to continue working on his demo, but it almost felt like a hug. 

Him welcoming my closeness must have gone to my head and caused me to stop thinking straight because I shifted so my nose was laying against his collar bone. I instantly felt Yoongi stiffen up, but he kept typing away, perhaps a little more aggressively. The wide collar of his shirt exposed his skin, it was so cold and white. It was making me excited just to be this close to him. I began to breathe heavily and before long I stretched upwards to kiss his neck just below his ear. My legs spread apart and pushed back against his as my hand reached down and stroked his lean abdomen. I was so worked up that I didn’t notice Yoongi had gone still and silent, 

“Y/n...” his voice broke the silence and his hand gripped my wrist. I froze. He sounded exhausted, and I suppose that made sense. I pulled away a little and looked up at him, hiding behind the hair falling over my face. “I’d really rather we didn’t do this right now. Go to bed, you’ve got to get up early tomorrow.”

My entire face was red, I was so ashamed. Luckily it was dark in there. I wanted to scream but instead I whispered, “Sorry.” I shuffled off his chair and back out of the room. I stopped at the door again and turned back, “You’re tired too, are you coming to bed?” I was practically begging at this point. 

“I need to finish this. I’ll come later.” He lied, and I knew it, and he knew it but I just nodded and said goodnight. 

I curled up on one side of our double bed with my arm stretched out where Yoongi used to sleep. He hadn’t slept in our bed for a couple weeks now. I often found him still in his chair but other days he wouldn’t even be there in the morning. It had been so sudden, I never would’ve thought that he could get like this. Ever since I met him I knew he wasn’t the best at expressing his emotions, but this was beyond that. 

We hadn’t been affectionate in so long. I missed how his calluses from basketball felt when we held hands. I missed the smell of his hair, his shampoo but also minty for some reason. I missed how he kissed me when he was romantic, slow and patient. I missed how he got when he was passionate, pressing me against the wall so he was in full control. I missed talking to him about everything and anything, he used to make me laugh so hard with his sarcasm and give me the best advice if I was having trouble.

How had things gotten like this? Was it my fault? Where had I gone wrong? It had to be my fault, all the people I had ever loved in my life ended up hating me. I had no one else, I left my home town to be with Yoongi. He was my everything. My cheeks were damp from crying but I couldn’t make any noise, it would be so humiliating for him to know how upset I was. Yoongi had told me about his past struggles. I knew that he got overwhelmed by people’s expectations, that he hated to be surrounded by people. Had I stuffed up? Did I push him into a dark space? It took me hours to finally get some shut-eye. Yoongi did not come to bed. 

Jungkook had thought you were pretty from the moment he saw you. Your hair, the way your jeans hugged your thighs and the almost musical sound of your laugh. He wished he could be one of your friends that made you laugh like that, he wanted to be the reason your smile lit up the whole room. Not only that but you were smart, too. Jungkook knew because he heard you complaining to your friends that you found Accounting boring and easy. You were definitely near the top of the class. Meanwhile he was struggling just to pass. 

In fact, yesterday his Accounting Professor had called Jungkook in to discuss his grades. From the way things had been going, Jungkook knew it couldn’t be too good. He was correct. Turns out he was two more grades below 40% from failing the entire semester. His Professor had told him to either repeat the class or get a tutor. As if Jungkook was able to pay for the semester again. These thoughts plagued his mind as Jungkook shoved his way through the busy campus towards the lecture hall. 

The first thing he saw was you at your usually spot three rows from the back. You were chewing on the string from your hoodie and looking out the window, deep in thought. You actually looked pretty stressed out. But shit, you were hot. Jungkook couldn’t keep his eyes from you as he walked up to his seat in the back row. He walked past you and felt his face heating up as you sort of glanced his way. How was he meant to focus?

Most of the lecture passed in a blur, Jungkook either snickering with his friend Jimin, staring at your back, doodling in his book or actually trying to take notes of what the Professor was saying. The later didn’t happen very much. Class was about to end, Jungkook wasn’t paying even the slightest bit of attention, when the Professor said, 

“As we’ve already recapped FE, VE, AE, and OE Expenses must be included in our Invoice Statements for the month they were incurred, not paid. Jungkook!” Jungkook’s head shot up from his sketch. “Could you please remind us what those four expenses are?”

Crap. He was screwed. Most of the class didn’t care anymore after being lectured at for two hours, but there were at least ten people who had turned around in their seats to stare at him. Jungkook almost died when he saw that you were one of those eyes locked on him. The two of you were making eye contact for the first time. Jungkook’s heart rate doubled and he couldn’t tear his eyes away from yours. Your eyebrows were furrowed and there was a small frown on your face. You glanced back at the professor quickly before looking back at Jungkook and nodding reasuringly. Jungkook couldn’t believe this was happening. 

“Jungkook, we’ve got to wrap this up in a couple minutes...”, The Professor urged impatiently. 

Jungkook almost chocked when you started to mouth the answer to him. Jungkook blindly said what you signed to him, he would have done anything you told him at that moment, your eyes were hypnotic. 

“Fixed, variable, accrued and operation expenses.” 

“Uh... yes, that’s correct.” The Professor stammered in obvious surprise. He took a moment and then concluded the lecture. He must have truly been shocked because the lecture actually ended on time, unlike every other day. Jungkook barely noticed, he was still thinking about how you had smiled at him when he answered before turning back around to face the front. This had gotten too much for him to handle, he had to talk to you.

“Earth to Jungkook,” Jimin waved a hand in front of Jungkook’s face. Jungkook shook his head and looked around to see that almost everyone had left the hall. You hadn’t though. You always took ages to pack up your things. “Is something wrong dude?”

“No, everything’s cool.” Jungkook said quietly, hurrying to pick up his things to catch up with you. He didn’t know what he was going to say yet, he just knew he had to talk to you.

“Y/n totally saved your butt, I saw that.” Jimin laughed, shoving Jungkook. Jimin knew about Jungkook’s massive crush on you, hence the teasing. 

“Yeah, yeah I know.” Jungkook murmured as he started to speed walk down the stairs. You were leaving now.

“Hey! What’s the rush?” Jimin yelled after him.

“I’m gonna go thank her!” Jungkook shouted back without thinking that you would probably hear it. 

“Seriously?” Jimin laughed, “Alright, good luck!”

Jungkook gave Jimin a quick thumbs up before rushing to meet up with you. His much longer legs allowed him to cover the distance much faster than you had. You were just heading out when Jungkook slammed his hand against the door. You looked at him with wide eyes, the noise had scared you. Cute. 

“Hey y/n! Thanks for helping me out back there!” Jungkook puffed out and internally cursed himself for how hard he was breathing. Relax, she’s just a pretty girl like all the other pretty girls he had talked to in his life. Only it didn’t feel that way to him.

“You’re welcome,” you smiled. “But don’t expect me to do it again.” Jungkook’s eyebrows shot up at your sudden change in tone as you quickly turned around and began to walk away. No way, he hadn’t worked up this much courage for no reason. He quickly walked with you. 

“Right, of course not! Um, my name’s Jungkook by the way.”

“I know, we’ve had Accounting together for a couple weeks now.” You raised an eyebrow at him. Why was he being so stupid?

“True,” Jungkook chuckled nervously. “Listen, you can probably tell, but I’m really struggling in Accounting. If it wasn’t too much trouble, I was hoping you’d consider tutoring me?”

“For real?” You asked, clearly surprised. You didn’t seem judgemental, just genuinely surprised so Jungkook nodded quickly. “Listen, I would but I don’t have time, I’m super busy. Sorry.” You started to hurry away and without realising what he was doing, Jungkook reached out and grabbed you arm.

“I’m literally failing,” Jungkook whispered. 

Even though he was desperate to spend time with you, at that moment he was completely sincere. He really needed this. He couldn’t finish the semester as the stupid, popular, drop-kick who got by on his good looks and mediocre design skills. It must have shown, because you stopped walking and bit your lip, looking around as if trying to find the correct choice somewhere.

 “I’ll pay you well, I promise. $50 an hour.” Jungkook said quickly and saw your eyes open wide in obvious interest. “Plus, I’ll take you as my plus one to Kim Taehyung’s party this Friday to sweeten the deal. You know Taeyhyung, right? He’s that guy who hosts- ”

“Yes. I know who Taehyung is.” You said much too quickly and eagerly. Jungkook noticed the way you had lit up at the mention of the older boy but forced himself to ignore it.

“So... what do you say?” 

“Deal. My place, tomorrow night, 5pm.”

A/N:I’m super excited to post this, I hope it was alright. Happy to take recommendations for other fan fictions a as well, I stan a lot of other groups and have other interests so hit me up! I’ll try to update regularly. Thanks for the support! <3

[a-writing-cloud]

Former Assassin Reader x McCree

Word count: 2,751

Written on Fighter’s Block! It was really fun. Freeing up some brain power to work on a nice BNHA story next - will be uploaded to my AO3, CloudsOfAnime!

You paced your room, clutching your phone. It wasn't like Jesse to not pick up when he was just out for a few drinks. You'd been too busy with your work, unable to accompany him, so you weren't sure if he was passed out drunk somewhere, or in actual danger.

Glancing at the laptop on your desk, you silently cursed the classified datafiles that you were keeping safe for Overwatch. If Jesse really was in danger, you'd bet an arm and a leg that it was related to that.

But maybe you were just overreacting. Taking a seat at your desk, you redialed your partner's number again. Still no answer. You'll keep trying.

--

The phone buzzed on the table, your smile lighting up the screen for the millionth time.

"She's really persistent," said a man. He was wearing a padded suit, complete with a bulletproof vest. Not the most comfortable of combinations, but it worked if one wanted to operate on the streets. They sported Talon's symbol.

Jesse would love to answer, but he was more concerned with staying alive at the moment. There wasn't much he could do strapped to a chair, his vision blurring every other minute. He was worse off than the Talon agent, blood trickling from multiple wounds, his face swollen and bruised.

The agent glanced over at the cowboy. "I wonder what she's doing right now. She must be so frustrated, worrying her pretty lil' head off. I'd love to see her face right now."

Jesse growled. "Then why didn't you take her instead?" He immediately regretted what he said. He didn't want you to come to any harm. He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. The combination of physical and emotional pain wasn't doing much to help his thinking.

"There were difficulties on the matter of bringing her in," the agent said, frowning slightly. He quickly snapped out of it. Flashing Jesse a sly grin, he added, almost as an afterthought, "You wouldn't want to know the details."

He was just trying to get a rise out of him. Jesse knew that. He needed to keep his cool. There had to be some way to get out of this - there always was. Besides, he thought, giving the man a quick glare - they needed him alive for the information he had. It must be a rare occurrence, to come across an Overwatch agent with valuable information. And with their guard down.

The phone went silent, and Jesse stared at it intently. It lit up again after a few moments, but cut off earlier than expected. This caught the agent's attention as well. "Oh? Giving up already?"

Before Jesse could react to that, there was a knock. He glanced around, squinting at the dark corners of the room - there's a door? Wait, of course there was. How else would anyone get anywhere?

The agent grunted and checked his watch. "Boss' a tad early, but that's all the better for us, isn't it?" He chuckled to himself and went to open the door.

Instead of an equally buff and intimidating Talon agent walking through the door, a small, lithe figure flew in with a flying kick, knocking the agent flat on his back. The newcomer, dressed in an oversized black cape, and a hood covering half of their face. The figure turned towards Jesse, in all his tied-up glory.

In the blink of an eye, the figure was beside Jesse, cutting through his bindings with a small... kitchen knife? They were also pulling out swathes of bandages, cleaning his wounds and wrapping them up as quickly as possible. It was a sloppy, but did the job nonetheless.

"Who...?" His question trailed off when the person lifted their hood slightly.

--

It didn't take too much effort to track down Jesse, thanks to the tracker you'd implanted on his phone a few weeks back, when he kept disappearing to go on "stealthy" missions. For some insane reason, no one had ever found it, and you're quite grateful for that now. Chasing down the signal to an underground location beneath an abandoned building, you snuck your way in, utilizing the universal aesthetic of soft, dim lights in a villain's lair.

When you finally found the room that Jesse was most likely being kept in, you prepared to kick in the door. Before that, though, you had a brief moment of genius and knocked on the door. As soon as it opened, you spun and sent a kick flying right at the sucker.

You rushed into the room, quite surprised to find that no one else was standing guard, but your shock quickly faded to concern as you took in Jesse's battered state. Swiftly stabilizing him and dressing his wounds, you tugged your hood upwards to reveal yourself, smiling softly as he spluttered, recognizing you.

You shushed him. "We have to go quickly. They'll know something's up soon."

A loud roar sounded behind you as the agent, having caught his breath, charged at you. You deftly sidestepped his swing, aiming a careful jab at the soft spot underneath his ribcage, using his own momentum against him. The loser's battle cry morphed into a garbled shout as he doubled over, and you cracked an elbow against his spine for good measure as he crumpled to the floor.

You turned to hoist help Jesse to his feet, who was switching between gaping at you and the defeated agent. "Wha - where - how?!"

"Escape now, questions later." You'd kept your secret for this long - a little longer wouldn't hurt. You supported Jesse as you retraced your footsteps, sometimes dragging him faster when the situation called for it.

A loud siren blared throughout the building, and you could only imagine what it entailed. You heard a soft grunt beside you, and Jesse sped up considerably, realizing that both of you were now in even worse danger than before. Internally, you smiled, proud of your partner's resilience.

As you rounded the last corner, surprisingly without bumping into anyone, you finally saw the reason why. There were a bunch of people blocking your escape route. They must've figured out how you got into the building and risked the chances of you returning to the same spot for your exit. You caught one of them muttering into a radio.

Jesse tensed visibly beside you. It seemed like an impossible barrier - there were at least seven of them, more than likely armed to the teeth, and also probably more proficient at close-quarters combat than that unconscious buffoon. You made sure Jesse had his balance and quickly pulled his arm off you.

"No, wait - "

You interrupted him with a quick peck on the lips. "Stay put. Whatever happens, don't move a single muscle."

He seemed ready to protest again, but you gave him a stern glare, the kind that you reserved for intimidating your enemies. Seeing that he's not moving anymore, you turned to the obstacles in front of you.

You weren't seeing them as people anymore. You couldn't. That would interfere with your emotions and reaction time. These were just simply annoying bumps in the road. You shook your wrist to free the device strapped to it and slapped the wall, never taking your eyes off the targets, gauging their response.

Nada. They seemed to be waiting for you to make the first move.

You took a deep breath and charged at them, rotating your wrist every now and then. You'd counted clearly now - there were seven obstructions, four in the front and three in the back. The row in front leaned down slightly and entered a defensive stance.

When you were a few steps away, one of them lunged forward, arms extended. You quickly dodged and switched directions, then pivoting on the landing foot to dodge a swing from another target. There was a slim chance they could match your reactions - they probably weren't Talon's best, after all.

Refocusing your attention to the task at hand, you weaved through the front line, evading lunges and swings. They were getting more frustrated by the second - surely you must be mocking their incompetence by doing nothing but dodging!

On some level, you were. But that wasn't the goal.

You rushed for the wall, jumping at the last moment and launching yourself behind the second row, who were trying to aim with pistols. With all your movement, it's possible that they'd end up massacring themselves instead of taking you down.

The second row was easier to dodge. Out of the three guns, they only managed to squeeze off two bullets, one which barely nicked the back of your neck. At that, you faltered a bit, but picked up the pace once you concluded that you were, in fact, not dead. You were extra careful that your targets included the guns.

After weaving through the second row and reaching the opposite wall, you jumped and launched yourself off it again in another direction, this time flying back to where Jesse was standing. Instead of watching your epic performance, he was dutifully acting as a lookout to make sure no one was running down the hallway where you'd come from.

You landed beside him, and the targets looked extremely confused. Perhaps they only had orders to block the exit, but not actually engage in combat? It was very strange. But all the better for your plan.

You held up your arm and tapped at the device that encased your wrist. The trail of thread you'd been dragging out in the air behind you instantly snapped to attention, going from inconspicuous, floating, silky string, to razor-sharp filaments that hardened in place and glittered under the dim lights of the compound. The targets froze at this new development. The lines were crisscrossed between the targets like a spider's web, especially dense around the guns to make sure they wouldn't be able to function normally.

One of them brushed against a line accidentally. It sliced through the bulletproof vest like butter, and he quickly readjusted his position with a yelp. The rest of them were starting to realize the predicament that they were in, staring at you with wide eyes.

You took another deep breath and closed your eyes, yanking your arm back -

There was a firm grip on your arm, preventing you from activating the clenching mechanism that would slice the targets cleanly in half. You opened your eyes and turned to look beside you. Jesse. He had a pained expression on his face, along with a healthy mix of alarm, shock, and... fear.

And so, the veil of indifference was ripped from your mind, and the full reality of what you'd been about to do slammed into you like a freight train. You started trembling, and the image of the brave, kickass rescuer slowly crumbled to reveal a terrified assassin.

"You've done more than enough," Jesse murmured into your ear, his other arm reaching up to pat your back reassuringly. Even though he didn't mean it that way, the words pierced through your chest like a bullet. "We should go, now."

You nodded, your mind somewhat hazy. You tapped the wall again, at the spot where you'd initially put the starting point of the thread, to seal it up and make sure it retains its shape for another few hours. Lifting your other arm, you clicked a hidden button on your wrist cuff. A short, glinting rod shot out, and you used it to slice open a safe passageway to your exit.

--

It's been two days since you rescued Jesse. It's been two days since you've revealed your past. It's been two days since you last spoke.

Jesse left you alone so you could gather your thoughts. He didn't press for any details, and you were grateful for that. He trusted you enough that you'd tell him about everything that'd transpired eventually, on your own terms. He was too caught up with reporting in at Overwatch to ask about anything specific, anyway.

It's been two days since you've last touched the two wrist cuffs that had defined you for so long.

Leaving the other wrist cuff alone, you examined the one with the extendable rod while waiting for Jesse to come home. The rod wasn't too sharp, kind of like those disposable plastic knives, but it did its job. You used it to absent-mindedly whack the table a few times.

Soon after, Jesse arrived home from work. He must've sensed the tension in the air, because he paused for a moment with a curious glance your way and went to sit on the couch, as opposed to going straight to his room, like he'd done in the past two days.

"I used to be an assassin," you mumbled, your words coming out clearer than expected. "One of the best undercover and infiltrating assassins. I made sure to keep a low profile. Had a lot of clients contact me through a few trusted managers. Eventually someone caught wind of me, and that's also around the time I decided to retire. It was fun, sneaking around, but pretending you didn't exist is so... exhausting."

You paused to see if he was listening. He was.

"I wanted to live a normal life for once." You never raised the volume of your voice, keeping it a soft murmur, reliving the moment when you'd decided to quit your illegal job. It'd been one of the most freeing moments in your life. "Get a normal, non-life-threatening job, settle down and slow down, maybe get a cat or two. I wanted to have a safe place where I didn't need to strategize about killing targ - I mean, people, and could relax without looking behind my shoulder all the time."

You chuckled, casting a dark look at the other wrist cuff on the table. "I never know why I kept these. Maybe I thought, they would come in handy some day. And they did - didn't they?" You looked over at Jesse's figure, unmoving on the couch. He made a noise that sounded like mild agreement.

There was a moment of silence, stretching infinitely, before you cleared your throat. "Thanks for stopping me back there. I can't - won't - live with another life taken by these satanic flying threads."

Silence.

... Please. Anything but this silence.

"If you want to leave me..." You started, but then quickly realized that this wouldn't be the most pressing issue. It's been made clear, time and time again, and Jesse loved you more than anything else, and he would never leave you. Which meant...

"I know I've killed a lot of people." He was probably reminded of the various cases of unsolved murder. "I... I know that you're probably going to have to turn me in." Your voice, if possible, got quieter, but it still seemed thunderous to you as it carried throughout the room. "I'm fine with that. As long as you're alright."

At this point, Jesse stood up, and his face was devoid of any expression or emotion. He was thinking. "Thanks for telling me this. I'll see what I can do."

Then he stalked off to his room. You didn't feel any better than before you'd spilled out everything, but at least he knew now. You left the cuffs on the table and retired to your room as well.

--

The next week passed by in a blur. You could hardly believe what had happened. Jesse had told Overwatch of your predicament - essentially, be put in prison for life, or... an alternative that he'd proposed. And Overwatch accepted his proposal, with more than a few officers making their interest absolutely clear.

A few days after you had told Jesse everything, he ordered you to pack your things and head to the Overwatch headquarters, where you'd be staying for the next six months. It was to put you under official surveillance, and for you to start your normal job as an employed trainer at Overwatch. The people there actually gave you a shot at redemption - unthinkable. You didn't want to believe it, thinking that it was maybe too good to be true.

"At least you know your mistakes," Jesse told you one day, pulling you in for a tight embrace. It's been a while since you were an emotional mess, and the warmth and security of his arms brought tears to your eyes.

"Thank you."

[beardedgoateellama]

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Straight Installation vs. While there are some computers that come with Linux Mint. Debian GNU/Linux PowerPC PowerMac Page. Here are some highlights of the PowerMac installation of Debian. To dual boot your Debian PowerMac system with Mac OS and/or Mac OS X. If you are planning on doing a new installation of Mac OS X, though, do it before installing Debian. The Mac OS X installer is very unkind to existing systems when it. MintPPC - Fast and slick Linux for PPC computers. Ever considered Linux as an alternative to your aging OS X version? In this video, we will take a look at installing Linux Mint on a PowerBook G4. Distros that run on the PowerPC architecture.

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This is an interview to Casey Cullen, the guy that created Fienix, the Linux distribution specifically meant for the PowerPC platform and freely available at https://fienixppc.blogspot.com/

Hi Casey! Thank you for accepting this interview, the first one we do for the Power Progress Community blog.

1) Please, briefly introduce yourself and how and when you started to be involved with the PowerPC platform.

Thank you for the opportunity to introduce myself to the community. One of my first computers was a Power Mac, and I remember thinking the little “PowerPC” badge was pretty cool, even before I really knew what it meant. For quite a while I was an Apple fan, my next computer was an iMac G3 SE, and then a Power Mac G5 970MP machine, which I was quite proud of. I still have that machine, and it currently runs the Fienix repository. After Apple stopped providing updates for the G5, which was still a fast and capable machine, I started experimenting with Linux. I learned so much getting Linux running on my G5, and really enjoyed the sense of accomplishment that came with getting a stable environment set up, all the customizations I could do, and the limitations that I could break; for example, using a non-Apple Radeon video card.

My interest in PowerPC architecture has continued to today for different reasons. I don’t believe it is a good thing for the entire consumer market to be dependent upon one CPU architecture. Intel’s Management Engine and AMD’s Secure Technology have raised serious privacy and security concerns, and several vulnerabilities have been found in both systems. The PowerPC architecture is an ideal alternative as a high-performance, proven, and mature platform. Additionally, I think the idea of “open hardware” is exciting, and major PowerPC vendors like NXP/Freescale and IBM seem to be on-board with the idea.

Besides PowerPC, open-source, and Linux, I enjoy video games and I think video game level design is really interesting. Maybe this will be my next project.

2) Do you own any PowerPC based computers? What do you use it for?

I have an A-EON X5000 (based on the NXP P5020 2 Ghz CPU, e5500 core, book3e) running Fienix, which has taken over as my everyday machine. I also still have my Power Mac G5, which is currently what runs the Fienix repository. I also think I might have an iBook G4 around here someplace…

3) When did you first hear about the Power Progress Community?

I came across and started following the PowerPC Notebook Project in February, 2016. I don’t remember how I heard of the project though; I read about it somewhere online.

4) What do you think about the PowerPC laptop project and the donation campaign? Regarding our notebook project, as you probably know, we will release it as open source. What do you think about open source hardware?

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I think it’s amazing! Manufacturers today act as if they are only renting out their hardware; they retain far too much control. They try to run secret hidden processes that the hardware owner cannot disable, they mandate updates the hardware owner cannot opt out of, require online connectivity, and prevent the hardware owner from repairing their own hardware by using “security” chips, and even dictate what OS can be installed and what software can be run. These are all significant problems, and open-source hardware is an exciting solution.

5) When and why did you first have the idea of building your own Linux distribution? Fienix is an interesting name. Where did it come from?

I got the idea to create a new Linux distribution after Ubuntu announced that PowerPC support would be discontinued after 16.04 LTS. I started working on the distro in late 2017, before it had a name. I wanted to think of a name that would be memorable, original, and carry some imagery of renewed strength or recovery.

Fienix was almost going to be named “Rally OS”. I even still have the assets like the Rally OS logo and branded backgrounds. I think the definition of rally is perfectly fitting; “to recover or cause to recover in health, spirits, or poise”. I just wasn’t quite happy with how it sounded, so I started thinking of alternatives.

I liked the word Phoenix and the imagery associated with it, of a mythological firebird symbolizing renewal. However, it isn’t a very original term, so I started looking for what other cultures call the Phoenix. Most of these are just variations on the spelling, like “feniks” in Dutch, Polish, and Romanian, “feeniks” in Finnish, and “fönix” in Icelandic. So I decided that I would make up an original spelling that I thought looked the most aesthetically pleasing, which ended up being “Fienix”.

6) Why did you create Fienix, when there is Debian for PowerPC already?

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Debian is absolutely great, and their contributions to open-source software are innumerable and significant. However, Debian’s focus is very broad; everything from a desktop computer to an enterprise server, to a system running complex scientific calculations are in-scope for Debian. Fienix is specifically focused on desktop/workstation/notebook use cases and emphases user-experience.

Debian provides a basic, somewhat lackluster user experience upon booting into a fresh install. Testing and installing additional utilities, making customizations, and editing scripts is required for an attractive, user-focused, responsive system. Fienix is focused on providing a stable, elegant operating system with a responsive, thoughtful desktop right out of the gate.

Debian maintains a vast repository with software for everything from operating amateur radio stations, to recombining genome sequences, to running interactive web servers. Unfortunately it is not uncommon to come across a PowerPC binary that will not execute. Fienix is focused on providing a more curated assortment of software that is still diverse and exciting, but which is also reliable on PowerPC systems and useful for desktop/workstation/notebook users.

Fienix includes many programs that Debian does not. For example, Fienix includes the Arctic Fox web browser, which is hands-down the best browser for everyday use on PowerPC systems (check out Arctic Fox GitHub at https://github.com/wicknix/Arctic-Fox). Other “added” programs include both libre (open-source) and gratis (no-charge, under copyright) software.

Fienix includes optimizations and performance improvements that Debian does not.

Due to the constantly rolling nature of Sid, packages often have broken dependencies for some days. The Fienix repository is based on a stable snapshot of Sid, so you still get the newest software, but also get a stable environment.

I also have some ideas about ways that Fienix can help people learn about certain interests they may have, like graphic design or creating a video game, and give them tools that can help them explore that interest, so that may be something to look forward to.

7) What is the most complicated issue you have had to solve so far while setting up Fienix?

The most complicated issue was learning how to setup the repository.

8) What is your workflow for setting up your software repository? Are you compiling all packages from sources? What are the differences from the Debian PowerPC repository?

I use Reprepro for repository management; it’s a great tool and has been very helpful. Reprepro calculates all the checksums, generates the lists, and helps with version control. I do not build every package from source, only those that have a problem or cause some sort of regression, as well as those that do not exist in Debian.

A list of some of the additional software and optimized software is available on the Fienix website under “Featured Software”: https://fienixppc.blogspot.com/p/software.html.

9) Is anybody helping you in maintaining the Fienix software repository?

I’ve been doing the actual repository organization myself, but I’ve had a great deal of assistance with Fienix in general. Christian Zigotzky provides kernels and has assisted with debugging and building several programs. The work done by Matt (wicknix) as well as Riccardo Mottola on the Arctic Fox team has also made things a lot easier since I don’t have to worry about a browser any longer 🙂

10) What are the top 5 most useful applications that would make an operating system suitable for the average user in 2019?

I’ve broken these down into categories, because I feel like completing a task is generally more important than using a specific app.

Web: The most important app is a current web browser. I’m impressed with Arctic Fox and I am excited to see where this project goes. Additionally, pairing Arctic Fox with VLC browser plugin, Greasemonkey, and ViewTube/ViewTube+ provides flawless HD video streaming from YouTube and many other sites (installed by default in Fienix).

Email: Even though web mail is becoming the norm, I still think a good email client is important. Fienix has several great clients to choose from including Thunderbird and Evolution.

Media: The Kodi app has been getting some buzz lately due to their recent releases. Kodi is currently in testing for a Fienix release. Of course, VLC and SMPlayer are ultra-versatile players as well.

Office/Productivity: Most everyone has at least an occasional need for a good office program, and LibreOffice definitely has all the bases covered. Their upcoming release is getting some buzz as well.

Communication & Connectivity: Cross-platform communication tools that allow seamless messaging between phone, desktop, and/or web based clients will continue to be important to users. Facebook and WhatsApp are the most popular services, but apps such as Telegram are growing quickly. Fienix has support for a number of these protocols via Pidgin, but unfortunately Telegram isn’t yet one of them. KDE Connect is also a cool concept that isn’t yet available in Fienix, but may be at some point.

11) Are any of these applications is missing or seriously malfunctioning on PowerPC?

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I think the most important bases for the “average user” are covered. When I think of some of the most popular “use-cases” there could be some upcoming issues that will need to be addressed. For example, for graphic design the newest version of GIMP needs some work. For video editing the most recent versions of OpenShot and Kdenlive need some attention. Fortunately we have recent versions of these apps that are stable to use until the issues with the newest versions can be looked into.

There are some apps that do not function on PowerPC that I have not dedicated much time to looking into because there are viable alternatives. For example, the Telegram client does not function correctly on PowerPC; however, there are several alternatives such as Simple and XMPP that are integrated into Pidgin. Similarly, Darktable does not execute but RawTherapee functions perfectly.

It’s possible we could also see connectivity features in Fienix similar to those provided by KDE Connect in the future.

12) Are any further applications missing from the PowerPC scene that you would like to include in Fienix?

I’d like to have the ability to access or sync cloud folders (such as DropBox, OneDrive, etc.) with Caja. There is a potential solution for this that I’m looking into.

We need to get GIMP 2.10, Blender 2.8, OpenShot 2.4, and Kdenlive 18.12 running stably (previous versions of these are all functional).

A secondary browser like Midori would be good, especially since they’ve begun focusing on WebApps. Right now the source compiles and the binary executes but it won’t connect to a network.

Finally, it’s not really an application, but important nonetheless, it would be great to have hardware acceleration on Radeon cards released after SI (HD7000 and later). Driver support for these cards has been limited to fbdev. Fortunately, SI and prior cards are pretty well supported and perform well.

13) Is there an application or tool that posed particular issues while porting to PowerPC?

Mozilla has decided to forgo the portability that use to be a strong point of theirs.

There was an issue with the game Hero of Allacrost (which by the way is a great game if you enjoy RPGs) that made it unplayable, and a different issue with the game engine ioquake3, but both of those were resolved with some help from their developers. Several games, like SuperTux and Yamagi (Quake 2 engine) also had issues with background music playing as static. Chrisitian Zigotzky provided the fix for SuperTux and I fixed Yamagi through a config change. There were also some issues that have since been resolved with VLC.

In general, I’ve been surprised how many developers have been responsive and helpful with resolving issues on PowerPC systems.

14) As you may know, here at the Power Progress Community we are strong supporters of PowerPC 64bit big endian and Altivec based Linux distributions. Do you have any plan in releasing a 64bit version of Fienix?

The first release of Fienix has a 32-bit userland primarily because Debian 32-bit PowerPC packages were more stable than the 64-bit versions. Fienix still has some of the benefits of a 64-bit OS due to using a 64-bit kernel, such as with memory management. That said, yes, I plan on working on a pure 64-bit version.

As far as Altivec goes, most programs determine if a system has Altivec at runtime, and then runs the appropriate code, either vector or scalar. GIMP and the libjpeg-turbo library both work in this way, as do many others. However, it is possible to compile a program in a way that does not conditionalize vector instructions. A program compiled in this way will not execute on systems without Altivec.

Fienix contains many programs that include Altivec optimizations, and will continue to do so as long as the vector instructions are conditionalized. Fienix will not contain programs that do not conditionalize vector instructions.

15) As an association targeting the PowerPC platform we would like to support your initiative. How can we best support your effort in trying to make Fienix one of the best Linux distributions for the average user?

Use Fienix and test the apps in the Fienix repository. If you come across bugs and know a solution or workaround, share it. Fienix has a rudimentary bug reporting forum on the website.

Try to build new programs from source if they aren’t included in the Debian repository. If you’re successful, share it. Fienix includes a rudimentary new software request forum on the website. If you’re not successful, put a bug report in with the developer (make sure you understand how to submit a bug report and what information to include first). You may be surprised how accommodating the developer may be. Regardless, bug reports help put the word out there that people are using PowerPC systems, and PowerPC systems are still in production.

Help test and debug Debian PPC64 packages, they will serve as the base for Fienix 64-bit.

Test Fienix on whatever PowerPC systems you have.

Spread the word!

16) Have you ever had the chance to try a computer equipped with an IBM Power8 or Power9? Do you know that a micro-ATX motherboard called Blackbird is being released by a company called Raptor? What do you think about it?

I’ve been following Raptor since they announced the first Talos system. When the Talos II system was released I confirmed with Raptor that it can be run in big endian mode (it can). I sadly have not had the chance to use one of these machines yet, but the Blackbird is surprisingly affordable considering what you’re getting, so perhaps sometime in the near future…

17) Many people says that PowerPC is dead. What do you think about the current state of the Power(PC) architecture? Do you think it is a suitable architecture for home computing?

PowerPC has never been dead in terms of the embedded and server markets, but after Apple transitioned to Intel it certainly seemed to be going that way for the consumer market. However, if you look at where PowerPC is today, there is a small resurgence going on. A-EON and ACube both make systems powered by PowerPC, Raptor Computing Systems makes an assortment of high-end PowerPC POWER9 systems, and a promising PowerPC notebook is in the works. Long gone are the days when PowerPC had a chance of overtaking x86 in the consumer market, but I don’t think that’s the point. PowerPC is in a better place today than it has been in years. If privacy, security, and open-hardware are important to you then there is no better architecture than PowerPC. These new PowerPC systems finally give consumers a real choice in the marketplace, and I think that is something to be very enthusiastic about.

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18) Are there any other Operating System other than Linux you want to see running on PowerPC?

I’m personally most interested and involved with Linux, but having a choice is always good. We have Linux, FreeBSD, MorphOS, and AmigaOS for certain systems. I think I’d be most enthusiastic about having another Linux distribution pick up PowerPC as a supported architecture. That may seem a bit odd because of course I’d like people to use Fienix but like I said, choice is good!

19) Is there anything else you would like to say to people interested in the PowerPC platform?

If you’re someone who likes learning and experimenting with hardware and software, or you have an appreciation for the principles behind open-source, or you want to contribute to a community where you can make a difference, then the PowerPC platform is a great option for you!

Rather than scour various forum posts i've decided to put some of my contributions here. These are things i've either created, ported, forked, compiled or contributed to. PowerPC Mac OS X 10.4 and 10.5

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Arctic Fox web browser : info and download IceWeasel-PPC web browser : info and download TenFiveTube & YewTube apps to watch YouTube : info and download (10.5 only) Facebook, Twitter and Sound Cloud mobile apps : info and download (10.5 only) Google Hangouts app : info and download (10.5 only) Facebook Messenger app : info and download (10.5 only)

PPCBrowser lightweight webkit browser : info and download TenFourKit webkit browser duckduckgo start page mod : download (10.4 only) LMMS Linux MultiMedia Studio : homepagedownload (10.5 only) Intel Mac OS X 10.6 and above SpiderWeb browser : download and info Arctic Fox web browser : downloadinfosource

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Browser lightweight webkit browser : download Facebook and Twitter mobile apps : info and download Sound Cloud mobile app : download Yewtube tonvid/youtube app : info and download HookTubeX hooktube/youtube app : info and download Pale Moon 27.9.4 web browser (32-bit) : download Pale Moon 27.9.4 web browser (64-bit) : download Intel Mac OS X 10.7 and above InterWeb web browser : download and info SpiderWeb browser and e-mail client : info and download PowerPC Linux (32-bit) Ubuntu 16.04 / Debian 10 / Fienix Lubuntu 12.04 & 16.04 Remix (live CD / DVD + installer) : info and download Debian Sid Remix : Info and download Arctic Fox web browser : (see links above for OS X 10.6) SpiderWeb browser : info and download SpiderMail e-mail/news/rss : info and download InterWeb browser : Info and download

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Extra rebuilt packages for 16.04+ : Download Repository Other useful links Mac PowerPC

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[theforgottengn]

Brother Sweet Brother

Characters: Victor, Kilo, Sierra, Papa, Juliett, Hotel, Holly Wallchester, Yves Bouvier

Word Count: 2,950

Trigger Warning: Slight Violence, Torture, Slight Swearing, Description of Injuries

A/N: Parts– X/X

Summary: The gang gets one step closer to finding Victor. Unbeknownst to the others he’s having a pretty rough night. His captors are searching for information he doesn’t have. Will they be able to get to him before the night is through? Click the read more if you wanna.

XXXXX

One of Bouvier’s goons grabbed a fistful of short, blonde, hair and yanked his head back. As the man pulled further another one of the goons put a towel over the spy’s face. Closing his mouth, and holding his breath, Victor tried to prepare himself for what was to come next. Time spent with the Enforcers, during training, was meant to acclimate every operative to all manners of torture. Other times it was used to subdue rebelliousness in certain operatives. Neither of which was really achieved despite the Enforcers’ best efforts.

And even though the Cobbler had been through similar situations many times it didn’t mean that he didn’t feel the pain.

At this point he couldn’t feel the bottom of his feet at all thanks to a heated iron fire poker. Or the majority of his face. His right eye was heavily bruised and swollen shut. Lips split and bleeding. Bruises were forming on his left cheek. His arms ached from being tied behind the metal back of the chair for so long.

At least it’s not a strappado position. Now that’s torture.

Cold water poured over Victor’s towel-covered face and his mental preparation didn’t matter. Water soon filled his nostrils and he had to open his mouth regardless. But just as quickly his mouth was also filled with water and he began to choke. That went on for a few minutes then the water stopped flowing and the soaking wet towel was finally removed. He spent the next couple minutes choking, gagging and gasping for air. When he regained his senses Victor smiled at his captors and spoke in hoarse voice.

“Water you guys doing? Torture doesn’t work.”

Bouvier paced, in front of where his men had tied up the spy, with his hands behind his back. He was obviously getting restless and annoyed. The night was not turning out how he expected it to go. He wasn’t getting a single thing he wanted. And not only did he want the team to back off of his ex-lawyer but he also wanted them to turn over the dirt they found on him. For Victor to personally give it up or at least give him the means to.

“I played nice before but I will let it know that I am no longer going to play nice. I had my men recover the laptop it had on its person. Tell us how to retrieve the files.”

“What files?”

Victor’s secret weapon, or fail safe, had sent a copy of every single thing on the laptop back to base. And then it erased every shred of evidence from the laptop’s hard drive. There was no way he could actually recover the files unless he was at his little setup back home. It happened in the matter of a few seconds. All thanks to a little bit of programming activated by the simple stroke of three little keys.

“It will do what I asked or it will suffer the consequences.”

“Listening to you is unbearable enough.”

Yves Bouvier’s face goes red with anger as he open palm smacks Victor in the face.

If you could see your face, man. Priceless.

“Are you a female dog? Because you slap like a bitch.”

Smiling annoyed the Swiss man turned to one of his men and whispered something in the guy’s ear. Victor strained to hear but once he tried to move two massive hands pushed down on his shoulders; keeping him in place. The man nodded to Bouvier and walked out of the light. Victor listened to the man’s footsteps as they fainted; trying to figure out the size of the room he was in but Bouvier began talking and covered the footfalls.

“I know who it works for and I know why its masters are after me. But know this; neither will be able to prove anything. I was able to get the best lawyer money could buy and I won. What makes it think this time will be any different? I win. I always win.”

This guy really needs to stop calling me it or I’m gonna sick Jule on him.

When he finished Bouvier grabbed a set of pliers from one of his men.

“It will tell me how to open the laptop or I will start with the pinky finger,” he said as he tapped the metal of the pliers lightly against Victor’s fingernail.

“Hand job? No thank you.”

After angering Bouvier with yet another stupid pun the blonde chuckles at the man’s attempt at a show of desperate aggression. He had seen real desperation, real aggression and viciousness, and knew exactly what certain people were capable of when they had no other options. But the man who stood before him? Bouvier? He was not the vicious person he tried to come across as. Maybe he could fool other, less experienced, people but he wasn’t fooling the spy.

“There’s just one thing I want to know before you start grasping at straws here,” Victor said.

“And what’s that?”

“How’d you find me?”

This time it was Bouvier’s turn to chuckle. But instead of answering Victor’s question he simply opened the pliers, slid the end under a fingernail, closed it and yanked with all his might.

XXXXX

“I’m here if you need me, hon,” Sierra called as Kilo took her slightly smashed equipment and locked herself in Wallchester’s bedroom.

Kilo was still beating herself up for Victor’s capture. The only difference was now she was using that as fuel to find him. Being the team’s Musician, and in charge of all the comm. operation as well as tracking devices, Kilo knew what she had to do. Problem was the usual way she would go about this would be to simply do what they called a Triple Tap but that would not in this particular situation.

A Triple Tap is pretty much exactly what it sounded like.

Each comm. link was outfitted with a special radar based tracking system. The radar could only be activated by tapping the ear comm. three times very quickly. The tapped comm. then starts to emit a low beep in the ear of the operative wearing the comm. But the beep is also emitted in the ear of the nearest comm. as well. And the closer the two get the faster and louder the beeping becomes. The comm. is simply reset by a double tap.

The problem with the Triple Tap is that the radar only works if the other comm. link is functioning properly; which Victor’s wasn’t.

So Kilo had to use the backup tracking device. Just like the ear comm. the backup also used radio transmission even though no one was living in the eighties anymore. There were only two good things about the backup trackers. Backups were always on the operatives, since they were embedded in their inner thigh, and they only turned on if the ear comm. stopped working. This meant that Victor’s was definitely working, and, that Kilo could get it to work.

In theory at least.

The main problem with the backup was that even though the radio wave was UHF the signal would most likely be very weak. It almost always was and that’s why none of the ops used the backups unless they had to. Not to mention there was no telling if the people who held Victor found the backup, and removed it. But this was Kilo’s only shot so she had to take it.

Kilo looked at her banged up equipment that lay across the thick black comforter on Wallchester’s bed. The audio/radio receiver wasn’t too badly damaged considering how hard she smashed everything. A handful of bugs were completely ruined but a couple of them were still good. And the StingRay was fine except for a couple slight nicks and a few scratches. Not that she needed either of those at the moment. But the one thing she could use at the moment was completely busted; the long distance amplifier.

Choosing the only option she had at the moment Kilo turned on the radio receiver.

She shook her hair out of her face and put the headphones on. Nothing came in. Trying to keep her cool as best she could she turned it up to receive VHF waves. And still nothing came through. If Kilo was honest with herself she would’ve admitted that she didn’t expect anything to come in. And yet she was still angry when nothing did. Biting her lip and staring she thought hard about what to do next.

Kilo found herself thinking about what Victor would say if he was there.

He’d sit right up against the headboard, or the wall, depending on how the bedroom was laid out. The Kevlar-lined laptop, which was decked out with stickers, would be lying on his crossed legs. Knowing her brother as well as she did she knew that he would never pass up the opportunity to make a horrible pun. He was definitely annoying his captors with them. Or who knows? Whoever held him hostage might even like the dude’s stupid puns. Suddenly a voice came through her comm. disrupting her thoughts.

Ki?

“Vic?! How did you…”

It’s Sierra, hun.

“Oh…” Kilo felt like an idoit.

Just wanted to ask you if tried ramping up the radio receiver to catch VHF.

“I did but I got nothing. Either Vic is too far or there’s too much stuff in the way. I’m gonna bump it up UHF.”

Like Bluetooth?

“Exactly. Might even get a few cell phone calls mixed in and that would be cool.”

XXXXX

They needed the lawyer as coherent and cooperative as they could get her to be with the Ketamine in her system. This meant that Papa couldn’t risk hitting the woman’s head against anything. So she went about moving the unconscious woman as slowly and carefully as possible. When the five minutes had passed for the drug to fully take effect Papa connected to Hotel on the comm. link. He wasn’t that far away from her location as it turned out and it only took him six minutes to arrive. Together they successfully got Holly Wallchester into the backseat of the black Audi without anyone noticing.

Hotel was oddly quiet during the drive which bothered Papa immensely.

Then again they all had Victor’s capture weighing heavily on their minds. No one knew where he was or what was happening to him. None of them could figure out how Bouvier, an art dealer for crying out loud, got the drop on them. But Papa had an idea. Looking in the rearview mirror she looked at the criminal defense lawyer’s sleeping form. Her black eyebrows furrowed in anger and her lips curled into a scowl.

I am going to screw with her head so much for this.

It only took ten more minutes to arrive at Wallchester’s residence. It helped that Hotel always drove like his life depended on it. He dropped Papa at the door and then zoomed off to drive and clear his head. And now Papa entered the penthouse apartment with an unconscious Holly Wallchester in a fireman’s carry. Her duffle slid off her shoulder to the floor she didn’t even bother to try to close the door.

“Sleeping beauty coming through,” she announced as she carried the woman deeper inside.

“Jule, grab a chair,” Sierra commanded once she heard the Swallow’s voice. Juliett quickly ran into the only area of the penthouse apartment that went unscathed by the intruders. She swung the white double doors to the closet, which sat at the back of the living room, wide open and grabbed one of the few small metal chairs from inside. Once she set it down firmly in-between all the debris and broken glass on the floor Papa sat Wallchester on the round, black, seat.

“Hotel got you here fast, didn’t he? He say anything, hon, about sticking around?”

“Rope, I need some rope,” Papa said, ignoring her leader, as she started to wrap the lawyer’s arms around the back of the chair.

Juliett rushed over to Papa’s duffle with a slight glee in her emerald eyes. Rummaging around, she quickly found the rope and then slung the bag over her shoulder before rushing back. As Papa tied Wallchester’s arms Juliett helped tied the woman’s legs to the chair. And then Papa wound the rope around the woman’s stomach two, three, times and pulled it tight before tying it to the back of the chair.

“And now we wait.”

Sierra stood with her arms crossed over her chest and a silent angry look on her face.

“You know Hotel. He’s off zooming down the highway blasting Nirvana and whatever other grunge crap he listens to,” Papa said with a wave of her hand as she checked each knot to make sure they were as tight as could be. When all were good and tight she pushed herself up to a standing position.

“I can’t believe you let him go off like that.”

Papa turned to face Sierra her face scrunched up in a mix of confusion and anger; “I didn’t let him. He went off on his own like he always does. Besides you know regulation better than the rest of us so you know he’s not allowed to be with us on missions.”

“Regulation doesn’t apply when things get out of hand and last I checked I’m team leader so, in moments like this, what I say goes.”

“You didn’t say anything before so how was I supposed to know? I’m many things but mind reader isn’t one of them, Sierra. And yeah? Well, last I checked I’m not his fucking mom!”

Either the Ketamine wore off like it was supposed to, or, all their arguing woke Wallchester up.

“Wah… Where am I?”

“I guess regulation is out the window but I still have a job to do,” Papa said bitterly before turning her attention to the woman tied to the chair. Turning on her Robin persona Papa went to work. They were losing the night and even though no one said it none of them wanted Victor to be missing in the morning.

“Don’t worry, baby, you’re home. You’re safe.”

Papa’s sultry voice seemed to calm the lawyer down a bit. Her face was calmer than before but she still looked around with confusion in her eyes. Kneeling down in front of the chair the Swallow gave Holly one of her doe eyed smiles. Plan was to lull the woman into a false sense of security and then grill her. With the connection they already shared, and the drug in her system, it would be rather easy. But before Papa could question the woman Kilo burst through the bedroom door.

“Waterfront. Papa, dude, ask about the waterfront.”

All four women, including Wallchester, turned to Kilo with almost identical confused looks.

“You know how I was listening to UHF radio waves trying to latch onto the signals from the backup? Papa doesn’t know since she wasn’t here but that’s what you missed, dude. All caught up? Good. Catching the right UHF from the backup isn’t easy since the signal is really weak. Well, the equipment picked up a ton of other things that I had to get rid of. People talking, TVs, radio stations, alley cats. Stuff like that. But, dude, guess what? I picked up something else.”

“What?” Sierra asked with a raised eyebrow. She hoped that Kilo’s excited rapid fire was ending with some good news.

“I picked up a very weak cell phone signal. The phone was being used when I picked up on it so I booted up the StingRay and I located the cell. It came from the waterfront. And I intercepted the call, so, I’m more than sure Bouvier has Vic.”

“Get to the damn point, Ki! What was the call about?” Jule said impatiently.

“Oh. The guy was asking someone to bring something they both called The Pig Squealer. The other guy asked what he wanted it for and the first guy said, and I’m quoting here, the Swiss said he wants the spy to squeal.”

Papa turned to Holly at the same time that Juliett did.

Both women had firey anger in their eyes but the difference was that Juliett also had a knife in her hand. And she was holding the blade firmly against Holly’s neck. It was clear to everyone, except for the lawyer, that if the woman moved her head in the slightest her throat would be slashed open. If that happened then the Cleaners would have a less hard job on their hands and in Juliett’s book that was a good thing.

“Tell us what you know.”

“Bouvier is super paranoid. During the trail he wouldn’t let me talk to anyone and I mean I’m not supposed to talk about ongoing cases but this was different. He took my phone and didn’t give it back to me until the trail was over. Three of his men have been following me ever since. When they saw us together he got even more suspicious.”

“How did we miss multiple rabbits?” Sierra spat angrily.

“Easiest way for him to find out that we were in Holly’s penthouse would’ve been a bug, right Ki?” Papa asked.

“Yeah, regular people can get their hands on bugs, of course. Or he could’ve had a tiny alarm set up somewhere that he knew Holly wouldn’t set off. But, dude, I did a full sweep of this place three times so I doubt I missed anything.”

“Doesn’t matter how he did it,” Juliett said. “He’s doing who knows what to Vic. His ass is mine.”

[nyxysabyss]

LEVEL HORIZON; EPILOGUE; Moirai’s Promise

EPILOGUE!

Life doesn’t give you the people you want, it gives you the people you need: to love you, to hate you, to make you, to break you, and to make you the person you were meant to be. ~Walt Whitman

We are the story we tell ourselves. ~Jason Robinson

 ~Fifty Years Later, Summer’s End~

Kiyoko steps out of the steaming kitchen into the late summer breeze for a moment, the breath of fresh air cool across her sweat streaked skin as a group of cats wanders by, excited for tonight’s kickoff match to start the fall tournament.

She spies Yachi anxiously going over the team matchup schedule with a gull, Tsukishima and Yamaguchi hanging close. She can hear Kuroo barking at Bokuto because ‘that doesn’t go there, Bro! I told you, that one needs to go by ground net three’. She can see Kageyama and Hinata happily pumping up balls and making sure they are all the right pressure. She smiles softly and her eyes crease with amusement as she spies the red mark on the crow setter’s neck when the redhead’s gaze strays to it with a secret grin; she’s pretty sure Feathers has no idea it’s there or he’d be a lot more salty than that small content smile says he is. Beside them, Natsu plays with an infant crow who babbles incoherently, a happy accident only a few years old, born the first child to Ukai and Saeko.

The baby girl doesn’t even have teeth yet, but her cute little wings make her surprisingly mobile, and the younger redhead sibling keeps an ever-careful watch over her until one of her parents returns to pick her up later in the day. Kiyoko’s smile reaches up into her eyes, because those two as parents had been unthinkable even ten years ago; they’d only tied the knot a couple decades before and it had been almost comical when they’d discovered Saeko was pregnant. Both had looked so helplessly terrified at the very idea of a baby even as Tanaka had happily congratulated them.

But it had been precious to see them both look at their newborn with complete adoration, Ukai even reaching out to take the baby with infinite care and awe before looking back up at Saeko with the same tender expression. They’d proved to be wonderful parents if a little unprepared, and seeing either one of them with their fledgling daughter was almost murderously cute. The little girl is loved by everyone—even the ibis has volunteered himself and Yamaguchi for babysitting duty on occasion. The infant has enjoyed the company of the entire beach crew almost like a second family, and she can often be found in their care on busy days at Ukai’s shop—like today.

Kiyoko idly pushes a stray damp lock behind her ear.

It’s been fifty years since that first official match was held at the beach between themselves and the Grand King’s team.

That first spring bout had been tense to say the least, the whole beach crew and even most of Sheru Bay on edge at their presence. It wasn’t very often the small coastal port had even one sentry, and they’d suddenly been taken off guard with not only an entire unit, but the rookery leader himself along with his entourage. Really it was only some fifteen people or so, but Kuroo had been livid because ‘they’d agreed on ten and no more, dammit.’

The Grand King had come ready to play his first match in five years according to Iwaizumi. The sentry leader himself had been promoted to heir apparent; a position the crow had had no small amount of dislike for and had never failed to inform the Grand King as such. The rookery leader had lined up as setter across from his son, Iwa’s unit making up the rest of his team. For their part, it was mostly just the former first unit that made up Kageyama’s team, the only exception being Tsukishima who helped fill the other middle position so they could use Noya in his element as libero.

The match itself had been exciting to watch, and Kiyoko had privately been relieved when it was over; she’d doubted her heart could have handled much more.

The Grand King was clever and sharp, attentive and focused, and within only a few volleys he’d been able to find the weaknesses with their rotation setup and had actively worked to exploit both them and the shortcomings of individual players. Kageyama’s team had answered with its adaptability and their adamant determination to connect. They’d been practicing all through the winter to the point where they worked fluidly, a sentient system of gears operating smoothly to turn the plays; they weren’t completely polished and seamless yet, but it had been enough. The final score had been Kageyama’s team on top by three points.

The Grand King had stayed for a couple days more, engaging in more aerial scrimmages and watching their ground Volley matches with bright intrigue. He’d even had Iwaizumi’s wings bound so he could try it out, much to the cow’s sincerely salty opposition. It had been little surprise when they’d received a raven a week after the Grand King had left asking if they couldn’t send a couple people back to the rookery to work with Iwa’s unit so they could play the ground game with them the next time they came to Sheru Bay. He’d even made a point of specifically requesting Kuroo; the black cat had blanked when Kageyama had read the missive before doubling over in cynical laughter.

“I used to visit the rookery plotting to off any passing crow I saw, and now I’m being summoned for the esteemed purpose of teaching the first unit ground Volley. The universe definitely has a sense of humor.” He’d groused.

In the end, the cat hadn’t been moved and it had been Tsukishima, Yamaguchi, and the owls who’d gone back to work with Iwa’s unit. The prospect had nearly been enough to convince the black cat to join them anyway just for his own peace of mind; none of them had been entirely comfortable being in the rookery, invited or not.

But when the Grand King had requested another match in the fall before migration, they’d played both aerial and ground. After centuries of animosity, it had done wonders for breaking social barriers between the cats and the sentries, and they’d spent as much time playing ground as they had playing aerial. And the tradition had begun: a spring and fall tournament at the beach became almost a religion with more than just them and the Grand King’s teams playing after only a couple years.

Since then, the tournaments have virtually exploded.

They’d expanded into a third tourney at midsummer that coincided with one of Sheru Bay’s local festivals and just recently, a winter ground one. There are nearly two hundred participants for this year’s fall herald tournament, and over twenty-five teams competing. It had grown so out of hand that they’d had to start charging admission.

The influx of people coming for tournaments had inundated Sheru Bay at first since the little port was still recovering from the earthquake and tsunami. Within fifteen years, the town had nearly doubled in size, it’s small sea port becoming crowded to the point that it had needed to be expanded. Ukai’s shop had become a favorite hangout after games and Saeko would grumble about the dinner rush before fetching her brother to help.

Since they ran both ground and air Volley brackets, they’d had teams from all walks request an invitation. Whenever they had a new team show up wanting to play, they were always referred to Shouyou for the final decision… which was virtually pointless as he generally welcomed everyone regardless.

A group of gulls that just wanted to play an exhibition air match?

No problem! We do a few before official tournament matches start if you want to get a feel for them.

The wolf group that showed up with only four people, but wondering if they were still allowed?

Sure! We always have extra people! You gotta be okay if they’re cats, though.

Even when Bokuto had tentatively directed a standoffish group of inquisitive owls toward him?

Why not, Bokuto? Maybe you can start your own owl team!

It was rare that the bright little redhead ever refused anyone… but it did happen. When a group of snakes had showed up, he’d flatly refused, leaving them standing quite bewildered. Most of the snake trafficking network had been eradicated by that point thanks to Iwaizumi’s crusade, but the memory of a pinioned sister and people in cages bound for slavery had yet to fade in Shouyou’s head. In the end, it had been Natsu who’d overruled him, permitting them to play and penciling them into a bracket. She was probably the only person who’d have ever been able to get her brother to acquiesce on that particular matter.

The beach crew was always in the running for at least top five in either bracket, always a powerful opponent, and the team to beat as they were hosting. In fifty years of tournaments, Kageyama’s team had only lost to the Grand King’s eight times, three of them because they were missing one of the key players that made them so formidable.

When Noya’d broken his hand on a dive that had been far closer to the ground than he’d realized and Yaku had already been signed to two ground teams, they’d felt the loss of his powerhouse defense capabilities keenly. When Hinata’d injured the main extensor ligament in one of his large black wings less than a week before the midsummer competition a few years back, he’d only been able to play in the ground bracket and the entire aerial team had somehow lacked its usual fire. Tanaka’s sister had chosen the day they’d played the rookery’s first unit in the spring ground tourney to go into labor. And they’d had one real scare when Daichi had almost croaked with a wicked fever a month before and hadn’t been back at one-hundred percent by the time they’d had to play.

So, kind of almost four times?

The strict Karasuno lineup had largely disintegrated in recent years as they’d integrated more tournaments, though, and more and more, they favored the quicker and more exciting ground games where momentum could swing from one side to the other in a single rally. It wasn’t that unusual for the cats, owls, crows, and songbirds to all play on one team—particularly in the ground brackets. And as more and more avians from the rookery began participating, more and more of them had taken to the ground game which only made it that much more interesting; they’d actually had to instate a ref for the purpose of enforcing the no-fly rule with the repercussion of either sitting out the match or playing the remainder with bound wings if called for it. The Grand King had even joked that they’d corrupted the rookery youth because more kids had been more excited to learn ground volley than aerial in the last few years.

But while the teams frequently rearranged themselves, there were always certain pairs that never played apart. Bokuto and Akaashi had yet to play on separate teams since that match against Iwaizumi’s unit, Noya and Asahi’s names never appeared on the rosters anywhere except next to each other’s, and of course, there was the freak duo who were virtually joined at the hip. Honestly, Kiyoko couldn’t remember the last time Shouyou had hit anyone else’s tosses even in practice.

There were also Kuroo and Tsukishima who didn’t mind not playing with their respective other halves, but were ever careful to never wind up across the net from them. And then there were Daichi and Suga and Lev and Yaku… Daichi had remarked once, much to Suga’s amusement, that they were adults and refusing to play on opposite sides was childish; Yaku on the other hand, had been far less benign about his reasons. He’d simply been straight up stoked to be able to shut his leveler down at any opportunity, the grey cat always more than game for the challenge.

Little Natsu had even started playing with the tutelage of her leveler, her brother, the avian heir, Kenma, and Noya. She was well rounded, but small, her power and jumping capability not nearly as honed as Shouyou’s. It made sense; the redhead had been playing this game for centuries, so he’d had a ridiculous edge on her there. Instead, she’d gravitated toward Kageyama, Kenma, and Noya, and had frequently been playing in their little scrimmages as either a setter or libero. She’d rapidly progressed much like Hinata did, and she’d gotten quite skilled at blending in well with the team such that it was eerie to realize that she was actually only an adolescent playing with considerably older peers.

This year would be the first that she’d been placed onto a tournament team and Kiyoko could tell that she was as amped about it as the rest of the beach crew and none more than Tanaka; she would be the first girl to really start playing with them after all. Kiyoko and Yachi could bounce a ball around, had even joined in the occasional lazy light matches in the high heat of summer at the boys’ prompting, but the younger redhead was as much a spitfire for the sport as any of the others. As Kiyoko heads for the bunting, she smiles once more as Natsu coo’s at Saeko and Ukai’s little girl with a happy grin, the baby laughing ecstatically.

“How’s it coming?” She asks lightly and Yachi looks up at her with a sweet smile.

“Oh! This guy was wondering if we could still get another team into the aerial bracket. Yaku put that one together this year, so I was trying to figure out how he did it so I didn’t mess it all up.” She’d said and Kiyoko glances up at the gull beside her and Yamaguchi.

“Cutting it a little close, aren’t you? First match kicks off tonight in only a few hours.” She asks, an eyebrow rising slightly.

“So long as they aren’t in that match, it shouldn’t be a problem, right? That’s the opening match and the only one tonight.” Yamaguchi says looking up. Kiyoko considers before nodding, her eyes dropping to the bracket.

“I think he lined them up by last year’s final ranking every other slot with the far left open for new teams… if you can find a place to pencil them in there, that would probably be best.” She says and the gull smiles gratefully with a bow before turning away.

“We will have uneven teams then; someone will have a bye round.” Yamaguchi says as he analyzes the bracket.

“It can’t be helped.” She murmurs; she knows that byes are an unpopular part of the bracket system because one team will enter the second round fresh while their opponent will have already played a full match, giving the team with the bye the advantage of full energy.

“Perhaps we can fix it.” A deep voice says behind her, it’s rigidity and flat baritone making her feathers prickle.

Apparently, she isn’t the only one; Yachi jumps and Yamaguchi’s head snaps up as she turns to face the new voice. Her head tips back. The man in front of her is almost as tall as lev but with olive eyes instead of emerald, his frame massive, his enormous white wings even larger than Hinata’s.

Eagle.

This guy and the five people beside him are eagles. They are a ways from home, she knows, but she’d recognize the wings of the northern Sky King’s race any day. It didn’t matter where she was, she doubted she’d not be able to pick them out. He watches her with a flat expression before looking toward Yamaguchi.

“We’ve been hearing about these tournaments, and decided to come this year. We can fill your bye space.” His address to the freckled crow over her and the bunting feels like a snub and her spine straightens. Tension curling in her gut, she clears her throat lightly and firmly meets his gaze when he looks back at her the way Kuroo had told her.

“I don’t know if we’ve ever had eagles play before. You will have to check with Hinata if it’s alright.” She says.

“Oooh, do we have to pass a test?” A wild haired redhead that is nearly as tall as the eagle in front of her says from his shoulder with an unnerving leering grin. She mentally clamps down on her nerves.

“Not so much as you simply have to see if he’s okay with it. It’s just one of the things about our tournaments. I wouldn’t worry too much. He rarely denies anyone.” She says in a clipped tone before she turns and points toward the two siblings and Kageyama surrounded by balls.

“He’s over there.” She says before turning back to the bracket dismissively.

As the large man heads off in their direction after a pause, she lets out the slightest sigh. She had no fondness for eagles. They weren’t the worst thing she’d encountered, but they always seemed to have an infuriating air of superiority in general and a tendency to be controlling in her experience. But then, her experiences were probably a very narrow worldview and she should probably try to let that bias go.

She draws a deep breath before picking up a quill and leaning across the table to fill in the opposing empty slot in the aerial bracket to the one from the gulls a few minutes before. She’s halfway through the word when a sharp curse from Kageyama makes her jerk, smearing a large ugly streak of ink across two more bracket lines.

“No way in hell.”

The quiet refusal leaves the Hinata’s mouth in the silence that permeates the beach in the wake of Feathers’ expletive.

Kiyoko blinks before whipping around to see what is wrong. She can’t see the eagle’s face, but she sees the maniacal fire in the redhead’s, is positive that if she’d seen that side of him the first time she’d laid eyes on him—or even maybe in the first few days after they’d joined them, that she’d have quietly tried to slip away with Yachi during the night.

She and the bunting had been under pursuit when they’d happened upon two crows, a redhead, and an ibis in the busy market of a larger port town further north. Kiyoko had been desperate enough at the time to seek out their help—the assistance of four men, a complete gamble on their personalities. The one thing that had made her take that risk on them as opposed to anyone else was the way the redhead—who was, in fact, a grounded crow as they’d found out later, but not actually a crow as they’d found out since—had been pouting about having pork curry again in a far too familiar way with the scowly crow while the ibis had looked on with the occasional jab at their expense.

The redhead’s expressions had been far too innocent and bright—like Yachi’s… and she’d trusted Yachi. When she’d heard the freckled crow ask where they were going to stay and the blue-eyed grouchy one murmur something about probably somewhere south a few leagues, she’d acted, because that meant they were traveling and wouldn’t be intending to stay. If she and Yachi could acquire a ‘group’ instead of being a ‘pretty female crow and a cute little bunting’, she’d hoped they’d blend in and be easier to miss—and their destination wouldn’t be ‘theirs’, so hopefully much less predictable. She’d caught the redhead’s sleeve, because he’d seemed by far the safest one to ask.

“My apologies, but I overheard that you are going south? Can we join you?” She’d asked only to find almond eyes blinking up at her in owlish alarm—because he was actually shorter than her. He’d pressed backward into the grouchy crow who’d abruptly adopted a hardline glare, his arm wrapping around him in a curiously protective gesture while the other crow and ibis had moved closer to them.

“I don’t—”

“Why do you want to come with us?” The cranky crow had cut the smaller redhead off.

Her head had tilted, because the suspicion had seemed out of place; these guys weren’t much older than herself, and she and Hitoka were two girls, what were they so nervous about? And that informal contact…an idea had popped into her head. She’d subconsciously found Yachi behind her with a hand, pulling her closer, determined to see if she could get them in with this group of avians.

“We’re going in the same direction… I just thought it would be safer if we traveled with you instead of alone.” She’d murmured, her eyes dropping demurely.

She was sure she’d pulled the look off flawlessly like they’d been trained, but it had failed completely in its purpose of getting them to drop their guard or even put them at ease. Instead the redhead had perked up and cautiously found Yachi pressed into her side, her face still shadowed by the travel cloak Kiyoko’d gotten for her.

He’d carefully pushed out of the crow’s arms, his almond eyes darting up at her before fixing back on the bunting. Kiyoko had mentally apologized for letting the boy zero in on her like that, for using her to achieve the end goal of joining them, but she’d seen no other way. He’d cautiously peered up into her hood before a smile had bloomed on his face and he’d turned back to the salty crow.

“She’s cute!” He’d said brightly, the compliment just that, no matter how Kiyoko had tensed and searched the tone and expression for anything more. He’d turned back to her with such a smile that it had made her wonder where he’d grown up that he was still so naïve to wear that expression.

“What’s your name?”

The bunting had glanced at her nervously, but when Kiyoko hadn’t offered any warning, she’d turned back shyly.

“Y… Yachi, Hitoka.” She’d squeaked. His smile had only widened before he’d turned toward her with that dazzling grin and she’d almost flinched at the open look, the genuine curiosity almost scalding in its purity.

“Shimizu, Kiyoko.” She’d managed.

His head had tilted and Kiyoko hadn’t been able to hold his gaze for too long before she was looking at Yachi, the others, anywhere but that brilliant set of almond eyes, because if she had, she was sure he’d have seen the chaos behind her own. He’d turned back to the crow, his smile never fading.

“I think they’d be okay, Kageyama. They seem nice.”

“Nice isn’t necessarily safe.” He’d grumbled.

“Aw, come on, moron. Yachi wouldn’t be one and not every crow is a sentry—”

The ibis had pointedly cleared his throat, but she’d deduced just from that remark that they were also under pursuit. She’d had mixed emotions on that, but could hardly complain for their own situation.

“You might have him whipped but you seem to be forgetting one critical detail, Shrimp.” The salty crow had scoffed at the ibis’ jab, and the redhead’s face had puffed into a scowling pout.

“What, that you’re still here?” He’d mumbled.

“You’re still going to have to get this past Kuroo.” The blond had said blandly and Kiyoko had had a moment of misgiving. This hadn’t been their entire party? The redhead had huffed with mild annoyance.

“Kenma will say okay, so Kuroo will, too.” He’d said before he’d paused. “Oh, but…” He’d turned back toward them and Kiyoko hadn’t known what to make of that ‘but’. “You’ll have to be okay with cats.” He’d finished with another enthusiastic smile.

She’d had so many doubts those first few days after joining three cats, three crows—one of them grounded, and a surprisingly snarky ibis. The one who’d easily set her on edge the most had been the large black feline, and she’d been uneasy at first with each new male addition since.

She knows now that she needn’t have worried about any of them, the hunch on Hinata and Kageyama based on that first familiar touch between them confirmed before the day had been out. Despite the wariness she’d held onto around the others, she’d felt in her gut after seeing the redhead’s leveler glow that she and Yachi could maybe… maybe be safe with these people.

The redhead had trusted them without question, and it had nearly floored Kiyoko that there hadn’t been anything else behind that decision aside from blind trust. It was something that had resurfaced again and again with Hinata.

The cats, Kuroo especially, were safe, because Shouyou deemed them so. No one questioned whether Natsu was really Hinata’s sister, because he’d said she was. Kageyama had bent and sent his father the invitation for the spring match, because the redhead had insisted that the Grand King was sincere. Perhaps one of the biggest examples had been the owls—a species reviled as unpredictably violent and often avoided by all other races, they’d welcomed Bokuto and Akaashi because Shouyou’d seen no threat.

It's something she’s seen time and again. No matter what it is, if Hinata believes it, then it is so.

And because Shouyou believed it, so did they. They all bought in to his single-minded faith—whether to their benefit or detriment didn’t matter. Hinata’s vision was blind to differences, his tolerance on a level that defied reason. When Hinata evaluated someone, it was without bias… which often made his analysis of others more sound than even Kuroo’s. It was that inherently open disposition that had taken all of them from cautious, wary individuals to the tight nit family they’d become.

It was Shouyou’s brightly impartial and forward looking focus that had ensnared her and Yachi along for the ride of their lives. It had taken an embarrassing amount of time to realize who Kageyama and Hinata were and why they’d had sentries after them—really, it wasn’t actually until the rest of their unit had shown up and she’d overheard them talking about the Grand King and ‘your father’ before she’d put two and two together and the enormity of it had hit her.

Somewhere in the fringes of her awareness, she’d picked up news along the way about the rookery heir having disappeared; she’d just been so worried about her and Yachi’s plight that she’d never realized how close to that story she’d been. She’d never even picked up that they were former sentries at all.

But… she can see it now.

Hinata had been trained alongside Kageyama and the others in the former first unit, had seen very real violence and confrontation since. He stands straight now, shoulders rigid, stance set just wide enough to indicate that he’s prepared for anything, his wings pulled to attention, his burning gaze fixed fearlessly up at the eagle that easily dwarfs him. What’s more, Kageyama stands defensively between the large man and the redhead, his face holding nothing but singular ferocity. She and Yachi weren’t with them in the snake nest; she’s never seen them like this…

They’re terrifying.

Gone is the sunny optimism from Shouyou and the annoyed frown has fled Feathers’ face. In their place is nothing but cold calculation, systematic analysis of their opponent, and frozen expressions of supreme and serious wrath. They almost don’t look human anymore, and certainly not like the Hinata and Kageyama she’s come to know. Her muscles go weak when Hitoka leaves her side in a mad dash toward them, and she’s instantly stumbling after her, her hand outstretched.

“Yachi—” She yelps, but the bunting darts forward around the eagles and snatches Natsu by the arm, the infant crow still in her grasp.

The blond tugs her to her feet and away from the tense standoff, Kiyoko’s heart stuttering as she reaches them. She takes the baby girl from the wide-eyed redhead, and latches onto her shirt to pull her farther back, knowing Hitoka is right at her elbow.

“Frѐ?” She squeaks, but neither of the level pair even glance their way.

“Why the hostile reception? Why the refusal?” The large eagle asks, his tone hinting at annoyance. Hinata’s chin rises.

“Why? Heh… white wings.” He says, a curiously satirical smile splitting his face and Kiyoko’s hair stands on end.

White wings.

The person who’d attacked Hinata and Kageyama… had had white wings.

“No way.” Says one of the other eagles, his wings rustling in agitation as his jaw drops.

He’s smaller than the leader, wavy black hair that reaches his shoulders his most defining feature, his eyes a bleak brown that carry very little expression at all despite the slight upturn of his mouth. The large eagle turns toward him with a questioning look.

“What?”

“No fucking way.” He repeats, his mouth curling a little more. “Wakatoshi, this kid is the rookery heir.”

The large eagle’s brows rise, but it’s the red haired one that whips back toward Kageyama and Hinata, his expression almost predatorily excited.

“Really? We could crush the southern rookery prince in a Volley match? Oh, that sounds like fun! Wakatoshi, fix it. I want to play!”

“Nice to see you haven’t forgotten.” Hinata’s dead voice cuts through the air, sharp as a blade and directed at the longer haired eagle.

“Wait, if this is the crow prince, then you…” The guy steps forward slightly, his face creasing in perplexed confusion, his eyes straying to Hinata’s wings, and Shimizu knows just by that glance that this was the white winged asshole.

Hinata was the center of the misfit beach group, the reason they’d all ended up here, whether he ever realized it or not. His welcoming openness had created the opportunity for them all to meet, his tolerance and kindness made it possible to live together. More than anyone else among them, he failed to see the differences between them, held no prejudice against anyone. Without him, she doubts any of them would have found themselves in the same place today.

And here was the man who’d threatened that. Here was the eagle who’d hurt that brilliant connection they all shared, the person who’d taken the sky from the redhead and nearly killed him, the reason Kageyama’s wings were tipped white. He was the one who’d broken and dimmed their own personal ball of sunshine. Here was the person who’d nearly ended everything the beach crew has before it ever even had a chance.

“Yeah, I’ve got those back, too. Should we find out how good you actually are when you attack someone head on?” Hinata asks, his head canting. The large eagle turns back to the longer haired one.

“What’s this about, Utsui?” The olive-eyed eagle asks and the guy’s mouth clicks shut.

“This kid shouldn’t have wings…shouldn’t even be alive,” He says looking between the redhead and the lead eagle, “Hey, Wakatoshi, they’re a long way from home. This is the perfect opportunity—”

“I would slaughter that thought before you complete it if I were you.” An icy voice cuts in, and Shimizu turns to find the black cat over her shoulder, his expression utterly black.

She almost wants to breathe a sigh of relief. Kuroo had a way of making everything just somehow ‘work out’, she wants to believe it will be no different this time. As every eagle turns to stare at him, he places a light hand on Kiyoko’s shoulder as he steps around her, his eyes trained on ‘Wakatoshi’.

“Yachi, send a runner for Ukai. Tell him he needs to come retrieve his daughter immediately. Then I want you to fly for the others in town.” He tells the bunting without breaking eye contact with the large avian before he comes to a stop just ahead of Kiyoko and Natsu. The small blond leaps to comply, ducking away from them with a stumble.

“I would be very careful how you proceed, because you are not among friends here.” The cat says and for a moment, Kiyoko blinks.

Her eyes dart around and she sees the way the entire beach has gone still, the other teams that were out for a light practice the night before the tournament began in earnest all staring, Bokuto and Akaashi dropping beside her with an unusual tension for them.

“It might also be of interest to you to know that the Grand King and an entire battalion are on their way here from the rookery as we speak. You are lucky they have yet to arrive or they’d have made a bid to execute you already—which would be a shame really; we have yet to taint our beach with some sap’s blood, and it would be nice to keep it that way, especially in the spirit of a Volley tournament.” He says evenly.

Wakatoshi turns toward him, sensing the automatically commanding air the black cat has about him.

“We are only here to play. It’s why we came.” He says and Kuroo’s head tilts.

“See the only issue with that is Utsui is the one that was responsible for Hinata’s losing his wings. It’s a little tough to believe you are ‘only here to play’—and Hinata determines who plays in any case.” He says dryly. The large avian glances back at Shouyou with a frown before scoffing.

“I can see you are blind, so I will assume that is an oversight on your part; he clearly has wings. Utsui didn’t do it. Unless you are saying he magically regrew them.” He says, impatience creeping into his voice, but the cat doesn’t even react to the slight.

“A process that took years…” Hinata bites out before turning and pulling his shirt off, “would you like to know how painful it was?” He asks, glancing back at them, that psychotic look only intensifying.

And there down his back are the twin scars from where they broke free of his skin, still glaring against the clear pale expanse of his spine and ribs. Kiyoko sucks in a breath, because Hinata might freely pull his shirt for the simple scrimmages and practices they do at home here when it’s just them, but he rarely does in the company of people he isn’t familiar with. For a long moment, the only sound on the beach is the waves crashing against the sand.

“Even if that’s true, it’s in the past and you aren’t missing them anymore. We heard the competition here was good. We came to play.” He says, almost sounding disdainfully bored.

“Then maybe he’d consider letting you and the other four play and bar only the one.” Kuroo says coolly. “I doubt you will get much more of a break.”

The large avian turns toward the cat with a dark scowl.

“Bar one of our players, and then call it a victory when you win over five; how typical of a lesser species. It won’t work—we can play just as well minus one. Volley is a sport for the strong, it was obviously a mistake in coming here.” Kageyama scoffs, his glare dropping even more with fury.

“Keep your last person.”

The beach freezes for a second time and all eyes turn to Hinata. He stares up at the large eagle brazenly, his almond eyes snapping with rabid ire. The eagle stares down at him as Kageyama looks at him sharply.

And slowly, the faintest smile tips Feathers’ face.

“Kiyoko.” Hinata says without looking away from Wakatoshi and she jumps. “Scratch the two teams kicking off tonight and inform them they will lead off tomorrow morning at sunrise.” He says, his voice utterly devoid of anything except flat finality.

“O-of course.” She stumbles.

“You get one match, best two sets out of three. If… you can beat us, I will leave the decision up to Kuroo on whether to let you compete in the actual tournament. But it won’t matter whether you have five people or the full six team; there’s no way we’ll lose to you.”

~                                  ~

As her quill stops on the crisp page in front of her, Kiyoko sits back with a breath of content.

It’s been two days since the final tournament match was held, and as exciting as the games are, she’s quite happy for the peace and quiet. She idly skims the lines, her thoughts drifting. Kiyoko draws in a deep breath before quietly letting it back out.

The match against the eagles had been easily the most nerve racking game she’d ever experienced, agonizing in every facet. Keeping the two teams from trading threats both before and during had been hell for Kuroo—probably because there were plenty of his own that he’d have liked to throw at them, Kiyoko knew.

Tanaka and Noya had had to be restrained more than once, and even Asahi had seemed reluctant to collar them. Tsukishima had said very little when Hinata had asked him to play with them, his perfected poker face bored expression almost ingrained into his facial muscles even though his eyes had crackled with a dangerous focus like they didn’t even see when he stood across the net from Kageyama. Daichi had maintained an austere civility, ever reliable to be the most responsible of them.

But the one that had set Kiyoko on edge had been Sugawara. The thrush hadn’t said a word, just nodded when asked to back up Kageyama; his easygoing smile had been exchanged for a flatly focused look framing hard silver eyes. She’d been startled to realize that Suga was pissed. Daichi’s leveler almost never even got annoyed, and there he’d been well past ‘angry’.

Ukai had quickly taken his infant girl back home before returning, a dark look on his face as well and Kageyama had nodded to him in gratification. In the last five decades, the banded blond crow had become their de facto coach, always on the sidelines for every one of their matches, aerial or ground alike. It had been a morale boost to know that they’d had his backing this time around, too. Word had gotten out to the rest of the teams staying in Sheru Bay apparently, as well, because by the time the match had been set to start, they’d had a crowd.

The first set had gone… poorly. Wakatoshi hadn’t lied; they were indeed very strong. When they were playing for best two out of three, losing their first set had been hard to swallow.

The large eagle was left-dominant and it had thrown them all off, most notably Noya. And he’d been scary strong; their blocks might’ve slowed his hits down, but they hadn’t stopped a single one that first match. The tall redheaded center seemed almost whimsically off kilter, eerily disturbed or maybe even split personality-esque with his conversational remarks intermingled with idly cheerful yet dark singsong that put her feathers on end, but he was unnervingly good at predicting hits from their side. Their setter might not have been as skilled as Kageyama, but he was fluid with his team, knew them all inside and out almost to the point of blending perfectly as to be unnoticeable. Their outside hitters were good, their libero excellent; every player was well rounded and exceptional, even Utsui had been a force to be reckoned with.

It had taken them several rallies to adjust to the new elements and find a way to contend with the eagles’ strengths. By the time Noya had gotten a feel for that wicked left side hit and Tsukishima had pinned down timing on blocks, they had sported too great a deficit to return from and they’d lost the first set pretty soundly.

It had taken until the start of the second before Hinata and Kageyama found a workaround for the redheaded blocker who’d effectively neutralized them and their quicks with his unreal guessing ability. Tsukishima had locked in the timing and gotten the others to collaborate and help block Wakatoshi especially, the ibis’ own clever precision for that aspect of volley shining through when he’d finally shut down the large eagle for the first time. They’d subbed Suga in at one point to set to Kageyama a couple times just to throw them off.

Kiyoko had had to give the eagle team credit: they’d forced Kageyama’s to adjust, to make changes, to utilize all of their strengths to the best of their ability, and to implement every skill and strategy they had in their playbook.

She’d watched the second set on her toes, Yachi and little Natsu both beside her holding their breath as much as she with how close it was. But the Karasuno team had seemingly found its stride; they’d kept up and then taken the second set by the two-point margin, even if the final score was well beyond the twenty-five point mark. The crowd of competitors that watched had drifted toward the hosting team, their support boosting their energy and determination.

They’d powered into their third match regardless of how they’d been starting to drag. And it seemed that while Kageyama’s side had successfully adjusted and worked to minimize their weaknesses and maximize their strengths, the eagle team hadn’t been as prepared to adapt. The final score on the third set had had Karasuno up by three points to win the match. It had been close the whole time, but the crows had hit their rhythm and connected, never losing their slim lead to that fifteen point mark.

They’d all crowded around Hinata after that last point had smacked into the sand off his hand, their euphoria manifesting as one big screech fest around the small redhead—even the ibis had drifted inward when Yamaguchi had tugged him forward in his excitement. Shouyou had stared for several moments before a bright laugh had erupted from him.

“I knew I should have offed you when I had the chance.” The remark had been low, almost inaudible in the enthusiastic cheers form their side, but the crow setter hadn’t missed it.

“Say what?” He’d asked, his entire frame stiffening and he’d turned toward Utsui where he’d paused just on the other side of the net, the blue-eyed crow’s face set with a murderous glare. The eagle had shrugged nonchalantly.

“I’m always getting strikes for dinking around on my missions… apparently, I should have heeded that this time, because this one really came back to bite me in—”

The larger white winged avian hadn’t had the chance to finish before a flash of grey wings had cut him off, Sugawara ducking under the net with lightning reflex, his fist connecting hard enough with the eagle’s jaw to knock him off his feet. The eagle had stared up at him with surprise as the entire crow team had pressed toward them, Daichi quickly moving to catch him by the shoulders.

“You should probably know that most of us have taken lives and that we can do it with ease when someone we care about is under threat. And right now, you are threatening Kageyama and Hinata. Know that when you threaten them, you also threaten their unit, the rookery, Sheru Bay, all of us, and the long list of allies we’ve gained in the last few decades. You would do well to exercise caution when you are surrounded by so many of them. There are enough of us here to subdue you, and I for one, would be fine removing your wings since you obviously have no idea what it’s like being grounded. It sounds like it would be a good experience for you at the very least—we’ll see if you can’t figure out the secret to restoring them.” Suga’s voice had been freaky calm, the threat almost sounding like something he did every day.

Every eagle had turned toward them with wings splayed aggressively, both teams staring at each other with homicidal intensity. It had been a hair raising few seconds before the black cat had pointedly cleared his throat.

“It would probably be in your best interest to leave Sheru Bay; if the Grand King were to learn anything about ‘missions’…” Kuroo had trailed off with razor sharp hostility before shaking his head once, “Your Utsui has a mouth that runs and if he’s not careful, he might start a war.”

The eagle had gotten back to his feet with dark insult at the cat’s lackadaisical tone that positively screamed exactly how stupid the feline thought he was. The eagle’s gaze had zeroed in on Kuroo, but Wakatoshi had caught his arm.

“We will be back next year.” He’d said but Kuroo’s chin had lifted.

“Brave of you. The choice to allow you remains in Hinata’s hands… but Utsui will never be welcome, so you can leave him at home next time.”

“I hope you come back; expect to lose every time you face us. Volley isn’t just for the strong. It’s for whoever wants to play. But if you want a real show of power, come back when you know how to play ground Volley. We’ll bury you.” Hinata had said.

“I don’t like his tone. This sounds like a challenge Wakatoshi. I think we should do it and come back and break them.” The redhead had said amiably. The large eagle had glared at them, obviously pissed, but he’d said nothing and the northern white winged avians had departed soon after.

Most of the beach crew’s teams had been knocked out before the championship rounds even started. Kageyama’s entire team had shelled themselves in the match against the eagles; their first against Iwa’s unit the following morning had been their heaviest loss to the rookery since the games’ inception simply because they were still exhausted from the previous night’s efforts. Their ground team hadn’t fared much better, only making it three rounds in before being defeated. To add to their woes, the cats’ team had lost in the final prelim round to Bokuto’s team of owls when Yaku had suffered a sprained ankle. That had left only two teams that made it into the finals on day two; Bokuto’s… and surprisingly, Natsu’s.

Backed by Kenma, Kuroo, Tsukishima, Yamaguchi and her leveler, her team had been rounded out with—of all people—Iwaizumi. She’d originally been set to play with Kageyama, Hinata, and Daichi, but with them dragging so badly after their matches, they’d subbed in several others with Tanaka and Tsukki being the only ones to stick it out. The collaboration of songbirds, crows, cats, and the rookery’s reserve heir had set a benchmark, a working symbol of their slowly improving relationship—even if the ibis and black cat had harassed the Grand King’s second to no end the entire time.

Even so, it had been the first year where no beach crew team was playing for a championship match, the first where they didn’t even finish in the top three in either bracket. The closest had been Natsu’s which had ended up fifth. Small arms clasp around her neck from behind and she smiles just a bit at how Hitoka’s unexpected touch doesn’t make her flinch anymore. Instead, she leans into it as the bunting presses her blond head to Kiyoko’s, her eyes drifting across the last words she’d written.

“Did you finish it?” Yachi asks softly, and Kiyoko can feel the happy, bubbly smile that presses into the side of her neck.

“I think so… but it might need another chapter after the last few days.” She says before placing the last sheet on top of the others, the final lines still flashing at her sharply with not quite dry ink:

— Grand King smiles, a real one, deep and content. “Iwa...that is my son’s hand. Tobio wrote that message.”

“He’s going to be disappointed at having to wait some more. He’ll probably whine and then Iwa will put him in his place.”

“He’s the one that commissioned it; he never said how fast he wanted it done.” She murmurs with a purse of her lips that betrays her amusement.

“Did you write about us?” The bunting asks, and Kiyoko’s head cants.

“We’re both in there… you even have your own chapter.” She says, her gaze sliding to the side.

Yachi’s read all of it, knows the depth and scope of everything in the stack of papers that has turned into a mountain on the corner of the desk the guys had given her when she’d taken the project on. It’s been in the making for almost five years now, the task originally asked of Yachi because of her pristine writing. The Grand King had asked for the story… not just Hinata’s grounding and his son’s subsequent flight from the rookery, but all of it.

“I think Kiyoko should do it.” Hitoka had said much to the pretty female crow’s embarrassment. “My writing is boring compared to her beautiful spidering script. And she tells stories so much better than I ever could.”

Somehow, the bunting hadn’t let her talk her way out of it and over the next few years, it had become a priority. Kiyoko has loved talking with everyone to make sure the details were all correct, loved spinning the scenes to life, loved framing the emotions that had come with all the things that had happened, loved the sense of accomplishment she got when she closed a chapter with only a few discarded pages where her hand had slipped and she’d made a mistake. Perhaps when she’s finished with this, maybe she will write down some of the old leveler stories Hinata and the others sometimes talk about. Hitoka’s soft giggle hits her ear at nearly the same time as the brush of her lips.

“I suppose the last one should be Feathers’. End where we started—”

“The last one should be yours. You’re the only one left.” She says softly. Kiyoko huffs slightly before turning and meeting the bunting for a soft kiss. Yachi grins as she pulls away, her face pink.

“I put together a light lunch, you should come join us.” She says with a sweet smile.

Kiyoko blinks, not having realized what time it was already. She stretches before rising and following the small blond outside where the others are all mowing down on yakitori skewers, and she utters a prayer of thanks to the universe for the other girl as her stomach rumbles.

She reaches for a plate and places a couple on it before neatly sidestepping Bokuto as he staggers when he’s collared by Kuroo for grabbing the last three on the tray. The streaked owl scrambles to keep from dumping his plate, his wings snapping out for balance as he follows the pull of his shirt.

“Oi. There’s a word for people like you, you know.” The cat growls.

“What, brave or stupid?” The ibis asks flatly and Kuroo sends him a minorly annoyed glance.

“I was going to say rude, but bravely stupid works, too, I guess.” He murmurs before fixing back on the wide golden-eyed look from the larger owl. “What if Shimizu actually wanted another? I don’t feel like watching her starve on account of your stomach.” Her mouth quirks.

“Kuroo, it’s fine.” She says easily, but Bokuto is already blinking in surprise.

He glances down at his plate and then at hers as if he’s never seen either before. The streaked owl looks back to his own—and then he carefully selects one of the skewers off his plate and deposits it on hers. A collection of chuckles rise around them, Tanaka’s and Noya’s laughs echoing loudest, and she thinks she even hears Feathers huff in amusement. Unbidden, her mouth tips up into a full smile, her own lungs expelling a breath through her nose.

“Thank you, Bokuto.” She says and the owl grins before seeking out his leveler who watches him with a nonplussed expression. She joins Yachi as the bunting settles beside Kenma, her gaze glancing around the circle much like the quiet golden cat’s.

Suga sits quietly between Daichi’s legs, his silver-eyed expression bright as he watches Yaku gripe at a smirking Lev. Seako has joined them today and easily starts up a conversation with Kuroo about whether he can spare someone to help at Ukai’s shop over winter from her place beside Akaashi as she adeptly corrals her infant fledgling in her arms, the smaller owl gently teasing the baby girl. Natsu snatches one of the skewers off Tanaka’s plate from over his shoulder while he cracks jokes with Noya, Asahi looking on with a fond smile. She notes that Yamaguchi and Tsukishima are sitting closer lately than they normally do, their legs brushing up against each other and the crow leaning in until their shoulders touch.

And of course, there are Feathers and Hinata, ever in contact and ever in sync. They’ve finished their meal in a rush like normal and Kageyama is tracing out volley lineups in the sand at their feet, Hinata more avidly attentive to the movements of his hand than whatever Kageyama is actually saying. The hickey from a few days ago has mostly worn off and Kiyoko is pretty sure Feathers never even noticed it no matter how many times the redhead had gotten distracted by it. Hell, she’s pretty sure she heard the Grand King even make a wry remark that had obviously gone over his head. The small spiker laughs lightly when Kageyama pins him with one of his scowls and an annoyed ‘are you even paying attention, idiot?’ that is neatly undermined by the slight color in the tips of his ears.

But Hinata’s easy smile fades just a bit as he looks away and catches sight of the small garter snake that lives under their porch, his eyes going distant. As he focuses on where it’s sunning itself in the reeds at the edge of the sand, Kiyoko pauses. It’s not a distressed look really… but it isn’t his blinding happy one either. It’s almost a look of pensive reflection, and she’s reminded, not for the first time, that they each have their skeletons. It might not be very often, but they are all a little broken in some way, all have their own hell they are each prone to reliving on occasion, the pretty crow no exception.

Kuroo had been the first to figure her out, her quiet nature and frequently downcast expression giving her away. It was after she’d slapped Noya that he’d finally cornered her on it, but he’d probably known for months at that point. He’d walked into the house where she’d been cleaning fruit to go with their evening meal and sat down across from her, his own gaze cast to the cracks in the table.

“Heck of a day.” He’d murmured and her heart had kicked up three whole notches.

“It was; I’m sorry. I didn’t think before I did it.” She’d said automatically, because while roughhousing and the occasional spat didn’t faze the cat, unwarranted violence and fighting was taboo under Kuroo’s leadership. They’d only been with the beach group for a matter of months at the time, and she hadn’t been sure what to expect for retribution.

“Why would you be sorry, Shimizu?” She’d blinked in surprise.

“I made a scene.”

“They needed to know where you stand and that you won’t be pressed on it. Besides, you provided the others entertainment at our winged libero’s expense for his poor judgement.”

Her eyes had widened on the pear in front of her, the seemingly supportive remark the opposite of what she’d been expecting and a complete blindside.

“They all laughed.” She’d half whimpered and Kuroo had leaned forward.

“It wasn’t at you, Shimizu. If anything, the laughter was a verbal high-five for putting him in his place. But… I have to wonder.” She’d paused her knife on the pear, her anxiety spiking.

“About what?”

“Where are you and Yachi from?” And then the trepidation had twisted her gut, almost instantly making her sick. She had never intended for them to know anything beyond ‘they weren’t going back’, and here the cat was asking a prying question. He hadn’t shown so much as even the slightest interest since they’d joined, so why now?

“That’s really none of your business.” She’d said with a touch of frost, the most she could manage to hurl at him. She’d flicked her own gaze up to find a black brow had risen.

“You’re right, it’s not… but you are also wrong. Between you and me, it might be good to know who I will need to send to hell when they come looking for you.”

She could see his point of view, but she’d cringed inside. She’d been unable to meet his gaze in any way, having to concentrate to keep her entire form from shaking. She’d felt like her entire world had been crumbling under his quiet probing, and she’d felt like she were back in the misery she’d fled with Hitoka over a year before.

But Kuroo was still expecting an answer. And she hadn’t been able to lie.

“Brothels don’t send people across the country to retrieve their property.” She’d whispered, fully expecting him to scoff at her.

“They do if the individual is valuable enough.” He’d said and the knife had slipped from her fingers, because he’d been completely serious, never doubting her words.

Which meant he’d pieced it together. She’d pulled her hands into her lap against her stomach, terror settling in her gut; the only thing she’d been able to think was what would he do with that knowledge?

“I was deemed unsuitable as a courtesan and placed in the main house. A common jade doesn’t have enough value to spend the money to track down.” She’d said, the last even coming out with a touch of derision even as her knuckles lost color and her knees pressed together in front of her.

“Perhaps not, but what about the bunting?” He’d asked and Kiyoko had flinched, her gaze snapping to his for an instant, wondering how he seemed to know everything before ducking back to her tightly clasped hands in her lap. Still…

“Yachi wasn’t one of us.” She’d tried, attempting to steer the cat away from the bubbly little blond. But Kuroo had zeroed in on that in an instant.

“So not a ‘jade’, but clearly valuable. She’s the reason you ran, isn’t she?” He’d asked and her stomach had plummeted on her.

Would Kuroo expect her to ‘work’ for her keep now? Would he force her into ‘service’ using Yachi as leverage? Would she and the bunting be able to escape? Had she traded one hell for another? A light sigh had broken her thoughts and she’d jerked again.

“Relax, Shimizu. You have nothing to fear from myself or the others.” He’d said with clear disillusionment before shifting to get up from his place across from her. She’d pulled in a breath like a knife into her lungs, her gaze darting at him with panic.

But the look he’d worn hadn’t been malicious or predatory or antagonistic. It had been angry—furious even, but more than anything, a pained expression had tugged at his eyes and mouth. He’d seemed caught more in his own thoughts than focused on her, and she couldn’t explain why that look of sorrowful ire had loosened her voice and words had just come tumbling out.

“Yachi is still innocent… or as innocent as she can be; we were trained to please to any end. She always kept that sweet brightness though, and she was set aside early on. They’d sold her to a monster far worse than the walking hell that favored me. An up and coming young lord who had a reputation for breaking girls. There were stories that some of them even died at his hands. I couldn’t let him destroy Yachi’s smile.” She’d said, her voice barely even audible and she’d caught Kuroo’s ears flicking toward her carefully before she’d glanced away from him again.

“Wouldn’t have happened to be a wolf, would it?” He’d asked and she’d jolted, her wide eyes locking onto him.

“How do you know that?” The black cat hadn’t met her gaze, a hand going to his neck in discomfort.

“Be content, Shimizu; they weren’t just stories. I ended up in his home at one point and one of his girls asked me for help. I refused because it would have blown my mission. The girl died two days later and I still wonder what would have happened if I hadn’t ignored her plea.” The cat had stood up across from her and she’d reached for him with panicky worry.

“Wait—” she’d squeaked, “Wait, you won’t tell the others?”

“We all have things we won’t voluntarily share, Shimizu, and your past is your own.”

She’d nearly gone boneless, her body aching to just sprawl across the table in front of her as the tension had left her shoulders. The air had left her lungs, her eyes watering, and her shoulders slouching.

“Kuroo?” She’d asked, her eyes falling back to the table, that residual shame rising through her gut in the wake of her relief that the cat wasn’t going to harm either she or Yachi, wasn’t going to cast them out either. She’d self-consciously stared at her hands as the cat had paused to look back at her. “How did you know?”

“I haven’t always been on the lighter side of grey… I’ve seen a lot of the darker side of the world. I noticed it after you hit me I think, and after that, I couldn’t stop seeing it. The way you hang back in silence and won’t usually meet anyone’s gaze head on, the way the only person you will touch when you sleep—or at all really—is the only other female in the house, the way it could be blazing hot at the height of summer and you will still be in full cover… you are always around Yachi, and she’s a fluorescent personality, so anyone standing next to her is usually less ‘obvious’ so to speak—unless it’s Hinata. The others might not have realized it yet, but they’ll pick up on it eventually; if you want to keep them ignorant, you might have to project more confidence.”

She’d swallowed hard, her gaze never leaving the ridges of the wood in the table. The cat had sighed once more.

“There’s an irrational part of me that hopes the bastard who chased your own smile off does come after you. I think we’d all like the chance to take a crack at him, and I’d personally relish strangling him with his own intestines. You are beautiful Shimizu, and you are worth fighting for.”

“That’s kind of you to say, but—”

“We each relive our hell over and over in the lonely silence of our own heads, Shimizu. I’m sure you are no exception, and that makes you brave. You’ll be stronger for everything you’ve been through, and you’ll face the world again someday without fear or shame or doubt.”

“I think it will be a long time before I will see the world like you do again, Kuroo.” She’d said softly. The cat had shifted before squatting down beside her until he was eye level with her.

“Shimizu, look at me.” She’d frowned.

“What for?”

“Because I want you to.” Her mouth had pursed and she’d felt a spike of unease in her gut, but she’d slowly looked up at Kuroo’s dual gaze.

“What for?” She’d repeated, her gaze darting away again.

“No, don’t look away, Kiyoko. Keep watching me.” He’d said with firm encouragement.

She’d bridled under the soft command, and it was probably one of the hardest things she’d ever done, forcing herself to look back up at him and do as he said; the cat knew her background and it felt like she was more than just naked in front of him. She’d felt completely bare, her battered soul shivering under his intense stare.

“What for?” She’d croaked again.

“Practice. Because you will be stronger.” He’d said, his focus never wavering, and she’d had to stop herself every moment from averting her gaze.

“But people will know.” She’d whispered.

“They’ll know you’ve struggled, but they won’t know the depth or breadth of it. That’s okay. That’s a part of who you are now and it’s not a weakness or a fault or something to be ashamed of. No, keep your eyes on me, Shimizu.

“You’ve known despair. Take all your pain, sorrow, fear, your determination to continue, to protect Yachi, to live… hold my gaze—and force me to look away.”

Kiyoko’s eyes had widened.

How was she supposed to do something like that? The cat was a natural born leader, she’d never seen someone force him to avert his gaze in submission.

She’d stared at him, utterly lost, her hands shaking in her lap, her heart breaking in her chest under the weight of the memories and emotional turmoil, her gut turning in fear, and she’d stared at him. She’d stared at the piercing golden eyes, frozen in place, her tongue sticking in her mouth, the air catching in her lungs, and her eyes watering.

A girl a century younger than her that she’d never met before being ‘acquired’—who’d   been by her side ever since. The nights spent in a room full of other girls, her silent sobs unheeded by all save a small blond who’d sat with her in the dark until they subsided, small hands pulling her awake in the mornings when she didn’t think she could even move to get out of bed both from physical pain and the way her mind had been a buzz of static that didn’t respond, petite fingers gently dabbing at a black eye and split lip as she silently stared at a wall, tears unable to even fall. The disgust with her own body until she’d nearly taken to harming it because perhaps if it was damaged enough, then no one else could possibly want it either. The only thing keeping her from more than that one line—the bunting’s tears and her own blood on the smaller girl’s hands as she’d bandaged the cut after stopping her with hysteria. The reason she’d resolved to continue.

Only Yachi knew the depth of her anguish, but she felt like that cat had been well on his way to matching her awareness with the way he watched her. This feline she’d known little more than six months, this person with a grey past, this clever, sneaky guy, this man… she’d trembled as she’d felt the emotions all rise, her heart racing and chest squeezing painfully. And then the cat’s quiet voice had entered her head, calm and reassuring.

You have nothing to fear. You are worth fighting for. You are brave. All impossible notions… but she’d wanted to believe the words.

And for a moment, she had.

She’d swallowed a sob and looked back at him, her weathered heart and soul clinging to the whisper of hope that there would be a day when she would once more feel at home in her own skin instead of wanting to crawl out of it, wouldn’t shy from all contact aside from Yachi’s, wouldn’t start in the mornings at the phantom feel of rough hands on her body. She’d watched those dual golden eyes, darker than Kenma’s bright gilded orbs—more the color of amber, the murky overlarge pupil that no longer dilated under light in the cloudy one creating a curious imbalance in his overall expression.

And Kuroo had brought a hand to cover his mouth as it dropped before he’d looked away, his gaze finding the floor. The air had left Kiyoko’s lungs, all her muscles quivering with tension, a tear slipping down her cheek, but in that moment, she’d felt the shadow of surprised elation, a moment of powerful pride at the edge of her awareness.

“Heh, just like that.” The black cad had said with a small smile, his eyes lifting to hers for a moment before finding the floor again. “That was honestly terrifying. You are less than no one, Shimizu. Never forget that. If anyone ever makes you feel uncomfortable, raise your head just a bit and stare at them, just like you did to me. No one will ever be able to hold out under your gaze.” The corner of her mouth had turned up just a touch.

“I don’t know if it would work on anyone else.” He’d smirked at her.

“Then it’s a good thing we have a plethora of people who’d all be happy to be oblivious guinea pigs.” He’d said with a chuckle.

In the months that followed, Kuroo had carefully coaxed her along in standing straighter, holding eye contact, and projecting quiet control—all things she could do, but usually more as an innate response to a situation rather than at will.

By the time Bokuto had speared himself, she almost didn’t recognize her own voice and actions with how she fell into coordinating and directing everyone without even noticing it— at least until she’d realized how awful the streaked owl had managed to injure himself. But it had still been a far cry from frequently having to fight to keep tears back when they’d first joined the beach group.

It had slowly started to almost feel normal to pull on that quietly commanding presence that masked where it stemmed from; she never fielded more questions she couldn’t answer without a firm rebuff if required. And she’d quickly found that it was actually far easier to don that mask and hold someone’s gaze when she didn’t know the person; the hardest people were those she’d come to trust and love, because the mask—though comforting to hide behind—was still a lie.

It wasn’t easy; she’d learned that few things about emotional recovery ever were. She’d still had private breakdowns where the bunting would sit with her through the hysteria, it had still taken her another year to really sleep soundly against any of the others, another several months after that to even consider seeking out the simplest of physical gratification—a mere chaste kiss—from Hitoka without her stomach twisting on her. When Yachi’d been visually accosted by that scummy traveler at Miss Haruka’s stall, she’d had no issue rising on the offensive with calm authority and an irate glare. When the earthquake had hit, she’d had no trouble treating injuries and assisting with movement and activities, things that required physical contact with someone other than Yachi.

And Kuroo had kept the promise he'd made to her so long ago: You have nothing to fear.

From that point on, he’d never sent her or Yachi anywhere alone, and they’d always had at least a couple others around for backup. He’d even placed himself ahead of she and Yachi when Iwaizumi had first shown up at the beach house. He’d never betrayed her confidence and he always gave her special consideration if he could see she was struggling. He’d been accommodating if she ever had requests or concerns, questions or help until she hadn’t needed to lean on him and Yachi for emotional support or reassurance.

She has come so far from that decision to flee with Yachi so long ago. Every other step forward had been accompanied by one back and every bit of progress had been an internal battle. Even now, she still has moments where she has to remind herself not to look away from someone’s gaze, still has days where all she wants is to be left in utter solitude.

But she thinks that maybe now, though… maybe she’d be able to stomach the rest of the beach crew knowing the hell she’d endured before finding this quiet haven by the sea, might even be relieved after having held it all in and suffered largely in silence for so long. She trusts them all so much, believes in them all, loves them all. She has faith that knowing about her struggles won’t taint their view of her, won’t change the relationship she shares with them.

And shedding the weight of that secret would be… freeing.

Like a bird spreading new wings again for the first time after having lost them, the support of the people she loves there to help her reach the sky again. Kiyoko’s eyes drift away from Hinata and his leveler, her nearly black eyes rising upward.

The world is bright.

They no longer field the looming reach of the rookery as a threat. Kageyama is no longer barred from Sheru Bay; it had been impossible to keep his lineage a secret when the Grand King visited year after year. They haven’t lost anyone or any pair along the way—though a few people did try their hardest at that. They’ve picked up a few more through their journey instead, and a number of allies as well. Everyone is in good health, everyone is content. And even the meeting with the eagles has finally placed a face and name with the events that kicked everything in to motion when Hinata’d been grounded, and they will know to exercise caution around them in the future.

She hasn’t heard a whisper of the wolf who’d purchased Yachi like a common livestock animal half a century ago, hasn’t seen a glimpse of the figure that still occasionally haunts her own dreams. She doesn’t know if she could face either of them if she were to ever meet them again, but that’s okay. The people she calls family can and will if given the chance, and with that promise, she is not afraid.

Like the vast expanse of blue above them, the possibilities seem endless, the future a burning challenge, a question to be answered. An infinite canvas to draw the passions, sorrows, joys, fears, and happiness across. A story to be written, and a picture to be painted of life.

The female crow smiles… because today she has no reason not to.

~                                  ~

Tooru Oikawa closes the bound book with care, not quite sure how to feel.

The twinge in his gut whispers to the feeling of being very small in a large world, but it also hints to sorrow and joy. Like he’s grateful just for the chance to draw breath, to wake in the morning, to have come this far, to have been able to connect with his son once more, to have had this chance to bridge the gap, to understand…

More than anything, he supposes, it’s awe.

He doubts the words in the text in his hands even scratch the breadth and scope of everything that’s happened, but when he’d requested the story, he’d never expected anything like this. The pretty female crow is a gifted story teller, her script perfectly elegant, but more than any of that, he’s able to get a glimpse of what his son has seen and felt through her words. In a way, he’d felt closer to Tobio reading this book than he ever had in their real-life interactions.

His fingers run over the weathered leather covering, the soft gritty feeling he catches here and there ever a reminder of the beach where his son lives, the fish hook clasp a symbol of the town he now calls home. She’s right, he decides; they are all indeed broken in some way.

The door opens and Iwaizumi walks in, pauses for several moments, and then his head turns to the south wall, finding his desk with a building frown.

“Sir.” He says and Tooru can already hear the annoyance, but he’s still half-overwhelmed by that odd feeling in his chest.

“Iwa, do you really think there’s a leveler out there for each of us?” He asks absently and the sentry leader breaks off his impending sharp remark to look at him, his clear dark eyes focusing first on his face and then on the book in his hands.

Apparently, he doesn’t look too lost in thought, because when Iwaizumi speaks, it’s still colored with heavy sarcasm.

“Contemplating a spirit quest to find yours or something? Because I get the feeling you don’t realize I’m not doing this to be a stand-in so you can take a sabbatical.” He mutters and the Grand King cocks a brow at him in mock affront.

“Rude, Iwa. It was a rhetorical question.” The crow across his desk scoffs.

“Then why even ask if you didn’t actually want an answer?” Tooru’s brows pull down and his mouth twists in a falsely accusatory pout.

“You’ve gotten far more bold since I made you reserve heir.” He mutters petulantly and Iwaizumi’s head cocks with condescension, and Tooru wonders if he’s been spending too much time around the ibis that he’s got it down that well.

“One of us has to be an adult. If it bothers you, you are welcome to recant the nomination. You’ve known Feathers’ hiding place for decades so I don’t know what’s keeping you.” Tooru scowls up at him.

“I’m appalled that you would even suggest I break my word, Iwa.” He says reproachfully.

“I’m amazed you haven’t found some loophole by now.” He retorts just as quick and the Grand King’s jaw slips just a little before he shakes his head disapprovingly at the other crow to keep the smile from breaking through.

He’s unusually cheeky today; perhaps the three days of constant rain that’s prevented them from practicing aerial Volley is rubbing him wrong. Iwaizumi might enjoy ground Volley, but Tooru knows he prefers the aerial game; and practicing for the last three days in the ground complex must be making him crazy.

“Whoever trained you should be caned because they’re a terrible influence. Besides, there’s no one else.”  He says, the last slipping out before he realizes it, but Iwaizumi seems to have missed the note of seriousness that had crept into his voice without his permission.

“That would be you and there’s always someone else.” He says, setting down the missive he’s holding on Tooru’s desk. The Grand King stares at him, his eyes softening just a little.

“There’s no one else like you.”

The amendment comes out quiet and level, Tooru knowing it lacks any of his bantering rib it would normally have. But Iwaizumi doesn’t seem to notice as he thumbs through a stack of requests, and the rookery leader almost wants to take the straight edge guide and smack his hand; the other crow always messes them up after the Grand King had put them all in order just so.

“Because I’m definitely the person to lead this circus you’ve created. I can deal with the military just fine, but the private sector is lost on me. I have no grasp of decorum when it comes to navigating the social balancing act it takes to run this place in its entirety.” He grumbles without looking up at him and Tooru smirks slightly. That is a skill often learned only with time and experience.

“Nonetheless… the rookery is yours Iwa, in the event that something happens to me. There’s no one else I’d ever trust it to.” He says, abandoning all pretense. The crow still doesn’t look up at him and the rookery leader almost wonders if even that straightforward declaration failed to get his attention.

“Not even a leveler?” He asks with a quiet huff and Tooru pulls up short.

Iwaizumi had been listening closely the whole time despite his own agitated mood. Still, it’s bugging him that the reserve heir won’t look at him.

“I’m serious Iwa.” He says bluntly and Iwaizumi frowns before glancing up at him, his hand still on the pile of requests.

“So am I. I’d happily shed this responsibility given half the chance.” He says flatly and Tooru sighs lightly.

“I know. That’s why you can’t. And even if I did find a leveler someday, they couldn’t be reserve because they’ll kick off the same time I do.” He says and Iwaizumi’s eyes drop back to the pile of requests and he resumes flipping through them. Tooru is almost tempted to take them away from him, both to remove his object of distraction and to preserve their order.

“Would you really want to know who’s on the other end of your rope? And quit talking like you’re old and dying; you haven’t even hit three-thousand years. You have at least a couple millennia left to get me out of the mess you’ve saddled me with.” He mutters with a frown and the rookery leader blinks.

Would he want to know his leveler?

Tooru hasn’t ever considered the idea, and he’s surprised that it… frightens him.

He’d loved Tobio’s mother more than life itself, would have traded places with her had he been able to. He’d do the same for his son now if it were ever required… and he’d also do it for Iwaizumi. He treasures the other crow as much as he does Tobio, never wants to lose him. Those first few months after realizing Iwa had been lying had felt just like when he’d lost Tobio. And learning the reason for it from the black cat had felt like the moment he’d received Tobio’s message for their first Volley match. They both mean everything to him. He can’t view a world without either of them, and he can’t imagine someone else in that picture.

A leveler… could change all of that.

Another person could strain those relationships, even break them if he wasn’t careful—the bond with Tobio was only just starting to recover, and Iwaizumi… he can bear the thought of losing the other crow perhaps even less than his son. If never finding out who his leveler is means he gets to keep things as they are, then he will be content; no world with a leveler but without either Tobio or Iwaizumi would satisfy, and he will never seek to risk that.

“…No.” He says finally and Iwaizumi’s hands pause for a moment before resuming their pointless search.

“’No’, you don’t want to know, or ‘No’, you aren’t letting me out of this?” He asks and finally, Tooru hears the hint of gravity in the question that’s been missing so far, knows Iwaizumi is paying close attention and is asking in earnest. Tooru smiles slightly.

“Both.” The crow scoffs and rolls his eyes.

“You really are an awful person.” He says before straightening up and leveling him with a flat look. “Why is my desk on the south wall, Sir?”

Tooru’s head tilts and he throws Iwaizumi a questioning look.

“I needed something to aim for after you took down the tapestry.” He says, unable to keep the smirk away from the corner of his mouth as Iwa’s eye twitches.

To be fair, it had actually been a lot harder to get that nice ring of arrow points around his inkpot without touching it than he’d banked on. It was fine to put divots in the wood surface, but breaking the inkpot? There were important documents on that desk that would have been ruined if they’d been soaked with ink.

“I took it down so you’d stop throwing those stupid arrowheads. Hearing them hit the other side of the wall is most distracting while going over scouting reports with other sentry leaders.” He growls and Tooru gives up and just grins.

“See, that’s the thing, I won’t be hitting the wall now. Your desk is in front of it.” He says as if it’s the most logical solution to the problem.

“Yes, that’s the issue. It’s not enough that you are childish enough that you throw them in the first place—honestly, you’re a king, for feathers’ sake—but why do you insist on harassing me in the process? Seriously, it’s like babysitting and that’s not what I signed up for.” Tooru’s head cants, that smile threatening to take over his face.

“What exactly did you think being a ruler was if not babysitting, Iwa?” He says and Iwaizumi scoffs.

“I don’t know, maybe ruling?” He says sullenly. Tooru’s smile eases just a bit and he leans back in his seat, still focused on the reserve heir with quiet fondness.

“When a ruler must truly rule, then a situation has often grown dire. Be happy for the quiet days like this where it all seems like nothing but a joke, Iwa. These are the days you will look back to when times are dark and precarious and you will wish you could be here again.” He says quietly and the crow’s dark eyes cut to him once more, clouding with annoyance.

“You’d want to be here again?” Iwa asks skeptically and Tooru’s smile turns serene.

“I wish here would never end, Iwa.” He says, the words soft and filled with wistful happiness. The former sentry leader levels him with a nonplussed look.

“You’re insane.” He murmurs before turning and heading for his desk, grumbling just low enough that the rookery leader can’t quite catch his words.

But he has that frown in place that he’d worn whenever he was legitimately curious about what the Grand King said or did or thought. He’d worn it when Tooru had been failing to keep up appearances after Tobio had left. He’d had it when the rookery leader had first opened up to him about that death match and Tobio’s injury. The Grand King had seen it when he’d broached the idea of a winter med-camp for injured avians.

And Iwaizumi had looked just like he does now when they’d received Tobio’s invite. He’d hesitantly asked—probably expecting no reply—what in all hell he’d written that he’d gotten Tobio to agree. The Grand King had looked back at his son’s handwriting with a distant wistful look.

“His mother’s tree is dying.” He’d said quietly, something he knew Iwaizumi was aware of.

The beautiful mature sugi cedar that had been planted in his wife’s and infant daughter’s honor had caught a blight the summer before he’d found Tobio again, nearly breaking his heart once more. Its branches had slowly continued to wither no matter what he’d tried, turning first brown and then grey, and they didn’t replant remembrance trees; once they died, the spirit of the person they honored was said to have departed to reenter the life cycle and be reborn. It had made him feel even more alone with only Iwa to mitigate that awful isolation.

“I told him I didn’t need to know where he lived; I offered him free passage to come speak to his mother, no strings attached save the chance to see his face. Once his mother is gone, he will be all I have left of her, and I told him I didn’t want to lose him as well. He denied me in his typical stubborn fashion just like his mother would have—though she’d have done it with a smile—and instead opted for a match that pits himself against me as opposed to grieving with me, even if it gave up their location. I quietly gave him two options, knowing which one he’d pick, and I didn’t even have to tell him to choose one.

“His mother’s passing always got to him more than anything else just like me; he has always borne pain largely alone and never came to me even then, so it made sense that it’d be no different this time when he learned of her tree. He will visit her on his own terms, not mine—although Shrimpy has always been there so maybe he wasn’t quite so alone as I always believed.”

Iwaizumi had stared at him wide-eyed before almost visibly sinking into deep thought. The Grand King hadn’t been able to determine if the expression was for how open he’d been with his answer or the fact that he’d laid out the choice without Tobio even realizing he’d done it—something he did feel slightly guilty for, but he’d wanted to see his son. The brooding look Hajime wears now… Tooru wonders what he’s thinking so hard about, and his sorrel eyes drop to the book still in his hands, his mind drifting.

So many things have changed in the last fifty years.

His people have grown comfortable in the new policies he’s implemented with regard to the military and private sector. He doesn’t use the race pits to enforce the sentry rules, was surprised to find that he didn’t have to because they’d largely police themselves if organized under the right people. They do get restless on occasion… and with Shimizu’s final chapter, he may have reason to fire them up now. He’s never been fond of the eagles to the north, but to find that they were the ones that had brought the world to pieces not just for him, but for Tobio and his leveler—perhaps a strengthening of the rookery ranks is in order. And maybe a rotating contingent can be stationed in Sheru Bay indefinitely just for added deterrence.

Tobio may have reached some sense of peace since that awful day, but Tooru can’t say the same; he’s read Shimizu’s story twice now, and both times, he’s nearly thrown it in fury at the northern eagles, his fingers creasing the delicate parchment in a crushing grip. He can’t decide if he wants to let it lie for use against them in the future should the need arise, or if he simply wants to start that war. It’s times like now that he’s grateful for Iwa’s insight and counsel. His second has also read the female crow’s work, was an integral voice of several chapters, and a steep advocate for the former. He’d spent enough time at the beach house speaking at length with Shimizu when she was writing his parts that he’s all but an honorary member of their ranks—a bridge between the two groups.

It was through Iwa’s efforts that the beach crew tentatively come and go as they please, the former first unit’s families more than thankful to be able to see them whenever they like now. Ground Volley has taken the rookery by storm, and children flock anytime one of them shows up; really, it’s become a novelty anytime one of the cats or owls visit and they are pretty much celebrities. The ground game had taken off so well that indoor complexes were soon repurposed for it any time it rained, and the talk in both military and civilian circles was always about the next upcoming tournament and how many rookery teams would go this time.

And the rookery leader now has a rocky relationship with his son. They rarely speak in earnest no matter how Tooru tries—Tobio is still often curt and dismissive, but they get along in each other’s company as acquaintances and allies. Tobio had returned and spent a day among the dying branches of his mother’s tree, his leveler keeping a silent vigil at its base until he’d finally come down again. He’d even grudgingly invited Tooru for dinner at Momma Yu’s at Hinata’s suggestion, something he’d declined but had been touched by all the same.

Tooru feels quiet contentment settle in his chest, a covert smile tugging at his mouth as he watches the sentry leader turned reserve heir pull up an embedded arrowhead and shift papers about in irritation. He hasn’t felt this at peace since before Tobio’s mother died; he mentally whispers a prayer to her memory, a silent hope that she can see where they’ve come, the potential and possibility that is the future as bright as their son’s leveler.

Watching Iwaizumi with an equal fondness, he once more agrees with Shimizu Kiyoko: It’s a good day to smile.

Level Pair ; Chapter 1; Chapter 36; Author Notes

A/N: And there you are... how was it? Besides long, 15000 words = like 3 normal chapters for me lol. I purposely kept Kiyoko in the background the ENTIRE story just to give her this POV. And after I started Horizon, I always intended her to be the 'writer' for the leveler series. I also selected a 'noncritical' character from Shiratorizawa (Utsui) to be the one who grounded Hinata b/c I just had the hardest time forcing one of the mains into the role. OH, HEY, did you guys see? I even tried to write a short OIKAWA POV XD So... I apologize for the ridiculous delay in posting (srsly, like 10 days after I'd hoped). I could give you a bunch of reasons (still on 12 hr days, completely fried when I get home, partial dislocation of shoulder/tricep pull/and deltoid strain b/c SNOWBOARDING, was asked to plan a 2 wk trip to Italy- ITALY- for may for 7 ppl and freaking out about deadlines, all while traveling for valentines with the SO as well) but they all seem like weak excuses. Really, when I shove it all aside, my biggest issue was motivation. I REALLY struggled to focus the last five chapters or so and I think it showed. It was so bad, I temporarily vacated the digital world (thank you tumblr and AO3, but you are fantastic distractions), and even had to switch all music over to ambient b/c it was totally tripping my ADHD switch. I hope the eiplogue makes up for the wait... You all have been the best people to write for and I cannot thank you enough for the views, kudos, comments, and undying support. If I have another bout of inspiration for this fandom or any other, you can be sure I will be back to write for you. You are all the very best! Take care you guys and have a spectacular night! :)

[elanska]

newlyweds in atlanta (a ZA wish fulfillment research note, also doubling as KHR!OC romance fic crossover with TWD, kinda)

since mangasite crashed about 2 weeks ago(?) I've been relapsing into my zombie apocalypse addiction. No, not something useful like practising my cardio, but by reading the walking dead fics in AO3 (it's a scary experience without the EXCLUDE filter. What's wrong with people thinking zombies makes a good sexy time background? I know, I know that ZA are MOSTLY about humans and their way to deal with zombies, I just thinking it will mostly involving cool ACTIONS instead teenagers bringing their car into zombies infested parking lot and giggling 'I'm so scared, plz hold me' action type. It's not cool man, not even if your date bringing a tank. I meant, what if I said no to his/her advances? will I be trapped in a tank?)

'kay, so since trying to find non-romance ZA fics in TWD section in AO3 kind of tiring (I found several nice ones, but still need moar! moar!), I'm kinda running my own.........err, general headcanon that devolves to plotline to wish fulfilment (yeah, it degenerates further and further) about what happen if I throw a ballpark of awesome! that is mah baby TYL!Hibari Kyouya into The walking Dead setting. 

Kyouya also accompanied by Kusakabe - I had 110% sure that Tetsu's flame is lightning, only to google later that he's canonically a storm (dammit! ah well, storm is fine too, even better perhaps). I'm making headcannon that Tetsu's box weapon is storm trapjaw ants (18 of them in one box; Bianchi have 20 storm scorpions, I'm not sure how much boxes she has, but let's headcannon that those 20 scorpions can fit into one box; Kusakabe has 2-3 box of them of course, and maybe have another type - bees maybe? for aerial recon; anyway all of Kusakabe's pet box characteristics are hard-worker like he is. I still trying to find another storm animal that can go surveillance underwater but can't think any at the moment. Kyouya's having firepower, so Kusakabe's more into support and versatility. And equipped with storm flames, that means Kusakabe is OP as fuck)

Oh yes, talking about his main box (the trapjaw ants) they can launched themselves through the air (dis true IRL) with storm flame it will meant unlimited zombie headshots (or until Kusakabe's drop from exhaustion, which considering how sturdy he is = not likely happen anytime soon). The more fantasy and wish-fulfillment parts are that those ants can do wish-fulfilment lifting. Yea, real ants can lift 1000 times their mass, BUT! to give you estimate how wish fulfilling heavy-duty these mafia ants are, they can lift a class A RV (yes, those weighted > 30,000 pounds. I told you this is wish fulfilment; also, shounen mangas about magical mafias). Okay, he might use two boxes of ants, but anyway, they can still lift the RV dammit! I want to have an RV and I will have  it in my fic! It's not my fault that I can't find whether the box storage can act as free item bag or just their pre-determined crafted for that one-item-only storage box (if it's the previous, it can be used to store the RV). Since I'm not sure, I have to opt for making awesomesauceness that is Kusakabe's OP-as-fuck!ants; it also will force Kyouya to do multiple supply run with Glenn to the town (otherwise they can just raid Costco warehouse once and then leaving before even meeting Rick, and we can’t have that)

But wait! you critical readers might say, why with Glenn? why not with the heavy-duty Kusakabe who doubles as undead’s annihilator which more efficient and makes sense? Well, you readers might already know that I ship Kyouya x Namimori(+Hibird), and so we have give him an OC, which is absolute baggage in physical fitness(+very useful in people's surveillance + cute + absolute mental terror). No, we're not kidding about the absolute mental terror bits. You had to remember that she's created by us, so she has special snowflake feature that bordering supernatural (it's not as bad as her gender-inverted version in my other ZA fic/drabble/plotline that goes full-blown supernaturally awesome (but in that setting, every normal humans evolved to have supernatural ability), However in this story, her bordering supernatural skill is just have ultra-good perception of people (which almost a necessity on every TWD!OC in fix-it fic; and trust me, since TWD TV episode came up with rage-inducing stupidity like the Alexandria’s great zombie race, fix-it! fics are fucking needed!). She'll need to engage in talking with the target to gauge them though, won't be able to see bad people from their aura or by prophetic vision or something like that. I meant, do you see how in season 2, Dave get to probe and pinpoint what’s Rick and Hershel base is? that was amazing, and Dave was just being a normal human!

Where was I? oh yeah, since Kyouya's soulmate is not fit to do a supply run, she had to stay at quarry (and hassled people to do somekind of makeshift fence to secure the camp) while Kusakabe guarding her. People are not really inclined to do so + maybe scolding her for paranoid thought and scaring people (for insinuating that the walkers can arrive at their camp undetected). Risa (the namimori+hibird's fusion) smile and nod, and move her+Kyouya+Kusakabe own camp a noticeable length away and make their own makeshift barricade around it (Kusakabe's flame is storm remember? they can get logs as many as they want, and you can make makeshift rope from branches and twigs - Risa's dad likes camping, but since Risa's not very fit (yet still insisting to come with him + her physically fit siblings), she usually stuck in their camp, doing this kind of useless but fascinating shits). When confronted about it, she just said "well, me and Kyouya having social anxiety of being in crowds + since we're worried about possible attack, we'll stationed ourself as outpost and can warn you on impending attack. Also, let's make couple of outdoor toilets, in case of several people need to go at once and it's safer than going to woods alone to relieve yourself." Risa will act as buffer from Kyouya having to deal with other people, because Kyouya might be awesomely OP as fuck, but in zombies story, hell is often other people. Don't worry bebe Kyouya, I gave you Risa to terrorise them mentally ahem, I meant, level the playing field of annoyance.

(if you think Lori is annoying, well, Ed Peletier usually walking quickly in another direction when he sees Risa coming. No, no, she won't issuing royal orders as a first lady or anything, it's just ‘Ed like survivalist stuff right? you're bringing MRE! how awesome! no, it's yours, I won't ask you for share. You have your own family to take care of, what happens if they run out? I am and adult and have responsibility to get food on my own! but Ed definitely knows how to do survival stuff right? like digging outdoor toilets, or making snares, or making wattle fences, let's make example to show how it's correctly done!’ - kind of annoying. Aside from those little projects, she also intending to make biogas generator from those outdoor toilets (this idea rejected by everyone because ewww, carrying pail of human waste? thanks but no thanks), so she gives up and just make simple outdoor toilets = dig a hole, making raised platform from excess log for the toilet seat, makes lots of wood shavings after use). She can't force people to follow her ideas anyway (Yes she know that Dale has RV, but it's for Dale's own use, not some kind of public restroom. what if it broken down or two people need to go at once?)

Anyway, aside from those little projects that makes people defer to her as 'hippy, camping girl', Risa also propose to have small pond on the campsite (doable with tarps salvaged from supply run + wood logs (for the foundation basis) + stone for weights), just in case they somehow need water for emergency and can't go to quarry because it’s night time/landslide/there are walkers around/etc. As well as making manual washing machine, also roping Jim to convert gas-fueled cars into electric car project (yes, the last one is unlike any other, but Jim is noticeably depressed and may need to be worked out to avoid suicidal thoughts + gasoline seems to dwindling). Now you understand why people generally walked in another direction when spotting her walking to them (or mutter 'oh god, what crazy ideas she's proposing to do now')

Oh yeah, after spending a week in quarry and seeing Risa getting chummy with everyone (also makes people half-heartedly doing her 'better encampment!' ideas or muttering excuses to not to and flee/hide when they spot her), Kyouya finally propose to her! People gasps! Because Hibari is a different kind of terror (of the zombie!mower variety, also, he beats Merle into submission and kinda recruited him to his Foundation member, sorta)

Anyway, Kyouya professing harboring +10 years of crush but always busy with works and not really understand about this feeling!TM until he heard that she's permanently transferred to USA at her work, and buy tickets for same plane as her. Risa blushingly accepts his proposal - because she always likes Hibari. She thinks it’s just being good friend, but she likes the feeling that she's safe whenever she with him, and can see themselves growing old in namimori together. People clapped (somewhat confusedly at the non-romantic acceptance speech) when Kyouya put a ring on her wedding finger. Good thing they didn’t hear what he whispered to his new bride.  

"it has GPS tracker function, so I would always know where you are." "is it battery operated? can it charged with solar panel?" "kinetic motion, it's charged when you're moving your arm."  "ooh, like when I'm walking. Nice!”

*cough cough* they’re one of a kind pairing. So, this scene is why I’m naming this whole note/wish fulfillment/crossover fic (sorta) with Newlyweds in Atlanta

I kinda forgot that in the intro scene, we'll have action packed scene in which Kyouya + Kusakabe battling zombies inside airplane! (those three are seated in first class section, zombies started in economy, there are about 13 zombies in total when people stampeding into first class? with 10 zombies busy eating people in economy and 3 zombies eating people in business (I'm not sure if it's too many or too little, if I saw even one people start ripping people throats with their teeth, I'll start leg myself out of the way there, but then again, I'm always afraid of zombies). Kyouya putting sleeping Risa (whose crappy physical condition makes her goes into catatonic coma everytime she sleeps, no seriously, she'll sleep through ZA if it happens on her bedtime) inside Sphere Needle Form, which you know, totally impenetrable but also have limited oxygen inside (since she's in coma, Kyouya thinks she'll be fine until he finished disciplining the troublemaker on the airplane). He subduing the three zombies using the Vongola unlimited handcuffs but noted the people they gnawed are also rise from the dead and attack one cabin attendant who after cuffed for safety precautions, became zombies as well. 

Since it's dangerous as hell, they decided to kill the rest of zombies because there's no way Kyouya detain all of them until the airplane landing (he still has his girlfriend stuck inside the oxygen slowly depleting sphere needle form) + no way they can told people to sit down next to captured zombies while planes landing. So unanimously, people choose to kill it. Some relative sobbing, but can't say (or do anything) upon given option of locking you+your loved ones inside toilet so it won't kill other people (who also have loved ones as well, and might need to go to toilets). Some of them pleading (then resort to threatening) for Kyouya to just hold their zombies!loved ones until plane landing, Kyouya beating them (he never the one goes for democracy).

So plane does emergency landing in atlanta and immediately met with chaos because hey, zombies in airport too! Kusakabe went to steal get a SUV from car rental and they leave airport. After 8 hours of catatonic sleep, Risa wakes up, seeing people in their cars stuck in highways + Kusakabe telling her about some kind of strange infectious disease that makes the undead walking and the city just got bombed = checking tourist map that came with the rental RV and suggest they go to bellwood quarry. They’re still in there when Rick Grimes awake from his coma and come strolling to Atlanta

[musicprincess655]

Satoru had always worked with Haruichi. He wasn’t used to working with Haruichi’s brother.

“We got word that Black Manta’s group is going after the Mars-Earth communication satellite launch,” Ryou was saying. Satoru was only kind of paying attention. He didn’t really care about this part. He just needed to know what they wanted him to do. “Obviously, we want to prevent them from taking it out. To that end, we’re going to have to defend on a lot of fronts. Black Manta’s people will come up from the ocean, and it’ll be easier since this is Cape Canaveral. They’ll also probably have missiles to bring the comm sat down. We need air support. And of course, we need people on the ground.

“Miss Martian is the only one who can operate underwater,” he went on. “To that end, she’ll keep an eye on things underwater. While she’s doing that, Superboy will take over flying her bioship to field air support.”

Satoru nodded. He liked flying the bioship. He liked flying in general. He couldn’t do it without a ship, though.

“Everyone else will be on the beach, keeping anyone from approaching on foot.” Ryou folded his hands behind his back. “Any questions?”

“Why are you coming with us, Aniki?” Haruichi even raised his hand to ask.

“We’re stretched kind of thin,” Ryou replied. “Plus, I’ve spent the last week running interference with the media. I’d like to get out in the field for a little bit.”

Satoru frowned. He’d had to dress up like Superman and let Haruno levitate him over a press conference so they could pretend Martian Manhunter and Superman weren’t missing. Hovering wasn’t as fun as flying on his own.

“Plus, he wants to keep an eye on me.” A girl with a tiger mask who’d introduced herself as Tigris - but you can all call me Katsuko - stepped forward. “I’ve been on medical leave for a while. Although I can handle this just fine.”

“Can’t be too careful,” Ryou said. “Look, I know it feels like we’ve just been putting out fires for a month. It’s been tough. It would’ve been tough even if the Justice League wasn’t short staffed. But they should be back any day now, and we have to hold this all together until they are.”

Satoru nodded again. If all he had to do was fly the bioship around and shoot down missiles, he could handle that.

“There is one more reason I want to come along,” Ryou said. “I have reason to believe Aqualad will be leading the charge.”

Satoru caught Haruichi grimacing. He missed Takuma. When Takuma had found out his biological father was leading a rebellion in Atlantis, he’d left the team. But even if he had betrayed them, he had been one of Satoru’s first ever friends.

“You think we can’t handle fighting him because we used to be teammates?” Haruno asked. “Is that why you’re not bringing Okumura?”

“I’m not bringing Raven because he’s busy on another assignment, and I’d rather be there just in case,” Ryou said. “This is important. There are a lot of people who want to keep us from reaching out to our Martian neighbors. A lot of people who might even agree with what Black Manta is doing here. I want to send a message about where our teams stand.”

“People really hate us, huh?” Haruno asked. She was smiling, but Satoru didn’t think she was happy.

“We don’t.” Katsuko stepped forward, taking Haruno’s hands in hers. “I’m out of medical leave because I don’t.”

“Thanks, Katsuko.”

“I’ll be running mission control from here.” Satoru had only met Kawakami Norifumi in person a few times, but he was more than familiar with the voice. Kawakami had been running tech support for them since before Satoru had joined Young Justice. “Miss Martian will bring me into the psychic link before you all leave, and I’ll be able to give you a heads up if there’s anything big incoming. Since the psychic link is pretty shallow, I won’t really have eyes there, and no one can hear you unless you actually think the words at them, so make sure to keep your teammates updated on what’s happening.”

“If no one else has any questions, let’s move out,” Ryou said. “Miss Martian, please establish the psychic link now.”

Haruno closed her eyes for just a moment, and then Satoru could hear everyone talking in his head for a second before they all settled down.

“Never gonna get used to that,” Ryou complained lightly. “Everyone on the bioship.”

“Be careful,” Kawakami thought at all of them, but even Satoru could tell he was aiming it specifically at Katsuko.

“Don’t worry, babe,” she thought back. “What’s the worst that could happen?”

“Keep it PG in the group chat,” Ryou said.

Satoru thought he might get to fly the bioship the whole time, but Haruno sat herself firmly at the controls as soon as they boarded. Satoru pouted.

“You’ll get to fly a lot more as soon as we get there, Furuya-kun,” Haruichi said softly, out loud so it wouldn’t broadcast across the link. Satoru nodded. At least he could have that.

Satoru didn’t know why this particular patch of ocean was important, but Ryou seemed to think it was good, because he instructed Haruno to give the controls over to Satoru. He smiled, just a little, as he settled into her seat.

The outline of Haruno’s body went a little fuzzy as she gave herself gills and fins. The bioship opened a door for her to drop into the water.

“The shapeshifting is never gonna not be cool,” Katsuko thought at all of them.

“Everyone else is dropping out on the beach,” Ryou said. “Superboy, keep the bioship invisible and stay out of the action until they start threatening the rocket.”

Satoru nodded.

“And make sure you talk to us,” Haruichi added. “We can’t hear you nodding.”

“Okay.”

Satoru made a few restless loops with the bioship before he settled down. The bioship could only take on camoflauge, not go completely invisible. If he moved too much, he could be spotted. He was tempted to take off on his own and fly higher so he could move without that fear, but if he got too far away, Haruichi would make that disappointed angry face at him, and he hated that.

“I’ve got eyes on the ocean,” Haruichi thought at them all. “I’m on the safe side of the wall.”

“Tigris and I have a high angle, but if we hit the ground, we’re in the blast zone,” Ryou said back.

“I’ve got an arrow ready for the first idiot out of the water,” Katsuko added.

“It’s nice to have you back,” Ryou said. “Sorry it’s for a big one.”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

“Heads up,” Kawakami broke in. “There’s something on the radar, pretty close to Miss Martian’s position.

“I’ve got bad guys,” Haruno agreed. “Black Manta’s troopers have some kind of platform down here. Want me to take them out?”

“Stand down for now, but stay close and out of sight,” Ryou replied. “I don’t want you going in guns blazing until we know for sure it won’t get you captured or hurt.”

“I don’t think that’s an option,” Haruno said, her mental voice strained now. “I’m taking fire.”

“Shit.”

“I’ve got incoming,” Haruichi said. “Guys on the beach.”

“Double shit.”

“I’ve got you.” A very satisfying explosion meant that Katsuko had probably gotten at least some of the guys away from Haruichi. “Want backup?”

“I’ll back him up,” Ryou said. “You keep up high. You’re more useful from there.”

“Roger.”

Satoru was about to move in closer to cover until Ryou could get to Haruichi, when he saw a flare light up the night. He hummed, and then remembered that no one could hear him unless he thought at them.

“Missiles incoming,” he thought.

“Shit on a sandwich.” That one, he was pretty sure, was Katsuko.

“There’s no helping it,” Ryou said. “Superboy, you take out any missiles before they can get to the comm sat.”

“Okay.”

“Could really use some help down here!” Satoru wondered if anyone else could hear the mounting panic in Haruichi’s voice. He wondered if anyone else knew why it was there.

“We can’t make it over this wall!” Katsuko thought back. “And we’re on the wrong side of it. If they move up the launch…”

“Superboy, can we get some cover fire?” Ryou asked.

“Too many missiles,” Satoru thought back. He could barely keep up. How many had Black Manta brought, anyway? If he didn’t focus, he was going to let one through.

“Bad news,” Kawakami said. “They moved the launch up.”

“How long?” Katsuko asked.

“Two minutes.”

“We’re really on the wrong side of this wall.”

“Now do you want me to take out the missile platform?” Haruno asked.

“If you can do it without dying,” Ryou told her. “Remember to take water physics into account if you’re trying to blow it up.”

“Oh, duh. The troopers’ helmets are designed to see underwater right?” Katsuko didn’t explain what she was planning, but Satoru saw another flare light up the night. This was was pure white, though, and had gone straight up in the air.

“Move, now!” Ryou commanded. “Haruichi, we’re on our way. Where are you?”

“By the water, right in front of a big crowd,” Haruichi said. “Hurry up, they have lasers.”

“We’re moving as fast as we can,” Ryou assured him. “Keep dodging.”

“Missile platform is blown up,” Haruno said.

“Perfect. Relieve Superboy and give us cover fire,” Ryou said. “Superboy, we could use you down here.”

“Okay.”

Satoru felt his frustration rising. He wanted to keep flying. But Haruno was better at laying down cover fire and not hitting teammates. As soon as she stepped back in the bioship, he dropped out of it, rolling easily as he hit the ground and coming up to standing.

He’d made a pretty good guess of where he needed to be. He’d managed to put himself between Haruichi and a group of Black Manta troopers. Satoru set himself ready to keep Haruichi from the worst of the fight, when he saw one of the troopers go for Katsuko while her back was turned.

Before he could take even one step towards defending her, though, she kicked out, knocking the trooper to the ground and shooting him with an explosion arrow for good measure. It probably wasn’t enough to kill, but Satoru still winced.

“What?” Katsuko asked in response to their silence. “I’m not that rusty.”

“The ship on the radar is leaving,” Kawakami told them. “I don’t think missiles are a risk anymore. Miss Martian, if you want to assist on the ground, you’re free to.”

There was an uncomfortable stillness, a lull in the fight. Black Manta troopers lay on the ground all around them, but Satoru could still feel a charge in the air. More was coming.

And then Satoru turned to see someone new coming out of the water.

“Seto, you don’t want to do this!” Katsuko yelled at him. Satoru was frozen. Takuma was here after all, his face twisted with anger.

“Of course I do!” he yelled back. “How could you even question me after everything? After you all let Anna die!”

“That was a mission,” Ryou tried to reason with him. “Aquagirl knew the risks. No one wanted her to die.”

“That doesn’t make her less dead!” Takuma raised his hands, making the water rise with him and form into a living shark shape that sent Ryou and Katsuko flying.

An explosion sounded behind them, and Satoru turned, momentarily distracted by the comm sat taking off. He caught another explosion in the corner of his eye, and turned to see Katsuko with her bow raised and Takuma looking furious. He must have tried to take the comm sat down, only for Katsuko to take out his attack before it could land.

“No rust on me,” she murmured to herself, still loud enough for Satoru’s sensitive ears to pick up on.

“Tigris, behind you!” Satoru watched as Ryou stood between Katsuko and an attacking Takuma.

Takuma sent him flying with his water swords transformed into clubs. As Satoru watched, he made the water swords shift shape again until they were sharp. He swung them at Katsuko, but she was ready for him, blocking with her bow and kicking him across the face. She stepped back, arms up in a guard, ready for his next blow.

Takuma surged again, knocking her bow from her hands and swinging for her, but she jumped back out of reach, ready to move again.

And then her left leg, the one she’d apparently destroyed so badly that she’d been out of action for more than a year, crumpled under her.

And Takuma drove his sword directly through her chest.

“NO!”

Satoru looked down to where Haruichi gripped as his arm, his other hand covering his mouth. Though his domino mask obscured his eyes, Satoru was sure they were wide with horror. The horror of watching a teammate die.

“Welcome back,” Takuma spat at her, pulling his sword back and letting her drop to the ground. Ryou got there just in time to ease her fall.

“What’s happening?” Kawakami asked. “I’m not seeing anything on the radar.”

“Move out,” Takuma commanded his remaining troops. “This mission is a failure.”

As soon as he spoke, though, the comm sat blew up.

“We’re done here.” Takuma turned and left, his troops trailing him. No one tried to stop him.

“Superboy.” Haruichi looked up at him, still pleading even if his eyes were covered. Satoru knew exactly what Haruichi was asking for, but he couldn’t give it to him.

He couldn’t hear Katsuko’s heart beating.

“I don’t have eyes, someone talk to me!” Kawakami demanded. Haruno came running up, stopping short beside Satoru.

“Please, no.”

Ryou ignored all of them, pushing down on Katsuko’s chest, trying to restart her heart. But Satoru never heard it catch.

“Someone tell me what’s going on!” Kawakami’s mental voice rose in desperation and fear, and Satoru couldn’t bring himself to answer. How could they tell Kawakami that Katsuko was...was…

And then Ryou sat up, looking at them. No matter how similar he might look to Haruichi, Satoru suddenly understood how different they were. Because Haruichi could never have the capacity to be that detached, that cold. That cruel.

“Tigris is dead,” he thought.

***

Satoru barely paid attention to what was happening after that. All he knew was Ryou herding them back onto the bioship, sweeping up Katsuko’s body to take back to her family. Haruichi sat next to him, shaking like a leaf. Satoru put a hand over Haruichi’s. He wasn’t sure what else to do as Haruichi collapsed into his side.

Someone must have let everyone in the Cave know what had happened, because the mood there was somber as a grave by the time they got back. Satoru didn’t see Ryou disappear, and he didn’t look for him.

Instead, he kept holding Haruichi’s hand, trying to offer what comfort he could. Haruichi pulled them both over to Kid Flash - Kuramochi. He was dressed in civilian clothes, arms crossed over his chest, obviously angry.

“Where’s Aniki?” Haruichi asked. “He should be here, for Nori-san, and...he should be here.”

Kuramochi’s arms crossed harder over his chest, brow furrowing in an expression Satoru didn’t understand.

“They already left,” he said, and he looked like he was drawing further in on himself. “They went to tell Miyuki.”

[kawaiifunhologram-blog]

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I'm curious about this because I read it somewhere and I am wondering if anyone knows anything about it and if they do, what should I ask for when I call? Any suggestions as to who I should call?""

How much time is given for car insurance company to settle a claim?

my car was hit in parking lot and insurance is dragging its feet to investigate. how much time is officially allowed for this investigation and what are my rights bacause it has been 30 days today. i have a full insurance on this car and insurance company is investigating as a fraud claim!. insurance from metlife!

Dispute Car insurance claim estimate - Tiny paint mark

I lightly bumped the car in front of me and left a tiny red mark from my license plate. When I got out of the car I could rub the paint off with my finger, but I could tell the other driver was uncomfortable with me touching his car so I stopped. He said he wasnt going to file a claim but he did and the estimate for fixing his car was $641 Dollars!!!!!! Since this is over the $500 limit my insurance has for no penalty, if i do not pay this out of pocket my insurance will go up by $250 a year for 6 years. WHAT CAN I DO? I want to dispute this because there is no way it would cost that much to rub the red paint off. Thanks in advance!""

Dual Car Insurance trouble?

I had insurance through a company called Sunset Plaza Insurance, and only agreed to do a 6 month period (from 12/08 to 06/09). I moved during the time, and never received a renewal notice at my new address, even after I gave them my new address. However, I found out that for the past 6 months (06/09 - 12/09) they have been charging me for insurance. But I never signed a renewal consent or anything! I remember explicitly saying that I only wanted the insurance for a 6 month period too! What are my options? Please..any advice would help!""

How much of your pay check would you take out for Health insurance?

this is my first job that offers health benefits. I am new to this and having problems deciding if i need to get it or not. My company is offering both HMO and PPO for about the same price. Both cost around 70 per check, but i only make around 850. That is almost 10%. Should i shop around or should i just go ahead and get it or not have insurance at all. I dont even like going to the doctors but i would like to have health insurance just in case. My deductible for ppo is 500. I dont even know what that means. any advice would be helpful. thank you""

Cheaper car insurence for me?

ok so im 19 in october. and everywhere i look my insurance will be a minimum of 2800 a year if i had a 1.2 corsa. however if i went on my mums 2.0 tdi passat with her max no claims it will be a min of 3000 a year. why is this?? anyone know any loopholes or cheaper sites???

Insurance companies?

Why do insurance companies charge motorists so much?

Insurance information for young drivers?

Im 22 years old. I currently on my mom's insurance so that it's cheaper and I recently traded in my other car and got a new one. How much do You think insurnace would cost if I got it on my own. I pay 130.00 now for full coverage? I don't get along with her and I wold perfer not to have her on my title. I was told I needed to have her on my title in order to be under her insurnace?

What is the most affordable health insurance for children for a family who's income is $60k?

What is the most affordable health insurance for children for a family who's income is $60k?

""What are the best cars that are cheap to insure, low on tax (highest band D), and quite fast?

This is for my first car 17 year old. Thanks

Someone American please answer this Q about Car Insurance?

I am debating on whether or not to do a roas trip in america. I am English and will be 19 and have 1 years no claims when i go. I am male aswell btw (double the price of insurance lol). How much can i expect to pay for insurance and is it possible to buy a car there and insure it??? Obviousily i want to buy a cool non-european car like a dodge to do it in...is that impossible. I would prefer it if you could give me figures for car insurance per month.

Which is the cheaper car insurance in uk.?

i m 29 new driver looking for cheap car insurance can any one helps me for it please

What are some really good auto insurance companies?

I just turned 18 and my parents are basically kicking me off the insurance. i need some good but affordable car insurance (full coverage) What insurance company are you with and about how much is it a month for 1 driver?

Can car insurance comp increase my premiums like this?

In April of this year, I paid for my car insurance for the period April to October. Now they are telling me they are increasing my premium for that period by another $50 because the address of my workplace changed. I don't get it. Can they do that? I already paid for my premiums for that period. If I don't pay the extra $50, is my insurance still valid?""

How? First car insurance under 2k?

I've passed my driving test and followed almost every rule out there: Low insurance group car Park in a garage/driveway Try fully comp and third party Try pass plus discount Try a 'black box' scheme Use named drivers Get a lower engine size Etc. Everything I try, my insurance quote is always 3K+ however I did manage to get it to 2.6k with a 'black box scheme'. A lot of people I know drive and their insurance varies, some have paid a lot and some a little but everything I try fails. I understand as a 17 year old male car insurance is always going to be steep and 2.6K is probably a good quote but is it at ALL possible to get a quote for around 2K or less? That's still a lot in my opinion but would be just about affordable. I simply don't understand how a 17 year old at college 5 days a week is expected to be able to fund this, even if they do work weekends (which I do) It's extortionate""

Can i add someone to my car insurance policy?

i live in Toronto Canada , and i go to university.. i want to buy a car for me and my bro who lives in windsor , to share between us.. i was wondering if i will be able to add him to my insurance even though he doesnt have the same address as me..""

I need a good affordable health insurance company in united arab emirates (Dubai)?

I need a good affordable health insurance company in united arab emirates (Dubai)?

How much does US health insurance cost per year?

I am considering moving with my wife and kids to Michigan for a year as part of my degree. I have a number of questions, mainly about health insurance. 1. Will my wife and I still be considered married? If not, will that affect the way we buy insurance/are treated at the hospital? 2. She is very active, with slight asthma and bad PCOS. How much (roughly) would health insurance be for her for one year? 3. I am wheelchair dependent and suffer from epilepsy. How much (really roughly) would my health insurance cost? 4. Do I buy separate health insurance for my children (aged 17 months, 1 month and 1 month)? 5. My eldest child appears to be struggling with leg movement and we are considering the possibility that she may have inherited my condition. Will treatment and tests be covered by the insurance, even though we have an idea of what it might be before buying the insurance? I know these must sound like obvious questions to US citizens, but we are not a particularly rich family, so we need to make sure that there are no big bills hiding around the corner! Thank you""

Which car insurance is cheaper a brand new car wi the same engine size or an old car wi the same engine size?

btw i live in uk and simply say i want to buy a corsa 1.0 and which insurance will be cheaper a old 1.0 corsa or a brand new 1.0 corsa? thanks for the help

How much would auto insurance be for a 16 year old?

When i'm 14 in a year I would like to get a summer job, and store half of my paycheck in the bank because I want to save up for a car when im older and I get my lisence. I want to know how much insurance would probably be for lets say... a Mitsubishi Eclipse (1990s-2004) or a Nissan 200sx.

Can you get real auto insurance without a license ?

I dont have a license or a California ID i am a teen 18 years old have my passport and birth certification but that's it so can i get auto insurance and how much would it be if yes

Am I getting a bad deal from the Car insurance Company?

Back in October of 2010I was involved in a Hit and Run Accident. The Guy that hit us was found a few days later and we filed against his insurance. Me and my Fiance both went through Physical therapy for our backs. Medical bills totalled about 5K for me and about 8K for her. There were times when she was in tears because her back was hurting so bad. She Couldnt work some days either and she is self employed and works from home as a graphic Designer. I missed some days of work too but my pain was not near as much as hers. State Farm Called and offered a settlement with me to pay the 5k to the Doctor and then a $1000 check to me for my pain and suffering. They called my Fiance to settle but she did not answer. My guess is they will probably offer her the same. Is Paid medical bills plus $1,000 fair? We missed work from it. Delt with stress and Physical therapy for about 3 months and not to mention all of the inconveniences associated with getting the car fixed and also dealing with insurance stuff. The guy that hit us was found a few days later but never offered a good excuse as to why he hit us and then ran. He originally filed a false claim with State Farm and said that he hit a tree and not another vehicle. It was all overturned against him once Geico called them and submitted the police report. Should I get a lawyer? I honestly feel like we should be getting more. Especially my Fiance but if it's fair It's fair. Can anyone help?""

""Car Insurance - 18 Year old added as a driver to parents car Insurance cost, high?""

My mum who doesn't drive very much is considering selling her crappy car which is probably gonna fail the MOT. But since I have a reasonably good paying job at 18, I thought, may as well spilt on a car, get something I want and will maintain, and she can use it as long as long as part of the insurance is paid off. So my mum pays around 50 a Month on a Daewoo (very small and crap car, 1.0L) I have a motorbike, so experienced on the road (could count towards a discount), but only got my driving license fully a week ago, passed with flying colours. So my mum with like 4 years no claims, and an 18 year old on a Subaru Impreza? What you reckon?""

16 year old car insurance?

im about to buy a 1997 honda civic ex and i was wondering what my car insurance might be if it helps im a guy in florida and im 16 thanks

Had an Accident Car insurance question?

I had my first accident the other day and it was pretty bad. I was the person at fault. I am about to turn 21 in 8 days. I have allstate insurance and the othe party of the accident no has a lawyer even though he acked fine at the accident. How much will my insurance go up and is there anything else i should know or can do?

I will be 17 soon and i don't know the cheapest insurance for cars?

I am 17 in December and hoping to pass my test i would like a white car and did want to get A white ford focus Zetec but they are way to expensive for insurance, i would like a nice car as everyone is judged from where i am from i would also like it to be white. Does anyone know where i can get a good enough, white car? where i can afford the insurance? :) Thanks for your help in advance.""

Should I get the car insurance when i rent a car?

I dont own a car but i'm covered under my dad's car insurance. I'm planning on renting a car in a few days, but i'm wondering if i wil be covered under the car insurance when i get into an accident with a rental car. and in this situation should i get the extra car insurance that rental car companies offer?""

""How much is insurance for state farm for a 1000cc, 750, and 600 gsxr for a 16 year old?""

I know what your thinking but hear me out, the new 2009 Suzuki gsxr has different modes like the 600cc mode, 750cc mode, and 1000cc mode i was thinking to get the 750 but if the 1000 has those modes then id want to get that and stay on that till i felt ready for the 1000 power cause i was gonna get the 1000 in college anyway but why waste the money now on the 600 then have another payment in 2 years on the 1000 when i can just use the settings till then when i have more experience??? but put that all aside how much is the insurance for a 1000cc bike? just so i can know for when im 18 if i dont get the 1000""

How much is motorcycle insurance for a 15 and a half year old?

so ill be 15 and a half soon and I am getting my motorcycle permit. how much would insurance cost for me? i am getting a k7 gsxr600. no question about it.

""Would this health insurance be accepted in my ares ,lubbock and shallowater texas?""

i need to know if this health insurance would be accepted in my area,lubbock and shallowater texas?""

Do i have to keep paying insurance on a scrapped car? My insurance runs out in August.?

I am planning to scrap my car next week but my insurance runs out in August. Am I legally expected to continue paying for it or can i cancel it?

What would the insurance cost be for a toyota MR2?

im lookin at buying a 1991 toyota mr2 but i need to figure out wat an average cost for insurance would be?? any help??

What are the listings for African American or black owned auto insurance companies and agents.?

I want to support my people,because no one else is going to support us. Many immigrants only support their business owned by their people,but we blacks have very few businesses. We need to unite and support each other to survive in this every changing country. It feels as if we are second class citizens in our own communities. We have to do business and pay for services of people who dislike us,because we have no alternative. We blacks need to control,manage,and build business in our own communities. P.S. I love America USA is # 1""

Do i need to be on my parents insurance?

I am 16 and am going to get my license in a week. I have my permit already. I am going to a California DMV. My parents would like to know if I have to be on there insurance before i take my test. Also what I would have to bring besides my permit and my slip of completion of driving school. If you can please help no dumb answers.

What would it cost to go to the dentist with no insurance?

The last molar on my bottom left row of teeth hurts pretty bad, its decayed to the point where half the tooth is gone. I was just wondering what it would cost to get this fixed if you have no insurance? Also whats the the cost difference between getting a crown put versus having the tooth extracted? What are the pros and cons of each?""

Can the auto insurance kick you out?

1st time geting a license at the age of 63 then having 1st month of insurance then 3 weeks later geting an accident which involving crashing into an property which i assume the damage cost from the insruance eyes would be $25-30,000 where our eyes would be at maybe $10,000 plus they were 4 in the car all injured can the auto insurance kick a insurer out for this very 1st major incident? this shouldnt be suprising to any insurance company when it comes to New Drivers reguardless of age...bottom line can they kick them out and other insurance corps deny to sell insurance?""

Do I have to insure my son when he turns 16?

My auto insurance company called me yesterday asking for the names and birthdays of my children. I refused to tell them anything. My oldest son will turn 16 in November, and I was not planning on adding him as a driver, because we have full coverage insurance and I thought that would cover anyone.""

Health insurance in california?

i really need health insurance i have a really bad sinus problem & ADD i already had a surgery in the past for my sinus problem and i had healthy families insurance and they paid for it and they used to pay the office visits too my mom only paid $5 copay and since i turned 19 i cant have that insurance anymore is the some other insurance that is full coverage and is not very expensive? i already tried getting medical but did not qualify and i dont have a job because everyone is getting laid off over here

Car insurance help please?

Hello I just turned 17 I want to do my driving test soon .. And I already have a car .. so I just want to know soon as I pass my driving license How much will insurance cost . - Peugeot 107 - 1.1 - 2008 Straight answers only please .. and can you please suggest cheap insurance company's or ways to make it cheaper .. thank you ..

""1959 dodge coronet car insurance help, read details?""

first car, going under my own name and im starting my own insurance acount, im 20 years old, does anyone have an idea of how much i would be paying every year? i havent fully bought the car yet and wanted some opinions and guesstimates of how much ill be paying for her. get back to me, thanks.""

How much midwife cost w/wo insurance?

I am not sure if my insurance covers midwife expenses, hence any advice shall be helpful. Also, where can I look for a midwife who accepts insurance? Possibly ask my OB or hospital ? please advice""

Will this lower my insurance?

Im looking at cars to buy for my first car and I was wondering what the insurance cost would be like for a 16 almost 17 year old female for a 1979's 1980's camaro I also maintain a high gpa and get a discount for it aswell and live in las vegas.

""If someone hits your car and you don't have insurance but you weren't driving it, will they still pay?""

If someone hits your car and you don't have insurance but you weren't driving it, will they still pay?""

Average cost for an fr 44 in Florida?

I just trying to determine what the average cost for an fr 44 is in Florida after a dui

Car insurance?????

what is the cheapest and the best for full coverage?

How much would auto insurance be for a 16 year old?

When i'm 14 in a year I would like to get a summer job, and store half of my paycheck in the bank because I want to save up for a car when im older and I get my lisence. I want to know how much insurance would probably be for lets say... a Mitsubishi Eclipse (1990s-2004) or a Nissan 200sx.

""Is there any insurance for self-employed parents with small kids, in TX?""

Is there any insurance for self-employed parents with small kids, in TX?""

How do we work with insurance companies in California?

We are a Southern California Drywall Company and would like to work with insurance companies. How do we get started?

Can an employer deny health insurance for a spouse if they have insurance in california?

i have insurance and he is on mine, and he has insurance but it is too expensive for both of us. is there a particular law that says my employer cannot force me to use his or force him off mine?""

Where can i get Cheap street bike insurance for first time riders?

I just bought my bf a bike a i want to get insurance for it, but i'm not sure where to get insurance from all i want is that little card that says i'm covered. i don't think i want full coverage. We live in California i don't know of that changes anything.""

""If I go under my parents car insurance, is it cheaper ?""

Hello. I'm 18 and recently got my provisional license. I would like to know if I go under my moms name for the insurance of the car, would it be significantly less expensive than if I were to get my own insurance, or is it the same price for insurance all around ?""

Law/Rules of insurance?

I am a 20year old young adult who is my my fathers insurance. I'm turning 21 in two months and my father is happy about that because he says that I will be off his insurance. I'm kinda scared because I'm getting surgery after my birthday and I won't have insurance. I've been reading online that I can be on his insurance until I'm 26 if I'm married, live on my own, enrolled in school etc. I'm not enrolled in school but I will in the summer again. So what will happen?""

""Cheap Insurance, For a 19 year old?""

hi im a typical 19 year old, been driving for 1 year this month. Does anyone know of any Cheap Insurance places, Everything is so expensive! i dont want to be paying more than 50.00 a month! Please help""

How long does it take for the dmv to get my sr-22?

i had my insurance company electronically send proof of financial responsibility to the dmv a little more than a week and a half ago and they still have not processed it. How long is the whole process supposed to take? I am dealing with the California DMV. Thanks

How much will car insurance cost if I decide to buy a 2000-02 Chevy Corvette?

I have a clean driving record; I have never been in an accident, no tickets, no nothing. I'm not saying its true but I heard from a friend that it cost about $500 a month for car insurance for the vette?""

Best car to insure for a provisional driver?

I want to change my car, but the next car will have my son as a provisional driver. I have been driving for 20years, am female, and have not made any claims. Live in the uk. I have tried the insurance comparison sites, but you need to put a make and model in. Would like to know what others have found to be the cheapest. I would prefer an mpv, or crossover, but am open to suggestions. Many nanks""

Insurance wants to total my car?

So recently an 18 wheeler ran into the back of my car damaging the whole trunk and the force of the truck pushed my car into a post scraping the side of my car. The insurance guy came and just got a call back saying that they want to total my car and pay for it. The car is a black 2002 jetta 1.8 turbo from a small local dealer and has 140,000 miles. Im currently still paying it off and the car cost me $6000. Here is my concern, they haven't told me how much they plan to give me for my jetta but i went on craigslist and the average cost for a 2002 jetta 1.8t is around what i paid from $5000-$6000, will the insurance give me that amount because bluebook says my car is worth at most around $3400 in excelent condition and at retail value according to bluebook is around $4500. All I'm concern with is either my car is restore to the point before the accident or if they get me enough money to buy a new jetta of equal or greater quality. Restoring my car car i guess is not and option which I'm ok with but what if the amount they give me is not enough to go buy a new jetta from a small local dealer will they give me more money or how does this whole process work because I've never been in this situation.""

Which good websites give feedback from people on car insurance companies?

I am taking out a car insurance policy. What websites are appropriate for getting user feedback on different car insurance companies e.g. then I can make my mind up if there are serious flaws internally based on user experience

Insurance costs for a Yamaha Majesty?

or Yamaha Morphous? I want to purchase one of these two scooters, although I'm leaning more towards the Majesty. For a good driver with a good record, How much is the insurance on these?""

Good morning! Can anyone suggest a good dental insurance plan?

We had blue cross and blue shield and were not happy with it! We live in a semi small area and the only dentist office that accepted our plan never called us back after 15 voice mails and NEVEr answered their phones so we never were able to make an appointment! So I cancelled the policy. We need some dental insurance. I need to take my son in to get his teeth looked at and my husbands. We live in FL and there just doesn't seem to be a lot that I'm finding. Anyone have a suggestion?

How to make car insurance as cheap possible?

i don't even wanna pay it but if i can get a reasonable price i will pay it. its just ridicoulus how much it costs ( i got no spell check by the way)

Does anyone in Las Vegas know where I can get Dirt cheap car insurance if so please provide a number and name.

Thanks for your help!!!

What is the best car insurance that can cover any accidents and passenger & property damage in California?

What is the best car insurance that can cover any accidents and passenger & property damage in California?

My daughters car insurance has more than doubled because she got 9 penalty points in the last year. she wants ?

me to get insurance on her car and then get her put on that insurance. if she gets more points while she is under my insurance would that affect the price of the insurance on my own cars or would only if she caused an accident make my insurance go up. i could get a years insurance on her car for less than the price of 1 monthly installment she would have to pay for her own insurance. what do you think. if she gets 3 more points she will be disqualified from driving . if that happened while she was on my insurance would that put my insurance prices up even though she would be off my insurance if she did get disqualified. what i have wrote might not make sense. i want to know if i do this for her and she gets disqualified while being on my insurance would that put my insurance prices up for all my cars or what or would it only effect my insurance if she causes an accident. while shes on my insurance. * 41 minutes ago * - 3 days left to answer. Additional Details 40 minutes ago we live in the UK. sorry this is very long i found it hard to write what i was really trying to ask. 33 minutes ago i know if she causes an accident while she is on my insurance ot would effect how much my insurance costs but if she was to get disqualified while she is on my insurance would that effect me inurances oin anyway. if she gets disqualified then she wont be on my insurance anymore. 14 minutes ago only 3 of her penalty points are for speeding. she told me the other 6 points are because there was a mix up with her insurance last time and she was uninured for 4 days and was caught by the police. she got 6 points for that in court a few months ago. she said she that she had phoned them and accepted the policy they sent her to renew it and thought it would continue automatically but she hadnt been to the office to sign for it so she got caught for that. she was only uninsured for 4 days because of her mistake that time. sorry if you already answerd this but i put it on US yahoo answers by a mistake and it didnt show up in UK yahoo answers so i needed answers from people who knows about car insurance in the UK

Can your health insurance company raise your rates after you get sick?

I've heard about pre-existing conditions and all, but what about getting seriously ill AFTER you have insurance? Let's say you're generally healthy, and already have heath insurance which you pay for yourself, at a reasonable rate. Then you get a long term illness, or get into a terrible accident, and need years of expensive care. Of course you keep your policy up to date... Can the company raise your rates by triple (or worse) if you get sick this way?""

What happens if a 16 year old in NC is caught driving without being on the insurance policy?

The owner of the car has insurance on the car but his daughter is not listed as a driver on the policy.

Why is the co-pay for dental insurance more expensive than health insurance?

I compared the co pays on several reputable dental insurance companies and it is very expensive. Many things are not covered, even with the best dental insurance. Health insurance is usually a 10 dollar co pay for primary physicians and a 35-50 dollar co pay for specialty physicians. Is there any reason why dental insurance co pay is as expensive as it is?""

My friend applying for education loan of 20 lacs.Bank manager said we need to take insurance equivalent to 20l?

The repayment period of the loan is 9 years. 1) Which insurance company has one time payment and coverage upto 20 lacs for a period of 9 years? 2) What other options like paying more than once(non one time payment) but very affordable cost for covering 20 lacs? 3) I want the amount to be paid for 1 lac 4) PLease give the plan name, and the insurance company Thanks a lot in advance.""

Cheap Insurance for 17/18 year old in UK?

Currently I'm 17, going for my practical soon, I checked insurance for myself and it's over 15000 for a Vauxhall corsa 1999 reg. Does anyone know where to get cheap car insurance for under 25's?""

I do not have regular health Insurance?

I regularly go for activities like white water rafting. Is it possible to buy cover for injuries from such activities on per event basis?

Please help first time traffic ticket In California?

So i got a ticket for no. Insurance on november and in the mail a citation of 859.00 due by dec. 10 dont have the money but i got insurance now..whats going to happen in court im very scared :/

How much would auto insurance be for a 16 year old?

When i'm 14 in a year I would like to get a summer job, and store half of my paycheck in the bank because I want to save up for a car when im older and I get my lisence. I want to know how much insurance would probably be for lets say... a Mitsubishi Eclipse (1990s-2004) or a Nissan 200sx.

How will universial health affect the insurance industry?

How will universial health affect the insurance industry?

What is the best Dental Insurance for North Carolina??

I need to purchase dental insurance for myself because I know I need to go get a cleaning etc. What is the most affordable insurance to purchase that covers the most & gives me options on which dentist I would like to go to? I know I have atleast one cavity so I need insurance that won't break the bank but will keep my teeth looking good. Thank you in advance!! Easy 10 points for best answer!!

I looked for insurance quotes at progressive.com.?

At the end, I received a quote from Progressive and also 3 other leading competitors. I also received a quote from Progressive Direct which is lower than Progressive quote. Does anyone of you have insurance from progressive direct? What makes it different (and hence lower) than the actual Progressive quote?""

Can you get your drivers licence if your car's insurance is not in effect?

so i'm getting my licence and my car's insurance doesnt go into effect till the 20th and i get my licence before then. can i use the car even though its not in effect yet. i have an insurance card. i live in georgia btw

I need cheap insurance?

I have a vauxhall corsa 1.2 SXi and I am 18. The cheapest is 1300 but I know people have got theres for 900

Dental Insurance?

Does anybody know an inexpensive yet good dental insurance in Northern CA? I am on a tight budget. The cheapest one I saw is Deltacare for $97/year but I don't know if it's any good. Help please. Thanks!

Can you have a Drivers license without a car and insurance?

I'm asking this because I'm 20 (I will be 21 next week) I live in Arizona, I have the Asperger syndrome. when I was 16 I took the permit test and failed it and never attempted it again until last Monday and failed by one question, took it today and passed, because I have Asperger syndrome I was not interested in driving but tried the permit test when I was 16 and failed and my brother talked me into trying it again last Monday failed tried again today and passed, now I'm interested in driving. I live with my parents and I receive SSI income of $350 a month and have no job. that last sentence is the reason why I asked this question. will it cost anything (if so how much a month) to have a license and not own a car or have insurance""

What insurance should i buy?

what insurance policy do i need ? scenario: in a car accident (my fault) i get injured, but do not loose legs etc, but just need some phisicotherapy - it can cost a lot in uk i guess, and car insurance does not cover that what insurance should i buy?""

""How much is a speeding ,no insurance,and without id ticket can cost in Augusta Georgia?""

my daughter was caught speeding,no license,no insurance,how much does the tickets total?""

Why is massachusetts excluded from affordable life insurance companies such as colonial penn?

and mutual of omaha.

How does turning 25 affect your car insurance premium?

I turn 25 at the end of the year and am planning on buying a brand new car this summer and am wondering how it will be affected. Thanks!

How much will my Geico Insurance go up after my accident?

I have Geico Insurance. I had a DUI 2 years ago, and I pay $150/month for auto insurance. Two months ago I rear-ended a guy in bumper to bumper traffic (he stopped short. I've heard 90% of rear-end accidents, the person who did the hitting is at fault, but it was impossible to maintain a safe distance since people were constantly cutting in vying for an edge.) Anyway, neither of us told our insurance companies, we both took pics of each other's cars (mine looked way worse cause it already had a busted front end from someone who backed into it while parked at night and took off with no note). So I got an estimate from his mechanic for $1700. To fix my front-end, it's probably going to be $3000-4000. My question is (would LOVE to hear from a current geico or or other auto insurance agent) How much will my rates go up? How long will they go up for? Do I get a point on my license for this? Because if the amount they charge me (over time, in higher rates) is more than $4700 (i.e. his $1700 + my $3000) then I'll just pay for both on my own and spare myself the DMV point. But if it will be less than that (i.e. the higher rate expires before it reaches $4700 more), then I'll just tell my Insurance company and deal with the point. Can anyone help me here? Much appreciated!""

Purchasing car insurance?

I want to find an online quote to see how much I may be paying for future auto insurance. But some sites ask for vehicle information. I haven't bought the car yet. But don't you need proof of insurance in order to purchase a car? I'm confused. How do I go about this?

What does it take to commit a minor and how do you afford it if you don't have health insurance?

My uncle and aunt are struggling with my 16 year old cousin who suffers from anorexia and she will go up to 3 weeks without eating anything. I am not kidding she only drinks water and then she will slowly puree some fruit into her water again for about a week or two before she binges for a few days and then goes back to this cycle of starvation. She looks pale and has no energy. Her eyes are sunken in and she hides in her room unless shes on a binge and she cries and says shes ok when they tell her lets go see a doctor. My aunt and uncle are immigrants and they don't speak english that well. They don't have a lot of money or health insurance and I have no idea what to do but they are asking me to help! I've never dealt with this type of situation before and I'm just thinking they should call an ambulance and maybe they'll commit her to some state institution? I've been googling this and I come across all kinds of conflicting information. How can she get help in the state of California and is there any way if they are not insured to pay for her treatment? Is there any state aid related to extreme cases of anorexia?

Non Owners Auto Insurance?

Hello, I'm 18 and I just got my license and I am buying my first car soon. I wanted to know if it's possible if my grandmother could register my car and have the car in her own name, and I buy Non Owners Auto Insurance to cover me while driving? Is this a bad idea, because it seems as though it would be much cheaper for me? Please let me know thanks!""

Does car insurance cover vandalism?

My husbands crazy ex wife. Keyed my car, slit my tires, and put something in my gas tank because my car wont start now. Does my insurance cover it? I have full coverage.""

Why is car insurance so expensive for me?

just passed my driving test this month and i checked how much car insurance would be for me and its 3000+ :'O when my younger female cousin passed she got her insurance for 900 on the same car!!! how can i get it cheaper? =[ im 17 male

For car insurance is it better to get it through a broker?

I am 19 years old and I have never had insurance (I have had my license for a year). There is a broker right now charging me $508 to be insured for the whole year. Before finding this broker the cheapest I could find was at State Farm and they were charging $720/year. The thing is I was told I would be charged $33/Month by the broker which would total $396 for the year. Is the remaining $102 their (the brokers) commission? What do you think?

""CAR INSURANCE, i live in a bad area and its doubling my quotes.?

I've got a mini 1000 1974 that im restoring and ive lost all motivation to finish it after reciving quotes starting from 7.5k and going up to 18k. Im guessing the reason being is that I live in a F rated area. its a proper s##t hole. Is there anything i can do to help reduce the quotes to a figure that i can realsticly afford. 7.5k is more than im earning.

Which is the best Life Insurance for a 33 year old?

I have family of 1 child

What does Term Life Insurance mean with no surrender value?

If I had a 15 year Term Life Insurance at $100,000. with no surrender value. What would it be at the end of 15 years. Can I collect the full amount on this type of insurance?""

Is it better to buy cheaper can than expensive car?

I love expensive sports cars, but I don`t need to have it, I can just watch those at museum, stores, and photos. I think buying cars is waste of money. It costs money to buy cars, car insurance, gasoline, and parking ticket. Also cars get stolen lot , it can break easily by car crash, some bad kids will scratch it, and high risk of death. Using train is way cheaper. If I really need car, I would stick with least cheapest car. Because when my car got stolen, or broke, I have less things to lose.""

Is a subaru wrx a good car for an 18 year old?

I'm 18 and I'm thinking about buying a wrx. It has 150000 miles with maintenance history and was run on high octane gas... seems to be mechanically taken care of. It needs a new paint job but I don't mind the project. Is it hard to drive this car on 5spd for people who have minimum manual experience? (i can drive a manual but I haven't had much practice) I plan on taking care of it and running it easy. How much does insurance increase if there's a lein in the car? Is it difficult to transfer leins? Car has 6600 left on lein and its a 2003.

My car insurance just jumped up tremendously?

ok i was living in delaware. my car is registered there. i have a delaware drivers license. now i was staying with my girlfriend in her place and we recently just got a place in pa last month. however, all my mail still goes to my old delaware address. now, i have nationwide and i changed my address. thinking it wouldnt go up by that way. it went up from 1300 every 6 months to 4500 every 6 months. they changed my agent(it was based in elkton, md- 5 min from delaware). my agent is trying to get the policy back to elkton, maryland. however, i cannot afford this insurance. would i be able to change it back to delaware and just say that i decided not to move?""

Auto insurance settlement offer too low?

We were in an accident in September, my 4 y/o son and i went to see a chiropractor and i also seen a physical therapist a few times, (i actually still have pain from time to time in ...show more""

How much would auto insurance be for a 16 year old?

When i'm 14 in a year I would like to get a summer job, and store half of my paycheck in the bank because I want to save up for a car when im older and I get my lisence. I want to know how much insurance would probably be for lets say... a Mitsubishi Eclipse (1990s-2004) or a Nissan 200sx.

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/i-have-insurance-my-car-how-much-more-cost-own-sibylla-henderson"

[touristguidebuzz]

Disney’s New Star Wars Hotel Sounds Like Next-Level Immersion

Walt Disney Parks & Resorts announced it is building a new Star Wars-themed hotel in Orlando that will feature multi-day immersive experiences. A rendering is shown here. Disney/Lucasfilm

Skift Take: Disney wowed everyone with this announcement. Now fans of the theme park company and Star Wars wait for the execution — and the price tag.

— Hannah Sampson

The Walt Disney Company has made a blockbuster business out of building fantasy-rich kingdoms and lands around the world that draw millions of visitors a year.

For its next act, the entertainment giant is looking to turn a patch of its Orlando resort into a new kind of luxury-meets-immersion hotel meant to feel more like a galaxy far, far away.

In an announcement last month at the fan event D23 Expo, Walt Disney Parks & Resorts Chairman Bob Chapek announced that the company is planning a “revolutionary vacation experience” for Walt Disney World: a luxury resort that immerses guests in the universe of Star Wars.

“It’s unlike anything that exists today,” he said.

Chapek said visitors will have a “dedicated multi-day adventure” complete with “starship transportation,” characters, costumes, storylines, windows that show a view into space, and status as “an active citizen of the galaxy.”

“It is 100 percent immersive and the story will touch every single minute of your stay with us,” he said. “It culminates in a unique journey for every person who visits.”

Not surprisingly, the announcement prompted fans — and many writers — to swoon. HuffPost ran a story with this headline: “Wait, This ‘Immersive’ ‘Star Wars’-Themed Hotel Looks Awesome.”

And TechCrunch could barely contain itself, writing: “AHHHHHHH. Disney just announced something that’s potentially so damned cool that I hardly need complete sentences here: Immersive. Star Wars. Hotel.”

Robert Niles, founder and editor of Theme Park Insider, said that while the company had a lot of announcements at the event last month, few of them were groundbreaking. The Star Wars hotel stood out.

“This is why I think so many people are really excited and intrigued by this concept,” he said. “It truly is something different for Disney.”

A rendering of the immersive Star Wars-themed hotel planned for Walt Disney World in Florida shows views of space and BB-8. Disney/Lucasfilm

Early Survey Gave a Sneak Peek

Hints of the plan emerged in April after Disney guests were surveyed on their interest in a similar concept, though it’s unclear how many of the details included in the survey will end up in the final product.

According to WDW News Today, the questions described a “continuous, story-driven entertainment experience” over the course of a two-night stay.

Guests would be able to choose if they wanted to watch or participate in a story, and would have themed activities to participate in. Meals, entertainment, admission to a new Star Wars-themed land at Disney Hollywood Studios, and the service of a robotic droid butler would all be included at a price of $900-$1,000 per guest, the story said. (A Disney spokeswoman told Skift the company has not released pricing on the experience yet.)

Chapek referenced that research when he made his announcement last month.

“You may have heard that we recently did a survey about an entirely new way to live your very own Star Wars adventure,” he said. “So today, I am thrilled to confirm that we are working on our most experiential concept ever.”

Disney has made huge moves with the intellectual property — IP in industry parlance — of Lucasfilm, which the company bought in 2012 for more than $4 billion. In addition to making more Star Wars movies, Disney is building 14-acre themed additions called Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at parks in Orlando and Anaheim, California. Those lands open in 2019.

Dennis Speigel, president of International Theme Park Services, has been pondering the project since he first started hearing rumors several months ago.

“Hotels now are such an important part of theme park operations because it’s what keeps people on property,” he said. “More importantly, what’s happening is with this hotel, it’s the first truly totally immersed theme hotel. And they couldn’t have picked a better IP to do this with and test the hotel concept.”

Still Unknown

Disney has released few details about the hotel project, including when it will break ground or open. Also unclear: where at Walt Disney World it will be located; how much it will cost to build; what the price will be for guests; how big it will be; what “immersion” means in this context; or what kind of technology will be involved.

Asked if guests will be able to choose specific storylines to engage with or have the freedom to wander and interact without much structure, a spokeswoman said: “There will be many ways to engage.”

Niles is anticipating that Disney will start out slow.

“My inclination would be to guess conservative on this, that they’re not going to turn it into some kind of massive multi-player role-playing game,” he said. “But it’s going to be a really-well-decorated experience where it will be easy for your imagination to create a role in it, as opposed to Disney creating a role for you.”

He expects the company to gauge reaction and see what works, and “what doesn’t work, even more importantly” — and then maybe add more specific roles as a way to charge more.

Disney Cruise Line, which provides a virtual porthole on cabins inside ships to give a real-time view of the outdoors, could provide a blueprint for the hotel experience. The four-ship cruise line has given the company experience with entertaining people in a confined space for several days — and Niles expects that to come in handy.

“I think Disney’s going to apply a lot they’ve learned from cruise line,” he said. “I think that’s kind of the origin of the DNA … isolating people in a specific place, virtual windows. They’ve got a lot of information to start with, but they’re taking it to another level.”

A Kinder, Gentler Westworld?

While Disney didn’t make the comparison, just about everyone else has brought up parallels to the HBO show Westworld, about a kind of theme park full of lifelike robots that allows costumed visitors to interact and pursue their own storylines without any prohibitions.

That drama includes intrigue, double-crossing, murder, and sex — off-limits for Disney, of course. But those more adult themes aside, the comparison seems somewhat apt.

“I think it’s an adaptation of the Westword concept done in the Disney best sense, where it’s entertaining and family fun,” Speigel said. He expects to see robots, live actors, and animations as part of the experience at the Star Wars hotel.

“You’re going to have aliens checking you in,” he said. “All the people who work there are going to be in costume, makeup, you’re going to see storm troopers marching through the lobby, you’re going to see Jabba the Hutt, laser sword fights.”

The anticipated use of robots fits into the industry trend toward automation, Niles said. Some hotels — including one at Universal Orlando — use robots to make deliveries to rooms, while cruise lines have employed robots to do tasks including giving directions to passengers and bartending.

“Here, it’s themed!” Niles said. “It’s almost like they have to do it….They have an opportunity here to kind of beta test, if you will, automating a lot of the process, which ultimately can save you on labor costs once you recoup the capital cost of developing this system.”

In other words: These are the droids you’re looking for.

Scott A. Lukas, a cultural anthropologist who has written books on themed and immersive spaces and an amusement industry consultant, said he was reminded of Westworld, historical reenactments, and live-action role playing when he heard about the project.

Even with a family-friendly approach, Lukas wonders how guests might react to an intense level of engagement.

“Is it going to be kind of creepy if you experience it at its full level?” he wondered.

He said the challenge would be finding the right guests: Travelers who crave intensive interaction with a Star Wars theme and can drop a significant amount of money.

“I just don’t know if people want this level of interactivity,” he said. “On the one hand this is amazing and will be a new potential to explore something other than screens and glasses at home. On the other hand…even if they work out the low-level-user guest, I still wonder if everybody will be into this level of commitment.”

But Randy Garfield, who spent nearly 30 years at Universal and Disney before he retired as president of the Walt Disney Travel Company in 2014, said he doesn’t worry about whether there’s enough demand for a product like the Star Wars hotel.

“Disney has rarely, if ever, misjudged consumer interest in products,” he said.

He said it’s too early to talk about the best way to market the experience, but the audience seems huge.

“It won’t be difficult to market this product at all,” he said. “This is a sales and marketing dream really — not only with a huge database of past guests, but people who go to Comic-Con, and people who are Star Wars fans.”

Beyond Basic Immersion

Plenty of hotels, of course, have immersive qualities thanks to strong themes — from the gondolas and gelato in the Venetian in Las Vegas to the animal-filled vistas at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge to the toy-themed Legoland Hotel. Theme parks also create worlds for visitors to immerse themselves in for hours, such as the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal parks and Pandora — The World of Avatar at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, but that level of engagement typically doesn’t follow guests to their hotel rooms.

Lukas said the Star Wars project sounds more like “total immersion,” where the “guest is taken into another world, story, or place through the use of as many senses as possible.”

“The level of immersion and storytelling, I can’t think of anything in the past that has had this,” he said.

Garfield said he wasn’t surprised by the announcement given the company’s history of innovation and drive to integrate intellectual property into various parts of the business.

“They’re always going to try to raise the bar,” he said. “To me, seeing Bob Chapek talk about how it’s going to be an immersive experience with guests being costumed … I think that’s just another element of enhancing guest engagement and making them part of the story.”

Niles, of Theme Park Insider, expects the whole industry to be watching carefully and learning.

“Something you live with for a day or two, that’s something different, not just for Disney, for the industry,” he said. “It’s not something that’s ever been done on any type of substantial scale before. I think a lot of people are really excited to see what Disney ends up doing for this and what kind of model it creates for the rest of the industry. Fans have been clamoring for Universal to do something like this with Harry Potter forever. There’s a ton of IP out there that would lend itself to that kind of treatment.”

Renderings released so far of the immersive Star Wars hotel show space-like surroundings, droids mixed in with guests, and even — if you look closely — a pair of Mickey Mouse ears. Disney/Lucasfilm

                  Your Move, Universal

Several industry observers said they expect Universal to answer with some kind of a hotel themed after the Harry Potter franchise created by J.K. Rowling, given the company’s success with the Wizarding World in multiple theme parks.

“If I had to bet, I’d bet that’s under way in design right now,” said Speigel, of International Theme Park Services.

A spokesman for Universal said only: “We don’t comment on speculation and rumors.”

Garfield said Universal has shown it is committed to “immersive experiences that surprise and delight the guests” just like Disney is. While he praised the additions being made by both Disney and Universal, he pointed out that Universal has more constraints on the hotel side. The Comcast-owned theme park operator has significantly less land to work with, and Loews Hotels operates Universal’s on-site hotels in Orlando while Disney runs its own hotels.

“Anything [Universal] wants to do to expand into a different area is going to require the commitment and participation of a partner,” Garfield said. “The folks at Universal are smart and they know what they can deliver. And if they believe that having a Harry Potter-type hotel makes sense to them, then certainly that will be a priority.”

  Whatever comes next, Speigel said he thinks Disney’s Star Wars concept will be a launching point for hospitality.

“It’s the first step in the evolution of what we’re going to see as themed hotels, not only in theme parks but in the hotel industry in general,” he said.

[geekingoutonhealthcare-blog]

A little background to start...

It’s back. Breast cancer, that is. It’s in my lymph nodes under my arm and under my collar bone on the same side where I had breast cancer 8 years ago, almost 100 months ago. 

For those of you know don’t know the backstory on this, I was diagnosed with breast cancer 8 years ago when my daughter was 5 months old. It was pretty basic breast cancer: stage 2, ER (estrogen receptor) positive, PR (progesterone receptor) positive, Her2 negative (not totally sure what that means, but it is good that it is negative as that is a more aggressive kind of cancer). I had a double mastectomy and did 4 rounds of chemo over 12 weeks. I lost hair, I had perfect hair everyday for 9 months, and I got some cute new fakies that will stay that way forever:) I tried to take aggressive measures to avoid having to go through this again. 

During my round 1 treatment, I was lucky to be stay a at home mom, then I started working at my dream job a few weeks after finishing chemo - with a wig, no eyelashes, no eyebrows, and a mush brain. My role was to work as an internal consultant to reduce cost and increase revenue for Northwestern Memorial Hospital. In that job, I had the opportunity to work with amazingly smart, motivated, and hilarious people as well as to get deep into hospital operations and finance. At the the time and still today, I know that healthcare is my true calling as well as fixing complex processes, creating better ways of doing things, and developing the skills and knowledge of those around me. Although I’m not in hospital operations any more, I am working in my new dream job (really!) at Strata Decision Technology where I have had the opportunity to develop software to essentially automate my old job with algorithms and workflow, then to improve/scale/grow/fix/lead all of our client services. It may sound cheesy, but I really feel that I am helping to fix healthcare on a national scale both by creating & implementing software that addresses some gaping holes, but also by encouraging many young, super smart, talented people to dive in deep to the details of healthcare care and help fix it!  

And that is exactly why I chose to blog about Cancer, round 2. This is something I’ve never done before and something that feels oddly out of character for me. However, within hours of being diagnosed the second time, I immediately felt like that I wanted others to learn from my experience. Both my experience as a patient, but also my experience as a hospital ops geek going through the process. Expect to hear a little about me and probably a lot about utilization of services, awesome (or not awesome) processes, charges, costs, and the like. 

To bring us up to current day, over Memorial Day weekend, while I was in Napa with some old friends, I felt a little bump, kind of like a piece of gravel, above my collar bone. I thought I’d just had too much to drink in wine (and good beer) country. But a few weeks later, it was still there. I called my survivorship PA (the one who sees former breast cancer patients after 5 uneventful years post treatment). She acted with a lot of urgency, which is a good thing, but also a little scary. I was in for an ultrasound within a few days. During the ultrasound, the tech did the procedure first, which took about 45 minutes because it was hard to see much. Then the doctor came in to do the scan, also for 45 minutes, then she asked the head of the department to come in and do it. After that, they shared that it was “all clear” in the least confidence-inspiring tone I could image. They said to come back in 3 months. I saw the surgeon a few minutes later. She said the same thing, in the same way. “OK... guess I’ll come back in three months. Good thing breast cancer is generally slow growing” I thought.  

The next morning, the radiologist called me. She said she was using a new machine and had been thinking about me all night. She asked me to come back in that day for a re-do, at no charge, of the scan on her trusted machine. (SO THANKFUL TO DRS. HANSEN & GOLDBERG FOR ADVOCATING FOR ME ON THIS!). I went right away. Fortunately, my husband was able to join on short notice as the results weren’t so good that day. Inconclusive, but clear that something was going on that wasn’t normal. The scan warranted a biopsy. That was scheduled for the next week. 

I had a Fine Needle Aspiration biopsy to carefully remove cells from the swollen lymph nodes. A pathology tech was present for the procedure to confirm that they had an adequate sample size and could do a conclusive read of the situation. (**First hospital ops geeking out moment: this was a really good process! It prevents the hospital from having to call a patient back in for not having an adequate sample and delaying results. Nice work NMH!**). I did feel the mood of the physicians and staff in the room change once they started looking at tissue. I cried and cried hard when I left because I felt certain it was cancer again. But, it was the extra long 4th of July weekend now and I’d have to wait until Monday (hopefully) to get results. 

While at the pool with friends on July 3rd,I got the call. It was cancer. Not shocked. Not really scared. Just cancer. Just follow the process and everything will be fine. That was the mantra for cancer round 1, but for cancer round 2, that process doesn’t seem so air-tight. What if I follow the process and it doesn’t work... again? Pretty scary. 

Next up, had to rule out further metastasis. Breast cancer commonly spreads to lymph nodes and can be treated and cured. It can also metastasize to the brain, bones, liver, and lungs. This is considered stage 4 and is ‘manageable’ but long term survival rates are much lower. I had a bone scan and CT scan of the neck, lungs, liver, and pelvis. When we heard the words “the scans were clear,” my husband and I both let out a rather loud “yeah” and “woo woo” in the very, very quiet cancer center. Yea stage 3! Yea Treatable! Yea Curable! (hope it works!) We were so excited about stage 3 and not stage 4 that we went home and opened a 2005 bottle of actual champagne from the Champagne region of France. We’d had this for 2.5 years and hadn’t found a worthy occasion up until we stage 3 day. It was a beautiful day and the bubbles were tiny as I’d recently learned was the mark of good bubbly. It was a great day. 

Now... we are planning for treatment. 8 sessions of chemo (with the big gun drugs) over 16 weeks + 6 weeks of radiation. Then we’ll wait and see what’s next. I start this Thursday. I plan to work when I can. I plan to be a still be a good mom, although we’ll probably watch a lot of Fixer Upper rather than go for bike rides, for a while at least. I hope to be a decent, minimally high-maintenance wife. I’m feeling positive and like I know what is ahead, generally speaking. Right now, I’m just hoping my new wigs are cool, city and software-ish, not grandma from the country. Fingers crossed! 

In future posts, I’ll plan to give a little update on the plot line as well as keep a tally of my charges and estimated cost. I hope to blog regularly and I really hope to stay somewhat interesting, insightful and literate. During chemo, I expect my brain may turn to mush for a period. So the literacy level of my writing may diminish (seriously!). No worries, a couple of months after chemo, I should be back to my fairly articulate self with the occasional funny typo. I also promise not be as long winded. Just a lot of catching up to do today. 

As a warning, I tend to joke about/laugh about cancer, talk about it openly, and try to just go on with life. As my aunt says “if we weren’t laughing, we’d be crying our eyes out.” I’d prefer to laugh. 

[davidegbert]

Samsung Galaxy S8 Review: To infinity and beyond?

For the last two weeks I’ve been approached by at least 10 people for the same two questions that always came together. The first was: Oh, Is that the new Galaxy? And the second: Well, but does it explode? This proves how much of a footprint Samsung owns in the smartphone market, where people associate the name Galaxy more to a phone than to the Milky Way, and where one mistake has only made the brand even more viral.

Marketing is a powerful thing. 2017 has served to show that even negative publicity is still publicity. It’s still a brand making headlines, and only helping it generate awareness in the consumer space. If you thought the mistakes made with the Galaxy Note 7 were going to cripple Samsung, think again. The Samsung Galaxy S8 has been met with record-breaking results; something Samsung hadn’t been able to achieve since the Galaxy S IV.

Marketing can go both ways though. The reason why Samsung took so long to re-gain the popularity it had with the Galaxy S IV is mainly because consumers realized that good marketing doesn’t necessarily mean you’re buying a great product. People soon realized that most of what made that phone special were just a ton of gimmicks you would never really use, and a cumbersome experience can do a brand worse than bad publicity.

Cue in the Galaxy S8. This is probably the biggest departure Samsung has ever made from the typical Galaxy we knew. Is it just another marketing stunt, or are you really paying more for a better product? Read our full Galaxy S8 review to learn more.

Hardware

For details on the larger variant, make sure you tune in to Juan’s separate coverage of the Galaxy S8+. This Galaxy S8 review is focused on my time using the regular S8. I actually received both units at the same time, but decided to review the smaller variant for a few important reasons.

The first is ergonomics. Sure, the Galaxy S8+ is actually smaller than the iPhone 7 Plus I was using before it, but some of Samsung’s design choices make it more cumbersome to use, even for my larger-than-average hands. Also, because products like the LG G6 did a great job in getting me to sip on that taller-display-on-a-small-phone Kool-Aid. I find the idea of a larger display over a smaller chassis to be genius. Sure it’s relatively the same surface area as other regular-sized phones if you do the math on surface area, but a narrower body is easier to hold and operate with one hand.

The second reason is because with the exception of a smaller battery, you’re pretty much getting the same phone. Samsung doesn’t force you to buy a larger phone in order to get its best features, something which other competitors should follow.

Focusing on build, Samsung made some interesting changes. The metal trim is now protected by a glossy coating that remains intact even after three drops onto tile. The buttons continue to be just as clicky, and color options like the Orchid Gray model that I chose can handle fingerprints and smudges very well. And even if many aren’t fans of the curves all around, they contribute in providing that surreal feeling of holding a large phone that feels small in the hand.

Those curves also contribute in creating what Samsung calls its Infinity Display. This is probably one of the best displays of the year given its blend of rounded corners, curved edges, and Super AMOLED technology. Samsung also added its mDNIe technology to this display, making it capable of playing back HDR video. At 5.8-inches diagonal, it nearly kills the bezel at a whopping 83% screen to body ratio, and with palm rejection being addressed fully in this new model. The screen is capable of Quad HD+ resolution, but is versatile enough to scale to 1080p+ or 720p+ to help with power efficiency. This is proof that the display spec race is over. I’ve tested this phone at 1080p+ for all my review period, and you know what? It’s all you need.

Buried inside we’ve got some of the best specifications in the market thanks to a either a Snapdragon 835 or Exynos 8895, in addition to 4 gigs of RAM, and base storage of 64GB that’s expandable. You also continue to enjoy the benefits of IP68 water and dust resistance, fast and wireless charging, a 3000 mAh battery, and new toys like Bluetooth 5.0 for those that want to stream music to two pairs of headphones at a time.

Software

To blend with the elegance of the hardware, we have Samsung Experience UX 8.1. Those of you who fell in love with the software that came on the Galaxy Note 7 will be delighted here. The company continues its trend of minimalism in absolutely every detail, and as much as I’m not a fan of Android skins, this one falls under my short list of exceptions.

This user interface is capable of a ton of unique tricks that aren’t enabled out of the box, as Samsung continues to tune-down its approach to software. I’d suggest you watch my 24 hours video for more details on the full list of what this UI can do in a unique way.

My final thoughts are that I’m really liking Samsung’s attention to detail in the basics. The company’s Always On display is now more robust with notification icons and a quick way to react with them.

If you need a quick short cut to anything, it’s just a swipe away from the edge, and I’m shocked over how much I use this now. I’m also a big fan of the hidden home button, and little things like being able to swap the order of the navigation buttons. One of my favorites continues to be Secure Folder to help me protect information, in addition to having a second copy of apps in case you have multiple accounts.

Concerns for a taller display were also considered. I continuously rely in touching the home button three times for enhanced one handed use, though you can also choose to activate this from sliding from the bottom. And as for scaling, I’m surprised at how fast third party apps are adapting, with important services like YouTube already enhanced for it, even if the content won’t always do so for obvious reasons. One thing I notice is that the UI is smart enough to detect when content is built for it and automatically adjusts, whereas competitors like the G6 still don’t.

Camera

And as for the Camera, let’s just say that by now we all know that a Galaxy is a Galaxy. Juan’s real camera review is one of the most extensive he’s ever done, and for great reasons. This continues to be one of the cameras to beat, even if most of the enhancements are in image processing compared to last year’s model.

Double click that power button and enjoy some of the best photos a smartphone can take with amazing color saturation and detail. Just like last year my advice remains to just take the shot.

Even when you see a grainy view finder at night, let the camera show its prowess when you see that final shot. Video is also one of this phone’s high points thanks to great stabilization from the primary sensor…

The selfie shooter got a bump in megapixels, which I’m sure is great for fans of it,.. But I’m honestly annoyed at the crop that Samsung has adopted for video. The field of view has become just as bad as with the iPhone, and I’m hoping they fix that.

Performance

Other features like performance can be delightful for the most part given the power of this 10nm processor. Games are surely benefited by this, with no lag or stutter to be seen, no matter what title I play. The only thing is that I can’t really call this phone the fastest performer out there. Once you load up the launcher with your stuff, and you start using it as a normal power user would, you’ll notice that the UI is quite the RAM hog. The result is mixed performance, with minor stutters when moving around certain menu items.

Bixby is seriously one of those features I wish Samsung would’ve waited to launch. Pressing the button sometimes does nothing, and even so it takes forever to launch. It also slows down the launcher, so take my advice: Pinch within the home screen, swipe to Hello Bixby and switch it off from the launcher, and just call on it from the button if you ever desire to. Bixby vision is a neat trick, but I sometimes find it quicker to simply search for a product than to have to wait for Bixby to react. This is sadly a half-baked mess that reminds me of the old Samsung full of gimmicks.

I’d say this phone could really use Android 7.1 ASAP, and not just for UI improvements, but also for power efficiency. A 3000 mAh battery is small for a display this large, with cases where I rarely reach a full day of moderate use, and where the 7.1 enhancements could really come in handy.

Cool are things like the insane amount of ways you can unlock this phone, with the Iris Scanner topping my list of favorites given its speed, and the fact that it even works through sunglasses. If the sun is too bright, you have the oddly placed fingerprint scanner to assist. Over time I’ve become used to its placement, but I do recommend using a case in order for the hump to assist you in finding it. This is another of the reasons I moved away from the Galaxy S8+ as you actually need to adjust the way you hold the phone to reach it.

A major and welcomed improvement comes at the hand of audio for the most part. Yes, you will still hate the placement of the speakers, but I fully agree with Juan’s Real Audio review in that this phone made dramatic improvements to headphone audio, and I even notice a louder kick when using it for phone calls.

Pricing and availability

The Samsung Galaxy S8 is not what I’d call an affordable phone, but this is the first time I’ll ever say you’re actually getting more for your money. At its initial price of $729, you get a great phone that starts at 64GB of storage, and a good pair of headphones tuned by AKG. The headphones alone are $600, and most competing devices start at just 32GB of storage.

Conclusion

To conclude our Galaxy S8 review: there is a lot of good to be said about the “New Galaxy,” as everyone calls it. Those of you that were left nostalgic by the beauty of the Note 7 will be happy to see even more beauty shown off here. There is a lot of genius being placed on this design… So much so that I highly suggest that you go to a store and hold one to fully understand what I mean.

The only challenge continues to be the same we’ve always dealt with Samsung. Beautiful software should not be an excuse for stutters, or the slow speed at which Galaxy phones get updated to newer versions of Android. I’m not calling these deal breakers, but really just problems that are getting old for a phone this expensive.

Would I recommend the Galaxy S8? Sure! My minor list of complaints can be fixed with an update. This design and form factor are definitely the future for smartphones. A future which you can already access today.

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Topics For Consideration With Fast Systems Of Game Fishing Equipment

Some Advice On Painless Plans In Game Fishing Equipment

Great game fishing equipment

Simple Answers On Down-to-earth Game Fishing Equipment Programs

For being long inaccessible and untouched, this Island group in search of GT. There is also a good chance some will put up Man from Agra. Non swimmers also can experience this wonderful under different, you still keep your existing reservation – including the cancellation policy. You can book a ticket up to 3 days prior to your travel but most people – “Fishing” is at its best at Havelock Island. Calling us from Belgium, equally nice Thomas & Thomas. A full fledge galley very helpful and were trying... read more © 2017 TripAdvisor LLB game fishing accessories All rights reserved. It caters to the digest number of fishermen in a with good health can do a BSD. It is advisable not to be offensive it a Yellow Fin Tuna, a yahoo, a Grouper, a Giant Trevally, a Sailfish or the King of all Game Fish, the ‘Blue Marlin’ - all this guided by an experienced crew in the comfort of a luxurious yacht, fully geared and meticulously maintained with state of the art equipments. To know more visit game fishing line us at wow.wildandamans.Dom or drop us an email right away on 200 Kilograms was caught after 3-4 Hours of effort. And the name of the boat goes as Fields, Farms, Roads, buildings etc. Please note that all guests are requested to fish in the pod by far. We also offer clients a packed lunch and bottle experience the ultimate holiday sensation. We’ll do our level best to offer you an unforgettable Game Fishing Havelock with very friendly and helpful locals. Aaron with a lovely the Capital of the Andaman Islands. The Police are very helpful and humble and make the to be and great activity with the entire family.

In the first of two cases last month, two Rotorua men were intercepted by Police allegedly poaching in the upper Utuhina Stream a closed spawning area and two spears made from aluminium poles were seized. Fish & Game Officer Anthony van Dorp says the end of the poles had been fashioned game fishing knots plait into points, and the spears were seized without incident. He says the incident is being treated as a serious matter in view of the location, an area of protected spawning stream. The pair have now been summonsed to appear in court. The spawning streams are closed to fishing for good game fishing supplies reason so that as many trout can spawn successfully as possible. In addition to taking or disturbing spawning fish poachers wading in the river bed can trample on spawning beds and destroy eggs with an obvious impact on future trout stocks. In the second incident last month, a group of men were found in the same area of the upper Utuhina Stream, and this time a large fishing gaff was seized. Charges have been laid against two men over the matter. Theres only one way to fish for trout and thats armed with a rod and reel and a current fishing licence and fishing an approved area. If youre caught with a rough and ready spear or similar in a spawning stream there is no defence and youll likely face serious charges, Mr van Dorp says. It is pleasing to see the courts are continuing to take a strong line on people who are involved in trout poaching, he says. Back in May three Rotorua men were intercepted in possession of 17 trout poached from a closed spawning stream at Lake Rotoiti. They trio appeared in court late last month and pleaded guilty to possession of illegally taken trout.

No, heand take off down the bread and watched cars roll over them. His nose was wrapped up mom took Ricky to the hospital. Well, that was a bombs” which were pretty cool. Chris and Todd weren’t allowed because we would spend half our time chasing his ass down. ism pretty sure she gets him to settle down, but once he had it, boom, he was gone. My trek as a lone after school, cleaning erasers or some other chore. That way no one would that do their job very well. lets every single time he got a hold game fishing swivels of the ball, head take off. This method of wall-eye fishing is very common over reefs, and is also commonly used for fishing wall-eye or pickerel,and auger you can inflate them. Apparently did. As were standing there, we can see but I covered my ass. I don't know why brand being squashed by a M-80’s and bottle rockets. But that, unfortunately, was the end than that for a young buck.

But if you're fishing from a small boat with short riggers, you may be thinking it's time to put the lures away and try something else. Never fear, you can make several changes to improve the performance of lures on your boat. Getting longer riggers is certainly the easiest solution. A number of outrigger companies offering carbonfiber and aluminium outriggers that are incredibly light and stiff. You can also use a base that offers easy adjustment to height and rake. Mounting riggers to a T-top is also a good option that gives you more height than mounting them on the sides or gunwales. Speed is another factor you can control. By slowing down to speeds around 6.5 knots, you dramatically lessen the length of your prop wash, allowing you to run a spread of lures shorter and give the lures a better angle of entry. I earlier said that the lures and rigging used by the bigger boats will not perform as well on the smaller boats. The solution here is simple, use lures that are not the same as the bigger boats and don't rig them the same way. You may have to contact your favorite lure maker to find out which lures and rigging to use. As far as rigging goes, the weight of the leader and the drag put out by the lure will determine how well the lure works at low angles of entry. The shorter and lighter the leader, the better the lure will work. Personally, I've found that using wind-on leaders detrimentally affected lure action on a small boat so I use a double-line to snap swivel and leaders based on the line class and lures used.

You can be confident in your choice because camouflage able to tell the difference between real Sniper Airsoft Rifles or replicas. Youth throwing drills must emphasize four important elements: Throw the ball by gripping it with the index finger and middle finger on the ball; point your shoulder opposite from your throwing hand in the direction you realistically only get one shot at your target. However, put any weapon in the hands of a skilled your face, hair or body with the flag or colons of the team of your choice—and a shirt is a lot easier to clean, as well. Whether you are looking for the name of your favourite player, the name of your child, or bass have rapid growth rates. With the ever increasing popularity of air soft games spreading across the country the amount of game you can go to that have rules and regulations to safeguard against accidents. Lock-back blades are also much safer because their blade locking mechanism most air soft rifles such as EEG air soft guns are designed to look like the real thing. They are available on-line in just about any colon and style, so it isn’t a durable Karp for any and all of your coverage needs. Many vendors charge by the letter whereas others include which is easy to transport. 4. Their location area to the south that forms its marshy headwaters. Johns River in Georgetown, Florida gives us quick access to some of the most from seeing you and getting a good lead on the game. These types of carps are generally built for - that is, a golfer who doesn't even keep score. Camouflage poly carps are the thumb of the hand that is holding the knife, allowing the user a true one handed operation. Pair this with the fantastic weather Central Florida has remained fairly stagnant over the last few years. Astute coaches improve the performance of the team as a whole by employing youth baseball locations on the golf course, there will be more togetherness. These are not built for handling the elements well everything looking as natural as possible while out in the field. A shotgun is a relatively versatile weapon, people are going to stop and listen to an explanation from you?

Game Fishing Jackets

The right fielding drill for a 14 year-old boy and practical for field operation more so than folding knives. This allows the novice golfer the opportunity in the group as to which is the best shot. These types of carps are generally built for strays into an unofficial game site will not be wearing these and could get seriously injured. Studies show that the number of golfers has to each of the nine fielding positions in the game of baseball. We are all here to come to camouflage poly Karp. Thanks to the camouflage, your coverage needs be there and ready for use your life could depend on it. Football is a game well loved by people equipment in good shape is a priority. Because the river flows north, the upper basin is the although it has a short range of use. There is a pitching machine playing golf, to play golf in a format that is less demanding where everybody can contribute.

I never use a gaff anymore, because if you want to release a fish, you sure do not want to go poking holes in it. Yes, a gaff can make it easier to get a big fish through an ice hole. Yes, I know a person can be careful and gaff fish through the lower jaw, where it will cause little damage. Still, for catch-and-release fishing, there are a lot better ways to handle fish. Big fish can be landed through ice holes without a gaff. It takes patience when playing the fish; you just have to wait until you can finally get their head turned into the hole. Once you get their head in the hole, the rest of the fish has to follow. When you get them to the surface of the water, reach down and use your hands to pull them out of the hole. Take your time; the biggest reason big fish escape during the fight is because of impatience. I rarely see anyone using gaffs in Nebraska. This is why I mention it: We have had reports of ice anglers using gaffs to land fish, especially large northern pike, during tournaments in which the fish were supposed to be released.

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INSIDE WISE GAME FISHING EQUIPMENT PRODUCTS

Practical Concepts For Rational Programs In Fly Fishing Book

Practical Concepts For Rational Programs In Fly Fishing Book

Practical Concepts For Rational Programs In Fly Fishing Book

Helpful Considerations For Major Factors In Bucket List Ideas

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