#this is in the story where ink has a yellow apple and makes a joke about it and bites into it in front of dream

[solid-gold-au]

Upset

[irladagio]

Hello all, I thought I would share my au because I have wanted to for a while. It’s been in development for 5-6 years now. This took me an 1hr 30minutes and it shows so bare with me please 🫶🏽

Alright this is my AU, FIVE YEARS AND I DONT HAVE A NAME FOR IT 😃

 This is just a brain dump it’s insanely unorganized and possibly confusing.

Alright it focuses around the JR because I love them and I probably love them more bc of this au that I’ve grown attached to.

So I kinda tried to stay canon but also definitely strayed away from it a lot

Everyone got a power boost bc it’s more fun when they’re all powerful and have to go through character arcs, I have a lot of OCs in this which are super dear to me 🫶🏽

Alright I’m going to start with the basis. 

Basically the JR is the most powerful organization in their set multiverse. We knew this ofc. Dream runs it and sometimes leans on his close employees for advice, help, etc but he obviously has a problem so he usually does it all himself by this I mean paper work and his daily duties which is usually just paper work.

There are a lot of divisions including justice division, cooking/chefs, security division, orphanage staff, hired mercenaries, medical divisions, office workers, receptionists, maids/janitors, and I’m sure a lot more. 

The JR runs a lot of things and it’s hard to keep track of everything even for dream.

The plot is based on them chasing criminals specifically meme squad, then outcome B happens, but a shadow organization rises with growing power, dream and the jr wondering how they stayed off their radar and these guys are total bad news. Every bad thing, every big criminal has had an association with these guys ( I don’t have a name for them yet, I’ve just been referring to them as AJR, anti-justice reigns, weak name I know) they have a deep hatred for the jr and do everything in their power to take them down. Majority of the story is the JR against AJR the rest is meme squad and inner demon battles 😃

I guess I’ll move on to respective characters unless I forgot something 

Dream- CEO of JR, runs it like a business is basically a politician, businessman, warrior(??),  paperwork man, father (??🧐🧐)

Same backstory as OG, ate 50000 apples, grew light wings, villainized nightmare.

His powers- as I mentioned I gave people power boosts, so he has all his og powers and more. His sword lights up yellow when he uses his powers and a lot of magic comes out of it when used (think raiden shogun) honestly in powers he can shoot light, and if he needed to he probably could incinerate someone/thing. He can shoot a lot of it but if overused he’d need probably couple hours of rest. I wanted to paint him in a way to be a like god but not there completely (again think raiden but a bit more inferior) 

Personality- same old same old

Polite, respectful, serious with his job and with life in general

 lighthearted

Has morals even though they are a bit twisted in a way

He honestly is supposed to be the MC but he’s not really there it’s funny to me he’s just so busy he becomes overshadowed by the other side MCs I didn’t account for that at first but then it felt purposeful.

Ink- Dreams right hand, but moreover assassin/mercenary, here for the money (but that’s where character development come in) 

His backstory is kinda the same but I added some stuff to fix plot holes or just Wtv didn’t make sense, I don’t feel like expanding right now

(I’ll do separate posts with more details on characters maybe lmao probably not)

Powers- alrighty this is gonna be hard to explain. So he has his og powers ink blah blah, but he can use it to morph it into stuff like idk if he wanted to prank someone he could make his ink into food and they would eat it and they just ate his powers not actually food (idk another example😭), I created this as a joke but then added it because I liked it. He can use the ink on/in his body to morph himself, so like change his body this shouldn’t be confused with changing his complete appearance like skin tone eye color etc but he can change like the shape of his body or gender kinda like if he wanted to appear as a girl he could. But he would still look  like same eye color, same skin tone, same hair color etc. but he could shape of his nose, mouth, he usually uses it for fun/to scare people and not on missions unless he has to. 

Personality- rude ahole, absolutely gives no fks, nice is a one in a lifetime occurrence 

his rudeness is from trauma and his lack of knowing how to interact with others 

Sassy 100%

When the character development pops in he becomes better still a ahole tho. 

He cares I promise he just needs a shove in the right direction

(GENDERFLUID INK GENDERFLUID INK, using “he” here bc it’s easier and I have a headache)

Finch- (my favorite and you can tell by all the trauma and pain I gave him 💝🫶🏽🥰)

JD Captain, Inks respective rival, way too loyal to dream until he’s not

This is where I’m scared to post about my AU. Because this guy is the one who probably got the biggest boost. 

His backstory- it’s still based on the 1930-40s in WW2 in America specifically Odessa, Texas.

this was how his downhill of a life started (until he met dream)

Lives with mother and father and 6 siblings because in that time people had way too many kids. And I like the idea of youngest sibling finch. Father gets drafted for war, dies. (This was fav parent btw) mother sad and traumatized, takes it out on kids ⁉️ finch got the worst of it bc MC plot , she wanted him to be perfect which messed with self esteem and just imagine her lovely reaction when he came out to her. Runs away bc it’s too much mental and emotional abuse. This is the shaky part. Comes into contact with a spirit , specifically spirit of anger,revenge , and all things karma. This come into the story later. Okay so I quite haven’t figured this part out but upon coming in contact with this spirit bro gets possessed 😱 and his au shows a rift which he gets sucked into and spit out into dreamswaps au where ever I haven’t done that world building yet. The part where he gets his freaking eye stabbed out is still in the works but I have a basis that I’m not sharing yet but after that dream finds him with a couple guards , and he’s sent to the JR hospital gets new eye and and soon after 3-4 years of insane hard work becomes promoted to captain this is important because it establishes just how hardworking he is. Most wouldn’t get such a promotion until at least 6-7 years? For him to get it so young, so early, is envying and insane. For others they’re jealous and believe he’s undeserving until he really proves himself worthy of such a position and gains the respect (I so graciously believe he deserves)

As you can there is a lot for him and that’s because originally there’s so little so I had a lot of room to implement what would usually be hcs into his character.

Alrighty powers- 

This is hard to explain the spirit gives him these established powers but it makes him lose control if used excessively leaving the spirit to take over and a pain for whoever's around

These powers run on emotions and if he is careless with his expression then the above may happen.

He can like use the magic to float stuff sometimes himself but that takes a lot. 

He can make daggers (similar to an idea that I believe @fresh-trans-fish had)

Still has that scrappy spear of his. 

He has very scared to use these powers but after time bonding with said spirit he became more comfortable in it.

THE CRYSTALS- part of keeping the spirit in control. 

They need each other , spirit (doesn’t have a name yet I’m working on it) and finch need each other to live cause spirit needs a host and will fade out without one and finch is stabilized by said spirit 

Personality- silent man probably the equivalent of the quiet kid maybe a little more mental unstable 

A leader at heart 

Cares about doing the right thing 

Crazy in the way where he talks to himself constantly 

internally hyper, externally calm

Anxiety definitely 

I gave him borderline bc that’s my own hc in og (makes dealing with his powers harder)

Kind but people don’t see it

Tough willpower 

Claims to never cry, probably has a mental breakdown after very shift

He has learned over the years to be less wound up off the job. 

Also he has a bsf (she will be introduced later but she is important to his character development she’s an OC ofc )

Okay, that’s not everything obviously there’s still the OCS but I’m so lazy and I hate writing on my phone. So here’s a quick basis of the MC OCs 

Ash- lead doctor in the medical department, close with dream been in the JR for a LONG time, like a mother to certain people (cough cough finch and katja) 

Katja- co captain to finch and bsf to him also, hates ink in a weird sibling way, 24

Eliza- weird relationship to dream, people don’t know why she’s always in the JR also oddly close with ink and finch, late 20s

Amayah- lead detective, cool uncle vibes, early 30s

Brianna- dreams adopted daughter (that’s all I’ll say about that 😃)

UGH THIS WAS A PAIN TO WRITE ESPECIALLY ON MY PHONE I WISH THOUGHTS COULD JUST TRANSFER ON THE PAGE. 

Tbh there’s probably so much I’m forgetting but it’ll come to me and I’ll write it down.

Autocorrect made this 10x more painful. 

Okay that’s definitely not everything (I’ve said for the fifth time) but if any questions then please comment 

I hope this has a good reach but lmk your thoughts! 

[numbertale]

NUMBERTALE

[ESPAÑOL]

What is it really?

This Au was supposed to be a pacifist. Due to a near cataclysmic event that happened in this universe it is difficult to know exactly what caused its disappearance.

The only witness capable of explaining the cause of this self-erasing Au is his Sans, although he does not remember it due to fainting, apparently the impact erased something important.

He said that his name was never Sans, that it was a nickname, he calls himself Eight, one of the 12 ... What does it mean that he belongs to the 12?

If you ask who is narrating this, it is said by a friend of Eight, Jackson, I can not say that AU came from since it would be Spoiler my friend.

All this my enigmatic friend told me.

Now the boss give details that I can not say since I have no knowledge of this.

Basic information

Eight/ Sans

Name: Eight Age: 28, currently 31

Height: 1.58 (skeleton) 1.68 (Human)

Weight: 54 kg (skeleton) 64 kg (Human)

Species: Skeleton

Favorite Food: Sushi / Apples

Personality

At first he was a jovial, sociable, relaxed and not very serious sans, after witnessing the cataclysm that ended up destroying his universe.

He became calm, serious and more reserved, apart from showing things seriously, he shows to be constantly alert.

They have a great distrust of those around them, especially the Charas.

He does not feel a feeling of greatness of his achievements to save others, only satisfaction of doing the right thing, he does his best not to be so visible to the rest of Sans and other people in the multiverse.

He prefers to do what he considers to be work in the shadows and anonymously.

Ah, unlike the original Sans, he hates jokes and jokes. Ketchup does not like. Apart from being someone quite active and competent.

He has a taste for board games, especially dominoes.

It is more accessible with children and the elderly.

He likes cats and dogs.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Appearance

Skeleton

Human

Character / Background

After being in the vacuum of his AU, he was found by Core Frisk, since it took him to the Omega line, he was for a while learning to handle his new magic, one day he decided to leave it to start a trip to know better the multiverse.

In one of his trips he meets Horror Sans, who wants to kill him, to his bad luck he was transformed into a human so Horror wanted to devour him. When trying to defend himself, he discovers that he can make two types of weapons appear, which he called Aoi Shio and Nigai Orenji. Inadvertently he opened a portal that led him to Underswap, managing to escape Horror.

He was a prisoner for Berry for a few minutes until he returned to normal to the surprise of Swap Papyrus and Berry, who did not finish asking him questions. After taking him to undyne to do some studies, Berry introduces him to another Sans named Jackson. At first he did not like me as he kept making several bad jokes.

In an unexpected moment, screams are heard from Grillby's, everyone is on their way until they manage to see that the cause is another sans but very different, it was Killer, Papyrus and Jackson began to fight against that Sans, Berry helped evacuate to the area together with other monsters.

Eight froze, recalling the cataclysm again, her thoughts being interrupted by Papyrus and Jackson. Killer had Berry who was about to kill him. Papyrus managed to save him but suffered a stab in the shoulder.

Jackson made Killer back down as well as give him a fight, Eight when seeing such an act made his yellow weapon (Nigai) appear and attacked Killer, gave him some battle, Jackson and Eight joined forces and managed to expel Killer through a portal.

Eight ended up fainting. After a few minutes he woke up at Undyne's house, where Berry, Papyrus, and Jackson were. Jackson told her that Undyne did some studies for her that she has 2 human souls apart from only having half a monster soul, she believes this is the reason why she transforms into a human.

Jackson tells him about the existence of Sans in the multiverse who are equal to Killer, who come to an AU either to eliminate it or simply make its inhabitants suffer.

Due to this experience, in addition to learning about the existence of these Sans, Eight makes the decision to become an anonymous vigilante protector of the Au.

Weapons / Skills

To fight and defend himself, he most frequently uses his weapons which are the Aoi Shio and Nigai Orenji, better known as the Shio sword and the Nigai spear.

He rarely uses his blue magic and bone summoning

The only thing he cannot use frequently in battle is his Gaster Blaster

When wearing them for a long time, if you exceed the time limit, the wound on your left eye begins to expand. If that happens, he loses control like sanity and becomes a bloodthirsty killer.

Not being able to use 89% of his powers like other sans this limits him and gives him a slight disadvantage.

He specialized in hand-to-hand combat.

He manages his two weapons to perfection, and creates his own traps.

One of the abilities he has is that he can transform into a human temporarily, although this is something that he cannot control of his own free will, since he does not know for sure when he will become a human.

The transformation has caused problems such as the occasion that Horror wanted to devour him. Having been kidnapped and another for scaring a town.

The only way he can tell when he will turn human is when the unhealed wound in his left eye begins to ache.

Undyne of Underswap believes that this is due to Eight not possessing in its entirety his monster soul, the two human souls that are united to his soul cause the transformation. Although he does not know why they cause the pain in his eye.

Relations

Jackson became a great friend to him, although he is constantly annoyed by someone he can trust.

With Core he had little problems but he gets along well with her. The Omega line is a temporary home for him.

He doesn't know many in the Multiverse as he prefers to be someone anonymous. The times when he interacts, he is a bit ostile but he becomes understanding and calm.

Curiosities

The only friendship he has made are with Berry, Jackson and Core Frisk.

When he loses control he claims to be someone named "A", belonging to the 12.

He has a journal in which he writes information on other Auses and Sans, apart from containing some of his Au's history along with his first days in the void after his Au disappeared. The diary was a birthday present from his Papyrus and his Frisk.

He was unaware of Ink's existence until he accidentally ran into it in a battle with Error.

The name of their weapons are in Japanese, translated into Spanish are Blue Tide (Aoi Shio) and Bitter Orange (Nigai Orenji).

His Gaster Blasters somehow have a conscience of his own, since they sometimes give him advice when it comes to fights. Each Gaster Blaster has different features, one is yellow with a scar on his left eye just like Eight's, the other is light blue with no scar.

His taste for sushi and oriental food came from a visit to an Au who was set in feudal Japan.

He is a somewhat lonely Sans and is rarely accompanied by any other Sans, other than Jackson

He does not consider himself a hero as such, despite being calm and preferring to resolve things through dialogue. He will not hesitate to kill whoever disturbs the peace in the Aus. As in a case in which he traveled to Underfell, where he ended up killing two monsters that he considered dangerous.

The only parallel version of them is its Fell version called Tooc, it does not have a Swap version.

When redesigning the character, his personality and attitudes are inspired by the Quiverwing Duck character. While its design is inspired by Cross Sans.

I needed to clarify a few things to the new Eight, since I did not think I was creating a more complex story for him.

It is the only information I will give so far.

This Au believes it as of 2017. I don't remember the exact date.

The comics of this Sans I left them suspended due to my dedication to other projects. But it still stands to continue the comics.

COMICS NUMBERTALE / SYNOPSIS

OTHER CURIOSITIES

SPIN-OFF/ DARK MEMORIES

[makomori]

TWO | FAMILIARITY (Brand New Story)

Ushijima Wakatoshi x OC

Nishimura Yua has to take her nephew to his first rep practice with the Tohoku Tigers at Shiratorizawa Academy. Ushijima Wakatoshi is filling in for the assistant coach on said team.

She's recovering from a nasty breakup and he's reeling from a stunning finals loss against the Jackals.

Yua's drawn to his composure and honesty.

Wakatoshi finds her warmth and tenacity intriguing.

It's the start of a Brand New Story; can they heal from past hurts and endure new challenges in order to help each other trust and love again?

CHAPTERS

ONE | NEW TERRITORY

Length: 2.8k words

Yua's well-earned vacation starts with breakfast at her favourite cousin's house. But her habit of being early brings her face-to-face with a certain left-handed wing spiker. 

If you don't like where you are, change it. | Jim Rohn

SATURDAY, 7:33 A.M.

I could get used to this.

Nishimura Yua fully intended to go into Tetsuya’s house to have breakfast. But she was currently leaning against the roof of her car, chin resting comfortably between her hands. The sun was out, a light, crisp breeze swept through the ends of her long, ink-black hair. And the temperature was steady at a cool, but comfortable fourteen degrees Celsius. All signs to the start of a good vacation.

Oh, I could definitely get used to this.

It was hard to describe spring in Sendai. “Beautiful" wasn’t enough to describe how beautiful the city really was. She had as few weeks off until the renovations at Peak 1’s new event management office were finished. A picnic in Mikamine was definitely in order; Amaya would join her in a heartbeat. Or they take a trip to Shiroishi with the kids. Yua loved how quiet it was along the riverside.

After everything that happened in Tokyo, she needed peace in her life right now.

Yua shook her head; it was too early for her mind wander into unsavoury places. Tetsu asked her to grab some eggs because he was making her favourite— scrambled eggs with furikake and rice. Her stomach groaned loudly at the thought, so she locked her car, snatched her bags, and quickly made her way to her cousin’s compact, but welcoming suburban home. As soon as she let herself in, the familiar sounds of fish being grilled, and the warm scent of rice threatened to overwhelm her senses.

“Ojama shimasu!” She called out as she hastily put on a pair of slippers. Tetsu had always been an excellent home cook, and she was happy that she’d get to eat his cooking more often. She wished Amaya could’ve joined them, but she was on a business trip and wouldn’t be back until Monday.

“You’re late,” her cousin teased when he saw her come in. He was still sporting his Dragonball pjs, but his shift at Sendai City Hospital didn’t start until nine, and it was just past seven-thirty now. “I was just about to send out a search party.” He was trying not to laugh because he knew that she always arrived at least a half hour early for anything.

“Well, I was gonna break the door down at seven, but I feel like you would’ve given me shit about it,” Yua huffed as she handed him the eggs. While he deftly cracked a few into a new pan, she moved to the counter to start chopping vegetables. But Tetsu’s right hand shot out and protectively covered the chopping board and its contents.

Before she could protest, he pointed at the dinner table and scolded, “You’re on vacation and I’m treating you to breakfast. Now, sit.”

Yua gaped at him for a few seconds. As one of the Event Directors at Peak 1, she was usually the one giving out instructions, not taking them. But Tetsu was right. She was on vacation, and she made Tetsu promise to remind her to relax.

But that was easier said because she was used to always having a hand in things, even if it was something as simple as helping with breakfast. Kazuki, as a joke, said she was a control freak when they first met. Ironically, it ended up being one of the main reasons they broke up a month ago. This was one of the few times she saw one of her greatest strengths as something negative.

And she still didn’t know how to feel about it.

A gentle nudge from Tetsu brought her back to reality. “You’ll need a good breakfast to deal with the twins later. Natsuko and Sayuri don’t know you’re babysitting, so they’re gonna freak out when they come back from their sleepover.”

Yua pulled out a chair and made herself comfortable. No point in dwelling on past mistakes now. “They’re growing up so fast,” she whined. “I can’t believe they’re eleven now. And Rui’s starting high school in two years!” She sometimes forgot that Tetsu was thirty-six, eight years older than her. He had always been fitness nut, and still somehow managed to be a dad and full-time nurse.

Her cousin laughed and flipped the now-scrambled eggs in the air with ease. “I can’t believe it either. I saw more white hairs pop up the other day, but Amaya says they make me look distinguished.” Yua’s eyes flicked to the back of his head and was surprised when she saw silver peppering his black, low fade. Silver also made an appearance in the beard lining his defined jaw.

“You’re getting old,” Yua ribbed, taking satisfaction at the dark scowl he shot back at her. “Good thing I stopped by Ishiiya last night. These should make you feel much better.” She pulled a tray of chocolate rolls out of her bag and presented them triumphantly on the table.

“Fuck, you got the large ones, too,” Tetsu groaned. “Hide those. I don’t stand a chance against the kids if they find them.”

“Don’t worry,” Yua soothed. “These are just for you and Amaya. I bought apple and custard buns for the little monsters.”

Tetsu’s relieved sigh brought a smile to her face. If he was still fighting over sweets with his kids, he wouldn’t feel old until they were grown and had kids of their own. Ten minutes later, breakfast was ready. In addition to the grilled fish, furikake, and rice, Tetsu had made sunomono and ensured a generous amount of nori was right beside her.

“Itadakimasu!”

The endless gurgling in Yua’s stomach was finally soothed a few plates later. Despite not seeing each other for nearly a year, the two of them spoke and laughed as if they’d seen each other the day before. Tetsu was an only child and lived just a few streets away when they were in Osaki, so he immediately took on the big brother role when she was born.

When he was in high school, he was never embarrassed when she came around and always made time for her, even when he was with his friends. A big part of why she volunteered to move to Sendai and help set up the new office was because Tetsu and Amaya lived only a short drive from her apartment. Plus, her parents and childhood home were now less than an hour’s drive north. It felt so good to be close to home and to people who loved her.

“Thanks again for taking Rui to his first practice with the Tigers. He’s been talking about it nonstop for the last few weeks.”

Yua popped another nori piece into her mouth. “Oh, hush. You know I’d do anything for you and Amaya. And I love Rui-kun to pieces.” They had helped her out countless times in the last few years, so this was the least she could do for them. “I still can’t believe it’s hosted by the Shiratorizawa Academy. Tak is so proud of him.”

“I’m pretty sure Saitou-sensei coached Tak while he was at Shiratorizawa,” Tetsu said with a wide grin. “He said that Rui has the potential to become a great outside wing spiker.”

“Looks like you have a baby ace on your hands,” Yua laughed. Rui was currently at Chidoriyama Junior High. But if he was already noticed by a coach at Shiratorizawa, the chances of him getting into the academy had already increased.

“Rui’s had his eyes set on Shiratorizawa ever since he saw Tak play,” Tetsu chuckled. He started to gather the empty plates and didn’t protest when Yua moved to help. The look she gave him left no room for argument. “I’d be scared shitless for their entrance exams, but Rui’s way smarter than I ever was at his age.”

“Tak said they were brutal but making the volleyball team was worth it.” It was the first time she’d seen her younger brother want something so badly and put in all he had to achieve it. He took that work ethic with him when he graduated and now, he was the starting middle blocker on the men’s team at Waseda University in Tokyo. She knew that Rui could go down that same path if he worked hard and continued to love the game.

“Ugh, tell me again why I decided to switch with Ryo-kun and take the early shift?” Tetsu yawned and tried to sit back down, but Yua pulled him up and shooed him toward the stairs.

“Because you have three lovely children, a beautiful wife, and freeloading cousin to feed, that’s why!”

“The freeloading cousin can afford to feed herself,” he snickered as he grudgingly started up the stairs.

“Nuh uh! I just went through a breakup; everyone should be feeding me.”

~

“Yua-chan? Yua-chan, wake up!”

Yua groaned and wondered who was ruining the best nap she’d ever taken in her life. Maybe it was just a dream. She tried to chase the blissful weightless of sleep, but it quickly fled her grasp. Her eyes blinked open and she saw a Rui standing over her, a toothy grin on his youthful face. He looked almost exactly like Tetsu with angles defining his features, but his eyes were soft like Amaya’s. She returned his grin and sat up from the bed in the spare room, working the odd kinks from her neck slowly.

Rui was wearing his red Chidoriyama tracksuit, and a yellow and blue volleyball was tucked under his right arm. Suddenly, Yua remembered why she was at Tetsu’s house in the first place.

“Rui-kun, what time is it?” She asked, her breath hitching in her throat. Had she overslept? That was one of her greatest fears. Damn, she forgot to set an extra alarm—

“It’s 11:25. I was gonna wake up you earlier, but it looked like you were having a good nap.” The laughter in his voice was evident, but he also sympathized with her because he felt the same after a long practice.

Yua heaved a sigh of relief. Thank goodness. She’d feel terrible if Rui were late to his first practice because of something she did. “You’re right, I was having a good nap. But thank you for letting me sleep.”

“Kaa-san always lets me sleep after practice,” Rui replied, taking a seat beside her. “She says it’ll help me grow.”

“I guess she’s right because you’re taller than me already,” Yua teased. It looks like he’d grown almost two inches since the last time she saw him.

“Well, you’re not that tall anyway, Yua-chan.” The laughter was back in his voice. He was definitely Tetsu’s son.

“You’re sounding more like your dad every day,” She pouted as she ruffled his thick black hair. “He always gave me a hard time about my height.”

Rui was so happy when he heard that Yua-chan moved to Sendai. He never got to see her because Tokyo was far, even by train. She and Tak-kun had always treated him and his sisters like siblings and they took them to the best places whenever they did come to visit.

Yua checked her phone. 11:28. Shiratorizawa was only twenty minutes away by car. It was early, but she wondered if Rui wanted to go early to check things out and get a head start on warming up. The coaches and managers were usually there to set everything up, anyway.

“Rui-kun, I know it’s early, but do you want to leave n—”

Her nephew cut her off by jumping to his feet. “I’ve got my bags by the door already!” Before she could answer, he hurried to the door and down the stairs. She smiled. Tetsu wasn’t exaggerating when he said Rui was excited for practice.

Half an hour later, they pulled into Shiratorizawa Academy. Yua had forgotten how big the place actually was. But she had visited enough to remember how to get to the office and the main gymnasium. She was worried that the office assistant wouldn’t let them in, but fortunately, one of the coaches had already arrived and was setting everything ready for practice.

Yua could feel Rui’s excitement build with each hurried step they took towards the main The grip on her hand grew firmer as the sharp, repetitive thud of a volleyball hitting the wall reached their ears. His pace quickened and she matched it so her shoulder wouldn’t be ripped out of its socket.

“Someone’s doing a wall spikes drill!” He all but squealed just before he dragged her through the doors. “Coach Hayate made us do that yesterday!”

Yua grinned at his energy; it reminded her of Tak when he started playing. “Tak hated that drill until he learned how to snap his wrist down properly,” she chuckled. “He almost drove mom crazy because he’d practice outside against the kitchen for hours.”

But Rui had barely heard her. He had tossed his duffel onto the floor and begun rummaging through it quickly, muttering something she couldn’t quite hear. Not wanting to disturb him, Yua checked her watch. 11:58. Practice didn’t start until 1, and she still hoped that they weren’t imposing by being this early.

Punctuality was a hard habit to break since being an event planner repeatedly taught her that there was no such thing as “too early”. She had witnessed several events almost derail despite everyone arriving early and trying to account for any surprises. It never hurt to be on the slightly paranoid side.

Yua quickly found the source of the steady THUD, THUD-THUD, they heard on the way in. At the back of the spacious gym, a man was diligently performing a wall spikes drill just like Rui had said. He wore black shorts and a white, long-sleeved shirt. Yua could tell that he was tall, but that was no surprise as most players were close to six feet and over.

What did surprise her was his technique. Even from this distance, she noted that his movements were effortless and precise; habits that could only be honed through hours and hours of practice. As the ball bounced toward the man, he cranked his left arm back and paused for a breath before a hard and fast overhead swing sent the ball hurling back to the wall to start the endless cycle again. Yua wasn’t a player by any means, but she knew enough about volleyball to understand this man’s skill was something special.

No doubt he was a wing spiker.

That surprised Yua even more. There were very few lefties in any sport, and she only knew of one volleyball player who made a name for himself playing southpaw. As she eyed him more closely, she thought his features and bearing seemed familiar, but she wouldn’t be able to discover more until he turned around.

She saw the net, posts, and antennas laying haphazardly on the ground nearby; he must have started to set up for practice before deciding to warm up instead. Besides, it was easier to set up with two people. He’d most likely accept her offer to help if she extended it.

As Yua considered more options, she was reminded about how much she missed going to Tak’s games. The Waseda campus was only a twenty-minute train ride from her apartment, but she could barely find time for even herself in the last six months because of the back-to-back events she had to plan and execute for Peak 1. Anything social had to take the unfortunate backseat. She always made sure to watch replays of his games, though. It made her heart clench every time she thought about it, because she was his biggest fan other than mom and dad.

Yua shook her head, opting not to give her guilt a chance to creep in. There was enough of that to deal with in her other relationships. She crossed her arms and went into planning mode. Eyeing the man again, it was safe to say that he was either the head coach or, at least, an assistant coach. Ideally, the net had to be up and level before the rest of players and coaching staff arrived, so he’d definitely benefit if she offered to help him.

Plus, she could introduce Rui and ask if he’d be willing to pepper with him or practice a drill before everything started. Yes, that could work. It was a win-win situation. Tetsu probably knew the other coach’s name, but she forgot to ask him before he left this morning. Ah! She turned back to Rui, hoping that he’d be able to help, but her brow furrowed when she saw him gaping at the man on the other side of the gym.

“Rui-kun?” He instinctively reached for her and she closed her hand over his, hoping to provide him with some reassurance.

“Yua-chan…” His normally strong voice was timid, so she could barely hear it above the ball’s constant thudding.

“Sweetheart, what’s the matter?”

He swallowed, trying to find his voice again. He turned to her, his brown eyes blown wide with awe and realization.

“T-that’s Ushijima Wakatoshi."

[twistednuns]

October 2020

To buttress - increase the strength of or justification for; reinforce / to mollycoddle - to give someone too much care or protection. 

A letter from Nina. One of those weird internet connections. Not my first one, certainly not my last one.

Frank’s DnD backstory reads quite insightful/poetic to me as he has taken so much from his life. He might have done it without intent but it’s quite obvious to me. I’ve agreed to make a character sketch for him. I’m looking forward to the challenge but I’m also afraid of starting the project because obviously I want it to be perfect. Anyway so the other night I sat at his kitchen table and started drawing a facial composite for his goliath. Lots of sketches actually with him giving me some prompts and ideas. I think he loved watching me do my magic. What a peaceful moment.

Applause from some students. Simply for entering the room. They must really hate their English teacher, eh?

I’ve started forming the habit of drawing tarot cards on a full moon and new moon night. It helps me set an intention for the following two weeks. So on the first of October I drew the Queen of Wands to represent me and I’m loving it. It’s the perfect choice.

The fabric dyeing process for the Plot exhibition at Haus der Kunst

Inviting warmth into my life. Wearing appropriately warm clothing. Even hats. Drinking tea all the time. Turning the heating on even though it’s only September. Warm breakfast. Ayurveda inspiration. Hot baths. Thinking about buying an electric heating blanket for my bed.So far I’ve been taking a hot water bottle to bed with me pretty much every night.

Finding one of those Barts woolly animal hats online. This one came with tigers. And the seller sent me a cherry marzipan teabag. I enjoyed it on a cold and rainy Saturday morning.

FAQ: The Status of the Shits Women Have Left to Give

Reading the final scenes of Leigh Bardugo’s Shadow and Bone trilogy. I actually took the wrong bus one evening and ended up in front of one of the Pinakotheken instead of Villa Stuck. I must have been quite immersed. I’m very happy with the ending. I mean, the main character is walking around the house barefoot with the smell of fresh paint following her, her hair loose. What a wonderful image.

The wind blowing through the maple trees outside my living room window. I’m just going to quote a Wikipedia article to explain what happened next: The distinctive fruits are called samaras, “maple keys”, “helicopters”, “whirlybirds” or “polynoses”. These seeds occur in distinctive pairs each containing one seed enclosed in a “nutlet” attached to a flattened wing of fibrous, papery tissue. They are shaped to spin as they fall and to carry the seeds a considerable distance on the wind. People often call them “helicopters” due to the way that they spin as they fall. During World War II, the US Army developed a special airdrop supply carrier that could carry up to 65 pounds (29 kg) of supplies and was based on the maple seed.

Monsieur Wiener - I’ve paid him a visit when I had problems with my analogue Pentax camera!

I don’t know why but one dark Friday evening I slipped into the empty church at Odeonsplatz. I loved the peaceful atmosphere, the specific smell and the red church candles flickering.

I loved meeting Flo. We had such a great time, constantly joking, talking about this and that. Sailor Mercury, Hades, our family. His wink. He said that I had been exactly right but in the end apparently I wasn’t. It stung because he had been one of the rare guys in the last months (years, actually) I actually liked. Oh well. I guess it wasn’t meant to be after all. This is what the Universe had to say about it the other day: There are no accidents. If it’s appeared on your life’s radar, this is why: to teach you that dreams come true; to reveal that you have the power to fix what’s broken and heal what hurts; to catapult you beyond seeing with just your physical senses; and to lift the veils that have kept you from seeing that you’re already the person you dreamed you’d become.

Videos of Marno and Erin together. Also: she is so freakin’ beautiful as a marauder.

A surprise call from Ann-Katrin.

Sweet chai tea with milk.

The bright moonlight making the neighbours’ roof look like fish scales.

Forensic linguistics. I listened to a podcast episode about the Unabomber who was only discovered after his brother had noticed some stylistic irregularities in his manifesto. You can’t eat your cake and have it too.

Autumn leaves. Especially when it’s just the outer leaves turning red or yellow while the rest of the foliage is still green.

Sitting next to my ten-year-old student Ella on the bus on our way home on a Friday afternoon. She’s a very chatty Gemini and even though her self-importance and constant talking can be quite annoying I’ve kinda taken a liking to her.

A bunch of Alstroemeria in my dark green glass vase on the desk. A pretty image.

I still appreciate how beautiful my LuLuLemon thermos bottle is after all this time.

I should probably mention my new hair (extensions). Well, it looks absolutely gorgeous from the front. But I already know that I won’t get them again because you can see the glue in a few places, it’s quite hard, often painful and feels unnatural. And of course it’s much too expensive.

Baby carrots with King hummus.

My lunch dates with Becky.

Making my favourite sour thai curry. With rice noodles. And peanuts and cilantro. Yum.

Starting to work on a big soapstone sculpture. It’s going to be a hand! I love it when I have a group of calm students. It allows me to work on a project with them.

Making delicious pumpkin lasagna.

Visiting Manu’s mum. Making plum dumplings together. A fun afternoon in their kitchen.

A very cosy Sunday. Waking up at 5:30am. Watching Practical Magic in bed. Having a slice of pumpkin lasagna for breakfast. A sudden urge to get out, dressing up to keep out the cold, going out, early, streetlights still on. A walk through the woods. I loved how calm everything was. Being out before all the others had a chance to disturb the stillness with their kids and dogs and bicycles. Making lebkuchen. Lots of pecans. Having a nap. Writing a letter. Drawing weird mushrooms and bugs.

Autumnal smells. The moist smell of the forest ground, mushrooms, the smell of chimneys on a cold Sunday morning. Incense, gingerbread spices. Facial oil with lavender and iris. Roasted pecans.

A crafty day. I made a haunted house, some ghosts, spiders, bats, skulls and pumpkins out of paper.

Schlurp.

Meeting Frank in front of Residenztheater. The whole square was empty, he was the only person there. Waiting for me. Looking up to the opera roof. What an impressive building.

Talking about living life in story mode and action mode. I feel so stuck in action mode at the moment and desperately want to switch to story mode. Fantasy, magic, coincidences and meaning.

Spicy pumpkin recipes in the current issue of Schrot und Korn.

Rice and hazelnut milk as a bedtime treat.

Collecting autumn leaves. Chestnuts, acorns, feathers, beechnuts. Making a little autumnal alter with some crystals.

Thursday mornings. So much time for myself. Lots of tea, warm breakfast.

Treating myself to massages and nice facial creams and serums. Ya Yah is such a gifted person. I love her massages the most. The other day I also got a facial for the first time in many many years. It was nice to be wrapped in an extremely fluffy blanket. When the bright lights were on I could see different colours after closing my eyes and imagined being at a tropical beach. Unintentional ASMR sounds from the rubber gloves. Cosy.

Spicy winter tea in my new thermos bottle. The steam swirling up from my favourite mug (the moon phase mug I bough in Canada).

Buying cheap sparkly stickers, washi tape and stamps. Just because.

Pecan nuts are the BEST. Crazy delicious.

Porridge with coconut milk and mango for breakfast. Persimmons. Candles in the morning.

Gloomy twilight. The dark hour right before sunset/sunrise. Spooky black silhouettes against the ink blue or greyish white sky. Fairy lights. Memories of spending Halloween at Greyfriar’s Kirkyard in Edinburgh.

Finding yet another woolly hat for my collection. This time with pheasants.

Deltavenus’ Instagram feed.

Cutting open a fresh lime.

Happily singing along to my two favourite mantras (Jai Mata Kali / Om Gam Ganapataye Namaha) while making apple galette. Trying to harmonise in different ways.

A very surprising call from Claudia. She ended up in my kitchen, drinking half a bottle of wine.

A lovely Sunday with Sash. A walk through the English garden.   Watching the waterfall, falling leaves, backlit by the afternoon sunlight. Haus der Kunst. Getting in for free (art teacher bonus). I really liked the Michael Armitage exhibition and the enormous dyed curtains in the hall. Franz Erhard Walther’s Dust of Stars autobiography was impressive as well. I just ordered the book online; I’m looking forward to reading it. We also had a drink at Goldene Bar and enjoyed a late lunch at Baoz Bar.

Becky leaving me a lovely note and an English magazine on my desk.

Fink’s Knödelstube with Lena and Sash. We had 13 different kinds of dumplings. Heavenly delicious.

I came to realise that mornings are my favourite time of the day. I love gloomy, dark sunrises and my usual productivity highs.

Writing limericks with the kids.

Getting lost in the woods after dark which might not look like a good think at first glance but I uncovered a little secret - some bee hives I had never seen before!

A mild obsession with The Corrs’ song Old Town. I didn’t even know where it came from. It’s not a song I’ve ever actively listened to.

Learning about sesame plants. Another one of those plants I expected to look completely different.

I can smell mushrooms. On Saturday morning I went to the forest again early in the morning and whenever I would get a whiff of mushrooms and look down there they were.

Dog owners wishing me a good morning on my walk. Interestingly only men, the women tend to ignore me.

Wicked! - Modern Art’s Interest in the Occult. Learning about Leonora Carrington.

James’ chameleons in art class. He drew one representing each of his family members. He was the one licking a bat. Bold.

Buying far too many books. But I found out that Naomi Novik just published a new novel about a school of magic. And within two days I came across the writer Ursula K. Le Guin three times so I took it as a sign and got one of her books as well.

Prepare for the Roaring Twenties - The human desire to socialize will survive the pandemic.

A deep talk session with Jonathan about getting old, having children, self-worth, dating, obeying rules.

Finding my favourite pair of jeans on Kleiderkreisel for a fraction of the original price. And a baseball jacket with a Strange Ladies Society print on the back.

A walk in the forest before work. Something I’ve never done before I think. So good for my nerves, really.

The art of decision-making.

Joy praising me for my authoritative voice (effectively making the fifth-graders do what I want).

Decorating the classroom with the fifth-graders. I love my haunted house on the window pane, their lovely spiders, ghosts and bats. I should probably mention that our class mascot is a cute spider named Crawley so we’re all quite into spooky stuff. On the last day before the holidays we all showed up in costumes, played a Halloween quiz, listened to creepy music and I brought some candy, too. Fun!

Meeting the gang on Halloween. Japanese-inspired dinner and a board game.

[hoodie-lover]

Palette and Goth Sitting in a Tree Part 5

Palette was not to be alone in the house without his parents in the room or being nearby. They kept a certain distance, but Palette was under constant supervision. Dream also told Geno and Reaper what happened, and to be on the lookout. They were the best way to get to Palette after all.

“So, Palette, why did you lie when you said you didn’t know how Nightmare got in here?” Ink said and Palette froze.

“I have no idea what you are talking about.” Palette said, he didn’t want Goth to get in trouble.

“Palette, I know you’re lying. We need to know, if we don’t know how Nightmare got in here, we can’t protect you. I don’t want him to get you.” Ink said and Palette looked away.

“I don’t know.” Palette said, and Ink sighed.

“I just want you to be safe. I want you to be able to trust me.” Ink said, hugging Palette tightly.

“I know. It’s just, I don’t think it can do anything. I’m not even sure he left.” Palette admitted and Ink held him tighter.

“We’ll protect you. No matter what.” Ink said. “And Dream told me you lied. We all know I’m too dumb to notice that stuff.” Ink joked and Palette laughed.

“You sure are.” Palette said, laughing.

“Please, how did he get in?” Ink pressed, and Palette trembled.

“You’ll get mad.” Palette said, and Ink’s face grew grim.

“Are you responsible in any way? Did you let him in?” Ink asked, and Palette shook his head.

“I didn’t mean to! I didn’t know it would! I just opened a book and he popped out. Honest.” Palette blurted out, crying.

“Ok. I’m going to tell Dream. Are you going to be ok?” Ink asked, and the young child shook his head.

“Alright. Let’s go find Dream.” Ink said as he picked up Palette as he looked around their house.

Ink and Palette looked around the house until they found Dream taking a nap on the couch, he was purring like a cat as he snuggled a teddy bear. It was a commonly known fact that Dream never slept alone, up until the apple incident that it, so he often had to sleep with something or someone to cuddle to feel safe.

“Where did he get that teddy bear?” Palette asked and Ink shrugged.

“Forgot.” He said and Palette laughed.

Dream has had more pleasant Dreams, though implying any of his subconscious activity is pleasant is far too generous. He wanted to see if Nightmare would try to harass him in his sleep or give him an ominous warning or some sorts that wouldn’t actually be helpful. But it seemed he was trapped in a dark void until he woke up, though he knew that the lack of anything in his dream was Nightmare’s doing.

“Come on out. I know you’re there.” Dream said, growling.

“Brother!” A small voice cried out, and Dream looked behind him as he saw a shocking sight.

His brother uncorrupted was there, crying as he ran into Dream;s arms. He was smaller than the yellow brother, reaching his waist as he grabbed him tightly.

“I missed you.” He said, nuzzling Dream.

“You’re not real.” Dream said, he didn’t bother hugging the smaller back.

“Smart.” Nightmare said, his voice deep and velvety.

Nightmare grew to Dream’s height, dark tar covering him and his clothes becoming more casual.

“So, why do you want to see me? I thought you didn’t want to see me ever again.” Nightmare said, remembering their last confrontation.

“What do you want? Why are you targeting my son?” Dream snarled, clenching his fists.

“He has such an interesting parentage. Technically the grandchild of the creators themselves, and embedded with positive emotions, yet no connection to the tree at all. And he’s my nephew! Why can’t I see him? And we can both relate to your strict tendencies. Sugar is good. We both have had to sneak behind your back to get a taste of that deliciousness.” Nightmare said, pouting.

“I was six! I had no idea what it was and was paranoid! I have changed, and so have you. You are not my brother, and he is not your nephew! I may have once said you were, a long time ago, but I know better.” Dream said, looking away from Nightmare.

“It seems you really have changed. Sad, I was hoping to meet Him again.” Nightmare said, still pouting.

“Shattered is dead! You killed him!” Dream screamed, standing up tall.

“I did. Didn’t I? The funny part was, he wanted me back. Shame, Shattered would help me. You would have helped me. We could have bonded and been together. But, I think I have a compromise.” Nightmare said, clapping his hands together as his eye turned into a star.

“You will not!” Dream said, realizing what Nightmare meant.

“Wakey wakey Dreamy. I think your husband and child need you.” Nightmare said, waving goodbye as he vanished.

Dream jolted up in a panic as he held his mouth, trying not to scream. He held his teddy bear close as he looked at Ink and Palette.

“Hey.” He said, shaking as he got up.

“Did you have a nightmare?” Ink asked, holding Palette close.

“Yes. And I know what he wants.” Dream said, looking at Palette and then Ink.

“He wants to replicate the Shattered incident, but with Palette. I think that’s what he wants, he talked about it and he also tried to relate his situation pre-apple incident to Palette’s.” Dream said, and Ink gasped.

“What’s Shattered?” Palette asked and Dream sighed.

“You know how the Nightmare we know isn’t my brother?” Dream said, making Palette even more confused.

“Yeah?” Palette said, this was basic knowledge.

“I didn’t always think that way. I thought I could save him. I learned the hard way that I couldn’t.” Dream said, “Sit down, I need to tell you a story.” Dream said and he brought them to the couch.

“Ink, can you tell Geno and Reaper that Nightmare wants to recreate Shattered with Palette? They need to know.” Dream said and Ink nodded.

“What are you talking about?” Palette asked and Dream sighed.

“I corrupted myself. That’s who Shattered is.” Dream said, and Palette gasped.

“How?! Aren’t there no black apples left?” Palette asked, holding his head.

“There aren’t, Nightmare and I don’t remember how it happened, corrupting and uncorrupting apparently cause small bits of amnesia. But anyway, when I got corrupted, Nightmare became uncorrupted, he tried to uncorrupt me without getting recorrupted. He failed. That experience taught me that the person I’m fighting is not my brother, Shattered was not me, I could never say he was.” Dream said, and Palette was zoning out.

“Palette? Are you ok?” Dream asked, and Palette looked at him.

“Nightmare wants to corrupt me.” Palette said, “That’s what he meant by experimenting with my magic.” He said, and he buried his head in Dream.

“It’s ok.” Dream said, hugging Palette.

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