#this was going to be for lunar new year but uh i finished it now so blah

[knightofspades]

I've loved these fight skins the moment since I first saw them, and so I finally drew them!

time taken: around 15 hours

[k-dokja]

Summary: You've managed to convince your parents to be with Daniel this Lunar New Year, now what? [Chapter 432 - New Years arc]

Daniel knows under no certain terms should he be worried about bringing you back to his hometown. For once, it's nothing you haven't seen and for another, his mother likes you. He shouldn't be worried. There's nothing to worry about.

...Except for all the plans he has in mind about his investigation, none of which he finds fitting to share with you. Not when the holidays are coming up and you'd probably tear him a new one for working again. And you'd always understand, at the end of the day, you're more sympathetic than your complaining lets on.

That's probably the worst of it. Every time it happens, he cannot help the feeling that he's taking your kindness for granted.

Especially when you go out of your way to do things like this... "Isn't this too much? You really didn't have to..."

"What? Didn't you mention you have a lot of relatives, too? I think it's enough," you cross your arms and level your eyes with his, challenging him to contradict you. It's a losing battle, he knows, and he's not in the habit of picking fights he can't win. Not after a month of getting beaten back and forth, anyway.

Daniel chews down on his lower lips while watching the stack of boxes and crates you prepared for the trip home with him. His brows furrow further while he works out the logistic of bringing this back. Supposedly, he can carry them...

"What's with the dumbfounded look?" You ask before a grin breaks out on your lips. "Wait, do you think we will carry all of this back? Honestly, you're too simple sometimes..."

Your words don't sound chiding, but he cannot help feeling silly when the delivery service arrives moments later to take the packages away. You have a triumphant look on your face afterwards that uplifts the weight in his heart, still, another matter remains. "You didn't have to splurge that much on my family, you know."

"Nonsense," you wave his concern away like it's an afterthought, "this is from both of us, we're a team, remember?"

"Right, of course," he puts on what he believes is an honest smile and does his best to mask the strain in his voice. Fortunately, you're too happy about the occasion to notice something was amiss, but he doesn't think he can deal with the guilt of keeping things from you any longer.

The car ride back home is blessed with relative peace in the short duration of it. Your giddiness with being at his side has elevated much of your mood, and Daniel knows he'd feel the same had he been transparent with you. After the recent development in his life, he cannot say he has been altogether a good boyfriend, but he'd be damned before he makes it any worse.

With how happy you are at this very moment, he'd be committing a heinous crime if he ruined your good moods by unravelling the truth.

A forlorn sigh skips past his lips at the thought. Immediately, he regrets it. Daniel turns to check if you noticed, only to see you smiling at him, your eyes narrow at his little slip-up.

"Uh..."

"If you have anything to confess, better say it before you create collateral damage~" Your tone is playful but the gleam in your eyes is anything but.

Daniel sighs again. He knows better than to argue with you. "Uhm, well," he swallows, suddenly nervous, "you know about the whole business with the Park Jinyong, yes?"

He takes your hand into his own, fingers threaded together in the hope of assuaging whatever coming next.

"Mhm."

"Well... I haven't gotten the chance to tell you yet," Daniel rubs his thumb on the back of your hand, exhaling a long breath before facing you, "but DG recently informed me that my mother has known him since I was very young, so..."

He doesn't have to finish the sentence for you to understand. The familiar recognition in your eyes is enough for Daniel to see that you've comprehended the gravity of the situation. He watches you carefully, waiting for any infinitesimal change in your expression. And yet, he's caught completely unaware when you flicker his forehead.

"Ah!"

"What have I told you about transparency?"

Daniel pouts, "That I should be honest with you no matter the bad and the good?" He quickly adds. "Sorry, I just, I know this is the holiday after all and I shouldn't be caught up with work but—"

You flicker his forehead again, "Seriously, you, don't fret," you smile indulgently. "It's fine, okay? Things like these come up, as long as you're honest about it, there's no problem."

"But..."

"I'm not happy, don't get me wrong?" You keep your voice even, but he can hear your displeasure in the matter-of-fact tone you put on. "But no matter, it's not like I'll be wanting for things to do. Lunar New Year tends to be busy, after all."

"I'm sorry..." He apologizes anyway, despite your reassurance. The words come out of him on instinct.

You huff, face upturned, "Yeah, you'll be sorry when I become your mom's favourite. Get ready to lose your spot once you're done with your silly investigation."

"Hey, now—"

Once again, you catch him by surprise with your attack. This time, it's gentler, a kiss on the nose that leaves him gobsmacked and stuns him into silence. "So don't worry about me, worry about yourself first please."

"Hmph," he smiles with pressed lips, "honestly, you're too good to me."

Once again, the triumphant grin returns to your face and pride surges in his chest at the sight. "Yeah? If you know that then you better do your best to cherish me."

"But I already do~"

"Not enough, you don't!"

"Aw..."

And despite your protest, seeing the cheer remaining on your face even after he has come forth with the truth relieves him somewhat.

Although he cannot say all will be well in his further investigation, he knows that he has to do his best when your support means the world to him. You're his most precious, whether you know it or not, and the world would end before he intentionally gives you cause to think otherwise.

He just hopes that all of this will blow over soon, for you as much as it is for him.

[dragonking10]

For some reason i feel like, i already made this ask.

Difference, first year at beacon was mostly uneventful and most stuff form vol1-3 is taking place in secon year. Also, Jaune was able to train into better huntsman, unlocked his semblance and upgraded his armor and weapons (thank to ruby). NOW to the conent itself.

During the breach grimm sneaked up to ruby and she used cresent rose to protect herself from the claws. She was ok but her weapon and most expensive and complicated parts were damage beyond salvation. Even worse some part were really hard to get. Thus making repair of cresent rose almost impossible.

This broke young leader, to the point that she barely resembled her old cheerful self, not even her teammates were able to help her.

Luckily for them, certain blonde haired knight appeared to help and cheer red reaper up. He carried two thing, bag of double chocolate cookies with strawberry filling and bag with something inside.

Bag content was ruby's new weapon made by Jaune (she did teached him about weapons so he will be able to upgrade and maintain his own) plus with help of Ren (he takes care of his and Nora's weapon) and beacons blacksmith. Weapon had 3 modes, scythe, sword and sniper railgun. Weapon was red and black with gold finish. It's name was "Lunar rose".

Link to the weapon: here

Jaune entering the room, showing weapon and Ruby's reaction is completly up to you.

First off, I like the idea of "Lunar Rose" and the fact it had a gold finish to resemble Jaune in there so here we go. Second, I'm sorry it took so long, I had college stuff going on.

Jaune comes in with a bag of cookies and something on his back wrapped in cloth

Jaune: Hey Ruby, how are you feeling?

Ruby is sitting at a table, turns around and Jaune could see her eyes was dull as if her light was snuffed out

Ruby hollow: I've been better

Jaune knows she was lying but hoped that his gifts would brighten her day

Jaune: I got you something to cheer you up

Jaune puts the bag of cookies on the table in front of her

Ruby: Usually cookies would work, but I don't think nothing would ever cheer me up again.

Jaune takes out the gift on his back and placed it in her hands

Jaune smiles: Well maybe this would help

Ruby was confused at first then suddenly she felt the familiar weight

Ruby's eyes widen and thought: Could it be?

Ruby quickly placed it on a table and unwraps the gift and what she saw shocked her to the core

She saw her weapon all fixed up and looked a little different

Ruby: Jaune is this...did you...

Jaune rubs the back of his head: Well I had a little help from Ren and the blacksmith. I had her upgraded so not only will she be a scythe, but could also be a sword and the sniper feature now also has a railgun.

Ruby was lost for words and notices a slight golden finish on the blade of her weapon

Ruby: And this?

Jaune embarrassed: Well I had to make a call to my family in sending over a piece of ancient metal from home, but all we had was gold, we ran out of silver. She is now indestructable and could cut through anything like butter.

Ruby:...

Ruby suddenly burst to tears

Jaune panicked: Ah crap uh I'm so sorry I didn't think you'd hate i-

He was suddenly caught off as Ruby petal bursted to him, hugging him with all her might as she was crying on his chest

Ruby sobs: Thank you... I love it.

Jaune smiles and hugs her back: I'm glad.

Ruby: I love you... so much!

Jaune kisses her head: I love you too Ruby.

Jaune: So what are you gonna name her?

Ruby took a minute to think of a perfect name for their chi- uh I mean her weapon

Ruby smiles: Lunar Rose.

[killerandhealerqueen]

for the soft asks - all of the even numbers that you haven't answered yet :D

Took, I love you, god damn

4. what flower would you like to be given?

Oh, sunflowers! I love sunflowers, they're my favorite

6. say three nice things about yourself (three physical and three non-physical).

Alright, alright...hmm

Physical

I have nice hair

I have a nice voice

I have pretty eyes

Non-Physical

I'm compassionate

I'm smarter than I give myself credit for

I'm kind

8. tag someone (or multiple people) who make you feel good. 

@mishathewtf @ahhhnorealnamesallowed @kpopfantasywriter @seonghwacore @nineninepetals @zennialemo @missjudge-me @zzzhoonie @hyperbolicgrinch @fourth-quartet (obvs) @clawbehavior and there are so many others...I just love y'all

10. what’s something you’re excited for?

I'm excited to finish my current wip that I'm working on and post it after doing some edits to it. I'm really happy with how it's going so far (I can't write a short fic for Killer and Healer to save my fucking life)

12. how are you?

Tired. A little stressed. And nervous cuz I have a job interview coming up on Wednesday...

14. favorite feel-good show?

Now, Killer and Healer is my go to answer for every show, but it's not really a feel-good show, if you know what I mean. So I'm gonna go with White Cat Legend because there are some episodes, ep. 18 in particular, where I just screech with laughter because it's so god damn funny. But my other feel-good show is any show that talks about Ancient Egypt. I love Egyptology and wanted to be an Egyptologist when I was younger (mainly to study mummies, is anyone surprised that I ended up in forensics? No, you shouldn't be). But yeah, any nature documentary or documentary on Ancient Egypt is my go-to feel good show

16. compliment the person who sent you this number.

You're an absolute delight and I love seeing you on my dash and getting asks from you and I thank God every day we became friends because of The Devil Judge

18. do you still love stuffed animals?

You fucking kidding me, of course I do. Love my stuffies

20. what do you want most in the world right now?

To get a fucking job and stop feeling like I'm behind all of my friends, even though I know I'm not. It's just that my timeline has not exactly worked out the way I wanted it to, so...yeah. Getting my job in my field would be the cherry on top

22. what would you say to your future self?

Keep being badass

24. what’s something you do to de-stress?

Work on/read fanfiction or watch youtube videos

26. what movie would you want to live in?

Uh...Princess and the Frog. Good music, bombass food...sign me the fuck up

28. hugs or hand-holding?

Hugs. I've been told I give good hugs

30. what reminds you of home (doesn’t have to mean house… just things that remind you of the feeling of home)?

Going into any asian grocery story. See, I lived in Hawaii and spent a lot of time in Chinatown because my great-grandmother used to go there a lot. And Lunar New Year and other stuff like that. So anytime I go into an asian grocery store and smell all the spices and what not, I feel like I'm home

soft asks to get to know people | send me asks

[skellebonez]

(kicks door down) INVERTED AU WITH PROMPT 72, SPECIFICALLY WITH MK

I’m not going to write out the ENTIRE TikTok so just. Watch an enjoy the madness that is B Dylan Hollis. It will make this fill so much more entertaining.

Don’t you dare.

Had it not been even a few weeks ago things would be almost completely on their normal “regular day with no special plans” schedule. Wake up, work, hang out with Pigsy and Tang, get Mei to have some fun, run off to Mount Huaguo for training with Sun Wukong, make sure the immortal Monkey King is taking care of himself, go home and sleep (a few gaps between each in case he needed to chuck a water bottle or granola bar at any of his friends and make sure they weren’t overworking themselves and if he came across anyone who needed his special brand of, as Macaque once called it, “aggressive self care affection”).

But no. Oh no. This was not a few weeks ago.

This was now, not even a month after the Lunar New Year Festival. Not even a month after he was finally introduced to the rest of Spider Queen’s family- plus one not so accidental addition who had decided it would be a fantastic idea to experiment on himself for funsies and “oops all spiders”.

Said addition stood, or rather half stood and half reclined on the mechnical legs protruding from his back, diligently typing away at his computer. The same computer he hadn’t stepped away from except to take a shower earlier in the day.

17 hours ago.

“Syntax,” MK said with the most gentle warning tone he could muster... which, to anyone unfamiliar with MK would sound like he spoke the human turned spider demon’s name like a threat. “Please tell me you have eaten more than a single calorie bar today.”

“I have eaten more than a single calorie bar today,” the scientist assured with a barely thrown over his shoulder smile in the younger man’s direction.

“Ok g-”

“I ate 2.”

The proud look on Syntax's face, as if he had figured out the loophole to end all loopholes, was a stark contrast to MK's expression of angry horror.

"You can't just eat TWO CALORIE BARS, Syntax!" He shouted, grabbing the scientist by his lab coat sleeve before starting to drag him out of the laboratory. If anyone was there to witness this they would find this feat impressive given how Syntax dug his mechanical legs into the floor in protest.

"I have survived on these so far and I will conti-"

"Survived, yeah, as a human," MK noted as he realized the other was simply allowing him to lead him along without a fight in the least. "But you're a spider demon... cyborg... guy now, you need more sustenance than that. And you needed more before!"

"3 bars?"

"NO MORE OF THE FUCKING BARS!"

The moment Syntax shrunk back in reaction to MK’s yelling the Monkie Kid took his chance and gripped the scientist’s sides and tossed the man over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes before breaking out into a sprint down the halls of Spider Queen’s lair.

“Don’t you dare!” Syntax yelped, attempting to free his arms or move his spider legs but gave up on the later and instead retracted them out of fear he might accidentally harm his captor. “I have work to finish, young man!”

“You can’t finish if you die of malnutrition, I’m teaching you how to cook!”

As they ran toward the entrance they passed Spider Queen who, upon realizing what was happening, gave them a calm wave and a smile.

“Make sure to have him back in time for you to get home before dark, MK!”

“EVEN MY QUEEN IS BETRAYING ME!”

~

Syntax eventually gave in. After all, despite his new enhancements he was still no match for the sheer strength of the Monkey King himself in the hands of a very determined young man with a hard line stance on self care.

And somehow this man decided he should be deposited in... his kitchen.

In front of a phone set up like... a camera.

Huh.

“Uh-”

“Hold that thought!” MK said, positioning Syntax just out of sight as he grabbed a cook book and hit record. “A bean PIE from the 1920s! Today we’re doing something different-” he reached over and grabbed Syntax’s arm, pulling him into frame without even a single change in his expression. “Today I have an assistant because SOMEONE doesn’t know how to EAT NUTRITION and needs more Vitamin B.”

As he let go of the scientist’s arm he turned to him, face as serious as a miscalculated formula when a project was due in 1 hour.

“OK, you’re the science dude. Let me tell you something from experience,” MK grabbed the cook book, holding it up. “Cooking IS science. And this science insists that BEANS can be made into a PIE which I think is bullshit and I am going to prove on camera. Until you learn how to eat things that aren’t instant bars, you are going to join me on my cooking science experiments. Understood?”

Truth me told, Syntax didn’t see the appeal in cooking. It was far too much hassle for something as basic as nutritional supplements you could acquire from far easier means that did not involve making a mess you had to clean up later... but...

The idea that cooking could be a science... that he had never considered before. And MK seemed to be pretty well convinced that he was correct in this assertion. This was part of why Syntax had, for a while now, considered reaching out to him with an offer of becoming his assistant. His tenacity and determination was something that was a great asset in the field of scientific discovery after all! And well...

If making a weird pie could get him into the young man’s good graces...

“Where do we start?”

~

MK held up a bowl of beans to the camera. “Now these took a long bath last night-” he turned to Syntax. “-I’ll splice in some footage from earlier here later-TIME TO COOK EM!”

~

“The pot,” Syntax noted, pointing to the pot on MK’s stove that had begun to over boil.

“AAGH!” MK yelped, sliding over from where he was grabbing his mixer. “BEAN REBELLION!”

~

“Eggie,” MK chuckled out, cracking an egg into the mixing bowl with the rest of the ingredients.

“How many eggs does it call for?” Syntax asked, trying to make sense out of the madness he was being witness to.

“How many? I don’t know, it just says EGGS.” MK gestured to the cookbook before them as if it has just insulted Pigsy himself to MK’s face.

~

“FORE!” MK yelled, closing his eyes and turning on the blender as Syntax held a frying pan in front of himself in preparation for disaster.

And disaster came... just not in the way either expected, as the blender sputtered and just.... stopped.

“... did you just kill my blender?” MK turned the knob on it, shaking it and tapping it gently. “HELLO?”

He shook it harder, twisting and turning the knob on the front wildly before he broke down into laughter. “THE BEANS KILLED MY BLENDER.” MK crossed his arms on the counter, laying his head down on them as he devolved into equally amused and annoyed cackles. “This has never happened before, how the hell!?”

“Well...” Syntax looked around, finding an induction blender sitting half buried on the opposite side of the counter. “Will this work?”

~

Finally. After waiting for the pie to bake. It was done.

A piece sat on a plate before both men, looking both intimidating and somehow delectable at the same time. But both were well away this concoction was primarily sugar, cinnamon, and BEANS. They looked at each other for a moment before nodding, each taking a fork full of the pit before shoving it into their mouths expecting the worst.

MK looked at Syntax as they chewed. Then the camera. Then he started to laugh through his bite as Syntax’s face went on a journey from “this tastes good” to “HOW THE FUCK DOES THIS TASTE GOOD”.

“Nothing makes sense anymore,” he moaned, gesturing to the pie slice before him as he began to laugh in disbelief.

“WHY ARE YOU GOOD?” Syntax asked, shaking his plate slightly. “You have a bag of BEANS in you!”

MK laughed harder, needing to put his plate on the counter as he needed to hold his sides from the pain of trying not to laugh louder than he was.

“This is like if tomato soup made a cake that tasted like chocolate!”

“I-It!” MK wheezed, holding up one hand to get the scientist’s attention. “It has!”

“I’M SORRY- WHAT!?”

~

“Yes? Oh, that’s fine dear! Yes, as long as he has somewhere to sleep and I know where he is- ... yes, we would love to try some when you escort him home tomorrow! Thank you, take care now,” Spider Queen said, smiling as she hung up the cell phone that Pigsy and Tang had no kindly helped her acquire.

“So, uh...” Huntsman asked, rubbing the back of his neck in concern and confusion. “What’s up?”

“Syntax will be spending the evening with MK!” She announced, smiling wide. “He’s taken up an interest in baking, apparently. Something about needing to unlock the secrets of tomato soup and beans.”

[maxineswritingcenter]

You Saved Me - Derek Hale x fem!reader part 11

 -----------------

As soon as I walked into the veterinarian office, I felt it. Like a total drain of my muscles and my head started to hurt. 

“Mountain ash.” Dr. Deaton said as he came out from around the corner, “It weakens werewolf abilities so they cannot shift their form.” 

“That would explain it.” I smiled, shoving my hands in my pockets. 

“How can I help you, (Y/N).” He knew my name.

I squinted at him, “Have we met?” 

“We have, but you wouldn’t remember. You were here with some minor injuries and your parents weren’t sure if you were going to turn and just in case…the hospital found something interesting.” He said, a small smile on his face, “But I see you have finally turned.” 

I nodded, “Yeah, but I don’t know how.” 

“I believe I may have an answer.” He pulled out a book from the front desk. It was a dark leather bound book, its pages were brown with age. 

“It was a spell used by werewolf clans that were being hunted hundreds of years ago, in France, Scotland, England. In some cases, werewolf hunters would test werewolves in their human form with Mountain ash, rendering them unconscious. Et obscuratus lupum. Wolf Eclipse.” I looked at the book, seeing a drawing of what looked like a child, half human, half wolf. 

“Parents would perform this spell to cloak their child from hunters. The Mountain ash wouldn’t affect them and they would be spared and safe until they could transform. This spell would also remove any memories of werewolf behavior from beyond that point so they couldn’t give away the rest of the clan by accident.” 

I looked down at the desk, “But why now? Why did I turn now? And why am I an alpha? I’ve never killed anyone.” 

“As for your turning now, many children are given back their power by their parents. Or if their parents were killed, they usually don’t unless something triggers the change - high stress, fear, terror, torture. But I can’t explain the alpha part, the only people who could were your parents.” 

-

“Derek? Derek!” Isaac’s voice echoed through the building. 

“What’s wrong?” Derek turned away from what he was doing. Isaac looked frantic and scared. 

“My dad… I think he’s dead…”

“What did you do?” Derek asked firmly. 

“That’s the thing…It wasn’t me.”

I woke up on the couch. Not the best place to sleep all night. 

I sat up and cracked my back, twisting from side to side. I shuffled into the kitchen, seeing Uncle Noah already there. 

“Morning, kiddo.” He said, sipping his coffee. He went with the dark roast this morning. Bitter. Something serious had happened. 

“Morning.”

“We found Lydia, I don’t know if you heard.” He said. 

I nodded, “Of course, talk of the town. Stiles is gonna get an A in economics.” 

He shook his head, a small smile on his face. He was still slightly sleepy, meaning I could probably get something out of him about what’s making him leave this early. 

“What’s going on?”

He yawned and raised his eyebrows. He looked around the corner then back to me, “Promise you won’t tell Stiles. And I’m only telling you because it involves one of your players.”

“Isaac?” I asked, “Is he okay?” Uncle Noah narrowed his eyes at me, clearly confused how I knew. 

“I had my own questions about his home life. A guess.” 

“Well we found his dad dead this morning. Mauled to death in his car in an alleyway.”

“Mauled?” Great… This is exactly what we needed with this hunter situation going around. Didn’t Derek tell Isaac that humans were off limits, especially right now? Isaac didn’t seem like the type, but if he was getting abused, maybe he couldn’t take it anymore. 

“Yeah, not pretty. Oh, by the way.” He rifled through the mail, “This came for you at the station.” It was a brown envelope. It had multiple stamps and postmarks. The text was written in old English calligraphy. 

“The Lunar Circle.” I shook my head, “Never heard of it.” I looked at the return address, “Scotland?” 

“I guess so.” He looked at his watch, “Alright, gotta go.” He kissed the top of my head, making his way out the door. 

-

I got into the locker room later than usual, but in time to watch Scott and Stiles stare at a chain that was falling out of Stiles’ locker. Coach walked between the two of them, staring at the chain as it finished pooling on the floor. 

“Part of me wants to ask… the other part says knowing will be more disturbing than anything I could ever imagine. So, I’m gonna walk away.” Before I could speak to the two, Coach slipped the blind fold onto my eyes, the elastic slapping the back of my head. 

“Good looking out.” I nodded vaguely in his direction. Stiles shoved a bag in my hands, Scott and Stiles started shoving the chain into it and froze, Scott tensed up. 

Another scent. Someone like us. 

“There’s another in here.” Scott said. 

“Another what?” Stiles asked. 

“Another werewolf.” 

Once the players were on the field, Stiles pulled me aside. 

“Alright, switch Scott with Danny for goal and then you use your sniffer on the guys on the bench.” 

I raised my eyebrows at him, still not over what he said the other day. 

He stared for a minute, then closed his eyes, “The silent treatment, really?” 

I smiled slyly, nodding. 

“Oh my god.” He groaned, “Look, I’m sorry. I know you’re just trying to protect me. I get it. We can have this conversation later, please.” 

I thought about it for a minute, then nodded, “Fine. I’ll go tell Coach.” I found Finstock and told him. 

“Why would I want McCall in goal? McCall is co-captain. He needs to play offense.” 

“That’s true, but what happens when Danny gets hurt during a match. Are you gonna put in someone from second line or someone with those reflexes?” He stared for a minute, thinking about what I just said. 

“Think about it like this. Danny’s out, it’s tied and we are ten seconds from overtime. Who are you putting in? Second line or McCall.” 

He nodded and chuckled, “Good thinking.” He turned back to the other players and blew his whistle, “Let’s go! Line up!” Players made their way onto the field, “Faster! Make daddy proud.” Daddy… I hate it. I scanned the line up, there was number fourteen at the end - Isaac. 

Coach blew the whistle again, signaling the drills to start. Scott ran from the goal, tackling the player. Scott was many things. Subtle was not one of them. 

“McCall!” Coach shouted, his eyes wide and his hair seemed even wilder. 

“Yeah?”

“Usually, the goalie stays somewhere within the vicinity of the actual goal.”

“Yes, Coach.”

“Let’s try it again!”

“What the hell, man?” The player shouted. His name was…  Matt Daehler if I remembered correctly. 

Coach blew the whistle again, throwing another ball into play. Again, Scott knocked the next player down. 

“McCall!” Coach called again, “The position’s goalkeeper, not goal-abandoner!’

“Sorry, Coach…”

“Let’s go!” He blew the whistle. Again, Scott knocked the next man down. 

“Stiliniski!” Coach pulled Stiles up by his helmet. Stiles stood up from the bench on the other side of me, “What the hell is wrong with your friend?”

“Uh, he’s failing two classes, he’s a little socially awkward, and if you look close enough, his jawline is kinda uneven.” Stiles said in a rush. 

Coach and I turned heads to the side, looking at McCall. Was his jaw always crooked? Had I not noticed in all of this time?

“That’s interesting.” He said, dropping Stiles' helmet. Scott knocked over Danny next, landing on top of him. Danny was having a good year so far. 

“McCall!” Coach shouted, clearly frustrated, “You come out of that goal one more time, and you’ll be doing suicide runs ‘til you die! It’ll be the first ever suicide run that actually ends in a suicide! Got it?” 

“Yes, Coach.”

“Yeah!” Coach glared. 

Jackson looked at Scott warily, “Uh, Coach, my shoulder’s hurting… I’m gonna-I’m gonna sit this one out…” He watched out of the line and onto the bench. What’s gotten into him? Besides not the bite. Scott ran forward at Isaac. But instead of Scott taking him down, they both collided and fell to the ground. That’s when I saw Scott pause, he found his werewolf. 

“Dad?” Stiles asked. I turned around, seeing Uncle Noah and two other officers heading towards the field. They must have been coming to bring Isaac in for questioning. 

“Don’t tell them…Please don’t tell him.” I heard Isaac say. 

-

I stayed back with the rest of the team while Finstock was talking to Uncle Noah. Scott was listening in on the conversation. 

“His father’s dead. They think he was murdered.” Scott said. 

Stiles looked at me, “Is that what you and my dad were talking about this morning?”

“There may have been something Uncle Noah told me not to tell you.” I grinned innocently. 

“Come on…” Stiles sighed, “Are they saying he’s a suspect?”

“I’m not sure. Why?”

“Because they can lock him in a holding cell for twenty-four hours…”

“Like, overnight?”

“Those generally are the same amount of time, yes.” I said. 

“During the full moon.” The full moon. Not only would it be Isaac’s first turn, it was going to be mine. 

“Crap.” I mumbled. 

“How good are these holding cells at holding people?”

“People? Good. Werewolves? Probably not that good.” Stiles said grimly.

“Stiles, remember when I said I don’t have the urge to maim and kill?”

“Yeah…”

“He does.” How Scott could tell that, I couldn’t tell. Because I didn’t get that vibe.

-

I made my way through the hall, seeing Uncle Noah in the hall outside the principal's office. 

“What’s going on?” I asked, not seeing Isaac near. 

“We’re interviewing Jackson Whittemore. He’s Isaac’s neighbor, we’re just trying to see if he knows anything. I’m just waiting to meet the new principal.” 

“New principal?” I asked. Right after I spoke, the door opened. And there stood Gerard Argent. I tried to hide my shock when I saw him, since the last time I saw him I watched him cut someone in half. 

“Sheriff Stilinski, I’m terribly sorry to keep you waiting. Just a phone call from one of my teachers.” He said in his brogue, he turned to me, “And Miss (Y/N), assistant coach for our lacrosse team. I have been anxious to meet you.” He held out his hand. Oh, he was anxious? Yeah definitely. 

I blinked, a small smile on my face, “It’s good to meet you as well. I apologize for my shock, I was not aware that you had been hired.” I shook his hand. His hands felt cold, like the ice in his heart spread through his veins. 

“I understand. It was quite unexpected. But I am excited to get started.” He played his role well. An older man happy to help and be accommodating to his new surroundings. I knew the truth though, and it terrified me. But I needed to lay low and stay on his good side for right now. He declared war, no longer following the code and Chris couldn’t stop him like he stopped Kate. 

“Of course. I’m excited to work with you too, Mr…?”

“Argent.”

“Oh like Allison. She’s such a sweet girl, I always see her at games.” 

“She became a fan.” He nodded. In the distance, I could hear Jackson’ walking down the hall. How did I know it was Jackson? His brand new shoes squeaked.

“Well, I gotta head out. Delivery came to the front office for the team. Pearls and crosses. It was good meeting you, Principle Argent.” 

“Please, call me Gerard.” He smiled. 

I grinned and nodded, “Gerard.” I looked at Uncle Noah, “I’ll see you tonight.”  I made my way towards the front office, glad that the hunter couldn’t hear my heart beating out of my chest. 

“You okay?” Derek’s voice echoed in my head. 

I sighed, taking a deep breath, “No. They took Isaac into lock up, Gerard is the principal, and I am going to turn tonight whether I want to or not and I’m scared.”

“We’ll talk.” 

-

I sat on the front steps, looking over the envelope. The Lunar Circle. Was this something my parents were involved in? Just as I was about to open the envelope, I got a text from Scott to meet him and Derek at Isaac’s house. 

So I met them there, looking up at the sky. I had already cracked all of my knuckles so now I just was wearing a hole in my shoe from tapping. 

“Are you alright?” Scott asked. 

“I don’t know, Scott, were you okay when you turned the first time? Because I can recall you almost killing me the last time.” My eyes flashing red.

“Hey, I apologized for that.” Scott defended himself. 

“(Y/N), look at me.” Derek stood in my line of vision. The red left my eyes and I sighed. 

“Sorry, I’m just… anxious.” I clenched and unclenched my hands. 

We snuck into the Lahey household, making our way down to the basement. 

“If Isaac didn’t kill his father, who did?” Scott asked as Derek led us through the house. Derek moved slowly, keeping a flashlight beam ahead. 

“I don’t know yet.” 

“Then how do you know he’s telling the truth?”

“Because I trust my senses. And it’s a combination of them.” He looked at Scott over his shoulder, “Not just your sense of smell.” 

“You saw the lacrosse thing today?” Scott asked sheepishly. 

“So you saw him tackle and sniff everyone on the field, his big plan.” I added.

“Yeah.” Derek said plainly. 

“Did it look bad?” 

“Yeah.” Derek and I said together. Derek opened the door and we all looked down to the bottom of the basement, Scott and Derek’s eyes lit up the space a little, enough to see what was below. There were the usual things - chairs, dust bunnies, boxes.

“You wanna learn?” Derek asked, “Start now.”

“What’s down there?”

“Motive.” We started down the stairs. 

“And what are we looking for?”

“Follow your senses.” Derek said. I strayed from the group, seeing dust covered toys and games, covered with age and gray. It looked like a normal basement, but it felt like something terrible had happened here. Derek took my hand in his, pulling me back to them. 

“What happened down here?” Scott asked. 

“The kind of thing that leaves an impression.” Derek said in a low voice. It was kind of creepy, in addition to the spider web covered basement. As we went further into the basement, we saw chains hanging from the wall. My heart sank. I took Derek’s flashlight and lit up the floor, there were groove marks in the floor. Scott bent down and placed his fingers within the groove. Scratches in the cement floor. My attention was brought to a large freezer in the corner of the with a rusted padlock. The energy radiating from the cooler made my heart drop into my stomach. 

“Open it.” Derek told Scott as we stood in front of it. Scott took off the lock and lifted up the lid of the freezer. My mouth fell open in shock, tears burning at my eyes. Scratch marks, covering the entire inside of the freezer. The worst were the rust covered marks, meaning that Isaac was so desperate to fight his way to freedom that his fingers bled. I turned away from the freezer, feeling nauseous. Leaning over, my hands on my knees. 

“This is why he said yes to you?” Scott asked. 

“Everyone wants power.” 

“If I help you, you have to stop. You can’t just go around turning people into werewolves!” Scott had a point. It was dangerous to be a werewolf right now. That’s why my parents did that ritual on me. 

“I can if they’re willing.” 

“Did you tell Isaac about the Argents? About being hunted?”

“Yes, and he still asked.” 

“Then he’s an idiot!” Scott shouted. 

I stood back up and stared at Scott, “An idiot? He’s been tortured his whole life, Scott, and he’s the idiot for trying to save himself.” There was a growl in my voice as my anger rose. Derek put a hand on my arm.

“You’re the idiot dating Argent’s daughter.” Scott looked shocked at Derek’s words, “Yeah, I know your little secret. And if I know, how long do you think it’s gonna take for them to find out?”

Derek grabbed Scott by the shoulder, “You saw what happens to an omega. With me, you learn how to use all your senses. With me, you learn control.” He lifted Scott’s clawed hand, “Even on a full moon.” Seeing Scott’s hands, I lifted mine and saw the claws had grown in. I hadn’t even felt them come out. 

Scott pulled his hand away, “If I’m with you, I lose her.” 

“You’re gonna lose her anyway. You know that.” 

I shook my head, thinking about the night Peter was killed. The look in Allison’s eyes as she shot arrows into Derek and I was cold, no emotion at all. “Scott, don’t you remember what happened? She shot us down.” 

“That wasn’t her, that was Kate.” He defended her, like a love sick puppy. 

“Was it? You didn’t get to see her when Kate brought her down to that cellar and watched as Derek got electrocuted, over and over. She did nothing to stop her, she knew it was wrong but she didn’t stop her. Allison’s loyalties are never going to be with us.” My voice was calm but the shaking was starting to take over. It felt like my chest was going to burst at any moment. Even my gums ached. 

“Come on.” Derek said softly in my ear. He escorted me to the stairs, a gentle hand on the small of my back. 

“Wait!” We turned back to face Scott, “I’m not part of your pack… but I want him out. He’s my responsibility too.”

“Why? Because he’s one of us?” 

“Because he’s innocent.”

-

I sat in the parking lot of the Sheriff’s office, tapping my fingers on the steering wheel. I can’t do this. How can I help break Isaac out of jail when I can’t even keep myself in control. I shouldn’t be around people. I shouldn’t be around Stiles or anyone else in the deputy department. I jumped when I heard the knocking at my window. Derek and Stiles stood there, looking a little concerned. I opened my door and got out, sticking close to Derek. If anyone could stop me from attacking Stiles it was him. 

“Okay. Now, the keys to every cell are in a password-protected lock-box in my father’s office. The problem is getting past the front desk.” Stiles stared at me like I was from Mars, “I gotta tell ya, I don’t think I’m going to get used to the red eyes anytime soon.”

“Yeah, me either.” My voice had a growl too, quickly shutting my mouth. 

“Well, there goes plan A. Letting you distract the front desk.” I glanced inside, seeing a woman sitting there, sipping her coffee. 

“I’ll distract her.” Derek said, turning towards the building. 

“Whoa, whoa, whoa.” Stiles grabbed onto Derek’s jacket and pulled him back., “You? You’re going in there?” Derek eyed Stiles hand, then Stiles, telling him to get his hands off of him in his usual way - without words.

“I’m takin’ my hand off.” Stiles quickly pulled his hand away. 

“I was exonerated.”

“You’re still a person of interest.”

“An innocent person.” 

“Ah-” Stiles blew out air, “You? Yeah right.” He sighed, “What’s your plan?”

“To distract her.” Derek said impatiently. 

Stiles nodded, “Ahuh, how? By punching her in the face?” 

Derek let out a fake laugh, “By talking to her.” 

“Is he even charming?” Stiles looked at me. Derek looked at me expectantly while I thought for a minute. 

“Compared to when I first met him, he’s very charming.” I smiled awkwardly. 

Stiles rubbed his temples, “Okay. Alright. Give me a sample. What are you gonna open with?” Derek only stared. 

“Dead silence. That should work beautifully. Any other ideas?” Stiles asked sarcastically.

“I’m thinking about punching you in the face.” Derek said snidely. Once Stiles agreed, we made our way towards the station but before we went in, I pulled Derek aside. 

“I can’t do this.” I looked up at the moon, “My body feels like it's going to fall apart and I feel so angry and-” 

“Just hold out a little longer.” He placed a hand on my cheek, “As soon as we get Isaac out, I’m gonna bring you somewhere where you can let it all out and you won’t hurt anyone. But right now I need you to get inside and make sure nothing happens to Isaac. There’s a hunter in there who’s going to kill him.” 

“Okay, I’ll try.” 

Derek led the way into the station, Stiles and I stayed low to avoid the deputy. 

“Good evening, how can I help-” She paused, looking up at Derek, “you?”

Derek gave her a thousand watt smile, “Hi.”

“Hi.” The woman said with a little tremble in his voice. She leaned on the desk. 

“Um, I had a question…” he chuckled, “Um, sorry, I-I’m a little thrown. I wasn’t expecting someone…”

“Like me?” She asked. 

“Oh, I was going to say ‘so incredibly beautiful’, but yeah, I guess that’d be the same thing.” Derek said sheepishly. Stiles stared at Derek’s back in disbelief. I shoved his side. He shook his head and we crawled down the hall to uncle Noah’s office. 

Once inside, Stiles used a code on a keypad on the wall that opened a small hatch. It was empty inside. In the next room we heard the jingling of keys.

“Oh no…” Stiles and I ran towards the source of the noise, getting closer and closer to the cells. On our way there we were stopped short by a deputy. 

“Oh, sorry,” Stiles apologized, “Just lookin’ um…” I looked over the deputy, then I saw it - an arrow sticking out of his leg. I hit Stiles' side. He looked down, then back up at the deputy. 

“Ah shhh-'' We tried to run for it but he grabbed us, pressing his hands over our mouths so we couldn’t scream. I wanted to rip his hand off with my teeth but that would be putting Stiles in danger and outting myself as a werewolf to a hunter if he got away. As we were dragged back towards the cells, Stiles pulled the fire alarm. 

Once in the cells, he threw Stiles and I into one of them. I clenched my fists together tightly, desperately trying not to turn. Sharp teeth poking at my lips. Stiles grabbed my arm, bringing my attention to the other cell, the empty cell. Isaac was loose. The hunter’s shout brought us back to see him being attacked by Isaac. He pinned the hunter to an examination table, then threw him against a wall. The hunter struggled but got up, trying to stab Isaac with a syringe but Isaac grabbed his arm and broke it. Isaac slammed the hunter’s head into the wall, he fell, dropping the syringe. 

Derek came into the room shortly after, stepping on the syringe. The sound of glass breaking turned Isaac’s attention to us. His yellow eyes took us in, his fangs and claws sharp. He stalked forward towards us. I shoved Stiles behind me, baring my fangs at Isaac as he came closer. Derek’s roar broke Isaac out of his trance, making him fall to the floor and scramble to the corner. He looked up from the wall, looking more human. He was trembling in fear. 

“How did you do that?” Stiles asked, trying to catch his break. 

“I’m the alpha.” Derek smirked, his eyes red. 

Ignoring the trembling the best I could, I walked over and kneeled beside Isaac. He was breathing heavily, eyes darting around the room like he was expecting someone to show up. 

“Isaac.” his eyes focused on me, “Let’s get you home.” I smiled and held out my hand.

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

Read part 12 here!

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[gem-rewatch]

SU rewatch- S1E11- Arcade Mania

Hey, long time no see!

I’m desperately bored in solitary quarantine at university right now, and decided to try and pick this SU rewatch series up again for fun. It’s been a while since I’ve watched through the show in order. Plus, now that this show is completely finished, there’s plenty more connections to make. I can’t promise I’ll be consistent with this, but at the very least I can have fun trying to make a few more posts at my leisure.

Anyways. With that business out of the way. Let’s get right on to the show!

We begin with yet another mission Steven’s guardians have brought him along on! I believe this is the fifth mission we know of that he’s accompanied them on so far. (Lunar Sea Spire, Inverted Pyramid, the unknown mission he returns from in Tiger Millionaire, the desert, and now this one.) It’s really sweet seeing the Gems begin to trust him tagging along more often. There will come a day in the near future where missions become routine for Steven, but in these early episodes, you can really tell that each and every one is a brand new adventure.

In terms of plot, though, this episode is honestly Future Vision: The Prequel.

We learn a lot about Garnet’s abilities and her role in the team here, even if all of these details aren’t spelled out word-for-word quite yet. Hints towards her future vision we see this ep include:

Garnet moving ahead of the group to be in the perfect spot to catch Steven when he falls.

Her flawless moves while fighting and dodging the monsters.

Her becoming a master at the rhythm game later in the episode.

Like, damn. Look at this.

Look at her go.

My Q U E E N!

I had to gif all of this just because it’s such a beautiful and smooth sequence of animation.

If there’s one thing all of the Crystal Gems can 100% agree on, it’s that Garnet is friggin’ amazing.

Garnet: “Let them go. They’re just parasites. If they want to be a problem, they’ll have to answer to me.”

So, does this statement mean that- at this present moment- her extended stay at the arcade was entirely beyond her future vision? That the only futures she saw were ones where she was actually present to deal with containment of the Gem parasites? Given that later scenes insinuate she’d never been to the arcade before, and would have no “data” about its games to factor into her internal understanding of the world, this seems likely.

I adore the gradual palette change here, from shadow, to setting sun. It’s a nice detail that adds so much more life to what could otherwise be a rather mundane transition scene. It seems like unique palettes were more common in early SU- I wonder why Crewniverse stopped implementing these as often later on?

Pearl, entering the arcade: “Humans find such fascinating ways to waste their time.”

Thanks, Pearl. Love you too. <3

This sequence of Pearl failing at playing a car chase/road rage game hits so much different knowing what happens in Last One Out of Beach City. It’s genuinely radical how far she grows in confidence from this point, because here, she seems so shackled to rules and guidelines. Now that we know about her rebellious past, it might be tempting to write this characterization off as “early series weirdness,” but... I don’t think that’s what’s happening here.

Instead, I wonder if she’s working through grief-related regression.

Think about it... the pain of Rose’s passing is still so fresh for her. She was a rule breaking rebel once, yes, but she spent all of those days at Rose’s side. And I get the sense that she’s poured so much of herself into keeping Rose safe, into the rebellion against Homeworld, that without those, she’s caught in a vacuum. What IS her purpose now, when the very person she rebelled for is gone?

So she slips back into old pearl-like habits. Chronic rule following, and a fear of deviating from norms. How familiar. Thankfully, much of her arc throughout the show is her directly growing beyond these habits to live boldly as her own Gem.

The friggin video game when Garnet knocks its head off: “TELL MY WIFE I’M SORRYYY!!!”

Yo, what the fuck. This line is both hilarious and messed up, all at once. Please tell me the game isn’t sentient.

Aaaand here we finally introduce Garnet to the video game sensation that is Meat Beat Mania! This game is perfectly suited to her and her power of foresight because its patterns are algorithmic and not vulnerable to spontaneous deviations, and thus easy to predict, with enough input. She’s probably getting a quick rush of satisfaction with every correct move, and she barely has to exert any energy with her future vision to get that rush. After years and years of wading through endless possibility at every avenue, this video game’s patterns must be a rejuvenating breath of fresh air.

It’s addicting.

...Kinda makes me think of how I get sometimes when I play solitaire on my phone for an hour straight. After a while, I barely even think, I’m just shuffling through my deck and moving cards almost on automatic. I don’t have to use much energy to play, and it gives me animated fireworks every time I finish a match. It’s a win-win.

Amethyst: “I’MMA WIN AN AIRPLANE!”

I don’t know what it is about the way Michaela Dietz says the world “airplane,” but this makes me laugh every time. Does... does she think she can win a genuine airplane here because she saw Onion win a tiny motorbike from the ticket booth?? Amethyst, oh my god. XD

She’s got the spirit, this wild child.

So, moving on- we meet up with our crew later the next morning, Garnet nowhere to be seen. There’s an interesting exchange I’d like to highlight real quick-

Pearl: “If we’re supposed to fight a giant foot, Garnet would let us know.” Amethyst: “Yeah, Garnet’s the boss!” Pearl: “Well, we’re all a team. Garnet just has heightened perception that guides us towards our mission objectives.”

Considering the specific phrasing Pearl uses here- “heightened perception” instead of “future vision-” did Garnet outright tell the two of them to not explain her powers, just like she told them not to mention she’s a fusion? Because I’m pretty sure no one ever uses the phrase “heightened perception” again in reference to her powers.

Given the fact that Garnet chose to keep the knowledge of Ruby and Sapphire under the table until she felt Steven could understand her better, my guess is that this is a similar scenario.

Ahah, I genuinely can’t tell if this is Steven being gullible, or just impulsively playing along with Amethyst’s antics. Still- gross, kid. Don’t wipe your wet cereal face on your shirt! Ew! :O

When he goes outside and starts to use a kiddy metal detector to scan for quarters... so THAT’S where he finds his arcade money! Because I can’t imagine Greg is financially able to give him that much to spend on non-essentials at this point in the show.

Okay, so... I just want to bring light to the fact that Garnet has literally been in this arcade ALL NIGHT LONG.

It was evening when she first arrived here- the sun was visibly setting in the background, and when Steven, Amethyst, and Pearl left, the sky was dark. But now it’s morning. Steven was just seen eating breakfast. And Garnet is STILL HERE.

Does this mean Mr. Smiley locked her IN? I have so many questions... Did he try to get her to leave, only to be intimidated by her complete lack of response? I would kill to know more about this interaction. Poor Mr. Smiley. That man deals with so much bullshit in this town, huh?

Geebus, is Garnet a solid wall. Previous episodes have shown Steven forcibly shoving whole tons of food, and swinging a mini-freezer over his head, and yet he can’t get her to budge even an inch.

I absolutely adore how he climbs up her frame like a koala, though, ahah. Cute.

Meat Beat Mania announcer: “That’s rare!!” Steven: “Oh my gosh...!”

I take these two lines as evidence that this is the first time Steven’s ever seen Garnet’s eyes. Specifically, the fact that there’s three of them. Which, makes sense- since Garnet is still really reserved emotionally at this point, and is only begins to get in the habit of taking her visor off to show Steven her full face later on in the show.

This expression deeply hurts me.

Steven’s so distraught here- because the others are in danger, the town is in danger, and he doesn’t have his trusty, dependable guardian who catches him when he falls and beats up scary monsters for him. Without her, the whole team is vulnerable and blind.

He feels alone. He feels... powerless.

And so he responds to that confusing, powerless feeling by trying to compensate with his own power. When all other routes he can think of fail, he smashes the video game console.

It... uh, it works... but once again, Steven entirely fails to consider the consequences, huh? He experienced a little bit of character growth in this regard in the episode Serious Steven, but even past that it’ll remain an recurring issue for him. Hell, his impulsiveness is a general character flaw even stretching into SUF.

In summary, though:

Poor Mr. Smiley. He works so hard, and doesn’t deserve this BS. ;-;

[just2bubbly]

Longings and Comm

Masterlist

Summary

"I swear if I could come, I would have been near you in a heartbeat."

Absence always seems to make the heart grow fonder and Cinder and Kai are no different in this vast expanse. After a busy day at work with Lunars, Cinder relies on Kai to make her smile but what happens when unexpected inquiries are made and feelings are slipped off.

Ship: Kaider

Words: 1502 words

__

Cinder's Perspective

She was so done with everyone. Every single one of them and this headache was killing her and unlike her usual headaches caused as a result of grief. This one was a real fucking headache caused because of annoyance and extreme anger.

She did something very un-queenly, like shouting in her chambers with a colourful string of swear words going in her mind.

1.2.3.4

Like every meeting that had ever happened, this was nothing different. Well, except for the appearances of lunar aristocrats. As if the stars surrounding her knew exactly what she wanted, Kai commed with such perfect timings that she wondered if Iko was behind this. If she was, may God bless her best friend, her only true companion on this entire dreary planet.

"Thank Goodness you commed. I am so angry-"

He chuckled at her loud outburst, mildly interrupting her. She would have glared if it was anyone else but Kai. However, the voice of his chuckle was enough to calm her down.

"Welcome to Royalty Queen Selene!"

"Stop saying it as if I have won a lottery ticket to visit Earth"

"So is that what you are missing? Earth?" he asked with a smirk tugging at his lips.

"You would know," she said, awaiting him to smile one of those shy smiles reserved for her.

"Kai! I miss Earth and people who can't perform bio-electric manipulation. Heck, you don't know how lucky you are! "

"Why?" he asked, his eyebrows quirking as his curiosity peeked in.

"Well, there are many reasons..." she was going to narrate each one of it to him unless he said otherwise.

Noting her long pause for permission, he granted, "Start Cinder, I'm all ears for you today."

'Ah! This guy was too good for his own self' she seemed to exclaim inside her head.

"Let's start then. I would say sit down as there is a long list of reasons. Firstly, these obnoxious Lunars- they are obsessed with fashion and by fashion, I mean an eerie sense of fashion. My eyes are hurt by just looking at them and that's not my individual statement, even Iko agrees. Plus, my cybernetics and the device goes haywire on me trying to pinpoint their true looks every time I glance at them; making it extremely difficult to focus. Secondly, their love to change appearances, like someone might be having blonde hair today and tomorrow they might turn out bald or something like that. I have a hard time remembering people, providing that I have cybernetics it is saying something. I can look through their glamour and see their true appearances but even then I have a hard time recalling them like hell, Luna needs some form of a database so that I or the computer in my brain can memorize all of them. At least earthen leaders have the decency to come dressed up in proper attire. Lunars, one man showed up in pyjamas to the cabinet meetings." She huffed and stopped to catch her breath.

Seeing that she was somewhat done with her ramble for the day, she groaned for what felt like the umpteenth time in the day.

"You have it bad, Cin, I absolutely agree but c'mon you have me and other people to complain to. Besides, how are you?"

"Yeah, I'm good. Sorry to waste your time with my problems. I should not rant like this but my aristocrat citizens are chaotic and useless who loathe agreeing with me." She grumbled.

"You are not alone actually. Vargas and Camilla gave me a headache today but thanks to you I at least have one thing less to worry about"

"And that is?" she inquired.

"Letumosis and Levana, Cinder. How do you seem to forget that you are the revolutionary?" he teasingly asked. It was not like she was fetching compliments just because she was the one who killed Levana. The fact that she was the revolutionary often slipped from her mind if not for Thorne's remarks and a few graceful acknowledgements here and there.

"My court tells me otherwise!"

"Don't listen to those lunar fools, Cinder. You are THE revolutionary. Hero of the entire universe-"

"Stop praising me like some goddess" she cut off him shortly before he decided to go into a full-blown speech about how wonderful she was. Believe her; he had done that at the last annual Peace ball before everyone.

"Besides Emperor how could you call lunars fools before the Queen of Luna? You have lost your fine touch of diplomacy Kaito."

"Well just the way you called them and I quote 'obnoxious Lunars' before a few moments. And don't you worry I'm not losing my fine diplomatic touch anytime sooner. "He joked along.

"Good, it would be a shame if you did." She exclaimed adding to their playful banter.

Soon they fell into a comfortable silence. She had forgotten about her worries, for the time being, thanks to Kai and his very charismatic personality.

"How are you?"

"Uh?" he looked confused because of her out of the blue question.

"I meant how you are doing, like not the meetings and world leaders but just you!" she clarified. It was not likely of Cinder to generally indulge in talking about emotions with anyone. However, Kai had patiently listened to her ramble so she could hear his inner turmoil if any as well.

"Oh," He said for having nothing else to say. Taking his time to answer, he sighed, "I am good, maybe. I dunno, I have never been asked about just myself like this before. I am satisfied with my lot but responsibilities make me jittery. Even then I have Torin who assists me, I am so thankful for having him. Other than that I have a sickening feeling every time I have to attend meetings with world leaders. Yet I am happier in my place than ever before. I know this sounds weird and unintelligible- " He inhaled sharply, stopping in his track, bitting onto his lips.

"Don't worry, Kai. I completely understand the feeling." She assured him. He had completely moved into pessimism within few seconds. Behind the glorious facade of being royalty, sadness and despair are what remains hidden for a long time. Cinder completely understood how it felt to have everything yet feel unhappy about something that you could never have.

She had missed his moist copper-brown eyes but his swiftly moving to rub away the moisture from them did not go unnoticed.

"Hey, it's okay, Kai," she consoled.

She said in a comforting voice, wishing to be near him and just hug him tightly while he cries his heart out.

"No, no. I'm sorry I just feel like crap for a few days and I miss you." He mumbled, his voice becoming husky,

"I miss you too, Kai. I swear if I could come, I would have been near you in a heartbeat." She said, as her synthetic heart continued to long to touch him.

There was some commotion on his end.

"Your Majesty" someone called for him.

"Cinder, I'm sorry to end on a sad note but I have to go. I am fine, don't worry, I will call you tomorrow or maybe tonight, what time is it?" he asked.

"It's 2200 here."

"Okay, so I will call you tomorrow without fail, but sorry now that I have to leave. I am sorry to sadden you with all my feelings-"

"Stop apologizing, Kai. It's completely fine. Besides, it's okay to let it out from time to time."

He was called urgently by someone in the background; making him quicken his pace as he mumbled incoherent words to her.

"I miss you, call you back later. Love-" he said as the comm was ended by him. He had failed to complete his sentence and she contemplated if she should comm him again just to hear him finish his words. However, that would be a foolish thing to do when he seemed to be in so much hurry.

"Love you too, Kai." She said for the ears who would not hear it.

__

A/N: This was supposed to be fluff, but things took a new turn and I could not undo it. To be honest, I can't imagine Kai and Cinder going through their two years apart relationship without slipping 'I miss you' in  any and every conversations.

Your views will be very much appreciated! Be sure to like, reblog and comment if you like it! Tell me if you wanna be tagged!

[fluffynexu]

Astralignment

and the Korribani Calendar System

Before the arrival of the Exiles the native Sith on Korriban had their own system of keeping track of time. Over the years, this became standardized and refined and is still in use by a large portion of the modern Pureblood community. Since the ancient Sith were observant beings of their world, many of the names and symbols reflected their natural environment. All of these aspects go into what is known as a Sith’s astralignment (astro-alignment).

Since the Empire runs on Imperial Standard Time (IST), anything relating to Korriban or any other Imperial world is referred by the local time of that planet.

Compare a year on  Dromund Kaas to Korriban:

Dromund Kaas (everything in standard)

24 hours/day

312 days/year

7,488 hours/year

60 minutes = 1 hour

24 hours = 1 day

5 days = 1 week

7 weeks = 1 month

35 days = 1 month

8 months (+4 weeks and 4 holidays) = 1 year

312 (standard)days = 1 year

Korriban

28 (standard) hours/day

780 (local) days/year

21,840 (standard) hours/year

70 (standard and local) minutes = 1 hour

24 (local) hours = 1 day

10 (local) days = 1 week

6.5 (local) weeks = 1 month

65 (local) days = 1 month

12 (local) months = 1 year

780 (local) days = 1 year

This roughly makes 1 Korribani year approximately 2.9 [Dromund] Kaasi years.

Calendars

The days on Korriban are annotated on some versions of the Imperial calendar alongside the standard days.

In this example, names of the days on the calendar reflect the IST. The black numbers indicate the date in IST, the red numbers represent the date of the Korribani calendar. Placement of the Korribani date indicate when that day begins in relation to the Kaasi one.

A. 00:00 is the same for both. B. 00:00 K starts at 04:00 DK. C. 00:00 K starts at 08:00 DK. D. 00:00 K starts at 12:00 DK. E. 00:00 K starts at 16:00 DK. F. 00:00 K starts at 20:00 DK. G. Loops back around and 00:00 K lines up 00:00 DK .

While seemingly complicated to some, most Sith have grown with this system of overlapping calendars and can easily tell the date by the positioning of the numbers in this format. 

There are of course, electronic versions where the date is shown simply:

Since the Korribani month is longer than the Kaasi one, the dates will continue through the Kaasi months. These next two pictures show how long 1 Korribani month is in relation to a Kaasi one.

There is also a version of the Korribani calendar that does not overlap with IST. These are used locally on the planet.

The days of the Korribani week were named after major gods from the most widespread pantheon on the planet:

Ahmuriq, from Ahmurn: the creator god.

Marseriq, from Marserha: mother goddess of the Sith.

Bashariq, from Bashara: goddess of passion.

Teraiq, from Teral: god of protection and justice.

Iskarliq, from Iskarln: god(dess) of conflict and war.

Marduriq, from Mardur: patron god of the Massassi and strength.

Rusaniq, from Rusanel: goddess of knowledge.

Zefiriq, from Zefir: goddess of the hunt.

Shumariq, from Shumari: god of the harvest.

Goruiq, from Gorul: the trickster god(dess).

Months

There are numerous constellations in the Korribani sky. Twelves of these mark the months of the year as well as going into the astalignment. The 12 major, monthly constellations all depict local fauna from ancient fables and have certain characteristics that are commonly associated with them.

1. Yuninchâtsutuyok, the jiminat and agzonûboj engaged in eternal conflict. Dedicated, ambitious, and insightful.

2. Qyalatuyok, the qyalak. Calm, sentimental, and inquisitive.

3. Badzuriqatuyok, the badzuriqash. Tenacious, practical, and direct.

4. Kaarjontuyok, the kaarjontû. Spontaneous, contemplative, and observant.

5. Tukatatuyok, the tukata. Loyal, respectful, and staunch.

6. Hatyatuyok, the hatya. Articulate, perceptive, and adaptable.

7. Lomaituyok, the lomait. Disciplined, fearless, and competitive.

8. Dzushatuyok, the dzushaj. Private, calculating, and flexible.

9. Mowhetuyok, the mowhef. Stern, traditional, and ruthless.

10. Dyaltituyok, the dyaltir. Mischievous, studious, and charismatic.

11. Jhan’dikanatuyok, the lost dikana. Creative, sociable, and resourceful.

12. Niqoituyok, the niqoit. Erudite, cunning, and free-spirited.

Years

The years are also represented by local animals. No one, not even Sith scholars or historians, are sure of the origin of how these animals came to represent the years on Korriban’s calendar. It is one of the many parts of Sith culture that have been lost since it is believed this particular record has been passed down through oral tellings.

The years are kept track of in a 6-year cycle with each year emphasizing a likely success for the ones born in that year.

Chiroik - Wealth

Wokinai - Knowledge

Natûsh - Fame

Dzenal - Influence

Litskoj - Power

Sulemish - Longevity

(ie. Those born in the year of the Sulemish will have a long life.) This again factors into a Sith’s astralignment.

In addition to the years, these 6 animals are also used for the hours on Korriban. But time is not conveyed in the same manner as Basic. While in Basic one would simply say “14:25” (or two twenty-five in the afternoon) the Sith have a much more involved way to convey time.

For example: Shyracks screech and return to their caves as the priestess prepares the altar in the hour of the wokinai.

Translates to: 07:15 local time (or seven fifteen in the morning).

As a side note, a few centuries ago Darth Feras domesticated and bred wrats within the Empire. At first they weren’t seen with much interest by her peers. But popular rumor has it that she pointed out her creations embody the physical traits of the yearly beasts.

Eyes - Chiroik

Ears - Wokinai

Body - Natûsh

Hands - Dzenal

Feet - Litskoj

Tail - Sulemish

Afterwards they quickly became a favored pet and companion among the Sith, being seen as an auspicious animal.

While not related to their calendar there is a tradition of being assigned a birth flower. For this, the Sith do not look to their skies but rather, when a child is born the placenta is buried in a pot with 12 seeds. The first of these seeds to sprout becomes that Sith’s birth flower. These 12 flowers are also used in medicine, therapeutic or preventive, for some common ailments.

Serla for headaches.

Roshal for good eyesight.

Nashkir for sore throats.

Atsudqâ for heart health.

Hyaranjat for good digestion.

Mûyoin for muscle pain.

Shasâyar for fertility.

Jûzon for blood circulation.

Ashanin for bone mending.

Qoyo for fevers.

Chisiqsanu for irritated ridge skin.

Kûsk’inti for fatigue and replenishing energy.

The last two parts that go into a Sith’s astalignment are their energies. The weekly energies correspond with 4 classic “elements” of earth, fire, air, and water. While the daily energy simply refers to day or night (d/n) in regards to when the person was born.

Combined with all aspects mentioned in this document, year, month, weekly energy, day (+energy), and flower, one can study a Sith’s astalignment.  ex. Darth Vowrawn’s astalignment factors:

The study of these astralignments is a complicated field on to its own while the findings can be very important to some among the Sith. There are specialized scholars who offer their services to the old families so that the “perfect matches” (marriage, business, or otherwise) can be set up.

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

aaaaahhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! IT’S DONE. i feel like frodo at mt. doom after the ring is destroyed omg... ;-;

SOOOO. i wanted, and i mean REALLY wanted, to finish this for lunar new year (for pretty obvious reasons lol)...... :,) welp. then i was like “i can do may 4″ lol NOPE. but here we are! still technically sith day? whatever. imma say I Did It. :D

also pls don’t laugh at my stupid drawings. i already know i can’t art. ok??? >,<

special thanks to @snootysith​ for giving me a bunch of sithy names and words for me to use. c: like y’all... coming up with fake words, that look and sound ok is really HARD (for my dumbass anyway)

other worldbuilding posts that are... sorta mentioned/used in this:

@inquisitorhotpants​‘s dk calendar

BOOS! x3

and some other stuff ....

but uh, yea. if you’re wondering “hang on there fluffy... did you really make a big, dumbass zodiac/astrology post??” the answer is...

yes.

yes i did... xU

but also i imagine the ancient sith had a lot of special and important dates for you know... religious things? *shrug* and over the many, many years all of this was passed down and prob altered in some way to fit into modern sith society? idk...

now imma say some things here bc i know For A Fact!!! that ppl don’t go onto original posts to read op tags on this hellsite lol.

and this isn’t me trying to sound like an arrogant asshole... but these are for some common questions that’ll undoubtedly come up:

yes, you can use this in any extent or manner.

no, you obvs don’t have to. ignore it if you want. i’ll be ok lol.

no, i’m not gonna write a long ass book with all the little details on every aspect of all the traits and then assign these things for your character(s). just make something up. that’s what i did here xD (plus my brain is d e a d from this)

yes, this is seen as a mostly(!) tomato pureblood sith thing but obvs attitudes are different between individuals. some are super into it, some could careless and think it’s all fake news, some have parents that care too much about it which is annoying and interfering with their life so they lowkey hate it lol.

no, i couldn’t do a read more bc it wouldn’t look as nice and i worked hard ok? ;-; i apologize for clogged dashes in advance.

i think that’s it? ofc feel free to hmu if you’re ok with a reply that can take anywhere from a few min to 3 business days ^-^;

[ceescedasticity]

a terrible, terrible idea I will not be finishing

TMA SBURB session scenario

The setup is that somehow, one of the current main character survivors finds out about SBURB, and comes up with an outlandish plan to force a session and drag the fears into the Incipisphere, thus leaving Earth to return to its original state. Pretend this is a feasible plan. Pretend it comes with a good plan to keep the Reckoning from destroying Earth immediately after it's restored.

The fears aren't going to be naturally inclined to go to the Incipisphere. It has a very low population — I'd be surprised if carapacians and consorts together topped a hundred thousand, though if you count underlings that's probably at least doubled — and even setting that aside some fears are just not well-represented. It's a very sterile place. So, the plan is to fill the "player" positions with people who can provide anchors for the fears and drag them into the Incipisphere, too. Pretend this makes sense.

(That puts us at over twelve players in a session, so I'll be using some original classes and aspects.)

The necessary qualifications for "players" are that they (1) are well-marked but not overwhelmed, (2) can be convinced to cooperate, and (3) are… accessible. Obviously live people are most accessible, but most live people are either overwhelmed and most of the rest are Avatars who are… actually they could also be described as overwhelmed, just in a different way. And the Incipisphere does have that little "dreamself" mechanism, so if they (read: Jon) have a sufficient... trace on a person (read: direct statement, Archive contract, accumulation of indirect statements, or some weird stuff), they can toss them straight into their dreamself, thus reviving them, possibly closer to human than they were before. (Or possibly creating a functionally identical copy. Hopefully no one asks.) Pretend this makes sense, too.

(They didn't attempt to exert any control over which moon people got, or which 'role'.)

Also benefiting from a dreamself: Jon, who barely survived the gross overextension of his powers figuring out how to do this and pulling in the "players" but just dropped upon entering the actual Incipisphere. He's now definitely in pre-coma condition and possibly even more regressed; he's been too disoriented to do much experimenting.

Melanie agreed to be the primary anchor for Slaughter because it's one of the stronger fears in the Incipisphere (the Battlefield and Prospit-Derse war in general mean the carapacians tend to be a good source for it) so they need someone trustworthy in the position. She's monitoring herself VERY carefully. She's also a secondary anchor for Beholding, but there's not any shortage there anyway. Her role according to the Incipisphere is Mage of Breath, Prospit dreamer, Land of Reeds and Whistles.

Georgie can't really anchor anything but End. Which is fine because it's also a fear native to the Incipisphere, and the only one that's a conceivable flight risk since the horrorterrors aren't afraid of anything else. Her mythological role is Sylph of Time, Derse dreamer, Land of Knells and Echoes.

Martin is the primary anchor for the Extinction, which may be a bit player as far as the entities are concerned but which is deeply engraved in the Incipisphere what with the Reckoning and everything. He's a secondary anchor for the Lonely as well as Beholding. His role is Rogue of Blood, Prospit dreamer, Land of Smoke and Craters.

Jon is the primary anchor for Beholding and a secondary anchor for pretty much everything else. (Beholding isn't a major concern for the Incipisphere's natives, but it's a potential issue for players, depending on their awareness.) He hasn't been needing statements, which he hopes is because he's regressed past the need for them, but which is actually because his Aspect is standing in for them. His role is Prince of Light, Prospit dreamer, Land of Sand and Searchlights.

Basira is the primary anchor for the Dark (since Beholding is taken). It's of middling strength, more than Beholding but much less than Slaughter or End; you get some Prospitians and consorts scared of the dark, but usually it's the least of everyone's worries. Her role is Maid of Mind, Prospit dreamer, Land of Pitch and Frames.

Annabelle Cane probably would agree to participate, but no one trusts either her or their own ability to manage her. Mikaele Salesa wouldn't want to interrupt his retirement, and if coerced he might sabotage things. Uh… that Jordan Kennedy ECDC fellow still seemed to have his head on fairly straight, right? He can anchor Corruption. (All of Corruption's strength in the Incipisphere is built on Dersite revulsion for amphibians.) His role is Page of Fire, Derse dreamer, Land of Toads and Hellbenders. (Did I mention how reliant Corruption is on Dersites and amphibians just now.)

At this point we have exhausted our living candidates. So: cast some dead people as players, force their dreamselves to form, maybe give them a nightmare about the post-Change world so they understand what's at stake, and wake them up.

The remaining fears that are really seriously strong in the Incipisphere are the Hunt (players hunt underlings hunt consorts) and the Desolation (meteors and RED MILES).

The Hunt goes to Daisy, who has been rebooted to mostly human in her dreamself and is unsurprisingly very shaken up about everything, but at least she knew about the Change (though she doesn't remember clearly). She's a secondary anchor for both Buried and Beholding. Her role is Haunt of Heart, Prospit dreamer, Land of Tracks and Traces.

Desolation goes to Tim, who is... not thrilled to be alive and conscripted again. He's somewhat mollified by it at least DEFINITELY not being more of the SAME bullshit. He's a secondary anchor for Beholding and Stranger. His role is Heir of Rage, Prospit dreamer, Land of Stone and Ashes. (He really likes the sound of Heir of Rage but isn't about to admit it.)

Stranger goes to Sasha, who is having an odd time of it. A lot of the background information everyone else knows already is new to her, and bringing her up to speed is extra work, but Jon and Martin were feeling sentimental and everyone agreed she'd be a stabilizing influence on Tim. She has MOST of her memories. People have MOST of their memories of her. (The Stranger isn't particularly strong in the Incipisphere because the locals are predisposed to accept any kind of weirdness from players without being bothered. Everything is familiar to them, no matter how strange it should seem.) She's a secondary anchor for Beholding and Spiral. Sasha's role is Clerk of Doom, Prospit dreamer, Land of Masks and Music.

Since the game prefers an even number of players, and it's already established the fourteen/fifteen don't REALLY cover everything, it's more complicated than that, maybe include an anchor for 'Unclassifiable'. Give that one to Gerry. (Jon can't decide whether he should feel guilty about this; Gerry wanted an end, but this definitely isn't life as a book.) (For his part Gerry is in 'this might as well happen' mode.) Gerry's role is Knight of Grief, Derse dreamer, Land of Tomes and Boxes.

The Incipisphere's natives aren't automatically AWARE of being steered, but they are; players always have their options restricted by alpha timeline bullshit; this particular group of players mostly got thrown into it without asking them so may be even more aware of their lack of control. All of which is to say the Web is not particularly weak and they need a trustworthy anchor. They settled on Gertrude and still aren't sure whether it was a good idea. What she thinks of it she isn't saying. Her role is Seer of Space, Prospit dreamer, Land of Webs and Frogs.

To everyone's surprise, Gertrude apparently came with a bonus Agnes. Possibly because they were leaning on her Web connections? Who knows? They set her to anchor Lonely, because even though she never had room for any marks but Desolation before she was definitely lowercase-L lonely. Agnes's role is Witch of Void, Derse dreamer, Land of Smog and Drizzle.

(At this point someone finally figures out lunar alignment is apparently being determined by whether someone has ever signed a contract with the Archives.)

The Vast goes to Adelard Dekker. Vast isn't among the strongest of the entities in the Incipisphere, but there's space involved and theoretically an entire universe, so it has definite potential and needs to be anchored by someone who won't go out of control with it. Adelard's role is Count of Hope, Derse dreamer, Land of Stars and Stairs.

That just leaves Buried, Flesh, and Spiral. None of them are particularly strong in the Incipisphere — you might think the Spiral would be, but SBURB does have its own rules.

For the Spiral, the main thing is they don't want the Distortion. They could try for non-Distortion Helen Richardson, or even non-Distortion Michael Shelley, but if something went wrong then they'd have the Distortion alive again and who knows what would happen. So… uh… hmmm… Oh, Mike Crew had a prolonged Spiral problem! He might not be very happy with the because of… everything, but he could probably be talked into cooperating for his own benefit, right? So he's reluctantly anchoring Spiral, because it's supposed to be temporary, he wants to live, and at least that stupid Lichtenberg figure hasn't showed up. He's also more human than he's used to. His role is Bard of Stone, Derse dreamer, Land of Mazes and Ravines.

And as long as they're giving second chances to dead avatars who probably don't deserve them but who did start out as traumatized children, what about Julia Montauk? She could maybe anchor the Flesh — there were those beating hearts in the shed, and she probably ran into more while Hunting… Okay, Flesh. She's not super happy about the Flesh thing but is more disoriented by being much less Hunter than she has been in years. Her role is Ghoul of Life, Derse dreamer, Land of Ribs and Regrowth.

And finally… okay, they're going to throw Buried at Jurgen Leitner. He's probably marked by about everything, and he was "buried" in the tunnels for years. It's fine. His role is Thief of Strange, Derse dreamer, Land of Pits and Dust.

How does it all turn out in the end? Who knows. Almost certainly no worse than canon will.

[vulpes-incendium]

I made this long time ago, but I thought it's a good time to share it here for @aphasiaweek!

I chose 《Hoi Sam☆Nice Guy》over 《Maji Kandou☆Hong Kong Night》because there are more stuff about HK in it. So let's see if the lyrics are accurate in a native's point of view!

Spoiler alert: it's very accurate

Hoi Sam = Happy (in Cantonese)

Guy = sounds like street in Cantonese (gaai1)

“Yooooo, so since there’s a song… while I’m at it I kinda put some effort into my costume… I think I’ve got like, serious swag Pardon? You can’t see me…for real? Woah!!!!”

FASHION: yes, HKers love to be trendy, always want to be on top trends! Trends come and go very very quickly, it's seriously really hard to follow trends in HK.

MIXING ENGLISH WITH CANTONESE: yup, we do that a lot, we almost couldn't finish a sentence without English, some words just sound "uncool" in Chinese lol (it’s always about being cool in HK lol), but we don't really say “pardon” unless we are speaking English

Sup-sup-sup-sup-sup-super mobile (snap snap) It’s my hobby to take pics and collect them (I guess) Not gonna lie, everyone’s got a mobile phone, penetration rate (highest in the world) Yeah! If you’re going sightseeing then Nathan Road! (Fuu~!)

TAKING PICS WITH SMARTPHONE: Aph HK loves taking (embarrassing) photos (of China lol), but in real life HKers do love taking pictures, or videos too (it's dangerous if you misbehave, people would film you and post on Youtube or Facebook)

MOBILE PHONE PENETRATION RATE: I couldn't find data for HK, but I think I heard on average, each HKer carries at least 2 cellphones! So this could be true!

NATHAN ROAD: It's the longest street in HK and there's so many things, good food, good shopping places and yup sightseeing! (A lot of our streets are named after the Governors during the colonial time, this street is named after Sir Matthew Nathan for example)

Welcome this makes me kinda happy (Check it out!) Learned this from England - tea in the afternoon (high tea) Welcome, this is kinda fun (Shake it up!) Yum cha, Hong Kong milk tea, cha-cha Nice culture (frivolous)!

AFTERNOON TEA: Yes, it's still a tradition for us to have tea time, we call it 3:15, workplaces would have tea breaks, restaurants do tea time menu during 2-5pm, it's really cool and cheap! We usually drink HK milk tea (evolved from British milk tea) during tea time and there are so many delicious snacks like French toast, pineapple bun and of course egg tart!

YUM CHA: It literally means “drink tea”, but Chinese tea this time. It's a tradition for us to go Yum Cha every Sunday with our family! Dim sum is part of Yum Cha! We just eat and catch up with each others for HOURS!

Oh. My. God. “LOHAS LOHAS” Oh. My. Mind. “Gonna take a pic~” Take away “Is this delivery service for real?” Like, seriously, even if it’s way out of the way, no problem man

LOHAS: I didn't know what this refers to for a long time, I finally found the answer. This refers to LOHAS park, an eco-friendly residential area newly built few years ago. But what's so special about it? Is it famous in Japan?!

DELIVERY SERVICE: Well delivery service in Asia are generally good anyway, but I guess we are good and fast?! (but I think Korea too!)

Super Feeling unlucky? If it’s getting to you, go villain hitting at Ngo Keng Kiu A medium will perform an exorcism, and hit a paper doll with a shoe For fortune telling, go draw fortune sticks, or get a divine answer by throwing moon blocks at the temples… at Wong Tai Sin, light the fire of your incense! If you’re feeling tired, maybe you can give Feng Shui a try or something? A spiritual site in Lantau Island The Wisdom Path…is super Awesome for meditation, but there aren’t any toilets, so watch out Gold fish, bring me luck! (In money!)

NGO KENG KIU: Generally HKers are not THAT superstitious, but the culture still lives within us. I have never known anyone who did the villain hitting, but it's still quite a thing (and a great tourist spot). It's mainly for people who backstab you (we call them "small people" siu yan), but I guess evil spirit too.

WONG TAI SIN: Again, it's more for older generation who are still a bit superstitious. People like to go to Wong Tai Sin Temple during Lunar New Year to wish for luck in the new year. It's still quite popular!

See I told you we have natural landscape (source)

WISDOM PATH: I've never been there lol. Apparently it's a "path lined with 38 wooden monuments inscribed with the Heart Sutra prayer". In general, HK has a lot of nice hiking trail, our landscape is actually amazing, it's just we focus too much on making money...

P-Pe-Pe-Pearl of the Orient is me! (I guess?) Got completely wasted? Ended up in a dress (totes sick) Not gonna lie, population density is highest in the world in Ap Lei Chau Yeah! If you’re going sightseeing then Hong Kong Island! (Yeah~!!)

PEARL OF THE ORIENT: It's the nickname of HK, the Philippines is Pearl of the Orient SEAS

(Ending up in a dress refers to this comic, thanks parallel France!)

POPULATION DENSITY: Yea, that's what we are famous for really, small place lots of people (HK is a very hilly city, surprise, surprise), we have the most expensive estate price in the world 🤦‍♀️, not sure if Ap Lei Chau is particularly population-densed, but the whole HK is like that!

Good luck in everything this makes me kinda happy (Check it out!) Learned this from England - how to be a gentleman (ladies first) I wish you good health, this is kinda fun (Shake it up!) Typhoon, Kung Fu, WA-TAHH Supplements, Chinese herbal medicine (healthy~!)

LUCK: The newer generations are less superstitious now, but luck is still kind of important for us? It's more like a tradition than a belief, we do them just in case (like Feng Shui).

TYPHOON: As a coastal city, we get typhoons a lot in summer, but they are not as strong in comparison to the Philippines or Indonesia.

KUNG FU: We are known for our Kung Fu films, as the actors are all trained martial artists! Bruce Lee (WA-TAH was his catchphrase), Jackie Chan and Donnie Yen are great examples! Because of the wars and Cultural Revolution, many people fled China to HK, resulting the influx of high quality martial artists (eg. Ip Man).

HERBAL MEDICINE: As western as we are, we still believe in Chinese Medicine, but more in a preventative way.

Oh. My. God. “Air conditioning in full blast!” Oh. My. Mind. “That’s not eco-friendly…” Oh well “The air will become cleaner, I think?” Seriously a Mistake, but, no problem man

STRONG AIR-CONDITIONING: This line had me laugh die (Imao in Cantonese)! It's so accurate! You can catch a cold from the airconditioning in HK! And that's why we always carry a jacket even in summer! It's not very eco-friendly and our government is trying resolve that.

AIR POLLUTION: Yes we have smog (smoke + fog), it is becoming quite the problem really. The root of the problem is that Shenzhen, the city next to HK, is developing rapidly and a lot of factories moved there, so the smoke is blown towards HK (we don't really have many factories left, it's too expensive here).

Awesome Riding on a roofless bus, cruising through the neon streets If you want to, like, go shopping… at Ladies Market There are stalls with cute stuff, souvenirs (lots and lots of them) Talk the price down! Haggling is what really counts For some more miscellaneous and deep junk, more for the adult and thrilling The street where mystery thickens… Temple Street Would you like to try some cheap eats at the street stalls? Absolutely delicious! Asian food is the best!

NEON LIGHTS: You've all seen the stereotypical HK streets full of neon lights, but it's actually decreasing, because there's no newcomers to the industry (the lights are handmade).

LADIES MARKET: You can find so many stuff there indeed, for a cheap price! Branded stuff, fake stuff (we don't make them but yea you can find a lot of them), food and goldfish. Yes, there's a goldfish street. Why? I dunno, for luck I guess?!

TEMPLE STREET: Similar to ladies market, it's also great for shopping. This street is also known for (illegal) prostitution and triad, but it's still safe to visit, never in my life have I encountered any of them.

“Yoooooo, Mister, so I kinda sang this song, but seriously, rapping is surprisingly, like, tough?” “It’s also a shame that no one can see what I’m wearing, I’ve got serious swag, y'know.” “Phew… I kinda want to go home already… I mean, the peach buns are gonna be sold out.” “…can we go now?” “…can’t we go yet?” “Haah…” “Okay fine, like, whatever.”

One, two, three!*

PEACH BUN: They are actually eaten on birthdays, for longevity (that's what peach represents in Chinese culture).

*this line was spoken in Mandarin in the song, which would be the only critism I'd give. Yes a lot of people may understand Mandarin, but Cantonese and English are preferred and they are our official languages. One, two, three in Cantonese would be "yaat, yi, sam".

Oh. My. God. “The rent is really expensive…” Oh. My. Mind. “It’s not easy…” Why oh why? “It’s like, the highest in the world” We have serious inflation, but, whatever

EXPENSIVE RENT: We are the most expensive in the world, thanks to the high population density (and foreign buyers 😶), it's really not easy to afford a flat in HK, that’s why most HKers live with their parents until they get married (it’s also a cultural thing).

INFLATION: Stuff are still relatively cheap, but they are getting more expensive really quickly, mainly because of the rent of the shops.

Super they’re so adorable it hurts, the perfect balance of black and white pandas that bring you happiness… we sell them, sort of So fluffy and cute, such big round eyes The kinda? Make you Happy! Uh-huh

PANDAS: We actually only have 2 pandas here like everyone else, in Ocean Park (it's like an amusement park and zoo). They finally successfully mated recently, probably because of Corona shutdown lol!

There are over 100 of them, Tin Hau Temple, so super Before I head there, I seriously wanna eat… mango pudding! So many gods, like, one in every street Pay homage at the temple, light the fire of your incense!

TEMPLES: We still have the temples built before the colonial time! Hopefully, we are able to keep them too...

MANGO PUDDING: It's so good yes! Our dessert culture is just the best seriously! We have so many restaurants just for desserts! They are great places to hang out with friends after work or school!

The air conditioning at its max, the fire burning strong A steaming hot pot made with a carefully chosen soup base If you want to detox, have a Chinese herbal hot pot Absolutely delicious! Asian food is the best! Riding on a roofless bus, cruising through the neon streets If you want to, like, go shopping… at Ladies Market There are stalls with cute stuff, souvenirs, lots and lots of them Talk the price down! Haggling is what really counts Absolutely delicious! Asian food is the best! Every minute Happy☆Nice Town (Guy)

HOT POT: We love it! We basically love when a lot of people sit together, talking, sharing food (like Yum Cha), it's the harmony and atmosphere that we like so much! And yes, there are a lot of different soup base you can choose from!

BARGAINING: Yes do it, especially if you're in places like Ladies' Market and you're a foreigner, they do price things up if you don't look like a local.

***

Shout out to Takagi Motoki, the voice actor of HK, his voice fits the character perfectly! (and please get a new va for the new season please funimation) And how can he speak so fast?!

[kumoriyami-xiuzhen]

Hakuoki Shinkai: Ginsei no Shou - Saito Hajime Chapter #1 English Translation

well... it’s going to be a long while before I finish translating another chapter from this game, though I will definitely finish at least one more before the end of the year. 

please note that i will not be posting any translations next week on account of me taking a break for CNY and studying... so, to whom it may concern, Happy Chinese New Year~! Alternatively, Happy Lunar New Year~! also happy early family day (Canadians only xD)!

anyway, enjoy! as always, tl is CN->ENG so it may not be 100% accurate while the final edits will be done later though I’m not sure how long that will take with my current schedule. 

Hakuoki Shinkai: Ginsei no Shou - Saito Hajime Chapter #1

Translation by KumoriYami

12 month of the 3rd year of Bunkyū

In order to find my missing father, I left Edo and came to Kyoto……

The night I arrived in Kyoto, I was attacked in an alley by a group of men.

They had ominously blood red eyes, were armed with vicious blades, making one feel one's blood run cold [reword later].

They smiled/laughed eerily at me as they drew/came closer, at that moment/then in a split second, the silver light of the moon flashed, and someone had cut them in half.[reword later]

Those swords that helped me—— [they were from] Shinsengumi First Division Captain Okita Souji and Third Division Captain Saito Hajime. [reword later]

I had accidently caught a glimpse of their secrets, which was why I was taken back to their headquarters and questioned by their executives......

I didn't expect for them to also be looking for my father, which was why I agreed to stay, on the condition that I helped find him.

As a result of that entire incident, I was to be treated as a page by the Shinsengumi.

Even among the executives, Saito-san was especially taciturn.

He doesn't say anything more than necessary, if he is given a mission, he will fulfill it better than anyone else [reword later].

Although I accepted how he was basically a cold person——

I however thought that this was because he always prioritizes devoting everything to accomplish his missions.

That's why he never ridiculed my swordsmanship as a woman [check jp mtl] and calmly evaluated my capabilities, and supported me accompanying the patrols [reword later].

During this time, I already knew how extraordinary his strength was, and in the following days, I witnessed that strength and his seriousness countless times.

For example, during the Ikedaya Incident, when the Shinsengumi arrested a large number of the Choshu [? check jp mtl and game. this wasn’t translated well] who had been flying the Emperor's flag and expelling foreigners.

There was also during the 7th month of Genji, a month after the Ikedaya Incident, at the Hamaguri Gate Rebellion......

While the Aizu and Satsuma were fighting against the Choshu who attacked the Imperial Palace.

Saito-san was facing Amagiri Kyuuju from the Satsuma/who was associated with the Satsuma Domain, who had seriously injured Heisuke-kun during the Ikedaya Incident, and stood his ground, not allowing for the situation to develop further.

Because of these events, at the end of the first year of Genji, I had come to a gradual understanding of who he was.

This is the story of what happened in the winter, one year after I came to the Shinsengumi [check jp mtl if this is more 'in the first year i came to the Shinsengumi'].

11 month of Genji

Approximately half a year after the Ikedaya Incident, and about three or four months after the Hamaguri Gate Rebellion......

I had more or less become accustomed to my life with the Shinsengumi.

Today, in order to look for my father, I was accompanying the Third Division's patrol.

I heard that after the Hamaguri Gate Rebellion, almost half of Kyoto had been destroyed by fire......

Yukimura: Quite a few homes have been rebuilt.

Saito:......Ultimately, it was a very large fire.

Yukimura: …………

The Shinsengumi has been patrolling the streets everyday, doing to their best to protect the people and streets of Kyoto, [though] many people still lost their homes and property in the fires caused by the Hamaguri Gate Rebellion.

Although the division members didn't say anything, they probably felt incredibly remorseful at being able to prevent this disaster from reaching the streets.

Child 2: What are you looking at? If you want to say something, say it/talk!

Yukimura: ?

Hearing a child's/children's voice/s from the other end of the ally, I glanced at Saito-san.  

Yukimura: Saito-san, just now that was......

Saito: That sound was probably from a child playing around with their friends.

Yukimura: But that voice right now, rather than playing, it sounded more like......

It sounded like a fight.

Yukimura:…………

Since we were still on patrol, regardless of what I think, this matter is highly unlikely to concern my father or the Shinsengumi, but I......

Yukimura:......Saito-san, can I take a quick look?

Saito: Right now we're on patrol, I can't waste time on matters that have nothing to [my] division's [our]work [check jp for taishi].

Although I thought he would say that.

Yukimura: Please...... I'll come right back.

I asked him again and again, and he seemed to be in a bit of a dilemma, but......

Saito: Okay, in that case, I'll go with you. You aren't allowed to move on your own/be alone.

Yukimura:......Thank you.

Soon after he gave orders to the other soldiers, we went together in the direction where I heard that child's voice came from just now.

Yukimura: The voice just now, it really did come from around here......

Following that voice, there was a tea house in front of us.

Yukimura Huh [check jp mtl]? Shouldn't it be here——

Sure enough. There were some older kids surrounding a smaller child [/boy. check jp].

Child 2: Aren't you learning kenjutsu? Come on, take your revenge!

One of the children spoke sarcastically, hitting the small child's head with a shinai.

Child 1:…………

But, the child being beaten who was beaten just bit his lip tightly, and resigned himself.

Child 3: Why is the child of an ordinary family learning kenjutsu?

Child 2: Are you wanting to rob my family's store?

Child 1: I don't, I'm not……！

Child 2: Lies/You're lying! Isn't your family's business not doing well?  Furthermore, my parents said that your family's store burned down a while ago.

Child 1: Wu......

Yukimura: What are you doing!

I couldn't continue watching this, and moved without thinking.

The children backed away for a moment, but recovered immediately——

Child 3: What? What's wrong with you? Go away!

Yukimura: You're bullying this child, right? Why do you need to do that?

Child 2: What I say has nothing to do with you. My father is popular around here. If you're going to go against me, I'll make it so that you can't stay in the capital.

Apparently these children are not going to listen to me talk.

Yukimura: Hey, you kids/children——

I was about to start speaking when Saito-san stepped forward.

Saito: Yukimura, as I said earlier, we're still on patrol, time cannot be wasted......

The children froze as soon as they saw his uniform.

Child 2: H-Hey, that haori......! Isn't that what the Mibu Wolves wear [check game if it's Wolves of Mibu or Mibu Wolves]?

Child 3: That's right! My parents said that! We absolutely cannot get involved with them!

Child 2: We might get killed! Run for it!

Yukimura: Ah, wait a moment......!

Before I could stop them, they abandoned [dropped] the shinai as they ran away.

Child 1: Wa-Wait for me......!

Although this child was left behind, he also wanted to escape......

But it seemed that he had no strength, and wasn't even able to stand up.

Yukimura: Are you okay?

Child 1: Ah......! This, I......! I haven't said bad about the Wolves of Mibu.

This child apparently believed in the negative rumours about the Shinsengumi that were going around and was terrified.

Yukimura: Uh......

I don't know what to do......

Without any better idea, I picked up the fallen shinai, and handed it to the child.

Yukimura: This..... does this belong to the children who were here just now? If that is the case, can you please return this to them?

He visibly trembled, as if he were using the entirety of his strength to answer.

Child 1: That...... it's mine......

Yukimura: This is your shinai? Then I'll return it to you.

The child hesitated for a moment, fearfully taking the shinai.

I've heard it from the other warriors before......

Kyoto's populace does not have a good impression of the Shinsengumi, apparently this was true.

Yukimura:......You don't need to be so scared. The Shinsengumi only goes after people who do bad things.

Child 1: But, everyone says that the Wolves of Mibu are extremely scary/terrible......

It was different from me who was in contact with these warriors every day/I was different since I was in contact with these warriors every day...... [check jp]

This child had little chance to be in direct contact with the Shinsengumi, so it was difficult to imagine that prejudice would be eliminated any time soon.

But......

Yukimura: Although those children spoke poorly of the Shinsengumi just now, however [check jp. either reword or remove], do you think that I'm scary?

The child desperately shook his head.

Child 1: N-No no, don't...... I don't think that......

Saito-san had been silently watching our exchange.......

Saito: This matter appears to have been settled. Let's go, Yukimura.

Yukimura: Ah, okay, I know/understood.

I turned to the child again.

Yukimura: You should go home, be careful on your way back.

Child 1: Nn......

I said good-bye to the child, and left there with Saito-san.

After/Afterwards/Later, on our way back to headquarters, Saito-san quietly spoke/spoke softly.

Saito: You're very caring about children.

Hearing him say something so suddenly, I felt puzzled./I felt puzzled to hear him abruptly say this.

Yukimura: Eh? You're talking [referring] to just now/what just happened?

Saito: Nn. I didn't expect you to have a side like that.

Yukimura:......While I lived in Edo, my family's clinic also provided medical care to children. Certainly, I might get along well/be good at dealing with children.

My answer was apparently unexpected to him, and his eyes widened slightly.  

There was silence for a moment......

Saito: No, not only that.

Yukimura: What do you mean?

Saito: Nn, it should be said that I feel like you would be a good elder sister...... No, you'd be a good mother. If you have children, you should be able to guide[tl word can also mean teach or instruct] them well [check jp mtl].

Yukimura: Eh……！

I didn't expect him to say that [I'd be a] "good older sister" or "a good mother"......

It was surprising/I was surprised.

Yukimura: A mother....... me/Me...... as a mother? I've never thought about that until now. Furthermore, rather than saying that I care about children......

In fact, I was bullied by other children when I was a child.

As a result of that, I wasn't able to ignore what happened to that child just now.

Saito:......What's wrong? You've suddenly stopped talking.

Yukimura: No...... it's nothing. However, as far as I'm concerned, even if I can be a good mother in the future, I would need to find the[/a] father of[/for] the [/my] child first. Meaning, I would first have to find a lover.

He held his breath, apparently somewhat nervous.

I was used to seeing him always look calm, so it was hard to imagine how his words were so awkward [now]......

Saito: Th-That's right...... Indeed, that is true. Still, that's probably too early for you.

After he spoke, Saito-san seemed somewhat embarrassed and averted his eyes.

Saito-san had actually brought this subject up first.......

He was so embarrassed as he spoke that I started to feel embarrassed [reword later].

Yukimura: Yes......

Thinking about it, until now, I've never had the opportunity to talk about this subject with anyone.

I didn't expect to actually talk about this with Saito-san..... it was quite astonishing.

Afterwards, we chatted about some other topics on our way back to headquarters.

A few days later.

I was in the middle of sweeping the entrance of the Yagi residence [check game for capitalization].

Yukimura: Mm......!

The winds of the eleventh month were cold and bone-chilling.

I was planning to finish sweeping a bit earlier then go back to my  room.

Okita: Areh, sweeping here?

Yukimura: Ah, Okita-san. Are you back from patrol? You've worked hard.

Okita: That's right..... There was a bit of trouble though.

Yukimura: What was that trouble [reword later].

Okita: While we were on patrol, a kid kept on following us. Since they were in the way, we tried to send them away, but they were really persistent and kept following us/ insisted on following us.

Yukimura: Was that child not one of Okita-san's friends?

Okita: I don't/didn't know them. They weren't a kid who lives nearby/It wasn't a kid living around here. I think/feel that they weren't so much as chasing me, and were rather looking at the [our] uniform[s] to keep up/follow [us?].

Maybe they wanted to join the Shinsengumi? Well, that/it'd be impossible for such a little kid.

Yukimura: That child, where did he go?/Where did that child go?

Okita: Who knows? They seemed to have followed me/us/made it to the Mibu Temple. Though they might have given up already?

Okita-san wasn't interested in saying anything else and went back inside.

A child who was interested in the Shinsengumi......

......I couldn't help but feel concerned.

According to Okita-san, that child had followed him all the way to the Mibu Temple.

……Mibu Temple was right behind headquarters, and many of the warriors went there to practise kenjutsu.

It should be okay/shouldn't matter if I go look there for a bit [take a quick look].

Having thought this, I decided to go check the Mibu Temple.

Yukimura: Huh......?

Okita-san clearly  said that a child followed him here/ had come to this place.

But there was no one around.

Was it possible that they gave up and went home?

Regardless of how close the Mibu Temple is, it's not possible for me to leave headquarters without permission, so I still needed to return.

I was just about to finish my sweeping.

Saito: Yukimura, where were you just now? [might swap this line with the 4th one after. tl is almost the same]

Yukimura: Ah, Saito-san!

Saito: You need to be accompanied by one of the executives when you leave, this should have been repeatedly explained to you/this should have been repeated several times.

Yukimura: Sorry, I thought I'd be able to just to quickly go there and back, that's why......

Saito: Where did you go?

Yukimura: Here's the thing—— [reword later. i don't like how it reads]

I told him everything Okita-san had just said about the child.

Saito:......A child was following the Shinsengumi around?

Yukimura: Yes, I feel that I can't just stop thinking about this. But it seems/appears that no one's no one around the Mibu Temple anymore/ like they're no longer around the Mibu Temple. It'd be worrying if they got lost and were unable to go home.

Saito: That's true/It's as you say. We should try looking around for a while then.

Yukimura:……Is that okay?

Saito: I don't have any particular arrangements now. Of course, if it's not necessary, then I will refrain/stop.

Yukimura: That isn't the case. Thank you.

Saito: okay, then let's go.

Thus, Saito-san and I went to go look around.

As we looked for the child, we walked down the main road.

Yukimura:......I can't find them anywhere. Maybe they're gone home.

Saito: Perhaps. If that was the case, it would be good if these were just groundless worries.

Yukimura: I'm sorry to have wasted your time. Let's go back to headquarters......

After I said that, just as we were planning to go back.

Yukimura:……！

Saito: What is it?

Yukimura: A familiar looking child ran down that alley just now...... I want to go chase after them/catch up and go look at them. Can I ask Saito-san to come with me?

Saito: Nn, there's no problem, let's go.

Saito-san and I started running.

Then, in the a narrow alley that lead to the Mibu Temple——

Yukimura: Hey, don't run [away].

I finally caught the child.

Child 1: Ah……！

The face of the child looking back was very familiar [reword later].

Yukimura: You should be the child from that time......

Child 1:…………

Saito: Is this the child who was following the First Division?

Yukimura: I think so.

Saito: Why have you been following the Shinsengumi around?

This child seemed to be scared of him.

He timidly opened his mouth.

Child 1: I want...... to learn kenjutsu.

Yukimura: You want the Shinsengumi to teach you kenjutsu?

Child 1:......Nn. Adults say that the Shinsengumi is frightening/terrible. But I hear that even if you aren't a samurai/warrior [check audio],  even if you're an ordinary person...... it's possible to join their ranks [literally: team/group. may reword later]. I want to become stronger....... please teach me kenjutsu.

Saito-san frowned and/as he glanced at me.

Although he appeared to be very calm......

I think he was probably worrying about how to respond.

After a while......

Saito: The Shinsengumi is not a place for children to learn kenjutsu, and a child like you will not be allowed to join. [/it is also not something a child can become a member of?]

Child 1: Eh...... But...... I've helped around the store several times already, and I'm not that different from an adult!

Saito: That's not the problem. With your height, do you think that you will be able to fight against ronin [check audio]?

Child 1: That......! That might be true now, but I'm still growing! So please, teach me kenjutsu!

Once the child finished speaking, he bowed deeply.

Saito:…………

He seemed very unaccustomed to this type of situation, and was apparently/seemed to be worrying about how to convince this child.

Seeing how troubled he looked, I——

Choices

[ Asked for his reason/Asked for a reason] <-

[remained silent]

Yukimura: You just said that you were learning kenjutsu to become strong/more powerful, so why do you want to become stronger?

Child 1: Because…………

Saito: If you want to get stronger than those kids who bullied you to then retaliate against them, I cannot approve of that as your/will not acknowledge that as a reason to join the team [thesaurus later]. Kenjutsu is not to be learned for that sort of purpose [reword later?].

Child 1: Ah......

Hearing such strict words, the young boy's eyes were filled with tears.

Looking at his demeanor, Saito-san bearing softened somewhat.

Yukimura: Wait, Saito-san, this child looks like he has something to say.

Having said that, I turned to the boy again.

Yukimura: If it's not for revenge, is there/do you have another reason? Can you tell me?

The boy took a moment to hold back/suppress his tears

Child 1:…………Nn.

He nodded slightly.

Saito:......I really am no good at dealing with children. Fortunately, you are here.

Yukimura: Such a thing......

It was great that I was able to help him.

Child 1: I…………want to learn kenjutsu so I can protect my family, and my little sister. That's why I started going to a dojo to learn kenjutsu. But the other kids told me that "it's strange for ordinary people/civilians to learn kenjutsu".

Saito:……Indeed, to protect your family, that responsibility/duty belongs to the town/it is the duty of the town to protect your family. You do not need to learn kenjutsu  for this. Everyone has their own responsibilities.

Child 1:Those other children's families are well-off, and as long they hire people, they'll be able to entrust someone with that responsibility, but....... my family only has a small store, and during the previous conflict, part of it burned down......

Yukimura: I see……

Saito:……You mean to say that you only want to protect your family, with your own hands, right?

Although I knew that many streets had suffered losses during the previous conflict.......

It was still very painful to hear about someone personally talk about it.

After Saito-san thought over it, he crouched down next to the boy.

Looking directly into the child's eyes......

Saito: I understand your circumstances. In order to protect your family and the weak, those are good reasons for wielding the sword.

Child: Re-Really!?

The child's face immediately lit up.

Saito-san however, still had a serious expression as he spoke.

Saito: But even if that is the case, I naturally cannot teach you kenjutsu. Of course, you can't become a member of the Shinsengumi.

Child: Ah......

The boy's face was full of disappointment. However, it wasn't a face that was on the verge of crying.

Saito-san was taking him seriously, and although he was a child, it seemed that he understood that.

Saito: In order to protect yourself, and one's family, practising in a dojo will suffice. Kyoto is protected by us. No matter what happens, we will certainly protect you all. Please pass that onto your family.

The boy's eyes widened, almost as if he was striving to engrave Saito-san's words into his memory.

Saito-san lightly nodded, then he placed his hand on the child's head as his expression relaxed.

Saito: The purpose of the Shinsengumi is to protect the helpless in Kyoto. For the sake of becoming strong to support those who are weak, we practise kenjutsu together here. In the event that one day, you truly need the assistance from the Shinsengumi...... Then, we will certainly be there to help you.

Child: Really?

As if to confirm this, the child asked this again.

Child: Really....... they'll help me?

Saito: Of course. We — as warriors, if a promise is made, we will never break it.

Hearing Saito-san's words, the boy's eyes seemed to glow with strength.

Finally, he firmly nodded......

Child: Mm, I understand. I..... will believe the Shinsengumi.

Hearing those words, Saito-san, his mouth formed a satisfied smile.

Saito: All you need is spirit. I also believe that you are determined to become stronger.

After saying that, Saito-san slowly stood up.

After we watched the boy return home, we started going back to headquarters.

Yukimura:……Saito-san is such a kind person. Even when speaking to a child, you will treat them so sincerely.

He narrowed his eyes in embarrassment.

Saito: I didn't treat him as a child. While addressing someone [who has chosen to] wield a sword to protect the weak, even if the other person was an adult, I would have said the same thing.

Yukimura: But, I think, to be treated as an adult…… for that child, it must have been a good experience.

Saito:……If that is the case, that's good.

As expected, he was still embarrassed and refused to meet my gaze. [depending on jp sentence, change to as 'really']

Saito: I really am unable to deal with children. It would be better for Souji to handle children/Children should be left for Souji to handle. [depending on jp audio, change to 'as expected']

Yukimura: Is that so? But, I think that if Saito-san had children, you would be a very good father.

Saito: Me, a father……？

He froze with a face full of embarrassment, almost as if he heard something completely foreign.

Saito:……For this sort of thing, I haven't even thought about it until now. After all, let alone a child, I still haven't married yet……

I'm afraid I said too much.

Yukimura: Th-That's right. Saito-san is busy doing work for the Shinsengumi, and can't be bothered about these things……

I quickly retracted my thoughtless words.

Saito: No…… it's not that I'm not a little interested……

Yukimura: Eh?

Saito:…………It's nothing.

He walked away with a shy/embarrassed look on his face.

Yukimura: Wa-wait for me, Saito-san!

Just now he said, it wasn't that he wasn't uninterested…… [reword later...? kinda gave up trying to tho]

Did that mean he had someone he liked?

Or was it……

After, I asked him several times, but he never answered back.

—The End—

after chapter 4 (still 40% done T_T)... i’m probably going to focus on chapter 2 then 5.... tho who knows when that will be since im translating at a severely reduced speed since school> all else, though i will definitely finish translating at least one more ginsei chapter this year (can’t say the same for videos given how painstaking it is to format everything lol). 

anyway, the reason why i say that i need my queued filled up to november before working on translating another ginsei chapter in earnest is cuz i don’t want to worry about meeting my self-imposed weekly translation goal and cuz i prefer having lots of time to work on full chapters given how long they take for me to get done... while also having pleeeenty of leeway for procrastinating lol.

also my laptop had a stupid error so everything shut down (though on the upside to that, i can see all my pc text again). thankfully robocopy makes it so that i don’t need to duplicate everything, but it’s seriously taking a long time for everything to move...

after everything finishes, i think im going to have a calendar that celebrates each month of no computer problems lol. 

[skellebonez]

OKAY SKELLE I HAVE NARROWED DOWN MY SELECTION TO 3 ONCE AGAIN 2(I don’t think I can do this anymore.), 44(Why are you still awake?) and 45(You may technically be an adult, but you’re still my child.) For lace's spider monkey au with mk and SQ?

Does this fit into the timeline for @strange-lace 's Spider Monkie AU? Almost certainly not, so consider this a non-canon “What If?” side story. But the instant I re-read this prompt after leaving it in my drafts I was hit with a wave of inspiration and I just... I gotta ride it. It was too good to pass it up.

Why are you still awake?/I don’t think I can do this anymore./You may technically be an adult, but you’re still my child.

If she hadn’t been awake Spider Queen would have never realized there was an intruder in her lair at this hour of night. The steps she heard earlier had been so soft, too fast to be human but too quiet to from any of the mechanical legs of her closest companions.

Which meant...

“What are you doing back here at this hour, my little prince?” She asked, tone as soft as she could manage to not scare the smaller person curled up on the floor of her lair.

That didn’t stop her son, MK, from tensing up and curling more into himself for a moment in his full form awkwardly. Spiders weren’t usually supposed to curl up the way humans did, and in an attempt to do so he just looked like he was folding himself in half. Painfully so.

“I didn’t think you’d be up, mom...” He said, uncurling just enough for Spider Queen to catch a glimpse of his red puffy eyes. “Why are you still awake? I just wanted to... calm down a bit.”

“Me being up is not important. What happened?” Spider Queen asked, laying her hand on MK’s shoulder gently. He leaned into the touch, making the queen smile softly. “C’mon. You don’t have to tell me everything, just enough.”

“I just...” MK started, swallowing tightly and ducking his head so that his hair fell over his eyes again as he thought of a response. “I don’t know... I don’t think I can do this anymore. This... living two lives stuff.”

“What do you mean?” Spider Queen asked, reaching out to gently put her hand under his chin and guide his face to look at hers. No force, just a soft push that he leaned into. “You know you can talk to me. Did something happen?”

“K-kinda?” MK let out a half laugh, one his his hands reaching up to pull at his hair. “I... I almost slipped up today. I let my glamour down without thinking. Because I just...” He breathed in shakily, pulling at his hair slightly. “I was... I felt...”

“Safe,” Spider Queen finished for him, reaching out to gently pull his fingers from his hair and run her own through it. She pulled him closer, letting his forehead rest on her shoulder as he hugged her tight. “You're scared because you felt safe?”

“I panicked,” MK said, relaxing more as Spider Queen wrapped her arms around her son. “I didn’t mean to do it, I just started my routine for when I get home when I was somewhere else and realized what I was doing and then I ran out and couldn’t think of anywhere else to go so I came here and... my friends probably think I’m so weird for doing that.”

“Didn’t you say you liked your friends because they were a little weird?” Spider Queen said with a chuckle, pulling away and gently guiding MK to stand back up and face her. “Everything you’ve told me about them makes them sound wonderful. Why would they think less of you for needing to leave suddenly?”

“Well... I guess...” MK started, worrying his bottom lip as he thought. “I don’t... know?”

“Then they probably don’t. Do you remember what I told you when you asked me if you could live among the humans?” Spider Queen said softly, reaching out again and making sure her fingers never caught on the knots in her child’s hair too long as she brushed the messy locks away from his face.

“Wash all your vegetables properly?”

Spider Queen couldn’t help but laugh, cradling MK’s face in her hands as she took a good look at his face.

“I trust you to take care of yourself,” she corrected softly, letting him so to gesture to all of him. “And from what I see right now, you’ve been doing a pretty good job exceeding that trust in every way. Even coming here just to calm down shows you’re taking care of yourself. You’re doing fine. You can do this.”

“You really think so?”

“I know so,” Spider Queen said firmly, undoing the brushing of his hair by ruffling it roughly. She chuckled as the action earned her a proper laugh as he flailed his hands at hers to shoo them away. “You may technically be an adult, but you’re still my child. And as my child I know that you can do so much more than you think you can. You’re doing fine, MK.”

And the way his face lit up at that... Spider Queen would never stop loving the way he lit up in joy like that.

“Thanks... Hey, Mom? I uh...”

Her son reached down to grab the end of his shirt before his hands clenched and twisted around it. Something she’d seen him do ever since he was a child, before with his old clothing and even a little baseball bat Huntsman had once brought down to him.

“Actually, I was going to tell you this tomorrow, but... I think I’m... No, after what happened today I know I’m almost ready to show the others who I am,” MK said with a soft smile. “Not right now! And not everyone, just my friends I told you about. And you all too! I know I need to be careful but I trust them and-”

“Alright,” Spider Queen said, her own smile widening at the surprised expression on the young spiderling’s face. “If you trust them, really trust them, then I’ll trust your trust in turn. You almost showed them today without thinking, you wouldn’t do that if you didn’t trust them after all.”

It had been an agreement set in stone long before she let him leave the lair for his own life top side. “Don’t reveal your true form until you know you can trust someone, and don’t show us your disguise unless you must.”

The logic was that it was for a double sided protection. Spider Queen knew her son, knew he was trained since he was a little toddler by Huntsman to protect himself. He knew how to use poison and knives and anything he could reach and break to protect himself. She had no fear of them accidentally attacking him in disguise, completely different form and voice or not, because she had full faith that he would be able to protect himself. And if he felt that he couldn’t all he would have to do is shift back.

But if they knew who he was in his human disguise, knew who to not attack as drastically or to avoid, she feared that other demons may catch on. May realize that he had a connection to the spider demons and seek him out that way. And she was so afraid at the time that even with his training he wouldn’t be able to fight so many who would wish to harm her through him.

That was different now. He had a mentor, though he wouldn’t tell her who specifically. It wasn’t his boss, the man who had given him a place to live, that much she did know. But this mentor had been helping him grow stronger and, apparently, was one of the only two people who knew who he really was on both sides. She didn’t know who the other was, just that he was an enemy turned “frenemy” after his discovery.

The worry never left the back of her mind when she learned about the accidental reveals. Always living with the worry the frenemy would turn on her son, that his mentor would decide he was too dangerous to teach anymore. But none of those worries had come to pass so far.

Because he trusted them and because of her trust in MK... she could trust his judgement now.

“When do you want to do this?”

“During the Lunar New Year festival,” MK answered confidently. “We have a couple months to get ready and I probably have to help my boss during it so I can show them before the fireworks. I-!” He stopped at the sound of his phone ringing, grabbing it from his pocket before grimacing and turning back. “I have to get back, I’m sorry! I love you, mom!”

“L-love you too, MK.”

And then he was gone, rushing off in a burst of typical MK excitement. If he saw Spider Queen tense at his declaration and heard her stutter he made no indication of it.

She felt... guilty. Not telling him of her plans. But she couldn’t tell him the truth. Not yet.

She trusted her son. She did. Knew he could handle himself. But there were people out there so much worse, stronger and more dangerous, than the humans and weaker demons he lived among. She needed to protect him from those who would harm him to get to her. She wouldn’t stop trying to protect him. Not now.

Not until she made sure the world was safe for him.

And the world would not be safe until she eliminated Sun Wukong and his damned apprentice.

She would have to thank the Monkie Kid for giving her just what she needed to protect her son. Just before she dealt with him for good.

[imbellarosa]

did someone say they wanted a small, sad SPN 15x20 rewrite (of sorts)?? it’s under the cut. the point of this is to show that they could have made it (mostly) tragic without making it Completely Pointless. this one’s for @queenlokibeth and @treatlouwithkindness who are grieving with me and for @dependsonwhospitching and @belgianreader2 who have been WATCHING me grieve for this fandom they knows nothing about and being the best kind of friends and also for anyone who asked what my writing looked like! this is a bit of an unbeta’d mess but here it is! 

They keep going. The road is in front of them, and they keep going, and they don’t stop until they run out of gas. Dean blasts Led Zepplin until his ears hurt, until his throat is raw from shouting the lyrics. He had forgotten that Cas had left his mixtape in the car last time they’d driven out. A trench coat, too, as it had turned out, a clean one. Guess Cas had gotten used to having his shirt ripped too many times to not have a spare handy. 

 (“Why would he not bring another one,” he had asked about Star Trek once, after Kirk’s shirt had been ripped again. 

“Not the point, Cas,” Dean had rolled his eyes and taken a swig of his beer.)

Sam looks at him like he’s worried, talks to him like he thinks Dean might spontaneously combust at any second. Dean tries to not feel offended. It isn’t like Sam’s wrong, but he wishes that they could act like everything was normal, for a second - like they used to, before Demons and Angels and Apocalypses, and trials and falling and flying. Eileen calls on the third day and shatters the illusion. It’s not that Dean isn’t happy to hear from her - of course he is - but it reminds him that he is acutely alone, and that it’s always going to be that way. They make a sharp U-turn, and start driving in the direction of the coordinates Eileen gave them. 

They stop in a small town along the way, meet some vamps ( “fuckin’ vamps,” Dean grumbles as he decapitates the last one), and keep moving west. Around Pontiac, Illinois, Sam stops the car and gets out.

“Dean,” he sighs, “what are you planning?”

“What’d’ya mean,” he replies, knowing exactly what he means. 

“Really?” Sam looks at him. “You want me to believe that Cas is dead and you’re just - what? You’re just accepting it? That it’s fine?” 

“It’s not fine, Sam,” he snaps, then takes a deep breath, and tries again, “it’s not fine. But what do you want me to do? Man, we just went up against God, and we won. Haven’t we learned that every time we play with these big, cosmic pieces that things just get more screwed? We can’t do that again, Sam, Cas wouldn’t want us to do that again. He’d want us - you - to get that apple pie life. So let’s just. Let’s do that for him, okay?”

“And what about you, Dean,” Sam doesn’t quite seem to believe him. Hell, Dean doesn’t really believe himself yet. “What are you gonna do?” 

“I dunno,” Dean rubs the back of his neck and looks at the trench coat in the backseat. “I’ll probably go back to the bunker, find a new job. Hit the road for a while” - he glances at Sam, who’s hair is almost long enough to tie into a bun - “you and Eileen could come with, if you want.” 

Sam sighs and seems to consider it, but Dean knows what he’s gonna say even before he does. Dean has always known his brother better than himself. 

“Nah,” Sam glances at him, then at his phone, and then at the sunset. “I think I’m gonna go try that apple pie life for a while. Or at least get as close to it as two former hunters can get.” 

“Yeah,” Dean says. “Thought you might say that.” 

“Hey,” Sam grabs his forearm. “If you ever need anything - help on a case, or a place to stay - anything - just let me know.” 

“Yeah,” Dean turns and faces his brother, and it feels like goodbye, even though he knows it isn’t. 

                                                              *

They reach Vermont - where Eileen had popped up - and met her in front of a bed and breakfast by a lake. She said that she just...appeared there one day, without a phone or money or a place to go. She’d borrowed the owner’s phone and called Sam as soon as she could, and had done some hustling for starter money. Sam stares at her like she’s a miracle, which, Dean supposes, he is. It’s the second time she’s come back to him, and Dean can see that Sam knows the absolute unlikeliness.

“What. Uh, what happened,” Sam clears his throat and tries to rub the tears out of his eyes. “How did it..how are you here?”

Jack, she signs, he said. He said that everyone should be with their families. 

“So, uh,” Sam looks at her like she’s going to disappear any second, “everyone’s...they’re okay?”

Well, she shrugs and smiles, and Sam had missed that mischievous glint in her eye, they’re all probably a bit confused, but we’re ..

”not dead,” she finishes verbally. Dean looks away, frozen like a deer in the headlights, or a boy lost in a crowd.

Sam grabs her and he hugs her and she’s small and slight, bones and edges and he can feel the outline of a gun hidden in waistband and he wonders how and when she got ahold of that, but mostly, he holds her and when he breathes in her hair smells a bit like apples. He doesn’t notice he’s crying until she pulls away and reaches up to wipe his tears. 

“It’s okay,” she says, and then signs, I’m okay. 

“I missed you,” Sam says, “I just. I missed you.”

I was gone for a week, she signs and rolls her eyes theatrically, what would you do without me? 

“Uh,” Sam gives a watery chuckle, “Let’s never find out, okay?”

That’s when Dean clears his throat. It’s not that he doesn’t love his baby brother, that he isn’t over the moon for him, because of course he is, but...

“Everyone’s back,” he clears his throat and checks his phone, “all of you?”

“Dean,” Eileen says, and her voice is kind. Dean thinks that he should learn more sign language. If she has to speak his language, he figures he should learn hers, too. And then he thinks that that sounds like something Cas would have said, and he looks back at Eileen, who’s trying to meet his eyes. 

“Is Cas...” Dean trails off, because he can’t ask the question - he knows the answer.

“He gave me a message for you,” she says, and she moves out of Sam’s arms to stand in front of him. “He wanted me to tell you that he’s okay. That Jack pulled him out.”

“So where is he,” Dean growls, turning away. Out of the corner of his eyes, he can see Sam interpreting, and it strikes him just how much Sam loves this woman - this woman who was one of them, who had fought beside them, who had made her way back to them. He faces her again. “Where” - his voice breaks, and he almost wishes Sam weren’t here to see it - “where’s Cas?”

“He told me,” Eileen continues, signing as she speaks, “he told me to tell you that he meant what he said. He said that he wanted to come back and see you, but that his son needs him. That your son needs him. He said that Jack might be God now, but he’s still his son, and he needs help now more than ever. That maybe God needs family, too, to remind him to be kind. Cas” - Eileen is crying now, too, she can’t help it - “Cas said that you’d understand that. That he’s going to be waiting, and that it’ll be sooner than you expect. He says that he’s gonna see you again, and that he knows. He told me to tell you that he knows what you were gonna say. And that he’s always going to...have his ears on. 

“I don’t know what that means,” she finishes with a small shrug. “I’m sorry.”

And so Dean does the only thing he possibly can do. He gathers his sister, and he hugs her, too.

“Yeah,” he says, letting go. “yeah, I get it. Thanks. That, uh. That means a lot to me.”

Sam looks at him with those puppy dog eyes he’d had since he was a baby and Dean waves him away.

“Oh, don’t do that,” he says loudly, “Come on, Sammy, let’s go start the rest of our lives.”

They turn back, and go inside the inn. 

                                                             *

“Hey Cas,” Dean whispers into the dark, the moon just a hang nail crescent shape outside his window. A new lunar cycle. He’s got twenty days ‘til werewolf time. He wonders if he’ll ever stop keeping time with monsters. “Eileen says you have your ears on, so. I mean, here’s hoping she’s right. Uh. I get it. Believe me, man, I do, Jack needs you. Hell, one of the last things I told him was that he wasn’t family and I was wrong - I was so wrong. Tell him. Tell him that I miss him, too. That he’s always gonna be my kid, you know? Even if he is all powerful now. 

“Um. But. I miss you. I know that you’re up there, and I’ll see you again but that’s gonna be years from now, man, and I just don’t know how to wake up and not see you in the kitchen trying to figure out how the coffee machine works. I don’t know how to watch a movie without looking over to see if you got the joke. Damn. So much for no chick flick moments, huh? Eileen said. She said that you knew and I didn’t have to say anything, but that’s how we got in this mess to begin with, so uh. Here goes, I guess. You gotta know that you’re it for me, man. I’m not as good with words as you are, but at the end of the day, I guess I always kinda thought we were gonna grow old together, you, me, Sam, in the bunker watching bad movies and finding new cases and just...making it up as we go along.

“I thought that one day you’d just...I don’t know. Move in with me, I guess? And that would be that. I thought we had all the time in the world, and then we had no time, and I didn’t - I froze. I’m sorry that I was a coward. I’m sorry that I didn’t say this - any of this - when you were here to hear it. But, uh. Hope you’re hearing it now.”

Somewhere, a bee hums its way back to its hive, singing in tune with a prayer. Somewhere, a boy laughs loudly, looking down at his little brother and thinking I will always keep you safe. Somewhere, a car moves down the interstate, music at full blast, driver high on life. Somewhere, a writer writes, and the world does not change at all. And, outside his window, Dean sees a falling star, and pretends that it’s an angel with a crack in their chassis, making their way down to find someone who loves them. When he falls asleep, he does not dream. 

                                                             *

Dean goes back to the bunker. It’s big and empty, but it was Cas’ home, and so it’s his, too. Sam and Eileen go back with him, but he knows they won’t be there for too long.

“This will always be your home, Sammy,” he says when Sam loads his boxes onto an old trailer of Bobby’s, because Dean’s trying to say all the words he feels out loud these days. 

“I know, Dean,” Sam says, even if he doesn’t, and then he hugs his brother tightly, not for the last time, but for the last time in this moment, as the people they once were. When they meet again they won’t have grown together, and so they will be strangers, in some ways. 

Maybe, Dean thinks, that’s how it’s supposed to be. He watches Sam and Eileen climb into the truck and head North, and he calls them at the end of the day to make sure they haven’t run into trouble.

“You don’t need to come save me yet, Dean,” Sam scoffs, but he’s secretly relieved that they’ll always have this, and so he doesn’t hang up until Eileen shoots him that look that says ‘I’ll murder you if you don’t hurry up’, and he’s more scared of her than Dean, so he hangs up and keeps driving.

Sam doesn’t stop driving until they make their way into Texas, into a small town with a house that sits on a large lot of land, and has a storm cellar in the basement. They raid the local grocery store for all the salt they can find, put rosaries into the water tanks, and then they start unpacking their boxes. Sam thinks that he’s never gonna be out, not really, but he’s not gonna be in either. He needs this for a while - the trees and the long grass and the woman beside him and nothing that goes bump in the night. He sends a quick thank you to Jack and Cas and thinks that maybe they can start to heal. 

                                                              *

Dean watches movies on Thursday nights. At first they’re movies that he meant to show Cas but never got around to: Lord of the Rings, When Harry Met Sally, James Bond. Then he gets around to watching those dumb nature documentaries Cas would always put on when he thought no one was paying attention - Dean was always paying attention, and now that he realizes it he just...he feels so damn stupid. But he watches them anyways, because he thinks Cas would have enjoyed it if he’d sat down with him and watched a thing about bees, just once.

“The things I do for you, Cas,” he says out loud every time he picks a new one. “Gotta admit, though, that David Attenborough - he knows what he’s talking about.” 

He tries watching a horror movie once, but it hurts, looking at the demons on the screen and remembering Meg and Ruby and Crowley and Lucifer and Michael and Cas. It always comes back to Cas. 

“I just miss you, man,” he says to his room, his car, his cup of coffee. He keeps the dog named Miracle, and he thinks that Cas would have liked that, and he takes him on walks every morning and pretends that Cas is with him.

“I got a call from Jody last night,” he says to no one, though he puts headphones on so that people who see him don’t think he’s all sorts of wacko. He could just be on the phone. He wishes he was on the phone. “She says that Claire and Kaia are getting really serious. Says they want to move out and start hunting together, and she wanted to know what I thought of it. Can you believe that, Cas? Told her to give her a bit of space, and remind her that she’s family. You probably would have said it better, but. It’s the best I got. I’m not used to this whole...talking thing yet, okay? Claire’s 21 now, Cas. I feel so old. Maybe I’ll invite Jody and Donna and them for Thanksgiving. Sam and Eileen, too, of course, but we have more than enough space in the bunker.”

Dean will never stop saying ‘we’. 

                                                           *

Sam has a kid and names him Dean and Dean cries for hours when he finds out. He calls Claire and tells her to drag her ass over for a visit next month, he knows she and Kaia are busy saving the world, but to not forget about him in the meantime, and she agrees and tells him to get his ass off the phone and enjoy his nephew. 

“You’d love this,” Dean tells Cas, “he’s such a good kid. He never cries. Sam and Eileen almost thought something was wrong with him, Sam even took him to a priest to have him checked over, what with the...you know. But nah. He’s a perfectly normal kid - or, as normal as you can be, if you’re Sam’s kid, I guess.”

Dean laughs, then sighs, looking around Sam’s house, how he and Eileen have built a life and then babyproofed it. Sam hasn’t hunted a single monster in over nine months, and the world is still turning, somehow. Ten years ago, he never would have believed it. But now, well. He has faith.

“Tell Jack I said hi,” Dean whispers to Cas. “Tell him I miss him, too, and that this kid is gonna know all about him - you, too, you know. I’m never gonna shut up about you.”

An owl hoots outside of baby Dean’s window, and Dean chooses to believe that it’s Cas laughing at him. 

                                                                *

He gets old. Every Christmas, he sets up a small tree, and at the top of it, he puts an angel with a blue tie and a trench coat. He takes up Bobby’s phone banks, and suddenly he’s got Sheriff’s from all over the country asking him if he’s agent “Swift” or “Spears” and every time he hears the names, he smirks and glances upwards and says, “Yeah, hello, who am I speaking to?” 

Big Threats pop up, and before long he realizes that he’s built quite the network of hunters to deal with it, that he no longer needs to hit the road himself. So he starts buying up classic cars, and he fixes them up. Chevy’s, BMWs, Fords, you name it, he buys it, then he restores and sells them, and uses the money from the sale to buy the next one. He puts the extra cash back into the network of hunters, making sure they have fakes, supplies, and a safe place to go if they need it. And so, over the years, the bunker becomes a sort of Hunter Hub. A home base. 

Sometimes, couples would leave their kids with Dean while they went out on jobs, and he would tell them stories of when he was young. He’d tell them of his brother, who had brought about and then stopped the apocalypse, of the demon who became a friend, about Ellen and Jo and the Roadhouse, how it had been a place like his for people who needed it, he told them about Bobby, the man who raised him and loved him even though they weren’t blood, and he told them about Kevin and Charlie who had been so young and still fought so bravely and taught him so much. He’d show them the postcards that Charlie sent him - was still sending him - from her and Stevie’s world travels. And, of course, he’d tell them about Cas. Always Cas. The angel who saved him from hell, who revolted against heaven for the sake of the whole world (for Dean’s sake, because he loved him), who became a man and kept fighting anyways, though he didn’t know quite how. He told them about Cas and Metatron and Cas and Lucifer and Cas and Naomi and Cas, Cas, Cas, everywhere.

Sometimes, when the children were older, he’d show them pictures to go along with the stories. A copy of the last picture he has of Jo and Ellen, standing there with Bobby and Sam and him and Cas and he tries hard not to think about how its just him and Sam left. He shows them pictures of Cas in a cowboy hat and Jack in stupid sunglasses. He shows them pictures of Sam and Eileen, even though they don’t visit very often. 

(”I can’t, Dean,” Sam had said. “I can’t raise my kid how dad raised us. I have to be out.”

“I get that, Sam,” Dean had nodded, “But this is my life. I gotta do this, not just for me.”

“I know,” Sam had said, and then, “Hey.”

“Hmm?”

“Love you, jerk.”

“Bitch.”

And they had laughed, and Dean would go to their house for Christmas and the New Years and they would go to his for Thanksgiving, and he would meet up with Sam once a month in a small bar in Oklahoma, halfway between Kansas and Texas, and it would be good. Dean would never have believed it, before, but this was...good.)

                                                             *

Dean lives ‘til he’s eighty two, and he never once stops talking to Cas as though he was still around. Sam still prayed, sometimes, but not like that, never like that. Dean, ironically, was the most devout person most people knew. He always said that a parent should have faith in their kid, and as his kid was God, well. He had no choice but to be faithful. When he was older, his neighbors would laugh - what a crazy way of looking at the world! Dean would smile and wave them off and put his headphones in, ‘call’ his partner, and walk his dog. 

He dies quietly, one night, and, in the morning, the hunters that had been staying in the bunker find him in his bed, smiling, with an old mixtape on the nightstand. They call Sam, who is an old man himself, and he calls his son (who has kids of his own, Sam can hardly believe it). Dean Jr. (DJ, he’d decided when he was seven, and stuck to it ever since) picks his mom and dad up and takes them to the bunker, where they wrap dean in cloth, build a pyre, and then salt and burn him. A proper hunter’s funeral for a man who never stopped fighting. 

Claire and Kaia are there, and they bring their kids. Sam hugs them, and presses the keys to the bunker in Claire’s hand.

“You keep this place up,” he tells her with a smile, “Dean would have wanted that.”

She’s older now, well in her forties - the same age Dean had been when he’d started to run his home like a hostel for hunters - but Sam still sees the eight year old girl who’d loved her dad so much she let an angel possess her. He thinks, our bodies, possessed by light, and then he thinks about Cas properly for the first time in many years. Take care of my brother, he prays, and then turns to Claire and leads her inside. They have pie together. 

                                                           *

When Dean opens his eyes, he’s in the bunker. He feels lighter than he has in decades: his back doesn’t ache and his joints don’t creak, and he hears someone bustling around in the kitchen. Probably Claire, he thinks, and then moves to sit up before noticing his own hands. The wrinkles that had become so familiar are gone. As are the permanent grease stains from spending so much time under the hood of a car. His old hunting boots are by the door, and a plaid overshirt is bunched in the corner of the desk, like it had landed there when he’d tossed it off the night before. But...he was pretty sure he didn’t own that shirt anymore. He can hear a radio crackling from the living room, playing Ramble On. He hasn’t listened to that song since...well. In a long time. 

Slowly, he makes his way down to the kitchen, and stops dead when he reaches the door. 

“I,” he starts, and his voice is young and strong and nothing like he remembers it being when he went to bed. 

“Hello Dean,” Cas says, and then the bacon catches fire.

“Woah,” Dean exclaims, rushing over and crowding the stove - it used to be like that, he remembers, between cases - Cas never could figure out how to cook and Dean would always end up shooing him out of the kitchen. Can’t have you killin’ us here, Cas, he would say, and finish the meal for both of them. Then they would sit, have a beer, and not say much of anything at all. Dean had almost forgotten. He turns down the stove, tosses the burnt bacon, and clears his throat. “Well, guess it doesn’t matter if you burn the food here, ‘cuz I’m guessing you can’t kill us.”

“No,” Cas agrees, looking very much as lost and disbelieving as Dean feels. “We’re already dead - or, you are. My condolences.” 

“Nah,” Dean huffs a laugh, “it’s okay. My life was pretty good, you know? But it was probably my time - way past it, even.” 

“Your life was remarkable,” Cas looks at him solemnly. “Thank you for sharing it with me.”

“You could hear me?”

“Were you not certain of that,” Cas raises his eyebrows. 

“I had faith,” Dean hip checks him, and smiles. “Thanks for listening.”

“I’m sorry I couldn’t be there,” Cas says softly.

“Jack needed you, I get that. And look,” Dean catches his eye and grins, “here we are anyways. Not like death ever stopped us.” 

They cook in silence for a moment.

“How long has it been, for you,” Dean asks him.

“A week,” Cas shrugs and looks away. “Maybe two. Time moves differently here.”

“It was forty years, for me,” Dean says.

“I know. I’m sorry.”

“I’m not. My life....it was good, Cas. Maybe it wasn’t perfect, but I did alright. And I was never alone. I had family. I had you.” 

“Well,” Cas catches his hand and pulls it away from the new pan of eggs, “you certainly have me now.” 

The second pan of eggs burns, too.

[nxrthmizu]

-Lordbug, Robin, and Kitty Noir- Chapter Eight: In Which A Lot Of Things Happen

/Part One//Part Seven/

Description: In which Chloe has some news, in which Damian is forced to do modelling, in which the beloved Mr. Pigeon finally appears. 

Warnings: A little cursing, I think. And a little tiny bit of self-harm but it’s mentioned because she’s starting to recover. Go Mari! :)

Anddd it’s been forever since I updated this one… Ahahaha. Okay. Let’s go on with it >>>

—

“Morning, Damian!” Marinette waved brightly. “I brought you a macaron.” She handed him a paper bag, which he supposed had the said macaron inside it. 

“Thank you.” He nodded at her, his sling bag around his shoulder as Tikki peered out of his hood. He hissed, tugging at his hood, ushering the Kwami to stay out of sight. Tikki dove into his bag in a huff, pouting. 

“Is there something stuck in your hood?” Marinette peered over his shoulder as he coughed awkwardly. 

Damian cleared his throat. “Yeah, a bee. It’s gone now.” 

Marinette nodded. “Oh, okay.” She shot him a sweet smile. “Shall we?” 

He glanced up at the steps leading into the school, turning to look at the girl beside him. “Another day to deal with Rossi.” He mumbled under his breath. 

Marinette rolled her eyes. “Come on, Damian. Let’s go.” 

—

“Mari!” Chloe, who had bonded tons with the bluenette after the akuma incident (They’d sat together during lunch, too) beamed as she bounded up towards Marinette’s seat, slamming her hand on the bluenette’s desk. “Guess what?” 

Marinette, who’d warmed up with the blonde, raised an eyebrow with an amused grin. “What?” 

“I’ve got news. Do you want to hear the good news, or the better news first?” Chloe grinned. 

Marinette pretended to deeply consider her options. “Um, good news first.” 

“First of all, my mom wants you to participate in one of her fashion shows. You’re allowed to bring a few of your own designs.” Chloe told the girl with a grin, waiting for the bluenette’s excited reaction, and she was not disappointed. 

Marinette’s eyes gleamed in excitement. “Really? That’s- That’s so amazing! Thank you so much, Chloe!”

Chloe waved it off like it was nothing. “You deserve it, ‘nette. Now, for the better news. Guess who’s coming to Paris!” Chloe squealed. 

Damian rolled his eyes at Chloe’s excitement. “Maybe keep it down, Bourgeois? This is a classroom.” 

The blonde scowled at Damian’s remark. “Oh, shut up, Fu, and let me finish. Who invited you into the conversation, anyway? Quiet.” Chloe turned away from the green-eyed boy towards a Marinette who was stifling her laughter. “Alright, guess who?” 

Marinette tapped her finger on her lips, humming thoughtfully. “Um… I don’t know, Rachel’s… Dad?” 

At the name of the girl, Chloe darkened. “Um… She left.” The blonde fidgeted. “Sabrina came into the hotel, and… Well,” Chloe coughed awkwardly. “Sabrina told R-Rachel that I was a bully, and that I was mean to Lila, and…” Chloe cleared her throat. “That’s unimportant. The important thing is that my mother met up with… A special someone in Gotham,” Chloe lowered her voice, a glint shining in her blue eyes, “And that someone wants to see your designs. My mom’s showed,” The blonde looked around, but no one was paying any attention to them, “Bruce Wayne your designs.” 

Marinette looked like she was ready to combust from sheer excitement. “Oh. My. God. Really?” Marinette beamed. “Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!” 

“Apparently, once he heard your name, he demanded to see you. He’s booked a flight for tomorrow.” Chloe grinned. “I’m so proud! You’re going to be famous, Mari!” 

Damian was about to strangle his father. Dick must’ve mentioned his angel’s name to his father, and the moment Bruce caught sound of her name, he’d demanded to see her. Typical. 

Chloe turned to glare at Damian. “You’re proud of her, aren’t you?” 

Damian rolled his eyes, but mustered up a little smile. Marinette looked so hopeful, and there was that beautiful, beautiful light in her eyes- “Of course.” He scoffed. “Good job, Mari.” He smiled, green-eyes twinkling in approval. 

Marinette blushed. “I’ll have to see him tomorrow, then. The both of you have got to come with me.” 

Chloe nodded her head vigorously. “Duh, obviously I’m coming with you. He’s going to be around to see the fashion show, so you definitely need to get some people to model some of your designs. Think you got enough time?” 

Marinette bit her lip, slowly nodding. “The two of you would be perfect!” She exclaimed. Damian blinked in confusion. Surely she didn’t mean… 

“Oi, I didn’t agree to anything.” Damian defended himself. “I’m not modelling.” 

Marinette pouted. “But you would do such a good job at it! Besides, remember I gave you the clothes I made when you got soaked? You owe me one for that. Please, Damian?” 

Chloe smirked. “Oh yeah. I had my driver drive close so you’d get sprayed.” If glares could kill, Chloe would’ve been evaporated on the spot. 

“Fine.” Damian sighed. “I’ll do it. But after this, I don’t owe you.” He gave a pointed look at the bluenette, who was too excited to notice. 

“The two of you come to the bakery after school.” Marinette grinned. “I have so many ideas! We’ve got to finish it before tomorrow, so-”

“Akuma!” 

All three teens simultaneously groaned. 

“Come on.” Chloe grumbled. “Not again.” 

“The two of you get to safety.” Damian instructed just as Ms. Bustier entered the classroom for first period, ushering the students out of the classroom, following akuma procedure. “I think… Um, Adrien went to the toilet just now. I’ll go get him.” 

Chloe and Marinette both nodded, hurrying off in the chaos to the girl’s toilet. 

—

“What is it this time?” Robin squinted at the akuma. “Is that a…” He blinked. “Is that a giant flock of pigeons?” 

Queen Bee rolled her eyes. “Your time has come, bird-boy! It’s your, uh, cousins, the pigeons.” Robin glared at the yellow-dressed superhero. 

“Alright, girls, you’re both pretty.” Kitty groaned. “How exactly do we defeat a giant flock of angry pigeons?” 

Robin sighed. “I have an idea.” 

—

“What happened?” Mr. Ramier rubbed his head, confused on a lawn outside a building. 

“You were akumatised.” Kitty explained with a  soft smile, reaching out a hand to help him get up. “But everything’s okay now.” 

He nodded as he patted himself down, still confused. “Are- Are my pigeons okay?” 

Robin interrupted. “Yes, yes they are.” He flicked a white spot off his uniform- One of the many pieces of pigeon faeces that landed on him. “They are fine, but I need to make a quick visit to the self-service laundry.” He glanced at the two girls giggling beside him. “Please tell me Paris has self-service laundries.” 

—

“You smell utterly horrible.” Chloe pointed out bluntly as the three sat down for lunch. 

Damian rolled his eyes. “Shut up, Bourgeois. I got caught in the akuma.” 

“If Lordbug showed up then his miraculous cure would’ve fixed it.” Marinette said thoughtfully. “Pity, he never shows up anymore.” 

Damian coughed, setting down his fork. “Excuse me for one moment.” As he walked away, he cursed. “Why didn’t I think of that?” 

Chloe tilted her head as Damian walked away. “Is it a coincidence, or…?” 

“Hmm?” Marinette swallowed. “Sorry, what was that, Chloe?” 

The blonde shook her head. “Nah, that would be ridiculous. Nothing.” 

“Hmm.” Marinette hummed, chewing on her food, frowning when her jacket sleeve slipped down, revealing a few faded scars. 

Chloe nodded in approval. “You haven’t been hurting yourself. Good.” She smiled. “That’s more like it.” 

Marinette blushed. “I have you to thank. It’s hard to believe we went from enemies to best friends in like, two days.” 

Chloe scoffed. “Don’t be ridiculous, Dupin-Cheng.” She punched Mari playfully across the table. “We’re still enemies.” 

—

“You smell way better.” Chloe commented as she caught a whiff of Damian’s jacket as the three friends (Classmates, Chloe said. Just classmates and nothing more.) descended down the stairs towards the road. 

Damian rolled his eyes. “Did I ask you for an opinion, Bourgeois?” 

“She’s right, though.” Marinette interjected with a smile. “Did you put on some cologne or something?” She sniffed. “You smell like flowers and macarons.” 

Damian groaned internally as Tikki (The one who showered him with ‘cologne’) giggled within his hoodie. 

Chloe moved closer to get a whiff. “Ooh, she’s right. You’ve got to tell me what brand this is, it smells utterly wonderful.” 

“Is ‘utterly’ your favourite word, Bourgeois?” Damian snarked. 

Chloe shrugged as they reached her limo, parked neatly outside the school gates. “Well, guess who gets to walk to the bakery on his own. If you say sorry, maybe I’ll reconsider.” Marinette laughed in the background at her two friends. 

“As if I’d apologise for something that’s true.” Damian snorted. “See you in ten, Bourgeois. Bye, Mari.” 

The two girls laughed as Damian grumpily begun his walk to the bakery. 

“Since when did he start calling you Mari?” Chloe pondered, smirking at Mari after the car begun to drove off. 

Marinette paused, a confused look going over her face as she scrunched up her eyebrows. “I didn’t notice.” 

Chloe threw her hands up exasperatedly. “The two of you are so blind, I give up. It’s utterly ridiculous.” 

—

/Part Nine/

---

(Tag list! @yin-390 @mysteriouslyswimmingfan-blo-blog @constancetruggle @the-navistar-carol @never-neverland @rayray384 @mystery-5-5 @black-streak @bluerosette23 @seraphichana @you-will-never-know-how-i-think @mikantsume @graduatedmelon @thebookwormfairy @crazylittlemunchkin @shizukiryuu @screamingtofillthevoid @serenacross200 @zestyzealot @redscarlet95 @roseinbloom02 @beautym3 @resignedcatservant @sizzling-fairy-oil @tinybrie @worlds-tiniest-spook-pastry @lunar-wolf-warrior @northernbluetongue )

Aye i haven’t updated this in forever (Sweats nervously ehehehehe) Sooo the thing is does anyone have an idea for Chloe’s s/o because I kind of felt like rachel wouldn’t work??? Was going to use felix, but then remembered I killed him. Sigh. Oh yeah and Happy New Year people, love you all~

[salthaven]

Stupid and in Love, P5

Chapter Five: La Paonne, Master of Illusions (Or Better Yet, Lies)

   Nino is a chill guy. He’s always been known for keeping his calm, going with the flow. He’s not the kind of dude who gets upset over small things, or jealous when someone else has a crush on Marinette…

   Okay, Evillustrator was a completely different thing. That...that was him being a hero! Protecting her from evil.

   (It’s a story for another time, thank you!)

   But yeah. Nino is super chill. Like, ice cube chill.

   So why does the new girl get on his nerves so badly?

   She seems pleasant, too. A transfer, daughter of an Italian ambassador. The girl, Lila just wants to make friends. She’s nothing but sweet, with a cheerfulness to match Adrien’s and a kindness that parallels Marinette...so why does she rub Nino the wrong way?

   He asks Wayzz about his gut feeling, the Kwami shrugs.

   “Sometimes the human subconscious can pick up on danger that you may not otherwise perceive,” the small turtle says calmly as they hide in the empty bathroom. “Perhaps you should look into the matter.”

   So he does, because his little buddy is never wrong about this stuff. (Nino thinks it’s cause the Kwami is roughly a bajillion years old, but he won’t say that out loud. Respect your elder gods and all.)

   He follows her to the library, where she talks with Adrien. Adrien, his best bro, who is holding a book on...is that a hero? Are those...Miraculous wielders?

   Huh. Nino should probably tell Ladybug about that, huh?

   Nino hears shuffling, and glances around. And then he blinks, surprised, because he sees Marinette eyeing the new girl, Lila, with curiosity. She, too, seems distrustful of the girl. Nino wonders if she has the same weird feeling, or if there’s something else Marinette is thinking.

   Maybe Marinette is just feeling shy.

   The sound of books falling makes Nino look away, and he sees Lila and Adrien on the ground, picking up Adrien’s books as Lila apologizes for knocking them over, with Adrien waving off her apologies before walking off, books in hand.

   Nino hums lightly, wondering why the feeling isn’t gone, and then he looks to Marinette.

   And he sees the ways her eyes narrow, and she starts to follow Lila.

   He follows her.

   “What’s up, Nette?” He asks when he reaches her, making sure Lila doesn’t hear his voice.

   Marinette jumps, turning on him with wide eyes.

   “Not much, Nino! Were- were you looking for something?” She’s fidgeting, glancing around, trying to look natural.

   She’s an awful liar, but it just makes Nino smile. It just shows how amazing she is, that she’s always so honest.

   “I saw you following Lila,” he admits. “Why?”

   “I think she took his book,” she whispers the confession after a few seconds, and Nino scowls.

   “I knew something was up with her! Don’t worry Nette, I’ll handle this.” And then he’s storming off, trying to find her, missing the way Marinette blinks and looks to her own Kwami, trying to find answers that the little goddess doesn’t have.

   Nino finds Lila leading Adrien to the park, smiling and giggling. Adrien follows, responding with ease.

   They stop in a secluded area, and Nino hides among the trees, eyes trained on Lila.

   He won’t lose track of her, not this time…

   “So, what did you want to tell me?” Adrien asks, as happy as always.

   Lila giggles, leaning in. “Well, I noticed how much you love heroes, what with your book and all…”

   “Oh!” Adrien blushes, smiling. “Yeah, the heroes are really cool. Especially Ladybug. Did you see how she took down the latest Akuma? She’s so awesome.” Then Adrien pauses and laughs awkwardly. “Wait, you couldn’t have. You just moved here.”

   “Yes, the fight was so intense!” Lila gasps, it’s over exaggerated and makes Nino wary. He glances away for a second, locking eyes with Wayzz, who seems just as wary. “I mean, from what I’ve heard.”

   “Uh, okay?” Adrien tries to brush it off, willing to ignore the weird response, but Lila sighs.

   “I can’t hide this anymore. You seem really sweet, Adrien, and I’d hate to keep this a secret. You’re trustworthy, right?” Lila giggles when Adrien nods. “Of course you are. I’m going to tell you something, but you have to keep quiet about this, okay?”

   “Sure, what’s the matter?”

   “You see...I’m actually a hero, too,” Lila confides, and Nino feels his eyes widen. There’s no way she is, right? Unless...is she Rena Rouge?!

   “Really?” Adrien gasps out, and Lila nods.

   “Really!” And Nino watches her pull out a peacock themed broach. “I’m actually a secret hero named La Paonne. I work from the shadows to help Ladybug and her team.”

   Nino sees the way Adrien blinks, how he hesitates and his excitement dims. And he feels the way his blood boils.

   He’s normally calm. He’s normally chill, relaxed, laid back-

   But there is no Peacock hero. At least, there isn’t at the moment. And Nino knows Ladybug would have told them if they had a teammate, especially someone that worked from the shadows!

   He doesn’t know what upsets him more- that the new girl is trying to claim to be a savior of Paris to make herself look better, or that she’s lying to his best friend.

   The second, because Adrien finally blinks and smiles. “Wow, that’s amazing! I didn’t even know there was a secret hero!”

   “That’s the point, silly.” She giggles again, the sound making Nino scowl even more, and then taps his nose playfully. “Ladybug trusted me to guard her back, we are best friends after all.”

   Nino feels his hands curl into fists as Wayzz whispers, “The Peacock Miraculous was lost long ago, and it was broken. Whatever that girl has, that isn’t Dusuu’s Miraculous.” He adjusts his own Miraculous, the bracelet charm shining in the light.

   “I think it’s time she sees a real hero,” Nino decides. “Wayzz, shell-”

   “Just who do you think you are?” Rena Rouge’s voice cuts through the air as she leaps out from behind a bush, and Wayzz zips into Nino’s bag.

   (They’re lucky that Rena didn’t notice them.)

   “I- I’m-” Lila tries, but Rena is nothing but pure rage right now.

   “A liar, that’s what! Let me tell you, little miss, we don’t have a Peacock hero! And if we did, it wouldn’t be you. It’d be someone fighting by our side, because we don’t do shadow work. That’s Hawkmoth, because he’s a coward. If you were a hero, you’d know that we risk our lives to get up close and personal with Akumas to protect Paris. I don’t appreciate hearing some little teenager trying to take credit for the risks we take so she can impress some boy, thank you very much.” With one last huff, Rena Rouge turns around and jumps away, disappearing quickly.

   Nino looks back to the scene. Adrien looks taken aback, and Lila...Lila looks pissed. The Italian runs off before Adrien can even say a word.

   Nino takes that as his cue to leave. He doesn’t notice that Adrien’s book is in the trash can nearby, and neither does the blonde as he walks away.

   And nobody notices Marinette as she slips onto the scene afterward, urged on by Tikki.

~~~~~

   “What is it?” The bluenette asks, unheard as she races after her Kwami.

   “I think the book is nearby! It’s important!” Tikki says, darting around. “We need to find it!”

   “I just wanted to design,” Marinette moans out. “The sky looked so pretty.”

   “You’ll have time later, Marinette! This might be about the Miraculous!”

   “What?” Marinette yelps, and then she’s searching just as intently. Five minutes pass, then ten, then-

   “I found it, Tikki!” Marinette cheers, yanking the book out of the trash can.

   Tikki zips over, eyes scanning the book as Marinette flips through it. “We have to get this to the Guardian!” Tikki blurts out. “Come on, Marinette!”

   “Wait, who?” Marinette asks, but Tikki is zipping away. “Tikki!”

   “Come on! I’ll answer questions when we’re there!”

   Marinette sighs, letting her little friend lead the way. Maybe she’ll get to design later?

   She doubts it.

~~~~~

   Her doubt was right. She just got relaxed, she just finished all of her homework and was about to chill on her balcony, with nothing but her sketchbook and some pencils to pass the time…

   When some fudging Peacock snatched her and ran off.

   “You’re in danger, little lunare,” the bird cooes as she darts along the Parisian sky.

   “Huh?” Marinette responds, ever the eloquent gal.

   “A man was Akumatized, he’s stalking down beautiful girls. Apparently he was rejected by someone, and believes he’s owed love from everyone now. He was climbing up your house.” Her mysterious heroine glares behind her, huffing, then turns her gaze back to Marinette. “I knew I couldn’t let such a beauty be harmed, so I swooped in without a second thought.”

   Marinette blushes at the heroine’s words. “Ah..thank you, uh…”

   “Call me La Paonne.” La Paonne smiles. “Your personal guardian.”

   Marinette giggles. “Thank you, La Paonne, I-” She hesitates, the girl’s words striking a bell.

   Guardian?

   Marinette recalls the rest of her lunch period. How she ran after Tikki and learned of the existence of a Miraculous Guardian. How she met the man, and recognized him as the one she helped to cross the road on her first day of school. How they talked about the book and quickly made a copy, as she knew she’d have to return the original to Adrien soon.

   ...How she saw a Peacock hero...one who looks oddly similar to the one who holds her now, who claims that they saved her from an approaching Akuma that neither she nor Tikki noticed.

   And just as Marinette starts to doubt the mysterious girl that continues to dart across Paris, her judgement is confirmed.

   Because her actual hero leaps in front of them.

   And he looks pissed.

~~~~~

   Nino didn’t expect Lila to get Akumatized.

   Okay, no. He kind of did. Rena Rouge definitely didn’t hold back when yelling at the Italian.

   But why at night? Nino just wanted to patrol, to get some fresh air, maybe some inspiration for his music.

   Instead, Carapace finds himself face to face with ‘La Paonne’. And to make matters worse? His Nette is currently being carried in her arms.

   “Who are you?” Carapace growls out, on edge, and he sees the way Nette tenses in fear, eyes darting to her holder and back to him.

   “I’m La Paonne.” She smiles easily, but he sees how she shifts. He does, too, pressing a button on his shield, calling his team and sending his location. “Ladybug chose me to work in the background and help you. I’ve tried to stay out of sight, to be a hidden trick-”

   “Then why are you out now?” He growls out, but he knows. Nette seems to realize the problem, because her eyes are scanning the area, more frantic than before, and he can see the way she fidgets.

   “She was in danger,” La Paonne says calmly. “I saved her from an Akuma. He’s still on the loose, though, so it’s best to go after him.” She smiles, holding Marinette a little closer. “I’ll protect her, or-”

   “I will protect her,” Carapace bites out. “I don’t know who this Akuma is, or where he is, but if you do, I trust that you’ll deal with them. We don’t need any hidden partners, so you might as well show the world you exist.” He’s lying, he knows who the Akuma is, but La Paonne thinks he buys her act.

   “I suppose you’re right. Take care of her.” La Paonne hands her over, and Carapace smirks as he hears two sets of footsteps landing behind him.

   “Shellter,” Carapace says calmly, and a glowing green dome surrounds him and his Nette.

   “What? What’s that all about?” La Paonne asks, and Carapace barks out a laugh.

   “I know an Akuma when I see one, and I don’t appreciate one that tries to hurt others to further their goal,” he states.

   “Took you this long to get Akumatized?” Rena Rouge asks. “I suppose you’re good at lying to yourself, too, Lila.”

   La Paonne snarls, leaping at Rena Rouge and Chat Noir, and the battle begins.

~~~~~

   Marinette watches with wide eyes as two of her teammates fight La Paonne, unable to leave the protective dome that Carapace created around them.

   Speaking of, her hero kneels beside her. He gazes at her with concern, asking, “Are you alright? She didn’t hurt you, did she?”

   “No!” Marinette squeaks out, blushing. “I’m, uh, fit as a fiddle!” Who says that?

   Carapace seems relieved by her answer, though. “That’s good to hear, br- beautiful.” His dome flickers, and he winces. “My shellter will only last a bit longer, and then I’ll only have five minutes. The moment it wears out, I’m getting you out of here, okay?”

   He called her beautiful. Carapace called her beautiful. He thinks she’s pretty!

   Oh, oh he asked her a question didn’t he?

   “Okay!” She says, then winces as she hears Chat Noir knock into a chimney. Her teammates are getting hurt, and she’s here talking to Carapace...she’s not even suited up yet.

   So Marinette sighs and looks around. She spots a few things quickly. A doorway, letting her down into the apartments they landed on. A pipe, just laying on the ground. And Carapace’s shield, which he holds in one hand.

   “Hey, Carapace?” She starts, and all of his attention goes to her.

   “Yes, beautiful?”

   “Do you trust me?”

   “Yes.” His lack of hesitation surprises her, but then Marinette beams.

   “Follow my lead.” And then she takes his shield and hits the dome, shattering it.

   “Hey!” He screams, but she’s on the move. The crash startles La Paonne, distracting her long enough that Rena gets a good punch in. By the time the Akuma is back up, Marinette has the pipe in her hands.

   “Why you mangy fox, I’ll make you pa-”

   La Paonne is cut off when she gets hit in the head by a pipe. She turns to see the cause, but the door slams behind Marinette as she darts into the building.

   Seconds later, Ladybug swings around the building and kicks La Paonne in the face, knocking her down. She snatches the broach, breaks it, and purifies the Akuma.

   And then she looks to Lila.

   “What happened?” Lila asks, then sees the broach in Ladybug’s hand. “Was I...oh no.”

   “It happens to the best of us,” Ladybug tries to console the girl. “What happened?”

   “I..I was trying to befriend this one boy,” Lila says softly. “And...I saw that he liked heroes. I thought, I thought,” she starts to cry, “I thought if I was a hero, he’d like me more.”

   “But lying about being a heroine isn’t right,” Rena huffs out.

   “I’m sorry! I didn’t realize it would be so offensive,” Lila cries, and Rena’s gaze softens. Chat fidgets, unsure what to do as the girl cries. Even Carapace seems remorseful for his anger, although not as much.

   “It...it’s fine,” Rena says at last, then turns. “Just don’t do it again, got it?”

   “Of- of course!” Lila promises with a quick nod.

   “Great. Bye, guys.” Rena hops off.

   Chat Noir sighs. “I need to head home. See you guys next time.”

   Carapace opens his mouth to speak, but his Miraculous beeps, cutting him off. “Shoot,” he mutters. “Ladybug, can you check on Marinette?”

   “Marinette?” Lila asks, confused.

   “I will before I leave. Go on, Carapace.”

   Carapace leaps away with thanks on his lips, and Ladybug excuses herself. She darts into the apartment building and detransforms. Two minutes later, Marinette races to the roof, where Lila stares at the Parisian sky.

   “Lila?” Marinette asks, forcing herself to sound confused. “Were you La Paonne?”

   Lila nods, and Marinette can see the tears. “What did I do to you?”

   “Nothing bad!” Marinette promises. “You just...well, you kind of kidnapped me?”

   Lila stares at her with wide eyes. “I what?!”

   “It’s not the worst thing, honestly. I, uh, enjoyed the view?”

   Lila giggles, and Marinette starts laughing, too.

   “Well, can I...can I walk you home? It’s the least I can do,” Lila offers, and Marinette agrees.

   As they walk, Lila admits to Marinette the same thing she told Ladybug moments before.

   “I just… I just wanted to impress him. Is that so bad?” Lila asks, voice soft and quiet, but echoing in the streets.

   “No, it’s not. I’m not a fan of liars, but I can see the appeal. Honestly, Lila, I don’t think you need to lie to impress anyone. You seem amazing as you are.” Marinette smiles, missing the way Lila blushes.

   “You seem amazing, too,” Lila responds.

   The rest of the walk is peaceful, and Marinette finds design inspiration in the twinkling skies, and a new friend under the streetlights.

   Perhaps the day wasn’t a waste.

   (A few blocks away, Nino has the feeling that he has competition, but doesn’t know why.)

~~~~~ Wow, it’s been far too long since I last wrote for this! I had toyed with the idea of going in order, but I...well, I was in a Lilanette mood? So if you want to see Evillustrator and how that played out (or maybe see some other episode?), hit me up and send me a request, and I’ll see what I can do!! Tags: @northernbluetongue @indecisive-mess-named-me @magnitude101999 @crazylittlemunchkin @allolale @immatureidiot101 @bee-wrecker @demigodgirl20031