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#four or five skeleton children

firefirefruit · 4 months

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Steel in Her Veins | Table of Contents

Read On: AO3

Characters: Fem!Reader x Roronoa Zoro

Synopsis: Your name is Kozuki Raya, but no one calls you by that name anymore. Using the alias of Tenguyama Raya as advised by your grandfather, you are the descendant of the legendary swordsmith Kotetsu and a distant friend of the Shimotsuki clan. Following in your ancestor’s footsteps, you dedicate your life to the mastery of sword crafting, wielding, and learning. With much of your life being taught by gramps Sukiyaki, you realise that the dormant power, ancient knowledge and ancestral secrets that thrum within your veins start to play a very important role in the way the future world is shaped. Meeting the Straw Hats was not written anywhere within your blueprints, but – most importantly - meeting Roronoa Zoro wasn’t supposed to change the trajectory of your life either.

Table of Contents:

Prologue

Chapter One: What Happens When a Swordsman Meets a Swordsmith?

Chapter Two: All Goop and No Blades

Chapter Three: The Golden Medallion

Chapter Four: A Cyborg, A Skeleton and A Lot of Limbs Walk Into A Shop…

Chapter Five: Oh, Ohara...

Chapter Six: It's Awful, Do It Again.

Chapter Seven: BWING!

Chapter Eight: The One-Eyed Marimooo

Chapter Nine: The Niece of Oden

Chapter Ten: Fight, Flight, Freeze

Chapter Eleven: The Bushido Code

Chapter Twelve: Read Me, But Don't Weep

Chapter Thirteen: A Line in the Sand

Chapter Fourteen: Enigma

Chapter Fifteen: Did You Watch Your Spine Run Away from You, Too?

Chapter Sixteen: Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue

Chapter Seventeen: Onigiri

Chapter Eighteen: Burn, Demon, Burn

Chapter Nineteen: Daemgar

Chapter Twenty: Minks and Vivre Cards

Chapter Twenty-One: Polar Twwwang

Chapter Twenty-Two: The Doctor Just Pinched Me

Chapter Twenty-Three: The Children of the Beyond

Chapter Twenty-Four: You Want to Come Over and Touch Me, Too?

Chapter Twenty-Five: One More Sword

Chapter Twenty-Six: Simple. Practical. Easy

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Alcohol. Love It or Hate It

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Sugar and Spice and Everything... Sooty

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Stupid Fucking Plan

Chapter Thirty: Fuck You, Too.

Chapter Thirty-One: Rubber

Chapter Thirty-Two: The Thorned

Chapter Thirty-Three: Sharp Metal, Be Damned

Chapter Thirty-Four: Aragnus

Chapter Thirty-Five: A Surly Monster

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stesierra · 9 months

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Writeblr ReIntro!

I'm posting a new intro because now that I've been on Writeblr a little while, I realize how much information I left out! Hi, I'm Stephanie, I live in the desert with my husband and baby and three cats, and I'm an ace, bipolar fantasy writer! When I was a kid, they said I had ADHD but then I got my Masters degree in biology, so they claim I can't have it. Online tests say I'm probably autistic.

I used to write sci fi twelve years ago but only low tech sci fi about weird aliens, which nobody likes. Now I write fantasy novels! Lots of fantasy novels! I am beginning to post them on my website so if you want to read them, please keep an eye on this post.

My books often but not always have some romance (either m/f or f/f because I prefer female protagonists.) Since I'm ace (and demiromantic), my interpretation of romance and attraction is not exactly what you'd expect from, say, a romance novel.

I am not going to tell you about all my books! I've written eighteen! Four of them are shelved forever! Here's some recent ones (written or revised since 2018) that I haven't given up on. Please ask me questions about them! I LOVE talking about my books! Also, if you want to be added to my taglist for writing samples let me know! Please also tell me if you're interested in alpha or beta reading and for which book! Mutuals only, please!

My books are beneath the cut! As I add WIP intros, I'll update this list with links.

Cast Out

YA fantasy! On her sixteenth birthday, Zisha is cast out of the Plenary Cities for the crime of being born deaf, like her grandmother before her. In the wastelands, she meets Thesil, a depressed and bitter young woman. Zisha wants nothing to do with her — until she sees Thesil's face in a vision. But before she can find out what the visions mean or reach her grandmother's holdings in the wastes, the plague returns to the Plenary Cities. If the disabled really caused the plague thirty years ago, and were cast out to stop the spread, how can it be back when all of them are outcast?

Status: Finished. Being serialized.

WIP intro here.

Now being serialized here. First five chapters up, one posted weekly.

The Bone Queen

This is my NA fantasy about the aftermath of freeing an undead queen and her skeleton army. They take over the kingdom, of course! The main character, Elise, is trapped in Bandrum palace by Aubrey, the ghost who tricked her into falling in love and freeing him (plus everyone else.) He's an animated skeleton now with plans to marry Elise and force her to carry his children. The bone queen has promised him she'll make it happen. Too bad no one cares what Elise wants. If only she had magic of her own...

Status: undergoing a rewrite after developmental edit. Was 109k before revisions. Not available for beta reading.

Draft number? Hahahaha. It has two complete sequels (The Spellbound King (106k) and The Matriarch's Daughter (96k)) I must also rewrite. This series is going to kill me but I love it. My mom, who loves everything I write, complained that it was weird. I'm very proud.

WIP intro here.

First chapter here.

School of Souls

This is my YA contemporary fantasy about a boarding school in the Bighorn Mountains! It's supposed to be a place parents can send "bad" teens to have their problems sorted out, but secretly the founder is using it to train the kids as sorcerers. Even more secretly, the school devours the souls of the students sent there, and the teenagers who graduate aren't the same as the ones who arrived... Warning: does include teenage addiction to sleeping pills and ghosts and and parental death. It's going to have sequels but I haven't written them yet.

Status: Complete first draft. 83k. Available for alpha reading.

WIP intro here.

First chapter here.

The Many-faced Princess

This is YA fantasy with a historical vibe but set in a made up world. Vaguely inspired by ancient Phoenicia. It's about Princess Ameryi, who was blessed by the genderless trickster god, Akihel, to be able to change her face. If her father the king ever found out, he'd have to execute her, of course. Akihel is just plain evil. All the other gods say so. A daughter who's their champion? Impossible. An abomination. So Ameryi will just have to make sure her father never finds out. That was easier to do before the Asirtinsa Empire threatened to invade and her father sent her to secure an alliance with a neighboring king. She's supposed to marry him. Not steal his face and frame him for murder. But sometimes plans just don't work out.

This book was supposed to be about two lesbian princesses who frame the king for murder so they can elope, but both princesses decided to be ace and there was nothing I could do.

Status: Complete first draft. 83k. It's going to have sequels but I haven't written them yet. Available for alpha reading.

First chapter here.

Map here.

Court Phoenix

This is my NA fantasy! Kerra is a blacksmith's apprentice. Not because she wants the job, but because her mother sold her future to him when she was still a toddler who crawled into live fires and giggled as the flames consumed her clothes. Now she's a woman, trapped by the expectations of her family and her village. Until one day, a phoenix crash-lands and dies in her arms. When it's reborn, it chooses Kerra as its keeper. Soon, her dreary future is swept away. A princess from Skyfire, the moving city, offers her a job in the royal court. How could Kerra refuse? Her family's claims that she'll die if she ever leaves the village are just manipulative lies. Aren't they?

Status: Complete third draft. 104k. Available for beta reading.

First chapter here.

The Revenant Trilogy

Adult fantasy. Solving a murder should bring good fortune, but all it brings Mindral Thideet is disaster. Her fame and peaceful life as head researcher at the city of knowledge end abruptly. In retaliation for her investigation into his crimes, Payar Cheref, the head of the powerful Cheref family, burns her beloved cousins alive and scars her face. The scar marks her as a revenant, a body possessed by a godkin, one of the gods' evil children. Her life as a researcher is over. All that's left is revenge.

No one believes her when she denies that godkins have any power over her. But godkins, real ones, are far closer than she realizes. Tearing down Payar Cheref could destroy Mindral, her family, and the nation itself.

-The Halfway Revenant (rewriting draft 4) 120k. Not available for beta reading.

-The Soul-Seer (draft 2) - 130k

-The Godkin's Gambit (draft 2) 121k

First chapter here.

As Immortality Fades

Adult fantasy. Five hundred years ago, one of the immortal and unpredictable Valteifur visited the kingdom of Kathild and granted the young queen Nelone immortality. But there was a catch. She'd live forever, youthful and strong, just so long as her subjects were happy. For centuries, she's met her part of the deal. But when the Valteifur returns to check on her progress, he grants her a new gift: the resurrection of every single person in Kathild who's died in the last two hundred years. Then he disappears.

There aren't enough houses for them all. There's not enough food. And winter is here.

Status: Complete first draft. 98k. Available for alpha reading.

Bi MC, enemies to lovers.

First chapter here.

Stitches and Memories

This one's adult fantasy. Antea's father ripped her mind apart, left her for dead, and vanished twelve years ago, and she's going to find out why. But when constables try to kill her and strange truth magic grows inside of her, hunting her father starts to look like suicide. Too bad going home isn't an option.

Status: I exchanged this with a critique partner and now it embarrasses me. Fourth draft. 122k. Available for beta reading.

Trigger warning: magic seizures

First chapter here.

WIP intro here.

Triangle Park

Contemporary Fantasy. I have no idea who it's for. An elf exiled to the middle of nowhere ends up stuck with an unexpected child. It's about reluctant parenting and protecting the needy. And elves and faeries slumming it in a mobile home.

Status: Complete first draft. 86k. Available for alpha reading.

First chapter here.

Mud-Child

Adult fantasy. Rebeka has always heard that a woman who goes through menopause loses her spark (the magic that lets her create children). If she's had children, it just makes the neighbors a little more fertile. But Rebeka never wanted a man, and she never wanted to raise a child. Not since her twin sister died and her beloved Suza left her for a man. The problem is, the spark leaves a childless woman differently, everyone says. A bitter hag? She'll curse her neighbors. A sweet dim biddie? She'll give her spark to inanimate objects and create a monster. Rebeka doesn't know which she is, but she believes it's a myth.

That was before the clay in her clay pit woke up and called her mother.

Status: Third draft. 109k. Needs a rewrite! Not available for beta reading.

First chapter here.

WIP intro here.

I GUESS I'M WRITING A NEW BOOK

The Giant's Gamble

First chapter here.

I started writing this on Friday the 13th, 2023. LET'S SEE HOW LONG IT TAKES TO WRITE WITH A BABY.

Short stories

The Unfamous Dead

VERY OLD CRAP

The Scribe and the Sphinx

Adult historical fantasy

Status: second draft. Shelved for good. 85k.

The Adrift series

The River's Drift. 100k.

The Waking Mountain. 106k.

Low-tech alien sci fi. Shelved for good.

My first book whose name I forget. About 50k. Exists only as a hard copy in my parents' house.

Taglist so far (tell me if you want to be added or removed)

Tag list for everything

@harleyacoincidence

@anonymousfoz

@moremysteriesthantragedies

@elizababie

@sm-writes-chaos

@bellascarousel

@the-dragon-chronicler

@teacupsandstarlight

@vorskra

@wrenofthewords

@amostdelectablescribbler

@mysticstarlightduck

@phantommill

@gracewritesbooks

@aziz-reads

@owlsandwich

@symbioticsimplicity

@squarebracket-trick

@koala2all

@rmgrey-author

@atomatowriter

@cheerfulmelancholies

@delusionisaplace

@janec23

@writing-is-a-martial-art

@authortango

Just chapters and snippets

@da-na-hae

For The Many-faced Princess

@deadlyessencewhispers

@serenanymph

The Halfway Revenant

@acertainmoshke

For Stitches and Memories

@space-writes

@acertainmoshke

The Bone Queen

@janec23

@holdmyteaplease

@digital-chance

@thecrookedwriterspath

@tea-and-mercury

@coven-archives

I love you all!

#writeblr intro #oh my god this is long #why did I write so much #why did I do this to myself #writeblr #writing #writing community #creative writing #fantasy #writers of tumblr

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workersolidarity · 2 months

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[ 📹 Footage from inside a building nextdoor from the target of an Israeli occupation airstrike targeting civilian homes in Deir al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip, where at least 9 civilians were killed and others buried under the rubble.]

🇮🇱⚔️🇵🇸 🚀🏡💥🚑 🚨

ISRAELI OCCUPATION FORCES LAUNCH FRESH AIRSTRIKES SLAUGHTERING DOZENS

The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) have renewed airstrikes across the Gaza Strip Friday night, causing dozens of new casualties among Palestinian civilians.

According to early reports, IOF warplanes resumed airstrikes on Deir al-Balah and Jabalia, targeting civilian homes and leaving entire families buried under the rubble of their homes.

Palestinian public broadcaster, Palestine TV reported 17 dead after occupation fighter jets bombed three civilian residences in Jabalia and Deir al-Balah.

Meanwhile, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, Zionist air forces bombarded the Abu Ghali family home in the Yibna Refugee Camp in central Rafah, killing a young child and wounding several other civilians.

In another crime, occupation warplanes bombed the Shabat family home in Beit Hanoun, in the northern Gaza Strip, resulting in multiple casualties, while occupation artillery and airstrikes targeted the Sheikh Zayed neighborhood of Beit Lahia, along with the eastern section of the Jabalia Refugee Camp,

Elsewhere, in the village of Maghraqa, in central Gaza, an occupation drone targeted and killed a civilian Palestinian man with gunfire.

In an earlier attack, Zionist air forces bombarded a civilian vehicle and a group of people in Hamad City in Khan Yunis, in the south of the Palestinian enclave, while occupation soldiers detonated multiple residential homes in the Al-Mashrou neighborhood west of Khan Yunis.

Several Palestinians were also killed when occupation artillery shelling targeted the eastern neighborhoods of Deir al-Balah in central Gaza.

In what is being described as a "miracle", five members of a Palestinian family, bombed in their homes by the Israeli occupation army over 9 days ago in the Al-Zaytoun neighborhood, southeast of Gaza City, were pulled from the rubble of their home alive, looking like "skeletons," according to reports in the Palestinian media.

According to the Palestinian Civil Defense, “After 9 days under the rubble, and despite the lack of capabilities and primitive manual equipment, the Civil Defense crews were able to rescue the child, Ahmed Naeem and four members of his family, alive in difficult circumstances, and their bodies had become skeletons. From under the rubble of their house, which was targeted by occupation aircraft with missiles, which led to the death of 30 martyrs at the time in the Al-Zaytoun neighborhood in the center of Gaza City."

As a result of Israel's ongoing genocide in the Gaza Strip, the death toll has risen to upwards of 30'228 martyrs, mostly women and children, while the number of wounded now exceeds 71'377.

#source1

#source2

#source3

#source4

#videosource

@WorkerSolidarityNews

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braindead94 · 4 months

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The sound of rolling dice, is music to my ears

Reader is a small Elf whos task is to delivering important male to Jack Skeleton when she accidently tripped and lost a few letters.

But when she tries to get it back from the Boogeyman that the entire Halloween town warned her about, he offers her a game to win them back.....

(Merry Christmas yall!!! TW:Kidnapping, Gambling, blow job (female receiving), PIV, bugs)

The crisp air of snow and peppermint filled the air along with the sounds of merriment and laughter from the elfs. You smiled brightly as you stroll along the path with a pirk in your step, waving and greeting other elfs that crossed your path in Christmas Town. The bell on your longstock hat jingled as you spun around in the town square, twirling your green skirt with white fluff on the ends while catching snowflakes on your tongue before dashing off to the end of the street and towards the beautiful forest.

Santa had a new idea for Christmas that involved working with Halloween Town favorite resident, Jack Skeleton. Of course, many people here didn’t take up the idea of mingling with the likes of him because… well, their beloved skeleton kidnaps your town's leader for Saint Nick sakes!

But you took it with a cheerful smile and a happy beat in your heart. You were very curious about the folks in that scary town and for the most part, half of the rumors the elfs spread were ALMOST right.

The monsters and ghouls do eat out of the skulls of animals. They do dress in all black and have slime oozing out of them. Half of them are even dead and walking. But what surprised you the most was that they are all so inviting and open to you.

They were curious about you and your town as much as you are of theirs. The idea was that Santa would take the good children letters and the naughty letters go to Jack with little backstory of their bad behavior. He thought it would be a good idea that the Pumpkin King take up the title of Krampus (minus the whipping and kidnapping). All he had to do was scare them a little, just a little and leave coal.

The tall, bony man was thrilled to be part of this fun idea and always greeted you with a wide grin and a spark in his empty eye sockets. Sooner than later, he and many of the residents became good friends of yours.

Well, except from those oddball kids, Lock, Stock, and Barrel. You paid them no mind when they made fun of your pointy ears and how short you are (you held it in the fact that THEY are short as well). The odd thing was that there would be few bugs around them whenever they appeared, and only to disappear after they left. Or how the insects in Halloween town seemed to follow you about.

You just turn the other cheek and move on when they come onto your path.

Perhaps you could invite some of your friends over to Halloween town one day. Then your whole friends could become one big group so you’ll never have to separate anything anymore.

You hummed a jolly tune as you made your way through the pine trees that slowly dwindled down from thick with wide trunks and brimming with pine leaves to thin and spices. Hiking up your heavy backpack full of tightly packed letters and a box of your homemade Christmas cookies (both chocolate chips and swirl cookies), your wide eyes scanned for your destination.

Seeing the familiar sight of the Holiday doors, you nearly ran over to the pumpkin door and knocked on it, one two three, one two three, one two three four five.

You didn’t have to, but you felt it was only polite to do so before opening it and eagerly jumping in with the brightly colored leaves of red, orange and brown swirled around you and you disappeared into the darkness.

With practice and with muscle memory, you curled up into a ball just when you felt something hard and flat hit your feet, rolling forward and plopping open in the dark and scary forest.

You just got up, dust yourself off and stroll into the well beaten path to the spooky town. The moon was full and bright, almost hurting your eyes as it lighted up your path. The trees around you were tall, lanky and dead with the smell of dried sap and fresh dirt.

You happily stepped on crisp leaves with your curled up shoes, the bell on your long hat jingled, almost skipping on when you saw you were getting close to the three thick or treaters tree house.

Your lips almost made a scowl but pressed on with lead feet, hoping they weren't home to taunt you or throw rotten apples at you again. You were almost passing by the hill when something hooked on the curl of your green shoe and made you trip.

“Wahhhh!!” You crashed hard, your chin hitting the dirt hard. You cringed in pain as you slowly sat up on your knees, only to see your backpack opened and spilling letters out. “Ohhhh no no no no no!” You muttered as you began to snatch them up and shove it in the pack, never bothering to straighten them out or even if they were getting crinkled with the carelessness of stuffing. Thankfully your cookies were still inside.

You turned to your left to gather more, then to your right to get the rest. 8 letters, 5 letters, only 4 more letters to go-

A gust of wind brushed through your exposed hair and picked up the 4 remaining letters in the air. You could only look in disbelief when it landed only a few feet away from the dreaded treehouse. “How on…” You didn’t bother finishing it when you clamped the pack shut and rushed out to grab the remaining envelopes.

But they moved out of your grasp, very comically like an old silent film actor getting his hat. It was as if they were moving on their own. You huffed in annoyance as you unknowingly got closer and closer to the tree, right at the base where the trunk meets the ground… except you stopped at the unexpected moat that dipped down into darkness.

You halted your progress, almost falling off the ledge as you saw the letters getting carried in the air and through an open window by…

Your eyes widened as you saw many beetles clinging onto the white envelopes, their wings buzzing hard as they slipped into the crack of the window just enough for them.

Blinked at how ridiculous this looked, you sat back on your feet and stared at the trunk. Looking through the glass, you saw nothing but darkness.

Welp, this is going to be a problem.

You lean your body back to look up at the treehouse, debating whether or not it’s worth bothering the little deviants and ask to look into their basement, or living room, or whatever it is. But the more you think about it, the more scenarios pop up with unfavorable endings.

You think if Jack would be of assistance but then again, he is a busy skeleton and it would only make things worse when they get caught, they would probably heckle you even more later if that were to be.

You nibble on your thumbnail, your mind racing until a new idea pops up. ‘What if I just…. Sneak in?’ You thought. “No, no, breaking in is bad! And besides, I’m sure those letters are not that important.” You reasoned. ‘But Santa does it once a year for Christmas, for a good reason. And he explained that these children are growing up worse and worse each year with no consequences, they would have to learn to behave for the betterment of their adult years and to others.’ Says the reason in your mind.

A small sigh left your lips as you looked at the dark window, then to the darkness of the moat. Luckily there was a rope that hung from the branches above, so after you made sure to secure your pack, you clamped onto the rope and climbed down to the glass. Luckily it wasn’t locked and you gently let yourself in.

‘Ohhhhh, this still feels wrong. ’ You think as you waved your arm in the dark to feel the walls. Your hands grasp something long and hard. Your brows frowned at the feel of it, how smooth and wrong it felt. Almost familiar though.

You hung onto it and found more things similar to it on the wall and slowly climbed down until your feet touched the floor. Now with the safety of the ground, you looked around to see… still nothing but you can hear a lot of scuffling. Like lots of tiny little feets scampering about all around you.

Quickly thinking, you reach for your bell and with a small blow, you ring it with a golden chime echoing the room and it begins to glow.

The light wasn’t enough to fill in the whole thing, so you saw it was a big room. Wider and bigger than Mr. and Mrs. Claus' own house. You turned around to the wall you climbed down-

You scream when you see skeletons hanging by their wrists and ankles stretching them out without breaking them apart on chains. Their bones covered in disgusting paint as their skulls looked down at you with their jaw open and their sockets looking at you dully.

You tumbled backward before trying to calm yourself down. ‘It’s okay, it’s okay.. It’s just skeletons, you’ve seen them around Halloween Town, you are friends with one. Everything is fi-’

You let out another scream when you look down to see bugs of many sizes and shapes skittering all over the floor, some on your green shoes and almost crawling up your red and white stockings.

Immediately, you stomp and kick at them when you hear a deep chuckle behind you. With a snap, the room began to glow bright and the bigs seemed to be repealed by the light. Within seconds, they disappeared into the cracks of the walls before you.

“Don’t pay them too much, little lady. They are only takin’ a good look at cha.” Said a deep, southern voice behind you.

You turned to see the whole room and blinked in surprise. It was a large game room with a wheel with sharp edges and another skeleton strapped in the middle. The floor you were standing on was a circle with red and black boxes with golden numbers and skull painted on the ends and the middle had cracks that indicated that it was holding something inside.

Further ahead of you was a large throne that was built with big dice and coins with insects crawling in and out of it, and on that throne was a very, very large man who looked at you with keen interest.

His face was plump with a wicked smile on his cupid lips, his teeth all crooked and jagged like broken bottles while the ends of his mouth had stitches that extended his smile. He had a thick mustache with a soul patch on his chin with stitches lining underneath that chin all the to the sides of his face until it hid under his ears. He wore black glasses that glinted in the light.

His black hair groomed back, and his pale skin nearly popped out of his dark, burgundy suit that looked like it was stitched in thick string with a black shirt with a striped, orange and black tie. You looked at the big, stitched up man with a feeling of meeting a hungry lion when you saw him holding the 4 letters in his hands.

“Oh! You have my letters! I’m so sorry for breaking into your home, sir.” You called out as you started to walk towards him, the feeling did not go away as you came closer. “I tripped and lost some of my letters, and for some reason some bugs carried them here. If I may have them back please, I’ll leave your…” You looked around the whole bizarre place for a proper word. “Lovey home.” You finished, now standing in front of him, but still a good few meters away.

Even from this distinct, you could still see how tall he really was, and say how his suit looked a bit tight on him, especially around his belly. He raised a thick eyebrow as he looked over the envelopes in his hands, fanning himself while thinking before giving you a smirk. “No.”

You blinked with your mouth agape.

“I’m-I’m sorry-” “Listen here, darlin’,” He began, his southern drawl laying his voice thick as he crossed his leg over the other, his face never losing that hidden sense of humor. “I know you and your boss loves ta break in and all. But here in Halloween Town, we don’t do that. Especially if ya don’t know what type of surprises linger in our homes. ‘Sides, you don’t have anything to trade for these.” He added as he sat back with a lazy grunt.

Your mind becomes jumbled with excuses for Santa and for your rude intruding as you try to apologize to him when you think of the cookies. “Well, if it’s a trade you want sir, I have some treats with me that you could have.” His eyes, so very human for a resident living in a monster filled world, light up at the word treat. “Well, present them here, cutie.”

Your cheeks turned red as he called you that, nearly fumbling the box out of your backpack. Placing the bag down, you walked up to the man in the chair. It feels odd, so vastly different from Santa Claus, surrounded by kind people and how many children line up to ask him for presents, how his face glowed with warmth and giving. Always have a smile that makes you light up.

This man is the opposite in this lonely game place, letting out a feeling of cold and selfishness, his dark eyes pierced through your soul and even looked at your box with a wide smile as he placed the envelopes on his wide lap as you came up to up. You noticed how your shoulders were just almost taller than his knees. ‘Goodness, he might be taller than Santa himself. ’ You think.

The man reached out and instead of taking the box off your hands, he grabbed your wrist and pulled you closer between his now open legs (you saw morse stitches on his hands, one ending on the palm of his hand and around his wrist and on the other around his ring finger). You felt your cheeks becoming warmer as his skin, which felt callused and coarse, still held onto you as he opened the box and let out a delighted ah.

“Well ain’t they just the most de-licious looking treats. Did ya make these yourself?” He asked as he just took one and munch on a chocolate chip cookie.

You cleared your throat and answered yes, waiting for him to let you go. But he didn’t, he ate another and another, all while still holding onto you.

“And look at these funny little men with buttons on them! And you get to eat them? You Christmas folks must be darker than I give ya credit for.” He smirked as he took a gingerbread man. You stood awkwardly as you waited for him to finish, mentally sighing and promising to bake more for Sally and the little dead boy with his bat friend.

Once the tall man in stitches finished all the surgery cookies, he finally let go of your arm and sat back with a consent smile on his face and a few crumbs on his patch. “Well shave my legs and call me Bessy, those are one of the best damn things I’ve ever tasted. What are they called?”

You stepped back with a wayward grin and answered him, then explained how you made them though it looked like he didn’t care about the making process of them as he just wiped away the crumbs with a raggedy rag from his jacket pocket.

“So…um, now that you’ve had your cookies, I’ll take the letters back now-” “Now hang on a minute, little sugar. I never did agree to give them to you if I ate any of your delights. You just walked on up and offered them to me like a present. And isn't that what you folks are all about, given shit away for free?”

You stood there flabbergasted, trying to bring up reason but thinking back, he never did verbally agree to give them to you. But the way he was implying should have been enough, right?

“Um…” Was all you could say as you fumble with the red box in your hand, trying to come up with something to get those papers back. “You're really dead set on getting them back, huh?” He chuckled, then a gleam of an idea flashing in his eyes and his smile grew, nearly popping the stitches on the sides.

“How about this, you play a game with me. If you win four times, you get your letters back and you get to leave. How does that sound?” You nodded eagerly before you paused. “Wait, what happens if I lose?”

He let out a laugh as he sat back on his throne. “Well that was quick! Most folks would just play my games before even askin’ that question! Well, little missy if you lose,” He leaned back down to you, his body towering over you. The gleam of his glasses shined before his dark pupils almost glowed green in the shadow. “You get to stay here with me.” He whispered.

You balked at the mere thought of just staying here in this-this empty room of games, stepping away from him. He smirked when you almost tumbled backward that caused you to drop the box. “That-that’s not a fair trade! They are only just papers-”

“Papers that you are so very anxious to get back, like a kid with fire ants in his pants. Are they really that important to risk your own life to break into an unknown territory and just stroll in without knocking the residents first?” The man exclaimed in his heavy southern drawl, collapsing his hands together. “If ya ask me, that just seems mighty rude to me. Almost naughty. And here I thought all pretty little elfs were supposed to be fucking nice.”

Your face nearly crumbled with shame as you fiddled with your hands. “I-I-I’m so sorry sir-I honestly was just-” that did it, you turned around to the window with tears nearly drawn out of your big eyes. “I’ll just leave you alone and never bother you again.”

“Now hold on there, who says you were a bother?” He asked. You halted as you turned back to him. His smirk still present on his face as he held up one paper. That is out of the envelope. “I am very curious about this,” He reads one of it, raising his glasses on his crooked nose. “Kid named Daniel. What’s so special about him, huh? Causing a ruckus with his family? Need someone to discipline him? Maybe I could pay him a visit and teach him a thing or two.” He drawled on as you made your way back to him with rushed steps.

Your bell jingled as you tried to reach out for the paper but he only sat back and held it higher with a laugh. “Give that back! That is meant for Jack Skeleton!”

With the mention of the skeleton name made him stop. The air became tense as you heard thousands of bugs scuttling in the walls as if they were retreating. “Jack Skeleton, eh? What, is that big old oaf of a red lobster asking him to deliver presents again? Or just scare them into being good? Well,”

He smiled wider, wider until the side stitches unravel and his mouth showed more jagged teeth. The glow of his dark eyes showed again as a shadow passed over his face. “Perhaps I could pay the tiny tikes a visit. Scare the living shit out of them myself into being good children.” He whispered, his voice deeper with more voices joining, making him more demonic.

Ice turned your blood cold as your stomach squeezed as he loomed over you. There was no way you could just leave now without those letters. If he knew more about those naughty kids, he could hurt them or worse!

“Let's play a game then!” You squeaked out. “If I win four times then I’ll leave you forever! You won't ever have to hear from me ever again!” His eyes blinked before his side stitches closed up again as leaned back, more calmer but with that same gleam in his eyes.

“A smart decision, little darlin.” He snapped his fingers and a spotlight turned on behind you, pointing to a table and two chairs on each side that popped up behind you.

‘How-when did that-’ The man got up, up and up, startling you to step back as he made his way over to it while stuffing the paper into it’s container. “Now then, what games do you know about, Miss Y/n?” You think as you walk behind him from a safe distance. “Well, I know Uno. That’s a-wait,” You paused, thinking how he was quick to anger when you mentioned Jack just once.

“Maybe not that game. How about Go Fish? I’m good at Go Fi-” “Sugar, I’m asking for a grown-up game, not some” He waved his hand as he sat in one chair. “Child's card game that’s meant to entertain a pathetic 5-year-old. Nah, I’m talking about a real man's game.”

You felt bristled when he insulted a child but kept it to yourself as you went to your chair and climbed up it, slightly pleased that had the right size to let you be seen from the other side of the table, but it did make it harder to climb up it. You made a hum as your mind raced to think of a new game. ‘Alright, so perhaps he might be interested in board games. Maybe he has Sorry?’

“How about Blackjack, do you know that one?” He asked, whipping out a pack of cards out of nowhere. You blinked as he began to shuffle them in a flashy, elegant way over the table with the green velvet feel, like a magician showing off his magic. Your eyes are drawn to how he flicked one card up into the air and caught the rest.

“Or maybe Poker? I’m always a sucker for Poker. If that aint’ your style,'' He rolled his wrist and out appeared two red dice with skulls on it rolled onto the table. “We can play some roulette. The choice is yours to pick, Y/n.”

You think hard, frowning at the table. “Um… I haven’t played any of those games. I’m sorry…” You said sheepishly. His smile widened, and not in a friendly way. “Well that’s alright sweetie, I’ll teach ya. Lets go with Poker then, always a good one to start off with.” You nodded, at least trusting the process of getting those letters back-

“Oh! I’m sorry, I didn’t get your name.” You added. “That you didn’t, my apologies. Around these parts, they call me the Boogeyman, but my real name is Oogie Boogie.” You felt a tingle of recognition from the name in your mind. The people in Halloween Town have mentioned him but never gotten into too much detail. But they did tell you to never trust the Boogie Man, not even with a little penny or your life.

Well, that isn’t a great start off but you had no choice. “Ok, Mr.Boogie. Let’s play Poker.”

So he spent a few minutes teaching you about the game, sprinkling some bits of it’s…. colorful history. It was kinda hard to understand how it works because of his accent but you slowly understood how the game operates, not that he slowed down for you to catch up when he started to deal with the cards out.

Mr.Boogie was even kind enough to play a few practice rounds before playing the game for real after you won some fake rounds (which he gave you begruttle praise for).

Then the game really began.

He placed down one envelope in the center of the table with the green velvet on the top. Then he dealt the cards out until you both got an even 5. Following the rules, you peeked at the first two cards.

They were two threes, one diamond and another a club.

That round was rather short but you managed to win that first round easily with the rest of the three being 6s, two spades and one club.

Oogie just smiled widely at your winning before dealing for another round while you eagerly get the first letter back.

The next round was a bit harder as you tried to keep your face neutral when you saw you got two aces. You looked at his face, really trying to study him as he looks at his own. He rubbed the soul patch on his chin, deep in thought before going in. You placed it down, then flipped up the rest of the cards when it showed that his cards were just as good as your aces.

It was three more aces.

You let out a cheer of glee as you picked up the second letter while you spun around on your chair, the golden bell at the end of your hat jingled along with your laughter. Oogie patiently waited until you sat back down with a bright smile on your face.

He had his own smile that didn’t look right.

“Why don’t we make this more interesting, sug.” he said. Still riding on that winning high, you nodded eagerly. “How ‘bout we throw in some strip poker fer a few rounds?”

That…. Threw you off that high ride. “Strip? As in… stripping wallpaper off?” You asked. The man in stitches let out a belly full laughter, tilting his head as he did so while you felt even more confused and peeved at his bizarre behavior.

After he calmed down enough, he stared at you with a glint inside of the dark pools in the middle of his eyes with a glowing but of green inside of them and said “No little doll. After you lose a hand, you have to take one article of clothing off of you until you're completely naked.”

Your face reddened hard while you dropped your cards on the table as if they caught on fire. “No, no way! Absolutely not! That is very inappropriate and really weird! Why would you want to add that in? Why would anybody play strip poker?!” You shrieked as you crossed your arms.

He just shrugged nonchalantly. “To enhance the experience! It gets folks on the Human side all riled up, make it interesting! Otherwise this whole game would be dull, and you are having a good time ain'tcha? You don’t want to ruin that with just two more rounds, right?”

Your cheeks felt warm but you did pounder on his words for a bit.

The game was starting to get good, and you felt like you had a winning streak going on….. Pulse you have layers of clothing on sooo….

You square up your shoulders, clearing your throat before agreeing with him with a soft okay.

Oogies face broke out in his grin and his eyes flashed green again.

The first round went quickly as you got new cards, but it ended up with you losing to him. ‘No worries. I have tons of layers.’ You think as you took off your thick red coat and placed it neatly on the back of your chair neatly.

The next round, you lost again, and you slipped your curl toe shoes off and let both of them fall onto the floor limply. The man in front of you huffed in amusement as you continued on with a determined look on your face.

You managed to win the next round with a royal flush, and you squealed in delight and stuck out your tongue at him. Oogie simply smirked at you as he undoes his necktie and plop it onto the table. The next round you won again and gosh! This Poker game is really something else! You let out a whoop when you won the next round.

“Ha! By the time I’m done with this game, I’ll be the Queen of Po-po-poker…” Your excited words trailed off when he sat back and slowly unbuttoned his jacket and instead of taking it off, he slowly unbuttoned his dress shirt. Slowly, one…. By… one as if he was teasing you.

The stitches from under his chin led down his throat and continued on until he fully opened up his shirt, leaving his plump chest and big belly out for all to see.

You stare at the lines between his pecs and two more split on his belly like a peace sign. Oogie Boogie rested his hands on the table and waited for you to speak up. After a full minute had passed by, you leaned forward and looked him in the eyes through his glasses. “Did that hurt?” You asked with concern.

He looked surprised, as if no one had asked him that before he chuckled a bit, his fingers twitching as if he wanted to grab something. “Nah, sugar. It didn’t hurt me at all.” You nodded, not bothering the thought that he never took off his jacket for the strip poker and continued on.

Now, you were really taking your time after you lost your candy cane stockings and the only thing that is keeping you properly covered up is your green dress. Your hat is the last article of clothing is your hat, but the bell is your best chance of escaping out of here in case something goes wrong.

“Can we get back to the letters please, I would like to end this soon so I can leave you in peace.” Oogie smirked, his thick eyebrow raised in a teasing manner. “Why so anxious to leave little o’ me? Am I really that unbearable to be around with?”

You paled as you shook your head no. “I’m so sorry to give you that impression!” You lied, your ears lowering out of habit. “I just don’t want anyone to worry about meEEEE!” You shrieked and you felt something crawling up your bare leg. You shiver and try to shake it off but it held on as it climbed higher and higher-OH NO! It’s a black widow!!

You stood on your highchair as you try to think of a way to get it off without touching it when a large hand reached out with his palms up next to your waist where the creepy crawly stood. “Come along now darlin’. You’re givin our special guest a fright.” He drawls in his thick southern accent. The spider excitedly hopped on his hand and Oogie raised it up closer to your face before withdrawing it onto his seat.

Your heart was still pounding when you began to sit, then froze as you watched the big man bringing the Black Widow to his belly.

The seams on his belly came undone, then slowly his skin split open to reveal darkness with the sounds of lots of something small and slithering and skittering inside him. The spider crawled out of his hand, over his skin and joined in the rest of the sounds, it’s body seemingly mingling with the rest of the dark.

You watched on with disgust as the skin closed in on itself and the seams stitched itself back together and his belly became whole once more. Your skin felt cold as you just stared at his torso before looking up at him. He sat there leaned back with a smirk. “Enjoying the view, little lady? Well, if ya like, you could unwrap me yourself if you're curious about me.” He winked.

You shudder as you pick up your scattered cards and put your focus into the game.

Unfortunately, your mind was not in the same space as it was before and soon you’ve lost another round. He held out his hand for a letter and, with hesitation, you gave one back to him.

The next hour was spent alternating playing poker then strip poker when you felt you couldn’t handle losing a letter. He took off his jacket, leaving his shirt on and unbutton while you took off your fingerless gloves, necklace and after making an uneasy decision, took off your green dress rather than your hat.

If something were to happen, you’ll ring it for a quick emergency.

You could feel the man with the bugs eyes burning onto your bare skin as you shimmy out of it, your cheeks and the tip of your ears blushing hard as you folded it neatly and put it on your lap. Something told you that he might try to take your dress if you leave it unintended. Now you were just wearing a tank top that rested over your bra and stripped panties.

Of course, that decision didn’t go unnoticed.

“Now why take that dress rather than your hat. Granted, you look more adorable, tasty then a slut in the best whorehouse in the world, but I’m just wonderin.” Your face grew red as you stayed silent and picked up your cards again.

He let out a deep chuckle and looked at his cards. You looked into yours and nearly broke out in a grin. It was another royal flush. You nearly wiggled in your seat as you eyed up the very last, nearly crumbled letter that sits too close to Oogie Boogie. You are almost home free!

But then you started to notice the discarded pile and how high it is. You recounted the mount of times he redealt the cards after three rounds, that should have been enough to mix the cards up, right?

You then remember you’ve played an Ace of clubs in one round then the very next one, HE had an Ace of clubs in his winning deck.

“Wait a minute…” You placed your cards down as you leer at the tall man across from you. He glanced up, a knowing look placed in his eyes behind his glasses.

“Are you… cheating?” You asked with a hushed voice. Oogie Boogie just paused before his face broke out in a wide, wide grin. “Took ya long enough.” He said, nearly snickering as he dumped his cards on the table.

You slam your fist on the table, red bloomed on your face as you stood on your chair to scold closer at him. “That isn’t right!? Do you know how dishonest that is? How it ruins the game?! Now this isn’t even a real winning!!” You yelled, your voice nearly breaking from the lack of how much you’ve let your anger go.

“Well then I guess I’ll have those letters back then.” He pointed out, raising a hand with a smile. You blinked, then looked back at the envelopes and paled. Oh no…

“I…” You stutter out but your shoulders crumble downward. He’s right, you didn’t properly win them. So with a heavy hand, you gave it back to him, which he eagerly accepted. But his hand got a bit too close to yours, nearly grazing skin to cold skin.

“How about this, doll face,” Said Oogie with a mocking look of symphony as he collapsed his hands on the table. You waited as you sat down and crossed your arms to warm yourself up. ‘Fudge, I’ll need to get dressed quickly-’

“Let’s play a different game, no tricks, no cheating. Just an honest game of chance.” He said. You blinked at him again. “Y-y-you’re serious?” “As serious as a heart attack, sugar.” He quipped back.

You think about it, really think hard on it.

He’s been cheating, probably from the very beginning. Maybe he didn’t even teach you all the rules of the game and you completely fell for it like a cotton headed ninnymuger!

“Alright, but it has to be with a game I know.” You demanded. He shrugged and sat back with a small grunt. “So, what do ya reckon? Miss.Y/n?”

You ponder… and ponder… then a game up with a game that both Humans and Elfs play. If your kind and Humans know how to play it, then surely he might know. “Do you know the game Passage?”

He smiled wider as he took out his 6 pair of dice he showed you earlier and proceeded to do fancy tricks on his fingers. “I sure do, Y/n.”

You beamed, glad to have something going in your favor. “Good! Then if I win, I get the letters back, not one by one, all of them. And if you win-” “Then you get to stay here with me, little lady.” He smirked. A shiver slither up your spine as the cold settles in your blood. You swallow your fear as you nodded with a firm look on your face.

“Deal…. but why-” He cut you off when he cleared the table by swiping his arm across the table, totally disregarding the nice-looking cards and set the dice on the table. Oogie just smirked at your shocked face as he held out his hand with two dice with snake details on it. “Ladies first.”

You both play the first round with no issues so far. You gained 3 points, then 5, then Oogie get 7 points.

“Well well well, looks like you are losing pretty quickly, Y/n. If I were you, I’d start praying for a Christmas Miricale.” He taunted, leaning forward with his elbows on the table. You just huffed and started to roll with great vigor, anxiety riddled your mind when it dawned on you.

You’ve never told him your name.

Your body froze at the revelation. Your heartbeats almost stopped. Oogie Boogie looked confused, raising an eyebrow. “What’s the matter? Lost interest in getting these babies back?” He asked. You only stare back at him as you slowly gather up your courage and ask “How did you know my name?”

The second you asked, he grinned wolf like with jagged teeth. “Hehehehe….. You are way smarter than you give off, sugar.”

Your body jerked to get off the highchair, landing awkwardly as you stumbled to get away from the man in stitches getting up from his seat, your body hurting from the fall, no doubt you’ll be getting scabs from crawling back.

“How-how did you know my name?!” you demanded, shivering as your ears lowered down until your hand felt something slimy. You let out a shriek and stopped when you saw a whole menagerie of bugs crawling behind you as if to keep you from reaching to the wall, the only escape from HIM.

His footsteps were loud compared to Santas as he strolled leisurely to you, his black shirt still unbuttoned and his hands in his pockets. “Why, with my little friends, of course! I like to keep in touch with my ‘neighbors’ above, just to stay in the know-how. So imagine my surprise when I see cute little you strolling in with that little bell hat chatting with the Halloween folk, being all buddy buddy with them for the past few months. I’ve been keeping an eye on you for a long time now, and just the mere sight of you,” He let out a low whistle with a smirk, eyeing your body as a patron would at a butcher shop. “Just gets me all riled up.”

You suddenly remember the golden bell, your only chance to get out of here! Your hand shot out to grab it when something slithered around your hat and tugged back. With a yelp, you turn around to see a large snake in yellow and black stripes slinking backward to the rising crowd of bugs, beetles and flys swarming around you as you try to make a grab for it. Only to have a pair of large, and stitched up hands slip underneath your arms and lift you up, up, up and up.

“Now, let me get a proper look atcha.” He grumbled with delight as he brought you chest to chest with him. Your legs dangled underneath you as your arms were pinned against his bare chest. You could only look up at him with your widened eyes colored in fear, which only made him chuckle.

“Now if you ain’t just the cutest sight, I don’t know who is.” Oogie muttered, bringing your back to the table with ease. You only wiggled, really that all you could do as you pleaded with him was images of his stitches opening up to release his inner army of bugs crawling and feasting on your flesh and bones flashed through your mind. “Please! Please don’t eat me! I’m not that tasty!” You yelled, shutting your eyes as you tried to kick his stomach.

But that only made him laugh.

“Oh I do intend to do just that, sugar. But not in a way your thinkin.” He giggled as he rubbed the back of his hand over your cheek, his eyes just lighted up in excitment. In the haze of your fear, you felt…..confused by that statement.

“Wha-what do-” You let out a yelp when he plopped you to the table, the thumb of your body made the dice roll over the table, but Oogie paid it no mind. “Just follow my lead, dollface.” He drawled as he planted his hands beside your head before leaning down to kiss your gasped lips.

You let out another yelp in the kiss as his tongue dominated the kiss, cold and slimy as his jagged teeth grazed over your lips. Your heart bounded in fear and sorrow, almost morning over the loss of your first kiss. You try to push him away on his shoulders but he only pressed his body against yours, further trapping you.

Your breathing became ragged, feeling more trapped as he nipped and sucked at your lips, nearly breaking skin as he continued down your neck, suckling and leaving big red marks. You felt scared, you wanted OUT but….. Why was this feeling so good?

“Why? Why are you doing thi-” He placed his hand over your mouth, shoving his thumb in your mouth. “Don’t ask such questions, Y/n. Just focus on how nice it feels. Doesn't this feel good? Have you ever been fucked before?” That was a word you’ve heard while visiting the Human side, so vulgar, so vile… but why does it feel okay?

“Have you ever been kissed?” He asked, his smile widening then before. You shut your eyes as you shook your head no. “Awwh, well then,” His face came back up to yours, his eyes glowing green as he peered into yours. “ You are in for a treat.” Oogie hissed delightfully before you felt a hand slip into your underwear and rip it off.

You shriek on his thumb as the man leaned back, appearing to sit down at his chair again and kiss at the base of your mound, his beard scratching the delicate part of your skin. Your hands scratched at his hand that was holding you down until something slithered around your wrists and yanked them back.

He parted your shivering legs and cooed at you. “Aw, what’s the matter, little elf? Feelin nervous? Well, don’t worry your pretty mind over it.” You looked down to plead with him to stop, trying to ignore the hot feelings that refused to leave when you froze when his mouth widened up again. The stitches become undone and two black tongue-like appendages slithered out to lick his teeth, one red and black stripped, the other yellow and black. “I'll calm those frenzy nerves of yours down in no time.”

His hands gripped your thighs hard as he lowered his lips to your folds and-OH GOODNESS!

Ecstasy pounded into your veins, a newfound experience that you felt for the first time as one tongue licked up and down your clit while another gently poked into your pussy. Your skin felt warm, your stomach felt warmer still with something tightening. Your cunt clenched around that one tongue as he ate you out harder, harder, sucking on your clit as the other just slathered drool over your folds.

You began to gasp in more air, your back arched in pleasure while his huge hands ghosted up to your hips to hold you still with a bruise like grip. You whimper as you felt the core in your belly grew tighter, tighter, tighteerrr-

Oogie chuckles rumbled through his body and into yours and he thrusted one tongue and sucked HARD and you snapped.

You scream loudly while you arched up as pleasure bloomed through your mind and body, almost trembling when he sat up straighter with juices from your pussy and drool connecting to your throbbing folds. The black and yellow tongue licked around his lips and his mouth closed a bit until it looked ‘normal’ as he look at your trembling body with sickening pride.

“Ya like that, little doll?” You blinked away your tears, your face and body almost red as you panted to regain your breathing back. He laughed as he slid his hands under your tank top and under your bra until his fingers gripped your breasts. You shivered-Oh wow, his hands are MASSIVE!

“God, I’ve wanted you the moment I saw ya when you stepped into the courthouse. All dressed up in that pretty little outfit, that stupid bell ringing with ever’ step, fuck I wanted to just sneak into your town and snatch you up myself.” He confessed as he kissed your neck, nipping again.

“But I waited fer the perfect moment, the right timing to snatch you up and now you’re here. Mine fer the taken, mine to have…” He trailed off as his slick lips trailed up to your own. You turned your head away in disgust, but he caught your lips and kissed you hard again as lovers would go after never seeing each other.

Oogie then ripped your top apart along with your bra as he muttered obscure things. “Gonna stuff ya until you burst, gonna fuck your tiny cunt-fuck!” He sat up, his glasses slightly crooked on his own crooked nose as he unbuckled his pants with hast.

Your eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets when his hard dick sprung out. His handsome, plump face smirked, almost preemed when he saw your expression. “You really must be a virgin, huh little elf?” You shivered at the excitement in his southern voice as he lowered his body over yours, angling his thick cock to your cunt while placing his hands over your trapped ones.

“Don’t fret, Y/n…” He purred, grinning like a shark. “I’ll be gentle.” You felt him lie as he suddenly snapped his hips forward and-

You screamed at the foreign and painful feeling of having something in your pussy, the feeling of getting practically FULL nearly blinded you, but it felt so, so GOOD! Your body, already overstimulated, began to shake under him again.

Your face scrunched as your body was trying to adjust to him as Oogie cackled, throwing his head back and his mouth widening again. You froze when you saw he stitches his between his chest slowly opening, going down until his belly and you whimpered when some snakes and thick centipedes slithered out and dropped on your body.

“Don’t focus on them, sugar, just focus on how good I’m makin ya.” Oogie whispered in your ear as he began to thrust slowly. You moaned as the feeling of pain left and was replaced by ecstasy and hot. The gross animals on your body began to move all over your skin, slithering and crawling, making your over sensitive skin prickly and warm.

You whine as he nips and sucks at your neck again, his mustache and soul patch rubbing against your skin in the right way as the snakes wrapped around your tits and squeeze gently. The centipedes formed a line around your waist, their tiny feet almost tickling that would make you giggle if Oogie wasn’t kissing you again, and wrapped themselves around and around until they covered your entire waist and squeezed too.

The big man's thrusting began to get harsher, rougher as if he was impatient. Oogie grunted as he held your face with his hands and kissed harder and harder. You mewled in the kiss, tasting your cum, your body feeling so many things at once, the centipede's tight hold managed to hug your waist even when his dick was stuffing your cunt until it bulged.

“I’m so-so close, sugar. Fuck, your pussy is so tight! ” He growled, biting your lip. His thumbs wiped away the tears streaming down your face as the snake's head rested on top of your chest and licked your nipples.

“So tight fer me, so good fer me, I’m going to stuff your cunt until your full!” His thrusting became harder as your core began to get tighter again. Your mind was blank, nearly gone by just how good this all feels.

Then he snapped hard one last time and you felt something warming your inside as you became undone again.

Your ears started to ring while your body felt floppy, loose on the table while Oogie Boogie panted over you. The snakes and the centipedes unwrapped themselves and crawled off of your sweaty body and towards the middle of your chest when you felt Oogies belly opened up and they disappeared inside.

He stood up and started to button up his black shirt, smiling as if he just won the prize at the carnival fair. You just lay still and just breathe slowly as your mind felt empty, clouded by the leftover high and passion. He chuckled as he buckled up his pants as his eyes wandered over your small body. Over your curves, the dips of the hips, how wet your cunt looks, and how glazed your big eyes are.

“Yeah…” He muttered to himself as he scooped you up, his big hand brushing into your tangled hair to cup your head before he turned around to his room. “I think you’re gonna stay here fer a really long time, little sugar…”

#molina verse #big boss #minors do not interact #minors dni #fanfic #Elf!reader #tw: monster fucking #tw kidnapping

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mellowsadistic · 2 years

Text

The Halloween Spirit - Part 5

“Amy, can you get the door?” Amy’s mother called from upstairs. “It’ll be trick or treaters!”

“Can’t you do it?” Amy called back, scowling. She hated trick or treaters. What gave them the right to think they could go marching around banging on everybody’s doors demanding sweets?

“I’m busy! Do it quickly or you’ll miss them!”

“Ugh, fine!” Amy got up from her chair in the living room, and stomped out into the hallway and towards the front door, making sure to take her time. But by the time she reached it, she could clearly make out several large figures through the translucent glass window beside the door. Far too large to be children, in fact. Amy hesitated, but the people must have seen her outline through the glass. It would be far too awkward to turn around now. Besides, if her mum found out, she’d be furious – and Amy was relying on her for a free room since she’d finished college. She opened the door.

“Twick or tweat!”

Amy stared for a moment at the people standing before her. Two men and three women, all around her age – except for the woman dressed in the witch’s outfit, who looked a little older and stood a few steps back from the others. One of the men was dressed in a cheap-looking pirate costume complete with plastic sword and eyepatch, while the other wore a black one-piece with a skeleton design. Both of the women were dressed as matching yellow and white princesses, and all four of them had big, slightly vacant grins on their faces. Amy started to laugh.

“Aren’t you a little old to be trick of treating?” she cackled, taking in the sight of the five people dressed in costumes that looked more suited to five-year-olds. The four eager smiles slipped from the men and women’s faces, and Amy saw one of the girl’s lips tremble. But the woman dressed as a witch scowled at Amy and strode forwards.

Amy took a step back instinctively. This woman didn’t have the vacant look in her eyes that the others had. She looked more like a stern schoolteacher.

“Don’t be so cruel, young lady!” she hissed, coming right up to the doorway. “I’m taking the little ones out for some trick or treating, and I’d appreciate it if you didn’t laugh at them!”

“Littles ones?” Amy laughed derisively. “They’ve all got to be in their twenties at least!”

The witch woman looked furious. “They’re just a bit special, that’s all!” she whispered waspishly.

Amy’s face reddened as she realised she must have been laughing at four mentally challenged people. But she quickly brushed her guilt and embarrassment aside. “And you just expected the rest of us to play along?” she demanded. “I was expecting to open the door to a group of children, not a load of special needs adults dressed like toddlers. This is a holiday for real ‘little ones’, not overgrown babies!”

The woman’s eyes flared, but Amy was already slamming the front door in her face. She didn’t notice as the shadow slipped in through the doorway as she turned her back. But as she stormed down the hallway, she suddenly became aware that something was pushing her legs apart, turning her walk into a waddle. She looked down and let out a squeal. Her jeans and top had gone. In their place was a sparkly pink dress, ruffled and plasticky like a cheap costume, just like the ones the two ‘special’ girls had been wearing. Sequins on her chest spelled out the words “Little Princess”.

At that moment, there was another knock on the door. Amy looked around in fear and confusion. A few seconds later, her mother came hurrying down the stairs, not even blinking at the sight of her adult daughter dressed up in an oversized little girl’s princess costume. “That’ll be Miss Hayward!” she said brightly, hurrying past Amy and opening the front door.

Amy could only stand there with a knot of anxiety in her stomach. What was happening?! Why was she dressed up like a little girl ready to head out trick or treating?!

“Happy Halloween!” her mother said as she saw the witch woman and her special needs entourage. “My, my! What pretty princesses you are! Just like my little Amy! And what a scary pirate! And a frightening skeleton too! I’d better give you all some sweeties or else I’ll be in trouble!”

Amy heard the giggles of the men and women, and saw the satisfied smile of the witch as her mother handed out candy.

“Is your little one ready to join us then?” the witch woman asked pleasantly.

Amy felt a shiver run down her spine. Join them? What did that mean? What was going on?

“Oh yes!” her mother replied, looking around. “What are you doing over there, sweetie?” she asked her daughter in a sickly-sweet voice. “You’re going trick or treating with your little classmates tonight, remember?”

“My… My…” Amy stammered. Her classmates? She realised she was trembling. Something unnatural was going on here, she was sure of it.

But her mother just chuckled, took her by the hand, and led her out the front door in her pink princess outfit for all to see. Amy tried to resist, to dig her heels into the floor, but it was as though her legs were acting on their own, following obediently after her Mummy.

“Well aren’t you a pretty little princess!” the woman called Miss Hayward cooed, but her eyes shone darkly in a way that made Amy quite sure she was fully aware of what had happened, and delighted in it. “We’re going to have so much fun tonight!”

Amy felt a trickle of pee escape her bladder and enter the bulky thing she was wearing around her waist. She could feel her warm urine soaking into it. A nappy, she thought. She was wearing a nappy. She stared in horror into the smiling face in front of her, and at that moment there was a sudden, powerful cramp in her belly. The last thing Amy saw before she screwed up her eyes was the witch woman’s smirking face staring into hers. Then she had squatted down, thrust her bottom out behind her, and started grunting loudly as an enormous, disgusting mess rushed into the back of her thickly padded pants, completely beyond her control.

“Nooo…” she sobbed as she loaded her diapers like an overgrown two-year-old, her mother and Miss Hayward smiling indulgently, and the other four adult toddlers looking down at her with dumb, vacant grins. This couldn’t be real! It couldn’t be!

“I’m sorry about this,” she heard her mother saying, and as the last of the yucky load dropped into the seat of her nappy, Amy looked up from her squatting position. “Do you mind if I go and change her before she heads out?”

“Oh, don’t worry about that,” Miss Hayward tittered, her eyes glinting maliciously as they took in the sight of Amy still squatting down in the driveway, the seat of her nappy sagging below the hem of her frilly pink dress. “I expect all our special little ones will have loads in their pants by the end of the night. Besides, I bet Amy’s no stranger to dirty diapers, is she?”

“Oh no,” her mother laughed. “I swear Amy spends half her life stomping about in poopy Pampers! Sometimes it feels like she waits until she’s in a clean nappy just so she can make a stinky in it straight away!”

The two women laughed while Amy stared at them with her mouth slightly open, still in shock at what had happened, disgusted at the sensation of the pee and poop that she had just deposited in her own pants, and terrified at what she was hearing her mother say.

She tried to speak, but her words caught in her throat and all she managed was a faint gurgling. Her mother helped her to her feet and patted her on her diapered rump as she passed her daughter over to the witch – the woman who had suddenly become Amy’s new teacher at the local special needs school. It was only once the six of them were toddling (on in Miss Hayward’s case, walking) hand in hand down the street that Amy was able to find her voice.

“Are you a witch?” she asked fretfully, her voice now high-pitched and little-girlish.

The woman chuckled. “No, silly! This is just a costume. I’m not a real witch. But I do know a little bit about magic, about the spirits that roam the land on All Hallows’ Eve, and it was your misfortune to encounter one. It decided you needed to be taught a little lesson, and I have to say I agree. I think getting to spend your days as one of my special little girls is just what you deserve!”

Amy whimpered. “How… How long?” she asked.

The woman laughed, a sweet tinkling laugh that sent a thrill of horror through Amy’s body. She turned to the girl in the pink princess dress and said, a horrible grin spreading across her face, “Only the rest of your life!”

That was when Amy started to scream.

But a large pink pacifier quickly shut her up, and she spent the rest of the evening toddling from door to door with her new teacher and her new peers, her diaper drooping lower and lower between her legs as she continued to make potty in her pants, her bladder and bowel control wiped away forever. It was how she spent the next Halloween too, and the one after that, and the one after that. Poor little Amy was a never-grow-up case, one of Miss Hayward’s sweet, special little ones, and she’d have a lifetime to reflect on her rudeness.

If it had a mouth, the spirit of Halloween would have laughed as it darted away. There were more victims to find, more people to alter – those who would abuse the spirit of this day had to be punished, and there were so, so many to choose from.

#mellowsadistic

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ivyprism · 7 months

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Werewolf Skeleton Boys (Info Dump)

Warnings: Fighting, death, wolves, for halloween!

Wolfsbane - Fellswap Carnelian Werewolf Papyrus

Personality: He's a tough, but cool, character. He has a fiery temper and isn't hesitant to express himself. He enjoys children and looks after them whenever possible. He is concerned about others and frequently acts like a huge sad puppy when friends or loved ones are hurt. He is highly lively and enjoys playing practical jokes on people. Many people look up to him. He is really pleasant and charismatic. When it comes to protecting his family and loved ones, he is ruthless. Many werewolf romances irritate him because they are entirely inaccurate.

Appearance: He is a skeleton werewolf with a tail. He has five large scars on his right eye. He also has a golden tooth. He can change into a skeletal wolf. He likes his choker as an accessory. He has deep red eyes.

Zev - Fellswap Carnelian Werewolf Sans

Personality: He is a cruel and ferocious skeleton. He is a fiery man who goes for the throat. Despite this, he is exceedingly courteous and well-mannered. While he despises it, he is extremely manipulative with individuals he considers threats. He adores and deeply admires his older brother. He will fight anyone who considers him inferior. He can be nasty and straightforward most of the time, unless he is afraid of hurting a friend or partner. He is extremely protective of his loved ones and will go to any length to protect them, including murder. He becomes really soft after spending time with him.

Appearance: He is a skeleton werewolf with a tail. He has two large scars in the shape of his left eye. He can change into a skeletal wolf. He has deep red eyes.

Ammonite - Fellswap Carnelian Werewolf Gaster

Personality: He is an extremely protective and aggressive individual. He is stern and unyielding. He is not afraid to go to any length to protect his family. He has become more relaxed and cold. He is straightforward and unafraid to express himself to others. He's a decent hunter that works hard. He looks after his family. He is really quiet and serene. He adores his sons and his new acquaintances. He's not afraid to bite back, and he's a fantastic hunter. Surprisingly, he always returns with a large amount of food after hunting. He is very good at taking care of others and loves kids.

Appearance: He is a skeleton werewolf with a tail. He has four large scars. He has two under his left eye and two on the top of his right eye. He can change into a skeletal wolf. He has deep red eyes.

Vermillion - Underfell Werewolf Papyrus

Personality: He's a caustic and combative character, but he's also quite silent. He is respectful and regal. When it comes to the threat to his family, he is aggressive and cruel. He is fiercely protective of his friends and may look confrontational in order to defend them, but if accepted, he is a sympathetic and sweet person. He will gladly carry you if you ask. He is in charge of cleaning up after his brother and the Royal Guards. He has a nasty temper and refuses to accept crap from anyone. He fights fiercely and may be quite nice and gentle to his buddies, yet he frequently begins cold and polite.

Appearance: He is a skeleton werewolf with a tail. He has four scars on his right eye. He has bright red eyelights. He can change into a skeletal wolf.

Harrier - Underfell Werewolf Sans

Personality: He's a peaceful and tranquil skeleton with the ability to quickly beat someone down. He is fiercely protective of his loved ones and would go to any length to protect them. He's tough with a flirty side. He has a very quiet and cool temper that he never loses unless pushed. He is worried about his friends and family, but he keeps his feelings hidden. He can be a little rude and chilly at first, but as you get to know him, he is often really kind and friendly to you. He has a hard exterior that he normally softens. He enjoys assisting others and has a soft spot for animals.

Appearance: He is a skeleton werewolf with a tail. He has bright red eyes. He has five scars on his eyes. Two on his left and three on his right. He has two golden teeth. He can change into a skeletal wolf.

Dendritic - Underfell Werewolf Gaster

Personality: He's strict and cold. He is a kind father who goes out of his way to help his children. He would give his life to protect his family. He is quiet but thoughtful. He has the highest LV of his boys when his family is threatened. He is also authoritative and demanding. By slightly increasing or lowering his voice to dangerously quiet levels, he can persuade anyone to listen to him. He is continually concerned that he did not pay enough attention to his sons. His sons adore him, and he tries tirelessly to make good relationships.

Appearance: He is a skeleton werewolf with a tail. He has bright red eyes. He has five scars on his eyes. Two on the bottom of his left and three on top of his right. He can change into a skeletal wolf.

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@kioko-noodles / @kiokodoodles @miscneilleaneous @und3rwat3r-a5tr0naut @hearty-dose-of-ranch @caycanteven @didderd @miscneilleaneous

#werewolf boys #werewolf fellswap carnelian sans #werewolf fellswap carnelian papyrus #werewolf fellswap carnelian gaster #werewolf underfell sans #werewolf underfell papryus #werewolf underfell gaster #info dump #info #lots of info #ut au imagines #ut au #ut au headcanon #ut au headcanons #undertale imagines #undertale headcanons #undertale au headcanons

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mvsicinthedvrk · 7 months

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i'm doing something a little different for my event prep-- because i'm on hiatus the rest of the month, i don't really have the ability to do much reaching out to plot (though if you pop into my dms unprompted to plot, feel free, as i'll definitely get back to you to chat when i'm able) and i need to make sure i keep my threads to a manageable number. but i still want to be able to be active during the event when i can! especially since other threads will be paused!

so below is my list of event threads; i'm limiting myself to 3ish per character for the time being with the understanding that i'm also willing to stretch it to more if there's pairings i really want to write for.

if you want me to write a starter, please request one below (limit 2 per member for now, please). i probably won't pre-plot with you much but i'll roll for the situation on my end as soon as u request them & add that info below so you have a general idea of what the conflict in the thread will be.

**and then this is the untraditional part of the starter call: there's obviously no obligation, but if you want to volunteer to write any starter(s) for a pairing, please also feel free to let me know below, so i can add that to my total thread count. i would love that. i likely won't be going through your starter calls to request things, not because i don't want to write with you all, but because i don't want to impose when there's a high chance i won't be around as much as usual

i'll also note that i don't think i'll be killing off any of my characters during this event, even temporarily, and if you want to kill off any of your muses, i'd honestly prefer you do it in a thread that's not with one of mine, but if you feel really strongly about it, we can definitely plot, i just need a heads up. thank u for understanding!

total thread count (list last updated saturday 10/14 at 9am):

bold is for my notes; means i need to write it still and strikethrough is that it's already written (written 19/20)

wei wuxian-- SLOTS FULL

one: writing wei wuxian and dream for alex (rolled: rat with a gun)

two: wei wuxian & yanli (aria writing)

three: wei wuxian & vic for swan (rolled: children with pumpkins for heads)

four: wei wuxian & cangse sanren (rolled: living corn attempting to eat u but it's still the size of regular corn)

five: wei wuxian & han solo (rolled: skeletons)

xie lian-- SLOTS FULL

one: writing hualian for mia (rolled: crossing stream)

two: xie lian & feng xin (kasey writing)

three: writing xie lian & mu qing for june (rolled: quicksand mud)

four: xie lian & shen qiao (june writing)

five: xie lian & sophie (rolled: a hoard of geese)

wen kexing-- 1 slot available

one: wenzhou (atlas writing)

two:

he xuan-- SLOTS FULL

one: writing beefleaf for sunny (rolled: poisonous gas)

two: writing he xuan & chunyu for kasey (rolled: giant spiders)

sha hualing-- SLOTS FULL

one: writing sha hualing & shang qinghua for sunny (rolled: murderous clown)

two: writing sha hualing & tina for risa (rolled: gritty)

liu qingge-- 1 slot available

one: liu qingge & anya (violet writing)

two:

loid forger-- SLOTS FULL

one: writing loid & anya for mia (rolled: werewolf)

two: writing loid & yor for kasey (rolled: giant table and feast)

dongfang qingcang-- 1 slot available

one: dongfang qingcang & xiao lanhua (kasey writing)

two:

chu wanning-- 1 slot available

one: ranwan (kasey writing)

two:

filippa kosta-- 1 slot available

one: writing filippa & cordelia for alex (rolled: high winds)

two:

qi yan-- 1 slot available

one: qi yan & laudna for cassie (rolled: giant spiderweb)

two:

kaz brekker-- SLOTS FULL

one: kaz & inej (sunny writing)

two: kaz & ninoma (alex writing)

three: writing kaz & wylan for aria (rolled: dead end/spores/drunk)

mo xi-- 1 slot available pls give him some love

one: june writing a surprise starter for mo xi and somebody

two:

pei ming-- 1 slot available

one: pei ming & bond (risa writing)

two: pei ming & heidi for swan (rolled: werewolf)

three:

lee rang-- SLOTS FULL

one: rang & yeon (atlas writing)

two: also lee rang & jang yeo hee (atlas writing)

two: lee rang & yuri for violet (rolled: whispering plant life)

xiao chiye-- SLOTS FULL

one: writing chiye & zechuan for june (rolled: werewolf, followed by truth zone)

two: chiye & qi zhuyin (june writing)

lu junyi -- 1 slot available

one: writing junyi & jasmine for moon (rolled: frozen tundra of corn)

two:

#hw: starter call #sort of #long post tw #hwevent16 #death mention tw #spider mention tw #clown mention tw #weapons mention tw

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aquilacalvitium · 20 days

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Rating my favourite fictional characters on how much I'd trust them to do my top surgery

Wander 🎩🪕(Wander Over Yonder) - Bugs Bunny level antics that waste about eleven minutes of everyone's lives and leave every single person convinced he couldn't do it. It would be the cleanest and easiest top surgery on record and I would walk away unscathed.

Commander Peepers 👁💥(Wander Over Yonder) - He'd take it deadly seriously and spend the whole thing nervously sweating. He would get it done but it wouldn't be flawless. Gods help me if Hater walks into the room during the surgery.

Jack Skellington 💀🎃(Nightmare Before Christmas) - A scientific and analytical mind bodes well for surgery. However. He is a skeleton and I'm fairly certain he doesn't understand how human bodies work or that we can't dismantle ourselves like some monsters. 0/10. Love him to bits. Wouldn't trust him as far as I can throw one of his rib bones.

Fantoccio 🧵🎭(Billie Bust Up) - I mean... I think? He'd take it seriously enough but I'm not sure he'd know what he was doing.

Barnaby 🦉☠️(Billie Bust Up) - Are. You. Fucking. Kidding. Me. ☠️☠️☠️

Alastor 🦌🔪(Hazbin Hotel) - Must I repeat the above. ☠️☠️☠️

Ingo/Emmet 🔼🔽🚂(Pokemon) - Yeah actually I think they'd do well. They'd take it seriously, do it flawlessly and I'd walk away with a chest flatter than Emmet's hopes and dreams after Ingo got Isekai'd

Sun/Moon ☀️🌙(FNAF) - Ha. HA. HAHAHA. I can't trust them with children's safety scissors.

The Innocent 🪁🐕(Koozå) - Sir/Ma'am/Other title. That is a child.

The Trickster 🪄🎁(Koozå) - Wouldn't even need to go under. I have seen this man summon people out of nothing, my chest would be flat before I could blink. He'd make a performance out of it though and probably make me feel not entirely safe because he is peak moral ambiguity.

The Doctor ⏳️🌌(Doctor Who) - One would take it seriously but I wouldn't trust his unsteady hands. Two would probably have an anxiety attack so that's a nope. Three, Four and Five I trust to get it done safely and seriously. Honestly Six is... well he's certainly the most eccentric regeneration so probably not. Seven I'm not sure would do it properly even though he could take it seriously. Then again he could surprise me, he's more compitent than he appears. Eight and Nine? Ah shit I dunno honestly. Ten's a yes, Eleven is a huge nope, Twelve is a very safe yes and Thirteen is also a safe yes. Fourteen is just Ten repeated so also a yes. I don't know Fifteen well enough to say yet.

James "Jamie" McCrimmon 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🗡(Doctor Who) - He's got the steady hands and seriousness needed, yes. Unfortunately he is from the 18th century and about sixty years before anaesthesia was invented.

Sebastian 🖥🕸(Stardew Valley) - Yeah, actually. I think he'd take it seriously and have steady enough hands for it. I'm in safe company there 👍

Nico the Accordion Man 🪗⚙️(Kurios) - ??? I have no idea??? He's a handyman which bodes well and whatever he was doing with his fingers during Hypnotique tells me he's got the hands for it, but also Have You Seen the Way This Man Moves?

Chief Clown 🤡🎪(Classic Doctor Who) - (Oh yeah I'm getting hella obscure for some of these characters.) I'm pretty sure this man is a homicidal maniac. I have seen the face he makes when he kills someone. I wouldn't trust this lunatic within one mile of me while I am fully conscious and he is unarmed. Especially considering he has been unarmed every time I have seen him kill.

Sweet Cap'n Cakes 🎶🥯(Deltarune) - I love these three adorable sweethearts with my whole chest. And if I let them near my chest with anything sharp I'm afraid I won't have anything left to love them with.

Rouxls Kaard ♥️♦️♠️♣️(Deltarune) - This man. This indigo beanpole. This walking homosexual disaster. Can't make a puzzle more complex than "put box on button." Respectfully and deeply affectionately... ✨️no✨️

Wally Darling 👁🍎(Welcome Home) -

Hatbox Ghost 🎩🦯(Haunted Mansion) - NO. To both film and ride versions for different reasons.

Ghost Host 🪓➰️(Haunted Mansion) - 2023 film Hosty? Never. Put that axe down, sir. Ride Hosty? Well... He's a goober who's not half as dangerous as he appears. But I still wouldn't trust him to know what he's doing or particularly care too much if he accidentally killed me.

The Phantom 💀🎩(Phantom Manor) - Quite honestly I couldn't say. This man was adept at murder but only when given a reason, like his victims wanting to marry his daughter. I can thankfully say that I am queer enough for that to not apply to me. Doesn't make me trust him though.

The Prophet 🖤🎤(Legion of the Black) - Uh. Yeah, I think so. Yeah I think I'd be in okay hands, it wouldn't be flawless but it'd get done well enough.

Captain Rex 🪖🚀(Star Wars: The Clone Wars) - While I'd like to say battlefield first aid would give him some experience - which is true - surgeries are left up to droids. But even so I would say I'd be in safe hands. I trust him to get the job done well.

Ahsoka Tano 🗡🔶️(Star Wars: The Clone Wars) - Oh yeah. OH yeah. Safer than a Jedi holocron in the Jedi Temple library vault (before Cad Bane showed up, anyway).

Natemare 👁🎸(Natewantstobattle) - Ah yes because that is a level of mental instability that I trust to safely and confidently give me surgery. /s

Phantom 📜✒️ (Natewantstobattle) - If you know Phantom you're probably expecting a no, but he holds up his ends of any deal he makes! I absolutely trust him to give me the easiest, cleanest surgery ever. What I don't trust him to do is let me enjoy it for long because whoopsy-doopsy I'm now trapped inside his cane forever.

Lukas 🐈📖(Minecraft Story Mode) - Oh honey no, you stick to your books. He can kick ass and write a good story but he could never perform a surgery.

Helsknight ⚔️🔥(Hermitcraft) - The only things this man knows are Quote Meme, Rap and Be Pathetic. He made a pitfall trap for Welsknight because he forgot that literally every single Hermit has elytra and can fly, and then boasted about it, only to get deeply humbled. He has a total brain cell count of -1. I think you know my opinion.

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excessdrive · 7 months

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☆ –– (jodie comer, they/them, non-binary) who is killian meijer anyways? ew. you don’t know about them, we’ll bet you want to. they’re feeling 30 and cooking feels like a perfect night to them. rumor has it they’re stubborn and hedonistic because they care, but they’re also loyal and versatile in the best way. they work to make a little money as a personal trainer. they’ve rented on a place on cornelia street in the form of brownstone 12. call it what you want is the song they could dance to the beat of forevermore.

GENERAL STATISTICS:

NAME: killian meijer NICKNAMES: n/a AGE: thirty BIG THREE: aries sun, scorpio moon, taurus rising DATE OF BIRTH: march 24, 1993 PLACE OF BIRTH: rotterdam, the netherlands CURRENT RESIDENCE: brownstone 12, cornelia street (nyc) OCCUPATION: lawyer (formerly) self-defense trainer (currently) PRONOUNS: they/them GENDER: non-binary SEXUALITY: homosexual SKELETON: call it what you want (muse b)

APPEARANCE:

FACECLAIM: jodie comer EYE COLOR: hazel HAIR COLOR: dark blonde HEIGHT: 5′ 8 / 1.73 cm TATTOOS: full right sleeve – angel wings (ref) SCARS: several light scars along their arms and one more visible one on their neck due to glass cuts during a fight

RELATIONSHIPS:

PARENTS: lars meijer (father), gwen meijer (mother) SIBLINGS: daan meijer (younger brother) CURRENT PARTNER: tba PAST PARTNERS: ex-fiancée of four years; tba SITUATIONSHIPS: tba

PERSONALITY:

POSITIVE TRAITS: witty, charming, passionate, caring, loyal, flexible, protective. NEGATIVE TRAITS: stubborn, possessive, short-tempered, jealous, perfectionist, self-destructive, self-critical. LOVE LANGUAGE: physical touch, acts of service MBTI: infj

BACKSTORY:

killian meijer was born in a well-respected family of lawyers. the meijers were known primarily for their main craft, therefore from very early age lars and gwen meijers were preparing young killian for their upcoming successful career as an attorney. even before killian started attending school, they were constantly exposed to an extensive library filled with law material. there was no room for questions or doubts regarding their future.

when killian turned five, daan meijer, killian's younger brother, was born. the family decided to move from the netherlands to the states, where lar’s older brother resided, seeking even better professional opportunities for their children. Up until high school, killian lived in boston, but had to move to new york to finish high school and continue with law school afterwards.

during their last year in law school, killian met mila – the love of their life. or so they thought. the two hit it off almost instantly, falling head over heals for each other faster than they could realize. the elder meijer’s, however, upon finding out about mila, did not seem too pleased with killian’s pick for a mate, but did not impose their opinion upon killian too much during that time either.

four years later, the couple had moved in together and were building their own reputation as established lawyers. kllian had taken up a side job and was saving for their own place they could call home that both of them planned to buy in the following couple of years. not long after, killian proposed and the pair was now planning their upcoming wedding. however, the dream life had eventually come to an end. during one of their usual mornings, killian woke up to find their apartment empty. mila was nowhere to be found. they had not seen her since. well, at least not in person. the following month killian made a devastating discover. thanks to social media, they managed to track mila down, who now was back with her ex-boyfriend, who had just returned from his military training. It was later revealed that killian’s parents paid mila handsomely for her to return to her old life and never to come back. what hurt the most? not only did mila accept that offer, but made no effort, whatsoever, to contact killian again. as if the life they had been building for the past four years did not exist.

that was the last straw for killian. they had cut all ties with their parents ever since finding out about mila. another year passed and they decided to quit their job. with their parents out of the picture and no one else to control them, killian decided to explore their true desires and aspirations.

the older meijer always enjoyed helping people. that was the main reason why they pushed through law school and several years working as a lawyer, falsely believing they were protecting people, when, the law system was just as corrupt as any other. they found themselves defending offenders in court, while the actual victims did not receive proper justice. and so, killian swore to themselves to do all that was in their power to prevent any more of such assaults against women and people from happening ever again. that’s how they ended up receiving their self-defense certification and became a personal trainer, helping anyone and everyone who was interested in learning how to defend themselves.

at the same time, killian seemed to struggle with the fact that they had left their younger brother daan with their parents, who, no doubt, were also forcing him to follow their footsteps. the meijer siblings used to be rather close during childhood but had drifted apart since killian moved to new york for studies. although the two managed to have a call or two per month, that was nowhere close to resembling the proper bond they used to have back in the day, not to mention any healthy bond that any siblings shared.

not being able to properly deal with the guilt of “leaving daan behind” and the grief of losing mila, along with a lot of suppressed emotions since childhood that resulted in anger-issues, killian was persuaded by their best friend to start attending therapy. It proved to be a challenging start to a long journey, but they have been showing up consistently for the past year, which had to be a good sign.

when they are not training others, killian spends their free time outdoors, engaging in various sports, such as hockey from time to time (it used to be their main hobby back in their high school era), volleyball and even skateboarding once in a blue moon. as they got older, killian also found new appreciation for sightseeing and cooking. now they treat themselves with warm meals and never forget to surprise their closest friends with their “weekly delights”.

WANTED CONNECTIONS:

(OPEN) Best friend / ride or die – they met in high school and although the two of them did not seem to have a lot in common, they became inseparable. they were there for each other during all of their ups and downs and killian has to thank them for being there during the devastating end with mila and everything afterwards. they were that one person killian could always rely on, their rock. in return, killian filled that same role for their best friend and more. no matter how tough things became.

Casual friends – people killian met along the way, whether it was school, work, through their hobbies or through shared experiences.

One-night stands / flings – ever since fall-out with mila, killian had at least a few of these here and there, so feel free to throw any possible ideas my way!

Situationships – any connection that had/has the potential to become something more, but either never managed to properly get off the ground, one or both of them were unsure of how to approach it or it is still in its early stages.

Rivals – it’s no secret that killian is a sucker for a good competition. especially when the competition is about something they are passionate about. (open to literally any and all ideas!)

(OPEN) Mentor / parental figure – since killian had cut all ties with their parents, they could use an older parental figure who, when in need, could help ground killian somewhat and guide them on the right path by sharing their personal experiences

(OPEN) Mentee / younger sibling figure – as the odds seem to be against killian spending more time with daan, they are subconsciously looking for someone they could protect and guide through life. the trainer is no stranger to tough experiences, therefore it is easy for them to spot when someone else is going through a hard time and well… they will be there to help them.

this introduction will be continuously updated with new details and/or new connections, so keep an eye out for that! highly recommend to check back in here from time to time!

If anyone made it this far, GREAT JOB! please feel free to share any and all ideas/suggestions you may have regarding killian and your muses! I have no doubt that we will come up with some exceptional stories!

#cornelia.intro #come at me with everything and anything you got 😳

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fistfuloflightning · 1 year

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the youngest skellington child

"—four or five skeleton children, in their xylophone band—“

#nightmare before christmas #my art #I originally meant for her to have flowers on her face like calaveras #hence the lines already there #but i got distracted #tnbc #skellington

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tagthescullion · 1 year

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Il Minuetto della Ragazza

Fandom(s): Percy Jackson and the Olympians

Rating: T

Summary: Bianca di Angelo is alive. Alive and upset, confused, desperate… Camp Half Blood lost her little brother, and there’s nothing she wouldn’t do to bring him home safe.

AO3 link

Ch One - Ch Two - Ch Three - Ch Four - Ch Five - Ch Six - Ch Seven - Ch Eight - Ch Nine

Chapter Ten: The Fury

“Fury? As in, she’s furious?”

“As in Hades’ minions, Bianca,” Thalia whispered. Her hand was getting close to her bracelet.

The old woman –the Fury– turned towards them.

No, not towards them. Towards Bianca.

“Shit,” Thalia said, getting up brusquely. “Let’s go. Ludi, you have my back, keep Bianca out of sight as much as possible.”

“I can defend myself!” Bianca said.

“Not now,” Thalia snapped. “You do as I say.”

Thalia was about to run straight towards the Fury, who tilted her head as if recognising the daughter of Zeus.

“Wait!” Bianca yelled. She stepped in front of Thalia, who looked murderous.

“Bianca, Furies don’t fuck around,” she said, gritting her teeth. “Get out of my way, or I’ll–”

“She wants to talk to me,” Bianca blurted out. She wasn’t sure why she knew, but she was certain.

“Are you out of your mind?!”

“Let her,” Ludovica said. “She’s right. It wants to talk to her.”

Thalia was looking between them as if they’d gone mad.

“We’ll be a step away if anything happens,” Ludovica reassured their lieutenant. “But it won’t hurt Bianca.”

Bianca stared at the older girl. Why would she defend her? She knew the Hunters tried to stand up for each other, but Ludovica’s statement was as determined as Bianca felt.

She shook her head, she’d ask Ludovica later. Now, she had a Fury to meet.

Bianca walked towards the monster, who leaned into a cane she carried as part of her disguise.

“You’re not an easy person to find,” the Fury remarked once Bianca reached her.

It took Bianca a moment to realise the monster wasn’t talking in English. The language sounded familiar to her, Greek perhaps.

“I was…” She didn’t know how to finish that sentence. “Lost, for a while.”

The Fury nodded. “The Labyrinth is no place for children of the gods. Not even your kin.”

“My kin?”

“Your brothers and sisters have an affinity for underground places, for darkness,” the Fury studied Bianca’s face. “But Daedalus’ maze is off limits. It’s a cursed place.”

Bianca already knew the maze was a nasty, godless place, but she was curious about the first part.

“You know who my father is,” she said.

The Fury cackled. For a moment, her old lady costume faded and Bianca saw her for what she really was. Her wrinkled hands turned into leathery-skin claws and her eyes became a sickly yellow.

“You know who he is too.”

Bianca wanted to deny it. For once, she truly wanted the last tendrils of ignorance to hold in her brain.

But the clues were all there: the burning skeleton back in the quest, that feeling of knowing when a person was dying or dead, how comfortable she felt in the dark, and well… the fact that a Fury, a minion of Hades, as Thalia had said, had gone out of her way for a chat.

“Did my father send you?” She asked the Fury.

The monster smiled. A creepy grin, leaving all her dirty teeth out in the open.

“He’s… worried, you could say,” the Fury said. “About your brother.”

Bianca felt a cloud of indignation overshadow her curiosity for a moment. Really? Hades, Lord of the Dead, King of the Underworld, had sent his servant to tell Bianca he worried about Nico. After he’d done nothing to keep Nico safe when she’d disappeared?

Swallowing the bitter taste in her mouth, she asked: “Do you know where he is?”

“I know where he was,” the Fury shrugged. “But that is of no use. You’ll find answers in New York.”

We know that already, Bianca wanted to say.

“I don’t suppose my father sent any faster means of transportation than a bus, did he?” She tried not to sound angry.

“Lord Hades leaves lesser tasks such as travelling to lesser gods,” the Fury scoffed. “But if you were to find your way to Chicago on the night of the 21st of April, you might find safe passage to New York.”

Before Bianca could reply that that was the vaguest advice she’d ever received, the Fury let out a hellish high-pitched scream and disappeared in a puff of dark dust.

Bianca pressed her hands into fists so hard out of pure frustration that she feared she’d made her palms bleed.

“What in Hades was that?” She heard Thalia demand.

She coughed once. How fitting that Thalia would ask that.

“She said we’re on the right path, going to New York,” Bianca replied. “And that we should try to get to Chicago.”

Thalia frowned. “Why did a Fury give advice? Only a fool would do what those bitches want.”

Ludovica laid a hand on Thalia’s arm carefully.

“We shouldn’t be too quick to decide,” she said. “Did the Fury explain why it wanted us there?”

“She said there’d be a safe way to New York from there.” Bianca shrugged.

“I don’t like it,” Thalia insisted. “Hades is interested in us for some reason. Whatever his goals are, I will not be part of it.”

She stomped her foot and stormed off.

Ludovica surprised her by staying at her side.

“You must tell her eventually,” she said. “She’ll find out, it’s better if she hears it from you.”

“But I don’t know what the Fury meant by safe passage,” Bianca said.

Ludovica tilted her head. “I meant about why Hades sent the Fury to talk to you.”

Bianca paled. Ludovica knew? Is that why she’d been so sure the monster wouldn’t hurt Bianca?

“How—?”

But before she could ask whether Ludovica had always known, or whether she’d figured it out by lucky-guessing, Phoebe materialised beside them.

Why is Thalia upset?” She asked. She sounded rather defensive.

“This time?” Ludovica asked innocently.

Phoebe gave her a look.

“We’ve been told to stop in Chicago on our way to New York,” Ludovica said. “She’s afraid it’s a trap.”

“And is it, do you think?” Phoebe asked.

Ludovica shook her head. “I doubt it. It seemed like legitimate advice.”

“Advice by…?”

“That old lady who was lurking by the snack machine,” Ludovica replied vaguely. “She wasn’t an old lady, after all.”

“Right,” Phoebe said. “Was she a goddess? It wasn’t Artemis, she would’ve told us all.”

“It was Apollo,” Ludovica lied. She said it so nonchalantly it surprised Bianca.

“Apollo?” Phoebe raised an eyebrow. “He usually shows-off.”

“He pretended to be a homeless man in our quest,” Bianca offered. “He… he helped us a bit, but he said he couldn’t do so openly.”

Phoebe rolled her eyes. “Gods and their ridiculous rules. His sister was captured and he ‘couldn’t help’. You’d imagine Olympus would allow exceptions to save their own.”

Bianca nodded. She understood that exasperation well.

They sat down to wait.

Bianca was still uneasy. She wanted to ask Ludovica how she knew Hades was her father, but Phoebe was sitting between them, and she wasn’t ready to tell all of them just yet.

She knew Ludovica was right to say she had to tell Thalia before she found out through other people. She’d never trust Bianca again. But then, how did one tell their leader one’s father was the reason they’d lost almost a decade of their life?

The thought alone made her cringe with anger. Why? Why had he done such an awful thing? Bianca couldn’t remember him well, but she was keenly aware of a feeling of safety she felt when she thought of him. She was sure he’d been around when she and Nico had been little. How could the same entity be responsible for Thalia’s —her cousin’s— unfortunate fate?

There must have been a reason. She combed her mind for the answer, but it was one of the many memories he couldn’t reach. If she even knew at all. For all she could guess, gods had periods of savagery when they attacked relatives at random.

At last, the time to catch the bus arrived. It allowed Bianca’s wandering mind a respite.

There were few passengers other than them: a mother with a child and an old cranky man who’d given Sasha, one of the older girls, an inappropriate look which prompted Thalia to push him brusquely.

The good news was Thalia was no longer upset —nasty man aside—. She’d sat down happily, propped her feet on the top of the seat in front of hers, and donned a dark pair of sunglasses —not very useful considering the darkening sky outside—.

She looked asleep, but Bianca thought she might’ve been pretending to have some time to think.

Bianca thought she’d never be able to sleep herself, but her exhaustion beat her restless brain, and she lost consciousness the moment she slumped on her seat.

Immersed in the world of dreams she felt as if she was changing radio frequencies, unsure of where to stay. Images flashed through her mind, and bits of conversation filtered through her brain.

She felt a pull, as if something or somebody was pushing her sideways, towards a particular scene of the ones flashing in front of her eyes.

She felt her body moving faster, accelerating until the vertigo made her close her eyes.

“Make it stop!”

Her words were lost into her surroundings, but she got her wish.

With an abrupt break, Bianca fell on her knees.

#bianca di angelo #thalia grace #nico di angelo #hunters of artemis #pjo #hoo #toa #pjo hoo toa #riordanverse #pjo fic #il minuetto #mis fics #tagthescullion

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intriguingpeoplebyangelafloyd · 6 months

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DAVE PELZER

1960

A Child Called ‘It’ (1995 memoir)

Dave Pelzer from California is best known for his memoir A Child Called ‘It’ (1995) which was an account of being singled out as a child and being abused by his mother during the 1960s and 1970s. The book helped bring awareness of child abuse and mothers who abuse their children.

His mother Catherine Roerva (Pelzer) (1929-1992) singled Dave out from amongst his brothers and would lash out at him. She physically and emotionally abused him from the age of 4 to 12. His mother starved him, forced him to drink ammonia, stabbed him in the stomach, burned his arm on a gas stove, and forced him to eat his own vomit. She would refer to Dave as ‘It’ and would exclude Dave on family holidays. Dave craved the love and acceptance of his mother and on the odd occasion, she would show him love and tenderness. Dave and his family have admitted that Catherine had a drinking problem, was frustrated due to raising her five children and there was also the possibility that she was mentally ill.

His father Stephen Pelzer (1923-1980) turned a blind eye to the abuse and didn’t do anything to stop it. His father who was also a heavy drinker left his wife because he couldn’t handle her anger problems anymore. Stephen died in 1980.

Dave said in his book that a teacher became aware of the abuse and helped put Dave, aged 12, into foster care in 1973. His mother Catherine was never tried or prosecuted for her child abuse crimes and continued raising her children. She died in 1992.

Dave spent time with his parents as an adult and that his mother told him that if he hadn’t been rescued she would have killed ‘It’.

Dave’s brother, Stephen said that the reason why David went into foster care was that “he started a fire and was caught shoplifting”. Dave said that Stephen “worshipped my mum. He misses her terribly because she protected him.”

Dave’s brother, Richard B. Pelzer published his own autobiography, A Brother’s Journey (2000) that detailed his own experiences. Richard affirms much of what Dave had said in his own book and described his own abuse when David was removed from the family home. Dave claimed that Richard as a child participated in his mother’s abuse, sided with his mother against David, but when Dave was sent into foster care Richard said that he was his mother’s next victim.

The five brothers have not kept in touch, Richard was shocked when he first saw Dave’s book in the stores and read the book all in one go. He was shocked and angry that his brother had opened the family closet and exposed its skeletons.

It was at their mother’s funeral in 1992 which brought the five brothers together for the first time since they were living together as children. Catherine’s Will stated that her estate would be split amongst her four sons and purposely left Dave out of her Will. The four boys let Dave have his fair share of the money even though there was little money to go around.

Richard said that he doesn’t know Dave and all they share is the same last name. When Dave was in Boston giving a lecture, he and Richard met up to have a talk for a few hours and Richard stated that they were both a little standoffish.

The boy’s grandmother “Gram”, Catherine’s mother, did not live in the same state as the family and had little contact with them during their childhood. She said that her daughter didn’t permit her to see her grandchildren and she believes it was due to her daughter’s problems with alcohol. She said that she believes that Dave was abused but she believes he exaggerated events. She believes Richard was lying about being abused because he never previously told her about it and she believes he only said he was abused to make money. Gram stated that the boy’s brothers don’t approve of Dave and Richard’s books.

Their brother Kenneth believes that Richard was ‘mentally abused’ by their mother but said that Richard ‘had an entirely different memory than mine’.

At the age of 18, Dave joined the US Air Force in 1979 and served in the Gulf War. During the 1980s he was married and the couple had a son, the couple divorced and he remarried.

Dave Pelzer released his second book, The Lost Boy: A Foster Child’s Search for the Love of a Family (1997) which covers what happened to Dave as a teenager. His third book, A Man Named Dave: A Story of Triumph and Forgiveness (1999) is about his life as an adult and how he forgave his father. Dave continued writing self-help books about recovering from abuse and healing.

#davepelzer#achildcalledit

#dave pelzer #davepelzer #a child alled it

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geminicollisionworks · 11 months

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Happy Birthday to Mr. Dashiell Hammett.

THE FLITCRAFT PARABLE:

Spade sat down in the armchair beside the table and without any preliminary, without an introductory remark of any sort, began to tell the girl about a thing that had happened some years before in the Northwest. He talked in a steady matter-of-fact voice that was devoid of emphasis or pauses, though now and then he repeated a sentence slightly rearranged, as if it were important that each detail be related exactly as it had happened.

At the beginning Brigid O'Shaughnessy listened with only partial attentiveness, obviously more surprised by his telling the story than interested in it, her curiousity more engaged with his purpose in telling the story than with the story he told; but presently, as the story went on, it caught her more and more fully and she became still and receptive.

A man named Flitcraft had left his real-estate-office, in Tacoma, to go to luncheon one day and had never returned. He did not keep an engagement to play golf after four that afternoon, though he had taken the initiative in making the engagement less than half an hour before he went out to luncheon. His wife and children never saw him again. His wife and he were supposed to be on the best of terms. He had two children, boys, one five and the other three. He owned his house in a Tacoma suburb, a new Packard, and the rest of the appurtenances of successful American living.

Flitcraft had inherited seventy thousand dollars from his father, and, with his sucess in real estate, was worth something in the neighbourhood of two hundred thousand dollars at the time he vanished. His affairs were in order, though there were enough loose ends to indicate that he had not been setting them in order preparatory to vanishing. A deal that would have brought him an attractive profit, for instance, was to have been concluded the day after the one on which he diappeared. There was nothing to suggest that he had more than fifty or sixty dollars in his immediate posession at the time of his going. His habits for months past could be accounted for too thoughly to justify any suspicion of secret vices, or even of another woman in his life, though either was barely possible.

"He went like that," Spade said, "like a fist when you open your hand.

"... Well, that was in 1922. In 1927 I was with one of the big detective agencies in Seattle. Mrs. Flitcraft came in and told us somebody had seen a man in Spokane who looked a lot like her husband. I went over there. It was Flitcraft, all right. He had been living in Spokane for a couple of years as Charles - that was his first name - Pierce. He had a automobile-business that was netting him twenty or twenty-five thousand a year, a wife, a baby son, owned his home in a Spokane suburb, and usually got away to play golf after four in the afternoon during the season."

Spade had not been told very definitely what to do when he found Flitcraft. They talked in Spade's room at the Davenport. Flitcraft had no feeling of guilt. He had left his first family well provided for, and what he had done seemed to him perfectly reasonable. The only thing that bothered him was a doubt that he could make that reasonableness clear to Spade. He had never told anybody his story before, and thus had not had to attempt to make its reasonableness explicit. He tried now.

"I got it all right," Spade told Brigid O'Shaughnessy, "but Mrs. Flitcraft never did. She thought it was silly. Maybe it was. Anyway it came out all right. She didn't want any scandal, and, after the trick he had played on her - the way she looked at it - she didn't want him. So they were divorced on the quiet and everything was swell all around.

"Here's what happened to him. Going to lunch he passed an office-building that was being put up - just the skeleton. A beam or something fell eight or ten stories down and smacked the sidewalk alongside him. It brushed pretty close to him, but didn't touch him, though a piece of the sidewalk was chipped off and flew up and hit his cheek. It only took a piece of skin off, but he still had the scar when I saw him. He rubbed it with his finger - well, affectionately - when he told me about it. He was scared stiff of course, he said, but he was more shocked than really frightened. He felt like somebody had taken the lid off life and let him look at the works."

Flitcraft had been a good citizen and a good husband and father, not by any outer compulsion, but simply because he was a man most comfortable in step with his surroundings. He had been raised that way. The people he knew were like that. The life he knew was a clean orderly sane responsible affair. Now a falling beam had shown him that life was fundamentally none of these things. He, the good citizen-husband-father, could be wiped out between office and restaurant by the accident of a falling beam. He knew then that men died at haphazard like that, and lived only while blind chance spared them.

It was not, primarily, the injustice of it that disturbed him: he accepted that after the first shock. What disturbed him was the discovery that in sensibly ordering his affairs he had got out of step, and not in step, with life. He said he knew before he had gone twenty feet from the fallen beam that he would never know peace until he had adjusted himself to this new glimpse of life. By the time he had eaten his luncheon he had found his means of adjustment. Life could be ended for him at random by a falling beam: he would change his life at random by simply going away. He loved his family, he said, as much as he supposed was usual, but he knew he was leaving them adequately provided for, and his love for them was not of the sort that would make absence painful.

He went to Seattle that afternoon," Spade said, "and from there by boat to San Francisco. For a couple of years he wandered around and then drifted back to the Northwest, and settled in Spokane and got married. His second wife didn't look like the first, but they were more alike than they were different. You know, the kind of women that play fair games of golf and bridge and like new salad-recipes. He wasn't sorry for what he had done. It seemed reasonable enough to him. I don't think he even knew he had settled back naturally in the same groove he had jumped out of in Tacoma. But that was the part of it I always liked. He adjusted himself to beams falling, and then no more of them fell, and he adjusted himself to them not falling."

from Dashiell Hammett's

The Maltese Falcon, 1929

Chapter 7, "G in the Air"

#dashiell hammett #heroes #the maltese falcon #the flitcraft parable #favorite writing #sam spade #influences

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dhundertale · 1 year

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Monsters: Reproduction & Relationships

This applies to all our UTDR AUs!

Its a long lore-dump, but honestly, we're really proud of the details ^^ A lot of thought was put into this.

(Also check out our guide to different species in our UTDR AUs.)

Reproduction:

Monsters of any gender and sex can create children together. Sexual activity is not required to create children, however many monsters have sex for fun with their romantic partners.

The first (and most common) way for monsters to create a child is to perform a magical ritual, using any excess magic produced by their souls. All souls involved temporarily merge together, and create a new mini-soul, which attaches itself to whatever parent has better health and/or less LOVE. That is how monster pregnancy/egg-creation begins and how monster babies are made.

The ritual can also be performed between monsters and a human, but humans cannot perform this with other humans, since only Monsters are born with the magic that makes the ritual possible.

The second way is by mixing their souls together. Mixing of souls is usually only done if a disabled Monster needs to borrow magic from a loved one, which is a very serious medical procedure. It usually can be done without resulting in pregnancy of any kind…however, If the amount of magic being used is not being monitored properly, excess magic may result in an unexpected pregnancy as an after-effect. It is the only way Monsters have had accidental pregnancies.

Because sexual activity is not required to create a child, a decent number of monsters choose to have children together platonically. Friends, siblings, and cousins are known to create children together and co-parent.

Up to five parents can create a child together. More than that is risky and sometimes even five is too much. Its best for monsters to be medically checked before trying to create a child to see how much magic output they have. If their magic output combined is too high or too low, creating a baby could cause disabilities and deformities to grow in the child.

Pregnancy/Eggs:

Whether or not a monster lays eggs or gets pregnant depends on their monster-type.

Boss Monsters, Mammalian Monsters, and Elemental Monsters get pregnant and give live births.

Amphibian Monsters, Avian Monsters, and Reptilian Monsters lay eggs that will hatch their offspring.

Bug Monsters, Aquatic Monsters, Undead Monsters, Giantous Monsters, and Chimerian Monsters can have either eggs or get pregnant, depending on what traits their subspecies has.

When a monster baby is forming, a shield is created to protect the soul. This can be seen in monster-eggs, as the shells are made-of this shield. Rarely, it can be seen in monsters capable of pregnancy. For example, mammalian Skeletons (such as Sans/Papyrus, a humanoid-skeleton) do not have a natural stomach in place, so the magical-shield presents itself as a make-shift stomach.

Menstruation:

All monsters (regardless of their sex) “menstruate” their excess magic every month upon hitting puberty (unless they are infertile.) Monster menstruation is more painful than human menstruation, due to their menstruation being tied to their soul rather than an organ, which is the biggest downside to monster reproduction.

Symptoms of monster menstruation may include paralyzing cramps, muscle contractions (or pseudo-muscle contractions, for monsters that don’t have muscles), soul contractions, vomiting, delusions, dissociation, derealization, migraines, and physical illness. Monster menstruation typically lasts four-five days.

Attraction/Relationships:

Because Monster's soul traits are hope, compassions, and love, the way they perceive and enact relationships is oftentimes different from humans.

For one, polyamory is more common in Monsters than it is in humans. About 50% of monsters are polyamorous, 20% are ambiamorous, and 30% are monogamous.

Another thing that is more common in Monsters is queer-attraction. 70% of monsters are non-straight (gay, bi, pan, omni, poly, abro, etc) or non-allosexual (aro, ace, greyro, greyace, etc).

Platonix/Plataro (Queerplatonic)

Queerplatonic relationships (QPRs) are more common for Monsters to partake in than humans.

Monsters, however, were unaware of the human-given title "queerplatonic" (as they were underground when this term was created), so they titled these bonds as "Platonix" or "Plataro" relationships.

Soul-Binds

Soul-binds can be formed between lovers, queerplatonic partners, friends, and family members. It is the act of binding souls, for a lifelong partnership between two (or more) monsters (and humans may partake in it as well.)

Soul-binds can be described as a “platonic marriage” when put in the context of friendship/family members for humans understanding. But many lovers/QPRs do it as well, as it creates further intimacy.

People with soul-binds oftentimes share homes and create children. Soul-binds result in the ability to share emotions, memories, and thoughts through their souls' connections. Communicating through soul-binds is also possible, so 2+ people with a soul-bind can have conversations even when miles away.

Unlike QPRs, Soul-Binds can be performed between relatives. QPRs between relatives, on the other hand, would be incestual, as they are more than platonic, and may include intimate acts such as dates, intense kissing, and sometimes even sexual behavior, which is unacceptable between relatives.

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okimnerdy · 1 year

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Ninjago: Genesis

(Pt. 1 of Ninjago: Restoration)

Summary: Nothing interesting ever happened in the small, village of Ignacia. That is, until a couple skeletons kidnap Kai's little sister and an old man offers to teach him a powerful fighting style to save her. In matter of days, he's gone from a simple blacksmith to a fighter against evil.

Can he keep up with everything or will he save his sister and run?

Project Masterlist

°•°•°•°•°•

The sound of a hammer hitting metal echoed through the empty fields of Ignacia. It was a common sound to hear during the day, especially at the Four Weapons. The small village had slowly kept the smithery operational after the owner and his wife disappeared nearly a decade ago, leaving it to be run by their children once the eldest came of age.

Within the walls of the forge, a young man of fifteen toiled away in the heat of the shop as his younger sister of thirteen watched from the window.

The boy was of average height, skin tanned by the sun, and a mess of brown hair on his head. He worked sleeveless in the forge, showing off the muscles he gained from the job, much to the annoyance of his sister, but knew his brown eyes shone with amusement. His sister stood half a head shorter, her black hair cut just below her chin, and had tan skin to match but her eyes were a deep blue. She had been complimented on them a lot growing up, most saying looked just like her mother that way. Kai knew she wouldn't admit it outloud, but he knew Nya hated hearing that.

The Smith siblings had been doing their best to keep their parents' memory alive, but with no teacher, the boy was struggling to make the simplest of weapons. For example, take the sword he was currently working on.

“In order to make the perfect weapon,” he said, lifting the weapon from the anvil, “you need the right metal and plenty of heat. To cool it off,” he shifted to a trough of water and dunked the sword in, “you use water.”

He lifted the sword out far too quickly, groaning as the metal had twisted on itself. Seeing his reflection all bent and twisted had him letting out a sigh of frustration. His sister merely laughed from her perch in the window.

“You made it too quickly, Kai,” she said. “You have to be patient. I think I learned more from your apprenticeship than you did. Remember what they said?”

“No matter how much fire you have, experience isn’t something you learn overnight.” His voice was tired and monotone. “Nya, that may work for you but I have to do what I can to get products available. This shop is the last connection we have to mom and dad, and I want to do my best to keep it going for when they come back.”

“How are you so sure that they’re going to come back?” Kai watched his sister deflate in the window, cheeks all puffed up as she leaned on her arm. “I mean, it’s been a decade since they disappeared. Wouldn’t they have come back by now?”

Slowly setting down the ruined blade, Kai walked over to the window and placed a sweaty palm on her head. He had only been five when their parents vanished, leaving him and a three-year-old Nya alone on the front lawn. Ever since then, the people of Ignacia had helped raise them and teach them much of what they needed to know.

“They’ll come back one day, I know it. Until then, you get to deal with me.”

Nya’s laugh echoed through the building as he pulled her into a playful headlock, nearly dragging her through the window. His knuckles dug into her scalp as she tried to pry him away with more squeals of laughter before he released her with his own chuckle.

“Feel better?” He asked, picking up a rag to wipe his face. She nodded. “Good. Now, how’s school?”

The sound of the shop’s bell cut off her answer. Hopping down from her seat, she took position at the counter by the front door. Looking through the window, Kai took note of an elderly man with a long white beard browsing over the weaponry he managed to make properly.

“Hello sir,” Nya greeted, dropping into a more pleasant demeanor. “Welcome to the Four Weapons, what can we supply you with today?”

“Your metal is too loud and heavy,” the man stated, confusing the siblings. “They are too useful to slow one down, nothing here to aid in the art of stealth. All of your tools suit a samurai. Have you nothing for a ninja?”

“I’m sorry, but we don’t really cater to samurai or ninja, especially since the practice of those arts have seemed to die out over the past couple years." She took a breath and cleared her throat. "Most of our weapons are commissioned or for self-defense. If you are looking to commission something to suit those professions, we’d be more than willing to discuss pricing.”

The man studied her before turning to the window where Kai still stood, his eyes squinting before he turned back to Nya.

“No, but thank you for your time. I thought I’d find something special here.”

Without another word, the man turned and left the smithery. The siblings looked at each other confused before they returned to their conversation.

Not long after the man left, dark clouds began swirling over the village. Fearing rain, many farmers and market sellers closed up shop to take refuge. Kai had just finished killing the fire when screaming came from downfield.

Nya was already looking down, nervously twisting the bracelet on her arm. A thick gold band with a large ruby had adorned her wrist ever since she was ten, a planned birthday present from their mother. Kai laid a protective hand on her arm as large skeletal vehicles crested over the first hill.

“What are they?” She asked, voice shaking in fear.

“I don’t know, but get inside and hide. I’m going to go see if everyone else is okay.”

Running back inside, Kai put on his father’s old armor and took up the sword gifted to him on his tenth. Ensuring his sister was inside, he took off running down the field to find armored-clad skeletons roamed the field. Confused, he failed to hear one sneaking up behind him until he saw the shadow on the ground.

Turning around, he blocked the blow with the sword and caught the attention of the others. All of the skeletons converged on his position, channeling his ability to multitask. He held his ground for as long as he could, almost giving under the pressure, until a skeleton lost its head. Looking up, he found Nya a few feet away with her rope dart held taut in her hands.

“I told you to stay inside!” Kai yelled out.

“And let you have all the fun? I don’t think so!”

With a frustrated yell, Kai shot to his feet as Nya released another attack. Like a synchronized dance, the siblings took out skeleton after skeleton. Once the last one was nothing but scattered bones, he threw the sword to the ground before grabbing Nya by her arms.

“What were you thinking? You could’ve been hurt!” Her eyes shone with unshed tears before he pulled her into a tight hug. “I can’t lose you too, Nya.”

“I’m sorry,” she whispered as she returned the hug. Pulling away, she wiped away the few tears that escaped before her eyes widened in fear. “Kai!”

Kai felt something hard hit the back of his head and the world became blurry. He could barely register Nya leaving his hands and screaming for help before he hit the ground. Through his slowly shutting eyes, he watched as Nya was gagged and tied up before being shoved into one of the strange vehicles.

Waking with a gasp, Kai found himself in his room. A warm towel fell from his forehead as he sat up, confusion filling his brain.

“I wouldn’t move too quickly if I were you.” The elderly man from earlier walked into the room with a cup of tea. “That was quite a blow you took, any quick moves could worsen your state.”

“Where’s Nya?” The man hummed in question. “My sister, the girl you spoke to?”

“Ah yes, the skeleton’s prisoner.” Kai felt his heart drop. “She is with them, in a realm where no mortal can follow.”

“She’s dead?”

“Of course not!” The man looked appalled at the thought. “She is merely a guest in the Underworld. The skeleton that grabbed her was Samukai, King of the Underworld, and only took her on the order of Lord Garmadon. Now, Samukai never takes orders but to hear that he has put the level of danger to a higher level.”

“Hold on, time out. What are you talking about? What does this ‘Garmadon’ have to do with my sister being taken?”

“You should be asking what doesn’t Garmadon have to do with her capture. In fact, it has to do with a lot.” The man set down his cup. “Long ago, before time had a name, Ninjago was created by the First Spinjitzu Master.”

“Everyone knows that. It’s the first fairytale parents tell their kids.” Kai rolled his eyes before he considered it a bit further. “It’s not a fairytale, is it?”

“The First Spinjitzu Master used the Four Weapons of Spinjitzu to create the land as we know it,” he continued, ignoring the interruption, “the same four for which your shop got its name. These weapons were far too powerful for one man to handle alone, so when he passed, his two sons swore to protect them. However, the eldest was consumed by power and darkness, wishing to possess them alone. Do you recall what comes next?”

“The brothers fought.” Kai could practically hear his father’s voice telling him the story. “The loser was banished to the Underworld and the weapons were hidden, never to be found again.”

“That is where our stories differ. See the younger brother knew his brother too well, knowing that the elder wouldn’t give up. So the younger brother appointed a guardian to protect them, giving the guardian a map to hide in plain sight.” The man took a breath. “Your father was the most recent guardian, and I fear that they now have that map with your sister as a security measure.”

“So you came here looking for the map?”

“No, something greater - you.” Kai was taken aback. “Lord Garmadon cannot enter this realm, so he has struck a deal with Samukai. If he were to collect all four weapons, no one - not even I - would be able to stop him. You, however, have the fire that first defeated him inside of you. Come with me and I will teach you to harness it. I will teach you the art of Spinjitzu, a fighting form powerful enough to defeat Lord Garmadon himself”

For a moment, Kai considered the man’s offer but quickly shook his head. This man had to be bluffing. What kind of spinning is enough to defeat a powermad descendant of, basically, a god?

“If not to defeat Lord Garmadon, then to save your sister.”

“When do we start?” Kai asked with no hesitation.

The next day, having packed up most of his scarce belongings and the money he’d earned, Kai closed up shop and followed Wu out of Ignacia. He found himself more worried about leaving his home than having to eventually fight Lord Garmadon. Neither he nor Nya had traveled far from home, wanting to be close in case their parents ever came home. However, he had to push down that worry and begin to focus on saving his sister.

Traveling from the small village to the base of the Mountain of Impossible Height took about half a week, but nothing could’ve prepared him for the climb.

“You’re a spry old man, has anyone ever told you that?” Kai gasped for air as they finally reached the top. How Wu made it up without gasping for breath was beyond him. Slowly adjusting to the new altitude, he studied the large door in front of him. “A monastery? You expect me to learn how to fight in a place of peace?”

“Not fight. Train.” The man pushes open the door with his staff. They entered the courtyard and were greeted by a large dragon statue in the center. “In order to become a true ninja, first you must be able to see what others do not.”

Pressing a hidden button on the side of the statue, several training obstacles rose from the ground and surrounded the two. Honestly, it was almost intimidating but his sister needed him. Steeling his resolve, Kai turned to Wu. Where’d he get the tea?

“Where do I start?”

“Complete this course before I finish my tea, then we will see if you’re ready.” The cup was downed before Kai could even blink. “You failed. We’ll try again in half an hour.”

Wu turned and entered the monastery, locking Kai out in the courtyard.

It was several hours later when Kai had enough. Approaching his twentieth try, an idea struck him. As Wu goes to drink, the cup flies out of his hand and across the courtyard. Kai stands, fight ready, as he goes to retrieve the cup. Upon returning, the teapot is nowhere in sight.

“You know,” Kai’s voice echoed from above, “all this time I struck you as an oolong kind of guy. Imagine my surprise when I taste jasmine instead.” Kai sat on the roof of the monastery, sipping from the spout of the pot. “You have any sugar down there?”

“One lump or two?” Wu asked with an amused spark in his eye. “Come on down now, I suppose I should let you rest after the past week.”

Hopping down, he handed the teapot carefully to Wu and walked into the monastery. It was roomier than he expected, but had less of a home-y feeling than he thought it would. No pictures hung on the walls and no shelves lined the halls.

“Your room is down the hall and the first door on the left, bathroom will be two doors down.” Wu explained. “The kitchen is the opposite direction. Feel free to eat what you chose.”

“Thank you, Master. Are the training grounds always open?” Wu nodded. "Have a good night.”

Kai lugged his bag with him to his room. It was an average sized room; one bed, a desk, and a dresser. It was a lot more roomier than what he had back home. He and Nya had shared a room and a bed ever since that day, hardly ever sleeping away from each other. After traveling with Wu and sharing a room with him, Kai finally felt the loneliness weigh on his shoulders.

He sat on the bed with a heavy sigh, trying to hold back tears of frustration and grief. He had always been the strong one, so to feel weakness was like he was betraying himself. Pushing back his emotions, he got up and began to unpack.

The sun had set by the time he felt like he was settled in. His first official day of training was in the morning, but Kai couldn’t sleep. He tossed and turned, trying to find a comfortable position but the bed felt too big.

Throwing on the black training gi, Kai made his way to the courtyard and picked up one of shinai from the wall. He stood in the middle of the bricks, grasping the blade-like weapon in his hands, before taking a breath and hitting the first move. Each block, parry, and strike were made with precise movements. Kai fell so deeply into his movements that he failed to notice three figures arriving in the monastery.

One landed near the front door, a pair of nunchucks swinging in his grasp.

Another landed in the corner of the yard, a pair of shurikens held between two fingers.

The last landed just in front of Kai, blocking the last strike with his scythe.

Kai’s eyes locked in on this new figure. He pulled back and went to strike again, using the repeat block to kick the figure in the chest and flip away. The other two figures move to attack, earning solid hits themselves. Switching to a one handed hold on the shinai, Kai used the training weapon as a normal sword to give them a worthwhile fight.

The wielder of the nunchucks had just wrapped them around the shinai when a light turned on in the monastery. The three attackers ceased their fighting and stood at attention.

“What is the meaning of all this racket?” Wu said as he walked outside. “Didn’t I tell you to rest?” He had addressed Kai, but his eyes remained focused on the three newcomers.

“I couldn’t sleep. The bed’s too big.” Kai looked to the ground, not wanting to see the look of pity he knew Wu would give him.

“Understood. I’ll make you tea in a moment.” Wu sighed before gesturing to the three. “May I ask why you three decided to attack your new teammate?”

“New teammate?” They all exclaimed. The unison was almost unnerving.

“You never said we’d be getting a fourth,” the nunchuck wielder said as he stepped forward.

“What he means to say,” the scythe wielder interrupted, “is that we’ve trained together as three for years. We’re a solid team ourselves.”

“Could’ve fooled me,” Kai snarked, earning a glare from him.

“Master,” the final ninja spoke up, “what is the meaning of this?”

“The four of you were chosen.” They all looked confused. “Each of you are imbued with elemental properties, abilities passed down from your ancestry. Allow me to provide a visual aid.”

In the blink of an eye, Wu began to spin and created a gold tornado of sparks and wind. He traveled around the courtyard, passing each one in turn. Their black suits became decorated with various colors and weapons found their way into their hands.

“Kai,” Wu caught his attention, “you are the Master of Fire. Destructive, but a point for new beginnings.”

Kai found himself in a black gi with red embellishments and a sword in his hands before turning to study his new teammates.

“Jay.” The one in blue stood at attention. “You are the Master of Lighting. Unpredictable, but always striking where needed."

The nunchuck wielder was of average height with an average build, fair skin, skin dotted with freckles framing bright blue eyes as a ginger mop of hair sat on his head. He stood just a few inches taller than Kai, smiling at him while pulling down his mask. His gi was adorned with a deep blue, almost matching the night sky above and blending in with the black, and the nunchucks sat on his hip.

"Zane " The one in white turned forward. "You are the Master of Ice. Dangerous, but full of untapped knowledge."

The shuriken wielder was the tallest one yet, tall but skinny. His dark skin is a contrast to the patch of blonde hair on his head and his almost silver eyes. His colors were like the white of the moon that shone overhead as the shurikens sat nowhere in sight before one twirled between his fingers. He gave Kai a short nod and turned back to Master Wu.

"You forgot 'seer with a sixth sense.'" Jay interjected. Zane merely hid away his shuriken again.

"I sense that this one takes things a little too seriously," Kai said.

"You have a gift as well?" Zane asked.

"Zane, buddy, he's making a joke," the one in black spoke.

"Ah yes, a joke. Haha."

Was Kai the only one getting an odd feeling? Really? Just him?

Wu shook his head before speaking again.

"Cole." The one in black stood with his arms crossed. "You are the Master of Earth. Stable, but constantly adapting."

The scythe wielder was stockier than all of them combined, the wide shoulders almost intimidating. He stood just below the one in white, but half a head higher than Kai. The scythe sat attached to his back as his gi remained unchanged. His skin was darker than Kai’s but lighter than the one in white while his hair was long and curly, pulled back into a low ponytail. His eyes bore into Kai like two burning pieces of charcoal. This one stood with his arms crossed, scanning over Kai as he did so.

Wu looked out at the four boys.

"The four of you are the chosen ones to protect the Four Weapons of Spinjitzu from Lord Garmadon."

"And how does my sister play into this?" Kai asked.

"We're saving a girl?" Jay's interest suddenly peaked, but was given a warning eye from Cole. "What? I just – I want to know what we're walking into." He turned to Kai. "Does she like blue?"

"Stay away from my sister!"

"Enough dawdling!" Wu exclaimed before turning to Kai. "We find the weapons, we find your sister. We shall leave first thing in the morning. I suggest that you all rest. Come Kai, let us find something to help with that insomnia."

Kai knew that it wasn't insomnia, but he appreciated Wu for giving him that cover. As they walked through the halls in silence, a thought occurred to him.

"Master Wu, you said that you would teach me Spinjitzu. Shouldn't I learn that before we set off?"

"I have explained to my other students that Spinjitzu is inside all of you. You just need to find the right key for that lock."

"Are you sure that's smart? I mean, I know enough fighting skills to fend off a robber or a bandit. With Ignacia being a pretty small town, we didn't need to know much." Kai slowly took a seat in the kitchen as Wu broke off to make the drink. "My skills aren't enough to tackle Garmadon just yet, right?"

"Much like fire, I believe that you will learn best in a controlled freedom." Wu leaned against the counter. "I've known quite a few Masters of Fire in my lifetime, and they all start the same way."

"Like a loser?"

"Hotheaded." Kai chuckled. "Yet they become some of the most respected and treasured members. I know your father was." Kai's breath hitched for a moment. "I am sorry to hear about their disappearance."

"You and everyone from Ignacia to the city. I just wish I knew why they just up and left." He sighed as the kettle began to sing. "Thanks for the chat. I should get to bed."

"Take this." The man took a sandwich from the fridge. "You didn't have dinner. I suggest you put something in that stomach of yours before we leave."

"Thanks. Good night."

Walking to his new room, food in hand, Kai thought about how to handle the big room. Setting the sandwich on the dresser, he went to pull the pillows and sheets off the bed. Tucking them in the corner, he moved the dresser to make a small space for himself. With just enough to fit his body between the dresser and the wall, he felt a bit better.

The next day found the ninja and Wu traveling across Ninjago to the Cave of the Despair. The four boys are pulling the elder in a rickshaw, panting in unison.

"Remind me again. Why are we pulling this thing like a bunch of pack mules?" Cole asks, setting down the poles for their break. Wu had stopped them at a small market to ensure they were still heading in the right direction.

"I believe it to be some sort of team exercise," Zane explained, barely winded himself.

"So where'd Wu find you guys?" Kai asked as he took a drink from his water flask.

"Oh, I was testing a new invention of mine," Jay said. "I was performing a test flight for one of my gliders in the city when it swerved out of control and into a billboard. Imagine my surprise when I realized that this old guy was sitting there before offering lessons."

"He was just there for you too, huh?" Cole said with a small chuckle. "I was testing my limits, climbing this mountain - free hand mind you - and he's just sitting at the peak enjoying a cup of tea with a mountain goat. My home life wasn't the best at the time, so I said yes immediately."

"I too was testing myself." Zane didn't say much about what he was doing, but they didn't question it. "I have no memory of my life from before meeting Wu, so I wished to see what I was capable of when he approached me with an offer of shelter. Wisely, I accepted." He paused for a moment. "It seems all of us were testing something when we were approached."

"So what were you testing when he found you, Kai?" Jay asked.

"My patience." The group laughed at his answer. "Seriously though, I was. Nya and I had just talked about being patient after I rushed a sword and ruined it. It's just been me and her for a decade, and I was doing my best to keep our dad's shop open. He was the best blacksmith for miles, so when he vanished, it felt like I had to do anything to keep it standing for whenever they came home." Cole set a hand on his shoulder, giving a moment of sympathy.

"I take it that this is the longest you have been away?" Cole asked.

"It's also the furthest. Nya and I never left Ignacia, no matter what. It was a miracle we weren't picked up by the city's foster system, but I guess that’s what happens when your village is, like, twenty people.”

The boys shared another laugh as Wu exited the market. He passed a sandwich to each of them before spreading out the map of Ninjago on the ground.

“The Caves of Despair are just half an hour away. Within this cave lies the first of the Four Weapons, the Scythe of Quakes. This one and its brothers are guarded by its own kind of guardian, so be wary when approaching the item.” He looked over at them, all but Zane eating away. The boy merely chose to pack it away for later. “Remember, should you find the weapon, do not use it. For its power…”

“...is too much for mortals to handle,” Jay interjected before shrinking in on himself. “Sorry.”

“At least I know you were listening the first time.” There was humor in his voice. “After this, I am afraid I have forgotten where the rest lie. Apologies, an old brain can only remember so much. If you happen upon the map, grab it.”

Everyone quickly finished up and set out for the caves as soon as they were able.

Arriving at the Caves, Kai felt a sense of dread overwhelm him. The Caves lay in a desert-like canyon, the entrance nearly a hundred of feet below them. There were no skeletons in sight, but they could hear them yelling from within.

“So what’s the plan?” Jay asked.

“Well,” Cole started as he began to look over the group, “First, we’ll lower ourselves down the ledge. Then, we’ll…where’s Kai?”

Everyone looked around and only found his footsteps in the sand. Zane looked over the ledge and pointed to the mouth of the cave. Kai stood there, staring into the darkness, as they called out to him. Without a second thought, Kai pulled up the face mask and walked in.

“Is he crazy?!” Cole exclaimed. “Didn’t we just have a bonding moment with him like an hour ago?”

“I believe that we should take into account what he said earlier,” Zane said, thinking out loud. “He did much alone for a significant part of his life, being the sole provider for him and his sister.”

“Remind me to yell at him when we get done here.”

“Noted.”

The trio abandoned whatever plan Cole was pitching and followed Kai into the Caves. Wu sat back, gripping his bo staff in worry.

Kai wandered through the system, keeping a straight path so as to not get lost. He found himself at another opening and in the middle of a dig site. Tucking in behind a large crate of rocks, he studied the scene before him. Skeletons were picking away at the rock walls as two skeletons argued over a table.

“How have we been digging here for three days but still haven’t found that stupid scythe?” One groaned as he looked down. The map must be on the table.

“I found something!” The other exclaimed, waving something in the air.

“That’s another rock, Nuckal. We’re in a cave. You’re going to find rocks everywhere.”

“Yeah, but this one’s donut shaped. I wonder what it tastes like.”

“Can skeletons even taste things?” A voice asked from behind Kai, startling him. It was Jay. “Easy, it’s just me.” Cole and Zane dropped down next to them. “Now, you want to explain why you went in alone instead of with your team?”

“Sorry, still not used to the whole ‘work with others’ thing. I did a lot alone prior, call it an instinct.” He watched Cole groan and pass a bill into Zane’s hand. “You guys bet on me?”

“We’ll talk about it later. What have you found?”

“The map is over there, on the table. They’ve been digging here for three days and have found nothing but rocks. Oh, and that one over there is an absolute idiot.” Nuckal bit into another rock. “How did one skeleton retain a brain while the other is so stupid?”

“Same question could be asked about humans,” Cole said with a roll of his eyes. “Let’s get to a higher vantage point and see if we can spot something they can’t.”

The four of them made their way to a scaffolding towering over the table. They all did their best to study the map, but that skeleton was in the way.

“We need a distraction to get him away. Jay?” Cole’s voice held a bit of amusement.

Jay’s shone with a spark as he grabbed a loose board and launched it across the cave. The skeletons went off to berate their workers as Zane used a rope dart to steal the map from the table.

“Impressive,” Kai said.

“You’ll pick up soon enough.” Cole turned to Jay as he looked over the map. “Anything of note?”

“All skeletons are stupid.” The blue ninja turned the map around. “They’ve had the map upside down this whole time. It’s why they’ve been digging in the wrong place.” His finger traced the map until he landed what seemed to be an area next to their position. “We need to get here quickly.”

Tucking the map into his waistband, Jay leaped off the scaffold and gestured for the others to follow. They snaked their way through the system, avoiding skeleton after skeleton, until they reached a large boulder. They all shared a look and moved the boulder together.

Inside, simply floating in a column of light, was the Scythe of Quakes. It was longer than Cole’s own scythe, made of gold and embellished with a dragon design on the blade. Definitely a two handed weapon, so switching may be difficult for Cole as Kai took notice.

“This feels too easy,” Kai said as Cole walked to it. "Didn't Wu say these things came with guardians?"

As Cole took the scythe in hand, a deep rumble came from around them. From the shadows emerged a large dragon head, brown and black with cold gray eyes. The beast was sturdy, towering above them with its large limbs and boulder-like body. Orange lights danced beneath its scales with each movement as it studied Cole for a moment, taking in that he held the weapon, before roaring at the quartet.

"Let's get out of here!" He yelled, making a break for the archway. Kai had never seen a man so scared.

"Does Cole have a fear of dragons?" Kai asked as they took off.

"It is almost crippling actually," Zane explained as the dragon began its chase. "We never thought it would ever manifest into something of substance."

"How does one even get a phobia of dragons?"

"Unclear. Perhaps something in childhood affected him. Many studies suggest that trauma begins as a child."

"What kind of studies are you reading?"

Kai had to admit that Zane was quite the enigma.

They continued to run, easily evading the dragon, before running headfirst into Nuckal and his partner with a large gathering of soldiers behind them. Settling into positions, Cole settled the Scythe of Quakes in place of his own weapon.

“I guess we should thank you ninja for doing the job for us,” Nuckal’s partner said. “Hand it over and there won’t be any trouble.” A rope dart launched out from the group and dismantled one of the soldiers. “I believe they’ve chosen the hard way.”

“Yes Kruncha! Charge!” Nuckal led the soldiers toward the group with a loud yell.

The boys split off in four directions, each taking on their own small group to battle.

Jay moved with ease, aiding his teammates when he could. He had defeated several of the soldiers when a thought came to his mind. He jumped on top of the skulls, pushing off like stepping stones, and dodged each swipe of the swords. His moves became faster and faster until blue sparks started to fly off of his person and wind swirled around him. Soon, Jay was replaced by a blue tornado and all the skeletons were dismantled as he passed.

“You did– You did the thing!” Kai exclaimed as Jay came to a stop. “You did Spinjitzu!”

“I guess I did,” he laughed. “It’s just like the training course back at the monastery.” Cole and Zane got what he meant before mimicking the course themselves to find their own tornadoes of earth and ice.

“I didn’t do the obstacle course though. I don’t know what you mean!”

“You don’t need to know. It’s all about your balance.”

Jay spun away again, leaving Kai to wonder what he meant.

“You’re quite the fool to take us on alone,” Kruncha smirked.

However, he didn’t have much time to dwell on it. Skeletons were regrouping and chasing them down again as his teammates moved forward. Wanting to give them time, Kai held tight to the sword in his hand and faced the oncoming mob.

Kai took a deep breath, bringing the blade up in front of him, and readied himself for the fight.

“I don’t need to win. I just need to distract you long enough.”

Launching forward, he felt his mind go numb as his sword met theirs. For a moment, it was like he left his mind behind. All he cared about was giving them time to get out or enough time to let the dragon find them. As he fought, Kai failed to notice the red flames erupting from his body as the fight became more intense and the wind began to pick up. Finally, his body erupted in a whirlwind of dust and flames. He was a tornado of fire, defeating all his opponents before stopping in front of Kruncha and Nuckal.

“Anything else?” He asked as the dragon broke through the wall behind them. “Nevermind!” Launching into another whirlwind, Kai sped down the tunnel to meet up with the others. “Everyone okay?”

“Where were you?!” Cole said. His hands still held the Scythe tight. “We got ambushed!”

“I was buying you time! You had enough to get out and back to Wu before that dragon caught up with me!”

“What did we say about doing things alone?!”

“I helped you! What more do you want?!”

“Communication!”

The dragon burst through the walls again, hovering over them, and looked into Cole’s eyes. Time held still for a moment before it slunk back into the walls, leaving the boys confused.

Wu looked disappointed and confused as the four emerged from the cave.

“What happened there?” He asked.

“Ask Kai,” Cole spat out.

“I said I was trying to help. If I hadn’t bought you guys time, you would’ve lost the scythe!” Kai could feel heat build behind his eyes.

“And we could’ve gotten out of there sooner if we didn’t stop to wonder where you were!” Cole marched up to Kai’s face, pushing into his personal space to make a point. “I get that you don’t work well with others, but it’s not just your sister’s life on the line right now. It’s all of Ninjago at stake.”

“She’s all I have left! So excuse me for wanting her back!” Kai’s eyes felt like they were burning with flames and tears. The group looked taken aback at the confession. “The one moment I decide to care about you guys first is the one where you say I shouldn’t. You don’t want me on this team, fine. As soon as we get my sister back, you never have to see me again.”

Kai backed down from the fight, feeling the tear tracks on his cheeks, and moved to stand by the rickshaw as Jay laid the map on the ground. He barely listened to the next course of action as he stared down at the now empty cave.

Wu walked up next to him, silent as the others readied themselves to leave.

“I know that this is difficult to adjust to,” Wu said, “but this team is what I think you need. No matter what adversities may come next, they need you.”

“I don’t know if you heard what he said, but this team thing isn’t for me. I just want to get my sister and go home, home to something familiar.”

“I know that this isn’t what you envisioned when you accompanied me on this journey, but, again, I believe that the others are what you need.” Wu getured out to the sand dunes before them. “Much like the sand in this desert, there are untapped possibilities waiting to be discovered.” Kai leaned back, crossing his arms. “Just finish this mission, and see where you stand. As much as I would prefer you stay with the group and protect Ninjago, I understand if you leave.”

After a moment, Kai moved silently and took his place behind Zane. The group was silent, Jay and Zane scared to break the fragile air surrounding the two. They traveled in silence until they reached the base of the Mountain. Wu leaves the boys to head into town and secure travel into the coast.

Kai entered his room and threw his sword onto the bed before himself. He looked at the few belongings on the dresser, finding the one picture he had of him and Nya. It was at the reopening of the Four Weapons with the two dressed in their best clothes. He could still hear her laughter when one of the villagers said that he would be the best, maybe better than their dad. He hoped she was doing okay.

A knock echoed through the room and caught his attention. Sitting up, he was surprised to find Cole leaning against the doorframe.

“What do you want?” Kai asked. He was a bit bitter towards this “Master of Earth.”

“To apologize.” His voice was low, but steady. “What I said back at the caves was out of line. Your sister does matter just as much as Ninjago, and you made the right call. If you hadn’t bought us a bit more time, who knows if we would’ve made it out with the Scythe?”

Kai gestured for him to take a seat next him, pushing the sword aside. Cole slowly walked in and took his position.

“I won’t lie, Cole. Everything you said stung. I also get that you and the others have spent years building a team, and I show up and throw a wrench into everything. Can I just ask that you give me a chance and trust that I’m not going to just abandon everything to solo save my sister?” It took a moment but Cole nodded. “I tried to fight these skeletons the night she was taken and you see how well that turned out. If I’m going to save her, I need all of the help I can get.”

“Well, you have mine and I think I can speak for the guys as well.” He looked down at the photo. “Is that her?” Kai nodded and handed him the paper. “I see that she got all the good looks in your family.”

Laughter erupted from the open doorway, making Zane smile from his place in the kitchen. Maybe things will get better after today.

The group sat back in their seats as the train traveled through the barren lands of Ninjago. They had been traveling since late last night and were expected to disembark at some port town up north before taking a ship into the Frozen Wastelands.

Jay and Wu poured over the map, marking down the paths to take for the rest of the weapons, as the other three watched the land pass by.

“If these weapons are supposed to be so difficult to find,” Cole started, “why are there lines traveling directly to them?”

“Much of Ninjago is still made of small villages and trading towns,” Zane explained. “It is much more effective for products to be transported in bulk than in whatever their carts can carry. Besides, it is nice to have a moment or reprieve before whatever battle we may encounter at the Frozen Wastelands.”

“So let me see if I understand this all correctly,” Kai said as he ignored the initial conversation, “the Four Weapons were created by the First Spinjitzu Master and wielded by him. If he used all of them to create Ninjago, how? Did he use them one at a time or did he wield them with his feet?”

“Did you sleep last night?” Cole asked after a moment of silence. Kai shook his head. “Have you slept at all since joining the team?”

“Not well. I’m too used to having Nya in the room with me.” Cole hummed in thought. “What?”

“Our room has an empty bunk back at the monastery. Move your stuff over there when we get back. Hopefully, you can get some sleep then.”

Nodding, Kai noticed Wu nodding in approval.

“Can we rewind to Kai’s question for a second?” Jay asked. “I feel like it's a valid question.”

Finally arriving at the port where their fishing boat was waiting, Kai stood at the start of the dock with a sick-ish feeling sitting in his stomach.

“Hey,” Jay caught his attention with arms full of supplies, “are you okay?”

“Water and I don’t mix well. I never learned how to swim because of everything, so I just… I’m nervous,” he admitted.

“Don’t worry. We got life jackets and if you fall, grab Cole. He’s got a broad back, so we could probably use him as a raft if it comes down to it.” Kai’s laughter echoed over the dock as Jay nudged a life jacket off of his stack. “Put that on and I’ll walk you to the ship. It’s not so scary once you’re on the boat. Might take a minute to get your sea legs though.”

“Thanks Jay.”

The blue ninja gave him a smile and continued down the dock.

The boat ride was calmer than he expected, especially since good ol’ Captain Wu decided to barely use the steering wheel. There was nothing but water for miles.

Zane sat in the middle of the boat with Kai as Jay and Cole walked the edges. He noticed how Kai had a near white knuckle grip on the life jacket around his neck. He wasn’t quite sure on how one could fear the ocean or any body of water for that matter as it was a peaceful sight to look at. Nonetheless, he began a conversation.

“Are you alright, Kai?”

“As good as I can be without freaking out.” Kai let out a shaky sigh. “If this weapon was marked on the map and Master Wu knows the way to it, why haven’t we arrived yet? Shouldn’t we be there by now instead of drifting for hours?”

“It has barely been half an hour, but I do see your point. Sadly, Master Wu’s wisdom is beyond my own. Though I do have faith that he knows where we are going.” The ship lurched as it ran aground, launching everyone from their seats and feet. “I think we are here.”

The group trudged up the snow covered mountain. Jay, Cole, and Wu were shivering with the drop in temperature, but Kai felt fine. If anything, it felt like one of the warmer winter nights from back in Ignacia.

“How are you not shaking?” Jay asked before his eyes widened. “Why is the air around you so warm?” Cole shifted his steps over to Kai and smiled at the temperature change.

“I would not be surprised. He and Zane are the ones most likely to not be affected by the extreme cold,” Wu explained. “Have you always run so warm?”

“Yeah, it’s really the only reason why I’m in the forge full time back home. Nya almost fainted after she tried her first shift.” Kai admitted.

“I shall assume that she doesn't run as hot as you, then?” Kai shook his head.

The group remained silent as they arrived at the peak of a mountain. A small entrance lay hidden in the snow, but the Shurikens of Ice were able to be seen from the entrance. Wu gently pushed Zane forward with his staff as the rest held back, readying for a fight.

Zane entered with caution, pulling down his face guard as he looked around. The area was too dark and heightened the paranoia that the skeletons or the next dragon could be waiting in the shadows. He bumped into, what he thought, was a pillar but turned out to be a frozen skeleton. They had been here already, but failed to escape the guardian. Holding himself high, Zane took off for the Shurikens and dodge a blast of ice coming from the void. Grasping the small weapons in his hands, he ran for the exit as the dragon gave pursuit.

The Ice Dragon was longer than the one from yesterday, stretching nearly fifty feet long from snout to tail. It had pale white fur with a soft blue coloring the scales on its belly as beady black eyes chased him out of the mountain.

“We need to move fast!” Zane’s voice came and went as he passed. Everyone took off running down the mountain and tried not to trip and fall.

At the back of the pack, Jay nearly took another tumble before he found some broken carts, probably abandoned long ago. The material was some kind of metal and was still in an okay condition. Finding at least one still put together, he began pushing it until got momentum and hopped in. He held out his hand for those in front of him and called out for them. One by one they loaded into the cart and sped down the snowy side. Landing just outside the boat, every dashed for the boat and began to push it back to see.

Zane had tucked the weapon into his sleeves and looked back at the dragon. It sat back at the top of the mountain and watched them. He did not understand. Shouldn’t it have chased them as soon as he grabbed it like the Earth dragon did?

“Zane, come on!” Cole’s voice brought him back and onto the boat.

Kai had already started the engines as Jay took the wheel, driving them away from the coast of the Wastelands.

Once in a safe distance away, Jay cut the engines and went below deck to debrief with the rest of the group.

“Everyone okay?” He asked. “Are we good to head to the next stop in a little bit?”

“Are these weapons really worth it?” Kai asked, earning shocked faces. “Don’t get me wrong, I still want to save my sister, but if these weapons are so powerful or power-inducing, why didn’t the First Spinjitzu Master just destroy them when they weren’t needed anymore?”

“I may understand much, Kai, but I will not pretend to understand my father’s mind,” Wu said.

“Hold up, father? You’re the son of the First Spinjitzu Master?” Wu nodded. “Well you could have mentioned that before now, huh? What’s next? Gonna say that you and Garmadon are brothers?” Wu said nothing. “You’ve got to be kidding me.” His voice was tight and low, anger seeping in.

Kai hung his head before standing up and pacing around the cabin.

“No offense to you three,” he gestured to the other ninjas, “but I’ve been a part of this team for less than a week and at every turn I’m being blindsided by new information. A village boy like me can only handle so much in a short amount of time." He took a breath, failing to notice the steam that escaped the corners of his mouth. "I’m going to go into the captain’s cabin and decompress. You can get me when we get to the next location.”

They watched as he stomped away, each feeling a different kind of guilt.

Wu sat back and thought about the display. Out of all of the boys, Kai's element was manifesting faster than the others. The other three had barely given hint that their powers were there, but Kai…his element must have been growing since a child. If left unchecked, it could mean danger for him, his sister, and maybe Ninjago itself.

The ship docked late in the afternoon and the four boys left town to visit the Floating Ruins. No one really knows how it got up there or who lived up there, but to have a city sitting in the middle of an electrical storm for centuries was a feat in itself. The electrical farm that powered Ninjago City sat near the border and worked everyday to make sure nothing went wrong.

Cole and Zane stood next to Kai, who was still fuming from their previous encounter but glad Wu stayed on the boat. The boys waited as Jay finished adjusting the glider packs on each of them.

“Are you okay?” Cole asked to break the silence. Jay looked up from his ankle with concern on his face. “I understand that you’re mad, but don’t take it out too much on Master Wu. The man is centuries old, so he’s bound to forget to mention a few things.”

“Missed events or birthdays, I can understand,” Kai sighed, “but to forget to mention that the very villain we’re facing is his brother or the fact that he’s basically a god is not really something I’d file under forgetful.”

“Though you are correct about how all of this information was given to you,” Zane said with a hand under his chin, “it was quite unfair to have you arrive, train half a day and night, and send you off to battle. To you, your life changed in a matter of moments. To us, it’s just another day.”

For a moment, all of them were quiet.

“I’ll try to get better at this, I swear, but I think I may need a day off when we get all the weapons.” Kai leaned back, putting all his weight into his back foot. “If my sister saw me now, she’d do exactly what you two are doing. Right before socking me in the shoulder for being rude.”

They shared a laugh before something made a noise from behind them. The skeletons had finally arrived, but they needed to get up there and fast. They had no plan. The chain was far longer than they expected, it would take a few minutes or so to get up there if they legged it.

A light went off in Kai’s head.

“Jay with me,” he met Cole’s gaze and received a nod. "Buy us time?"

"We got you! Zane with me!" Cole called up, taking hold of his basic Scythe. Kai looked down at him as he pulled up his face guard. “We’re right behind you!”

Red and blue climbed higher on the chain, dodging lightning strike after strike. The floating city was shifting with every gust of wind. Upon reaching the platform, Kai felt Jay grab tight to his arm and hoist him up. A loud roar caught their attention as another dragon circled around them as sparks shot out from the clouds and onto the dragon.

The Lightning Dragon was a deep blue, blending it into the dark clouds surrounding them. The body was sleek, thinner than the Ice Dragon but around the same length. A bright blue flashed from under the scales with every strike. Its golden eyes observed the ruins, barely registering the two entering its keep.

“Go, I’ll guard the door,” Kai yelled as he drew his sword. “You got this Jay.”

With a curt nod, Jay ran into the building as Kai watched the dragon and skeletons below.

The halls were dark, only being lit by brief flashes of lightning through the windows. He could feel the paranoia and fear build up in his chest as he held tight to the plain weapon in his hands. He shouldn’t be afraid. He was trained for this. So why did he want to run?

A bright light flashed through the halls and illuminated a large, golden door. It towered over him, stretching from floor to the ceiling, unlike any of the other doors. Approaching the door, Jay took a deep breath and pushed it open. Inside, the Nunchucks of Lightning were floating in a pillar of light. The blue-like glow of the bolt in the middle reflected in his eyes, setting off a small spark inside of him as his face hardened and he took the weapon.

“Where’s Jay?” Cole yelled over the storm as he reached the top of the chain with Zane close behind. “The skeletons called in the cavalry. We got outnumbered, so we have to go.”

“He’s inside, should be out any second.” As if summoned, the blue ninja emerged with the Nunchucks in his waistband. “Nice timing.”

“Thanks.” He looked down at the approaching skeletons and the circling dragon. “No one’s afraid of heights, right?”

“Little too late to be asking that question. We’re already up here.”

“Right. Sorry. Panicking.” Zane laid a hand on his shoulder, calming him down. “Okay, okay. When you jump off, wait thirty seconds before pulling at that cord at your waist. It’ll engage the wings and glide you down.”

“Is there a way to steer it?”

“Lean!” Jay yelled as he launched himself off of the Floating City.

The other three took several deep breaths before following. Barely able to register the right amount of seconds, Cole pulled the cord as soon as he cleared the clouds. The jolt of the wings catching the air knocked the wind out of him as he adjusted to the glide. Looking around, he spotted everyone else gliding at various heights. Each of them were leaning left and right to avoid lightning strikes as they made it to the edge of the canyon.

Landing just a mile from the port, the boys tucked the gliders away and ran to the boat. Wu understood the silent message in Cole’s eyes as he started the engines and steered it back to the initial port.

Back at the monastery, the boys sat outside the entrance with cups of tea in their hands. Wu stood before them, looking at the weapons with - possibly - a proud look in his eye.

“Nice job, my boys,” he said. “We are one weapon away from securing all of the weapons away from my brother’s grasp.” Kai still glared at him for keeping that a secret. “Now, I assume that you are all curious on how these weapons created Ninjago. Correct?”

“You could say that,” Jay admitted. “I mean, Kai’s question from earlier is still unanswered. He didn’t feet-wield them, did he?” The group let out a laugh, even getting one from Wu.

“No, my father did not wield the weapons with his feet. My father was an oni, able to shift his form between oni and human. This allowed him to possess all of the Golden Weapons at once as he performed the Tornado of Creation.”

“How do you use a tornado to create? Don’t they usually destroy things?”

“Typically, yes,” Zane replied, “but they are uncommon in this part of Ninjago.”

“The Tornado of Creation is a special kind of tornado." Wu paused to find the right words. "It was where your elements, the Elements of Creation, worked in tandem to create the very land you stand on. It allows one to create something from nothing.”

“So we’ll be able to do it one day?” Kai asked.

“When you are ready, yes. If the Tornado is created incorrectly, there will be disastrous consequences. So do not even attempt to perform this technique before you are ready.” The boys nodded and set down their cups. “You had a long day, go get some rest. We’ll collect the final weapon tomorrow. Good night boys.”

“Good night, Master,” they replied.

Cole helped move Kai’s stuff into their room, placing the few packs on the bunk below his. The room was very much lived in with clothes strewn about and books lining the shelves.

“What time do you guys usually turn the lights out?” Kai asked.

“Usually an hour after sunset, but we usually fall asleep closer to midnight,” Zane explained. “If you wish to retire earlier, just let us know.”

“Thanks, but I should be good with that.”

Sleep came easy for all of them, having been running on adrenaline all day. Kai actually fell asleep first as he found comfort in having the others around, feeling safer than he did the previous nights.

Kai… That was Nya’s voice. Kai…

His eyes shot open as he gasped for air. Looking around, he tried to find Nya but could only continue to hear her.

“Nya?” He whispered aloud as an apparition of her appeared in front of him. “Are you okay? How are you here?”

The apparition looked behind her and took off running through the door. Kai launched out of bed, grabbing his sword as he followed her out. The figure ran through the halls with him hot on its heels. Stepping into the courtyard, Kai found himself falling through space before landing on solid ground.

The air was hot and dry. He looked up to find himself at the base of a volcano. The figure of Nya stood in front of an entrance before she disappeared. Desperate to get her back, Kai ran across the hot coals with his bare feet and into the volcano. The volcano itself was a temple with the Sword of Fire sitting in front of a curtain of lava.

Her voice called out to him again as he stepped inside, finding her in front of the Sword of Fire. He let out a sigh of relief before the figure shifted into a shadow of Lord Garmadon.

“I’m right here, brother,” the warlord laughed.

“You can’t hurt me, not as you are,” he said, hand already grasping his sword as a precaution. “Not when you’re banished and trapped in the Underworld.”

“That is why you are going to remove the Sword of Fire for me, and before you even think of denying me,” the curtain of lava parted and revealed Nya suspended over the pit, “think about how you’ll save your sister. That pitiful excuse of a sword would not even scratch those chains.”

“Don’t listen to him Kai! It’s a trap!” Nya exclaimed. She was wrapped tight in several rounds of chains, struggling to get out. “Okay, that’s tight.”

He knew it was wrong, but to save his sister, Kai pulled the Sword from its resting place. Taking position, he took off in a run and performed Spinjitzu to reach his sister. The Sword cut through the chain like butter, loosening Nya into his hold, before he lept back to the ground.

“Are you okay?” He asked as the chains fell to the ground around her. She pulled him into a tight hug and felt her tears drench his shoulder. “You’re okay, just stay close.”

“Trust me, I don’t plan on going anywhere.”

“He’s only a shadow. He can’t hurt us.”

“Even shadows have their uses,” Garmadon said as he shifted into a shadow version of Kai.

The shadow launches at him as he gives Nya the Sword.

“Get out of here!” He yells, dodging an attack. “Only use the Sword if you’re desperate, okay? Other than that, it’s dangerous.”

“What about you?” Her voice cracked, fear drenching her words.

“My whole mission was to get you home safe. Now go!”

Nya turned to leave but was blocked by multiple shadows of Kai. They began to close in on her before several disappeared with the swing of a staff. Wu pushed Nya towards the entrance with his staff as Garmadon paused his battle with Kai, allowing him to go after his sister.

“Hello brother,” the warlord smirked. “I see you chose to protect one over the other three. Was that really such a wise decision?” He waved a hand and opened a portal to the monastery. Skulkin were attacking and defeating the others before capturing the other Golden Weapons. “For you have made things far too easy once again.”

The shadows of Garmadon dissipated and left the trio alone. A loud roar echoed through the temple as a dragon emerged from the lava. This one was probably the second largest of all of what he had already encountered. This one was just in-between sleek and sturdy, the front half being wider than the back. Its black scales made the body look like living lava as orange and yellow glowed from underneath.

Nya let out a scream as it launched a fireball at the temple entrance, preventing their escape.

“That was our only way out!” Kai exclaimed. “It’s all over if we’re still here when the Skulkin arrive.”

“It’s never over,” Wu said as he took the sword from Nya. He ran to the cliff and lept onto a suspended lava rock, hand grasping the chain as it dangled over a bottomless pit.

“Master, what are you doing?!”

“If he is to bring the other weapons here, then I will take the Sword of Fire to the Underworld. This mess started because of me, so I will be the one to stop it. This is the payment I have owed.”

“There has to be another way.” Wu merely shut his eyes and swung the sword. The chain snapped as it passed and dropped the rock into the endless chasm below. Kai dropped to the ground in defeat. “This is all my fault. Master won’t be able to hold out for long by himself.”

The dragon towered above them, studying them.

“Forget about him,” Nya said, kneeling down to be with her brother and finally feeling the heat. “What about us?”

He heard her voice begin to slur and her body weight lean against him. Beginning to panic, he cradled her in his arms and attempted to get her to wake up. The dragon leaned down, its head nudging his shoulder.

“Can you help her?” He asked.

The dragon said nothing as it maneuvered them onto its neck. Holding tight to the spines, Kai braced himself as it took off to the blocked door. The dragon barreled through the rock barricade and into the cool night air. The dragon flew into the air, choosing to go into the colder parts of the sky to help the girl on its back. Landing just outside the Forest of Tranquility, it allowed the siblings to disembark next to a river where Nya washed her face in the stream.

The other ninja soon found them there, happy to see them safe.

“Kai!” Cole exclaimed upon seeing them, but he stopped once he noticed the dragon. Kai gestured for the dragon to stand down as he waved them over. “You found your sister!”

“At the cost of Master Wu,” he said as Nya placed a hand on his arm before pointing at the dragon, “but we did get a new friend.” The dragon hummed in amusement and moved closer. “They can help us get to the Underworld and retrieve the Golden Weapons and Master Wu.”

“Are you insane?” Cole backed up just a bit.

“Maybe, but once he realized we were trying to protect the Sword of Fire, he became quite the softie.” The dragon nuzzled against his cheek. “Knock it off.”

Jay made a noise, catching their attention.

“Forgive him, he took a foot to the throat,” Zane said, “but he was addressing you, Ms. Nya. He asked if you like blue?”

“It’s my favorite color,” she smiled and laughed as Jay pumped his fist. Kai rolled his eyes as Cole passed his gi to him. “So what now?”

“What happens now is that we head back to the monastery and regroup.” He turned to the others. “You guys okay?”

“As good as we can be. I mean, we did just get our butts kicked by piles of bones,” Cole said as he crossed his arms.

“But you were caught off guard and in your pajamas. Nice bunny slippers by the way.” He said to Jay, chuckling as the boy looked down at his feet.

“Don’t you have the same pair at home? You know, the ones I got you for the holidays?” Nya asked, breaking the awkwardness. She gave Jay a small smile, saying that she has his back.

The Fire Dragon was not big enough for more than one rider, so they needed to find a compromise. Jay found an old mine shaft at the border of the forest and the lava rock. It was big enough to fit three of them while two sat on the dragon. Nya sat with her brother as the other three swung in the basket that was clutched in the dragon’s claws. Cole sat with eyes shut for the entire flight. The dragon dropped them in the courtyard before curling up around the dragon statue.

Cole, Zane, and Jay bid the siblings good night as Kai and Nya went to the kitchen.

Kai opened the fridge and grabbed the bottle of milk, pouring his sister a glass.

“How are you holding up?” He asked, pushing it to her. “I mean, a week in captivity with a bunch of skeletons and a scary demon man must have been fun.”

“It could’ve been better,” she replied. “For beings that don’t really eat, they gave me some good food.” She ran her thumb against the cup. “So…ninjas?��

“I know, crazy right? Didn’t we just say that we don’t make stuff for samurais or ninjas? Maybe we should rethink our catalog.” They shared a laugh for a moment before they lulled into silence. “Seriously though, are you doing okay?”

“I thought I was going to fall, back at the volcano.” Kai set down the jug and walked around the island, pulling her into a hug as the cup sat on the counter. “I thought I was done for.”

"What have I always told you?" His voice was muffled by her hair, but he could care less. "That as long as I have breath in my body…"

"...you'll be there to protect me. "

"That's right." He began to rock her back and forth. "I'll stand by that saying until I can't keep my word anymore. I love you, Nya."

"I love you too."

They stood there just a little longer, Kai's fingers running through her short hair as she finally broke down in tears.

The trio waited until close to midnight for Kai to walk in, wanting to talk about the plan for tomorrow, but he never showed. Zane volunteered to find him.

Walking through the halls, he could hear the faint whistle of the wind outside as well as the rumble of the dragon. Approaching Kai's old room, he was surprised to find the door slightly ajar. His eyes softened as he spotted the siblings curled up on the bed.

The two laid close to each other, both on their stomachs. Kai's arm laid protectively across her back as her face was turned to him. Her hand rested just below his nose and twitched with each breath he exhaled.

Zane smiled and shut the door. Returning to his room, he turned out the lights and went to crawl into his own bed.

"Are they doing okay?" Cole asked through the darkness.

"Yeah, neither of them are hurt right?" Jay's voice followed in worry, still slightly scratchy from the earlier impact but working nonetheless.

"The siblings are sleeping soundly in Kai's old room. After everything they have gone through the past week, they deserve it," Zane replied with a smile. "Frankly, that was the deepest I have seen Kai sleep since he arrived. I suggest we let them rest and worry in the morning.”

The group rose at the crack of dawn, well-rested and ready for a fight. Kai was already in the courtyard with Nya as they said their goodbyes.

“Come back to me in one piece, okay?” She mumbled into his shoulder. “I can’t run the shop by myself.”

“I promise. Just keep a candle lit for me?”

“Always.”

“I’ll see you soon. Now go, you have a train to catch.”

Kai watched her exit, slowly disappearing down the mountain steps. Cole came up behind him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Your sister’s really strong, must get it from you.” Kai put on a small smile before turning to him. “This part of the mission is yours now, what do we do?”

“Master took the last Golden Weapon to the Underworld and went into hiding. We can’t get there ourselves, but the dragons can.”

“I don’t know if you noticed but we can’t all fit on your dragon.”

“No, I noticed. That’s why I asked them to call in a favor before we turned in for the night.” He nudged the dragon with his shoulder and it let out a loud roar, shaking the monastery.

The ground began to shake before a loud boom erupted through the air. The Earth Dragon crawled over the monastery wall, perching on the edge. It looked at the four before leaning down before Cole and pressed its snout to his head. The boys flinched for a moment, but carefully placed a hand on its snout. It leaned in and everyone chuckled as he realized that he had nothing to fear.

“I guess you’re not so bad, huh?” Cole said, petting the rough surface of the beast's snout. “Just two?

Kai pointed to the sky as the Ice and Lighting arrived. They landed on the roof of the monastery, the blue dragon leaning down into the area. Jay quickly ran over to greet them, barely knowing how to react. His arms shook up and down as it bobbed its head to match. The white dragon merely curled up in the corner and waited for Zane to approach. It blew a mist of cold air in his face as soon as he arrived before resting its head on the ground, waiting for attention.

“They’ll get us to the underworld and back out, but the battle is down to us.” Kai laid a hand on his dragon. “Are you guys ready?”

“If we don’t leave now, it may become too late to stop anything,” Zane thought out loud.

Nodding in agreement, the group went to grab their trusted basic weapons and hopped onto their respective rides. The four of them took to the air and took a moment to let their new riders adjust. Kai took to riding the quickest, having ridden out of the Fire Temple last night. Jay was second, speeding around the other three with glee. Zane was next, simply holding on to the fur as they flew. Cole, was understandably, last. Though his dragon was gentle and steady, he was white knuckled on its back until he got used to being in the air.

“So,” Cole started once he caught up to Kai, “how do dragons cross over to the Underworld?”

“Well, we’re approaching the Forest of Tranquility and I believe there’s an entrance at the bottom of the Fire Temple. However, due to Zane’s dragon, I don’t think they want to bring them there,” Kai explained as all of them came to a stop. “I guess we’re about to find out.”

After a moment, Jay’s dragon dropped into a nose dive with the others following close after. The group began to scream as the ground came closer and the dragons began a corkscrew spin as they accelerated. Sparks flew around them, like the dragons were performing their own kind of Spinjitzu. The world began to shift from bright to dark before it all stopped moving.

“Is anyone else about to hurl up breakfast?” Kai asked as he got his bearings as everyone groaned in response. He looked around, noticing the temple dug into the rock and several Skulkin vehicles. “Well, we’re here. Mask up.” They all pulled their face guards up and hopped off.

Leaving their dragons to rest, the ninja begin to plan a way into the building. The Skulkin seem to have been expecting them as Kruncha and Nuckal were inspecting every cart that came through. By inspecting, they mean emptying each cart and only allowing the empty cart through.

Cole spots a large animal not being inspected, pointing at it as their ticket in. The four run over and latch on to the side of one about to enter. The group is almost in the clear, but then Jay truly notices what they’re hanging on to. It was a tarantula the size of a bus, decked out in bones and pieces of metal. He tried to get their attention, but they were too busy being grateful that he had no voice. Having no choice, he kicked a leg out to hit Cole but lost his grip. Zane tried to save him, but took the rest down with them.

“Is it ninja or ninjas if there’s more than one?” Nuckal asked upon seeing them.

“I think it’s just ninja,” Kruncha replied.

“Oh okay.” He pointed to them. “NINJA!”

The Skulkin army surrounded them from all sides, weapons at the ready.

“Ten to one, I like these odds,” Cole said before more dropped in.

“You were saying?” Kai could almost feel his eyes roll into the back of his head.

Kruncha launched into action first. His sword swung to cut down Jay, but Kai quickly moved to block the attack. The rest of the Skulkin followed suit and let out a roaring battle cry as they converged on the four.

Cole took most out by just a mere swing of his scythe before switching to hand combat for those that got close. Jay used his nunchucks to knock off most of his attackers to give Zane a chance to get into the open. The white ninja swung the rope in his hand around, knocking several skulls off with the metal ball at the end of the rope. The group were steady to hold their own as Kai battled against the skeletal generals, but the numbers were growing too fast.

“Any ideas?” Kai grunted out, blocking another attack. “I’m all ears.”

Jay attempted to say something, but his gravelly voice and the sound of fighting didn’t help. The other did their best to decode his words. It wasn’t until he was knocked in the throat again that he felt better.

“The Tornado of Creation!” He exclaimed.

“Don’t possible consequences await us if we do that?” Cole yelled back.

“We’re about to HAVE a disastrous consequence if we DON’T.” Kai swiped up and broke Kruncha for the third time. “The order we got these things has to be the key. Cole! Start us off!”

Tucking his scythe into the sheath on his back, Cole took a breath and launched into his Spinjitzu. He spun within a tornado of brown and gray. Zane followed suit, spinning in a tornado of white and silver. Jay blocked another attack before beginning his turn, disappearing in a tornado of blue and white. Kai rounded out the group, watching as his sight filled with orange sparks and red lighting. They all gravitated towards each other, becoming one with the fighting styles as they combined into a large golden tornado.

Kai can’t recall how long they spun in formation. He was only able to process what became of their move. The Skulkin had turned into a carnival made of bones. A bit macabre if he thought so himself, but it did the job. The generals were imprisoned with a cage of rocks and bone. This left the path open for the ninja to enter the structure.

Wu was busy fighting Samukai in the middle of the place. Cole, Jay, and Zane moved to help but were stopped by Kai. They looked at him, confused.

“This is Master Wu’s fight, one he has to finish himself.”

The four could only watch as their mentor battled the King of the Underworld with the Sword of Fire. Samukai wielded the other three. He used them on instinct, clearly not understanding the power of the weapons he held. Cole’s breath hitched as Wu was disarmed and Samukai now wielded all of the weapons.

“Good job,” Garmagdon’s voice echoed through the cave. “Now bring me the Four Weapons.” Samukai began to laugh, much to the boys’ confusion.

“I don’t think so.” Samukai pointed the Scythe of Quakes at him. “You obey me now!”

Wu spotted his students and escaped to their side as Garmadon smirked down at the walking pile of bones.

“You are nothing but a selfish fool. Did you not think I wouldn’t plan on your betrayal?” Samukai began to shake and melt as the Golden weapons began to glow. “See, you’ve fallen right into my master plan. See I, myself, cannot handle all of their power, but now that they’re combined, it’ll create a vortex through time and space.” His eyes drifted over to Wu. “I can finally get out of this prison of a world.”

Samukai exploded into a swirling portal of purple energy. Garmadon let out a laugh as he walked to it.

“Father would not want you to do this, Brother,” Wu called out, hoping to get through to his brother.

“Father is no longer here!” He called back as he turned around. “There has always been a balance in the universe. Good and evil, yin and yang, one cannot exist without the other. I just know what side I’m on.” Wu took a deep breath , but said nothing. “Soon, I will be strong enough to wield the Four Weapons, ready to create the world in my image!” Garmadon turned back to the portal. “Shame that you were always the favorite.”

Garmadon stepped through, finally escaping his Underworld prison.

“He may be gone, but he will return.” The boys look at Wu, seeing the exhaustion in his eyes.

“And when he does, we’ll be ready.” Everyone nodded at Kai’s words before running to where the weapons had fallen.

“As well as keep an eye out in case he has any more evil plans up his sleeve,” Cole finished as he picked up the Scythe.

The rest collected their respective weapons. Kai looked into the Sword of Fire. He saw a better image of himself than he did back at the forge within the bent sword.

“I believe my part in this chapter has been completed,” Wu said as he observed all of them. “The balance has been restored for now. So let us all return home.”

Nya sat in the front of the shop. She had yet to move from her vigil at the window since she lit the first candle before noon. The sun was just setting when she heard the beating of wings fly overhead. Four dragons landed outside of the forge, shocking many of the other villagers, but Nya didn’t care. She took off running and didn’t stop until she was held tight in Kai’s arms. He held her tight, tucking his head into the crook of her neck as her hands clutched the cloth of his gi.

“Did you win?” She asked as he slowly let her go.

“For now,” he replied.

“My turn!” Jay exclaimed as soon as Nya was free. She humored him and gave him a hug, not as tight, but still a good hug. Kai merely shook his head in amusement.

“Well, I hope you guys are hungry. I made some stew for whenever you guys got back. It just finished.”

“Thanks, Nee. We’ll be there in just a minute.” Kai ruffled her hair before she stepped away.

With the Golden Weapons in hand, the group gathered together and pointed their new arsenal into the circle. A large shockwave launched out and knocked them all to the ground.

“Perhaps it should be advised to not do that again,” Wu said with a chuckle.

“Good idea,” Cole groaned as he rubbed his head.

“Yeah, let’s just stick to high-fives,” Jay joked.

“Agreed,” Zane nodded before they all began laughing. “Was that also a joke?”

They all began to laugh again as they walked up the hill to the forge. Cole fell into step next to him, arms crossed over his chest.

“So…” He started.

“So what?” Kai asked.

“Are you gonna stick around?”

“Are you gonna be a stick up my ass?” He let out scoff when he was playfully shoved. “I’m kidding.” He took a breath. “But yeah, I think I’ll stick around a bit longer.” Pulling up his face mask, he shoved Cole back and took off running. “Race ya!”

“Oh you’re on!”

#project-ninjago:restoration #lego ninjago #lego ninjago rewrite #ninjago #ninjago rewrite #//sorry for the delay! i got a second job recently and training has been kicking my butt

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