#honestly im making a bigger deal out of it than it is but the thin veil some aros aces and aroaces wear to hide their | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

elysiashelby · 4 years

Text

In Another World - T. Shelby Imagine Ch. 3.3

Paring: (Eventual) Thomas Shelby x Aliena Welsh (OC)

Fandom: Peaky Blinders

Word Count: 4, 479

WARNINGS: Cursing

Summary: Aliena Welsh has been living in the universe of the show Peaky Blinders for 7 months now. Tommy and Aliena have worked out a bargain on how he should be dealing with his PTSD. Will it help him? Or will it just make everything awkward? Also, she travels to London with Ada, but ends up making a new acquaintance.

MASTERLIST CHAPTER 3.2 CHAPTER 4

A/N: This chapter and 3.2 are both considered extras. You can move onto chapter 4 without really reading them. I honestly wrote chapter 4 before 3.2 and 3.3. So, that will explain why Ch. 4 is a little different. THANKS FOR READING!

“Ali, wake up.”

Instantly, me eyes opened and Tommy was there towering over me with his hand on me shoulder.

“What?” I asked, kind of annoyed.

“Get in the bed. You have about 30 more minutes before you need to get up, all right?”

All I heard was get in the bed.

Say no more, sir, I will!

With me feet, I launched meself into his bed and pulled the covers over me body. Me left arm and neck ached like a mother, but I was determined to go back to sleep.

Through squinted eyes, I watched him leave and once he did, I closed me eyes.

When me eyes opened again, I checked the clock. I only had a minute left to myself. I sighed tiredly. I ruffled the front of me hair, playing with it a little bit then hauled myself up. I made up Tommy’s bed, then left.

I opened the door to me room, went in, and immediately walked to the mirror. I looked at me bruises. There was literally like no change. I sucked on me teeth before looking away.

‘What the kinel am I going to do now?’

I didn’t have another turtleneck dress. I huffed while shuffling through me clothes. There was absolutely nothing in me closet that would cover me neck. I picked a dress that had like a “mid-necklike.” It didn’t cover it fully, but it got most of it.

I got down on me knees, laid flat on the ground, and then pulled out me suitcases from under the bed. I opened them both up. I rummaged to find anything that resembled scarfs, and Lady Luck was on me side today ‘cause I found a couple!

I smiled in delight and chose the one that went best with me pale pink dress. I put it on, put back all the items I took out, and slid them underneath me bed. I got up only to take off the scarf because I had to do me hair.

Once I was done, I went downstairs. Polly was there, drinking her morning tea.

“G’morning, Pol.” I said while aiming for the stove.

“Mornin’, Ali.” Polly replied, “Today, I need you to go to get groceries.”

I nodded, but then it struck me. Lizzie’s been getting the groceries for John. I hummed while looking at Pol.

I started. “So, Polly about John’s groceries...?”

“Yes?”

“Last time I got them, the house was already packed.”

“What?” She asked loudly. I heard her cup clink on the table.

“Yeah. I think John found ‘imself a woman.”

“No shit!” Polly huffed before laughing. “Finally! I mean those kids of his have been needing a mother, Ali. They can’t have just you. Besides, you’re the nanny. Oh, I hope it’s someone who won’t break his heart. Did you see her?”

I couldn’t exactly lie to her outright. I mean this woman can tell when Tommy is lying, you think I’m gonna be the exception? Nah.

I nodded. “She had short black hair and was tall. Not taller than ‘im, but way taller than me. Like way taller.”

I heard her light a match then a puff. She chuckled. “Aliena, sorry to break it to you, but everyone is taller than you. Finn will end up passing you in a year!”

Oh, did that make her laugh!

I looked at her from the corner of me eye and made a “tch” sound.

She walked over to me with her arms open, so she could hug me. “Oh, I’m sorry. But you have to admit it. How short are you again?”

“5 feet.” I grumbled.

“What-? What was that?”

“5 feet.” I said clearer this time, but still soft.

Pol stepped away from me and patted my head.

“Ali, you’re only 5 feet?” Ada yelled while coming into the room.

I groaned loudly. I whispered to myself, “For fuck’s sake!”

“Yep, I’m only 5 feet and a quarter of an inch.” I said loudly.

A chair scraped against the floor. “Huh, how about that! I thought that you had to have been, what, 5’2. But, 5 feet, wow!”

“Yeah, shut it.”

Ada had a smug smile. I put her food down in front of her and then Polly’s. I had to finish making me own scran. Ada and Polly were talking. I was just swaying while cooking.

“Aliena, how would you like to have the day off?” Polly asked.

I twirled ‘round to face her. “Really?” The excitement practically dripped from me voice.

“Yeah. You and Ada should go into the city. Have a girls day! I’ll take care of the kids today.”

Me gaze shifted to Ada. Me excitement gone. She avoided me eyes. I sighed. “Okay, then! Thanks so much, Polly!”

I was halfway done with me scran when Polly got up and put her dishes in the sink. She walked over to the both of us and rubbed our shoulders before heading off.

I waited ‘til I heard the door slammed shut and then kicked Ada under the table.

“Ow!”

“What the hell are you roping me into, Ada?” It’s hard to shout and whisper at the same time! She wouldn’t look at me. “Is this about Freddie?”

Her eyes practically bulged out of her head. I poked the inside of me cheek with me tongue, folded me arms, and leaned back against me chair.

“Fuck, Ada! What do you need me for?”

“Pol has been watching me lately! She’s not falling for my stories, so I figured I’d start telling her that I want to spend days off with you. And hey, you get paid leave!” She smiled before getting up and putting her dishes in the sink. “C’mon. I’ll be with you ‘till the afternoon.”

I smoothed out me forehead, resting me elbows on the table.

I muttered. “You’re lucky that I needed to go and buy some new clothes.” I stabbed the fork in me omelet.

Ada and I took a train to London. We looked ‘round a few stores, but we were talking so much that I kept forgetting to buy clothes. True to her word, Freddie came to pick her up after we ate lunch. I was left all alone after that, sitting at a table sipping on hot chocolate.

Yeah, don't care for coffee or tea. So, I opt for hot chocolate. Luckily, it was always cold here, so I get to feel validated!

After finishing me drink, I went back into some of the stores that Ada and I went into. I bought three new dresses that had a turtleneck. I also bought two regular dresses and a nightgown. I would have bought some undergarments, but they were just too different and difficult for me to like understand. They did have cup sizes and yeah! I'm not going to explain it. I'm gonna need Polly or Ada for that adventure.

To be frank, walking around with no supervision was terrifying and liberating at the same time. I was deathly afraid of the possibility of a man dragging me into an alleyway and mug me or... yeah. However, it was also one of me rare moments where I'm being independent.

I was in London on me bill!

I was walking around with me new threads when I was tapped on me shoulder.

"Excuse me, can you help me?" The girl said with an American accent. She was absolutely beautiful despite the fact she looked absolutely bladdered.

"Ye wha?" I slipped out.

"What?"

I shook me head and said. "Sorry, um, I said Pardon. What did you need?"

She chuckled. "Oh, okay! You know I've never heard that accent before. Where's it from?"

As I answered I started taking in her appearance with more detail.

She had dirty blonde hair. "Liverpool. It's Liverpudlian. I can do an American accent, if you can't understand me!"

She was at least 2 to 3 inches taller than me and her eyes were blue.

"Really! I mean you don't have to do it, but I'd love to hear it."

She was quite thin. Her breasts were large, probably bigger than mine. Her body shape might be a pear like mine or maybe an hourglass.

I started to talk with an American accent. "Um, I don't know what to say. So, I'll just say Hi and how are you?"

Her makeup was smeared. Her eyes resembled a raccoon's and her lipstick dragged from the corner of her lip to the middle of her cheek. She had her heels in one hand, leaving her barefoot. Her hair had previously been kept up, but it was now mostly undone.

She giggled. "Oh my god! It's so good! Have you ever been to America? Is that why you're so good at it?"

I nodded. My analysis was over. "I lived there practically my whole life. I learned how to do this to like blend in. Kids are pretty vicious."

"Ugh! Adults too! I always get shit just because I don't have an English accent. I mean I wasn't born here, what do you expect? My dad was born here, though. We came here after my mom died and then he became an MP. So, I'm basically stuck here with no real fucking friends!"

She hummed while picking at the dirt under her fingernails. Then, she clapped and snapped her fingers. "Right! Can you help me get to the Ritz Hotel?"

I laughed and nodded. "Yeah, I can help you. Follow me. You were going the wrong direction, love."

I heard her mutter, "Fuck."

We started walking to the Ritz.

"So, what's your name? I'm Cassiopeia Johnson. But everyone just calls me Cassie."

"Aliena Welsh. So far my nickname has been Ali."

"Did you have a different nickname?"

"A friend who I considered to be my best friend used to call me Rosie. She said she would know I was coming because I brought the scent of roses with me." I smiled at the thought. It was a true story. The girl who I considered to be my best friend back home gave me that nickname because I would always buy rose fragrant stuff.

"How come she still isn't your best friend? Did you guys have a fight?"

"No, actually. It was because I moved here. It was a sudden move. I didn't even get the chance to say goodbye to her." I pretended to be saddened as I looked down at me hands.

Cassie put a hand on me shoulder. "Why don't you send her a letter or something?"

I shook me head before meeting her concerned gaze. "She's off becoming a nurse. I don't want to interrupt her with my drama."

She hummed and removed her hand from me shoulder.

"So, how far are we exactly from the hotel?" Cassie asked me.

I hummed as I wondered. "I think about 20 blocks. That's about a mile, I think."

She groaned loudly. "Fuck! God, that lame party was not worth all this." Cassie rubbed her face with one hand.

I smiled at the sight.

"How old are you, Ali?"

"I'm 16. I'll be turning 17 in January."

"Oh, really! How nice. I'm 17 too! I'm gonna be 18 in February. When? What day were you born? Maybe we have the same zodiac sign!"

I chuckled at her peppy attitude, I just told her me age and she forgot within a split second. "January 24th."

"This can't be real. Mine's the 10th! We're both Aquariuses. This has to be fate or something!" She clasped her hands together as if she was gonna pray.

That's when I gave her a face. I haven’t been around this much energy in a while!

She saw and stopped. "Sorry. I had a lot to drink last night."

I shook my head. "No, you're fine. It's just been a while since I've been around someone so cheerful. And someone who is crazy about horoscopes and zodiac signs. I had another friend who was like that. She used to swear up and down that she was an Gemini even though she was actually a Aries. I think her zodiac sign was correct."

Cassie nodded and smiled. "So, do you live here in London?" Her tone was meek and she kept twisting her hands.

"No. I live in Small Heath, Birmingham."

"Oh…"

There was a slight silence after that.

"Well," Cassie said, "you know where I'm staying at, so maybe if you want to chat sometime? We could?" Her face was red.

I laughed. "Yeah, I'd love to hang out. I work almost all week, though, so that'll be hard."

"You have a job?" She asked, quite shocked might I add.

"Yeah. My parents are dead, so I have to fend for myself. My bosses gave me a room in their house."

"That's just-! Wow! You know I always thought about teaching kids, or working in a flower shop if I ever needed to work. What is it that you do?"

"I'm a nanny-slash-maid. I take care of one of my employer's kids. I make sure they are fed, clothed, bathed. I teach them how to read and write. Then, I make sure that all my employers are fed and that the house all of us live in is clean. I don't do all of the cleaning in the house in its entirety. I get help from my female boss. Her name's Polly. Yeah, she basically splits up the work for me." While talking, I was gesturing with me hands and nodding me head a lot.

"Are they nice?"

"Yeah. Of course, they are. They have to be nice, if they don't want spit in their food." I looked at her and stuck out me tongue. We both laughed.

Cassie grabbed me arm and linked them together.

When I finally managed to deliver her to the hotel, she offered me a ride home. I took her offer. I had to wait for her to get dressed properly, though.

"So, you live here by yourself?" I shouted since she was in the shower.

"Yeah! I come here really on the weekends, or when I don't want to be near my dad! But believe me, Angelica's room is so much bigger." Cassie shouted over the running water.

"Who's Angelica?"

"Angelica Sallow! She's the daughter of Earl William Sallow! She's also been my friend here since I arrived. She's a nice enough girl, to be completely honest, but I don't know. She's so stuck up. She always goes on and on about never getting married. Or, the man needs to realize that he's beneath her for the relationship to work. I swear I pity the poor soul who falls for her. And God, don't even get me started on her shadow!" Cassie walked out with a towel wrapped around her body and another wrapped her hair.

I was sitting on a lounge chair with me feet up. "Too late, love! You already started. Get on with it!"

Cassie walked to her closet. "The name is Christiana King. She is the granddaughter of a Viscount. Angelica and Christiana have been since childhood, and it's known among high society that wherever Angie goes Tina is not too far."

I made the word "Wow" with my lips, but didn't say anything.

"I know right." Cassie said while buttoning up her dress. "Sometimes, I get the feeling that they are more than just friends. If you get what I'm saying."

I instantly tensed up. The next thing she says will determine if I ghost her or not. "And so what if they were?"

She shrugged. "I think it's Tina that likes Angie. But Angie is straight, she's been with a guy or two in secret. Meanwhile, Tina has never been with one! Even if they wanted to be in a relationship, they probably never could. High Society is too strict about a woman's image for them not to be married off. Or, they’ll have to be married off for political gain."

She passed.

"That's true. Poor Tina, then."

"Yes, poor Tina. You know, I've talked more to you than anyone else these past few years. I mean it's so easy to open up to you."

I nodded as I had me head tipped back on the chair. "Well, it's easier for people to rant when it's to a stranger." No consqeunces, usually.

Cassie laughed. "Oh, come now! Don't say that! We're not strangers anymore. I've told you loads of things." She paused for a moment. "I know, it's because you haven't shared anything. How about you get something off your chest?"

I brought me head back up and faced her. I had to sit on me knees in the chair to look at her though.

We talked the whole walk too. I felt a real bond with her. I mean if we decide to stay friends, then she'll be me first one here.

"Alright!" I said. "Let's see… Oh, well I find one of my bosses attractive."

Cassie gasped. "No way!"

"Yep! Oh, Cassie, if you'd only seen him. He is so fit! His eyes are so dreamy and his cheekbones are so defined!"

"Aliena, how old is he?"

"He's 28. We're 12 years apart."

"Huh, not too bad. By my luck, I'll never meet a decent guy and will be married to a guy three times my age."

"Eee!" I exclaimed in disgust.

She gave me the same face.

"Well, are you gonna pursue him?" She asked while doing her makeup.

"I don’t want to make the first move. Plus, I'd doubt he'd even see me in that way. He's not exactly an open book, ya know. So, you have to be slow and patient with him. He's barely let me in like a month ago and we've known each for seven months now. But you know what, that makes sense. I mean the man is 28 and if we did get chummy fast, that would've been weird, to say the least."

"That's true. But can't say it would be illegal. Age of consent is 16 here."

"Maybe so, but it goes against a lot of social constructs and moral values and ethical principles of our modern society."

We both hummed.

"Would you mind being with a 28 year old?" I asked.

"Nope. I wouldn't even mind a 38 year old as long as he was good-looking and wealthy." She smiled at me through the mirror.

Me mouth fell open in shock. The corners of me mouth turned into a smile. "Cassie, you're my fucking soulmate!"

We started having a big 'ol laughing fit.

When we calmed down, I said. "But I'm still not going to do anything! I admit he's very attractive, but he is my boss. I need this job and helping him find happiness is completely fine with me."

"Aw, aren't you a saint!" Cassie exclaimed, quite sarcastically.

"Was that sarcasm, Cassie?"

She stuck her tongue out at me.

I scoffed playfully! “Oh, I don’t play with sarcasm!"

I leaped for her and she screamed. Let's just say the fight ended in a draw. Yeah, a nice tie!

When we finished, we went down and Cassie had her car running to take me home. I felt pity for the driver who was probably waiting for a good two hours.

'I've done this loads of times. I've relinquished all of me troubles and secrets to a person who claims they want to be me bestest of all best friends, only for us never to contact each other again. It's disappointing, but again- I'm used to it.'

I hopped out of her car and waved her goodbye.

"Next time, I won't go for the back of your knees!" Cassie yelled.

"Ta' even though we both know that's a cheap shot."

She stuck her tongue at me and I did the same. Then, she left and I watched. A weird pit in me stomach formed.

'It sucks to get used to something so sad. I really just wanted that movie trope kind of best friend, but I never had it before. I wanted Cassie to be it. But only time will tell.'

I sighed heavily, kicking a pebble before turning around and unlocking the door. I heard the sound of shoes against the floor, but I didn't pay attention to it.

“And where the fuck have you been?” Polly shouted.

Me eyes almost came out of me head. She was yelling at me.

“Wha-?”

“Do you realize what time it is? Do you?”

“I, uh. Innit about 8?”

“It’s 10 pm, Aliena. 10 pm!”

I pursed me lips while looking down at me shoes. “Oh…” I let out a nervous chuckle.

“Oh. All she says is ‘Oh’.”

Tommy cleared his throat. “Ali, Ada said she lost you while youse were shopping. What ‘appened?”

I looked at Ada. She was biting her nails with her gaze trained away from me.

The little-!

I sighed, tightly closing me eyes before making up at lie. “Yeah, something caught me eye at a different shop. I just went out of the shop we were in without even realizing it. When I went back, she was already gone. Then, there was this girl who needed help with directions and I helped her out and I made a friend. She gave me a ride home.” I was switching me weight on each leg, bouncing like a divvy.

Thomas sighed. A ciggie in his hands. “There you have it, Pol. She made a friend.”

The crowd dispersed while Polly walked over to me. She put her hands on me arms. “Never run off by yourself like that again. Understand me?” She said.

I nodded. “Never again.”

Polly pulled me into her arms and hugged me.

“Go on. Go to bed.” She pushed me towards the staircase while a hand flew to her mouth, covering it.

I did as she wanted.

I was just abar done brushing out the tangles in me hair when there was a knock on me door.

“Come in.” I said.

The door opened ‘n Tommy walked in. I gave him a tight lipped smile.

He cleared his throat. “Are we doing this therapy thing t’night, or?”

“Yeah. Yep.” I put down me hairbrush and started walking toward him.

Tommy curtly nodded, turned ‘round, and walked into his room.

I’m not going to lie. It was very awkward.

Very stiffy, he sat down on his bed while I stood there, kinda just watchin’. Then, he rolled over to his side and laid down.

Once he did, I found me same spot. I sat down at his bedside, me arms folded and resting on a sliver of space on the bed.

I barely opened me mouth to start talking when I was rudely interrupted.

“No. I don’t like this. Get on the bed. I can’t have you falling asleep there like last time.”

He grabbed me arms and started pulling me into the bed.

I reflexively snickered. “Wait! Wait.”

“What?” He asked with his beautiful, enchanting eyes staring up at me.

I was standing on me knees on the bed, his hands still on me arms.

“Can I be on the other side?” I asked.

He blinked rapidly. “Why?”

“I don’t like sleepin’ so close to the door. If someone comes in, you’ll die first, then me.” I shook me head as if that was the most obvious piece of information that everyone knew.

Tommy laughed. He actually laughed at me. “Yeah, whatever. Fine by me.”

He let go of me arms and started shuffling back to where he originally laid. I, on the other hand, climbed over his lap to get where I wanted.

Once I was there, I sat criss-cross applesauce style with me hands in me lap. It was just for safety reasons. I didn’t want him to accidentally see me undies.

A silence enveloped the room.

I huffed before deciding to start talking. “Ok! The friend I made today was a girl around my age. Her name is Cassie ‘n she’s staying at the Ritz Hotel. It’s a real classy joint. Made me feel small, but whatever. She’s really air-headed like I coulda been a thief and nicked some of her stuff, but she let me into her room without a thought. But, you know a lot of people back home always told me that I looked really innocent despite me ‘aving a resting bitch face.”

Tommy snorted.

“It’s not funny!” I pushed him. “Kids at school wouldn’t talk to me ‘cause I intimidated them. Anyway, she told me that her dad is an MP.” His eyes darted to meet me own.

I scoffed and pushed him again. “You liked that bit, didn’t cha? Geez. Focus on going to sleep, dummy. Close your eyes. Go on! Close them.”

Tommy scooted his body down and did as I said.

“She was really nice. I don’t know if we’ll actually be friends, though. It would be nice. We got along really well, but could’ve been fake. You never really know when people are fake until after you shared a moment with them, if that makes any sense? Yeah.”

I didn’t know what to say after that, so I started to hum for a little while.

“Oh, I’ll try singing a song. And before you try resisting, it’s not any song that you would know. So, just shut up and listen.”

Just then an evil thought ran across me mind.

‘I’m not gonna lie. I’m dying in the inside!’

“Happy or sad, Tommy?” Me nails were digging into me palms. I was trying so hard not to tick. It would either be a bunch of snaps or I’ll clap me hands wildly. However, I didn’t stop the grin on me face.

His eyes never opened. “Sad.”

I instantly hated meself ‘cause the way this man said that one simple word broke me heart.

I cleared me throat and racked me mind for a sad song. I couldn’t really decide on one, so I went with my default which was “Bitches Broken Hearts” by Billie Eilish. I went onto sing “Crazy” by Patsy Cline and “Summertime Sadness” by Lana Del Rey. Then, I sang “I’m Not The Only One” by Sam Smith, and let me tell you even though I had fun singing it- it was still embarrassing ‘cause me voice kept cracking at some of the high and low notes.

I sang “ilomilo” by Billie Eilish. For me unexpected “final” song, I sang “The One That Got Away” by Katy Perry.

Even though I was sure he was asleep, I still sang until it was more yawns than lyrics. The difference was that I was singing anything I wanted. Since I was already singing Katy Perry, I sang “Teenage Dream.”

Me final song was “Boyfriend” by Best Coast. I gave up halfway, laid down, and fell asleep.

TAG LIST: @amirahiddleston @nemesis729

#thomas shelby imagine #thomas shelby x oc #thomas shelby x reader #thomas shelby fanfic #in another world #tommy shelby imagine #tommy shelby x oc #tommy shelby x reader

87 notes · View notes

imaginedisish · 5 years

Text

Let It Be (Crowley x Reader) Good Omens

A/N: OOOOHHH MY GOD HEY GUYS SO IM OFFICIALLY BACK!!!! I’m a little bit rusty, so this first imagine is probably going to be a little bad. BUT!!! IM BACK. OMFG IM SO HAPPY AHHHH!!! So this imagine is half based on a request about Crowley and the reader starting out as friends, and then beginning to date, and half just something I needed to write. Life has been hard, but writing this helped. The title, and some parts of the imagine are based on Let It Be by The Beatles. I hope you guys enjoy!!! Keep requesting!!! AHHH!!! IM SO EXCITED TO BE BACK YOU HAVE NO IDEA. ENJOY! (P.s I will write for our ineffable husbands...pls just request)

Summary: Crowley comforts the reader after the reader receives devastating news. Crowley takes the opportunity to reveal a secret he’s been keeping for a long time. (College au)

Warnings: Language, depressive thoughts, depression, mental breakdown, some angst, overall sadness, mentioned and implied death of loved one(s). OH AND FLUFF AS ALWAYS ITS FLUFFY DONT WORRY.

Word Count: 1,964

When I find myself in times of trouble, Mother Mary comes to me

Speaking words of wisdom, let it be

And in my hour of darkness she is standing right in front of me

Speaking words of wisdom, let it be

You anxiously shuffle around your apartment as Let It Be by the Beatles plays from the record player in your dining room. The wood floors underneath your feet are cold and unwelcoming; a sharp chill rolls down your spine. The city lights glare through your window as the sound from the streets below boom throughout your apartment. Tears begin to fill your eyes, making everything around you a blurry mess. At this point, it had all become far too much for you to handle.

This year had been a terrible one. You felt as though you were consistently losing everyone around you. It lead you to question whether or not anything had a purpose anymore. Everything had been out of your control for so long, that it seemed as though things could never go back to normal. You were waiting for that light at the end of the tunnel, but it was nowhere to be seen.

The final straw, unfortunately, was the passing of your aunt. The worst part of it all was how far you were from your family. You were a junior attending NYU, and the semester was about to end. All you had to do was take finals, and you were free for the summer. Then, suddenly, your mother called you with the news. You felt numb, useless, and purposeless. Life seemed so dark, so short, so impossible.

What am I supposed to do now? You think to yourself. What’s the point of all this? You begin to sob uncontrollably. You know your neighbors can hear you through your walls, but you don’t care anymore. It was all too much for you to deal with.

Suddenly, you hear a familiar voice, dragging you away from your dark thoughts. “Hello? (Y/N)?”, the voice calls, followed by a knock at the door. You stand up, trembling as you walk towards the door.

“Crowley? I-Is that y-you?” You stutter, sniffling as you try your best to be loud enough to be heard through the door. You wanted it to be him with everything in you. Crowley had been there for you since the beginning of college. Through thick and thin, he stood by your side.

You two had met in Central Park in September of your freshman year, and coincidentally realized you both were students at NYU. Something drew you together, and you two had been close ever since. Aside from your tastes in music, you and Crowley were polar opposites. He was tough, and had a sort of “bad boy” exterior. You on the other hand, were soft and kind. You were an English Major, and Crowley was a Chem Major. You were like an angel, and he was much more like a demon. In many ways, you two balanced each other out.

What Crowley was completely unaware of, however, were your feelings for him. Practically from the day you met him, you knew Crowley was going to be an important part of your life.

You knew you were going to fall in love with him.

“Yes, of course it’s me. Now let me in,” Crowley commands. Without hesitating, you swing the door open.

There was Crowley, his red hair spiked up, his black, circular sunglasses resting on the bridge of his nose.

Crowley removes his sunglasses from his face, something he rarely did. He looks you up and down, quickly recognizing that something was wrong. He noticed the red blotchiness of your face, and how tangled your hair was.

He looks down at your hands, which are shaking uncontrollably at your side. A concerned look appears on Crowley’s face. He steps inside quickly, and slams the door behind him.

You instantaneously feel his arms wrap around your body, pulling you tightly into his chest. “I don’t know what happened, love, but I’m here,” Crowley whispers in your ear, shocking you a bit. He was normally much tougher than this. Seeing this side of him was different. It was far from the Crowley you had come to know.

“Whatever you need, I’m here. I’m not going anywhere,” Crowley says as you grip onto his shoulders, and dig your face into his chest.

You two stay like that for a bit, until you calm down enough to separate from him. Crowley brings a hand to your face, softly wiping away your tears with his thumb. You sniffle softly, waiting for Crowley to ask for more information.

He opens his mouth. “So, do I get to know what happened?” There it was, the question you were dreading.

“M-my…” You trail off, unable to finish your sentence. Crowley grabs your hands, holding them in his own.

“You can tell me, love. I’m here,” His yellow eyes meet yours as they beg for some sort of a response. It’s clear his intensions are good. It’s clear all he wants to do is help. This was so out of character for Crowley. He was never like this.

“My aunt died, C-Crowley,” You struggle to say as your stare travels from Crowley’s eyes to the floor below you.

You can feel Crowley’s grip on your hands grow tighter. “I’m so sorry love,” Crowley says, stepping closer to you. “What do you want me to do?” He asks, his hands refusing to let go of yours.

“J-just stay with me, please,” You whisper.

“Of course, (Y/N),” Crowley says, pulling you back into his arms. You press your face against his chest as his cologne fills the air around you. He smells like vanilla and cigarettes. The two scents somehow balance each other out. “Is there anything else I can do to help?” He asks.

“N-nothing, Crowley. There isn’t anything anyone can do,” You manage to say. “Honestly I don’t even know what to do anymore,” You pause, catching your breath. “School is so fucking hard. I really don’t think I can do this anymore. It feels like absolute hell. I keep losing people, and I’m so sick of it. I can’t fucking do this anymore. I mean it.”

Crowley lets go of your hands. “Well, you aren’t going to lose me.” He steps even closer now, his nose just inches away from your face. “And you can count on that, alright?”

You’re taken back by his words yet again. Crowley wasn’t one for emotions like this.

Regardless, you nod your head in response. “Alright.” More than anything else at this point, you feel confused. Crowley has never acted like this before. It was a side of him you had never seen. Of course, over the years, he had obviously helped you through things. However, it was never like this. It was usually tough love, or advice; never the “mushy” stuff.

He walks further into your apartment now, finding his way to the kitchen. He opens your fridge, and takes out a dark, red apple. He opens one of your drawers and finds a knife, and he proceeds to cut the apple up.

You look at him, confusion clearly written all over your face. “What? You need eat something. Go sit down while I get this ready. I’ll make you some tea too,” Crowley says softly.

You’re even more confused than before. “This just…” You don’t even know what to say anymore. “This isn’t like you, Crowley,” You say, a slight smile tugging at the corners of your mouth.

“What do you mean, love?” Crowley asks, busy at work in the kitchen. “Am I not allowed to take care of you?”

Your smile grows bigger. “No, it’s just not like you to be…well…”

Crowley finishes your sentence. “Caring? Loving?” He giggles a bit. “Well, it’s you, so it’s different.”

Different? You think to yourself.

“What about me is different?” You can’t help but ask, making your way into the kitchen now.

“Everything,” Crowley says, his eyes stuck on the apple he was cutting. “That was actually the reason why I came by, tonight (Y/N). There’s something I need to tell you.” Your heart jumps into your throat. Crowley had never been this vulnerable with you.

Your mind is racing with thoughts. Could this actually be happening right now? Could Crowley actually have…no, no way. Crowley will never feel for me the way I feel about him, You think.

“What do you need to tell me?” You ask, stepping closer to Crowley. He puts the knife down, and takes a deep breath. He seems stressed, uneasy.

“Never mind. Now isn’t the right time. You’re going through so much right now, and I really don’t want to add more stress unto you,” Crowley says, shaking his head and picking up the knife again.

You take another step towards him. “You could never add more stress to me, Crowley. So, tell me what’s on your mind.”

Crowley puts the knife down a second time, and closes his eyes. “I, well…you see I…” he trails off, opening his eyes, staring deeply into your own. “I don’t know how to say this.”

“Just say it, Crowley.”

“I’m not good with all this ‘feelings’ bullshit. I’ve already done far more emotionally in the past five minutes than I have in my entire life. Can’t I just get a free pass? Save this whole speech for another day?” Crowley groans, stepping away from the counter.

“Speech?” You ask. “What speech?”

“Nothing,” Crowley says, crossing his arms across his chest.

“Oh come on. Just tell me Crowley!” You beg.

Crowley says nothing.

“Say it already. How hard can it be to-,”

“I’m in love with you,” Crowley blurts out.

“I-,I…” You’re at a loss for words. You had been waiting for Crowley to say that for three years, and you were convinced it was never going to happen.

“I knew I was going to fall in love with you that day in the park,” Crowley says, his yellow, golden eyes searching yours frantically. He brings a hand up to comb through his red hair. “Every day from there on out was better because of you.” He pauses, collecting his thoughts. “I know you don’t feel the same, but I just had to get this out of my system. I love you, (Y/N), and I have for quite some time. I just couldn’t keep ignoring it. I couldn’t just let it be anymore.”

“Crowley, I-,”

“I’ll go now. I’m so terribly sorry for this,” Crowley says, making his way towards the door.

“Crowley wait!” You say, following after him. “I love you too,” He stops in his tracks, and whips around to face you.

“Y-you love me too?” Crowley asks in disbelief.

“Yes, of course I do, Crowley.” You say. “I’ve loved you from the very beginning.” He stares at you, dumbfounded.

“Are you serious right now?” He asks.

You roll your eyes. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

He takes a few steps closer to you.

He cups your right cheek with his hand. “Then I’m sorry I’ve waited so long to do this,” Crowley says. Suddenly, his lips come crashing down on yours.

His lips are soft and warm. The moment fills you with the sense of purpose you once thought was lost.

Crowley pulls his lips apart from yours.

“Better late than never,” You say, a smile spreading across your face.

And when the broken-hearted people living in the world agree

There will be an answer, let it be

For though they may be parted, there is still a chance that they will see

There will be an answer, let it be

688 notes · View notes

gegenji · 4 years

Text

Advent of an Amazing Aether-Administrating Apparatus!

RP Partner: @onehundredplumblossoms Date: 24 June 2020

Nenemo Nemo evaluates the Namazu, the exterior hull holding fast against the furious storm that rocked Gloam not long ago. The town is already starting to look more orderly, apart from the numerous windows under repair and waterlogged furniture in the street waiting to be broken down and replaced. For an independent community Gloam is relatively well off, due to the ceruleum, so it isn't damage they can't bounce back from. Continuous storms however, who could say. Nenemo Nemo: > For her part, Seseka seems satisfied that the submersible hasn't been severely compromised in any way, and only needs to send her mammets scurrying about the hull to check for anything out of the ordinary. Very little but cosmetic damage is found. She clutches a cigar between her fingers, running a hand through her shortened hair.

Chachanji Gegenji peered awkwardly into the warehouse, draped in an azure-hued rain slicker that was likely rather new - though perhaps not unwarranted given the weather he's had to deal with around Gloam in his past outings here. Seeing Seseka and her mammets inspecting the Namazu, he pushes his way in - and into conversation with the older Lalafell - with awkward steps and equally awkward small-talk. "So... ah... h-how's th' Namazu lookin'? All th' gadgets still in one piece after th' storm?"

Nenemo Nemo: "Ah? Oh, yes yes, she's quite fine. Your construction was solid. Nothing but scratches so far. I can't perceive any damage to the propeller either." Nenemo Nemo puffs a small cloud of cigar smoke. Her recent infirmity doesn't seem to dissuade her any.

Chachanji Gegenji: "Tha's good!" he chirps, meandering in closer and looking over the vessel a little himself. "I did bring back s'more'a me tools in case any repairwork'r anythin' needs done, 'long wit all th' stuff on th' list Ms. Aya gave me." And Virara, but given Seseka's reaction to his wanting to bring her in the first place... he figured omitting that part was probably for the best right now.

Nenemo Nemo: "I don't have any use for you right now. If it so comes that Miss Foxheart has a need of another modification, however, your craftsmanship will no doubt be called upon again." Nenemo Nemo states with her low, somewhat raspy voice. She seems slightly unfocused. It might be the effect of her mammets. Judging from what was alluded to before, some 'part' of Seseka seemed invested in them all, especially the red one. It might be that she's in the midst of 'multitasking' even now.

Chachanji Gegenji: "'n I'll be 'ere ta do it if'n it's needed..." Chachan reassured, tapping lightly on the more armored chest-piece of his rain slicker. Protection against rain and zombie sahagin, from the looks of things. He watched the mammets go about their business in silence for a couple moments, a couple wary glances sent Seseka's way, before he spoke again. "Um... w-were ya able ta put t'gether those... um... thin's tha'd keep th' zombie fishmens away?"

Nenemo Nemo: "Yes. I've had my boys set them up about the beaches and shorelines of this island. With any luck they will be prevented from entering Gloam again. However, I would not expect that we would be able to continue producing such devices with reckless abandon. After all, I was only able to make a surplus of disruptors here because the island is privy to a large supply of surplus Imperial communicators and parts. What with the circumstances of their independence." Nenemo Nemo muses without looking at him.

Nenemo Nemo: "Should the cultured drone problem spread beyond the vicinty of Dagon and Hydra itself, I doubt even the Empire proper could produce enough disruptors to keep every shoreline of Eorzea free of them."

Chachanji Gegenji: "Well, hopef'lly we'll be able ta deal wit th' pro'lem at th' source once we're down there... Right?" Chachan offered, though the question at the end rather clearly belied his own uncertainty of that. He fidgeted a bit, scratched at his cheek. Another awkward little silence. "Um... s-so... given all th' parts 'n stuff 'ere... ah... c-could ya be able ta make another'a of a diff'rent gadget? I-if'n ya wanted ta, a'course."

Nenemo Nemo blinks, shutting her eyes momentarily and leaning back. Some tension seems to leave her body before her eyes flutter open again. Thus unoccupied, her concentration also broken, she turns to Chachanji. "I was wondering when you'd get around to asking me whatever it was you really wanted. No one comes to an old coot like me for anything but to make a request. Well, what is it?" Nenemo Nemo places her cigar in a round glass ash tray in front of her.

Chachanji Gegenji: "Th-tha's not true! I... I wanted ta make sure ya were akay, too," he stated, silently admitting he had a request. "I... jus' didn't know which would be th' easier ta bring up first... 'n both ended up bein' kinda... difficult." He rubs at the back of his neck. "S-still, since we're on th' topic of gadgets 'n makin' stuff... I-I figgered thi' would be th' best one ta... um... start wit?" He gives an awkward shrug and smile.

Nenemo Nemo rolls her eyes. "Get on with it. I'll try to help you as best I can. It's the least I can do for your superb service."

Chachanji Gegenji: "A-akay..." He nods before taking a deep breath. "Um... w-would ya be able ta make 'nother one'a those um... aether-pullin' gadgets tha' ya used ta help me back when we were testin' those potions'a yers? Y'know, me 'n th' folks from th' Roadhouse? Ya... um... saw what extra aether does ta me 'n... I-I dun want ta risk somethin' like tha' happenin' while we're down there. I mean... g-given th' bigger zombie fishmen we saw, I-I 'spose it COULD be handy? But... I can't really... control it well."

Nenemo Nemo presses her bronzed spectacles up with her pinkie. "Ah yes, your condition. I remember it well. But that wasn't a device for "clearing aether," so much as improvising via the effects of an existing trinket I simply had on hand. More study would be needed to understand the vagaries of your physiology, such that I have a grasp exactly of what your bodily transformation entails." Nenemo Nemo: "In particular, I find it curious that you are able to gain mass so easily, yet lose it all without any discarded matter. It is a strange characteristic." Nenemo Nemo seems to mean matter as in any solid substance in this case...

Chachanji Gegenji: "A-ah... w-well, I dun really understand it meself..." he admitted, rubbing at the back of his neck again. "Jus'... whenev'r I take in extra aether... tha' happens. I thought it'd jus' last until I actively used it up 'r it was taken outta me but... ah... some recent events have shown me tha' jus'... after enough time... I go back ta normal. Still... it's th' fact tha' it happens tha's th' pro'lem... 'n if'n somethin' caused it while we were down there..." He looks down at the warehouse floor. Chachanji Gegenji: "I... I could put ev'ryone in danger."

Nenemo Nemo: "If it concerns you so much, then don't go. Why must it be you who risks yourself for the safety of others?" Nenemo Nemo questions him, a clear, calm look in her eyes.

Chachanji Gegenji: "Well, fer one... I... thin' I hafta go 'cuz otherwise Ms. Ririco might not work wit us?" He scratched at his cheek. "I mean, ya were th' one tha' said tha'." A pause. "But... I... I want ta be able ta help, too. Ta try 'n make sure ev'ryone tha's goin' down there comes back safe. Ms. Aya, Ms. Portia, you, 'n those we're goin' down there ta find. I dun thin' I could stand it if'n I stayed behind... 'n I find out ya guys got hurt. Or worse. When I coulda been there. Done somethin'."

Nenemo Nemo: "That. That there. Worrying about things you can't help. That's what I mean when I ask this of you." Nenemo Nemo points at him with the stub of her sizzling cigar. Nenemo Nemo: "I think the little brat would probably assist us so long as you delivered on your promise. I don't expect that she will lie, as... fixated as she is. But even so, you talk about this like it's something only you can do. Why?" Nenemo Nemo doesn't seem hostile, more that she's genuinely curious.

Chachanji Gegenji: "'s... not tha' it's somethin' only I can do," he admits, quietly. "Honestly, wit Virara comin' along... she could prolly handle th' fishmen all by herself. But..." A longer pause. "I want ta help. I want ta be there fer me friends. I want ta be able ta tell th' captain tha' he's got friends... a family waitin' fer 'im back in Limsa. I want ta do me best ta protect ev'ryone, ta see ev'ryone come back safe." He turns and places a hand on the Namazu. "I dun doubt th' Namazu can get ev'ryone down-- Chachanji Gegenji: --there. 's what's waitin' down there, tha' unknown... it worries me."

Nenemo Nemo: ".... Hm." Nenemo Nemo seems unimpressed. However, she slips off her stool to the ground, brushing off her sooty coat, pausing momentarily to sneeze. Nenemo Nemo: "PSCH!..."

Chachanji Gegenji: "I mean... ev'n me condition could be useful if'n I could -control- it," he insists. "But... oh, ah, bless ya."

Nenemo Nemo: "Alright fine. I don't know why you're so particular about this. It seems to me that any number of people could do what you intend to do. You don't need to put yourself in such needless danger on their behalf. But if it's what you seek out, I suppose I could cobble something together."

Chachanji Gegenji: "Mebbe they could... 'n mebbe better than I ever could. But... I'd still want ta try. Ta be there if'n I can be, ta help if'n I can. Protect who I can." He scratches at his cheeks, which have reddened a bit in embarrassment. "I... want ta see ev'ryone safe, 'n be able ta do all I can ta make tha' happen."

Nenemo Nemo: "It is a shame you cannot put that motivation forward towards your own personal goals. That aside, such a device would likely need to adhere to your body to properly channel aether into it, in the manner of a focus, attuned to your body's frequency much like that of a portable aethryte crystal. Not suitable for teleportation, but other wavelengths of energy can be funneled through it." Nenemo Nemo: "The problem is regulating that flow. I would have to study your body more carefully, but I suspect the issue is a cascading effect in which the body's massive conduciveness to aether pulls in greater and greater amounts until it can contain no more. It is a marvel you haven't exploded yet." Nenemo Nemo notes with disarmingly casual ease.

Chachanji Gegenji: "It -is- me personal goal, though. Ta see ev'ryone down there. Ta see them safely back. If'n th' captain's down there... if'n yer student's down in th' other one. I want ta see them back safely. Whether fer joyous reunion 'r..." A quiet pause. "... fer proper burial."

Nenemo Nemo: "Chachanji dear. You want these things, but not for yourself. You're only considering the needs of those around you. Believe me. I am an expert on selfishness. I have spent my life fleeing from my responsibilities, over and over again. I even faked my own death to get away from them."

Nenemo Nemo 's tone takes on a quiet, sullen tone. Nenemo Nemo: "Wanting to protect others is admirable. But you must value your own life as well. Only then can you weigh properly when and where you mean to sacrifice it." Nenemo Nemo: "A device like this could be considerably dangerous for you."

Chachanji Gegenji shakes his head. "I... do want these thin's fer meself, though," he admits. "'ve nearly lost me family ta the razin'a Doma. Me brother to a coma. A girl I onced loved 'cuz I was too afraid tha' I was more hindrance than help. I... I don't want ta lose anyone. Not if'n there's somethin' I can do about it."

Nenemo Nemo: "..."

Chachanji Gegenji: "I... want ta know I can protect people. Save people. Maybe not be a 'hero' but... at least try ta be somethin' close."

Nenemo Nemo sighs, narrowing her eyes. Nenemo Nemo: "But you're still talking about others. Have you ever considered what you'll be doing years from now? What of your trade? How do you want to advance it? Is it really just to save others' lives, and nothing else?"

Chachanji Gegenji: "But tha's the purpose of a crafter, ain't it? Ya make thin's fer others," he states. "Sure, some folks do it jus' fer profit but... there are those who make thin's 'cuz they want to see others usin' them. Ta see their lives bettered by it. Tha's what I want ta do wit me trade 'n... well... wit meself as well."

Nenemo Nemo shakes her head. "... What a waste. If nothing else, you might make a decent test subject. I can't teach those who aren't willing to learn." She doesn't seem terribly upset, however. Nenemo Nemo: "Fine, I'll make your little gadget. Don't blame me when you draw in so much aether you pop like a balloon."

Chachanji Gegenji gives an awkward chuckle. "S-speakin'a test subject... I... kinda was one a'fore, 'n I thought mebbe th' results'a tha' might help." He reaches into the bag at his side, pulling out a thin lockbox and - from that - he produces what looks like an Arcanist's codex. "There was... um... an alchemist tha' wanted ta try'n replicate what I do. Ta make super soldiers 'r somethin'. These are her notes. If'n they can help... 'n-n if'n ya need ta study me proper... tha's fine too."

Nenemo Nemo pulls the notes into her grasp rather hastily. "Give them here. What are their credentials?" Seseka questions, apparently forgetting her own are rather dubious, so long as she remains unrecognized and a fugitive from Sharlayan. "No, don't bother telling me. I'll discern them for myself. These could perhaps serve my purpose well without needing to do partial biopsy."

Chachanji Gegenji: "A-ah... sh-she is - or was - a member'a th' Alchemists' Guild?" he offers quickly when she all but snatches the tome from him. "'n-n she was able ta kinda-sorta replicate th' results wit 'er assistant so... I-I guess she figgered at least part'a it out?" He scratches at his cheek, though it pauses at 'biopsy.' He didn't really know what the word meant but... perhaps it was the rabbit that was his spirit animal... he had a feeling that it wasn't a very good word in regards to his own well-being.

Nenemo Nemo: "Drawing ambient aether into the body without proper training or a suitable focus is highly dangerous. It could potentially result in overaspecting, or aether poisoning, or the suffusion of your body with other aetheric maladies. Not to mention the surrounding environment could suffer a catastrophic loss of aether as a result, depending on how depleted it already is. I will have to account for this with the device. A tomestone might be capable of acting as a regulator." Nenemo Nemo: "Many allagan devices are designed to be able to efficiently self-regulate aetherflow such that they cannot exceed capacity, storing the aether away in containers until they can be safely disposed of. I could perhaps re-purpose such a circuit to your needs, and allow for an infusion. Transforming back will be trickier. And most likely, the device would restrict you to an infusion that doesn't exceed the healthy limits your aetherpool could sustain for a short duration." Nenemo Nemo: "In other words, you would only be able to grow so large. Has that dissuaded you enough?"

Chachanji Gegenji: "W-well, if'n it helps... 've had a lotta... practice wit it recently," he offers, a bit of a grimace crossing his features of memories that were obviously a little bittersweet. "So, hopef'lly tha' should help?" He paused as she continued, trying to follow along with her jargon as best as he could. To what success was debatable. "W-wait, so thi' wouldn't jus' be a device tha'd keep me from changin' ev'ry time I get too much aether, but let me activate it 'n control it?" Chachanji Gegenji's eyes grow wide with awe upon seeing you. Chachanji Gegenji had obviously not been dissuaded at all.

Nenemo Nemo: "Practice? How so?" Nenemo Nemo nods. Nenemo Nemo: "It would be an aetheric regulator, similar to that which keeps Allagan devices from overloading. The excess would be stored for use in giving you a safe, regulated infusion of aether, such that for a brief amount of time, you could perhaps grow in size." Nenemo Nemo: "After a certain amount of time, or when you have completed your use of it, the excess aether would be siphoned off of you and stored in a crystal, to be discarded or kept with you as needed."

Chachanji Gegenji: "I made friends wit some... well... they called 'emselves Pixies. They're like Sylphs but more... person-lookin'?" he explained. "'n they liked playin' pranks 'n stuff. 'n tha' included messin' wit me condition once they knew'a it. Tha' 'n... sometimes their pranks backfired 'n needed help dealin' wit th' mess. Which often tended ta be large, too. So... yeah... a lotta practice." A sigh, then a shake of the head. As if to dismiss the negative memories and focus more on the positives of the-- Chachanji Gegenji: --here-and-now. "I... thin' I get what yer sayin' 'n... tha'd be really impressive if'n it can do tha'. I... still ain't wholly comfortable -usin'- th' ability but... I can't lie tha' there's been times I thought it woulda be useful. Like durin' th' storm when th' larger zombie fishmen showed up." Chachanji Gegenji: "But... wit th' difficulty I have usin' it... 'n worryin' 'bout gettin' too big 'n causin' more pro'lems or fear... I hesitated, y'know?"

Nenemo Nemo tilts her head to the side Nenemo Nemo: "... Pixies? I know not of such an organism. Don't you mean sylphs?" Nenemo Nemo thinks to herself. "They sound like sylphs."

Chachanji Gegenji: "I mean, they looked a lot like Sylphs. They jus' called themselves Pixies." He shrugs.

Nenemo Nemo: "Are you sure they weren't just sylphs under a different name?"

Chachanji Gegenji: "'s possible, I jus' went 'long wit it ta try'n keep them happy. Upsettin' 'em jus' meant more pranks."

Nenemo Nemo 's mouth flattens into a thin line. "It would be useful to dissect one. Already deceased, of course. Then I could determine if any physiological differences exist. I believe the sylphs have more in common with seedkin than beastkin or spoken... which are really just beastkin who talk... This categorization really needs to be revised. If only I had been able to continue at the academy..." Nenemo Nemo mutters to herself.

Chachanji Gegenji gets a bit of a worried look, uncertain how the likes of Gria would take to offering up one of their own - deceased or not - for such practices. "W-well, anyroad, 'cuz'a them I spent a lot more time big then I had since... well... since gettin' th' ability ta begin wit. So I 'spose I have them ta thank fer all th' practice."

Nenemo Nemo: "Hm. It will be useful. You may have an inherent feel for how much your aetherpool is able to accommodate of foreign aether." Nenemo Nemo stretches her arms out at her sides. "Much like the limitations of holding one's breath, or straining your muscles to their limit.

Chachanji Gegenji: "Tha's... a neat way ta put it," the little smith admits.

Nenemo Nemo smiles and taps her fist against her chest. Nenemo Nemo: "Immaterial and material are my fields of study. The aetherpool, and by extension, one's anima, are waveforms, true, like an invisible aura of energy within ourselves, but they are as much 'you' as your flesh and blood. And I am quite familiar with manipulating that immaterial half of you." She glances at her mammets. Nenemo Nemo: "People speak of it as a spiritual energy, like a soul, but I believe one day body and 'spirit' will be as manipulable as one's clothing."

Chachanji Gegenji: "'s still 'me', huh...?" he echoes quietly to himself, a soft smile drifting across his features. The phrase reminding him of a more pleasant collection of memories. "Chagenji is Chagenji," he murmurs quietly with a chuckle before looking back up at Seseka. Seemingly having missed the last part about the goals of body and spirit manipulation in the process. He awkwardly tries to cover that fact, though. "W-well, seems like I was right tha' ya'd be th' best person ta ask fer help on thi'."

Nenemo Nemo: "Of course I am. I am a professor of aetherochemistry, and far more versed in these matters than any of my tedious peers. Aside from perhaps Loloki. But nevermind that ruin-diving, dust-encrusted scarab." Nenemo Nemo recounts her peer with a faint tone of amusement.

Chachanji Gegenji: "... Loloki?" he echoes, the name seeming... vaguely familiar. Perhaps he had encountered her once? "W-well, if'n thi' gadget will be able ta do all th' thin's I thin' yer sayin' it can... 's ev'n more than what I was hopin' fer."

Nenemo Nemo: "I will need to do some limited testing on you, but I expect I should be able to succeed. In return, I only ask you work hard procuring any materials I require for the construction of a device. Oh, and out of curiosity, how did you manage a solution to the matter of well, your clothes?"

Chachanji Gegenji: "Oh, ah... tha's a bit of a group effort, act'lly," Chachan admitted. "I know a tailor who's partner changes size - though not ta th' degree I do - 'n made special cloth ta accommodate 'er. Tha' plus th' runic leatherworkin' I learned from th' Nu Mou 'n... well, 've managed ta make at least some outfits tha' scale wit me ta some degree. I hafta wear them fer a bit, a'course. 'Soulbindin'' I thin' was th' term fer it."

Nenemo Nemo: "Hmm... Nu Mou? You've been to some strange places. I've not heard of these people either. A leatherworking cooperative?" Nenemo Nemo: "I will have to draw upon your knowledge to make certain my methods of adapting the device to fit you properly aren't inconsistent with theirs."

Chachanji Gegenji: "Cooperative's prolly a good word," Chachan stated with a chuckle. "They 'pparently REALLY liked bein' able ta help others. 'course, they were SUPER strict 'bout the rules of th' exchange. Like... if they asked fer three frog legs fer their work, they wanted EXACTLY three. No more, no less. Got... kinda scary 'bout it, honestly..." A brief shiver. "A-anyroad, yer helpin' me out a lot wit all thi', so I'll help ya wit as much of it as I can."

Nenemo Nemo: "Yes, yes that's fine. I will get to work immediately with the immediate research needed to plan the specifications of this regulator, so for the time being, shoo!" Nenemo Nemo ushers Chachanji off hastily, clearly more obsessed with the idea of putting together the device now than anything else she was previously working on. Hopefully she won't be TOO distracted from her work maintaining the submersible until it is used again.

Chachanji Gegenji: "A-ah... w-wait, there was th' other reason tha' I came too... th-th' one tha' wasn't jus' lookin' fer a favor!" he interjected quickly as he's being Lalafellhandled out towards the door. "I-I mean it tha' I want ta see all'a ya akay! 'n-n I saw Mr. Alec say somethin' ta ya tha' seemed ta freak ya out! S-so... um..." A pause at the door, since she had managed to jostle him all the way there. "I-if'n yer in trouble, 'r... 'r jus' need an ear ta bend. Lemme know, akay?"

Nenemo Nemo grins toothily. "Don't you worry about it dear. Worst comes to worst, I'll just put him to sleep with one of my lectures!" Nenemo Nemo: "But thank you."

Chachanji Gegenji pouts, but relents. "I-if'n ya say so. Jus'... wanted ta put tha' offer out there, is all. We're all in thi' t'gether, right?"

Nenemo Nemo: "Of COURSE we are. Don't sweat the details, Chachanji darling. It's just a bit of old people chattering about, that's all. I won't divulge the secrets of my research to him so easily."

Chachanji Gegenji nods before heading out the door. "Akay. Jus' know yer one'a th' ones I want ta keep safe too, Ms. Seseka." He adjusted his bag. "A-anyroad, I should get these spices ta Ms. Aya. Let me know if'n ya need me!"

Nenemo Nemo: "Go already! I have to get to work on your device! Don't make me boot you out the door!"

Chachanji Gegenji: "'m goin', 'm goin'!"

Nenemo Nemo shooes him away, all but booting him bodily from the warehouse.

#ffxiv screenshots #ffxiv rp #rp log #seseka #chachanji

1 note · View note

takerfoxx · 4 years

Text

IM Swiftly Descending Darkness, Chapter 4

Satoko picked up another letter, sliced open the envelop with her brass letter-opener, and took it out. Then, after taking a moment to emotionally brace herself, she scanned its first few sentences.

Her mouth, already set in a straight line, thinned out even further. Another condemnation. She set the letter in the trash pile.

Three days had passed since that disaster at the market, and the aftereffects were still being felt. Most of the children who had been hurt (which was most of them) were still nursing their wounds. Noba was recovering, but slowly. He had to remain in bed most of the time, as moving around too quickly gave him dizzy spells. Rumia and Kohta were a mess of bruises from the beating they had taken. Keiichi and Shinji’s noses had both swollen right up. And the list went on.

And that was just the physical hurts. The children were scared and they were angry. Most still carried some lingering traumas from whatever had happened to their families; even those who had been too young to remember it retained subconscious wounds, while others, like Kana, had their entire psyches altered by what they had suffered, perhaps irreparably. That much Satoko had been more than prepared to deal with. But having other Humans turn on them, the very ones that were supposed to support and protect them?

Satoko quite frankly didn’t even know how to begin to deal with that.

Oh, she was trying; they all were, she and the rest of her helpers. It seemed that every interaction with the children lately was to assure and reassure them that no, they were not to blame for what had happened, that there was nothing wrong with them, that the blame was solely upon stupid people, that this would all blow over eventually and everything would be fine.

Sometimes, as she parroted that last part over and over, Satoko could almost allow herself to believe it.

Curiously, the one that seemed to be having the easiest time of comforting the children was Mokou. Satoko was still deeply displeased with how she had handled the fight, but there was something about her blunt nature and rough demeanor that the kids found encouraging. At least when she told them that she would be able to protect them if anyone came after them, she sounded like she meant it.

Unfortunately, Mokou might not be around much longer, as the more Satoko thought of it, the more she was convinced that their cook with a mysterious past might be more useful elsewhere.

Satoko took a deep breath. Then she picked up the next letter.

The messages had been arriving en masse ever since the fight, and their contents fell into two competing camps. Many were very encouraging: messages of support, of condemnation of Skinner and Sonozika’s rhetoric, of expressing disbelief of the youkai-tainted rumors, of promising to provide whatever aid and supplies they needed, and how they were just so outraged that those animals would attack children that were both helpless and parentless like that.

Those messages were fortunately in the majority, and every one made Satoko feel just a little better. She made a mental note to display them someplace where the kids could see. They needed to hear those words of support even more than she did.

Unfortunately, there were more than a few of the other kind, letters that full of bile and hate. Satoko just didn’t understand people who thought like that. What exactly were they so scared of that would drive them to hate helpless children so much?

Fortunately, this was one of the good ones, coming from the Southern Road Village, this one openly condemning the net of paranoid superstition that had descended upon the center of Human civilization and pledging to provide anything that the orphanage needed now that they weren’t allow into the market. There was also a very bewildered inquiry as to exactly why so many people in the Human Village had become so stupid. They weren’t alone, as Satoko had received many similar questions from their other supporters. It seemed that everyone either simply accepted that the children were dangerous and deserved whatever happened to them or was completely and utterly baffled by the sheer stupidity of that line of thinking.

Satoko wished that she had answers for them, but no matter how hard she tried, she just couldn’t come up with an explanation. Paranoia over youkai was nothing new to Humans; in fact, it was part of a regular cycle that seemed to come around every other generation or so. But this was the first time that paranoia had grown to include children that had lost their families to youkai attacks! No matter how one spun it, it made no sense!

Then Satoko paused. A troubling thought had just occurred to her.

All of that talk about the children being somehow cursed just because most of them had lost their families to youkai attacks was utter nonsense, but what if it had originated from a place of truth?

What if someone had found out about Keine?

Keine was honestly a total sweetheart, and if she did tend to get into trouble a lot along with her friends, it only stood to show that she was also a perfectly normal kid as well. However, the fact that she was half-youkai would understandably make a lot of people nervous, especially considering what Satoko had been told about how she had been conceived. To tell the truth, Satoko herself had been reluctant to take the girl in. What if her monstrous excuse for a father’s nature turned out to be hereditary? What if she grew up to be a monster? While she was in no way to blame for her father’s actions, Satoko had not wanted to risk the safety and wellbeing of the other children under her care to find out.

Fortunately, that proved not to be the case, and Keine turned out to be a lovely and intelligent young girl, if at times a bit mischievous, for which Satoko blamed (and thanked) Rumia Yagami and Kohta Momoi. But her youkai parentage would still likely cause alarm if anyone knew. Aside from her two closest friends, not even the other children knew.

Keine hadn’t been singled out during the fight, so it stood to reason that her secret was still uncovered, at least in part. But it was also possible that some details had leaked, that it had somehow gotten out that one of the kids was of youkai descent, even if it wasn’t known exactly who it was.

Satoko glanced over to the pile of positive letters. As much as she appreciated all the words and promises of support, with how everything was going she wasn’t sure how much longer she could count on it. Being banned from both of the major markets was a blow. Sure, many of the farms had pledged to keep them supplied with food, but it wasn’t just food that they needed. Joshua needed supplies to keep up with the house’s repairs, Shion and Haruhi needed materials for the clothing, the children still needed things like medicine, craft supplies, entertainments, and a few dozen other necessities that they could no longer purchase. Plus, while she did not doubt that the support they were getting was genuine, how long could they count on it to last? If those lies continued to spread, then even their most adamant supporters would soon feel pressure from their friends, families, and neighbors to leave the children to their own devices.

Though Satoko still didn’t want to entertain Mokou’s suggestion of preparing the kids for actual violence, there was value in some of her ideas. They already had a small vegetable garden. It was perhaps time to expand that into something larger that could be fallen back on when the food from the outside stopped coming in. Maybe they could get a few animals as well. As for other supplies, well, that was something of a bigger problem. Nothing insurmountable, but they could be expected to have some tough seasons ahead of them until solutions were found.

Sighing, Satoko slumped forward with a palm pressed against her forehead. Maybe she ought to move the orphanage after all. Not to the Human Village, but…somewhere else. Like to one of the more advanced youkai settlements. Like the Tengu, for example. The Tengu were certainly, well, eccentric, but they at least weren’t murderous or deliberately cruel.

It scared her that she was honestly considering this.

How had this happened? Sure, she had had issues with the other Humans in the past, with complaints about resources and manpower given over to their protection, but never open hostility like this. In fact, according to the stories she had heard from her mother and grandmother, the times in which youkai paranoia was at its highest were when the Human Village was at its most helpful, as they viewed the orphans as proof of the youkai’s evil natures and thus as victims to be protected. And they had never, ever once even entertained the thought that the children might be as dangerous as the youkai themselves. It was sheer lunacy!

As Satoko sat there brooding over the situation, she heard a loud thump come from the hallway outside her door.

She stiffed. Then she quieted her breathing and listened. Maybe it was just the old house settling, or maybe some animal had gotten onto the roof.

Another thump, followed by footsteps. No, someone walking the halls.

But who? It was far past the children’s bedtime, and she knew what the quiet scurrying of one of them getting up to use the restroom or a drink of water sounded like. These sounded heavier and more erratic, like someone was searching for something.

Satoko rose from her chair and carefully went over to the door. She opened it just a crack and peered out.

There was someone in the hallway all right, someone walking away from her room. The way they were walking was odd, a sort of uneven stagger while they grasped this way and that with their hands, like they were drunk or stunned by a blow to the head.

An intruder? Maybe even a youkai or some other wicked spirit. There were many demons that wandered the forests, though how one of them had gotten past the wall of charms that surrounded their land she couldn’t fathom. Regardless, she was now thinking that Mokou had been right, that there really was some kind of deep-seated conspiracy against them.

Then Satoko was struck by a terrible thought. Wards and charms worked great against youkai, fairies, demons, and the like, but they would do nothing against Humans. And now Humans were what they had to fear.

Then the figure stopped in the middle of the hall, and though their features were hard to make out in the dark, Satoko finally recognized enough of their silhouette to realize who it was.

Now confused rather than scared, Satoko opened the door and stepped out. “Nob?” she said.

Noba didn’t respond. He just stood in place.

“Noba, what’s wrong?” Satoko said as she approached the boy. “You’re still hurt! You should be in bed.”

“Coming,” he muttered without turning toward her. “They’re coming. All of them. They’re coming. Leaving tonight. Black house burning in the moonlight.”

Uh-oh, it sounded like he was sleepwalking. That happened from time to time, especially with the more traumatized kids. However, Noba had never been one of them.

“We all fall down,” he said as he finally turned toward her. His eyes were wide open but weren’t focused on anything. He just stared right past her, as if seeing something in the distance through the house walls. “Into the fire. Playing with fire, playing with…”

“Noba,” Satoko said as she gently gave his shoulder a shake. “Wake up!” Noba didn’t react at first, so Satoko gave his shoulder a harder shake.

This time it worked. Noba jerked in surprise, his eyes widening further. “Ah!” he said as he jerked back away from her. “Get away, get away!”

“Noba, it’s okay, it’s just me!” Satoko said soothingly.

The boy had crouched down into a ball, arms covering his head. “No, don’t! Stop! Don’t hit me anymore, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts…”

“Noba, it’s me!” Satoko said. “It’s just me. You’re okay. You were just having a bad dream.”

Noba paused. Then he cautiously looked out from between his arMiss “Miss Satoko?” he said breathlessly.

Satoko knelt down in front of him. “It’s okay,” she said. “You’re not in danger. It was just a bad dream.”

“I…” Noba slowly lowered his arms and looked around. “How? Why am I, uh…”

“You were sleepwalking,” Satoko told him. “That’s all that happened. You had a bad dream and started sleepwalking.”

“A bad dream?” Noba swallowed. “But it…it was…the house was on fire and people were hitting us and I, uh, I…”

“Shhh, it’s okay,” Satoko soothed. She gently took the terrified boy and drew him into her arMiss “You’re safe now. It was just a dream.”

At sixteen summers and nearing his seventh, Noba was the eldest of the children in the orphanage, and as such he had a young man’s aversion to showing any sort of emotional vulnerability. But tonight he didn’t resist at all and held onto her tightly.

“It’s okay, you’re okay,” Satoko said as she stroked the boy’s hair. “It was just a dream. You’re safe here.”

“But…But they’re out there, they’re out there all around. They know where they are, they know where we are…”

The scary thing was, this wasn’t the first time Satoko had heard terrified children speaking words to that effect after waking from a nightmare. However, this was the first time that they didn’t refer to youkai.

“They can’t get you,” Satoko said, though in her heart she wondered how true that was. “You’re safe here. We won’t let them get you. I won’t let them get you.”

Noba’s shaking was starting slow, and his breathing was evening out. “But…But…” Then he sighed. “Okay. Okay.”

“Would you like something from the kitchen?” Satoko said. “Some warm wine, maybe?”

Noba shook his head. “No. No, I just…I just…feel so tired.”

“All right. Come on.”

Taking him by the hand, Satoko led Noba back to the boy’s dorm. “But…But why did they do that?” Noba muttered as he rubbed his head. “Why did they come for us like that?”

Satoko opened the door. “It was a dream, Noba,” she reminded him. “A dream.”

Noba looked at her in confusion. “Then why does my head still hurt?” he said before going back in. To this, Satoko had no answer.

As she shut the door, Satoko came to a decision. She couldn’t allow this to happen again. They needed to know what was happening to them.

She walked through the halls toward one door in particular. She lifted her hand, hesitated for a moment, and knocked.

Though no one answered, she heard a sudden movement from within, like someone sitting up abruptly.

She knocked again. “Mokou?” she called through the door. “It’s me. Can we talk?”

At first there was silence, then she heard Mokou say, “All right, just give a moment here.”

Satoko waited. From beyond the door she heard the sound of shuffling about. Then the door opened.

Mokou warily looked down at her. She was wearing her pants and shirt, but the suspenders weren’t drawn up and her shirt was unbuttoned, no doubt from having been hastily thrown on.

“What’s up?” Mokou said. “Something happen?”

Satoko took a deep breath. “I’m sorry to have woken you, but I have something I need to ask of you.”

Mokou quirked an eyebrow. She leaned out to glance from one end of the hall to the next. Then she stood aside to invite Satoko in.

Despite only being at the Children’s Home for a couple years, Mokou had quickly become very popular among the children, and was often the recipient of little gifts and tokens of admiration. And they were all on display in her room, from pressed flowers to pretty rocks to hand drawn pictures and earnestly awkward letters. There were no other decorations however, no mementos of her previous life or trinkets picked up from other places.

“Okay, so what do you need me to do?” Mokou said. “Does it involve any, uh…” She drew a slender finger across her own throat.

“No!” Satoko said hastily “Nothing like that.” Then she sighed. “But I was thinking about our talk earlier, and while I still don’t approve of how you reacted to that fight, you did have a point. Something is at work, something that threatens our children. And we need to know what it is.”

“Ah, I get it,” Mokou said with a nod. “You want me to start poking around, looking up contacts and see if they know anything.”

“Exactly,” Satoko said.

Mokou shrugged. “Yeah, I can do that, no problem. Only thing is, most of the people that I’d have to talk to don’t exactly come from around here. Actually, a lot of them live pretty far out, and a few aren’t exactly stationary. Which mean it might take some time to hunt them down.”

“Some time?” Satoko said, her heartrate rising. She didn’t like the thought of Mokou being gone for too long. “Even if you fly?”

“Look, flying from one end of Gensokyo to the other might only take a day or so, but this isn’t a case of going from Point A to Point B. I don’t even know where some of these people are right now. They tend to just go where they want without notice."

“Oh,” Satoko said.

“But I will make a point of checking in between visits,” Mokou added as she started buttoning up her shirt. “And hopefully I won’t have to look up too many names before I get things figured out.”

Satoko frowned as Mokou slipped her shirt tails into her pants and pulled up her suspenders. “Um, wait, what are you doing?”

Mokou, who had just opened a drawer in his cabinet, looked at her in surprise. “Huh?”

“Why are you getting dressed? It’s the middle of the night!”

Mokou’s face twisted up in confusion. “So? I don’t know how long this’ll take. No time to lose!” She pulled out a weatherworn leather bag and slipped it over her shoulder.

“That doesn’t mean you need to leave right now! Wouldn’t it make sense for you to wait until morning, when you’re fully rested.

“I am,” Mokou said. “Satoko, trust me, I’m fine. And the quicker I do this, the better.”

Satoko was about to argue further, but then thought better of it. “Okay,” she said. “Good luck. And thank you.”

“Don’t mention it. Oh, uh, while I’m gone, you’ll have to handle the cooking. So-”

“Mokou, we used to cook for ourselves before you came, remember?” Satoko said. “We’ll be fine.”

Mokou thought for a moment. Then she nodded. “Yeah, okay. Good point. Still, don’t drop your guard. If something seems even a little bit wrong, get everyone inside and hide, and only call for help from people you absolutely know you can trust.”

Satoko swallowed. “All right. But please, hurry back as soon as you can. And don’t bring anything worse with you.”

…

The next day…

Joshua lifted his hand, hesitated for half a second, and then rapped his knuckles against Haruhi’s door.

“Haruhi?” he called through the door. “It’s Joshua.”

There was no answer.

Swallowing, Joshua pressed on. “Um, I just wanted to check up on you to see how you were doing. You know, we haven’t seen much of you for the last couple of days, and, uh, I just wanted to see if you were all right.”

Still no answer.

“Well, uh, I know I said this already, but I-I know you must still be hurting over what happened. And, uh, I just wanted you to know th-that it’s perfectly okay to feel like that, and that that should never have happened. But, you know, you don’t have to face it alone. We’re here for you.”

And there still was no answer.

Joshua took a deep breath and said, “Well, uh, Haruna, Shion, and I were going to have an evening tea on the front porch, and you’re more than welcome to join us. If you want to, I mean. But if you’d rather be by yourself for a while longer, then that’s fine too. Just thought I’d mention it.”

He stood next to the shut and locked door for a moment longer, frantically searching his brain for anything else he could say that wouldn’t accidentally come off as obnoxious. When he couldn’t find anything, he said, “Well, uh, even if you don’t want to come out, just know that we’re thinking about you, and that we care about you. And…that’s all I wanted to say, I guess.”

He left the door and headed toward the stairs, his mind spinning with so many swirling thoughts and emotions.

He didn’t know what to do. He had been with the Children’s Home for nearly a decade and had gotten quite good at comforting and consoling the kids through the various struggles and hardships that faced them, but this was completely outside his wheelhouse. Even back when he had done work with his old church back in Philadelphia, when he spoken to all sorts of lost and hurting souls, he had never encountered something like a bright young woman who had grown up without a family and just wanted to help out those who were like her suddenly have her entire society turn on and physically assault her on the basis of a powerful lie. Joshua wanted to help her; of course he did! But he didn’t know if it was better to keep trying to get her to open up or to give Haruhi her space. He didn’t know if either path would help or make things worse. And given his connections to the man responsible and how that man was twisting the very faith that Joshua himself still held, he didn’t know if his help was even wanted.

Though he still had no idea if his God had any jurisdiction in Gensokyo at all, he still whispered a small prayer for Haruhi under his breath.

The two remaining caretakers, Haruna Ishii and Shion Takagi, were already sitting together on the front porch. Haruna, who was the eldest of the caretakers, having worked there before Satoko had even been born, was seated on the worn wooden bench that was next to the door, while Shion, a heavyset woman with short hair that had been yellow but was now shot through with strands of grey, was leaning up against one of the posts that supported the roof. Like Haruhi, she was also a former ward of the Children’s Home, though from a couple generations earlier, having lost her family to starvation during an especially long winter. As such, she and Satoko had practically grown up together, which was part of her reason for deciding to stay.

Joshua nodded to the two of them and carefully shut the heavy door behind him. “Good evening. Sorry to keep you two waiting.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Shion said. “Is Haruhi coming?”

“No. She’s still, well…”

“You don’t have to say it,” Haruna said, her rough face twisting up in disgust. Some of the children referred to her as a pitbull behind her back, and while Joshua was quick to put a stop to any kind of disparaging nicknames, he had to admit that she strongly resembled one in that moment, mainly in how ready she looked to commit egregious acts of violence to protect someone she cared about. “Poor kid. Still can’t believe those animals did that to her, to them.”

“Has it ever been like this?” Joshua said. “I mean, I haven’t been here nearly as long as either one of you, but things were already getting tense when I showed up.”

“Not in the slightest,” Haruna said. “Everyone, from the Human Villages to those on the outskirts, always did everything they could to take care of this. This is new.”

“Well, at least we know the cause,” Shion said, shooting Joshua a sidelong look.

Joshua had been expecting that. Sighing, he pulled over a nearby wicker chair and sat down as well. “Let me guess: Skinner?”

“Josh, we don’t mean to suggest that you had anything to do with what’s going on…” Shion said.

“But you were friends with the guy,” Haruna continued. “And he’s using his religion to justify everything that he’s pulling, a religion you’re a part of. Now, we’ve never made an issue of it, and you usually keep your beliefs to yourself, but…”

“It’s okay, I get it,” Joshua said, perhaps a bit more shortly than he had wanted. He didn’t mean to get snappish, but even after all this time he often found himself struggling to rectify his faith with everything that went on in the world that had become his home. And with Skinner doing what he was doing, well, it was hard not to get defensive about it.

So he sighed and said, “Well, to answer the first question you no doubt have for me, yes: Skinner and I did used to be friends. Kind of.”

Haruna frowned. “Kind of?”

“We were part of the same church, and he’d show up to the Bible Study I hosted at my place. We’d talk privately at times, but we were never really close, at least not until we became trapped in Gensokyo.”

“Bible what?”

“Uh…it’s like a religious gathering at someone’s house to talk about…scripture. Sort of a group discussion than just listening to the pastor.”

This explanation got Joshua blank stares from the other two. He sighed. No matter how many times he tried to explain it, his Gensokyian friends had never really wrapped their heads around worshipping someone they couldn’t just go talk to in person. Honestly, sometimes he envied them in that.

Joshua quickly moved past that part. “Anyway, he always had…problems, things like anger issues and mood swings. I think he relied on his faith as a stabilizing force, and that gave him a very, um, black and white view of things. He, uh, never really had much use for nuance and…” Realizing that he was starting to go off on a tangent, Joshua returned to the point. “Um, anyway, he had made a pretty public scene after church one day. I can’t really remember what it was about, but I think he had blown up at someone over something their daughter was doing that wasn’t even that bad, and I had to step between them and get them separated.” He shook his head. “He was already on pretty thin ice with the rest of the congregation, so I thought that I’d better try to talk some sense into him. I got him out of the building, offered to take him to lunch to try one last time to get through to him, but when the bus we were taking went through a tunnel…” He shrugged. “Well, it came out into Gensokyo.”

“A…A bus?” Haruna said.

Joshua dismissively waved his hand. “It’s, uh, a kind of public transport. A vehicle.”

“Oh, those weird metal machines you told us about, like what the Kappa screw around with.”

“Exactly. Anyway, to make a long story short, we did become, um, actual friends after that. I mean, we were literally the only people either of us even knew. Even the other people on the bus were strangers until then.” He shrugged. “Anyway, he…never really took very well to this country. Every fairy had to be a demon in disguise…and by that I mean a different kind of demon then what lives in Makai…every spell a sign of evil influence. His mood swings just kept getting worse and worse. I kept trying to get him to calm down, to try to see things differently, but he just refused. And when I told him that I felt like the Lord was telling me to go spend the rest of my life helping out here, well, he took it…badly.”

Badly was an understatement. In fact, Joshua had been convinced that Skinner was going to attack him then and there. His reaction and the things he had said to Joshua had gone a long way to making Joshua no longer think of him as a friend. And ever since they had parted ways, Skinner just seemed to get more unhinged. On occasion they would see each other, and Joshua always made an effort to be polite, but while Skinner no longer ranted and raved at him, he just got weirder with every meeting.

“Anyway, I haven’t really kept in contact with him since then. And as you can see, he’s…gotten really, really bad.”

There was a pause, and then Shion sighed and said, “Look, Josh. You can’t blame yourself for how he turned out. I mean, I was thinking it was something to do with your religion, but now you’re saying he was always kind of like this, so that’s on him.”

“I know,” Joshua said. “But I just keep thinking: maybe I should have stayed with him. Maybe if I had been there for him, he wouldn’t have gone off the deep end like he did.”

“You’re not his minder, you know.”

“Minder. Right. ‘Am I my brother’s keeper?’” Joshua murmured, mostly to himself. Though to be fair, it wasn’t as if he had ambushed Skinner and beat him to death in a field. “Maybe I should have tried harder to get him to go with me. At least I would’ve been able to keep an eye on him.”

Haruna wrinkled her nose. “Hell no. You’re fine, but I sure as hell wouldn’t want to put up with him all the time.”

“Fair enough. But that still leaves the question of…”

Then the door handle turned, and Joshua stopped talking.

The heavy door creaked open, and Haruhi peeked out.

“Um, I’m sorry,” she said hesitantly. “I’m not, er, interrupting anything, am I?”

“Not at all,” Shion said as she stood. “Are you okay?”

“I…” Haruhi stepped outside and gently closed the door behind her. “Well, no. No, I’m not. But…” He face scrunched up, and her already wet eyes moistened further. “I don’t really…want to be alone right now, so…”

Joshua got up and pulled another one of the chair around. “Well, you are of course more than welcome.”

“Thanks,” she said. “Thank you.”

The question of Skinner remained unmentioned for the rest of the evening, though it weighed heavily on Joshua’s mind. He just hoped that whoever Mokou had gone to find, they would have the answers she sought.

…

At that moment…

Though her life in the Children’s Home meant that she had neglected many of the skills she had built up in her long life, Mokou was pleased to find that they had not deserted her through lack of use, specifically the ones related to the tracking, locating, and stalking of another person through a dark and dangerous wood.

She was in the Forest of Magic, which had never been a regular destination of hers, though she knew it well enough, if anyone could be said to “know” the Forest of Magic, following a certain someone as they made their way through the woods’ twisted and often nearly invisible paths. Everything was coming back to her, and quickly: from the noting of small evidences of her quarry’s passage to noticing minute changes in the air, from stealing along silent and catlike through the gnarled web of interwoven branches to taking note of any sign of other hunters in the area that might be stalking her in turn. Her ears caught every sound and immediately knew what made it, which direction it came from, and how far away it was. Her nose sifted through the stifling scent of rot and decay that permeated every square meter of the forest to filter out trace elements of Human sweat and skin particles.

All of her senses told her the same thing: that her quarry was close, and she hadn’t noticed Mokou stalking her yet.

Despite the importance of her hunt, Mokou found herself grinning to herself in the dark. She had missed this, she really had. Granted, what followed after was usually violent and painful, but this part was always fun. Not fun enough to return to her old life, but it was nice to stretch those unused muscles of hers.

She slunk along, as silent as a whisper and as sure as an arrow, her weight evenly distributed as her long and nimble fingers felt for the strongest branches. Up ahead, she could hear the sound of leaves crunching beneath bare feet. Her quarry was going on foot then, probably on a hunt of her own.

And there she was. Mokou spied her crouching in the middle of a junction, where four winding paths met. It was a woman with dark hair tied into two pigtails and a squarish face. She was just below medium height, a little on the plump side, and dressed in a worn red and white outfit. In one hand she was holding a stick tied with several white ribbons, while the other was rubbing her chin in contemplation.

Also, her back was to Mokou, and she had not given any indication of knowing that she was being watching.

Her grin growing, Mokou levitated down from the tree and slowly drifted over the mess of long-dead leaves and fungi that coated the forest floor. She came closer and closer to the woman, hands held to her sides, fingers open and ready.

Then, when she got about half a meter away, the woman sighed and said, “No.”

Mokou froze. Then her shoulders slumped and she let herself drop down onto her feet. “Okay, how long did you know I was there?” she demanded.

“Since you dropped out of the tree.” The woman rose and turned to face her. “Would’ve blasted you to bit right then and there if I didn’t recognize you a second later.” She looked Mokou up and down. “Well, well, Fujiwara no Mokou. Haven’t heard from you in a hot minute.”

“Really? It’s only been like seven years.”

Miko Hakurei sighed. “Yeah, you would find that short. What do you want? I’m busy.”

“So I see. What’s up? Mima up to her old tricks?”

Miko shook her head. “No, not for almost a decade now. But something’s apparently been raiding farms near the border, so I figured I’d better step in to knock some sense into them.”

Miko Hakurei was the latest in the Hakurei family line, whose roots went all the way back to the founding of Gensokyo. They were the designated protectors of the country, or at least the mortal part, and lived and watched over the Hakurei Shrine, which was said to contain the only consistent gateway between Gensokyo and the Outside World. If something dark and dangerous were to rise in the Wilds to threaten humanity, then the Hakurei shrine maidens put a stop to it. If something weird was going on that was likely to endanger the country, then they figured out what was up, and then they put a stop to it. If some dastardly villain enacted some mad scheme for one reason or another, then they would have to account for the current Hakurei shrine maiden in their plans, lest she show up and put a stop to things. Miko herself had saved the country from no fewer than four cataclysmic disasters and a slew of minor incidents.

Though to be truthful, most of their time tended to be spent dealing with common youkai mischief and acting as more of pest control when fairies overstepped their bounds. Plus, it tended to be kind of a thankless jobs, with Humans never really appreciating all that they did to protect them and neglecting to give them any kind of thanks. Mokou herself hadn’t much cared for them for quite a while, mostly because they were actually descended from the Sonozikas, with whom she had a very bad history. But then she learned that their ancestor, one Hakurei Sonozika, was actually something of an exile to her family and wasn’t spoken of in the family histories, she came to appreciate them more. Plus, she liked Miko, who was one of the tougher specimens to wear the red-and-white. The two had even worked together to resolve a handful of incidents in the past.

“Well, as it so happens I’m also looking up trouble coming from an ugly old forest,” Mokou said. “Specifically, the Youkai Forest.”

Miko frowned. “Why? I heard you went straight, working for the Aoki Yume’s Children’s Home of all things.” She shook her head. “I thought Yukari was fucking with me when she told me. Never would have thought that you would trade in all that murder for cooking for kids. I mean, I’m not complaining. Means fewer messes to clean up in the Bamboo Forest, but it’s still unexpected.”

“Yeah, I am. Needed a lifestyle change, and that one worked out. And about two days ago, nearly the whole of the farmer’s market almost beat those kids to death.”

There was a pause, and then Miko said in a low and dangerous tone, “What?”

Miko was usually up to date with the various goings and comings of youkai, fairies, and other supernatural creatures, but tended to be behind the times when it came to her own species. So Mokou filled her in on the brawl in the market, what had led up to it, and her suspicions about Nathaniel Skinner and his rising influence in the Human Village.

“Well now, that is some fucked up shit,” Miko groused. “Attacking kids of all things, and orphans at that.”

“Oh, trust me, I know,” Mokou said. “I mean, my soul’s plenty stained, but even at my worst I would never had even been tempted to do something like that.”

“Yeah, the fact that we still have Sonozikas running things is proof of that.”

“You too? Gods, Tewi Inaba was giving me shit about that same thing the other day.”

“I don’t doubt it. What’s that have to do with me though? They like me even less than you, and sure as hell won’t listen to anything I tell them. And I know about that Skinner prick of course, but I haven’t really been keeping tabs on him. The Human Village is kind of outside my jurisdiction, you know?”

“You do?” Mokou frowned. “What have you heard about him?”

Miko shrugged. “Probably what you already know. He was part of a group of Outsiders that got caught a few years back. Last I heard, most of them settled down in the Human Village and he went and started the first Christian church in Gensokyo. Thought that would flame out in a couple months, but he’s kept it going somehow.”

That much Mokou knew already, but while she had many questions about that whole business, Skinner wasn’t the reason she had hunted Miko down. After all, Miko was often kind of behind the times on Human business.

“Okay, but it’s not really him I need to ask you about. See, Tewi told me that there’s some weird shit going down in the Youkai Forest, and that it might be related to whatever’s going on in the Human Village. You hear anything about that?”

Miko sighed. “I should’ve guessed.”

Mokou’s ears pricked up at that. “So you have heard something?”

“Of course I have! Hell, I spent most of last week rooting through that damn forest trying to root out the source!”

“Source of what? What’s going on?”

“Wish I could tell you,” Miko said. “I knocked some heads together but found zilch. But I heard pretty much the same thing you did, that something’s stirring up the youkai there for whatever reason.” She shrugged. “Well, things were weird and creepy, but they’re always weird and creepy.”

Damn it. “And you couldn’t find any connection to the Human Village?”

“That’s the first I’ve heard of any connection to that. Now you’ve given me something else to worry about.”

“Sorry.”

Miko rubbed her chin as she thought. “You know, come to think of it, there was something…”

“Yes?”

“Understand, this isn’t anything recent, but I seem to recall some buzz from…oh, I’m going to say about fourteen or so years ago. It had to be a few years after Skinner and his friends showed up. From what I recall, they didn’t really make any trouble right after they popped up in Gensokyo, or at least no more than most Outsiders that get stuck here. But anyway, as I recall, he was part of a group of idiots that went into the Youkai Forest for whatever reason, and I had to be the ones to pull them out again, or at least the ones that were still alive.”

Well now, that sounded like a solid lead! “What happened?” Mokou asked. “What do you remember?”

Miko spread her hands. “Look, it was a long time ago…or at least a long time for me, and it was a fairly routine rescue, so I don’t remember much other than like two of them got eaten and a third just straight up vanished. I chased off the youkai that were attacking them, let them have an earful about being stupid, and led them back.”

“And Skinner?”

“He was…” Miko’s brow furrowed as she struggled to recall. “I didn’t actually find him. He had gotten separated from the rest of the group and wasn’t with them when I found them. Everyone had already written him off as one of the casualties, but right as we were leaving the forest, he suddenly came staggering out of nowhere. Almost took his head off out of reflex.”

“Kind of wish you had.”

“Well, hindsight’s a bitch,” Miko said. “Anyway, he was…kind of out of it. Delirious. Ranting about…oh, I don’t remember. Something about eyes and hands. I figured he had gotten his brain boiled by some evil spirit and just handed him off to the Human Village to deal with and forgot about the whole thing until now.”

Mokou was pleased. That was more solid a lead than she had been expecting to get. “Well, that sounds like a good place to start. Thanks, Miko.”

“Don’t mention it. And hey, if you uncover anything that should be my business, let me know.”

“You’ll be the first.” Mokou nodded at the shrine maiden and turned to go.

Before she left, Miko called out, “Oh, and Mokou?”

Mokou paused. Then she looked over her shoulder back at Miko.

“Look, I don’t know how genuine your little change of heart is, but I do know the sort of things that tend to happen around you,” Miko said. “So let me say this plain: it had better be real and stay real. For those kids’ sakes.”

There was no mistaking the warning in her voice and eyes. And if she had been nearly anyone else, Mokou might have been tempted to laugh in her face. In appearance, Miko seemed to be just edging into her early thirties, but the Hakureis didn’t show their age like most Humans, so she was quite a bit older than that. However, while Mokou seemed to be in her late teens or early twenties, she was the other woman’s elder by a significant amount, and outclassed her in power and ability by a ludicrous percentage. What, exactly, was Miko going to do about anything?

She didn’t laugh though, in part because of the genuine respect she had for the other woman, and in part because Miko’s concerns mirrored her own. That was the main motivation for her little fact-finding mission, after all. To keep that kind of violence from finding its way to their doorstep.

Mokou took a deep breath and said, “Miko, believe me: if that kind of shit starts happening to them, then I sure as hell won’t be the cause. Or at least, it won’t be me that started it.” Then she thought for a moment and added, “Though, hey, you know how you said that this sort of bullshit is outside of your jurisdiction?”

“What of it?”

“If something inside the Youkai Forest is involved, then it just might be your business after all. And even if it isn’t, maybe you ought to look into it before it becomes your business.”

Miko thought on that. Then she nodded. “I’ll keep it in mind.”

“Good. Hope we don’t have to hear from each other for a long time.” With that, Mokou vanished back into the shadows of the Forest of Magic, leaving the aging shrine maiden to her business.

…

The day after that…

“We should do something about this.”

Rumia, who was just about to put the small, sharp blade of the knife she was holding to the bark of a stick, paused at that. She glanced over to Kohta, who was supposed to be tying the sticks she had debarked together, but was instead spinning them between his fingers as he sat and sulked.

“I mean, it only makes sense, right?” Kohta continued. “There’s so many of them, and only a few of us, and only Miss Mokou actually knows how to fight. And she can’t be everywhere at once. So we should be learning how to fight!”

Rumia sighed and slid her knife down, peeling off a long strip of bark. “Yeah, brilliant plan. Except for the part that all those assholes probably know how to fight too, so what good would that do? Also, get to work. I’m not skinning these things just so you can fidget with them.”

Kohta did so, carefully binding the sticks together with white thread from a spool. “It’s better than sitting around doing nothing! They’re come for us sooner or later, so we need to be ready!”

Keine, who was working on sheets of paper with a pair of scissors, looked stricken. “You really think that’ll happen?” she said. “I mean, not just kick us out and not let us come back, but actually come here after us?”

The three of them were in the orphanage’s big, yellow-painted playroom, working together on their little model circus, like they usually did when they had some downtime. Since they had been unable to purchase a genuine model elephant like they had planned, they instead were working to make one from their usual materials. Unfortunately, since elephants were weirdly shaped with their big, floppy noses and sheet-like ears, the end result wasn’t shaping out as well as they would have hoped, but they were making do.

Well, at least we still have our money, Rumia thought to herself. Then she scowl. For all the good that’ll do us. We can’t even spend it anymore!

“Of course they will!” Kohta hissed at Keine. “Just watch! Sooner or later that asshole in the brown hat is gonna convince all those village idiots that we’re secretly demons scheming to steal their kids or something stupid like that!”

“Like we’d want any of those little sneaks living with us,” Rumia said.

“They probably think we’ll drink their blood or something.”

Rumia gagged. “Ew. Why?”

“Because they’re idiots!”

Then the door to the playroom opened, and the three of them shut up immediately.

It was Melissa and Kana. The two of them walked in and noticed Rumia, Kohta, and Keine huddled together, treating Rumia’s palm.

“Oh,” Melissa said. “What, uh, ha-a-happen?”

Rumia sighed. She held up the knife. “I cut myself, okay?”

“That’s odd,” Kana remarked. “Was it in service for one of your plans, or perhaps to acquire blood needed for some kind of magic ritual?”

Rumia stared at her. “No, it was an accident. I was shaving a stick and the knife slipped.”

Melissa stared blankly at them. Realizing that she probably hadn’t caught most of the explanation, Rumia sighed and held up her half-shaved stick, the knife, and mimed what had happened.

“Oh,” Melissa said. “Ouch.”

“Ah, that is disappointing,” Kana said.

“What, that I didn’t cut myself deeper?” Rumia said grumpily.

“No. But blood rituals are said to be quite potent. If you were to conjure one for our protection, then we needn’t worry about being punched by strange, angry people. Speaking of which, may I borrow your knife?”

“I….what?” Kohta sputtered. “Okay, first of all…actually, I don’t know which part of that to react to first.”

“Um, Kana?” Keine said. “You do know we already have a bunch of protective charms and spells set up.”

“Well, yes, but everyone knows that those are fake.”

“Huh?”

“Charms and spells,” Kana repeated. “Paper fairies use them as nests, and they sell them to silly Humans to make others put their nests up for them!”

Rumia, Keine, and Kohta looked at each other. Then, as one, they looked toward Melissa, silently requesting an explanation.

It was up in the air how much of that exchange Melissa actually understood, but apparently she had understood enough, as she merely shrugged. “I do not know,” she said. “I do not know enough about these magics to say.”

“Well, it’s true,” Kana said.

“Right,” Rumia said. “Er, okay, leaving all of that aside, let’s talk about the disturbing part: why do you need my knife again?”

“For a blood ritual,” Kana said promptly.

“Okay…” Rumia said after a beat. “And…what kind of blood ritual?”

“To get this to work.” Kana reached into her collar to withdraw the loops of some kind of necklace that had been hanging around her neck.

When Rumia saw the pendant on the end of the necklace, Rumia yelped. “Where the hell did you get that?!”

It was the necklace that the creepy lady had been trying to sell them at the market, its golden crystal still shining within its setting of silver loops.

“From the market,” Kana said. “You remember, you were there, weren’t you?”

“No, yeah, I was, but I mean, how did you get it?”

“Oh, the merchant dropped it by accident when Miss Mokou scared her,” Kana said in a conversational tone as she slipped the necklace back under her blouse. “I tried to find her again to give it back, but it seems she had already left. And then Miss Mokou yelled at me to keep up, so I just kept it.”

Kept it. Right. Just about every kid in the orphanage had been turned away from every single merchant’s stall, and Kana had lucked her way into something that was probably worth far more than all of their collected money put together. Rumia did not buy for one minute all that talk about immortality or ensouled poltergeists, but it did seem to be made from real silver, with a genuine glowy crystal set in its pendant.

“At any rate, I figured that I might as well see if I can activate its enchantment,” Kana continued. “If we are indeed attacked again, then someone might be killed, so it would be useful if we could all come back as poltergeists. Then nobody would be able to hurt us on account of us not having solid bodies anymore!”

Weird and morbid. “So you stole a necklace,” Kohta said. “That some weirdo that was probably just trying to kidnap us said will let you come back as a ghost, and you’re going to try to make it work even though you don’t know how because you think those jackoffs that jumped us might kill us.”

Kana contemplated on that. Then she said, “I think that’s fairly accurate. May I borrow your knife?”

“Uh, no,” Rumia said flatly. If Kana was going to make herself bleed out all over the playroom, then Rumia wasn’t going to be a part of it. “Melissa, are you really letting her go through with this?”

Melissa looked surprised. “Should I not? I thought…magic was true here.”

“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean every stupid spell made up by some random old lady is real. It was probably just a scam!”

“Oh, I don’t think so,” Kana said.

“Yeah, sure, whatever,” Rumia groused. “Look, if you’re going to cut yourself apart, could you like do it somewhere else? If you don’t accidentally slit your own throat, then you’ll probably burn the place down.”

“All right,” Kana said. “Have a nice day! I like your little city, by the way. Is that supposed to be a mass execution?”

Rumia, Kohta, and Keine all stared at her, and then at each other. Then they looked down at their makeshift circus. No matter how Rumia looked it at, she couldn’t understand how Kana got “mass execution” from the arrangement.

“No,” Rumia said at last. “It’s not.”

“Oh. Well, it kind of looks like one. Bye!”

She left the room, with an increasingly dubious and worried Melissa following. When they were gone, Rumia breathed out and said, “Okay. It’s not just me, right? She is definitely getting weirder.”

“Maybe we’d better tell the grown-ups,” Keine said. “I mean, what if she hurts herself?”

“She already said that she’s planning on cutting herself,” Kohta said. “Getting hurt on purpose is kind of a given now.”

“You know what I mean!”

“At this point, I wouldn’t be surprised if she tied up Melissa and sacrificed her,” Rumia said.

The three of them chewed on that mental image for a few moments. Then Kohta said, “Yeah, we’d better tell someone.”

Rumia scowled. “What good would it do? Most grown-ups are stupid and useless.”

“Oh, come on!” Keine protested. “Not all of them. Not ours.”

“I…well, they’re okay, I guess. But they still don’t notice most things.”

“Miss Mokou does. Miss Mokou notices everything!”

Rumia threw her hands into the air. “And she’s gone! She’s off to find out why things are so weird, and we have no idea how long that’ll take! For all we know she’s lost in a forest somewhere, or beaten half to death like she was when we found her in the snow!”

…

The two outcasts sat together atop a tall cliff, drinking together as they watched the Sun set over Gensokyo.

In appearance, they couldn’t look more different, aside from both being female. Mokou still looked more-or-less like the young Human woman she had once been: tall, slender, and well-muscled, with a sharp face and long violet hair so pale that it was often mistaken for silver, and she was dressed in the cast-off clothes of some farmer that had donated them to the orphanage years ago, mainly a plain white shirt and a red pair of suspenders. She didn’t even wear shoes.

In contrast, her old…friend (acquaintance? Contact? Occasional opponent? Someone she tended to run into every so often?) was very short, petite, had auburn hair tied into tails, and had two large horns curving out from either side of her head. She wore an extravagant outfit consisting of a sleeveless white blouse, a wide purple skirt, a red ribbon around her neck, black shoes with red bows, and had shackles clasped to her wrists and ankles, each one trailing a broken chain. The chains weren’t intended to imply an escape from captivity, they were simply a common part of her people, the oni.

Still, there was a sort of kinship between the two of them, one that came from spending so many years wandering Gensoyko with no real home, no real family, not even the company of their own species to fall back on. They were exiles, and had been for similarly long times. Granted, the circumstances between their respective exilings had been different, but there was only so many times one could run into the same person out in the wilderness before some kind of rapport was formed.

Also, Suika Ibuki was very, very drunk, which made her great fun to be around. But what else was new?

“The Youkai Foreeeeest,” Suika said, her voice rising and falling on odd syllables like it always did. She nodded solemnly, and took a long swig from the purple gourd of sake that she always carried around with her. “Oh yeah. There’s always something going on in the Youkai Forest.”

“I know,” Mokou said, taking a sip from one of the many glass bottles she had brought with her. Most of them were green, bearing labels that declared them to be from a Tengu winery. However, one was jet-black and had no label. “That’s why I found you. To ask you about-”

“Not as bad as the Forest of Magic though,” Suika continued on. She swung her legs back and forth over the cliff and started swaying back in forth in time to some melody only she could hear. “Weirder stuff happens in the Forest of Magic. Super weird shit, almost always bad except when it’s funny!”

“Well, I was just there, and nothing out of the ordinary level of weird was going on. I’m interested in-”

“Or the Bamboo Forest of the Lost!” Suika thrust her gourd out as if raising a toast. “Also very, very bad! I think.”

At this, Mokou scowled. “Oh, come on! The Bamboo Forest isn’t that bad, just really confusing if you don’t know your way around.”

“You sure? They say that the deathless daughter of the Phoenix wanders there, forever searching for the one who disgraced her family. If you find her, she’ll ask you your name, and if you have the same name as-”

Mokou smacked the oni upside the back of her head. “Okay, knock it off! One, no she doesn’t, because she’s me, and I don’t live there anymore! And two, that only happened once, when I was drunk and in a bad mood, and they were okay after! Mostly. Anyway, I apologized and did what I could to fix them up, so I don’t see why everyone is still telling that stupid story.”

“Oh.” Tilting her head in confusion, Suika squinted at her through bleary eyes. “Are you?” Then she grinned. “Oh yeah, that’s riiiight. Okay, the Bamboo Forest of the Lost is perfectly safe. Except for the rabbits.”

Mokou’s bottle was now empty, so she hurled it into the valley below and used her thumb to pop the cork on the next. “Nah, the rabbits are a pain in the ass, but they’re all right, I guess. But anyway, I’m not talking about them, I’m talking about the Youkai Forest.”

“Right,” Suika nodded. “Right. Lots of bad juju there.”

“Okay, so is there any kind of new bad juju?”

Suika shrugged. “Oh, I dunno. I mean, it could be that bloody ghost that rose up not too long ago, seeking to suck the breath of children out through their noses.”

“That was a fairy prank and it happened seventy-four years ago,” Mokou told her.

“Oh.” Suika frowned as she attempted to concentrate. “Uh, the Army of Angry Bones?”

Mokou sighed. “Two hundred and whatever years ago. I’m talking within the last few years. Did anything happen within the last ten years or so?”

“Uh…where?”

“In the Youkai Forest,” Mokou said.

“The Youkai Forest?” Suika’s face scrunched up in bewilderment. “What about it?”

Mokou sighed again. That was the problem with trying get any kind of useful information out of Suika. She tended to go anywhere and everywhere and for whatever reason always seemed to hear every bit of news, rumor, gossip, and any other bit of important information. Unfortunately, as she often forgot where she was in the middle of most conversations, wringing that information back out of her was a nearly impossible task if you didn’t know how to do it.

Fortunately, years ago Mokou had stumbled across a trick that worked. It wasn’t sort of cruel, but if she tried to pry the information out the old-fashioned way, she was unlikely to ever get Suika to reach the point.

So, as Suika prattled on, Mokou reached for one of the bottles she had brought. The black bottle.

“I mean, sure, lots of things happen there,” Suika went on. “But if you want something weird, then haha, you’re gonna have to narrow it down a whole bunch, because there is so much weird in there that-”

“Hey, Suika!” Mokou said, cutting her off. She held out the bottle to the oni. “I brought some of my special spice sake along! Want some?”

“Oh, thanks!” Suika took the offered gift, snapped off the throat as easily as if it were a twig, and drained it in one go. “As I was saying-”

She stopped in mid-sentence, and her whole body went completely stiff. Her brown eyes suddenly went very, very wide, while her brown pupils turned red and narrowed down to a pair of tiny bright dots. A sound similar to a singing kettle sang from deep within her chest.

The contents of the bottle did actually contain wine, as Mokou had promised. But they also contained a special ingredient, one too hot even for an oni’s legendary tolerance for…just about anything, actually. A few drops of Mokou’s own blood. With that swimming through her, all of the other alcohol in Suika’s system was burned away and her brain strangely compliant to suggestion. For a few minutes, anyway.

“Youkai Forest,” Mokou pressed. “New kind of weird. Go.”

Suika’s head jerked once, and she started talking in a low, clipped tone with no inflection whatsoever, “While no new entities have been known to take up residence within the Youkai Forest, there have been whispers and rumors that some outsiders have been in contact with some of its more mercenary inhabitants. The identity of these outsiders are unknown, with some claiming that they are youkai from the mountains, youkai from the Underworld, youkai from the Forest of Magic, or even Humans.”

Bingo. “Humans?” Mokou said. “What Humans?”

Now red veins were spreading through the whites of Suika’s eyes, and actual steam was pouring out of her ears, nose and mouth, puffing up with every word. “Unknown. Their identity is nothing but pure speculation, and those who know of them are either sworn to secrecy or do not care enough to find out.”

Damn. “Okay, but what youkai, though? Which ones have been talking to these strangers?”

“The…” Suddenly Suika’s body started to shake violently. “Th-Th-The spi-pi-pi-pi-”

Suika fell flat onto her back, arms splayed to either side, bloodshot eyes staring unblinking up at the sky. Now her whole body was steaming.

Mokou waved a hand in front of Suika’s face. No reaction. Her brain had been completely cooked.

Sighing, Mokou stood up. Well, that wasn’t a lot information to go on, but it was a start. Now the thing to do would be to go into the Youkai Forest itself and see if she could find something with loose lips.

In the meantime, she ought to check back in with the orphanage like she had promised. Though she had no reason to believe that anything had happened while she had been gone, her skin was crawling. Something did feel…off, something more than what she knew already.

A few idiots spreading hate and fear probably wouldn’t send a mob after a bunch of kids in only a few days, but more terrible things had happened. And if there really was something organized going on between Humans and mercenary youkai, then it could be that they would take Mokou’s absence as an opportunity to do something. Either way, Mokou felt that she had been gone too long.

Leaving Suika’s smoking body where it lay and her own bottles as something of an apology for Suika to find, Mokou hopped off the cliff, fell several meters, and then swooped up into the air. She wasn’t worried about Suika. Within an hour or so, her oni constitution would filter out the drink, repair the damage, and she would wake up with a hell of a hangover that would be swallowed up before she knew it. In all likelihood she wouldn’t even remember talking to Mokou at all.

However, those kids weren’t nearly as durable as Mokou or Suika was. And if something was looking to do them harm, then she was going to be there to stop it.

…

“Okay, guys!” Mr. Joshua called out. “Everyone gather ‘round.”

For once he didn’t need to tell anyone twice. This was the one lesson that everyone had been anxiously anticipating, marking down the slow progression of days until it had finally arrived. Today those old enough were finally going to learn how to fly.

All told, there were about half of them there, with Noba and Tomohiro already having learned this a couple years ago while everyone else was still too young. Rumia, Kohta, and Keine, of course, as well as Kana, Melissa, and Shinji. And unfortunately, Haruko, Eiko, and Hayate, because nothing good ever happened without some kind of downside.

“All right, now I know you all are hoping to be swooping through the clouds right away-” Mr. Joshua began.

Melissa’s hand shot up and she said something in Spanish.

“Melissa, remember. Try to speak so everyone else can understand you,” Mr. Joshua chided.

Melissa frowned. “You are…sure that mine can fly with others?” she said slowly.

Out of the corner of her eye, Rumia saw Eiko mockingly miming Melissa’s attempts to speak Japanese. Rumia scowled and stealthily reached into her pocket and extracted a rubber band and a slip of paper.

“Of course,” Mr. Joshua said. “After all, I wasn’t born in Gensokyo either.” Holding his hands to his side with his palms down, he lifted off the ground about a meter, hovered in place for a few seconds, and then lowered himself down again. “Every person that comes to live in Gensokyo, whether they are born here or come from the outside, are granted the same gifts and abilities.”

“Except for not being ugly,” Hayate whispered just loud enough for those standing right next to her to hear. Haruko and Eiko both giggled. Meanwhile, Rumia had twisted the piece of paper into a tiny tube and was working the rubber band around her fingers.

“Now, as I was saying, flying is, in itself, incredibly easy. But training your body and mind how to do it? Not quite so much. It’s a lot like learning how to walk. Once you’ve got it down you don’t even think about it, you just do it. But before then you need to learn how to keep your balance, how to make your legs strong enough to support you.”

“But what if…” Melissa’s face scrunched up. “Fall. What if I fall?”

“Don’t worry. We’ll be taking this slowly. Today we’re just going to work on getting you off the ground. By the time you’re touching the sky, it’ll be as easy as breathing. Besides, I’ll be watching the whole time.” He clapped his hands. “All right, everyone! Time to practice those exercises we taught you! Groups of three now.”

Everyone walked off with their respective trio. Rumia was with Kohta and Keine of course, while Haruko, Hayate, and Eiko also stuck together. Shinji’s best friends already knew how to fly, so he went with Kana and Melissa, though judging by the look on his face he would have rather practiced with someone less…odd.

As they walked, Rumia spread the rubber band between her fingers, pressed the rolled-up piece of paper against it, took aim, and let it fly.

“Okay, let’s go over here,” she said as she stuck her hand into her pocket and turned her back to her target. A tiny yelp of surprise told her that her aim was true.

Keine frowned. “What are you smirking about?”

“Nothing! I’m just happy about flying! Why wouldn’t I be happy? Aren’t you happy?”

Keine glanced over to where Haruko was presumably still looking about for what had hit her. “Stop picking fights.”

To this, Rumia innocently whistled.

They took a spot in the grass, sat down cross-legged in a small circle, shut their eyes, and tried to thinking airy thoughts.

Nothing happened.

“Don’t be disappointed if you can’t do it at first,” Mr. Joshua had told them. “You have already daydreamed about flying countless times, so it can take a while for your spirit to discern the difference between that and the actual will to fly. Remember: don’t tell yourself to do it, but instead will yourself up.”

Well, that was easier said than done. Rumia tried imagining herself soaring through the clouds like one of the Tengu, rising up through the clouds on invisible wings. It was a nice daydream, but that was the sort of thing usually reserved for keeping herself amused during boring lessons. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t get herself to stop feeling the grass prickling at her legs.

“Up,” Keine muttered under her breath. “Up. Up. Up. Up.”

Rumia sighed. Okay, concentrate. She wasn’t here, sitting in the itchy grass. She was standing on a big, bouncy mushroom. It was light and springy under her feet, and she could just feel it trembling, waiting to propel her into the sky.

All she had to do was jump up, and she would be rising, rising, rising, rising-

At her side, Kohta started to snore.

Rumia cranked her right eye open to glower at him. Then she reached over to swat him.

“What, what?” he said with a sudden jerk. Then he saw Rumia glaring at him.

“Sorry,” he muttered as he settled back down. “It’s just…it’s really warm, and…” The rest of his explanation was swallowed up by a cavernous yawn.

Rumia yawned as well. Well, he wasn’t wrong. It was a pretty sleepy day. Under any other circumstances she would be tempted to just stretch out and let herself drift off. But she couldn’t. She was here to learn how to fly, and by the gods, she was going to do it!

Settling back down, she tried a different tactic. She was drifting in the sky, lying flat on her back on a large, fluffy cloud, the Gensokyian landscape passing by beneath her. This was where she belonged. The sky was her home, and she was safe and warm, floating along as naturally as could be. She was meant to be in the air, where everything was…all floaty and…and dreamy…and…

Before Rumia could fully drift to sleep herself, something sharp struck her cheek.

“Wah!” she cried as she slapped a hand across where she had been hit.

“What? What is it?” Kohta said in surprise.

“Something…” Rumia looked around. “I thought something hit me!”

“Is everything okay?” Mr. Joshua called over to her. From the look of things, he had been helping Melissa, Kana, and Noba’s group.

Rumia blinked in confusion. She was sure that she had felt something.

“No, I’m fine!” she called back. “Just a bug, I guess.”

Sighing, she tried to get herself to relax again. Just as well that had happened, as she had been moments away from napping.

All right, where was she? No, not the cloud. If she kept that up much longer then she was going to snore her way through the whole lesson. Maybe something a little more exciting, like leaping off the highest peak of the Youkai Mountain, or-

Then the something hit her in the back of her neck.

“Ow!” She again smacked the point of impact, but found nothing. However, she know had a pretty good idea who was responsible.

Rumia turned fully around to look behind her. Sure enough, not far from where they were sitting, Haruko and her two minions were in a circle of their own. And judging by the way they were glancing at her and snickering, they had figured out who had shot that paper missile at them earlier, and now mastering the fine art of aviation was of less importance to them than returning fire.

“What’s wrong?” Keine whispered.

“Them,” Rumia hissed back.

Keine craned her neck to see. “Oh. Uh, should we move then?”

Rumia shook her head. Doing that was akin to admitting defeat.

“Want to trade places then?”

That idea actually made Rumia hesitate. Though she didn’t look it, Keine’s youkai blood gave her speed and reflexes far above that of a normal human. If they tried lobbing splinters at her, Keine could probably catch them even with her back turned. The look on their faces after something like that would be so delicious.

But…no. If there was one ironclad rule that they refused to violate, it was to never, ever give up the secret of Keine’s parentage. Bullying they could handle, and give back in return. Letting something like that drop risked having the entirety of the home come after Keine’s mixed blood.

“No,” Rumia growled. “We’ll just get them back-”

Something glanced off her shoulder. This time she didn’t turn in response, though her right eyelid had developed a slight twitch.

Suddenly some kind of uproar sounded from across the field. Both Shinji and Melissa had leapt to their feet and were retreating backward in surprise while Mr. Joshua laughed and clapped his hands in approval.

Kana of all people had somehow managed to pull flight off…and she hadn’t even noticed! She was now hovering about half a meter off ground, her legs still crossed beneath her, hands clasped tightly at her chest, her head bowed and her eyes squeezed shut.

“Wow,” Keine said. “She actually did it.”

Kohta sighed. “Of course she would be the one to figure it out. Of course it would be here.”

“Well, yeah, it only makes sense,” Rumia said. “Her head’s so filled with air that it’s a miracle she’s not floating everywhere already.”

“Well done!” Mr. Joshua said. “You see? You all have it within you. Okay, Kana. You can come down now.”

Kana didn’t appear to have heard him. She was starting to drift a little to the left as she continued to rise upward. And her body was beginning to tilt.

Mr. Joshua cleared his throat. “Ah, Kana?”

Now Kana was tilted fully horizontal, and she just kept turning.

“Kana.”

“Shhh!” Kana hissed, her eyes still closed. “I’m concentrating.”

“Yes, well, you’re also upside-down.”

“Huh?” Kana finally opened her eyes.

By then she had drifted enough so that she was above Mr. Joshua’s head, her inverted face staring at his scraggly beard where it fell across his barrel-shaped chest.

Kana stared stupefied at the unexpected sight for several seconds before saying, “Uh, Mr. Joshua? Why are you standing on your head?”

“Look down,” Mr. Joshua suggested.

Kana did so, though from her perspective she was actually looking up. When she saw the endless expanse of the sky spread out “beneath” her, her eyes went wide.

“Oh,” she said. “The world’s flipped. Why’s that?”

“No, Kana,” Mr. Joshua said patiently. “You’re flying.”

“I am?” Kana looked around. She finally seemed to notice how everything around her was upturned, as well as how far the ground was by now.

“Oh! I am!” A pleased smile spread across her inverted features. “Well, isn’t that nice?”

“It is indeed!” Mr. Joshua gently took her by the shoulders and moved her back around again. “Now, while you’re still in the air, why don’t you tell everyone what-”

Suddenly a shrill horn sounded from the house. Everyone froze in fear. They knew that sound from a hundred drills and the small handful of times it had been blown in earnest. It was a sound that screamed through each of their nightmares.

Dangerous youkai were coming.

“Everyone inside!” Miss Satoko called from the porch. “Joshua! Haruna! Bring them in!”

Rumia, Kohta, and Keine all scrambled to their feet. Lesson was over, and now it was time to flee. Nearby, Haruko and her gang were doing the same. Hostilities were suspended. Now the read danger was coming.

It was something they had practiced over and over again, something that had been embedded deep into their psyches whenever that horn sounded. Run for the house. Get underground and be quiet! Don’t try to fight, don’t look back to see. Just run.

And that was all very well and good, but as terrible fate would have it, one of their number was in no position to run, given that her feet were still off the ground.

As soon as the horn had sounded, Kana had been so startled that she had forgotten her training. Again. And normally, that wouldn’t be much of a problem. The grown-ups were well used to her…shortcomings, and one would always be sure to grab her by the hand and hastily take her to safety. And fortunately, Mr. Joshua was certainly close enough to do that.

Unfortunately, normally she wouldn’t be floating in the air.

She shot off like a bullet, instinctively moving away from the sudden sound instead of toward it. Rumia and her friends all threw themselves to the ground in order to avoid her, but only just. She whizzed past their heads and just kept going.

The other group of children weren’t so quick on the uptake.

Kana slammed right into them. If they had been lucky, the impact would have just taken the four of them off their feet and sent them tumbling into a heap for Mr. Joshua and Miss Mokou to collect.

But luck was a stranger to the orphans of the Aoki Yume’s Children’s Home. It always had been.

Either Kana had built up a considerable amount of momentum or she was a lot heftier than she looked. Either way, only Eiko was sent sprawling to the ground. Haruko was lifted right off her feet and yanked into the air along with Kana. Seconds later the two of them slammed into Hayate, and all three shot into the air.

Rumia, Kohta, and Keine all watched in horror as the three of angled upward, soaring higher and higher toward the border fence. At some point, Kana had apparently stopped flying and was just propelled forward by momentum alone, as soon all three of them had started to tumble back to earth, their arms and legs flailing as Haruko and Hayate screamed in terror. Kana, it should be noted, had yet to make any sound at all.

When they hit the ground, they were far, far outside of the protection of the charms that had been set up along the perimeter fence.

What was more, there were dark figures starting to move across the hills.

Rumia knew that she ought to run. Even with the charms in place, it wouldn’t take much to an especially determined youkai to break through. But for some reason it was like she had forgotten how to move. Her legs felt like twin lumps of lead, and all she could do was stand and gawk as four…things ambled over the crest of the far off hills. Though she couldn’t make out their features, they seemed…sort of humanoid, with four limbs and a head apiece. But their arms and legs were much, much too long and much too thin. And they didn’t move like humans. Instead, they were crawling along on all fours like insects…no, like spiders, their grotesque arms and legs fully extended and bent in unnatural ways, with their jagged elbows pointed up and their knees bending in the wrong direction. Their heads bobbed along on skinny necks, their long, stringy hair seeming to hang down across their faces like veils.

Icy cold fear seeped through Rumia’s spine. Youkai. Wild youkai, and from the Youkai Forest from the look of it.

Humanity’s views of their more magically-inclined neighbors tended to be…diverse. Those in the Human Village were often hostile toward youkai, seeing them as dangerous animals at best. Oddly enough, those who lived further out and were in actual danger of youkai attacks had a more nuanced viewpoint. Even those who lived in the Aoki Yume Children’s Home, most of whom had actually lost their families to youkai attacks, knew that most youkai were people. Sure, they tended to be wilder at heart, but many of them were just mischievous and pretty harmless. Several were quite benevolent and were more than happy to get along with their Human neighbors.

But no amount of friendly interactions would change the fact that dangerous youkai did exist, the kind that preyed up man’s flesh and drank their blood. The lack of other Yagamis in Gensokyo was proof of that.

And it was clear at a glance what kind of youkai these were.

And they were heading straight for Kana, Haruko, and Hayate.

“No!” Eiko screamed. She bolted for the fence, cleared it in a single leaping hurdle, and ran to protect her friends.

Rumia, Kohta, and Keine didn’t hesitate for a second. Kana might be a weirdo and the other three might be insufferable assholes, but when everyone present was divided into an “Us” and a “Them,” it was clear where those four landed, and what those youkai were.

“Guys, get up!” Rumia screamed so loudly that her throat almost tore. “Go! Get out of here!” Kohta shouted at the youkai. Keine didn’t say anything at all. She merely ran so fast that she was almost to the stunned group by the time Rumia and Kohta reached the fence.

“No!” Rumia heard Mr. Joshua call from behind her. “Kids, don’t!”

Rumia didn’t listen. Their family was in danger.

The fence was fast approaching. She leapt up, fully intending to vault the whole wooden structure in one go.

Then a thick hand seized her by the back of the skirt and yanked her back.

Gasping in surprise, Rumia was sent rolling backward into the grass. She landed flat on her back, the fence now above her head. From her inverted position, she saw an upside-down Mr. Joshua leaping into the air and taking flight. “Get them inside!” he shouted to someone out of sight.

A moment later a different set of hands grabbed Rumia and pulled her up. Miss Haruna had pulled both her and Kohta off the ground and was dragging the two of them back.

Rumia snapped out of her daze. “Wait, no!” she said as she struggled against the stocky woman’s grip. “I have to help Keine! Let me go!”

She might as well have been struggling against a stone for all the good it did. Miss Haruna kept silent as she hauled the two of them back.

But while Miss Haruna could keep them from rushing to their sisters’ aid, she couldn’t stop them from seeing what was happening.

Keine had already reached the fallen group mere seconds after Eiko did, who was trying to haul everyone away by herself, with each of her arms wrapped around Haruko and Hayate’s dazed bodies while Kana’s collar was clutched in one hand. Keine didn’t hesitate, and grabbed onto everyone, Haruko and Kana in one hand, and Hayate and a very confused Eiko in the other, and started pulling them away all by herself. It was an impressive feat of strength, one that a girl her age and size had no business performing.

Unfortunately, she was merely half-youkai. And the spiders were the real deal.

Mr. Joshua was flying toward the other kids like panicked aerial tree stump. “Get back!” he hollered. Glowing green crisscrossing circles orbited by spinning green triangles appeared around his right hand. He hurled a ball of sputtering energy at the air above the spiders, who were getting dangerously close to the kids. It exploded like a firework and sent green sparks raining down upon up.

They flinched and hissed but didn’t stop. The lead spider reared his head back like a striking snake and spat something that looked like a gooey loogie the size of a dinner plate right into Mr. Joshua’s face.

Mr. Joshua was knocked back, hands clawing at the glob of spiderweb that now encased his face.

Two more spiders vomited up webs, this time ones that remained connected to their mouths via long and sticky strands. One enveloped up Kana and Eiko while the other took Haruko and Hayate.

Keine stumbled and fell. She started to rise up when the fourth spider webbed her up as well.

Rumia stopped fighting against Miss Haruna. Oh, no. Oh, no, no, no.

The three webbed-up bundles kept kicking and thrashing, but it did none of them any good. The spiders swarmed over them, hands going to work covering every last bit of the kids, cocooning them like mummies.

Though his face was still covered with the white, sticky mess, Mr. Joshua was struggling to get to his feet. He managed to get onto his knees when one of the spiders looked up and spat another glob at him. This time it hit him in the stomach and knocked him flat again.

Now that the spiders had their prey fully bound up, they were leaving, retreating back the way they came with their bundles strapped to their backs like backpacks. They took to the air, flying off together.

“Keine!” Rumia screamed.

They were getting away.

“Keine!”

They had her friend.

“Keine, no!”

They had her sisters.

“Keine, please! Please, no!”

They were getting away.

“K-K-Keine…” Rumia sobbed as big, fat tears ran down her cheeks.

…

You know those projects that seem really short and easy to begin with, remain short and easy through most of the work, but then balloon up at the very end? This was one of them.

Until next time, everyone.

#the touhou project #touhou #rumia #keine #Fujiwara no Mokou #suika ibuki #imperfect metamorphosis #swiftly descending darkness #fanfic

5 notes · View notes

dragonwitch77 · 5 years

Text

Death’s Flower ch 2

“Stupid kid. Stupid gods.” Snatcher grumbled, stomping down the seamlessly endless steps that descended down to his realm. A realm that only housed beings that had left the mortal world for good, where there is nowhere else to go when their life came to an end. A domain that had many names.

The Underworld. The Realm of the Death. The Underground. The Forsaken Place. The Domain of the Snatcher.

Pretty much those names were enough to fill in the mortals and gods alike of what was down there. Being the God of Death, souls of mortals were sent to his domain to be dealt with after their parting from the living world. It was his sole duty alone to do this task, whether he liked it or not.

And he didn’t mind it one bit.

In fact he liked that he was the God of Death. If it meant that others feared him and left him alone, then he didn’t mind reaping a couple hundred souls each day. It was fun to see others squirm in his presence, fearing when he might snap and attack them or prank them out of the blue. He may be the God of Death, but he had to have some fun once in a while.

He took in the site of his world as he reached the final step, standing on it as his eyes gazed over the world he ruled. Some would say that his domain was a dark place that didn’t even have a speck of light in it, but he could prove them wrong once they saw what a wonder his world was. It was like a kingdom of darkness, the only light coming from the pools filled with souls he had yet to judge, varying from bluish greens to deep purples and sky blue. As long as it wasn’t too colorful, his world was perfect.

“Boss! Boss!”

Almost perfect.

“What is it?” Snatcher sighed, stepping off the final step, letting the earth return to its natural state as it closed up behind him for another year before he could leave again.

His minion, one of many identical beings that swore their service to him, fell to the ground in front of him in a clumsy manor. Picking themselves up, they stood tall, or as tall as their pudgy small round body could only reach the height just half way to his knee. “Boss! Thank the Sisters you’re back! We just got a new batch of souls! It seems like a bunch a them had drowned.”

Snatcher rolled his eyes, sighing heavily. “That’s the third time this month. Honestly, how many idiotic mortals are going to die before they realize that fishing out in a storm is NOT a good idea?!” He walked past the minion, grumbling to himself as he went deep into his domain. “What’s the status on our current pools?”

“W-well, we’ve managed to sort out all the young and old into the pools they should go in. Few have tried to escape.” The minion followed behind him, listing off the things that had happened while the deathly ruler was gone. “The dogs were getting restless after you left so we set them lose on some damned souls to keep them occupied. A child recently died of an illness. Someone was stabbed to death. Moonjumper is here. And we still—OOF!”

The minion fell backwards, looking up at the long black hair of their master.

“I’m sorry.” The minion coward as Snatcher slowly turned around, his eyes illuminating in the darkness, staring down the minion. “Did I hear that right? Did you just say, Moon. Jumper. Is here?!” A deep growl emanated within Snatcher’s throat as his cape began dancing with power.

“I-I-I-I-I’M SORRY! We tried to send him away but he wouldn’t listen!” The minion shook with fear as the dark serge of Snatcher’s power radiated. “He insisted that he needed to see you urgently, but you weren’t here!”

“WHERE IS HE?!”

“AT THE TEMPLE! HE’S IN THE TEMPLE!” The minion openly wept as Snatcher growled with rage, running towards his home.

)*(

The home of the God of Death was, as the other gods described it, not as fancy or well lavished as all the other homes of the other gods and goddesses. It wasn’t made out of white stone marble, but black cracking earth and vines with sharp thorns that held it together. It was just as big as any home fit for a god, maybe even bigger than the rest of them, but was not very appealing to look at with crumbling pillars, broken floors, skeletons of the many deceased used for decorations and furniture, and bodies of past intruders hung on the ceiling to show as an example.

But while the other gods and goddesses would find the thought of going to such place disturbing if not revolting, there was in fact one god who did not mind Snatcher’s strange taste of design.

And the only god to get on his nerves.

“MOONJUMPERRRRR!” Snatcher screamed as he burst open the doors of his home, forgetting to restrain himself as his power tore the rotten wood off their hinges and clatter to the ground in pieces.

“Ah! So he finally arrives! Though I can see he’s quite angry as a beehive!”

Snatcher growled as he spotted the god sitting in his favorite chair with a bowl of grapes in his hand. “What are you doing here you pathetic excuse of a god?! You aren’t allowed in the Underworld without permission from me!”

The god merely grinned, plucking a grape and popping it in his mouth. “Permission from you? Oh how silly but true. While indeed most do, I however can pop in out of the blue.”

Snatcher stormed his way up to Moonjumper, slamming his claws into the seat’s armrests and growled dangerously. “I REALLY insist that you stop with your ridiculous habit of rhymes you—”

“Temper temper! There’s no need of this distemper!” Moonjumper rose from the seat, shoving the bowl in Snatcher’s hands. “I only came for a visit! Now that’s not such a crime, is it?”

The god giggled, going around Snatcher as he threw the bowl filled with fruit away. Most would say that the two were look similar to one another. But while their faces did seem to mirror each other, that is where the similarity ended. While Snatcher was thin, bony, pale skinned, golden eyes, had wild long hair that reached to the floor, covered in darkness and wore pants, Moonjumper was a class of his own with his short pure white hair, blue skin, bright red colored clothing with chains wrapped around his torso and neck, wild red eyes, and scars covering his face.

And majorly legless. Everyone could spot the lack of legs from miles away. And it was no secret to how he lost them in the first place.

“You little pest! How many times do I have to beat it in you that I do not want you here?! You have your own domain! Go use that instead of here!”

“I do not wish to be this pestering! I only dropped by to see what your mind is festering.” Moonjumper grinned, floated around Snatcher. “You seemed quite tense, I should know. Tell me, what’s bothering you so?”

“I don’t need to tell the likes of you!” Snatcher shoved past Moonjumper. “I know your tricks God of Corpses! Don’t think for a second that I won’t know what you’re up to!”

“But that is not true! I really came to see you!” Moonjumper followed him, keeping a distance between them in case the Death God decided to get a little… slashy. “Say all you want with your skilled tongue of lies, I can see it in your sad eyes.”

“Stop following me.” Snatcher growled. “I’ve already got enough to deal with, and your visit is not helping.”

“Indeed all this talking isn’t much help. Shouldn’t you be searching for the thieving little whelp?”

Snatcher froze in his tracks. He slowly looked over his shoulder, glaring at the other god behind him. “How… did you know something was stolen from me?”

Moonjumper clicked his tongue, waging his finger at Snatcher. “Oh silly Snatcher, can’t you see? There’s a connection between you and me. Though knowledge and memories we do not share, you tend to let you emotions go wild without care. Though it was only just very brisk, I could feel that the balance of the world is at great risk.” He grabbed to cloak that Snatcher never took off, pulling it up so that the tear was visible for both of them to see.

“For such a precious item that you deeply tend with care, seems that someone defiled it with a horrible tear.”

Snatcher swatted Moonjumper’s hands away, tugging the cloak close to him.

“This act is quite shameful, but who is very blameful? Mortal or god? This act has got me quite awed! For stealing a piece of the cloak that belongs to none other than you Snatcher, must be feeling deep satisfactory and rapture.”

“If it were a mere mortal that stole from me, they would die instantly when they touch the piece even by a little.” Snatcher glared at the tear. “No mortal can do such a task and get away with this without consequences. Even with help from another god, the task is impossible.”

“Ah! But to have a piece taken under your nose and gone! It seems that impossible was in fact improbable along.”

Snatcher shot a dirty look at Moonjumper. “… I don’t have time to deal with you. I have work that needs my attendance.” With that he stormed off, leaving Moonjumper to giggle madly at nothing.

)*(

“Thank you for coming Caitlin. I know this was sudden with what happened earlier today and with your help with the guests.”

“It’s no trouble! I was happy to help! Plus, I hadn’t had the chance to use my whip on someone for a long time now so I felt it was necessary for some practice.” Caitlin grinned, patting her trusted whip hooked on her belt. “Besides, I wanted to see the little cutie again~! I just can’t get enough of his tiny little fingers~!” The goddess purred, making Zaman laugh happily.

“Yes. Lyvia has certainly made a cute… child…”

“… Is something the matter?” Caitlin asked, noticing the sad look in Zaman’s three eyes.

“It’s nothing old friend. Just… Lyvia never showed any deep desire for anything other than looks before. I knew she had a soft spot for children, but… to go this far to make one. Without a partner no doubt. I… I honestly don’t know how to feel! I would never allow her to sleep with any man of course! She’s still too… too arrogant I fear. I feel like she only did it for attention and has no real desire to care for her daughter.”

“Zaman, old friend, do not worry!” Caitlin took Zaman’s hand between hers, grasping it tightly. “Your daughter is taking a big step. Motherhood is rewarding and learning. She will learn to be less immodest as she cares for her new child and learn to take her responsibility well. She now has someone who will depend on her and rely on her to take care of them. I’ve seen plenty of new mothers in my time and she’s no different.”

“But what if she strays from her duty as a mother? Children need constant care after all. I would know this well when Lyvia was but a small child herself and I had to raise her on my own.”

“Ah, but that is where you are wrong dear friend. You were not alone! You had friends who were willing to help. And now, your daughter has friends that are willing to help her raise her child when she is in need of that help.” She gave her friend’s hand a squeeze.

Zaman sighed, shaking his head with a smile. “You… are a very wise old friend. And very right. I’m still worried about her, but I will give her a chance at being a mother.” His smile grew wide as his three eyes gleamed with a spark of giddiness in them. “And it will be a joy to be a grandfather. After all, someone needs to spoil my grandchild!”

“Oh you!” Caitlin slapped his arm in good fun as the God of Time roared with laughter.

“Father? Caitlin? Can you come to the garden please?” Lyvia’s voice called out from the garden, catching both of the gods attention. They shared a look before heading over to the garden.

The garden was a beautiful place, filled with flowers and fruits, with decorations that wild the imagination of any mortal, and small animals that played in the trees and sang lovely songs gifted by the goddess herself. Lyvia was seated by the edge of one of the many lakes in the garden, watching the colorful fish swim about.

“Lyvia? Is something the matter child?” Zaman asked, approaching her quietly as her child was sleeping in her arms.

Lyvia continued to stare at the fish swimming in the water before slowly turning her gaze to the moon. “… Father? How, high are the walls surrounding the garden?”

Zaman, taken by surprise by the question, shared a glance with his old friend. “Well, very high my child. Why do you ask?”

Lyvia looked away from the fish, fixing her eyes on her father. “Is it not possible to make them higher? I… would like them to be taller.”

“Now why in the world would you want that? The walls surrounding the garden are very high already.” Caitlin questioned, one of her ears tilting down in confusion.

“I know they are high as they are now Caitlin. And you are right to question my sudden request.” Lyvia stood up slowly so not to disturb her child’s rest. “But, please understand. It’s for my child’s safety.”

“The walls are tall enough for you not to worry for her safety my daughter. I made them myself and with the finest builders! Why has this worry come upon you?”

“…”

“… It’s… because of him, isn’t it?” Caitlin’s ear flattened against her head, her tail dipping down low to the ground.

Zaman sighed. “Lyvia—”

“Please father! After what happened today, I’m worried for her safety! Not fearing the God of Death is one thing, but to laugh in his face is another! Have you ever met someone who has laughed in the face, the actual face, of death himself?”

Zaman’s mouth hung open, yet no words came out. “… well… no. I can not tell you who has done such a thing.”

“Exactly! You both have told me what he is like. He will not take this lightly! What if he tries to do harm to my child? Or worse, kill her?”

“Now now! There’s no need to worry about that!” Zaman placed his hands on Lyvia’s shoulders. “Snatcher has used his one day of walking on the surface of the living. And he may be the God of Death, but he’s never taken a life of a god before!”

“But… but what about the Dark Days?”

The two older gods cringed, looking away from Lyvia.

“… Snatcher… does tend to hold a bit of a grudge against others.” Caitlin spoke quietly, her tail swishing to and fro. “I’ve seen firsthand of what he can do when he’s pushed far enough. He can turn things rather ugly real quick.”

Zaman sighed, rubbing his neck. “He’s an unpredictable one. With a variety of tricks up his sleeve.”

“Please build the wall higher father! My child must be protected from his wrath!”

Zaman glanced at his daughter, looking deep into her pleading eyes and found great worry deep within them. He looked to his grandchild, seeing the peaceful look on her sleeping face. So innocent and untainted by the world.

“… fine.” Zaman sighed with reluctance. “I shall see to it that the wall gets built taller.”

“Thank you father!” Lyvia threw her arm around her father, hugging him tightly. “Thank you! Thank—Oh!” Lyvia pulled back as her child started to cry. “My poor baby, did mommy startle you? Oh, I’m sorry.” She rocked herself, heading off for her chambers.

Caitlin watched as the young goddess walked away, turning to her old friend with a deep frown on her face. “Would building the walls higher even make a difference? Snatcher is a crafty one and you know that walls won’t stop him if he really will go after her child.”

Zaman rubbed his chin, stroking his small beard. “He is crafty. Too cleaver for my taste, and, dare I say, smarter than me and the Sisters. And terrifyingly dangerous. I wouldn’t be surprised if he tries anything, but I’m sure he wouldn’t try anything so soon. But then again. It wouldn’t hurt to prepare and add a little guard to the place.”

“Yes, but would it be enough to stop him? He can be very persistent on his tasks, nothing will sway him from what he sets his mind on.” Caitlin huffed. “To think… he was once one of us on equal ground.”

“Now now. The past is behind us all Caitlin. What happened, happened. There’s nothing we can do now but more forward with time of the future.”

“… Zaman… how… how can you be the only god I know who doesn’t hold on to the past without a deep grudge? Everyone else seems to still hold it against him for what he’s done but you—”

“Caitlin, let’s just say for now that we all were young back then. Snatcher may almost be as old as me and older than you, but sometimes, you have to look at all angles before you see the whole picture.”

Caitlin stared at her friend for a moment before sighing and shaking her head. “I love you old fool, but sometimes, even with the clearness of a cat, you still remain a big mystery to me.”

Zanam smiled. “Because too much curiosity can kill the cat.” He laughed as Caitlin gave him a solid punch to the arm, leading her back inside for a few drinks before seeing her off that night.

#ahit #ahit au #ahit fanfic #a hat in time #death's flower au #snatcher #cooking cat #moonjumper

27 notes · View notes

seapiggies · 6 years

Photo

Tanks - March 31st, 2018

personal ramblings and thoughts ahead

4g BiOrb: Still cycling. Since I haven’t used the biOrb filter cartridges and used filter sponge and biomax instead I’m interested in seeing how it’ll go. I added the ceramic rocks and the marimo balls today, and it’ll eventually have some manzita tree type driftwood with tons of moss in there. The curved shape will be great at making the tiny shrimps look bigger.

50g: I made a huge change in this tank in the past month, kind of on a whim, but I think it’s the best decision I’ve made since I started it. I rehomed my harlequin rasboras, longfin leopard danios and sterbai corys because I just couldn’t keep the pH down enough for the rasboras and the danios just weren’t compatible anyway, and upping the schools when my tank just wasn’t in prime condition for them just didn’t seem right. everything just felt wrong about that tank and I kept trying to make it right for the fishes I had, because I loved them, until I realized [cue romantic melody] i just couldn’t love them right, so I let them go. I found them good homes, people with large tanks that already had schools.

I decided to go a whole different way, with my first and true love, platies, who thrive in the higher pH of my tap water. I also got 3 pearl gouramis, fishes I had always dreamed of and some of the most versatile gouramis out there. I’ve kept the two BN plecos. I’m very attached to them, and since I intend to keep the pH around 7 and the temp around 79, I think everyone should do just fine. I’m dealing with a bit of parasites and one platy has fungus, and honestly if I could get my fish anywhere else besides where I got them from I would, but it’s the only place in town and I can’t get fish mailed but God. their fishes are always fucking sick istg. I’m treating them all with paraguard, almond leaves, and I might try salt or salt dips.

All the plants are in pots while I wait until I add the fluval substrate. I haven’t checked yet if it changes the pH, but I will, and if it does, I won’t add it until I’m done treating the tank. I don’t want to stress the fishes anymore than they already are. Despite everything, they seem to be doing pretty great, they’re eating a lot, even the gouramis. the male was very thin when I got him, and one of the females was stressed out the first day, but the male has already started rounding up nicely and the female is doing way better. they all colored up so pretty. the platies are all very energetic and excited. one of them has already risen as The Asshole. they do eat the pleco’s wafers and bug bites though, but leave the zucchinis alone.

I’ve struggled with this tank - first the a 25g, now a 50g - for over 6 months. I’m finally deeply happy about it. it’s beautiful. I can’t wait until I can get a carpet to grow, and even more plants to fill it up. I just adore it. I purely adore it, and I haven’t felt this way about it for so long that I forgot how fucking good it felt. I can spend hours in front of it (and I do, whoops). I have missed having platies so much, and I looooove gouramis and their little feelers and their little faces, and I just want to spend the next 10 years watching my bristlenose grow up and grow old, and watch over my platy children, grand children, grand grand children, grand grand grand grand children...

10g: my beautiful little autumn garden. this tank has been doing good for a long time, and is just doing better than ever. parameters are always 0/0/5. every damn time. the shrimps, whomst when I first got them used to spend their all day on the driftwood barely moving, now zoom zoom zoom all day long. and charlotte, who has carried eggs three times, and who I thought ate her own babies or something, is actually a mom!!!! i have seen several shrimplets around the tank!!! I’m just dumb and didn’t realize baby shrimps are smaller than a water bubble and that’s why i didn’t see any for a really long time. i have no idea who she’s mating with though, the only other shrimp who isn’t an amano is a red and white shrimp that could be a crystal red or something but it looks so young? idk what’s happening but SOMEONE is making babies with charlotte. and im vERY excited about it. fitzwilliam as usual gives 0 fuck about anything, and hasn’t tried to eat any of the babies, as nothing interests him besides his pellets or bug bites. he’s a good, peaceful gardian of the garden.

#mine #fishblr #aquablr #aquarium #fishtank

185 notes · View notes

saints-row-2 · 6 years

Note

How DOES shit go for ezra's lil wasteland province that he takes over? Does life improve in that area? How long does it last? Im dyin over here

MAN i havent actually ... really thought much beyond the immediate ending of Fallout 4, when Project Purity are just starting to control the Capital and start turning things around. i guess i dont want to like tie myself down to shit if future games give me new ideas yknow BUT anyway heres what i think right now

Project Purity is made up of a lot of disparate groups, largely raiders and people from Tallahassee and Ezra-Kane’s merc days, as well as wasteland recruits, fiends, ex-brotherhood, Talon company, other small gangs that Ezra-Kane absorbed into his militia... he just takes whoever wants to join and what that does also is make it so that a lot of people are connected to PP even if theyre not part of it; people are less likely to turn on a group when its giving their child, their partner, their neighbour etc work and a living wage.

another thing is that Project Purity buys out (using money Ezra-Kane took from the Sierra Madre and from House) like... every fucking trader and trade route they can, and makes deals with every caravan passing through to work as protection etc, as well as rerouting caravan and trade routes through Project Purity affiliated settlements and towns which means very quickly Project Purity controls the vast majority of the trade in the Capital wasteland.

something i hadnt mentioned recently is that both Ezra-Kane (eventually) and Tallahassee are ghouls and Project Purity has a lot of ghouls, super mutants (the ones who dont hate humans) and synths in its ranks. Ezra-Kane has some.. small drama with Atticus about the Railroad allowing Synths into the Capital later down the line bcs Atticus doesnt approve of any of this shit and doesnt want the synths just being taken into Ezra-Kane’s private army.

like i said, Project Purity doesnt do any of the like... settlement building and repair shit that the Minutemen do so people are mostly left to their own devices. but if you consider shit like Big Town? Big Town’s whole deal is that theyre unable to build a safe settlement because it keeps getting destroyed by super mutants and slavers. but Project Purity cleans out the super mutants and wipes Paradise Falls off the face of the earth (they completely destroy the slave trade in the Capital Ezra-Kane hates slavers) so.. in that scenario, there would be nothing stopping Big Town from flourishing as long as thats what the citizens want. (in theory).

really the big thing that lets PP grow and become successful is that there isnt an opposing force on the same scale. the Brotherhood left and went to the Commonwealth in Fallout 4, and got destroyed by the Railroad. the Enclave die in 3. if, say, the entire force of the NCR or the West Coast Brotherhood came down on them then no, theres a chance they wouldnt do as well, but theres really no one stopping them and thats what lets Ezra-Kane completely take over. people who dont like them are going to be too small-scale to be able to do anything.

i think in a lot of ways shit would improve. Project Purity does bring a sense of security to the Capital; theres no slavers, theres no enclave or brotherhood, they even clean up feral ghouls and super mutants. they bring work and facilitate outside trade. its... more neutral than the Minutemen in a sense? because the Minutemen are very built around being the heroes who come to save people and help people, but PP are more about punishing people who step out of line.

like to your average fucking joe who just lives in a small town and makes a living hunting mole rats or whatever, you probably dont fucking care at all. maybe your neighbour’s daughter works for PP and when you go to Rivet City to sell some skins and make some caps, you see some PP soldiers around but youre not doing anything wrong so who gives a shit. i imagine a lot of people like them because hey, they destroyed Paradise Falls and even if there are a lot of zombies working for them at least theyre not running around attacking people.

i mean the real flaw is that the longer they grow and flourish, the more they have a monopoly on everything. like trade might be safer but theyre cutting a profit on all of it (running a gang has a lot of overhead). something like GNR isnt going to be around for much longer because Ezra-Kane isnt going to tolerate someone running a station which speaks out against him. something like the Regulators, people who are hunting bounties on bad people? no fucking way is competition being allowed.

and like. the Capital is still sick. the water is bad. the land is bad. its a shitty, hard place to live with or without the raiders and PP isnt going to do anything about that. Megaton is gone so thats one less active, successful town. Ezra-Kane’s whole plan kind of places the entire brunt of actually developing a world worth living in on the people living in it. PP holds a huge amount of capital and power, but its not helping people. which i think could incite a huge amount of resentment; no one’s fond of the rich guy whos hiding in the background while everyone else struggles. and as mentioned, theres not going to be a real way for people to speak out against them. Project Purity is there to keep bad people out, but theres nothing inviting good people to stay in, really.

Project Purity’s survival is dependent on two things; the Capital Wasteland actually staying populated and alive, because if people keep drifting out in search of a better life elsewhere, theyll eventually be sitting on an empty crop of land, and on no one bigger challenging them. like i said before, the reason PP took over easily is because there was no one to stop them. if, say, the Brotherhood came back, they could probably demolish Project Purity.

oh, and the people who work for PP actually staying in line because if a big enough chunk of soldiers mutiny then its looking pretty bad pretty quickly.

as for how long it lasts... like i said, Ezra-Kane and Tallahassee are both ghouls, and they deliberately recruit a lot of ghouls to work for the company and particularly in high-ranking positions, which means theyre not going to age out in a hurry. but theres a chance... yknow... if everyone turns on them? dead. if they do get targeted by a rival group? maybe dead. if PP expands too far outside of the Capital Wastes, spreads themselves too thin and gets killed by rival groups? dead.

the plan for Project Purity is that they expand outside of the Capital and into other parts of america and i feel kind of inevitably Ezra-Kane is going to challenge the wrong person and go down in some blaze of glory... hes gonna die in his power armour with his gun in his hand, thats how ive always seen it. hes got too much ambition and hunger to change the world for it to be any other way.

JESUS CHRIST THIS IS A LONG POST................... tl;dr i think in some ways shit gets better just because people are given an opportunity to let their towns grow, but i think this is almost exclusive to big cities and towns and smaller farmers are kind of fucked. i also think the Capital’s really bad farmland means that people are heavily reliant on trade, which PP is monopolising, which is going to stew resentment.

i think people in Rivet City or Underworld or other towns that form over the years will probably be more fond of PP than people who like... are struggling to have a living of any kind. i think a lot of people will just start leaving the Capital in the end, honestly. but for a long time... theyre just quietly sitting there, holding the Capital in a tight grip and waiting for someone to try to say shit.

#ezra kane pilgrim #fallout stuff #internationalspacehobo

3 notes · View notes

heybinnie · 7 years

Text

i dunno if anyone watches steven universe but i gotta dump sth here

steven universe au

some context

there is Homeworld, located in space, where gems are made and are from

the three-ish people who lead Homeworld are called the Diamonds

every other gem kinda worships them and has to follow their every order

thousands of years ago, Homeworld set out to make Earth like this place to experiment making gems and shit and basically just rekt Earth for their own use

which is BAD

so basically the Diamonds suck

so Rose Quartz, right, shes a gem from Homeworld who saw Earth as a beautiful place and something worth saving

she believed that all life on earth is beautiful

SO she betrayed her own home to protect her new home, that is Earth

she started a rebellion called the Crystal Gems

whoever joined her had to remember that they could be killed, and if they won, they couldnt go back to Homeworld and have to stay on Earth

so they went to war with Homeworld called the Gem War and they won!!!!!

but the Crystal Gems lost a lot of their members

until there was only Rose, Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl left

Rose (Whos a gEm REMEMBER) she falls in love with a human

Rose gets pregnant!!!

BUT

their baby and her cant exist at the same time

so rose has to give up her physical form so that her baby can live

which means

her baby will be half human half gem, and will thus have her gem

so her baby lives, but without his mom

thats steven

and bc she led the rebellion, steven has to ‘deal’ with everything his mom left behind

which is a lot of stuff

about where Steven lives!!

he lives alone in this house, but its like connected to the Temple where the Crystal Gems live, so in a sense its basically just a big house with a huge weird basement so they all kinda live together idk how to explain this

lives on the beach!!! its so cute i love the place

THE CRYSTAL GEMS!!!

sanha is steven (*starts crying*)

his rose quartz gem is on his chest, over his heart

has never met his mom

so never really knew the love of a mother but it never really ~occurred~ to him until she becomes really important

I CANT TeLL YOU HOW EMOTIONALLY DRAINING IT WOULD BE TO BE STEVEN OK

so anyway sanha is a sweetheart

also is musically talented in every way

likes to sing random songs out of nowhere

likes to mess with his ‘guardians’ a lot aka the rest of the crystal gems

but they all have a soft spot for him no matter how much he messes up

he always does his best bro

and its so cute bc hes just the baby brother and hes surrounded by a bunch of hundreds or thousands of years old gems lmao

sometimes hes left alone at home when the rest of the crystal gems go on missions too dangerous for him

and when his dad is busy

hes alone at home

and its really quiet and the painting of his mother hangs on top of their front door, and sanha gets really lonely and just cries sometimes

so when rocky comes over his chest always fills up with warmth and relief

to sanha, his family is everything

also adorable. absolutely adorable no one can say no to his face tbh

jinjin is garnet??

hes created the exact same way garnet was

his gems are in the same places--both palms

jinjin loves the concept of love in general

bc hes literally made out of love

like legit

hes a fusion: a sapphire and ruby who werent supposed to but fell in love, and gems do this thing where when theyre really emotionally bonded and stuff theyd fuse? which is like. thats a lot of trust for each other ykno

so jinjins a fusion

people look down on fusions bc theyre usually thought to only be useful to like fight but jinjin exists because of love

YOU FEEL ME

and jinjin honestly doesnt care about what people think of him bc he exists

but he feels very strongly for fusions!!

hes also considered the ‘strongest’ because hes a fusion

also the de facto leader of the crystal gems

always calm and level headed but occasionally likes to crack a joke

everyone loves him

jinjin is jinjin in the sense that he is always kind and likes to make sanha laugh

soft spot for sanha

sanha trusts him a LOT

often looks to him for advice, when something goes wrong, for safety and warmth and protection

eunwoo is pearl

he hides his gem beneath his bangs?? bc hes embarrassed :’)

pearls are considered only useful as ‘accessories’ and servants to the Diamonds

gems from Homeworld think of pearls as the ‘lowest’ gems

but this boy learns to love and be confident of himself come FIGHT ME

no one owns eunwoo man he’s his own gem

hes really super duper smart

sometimes he and jinjin fight bc he sees things more logically>? while jinjin acts more on intuition and stuff?

mj makes fun of eunwoo sometimes bc he doesnt know how to have fun? but then right after mj helps him so thats kinda cute

but also eunwoo berates mj a lot bc

well its mj

also chides sanha a lot when he doesnt keep the house in order

often helps to clean up

anyway hes considered the ‘closest’ to Rose Quartz bc hed been fighting by her side the longest

so he misses her a lot but eunwoo doesnt blame sanha for any of it; he loves sanha all the same

but then bin THE LION comes into the picture and eunwoo gets this weird but warm, familiar sense of comfort from bin, something he remembers feeling around Rose when she was still around, so he likes to hang with bin a lot

even if bin the lion likes to lie on his face and whap him in the face with his tail and leave fur everywhere

anyway

mj is amethyst

but like....hes an amber

his gem is on hiS BACK between his shoulderblades

the history of amethyst: amethysts are ‘made’ on earth, theyre made mostly to be soldiers and fight for homeworld

somewhere above pearls on the hierarchy i guess

theyre made in the Kindergarten, where there are these holes in the walls where the gems would come out of

at some point mj’s kindergarten kind of became like a ‘bad place’ and every gem that grew out of there were like parasites

so that Kindergarten was abandoned

and mj, the hole he came out of, his hole was smaller than everyone else’s

he came out smaller than everyone else

he was considered a ‘defect’ and weaker than the others

anyway bc the place was abandoned and he had nowhere to go since no one wanted him, mj just stuck around alone by himself for hundreds of years

until Rose came along (when she was still alive of course) and offered him to join the Crystal Gems

and Rose taught him love and how he was worth fighting for and he mattered and that he wasnt a defect, not a parasite, that he deserved love and to be loved and to love others and

im emo

ANYWAY

MJ IS MJ hes the mood maker and always makes sanha smile whenever sanha is feeling down

hes kinda like the glue that keeps the gems together

loves to have fun

but he gets really uncomfortable whenever the topic of the other ambers or the Kindergarten is brought up like hes super insecure of where hes from

he tries to smile it off tho but he really just doesnt like talking about it

protecc mj

ROCKY!! IS CONNIE!!!!!!!!!

SANHA’S HUMAN BEST FRIEND

who sanha really pours his heart out to!!!

and rocky as rocky doesnt give him shit ykno but he real talks sanha

a lot

rocky also doesnt care that sanha is half gem and half human; like doesnt care and just likes him for him

sticks around through thick and thin and hell and highwater

believes in sanha, holds a lot of faith in him

but hes still your Rocky Swag

always listens to sanha whenever he needs someone to talk to

actually likes to hear about all his adventures with the other Crystal Gems

likes to touch and poke and prod at Sanha’s gem too

like he’d sometimes kinda just pull down on sanha’s collar just so he could look at his rose quartz gem sparkle in the sun and its so pretty he kinda wished he was a gem

anyway eventually he starts to really worry for sanha and wants to fight the bad guys with him, doesnt wanna be protected all the time

so rocky learns to fight

from jinjin

and rocky becomes especially good in combat and stuff and learns how to use some weapons from eunwoo (specialises in weapons)

honestly rocky is a gem like hes a GIFT

sanha’s so thankful for him

but he also feels really bad bc he feels like hes pulling rocky into his own mess and putting him in danger

but rocky doesnt care he just wants to be by sanha’s side and help him wherever he can and support him all the way through

im emo

rocky also holds sanha quietly when he cries about his mom

which starts to get more and more often

bin....is lion......................................................

LMAO

basically Lion is this uh lion that Sanha found one day when they went on a mission, and Lion is all pink and stuff and followed him around and all the way back home too

the Crystal Gems were unsure about keeping him but sanha thought it was HELLA COOL to have a pet lion and they all eventually lost to His Baby Face

no one can ever say no to that face

anyway bin is called Lion bc sanha has no originality with names so there

anyway

bin is actually a gem

he specialises in shapeshifting? so when rose was still around he was in lion form a lot

hes a cATS EYE QUARTZ

BUT HIS GEM waS cracked in the middle of the gem war

and usually when a gem’s gem is cracked they start to get real weird until the crack gets bigger and bigger and eventually it shatters which means they die

but when rose was alive she healed him but could only do it like halfway? like it was a rushed job so he was stuck as a lion during that war

and then when that was over he was kinda left behind bc rose thought she’d lost everyone already

idk bro

so basically bin’s been stuck as a lion for TOO LONG until sanha found him

but sanha doesnt knoW hes a gem bc bin’s gem is hidden so far beneath is goddam thicc mane so no one ever knew

also my friends who may not know

Steven’s Lion is pink

this means binnie will have pink hair and skin imagine that

and he kinda kneels to sanha (even as lion)

I CANT EXPLAIN THIS U JUST GOTTA KNOW HE KNEELS AND BOWS HIS HEAD

#respect

but also maintains that whole im-older-than-you-respect-me-u-brat vibe

ANYWAY

bin the LION comes along on one of the Crystal Gems’ missions with sanha

aND HE GETS REALLY HURT

ALMOST DIES KINDA HURT

his gem cracks and his form starts to get real weird, changing between lion and other animals and shit

SANHA STARTS CRYING

“Lion????”

sanha cries A LOT, buries his face into bin’s mane and stuff and it soaks right frickin thru

his teaRS HEALED BIN’S GEM

BIN COMES BACK

AS HIS ACTUAL FORM

hes naked

everyone screams

#miwrites #tbh just a dump #steven universe is just really cool i just really love the concept #bulletfic

66 notes · View notes

ts-indonesia · 5 years

Text

Episode 1 - "Time to put on a bra and take some selfies." - Leigh

Episode 1 saw eighteen players, some fresh faces, and some veterans arrive on the Indonesia beaches, ready to play and ready to win. On a somewhat quiet Obor tribe, Leigh/Trent bonded over the age difference on the tribe (with a cunning plan reliant on using the word ‘lit’) and Anabel/Trent begun to form a bond that would survive the test of time.

On the Cahaya tribe, Matt/Jess feared the casting of one another, and Julian arrived plucky and ready to avoid another prejury experience, determined to improve. Owen/Stoner quickly formed HOS 22: Bermuda, and set to work spreading their connections across the tribe, forming at trio with Julian.

After a decisive victory in the Scavenger Hunt, it was revealed the returnees would have to send two returnees to the other tribe as “infiltrators” casting a sole vote. In an attempt to force the result, Julian went “offline”, in an attempt seen-through by his fellow tribe mates, but one that was ultimately successful, with Owen & Julian sent over as infiltrators.

At Obor’s tribal council, Evan quickly emerged as an easy vote, for his minimal challenge contribution. Two key alliances formed, a newbie majority alliance of Trent/Chris O/Leigh/Anabel/Lorelei and a girls’ alliance of Lorelei/Anabel/Leigh, with Anabel armed with an idol to boot.

As expected, Evan was sent out unanimously, but not before Julian trashed on the Cahaya tribe during tribal council... in a tribal seen... by the Cahaya tribe. With Evan out, the torches still inspiring such hate, and the infiltrators returning... that drew round one to a close.

MATT

first confessional give me idol?

also hi Jones

OWEN

okay so im walking onto the boat.... my hair is thinning, my skin is getting wrinkly, im ancient at this point. nonetheless im back for like the sixth time. or seventh, honestly who can keep track anymore. i see these like cute little new people. ANABEL's vid is AMAZING gay icon, lorelei legend likes pokemon mystery dungeon, Leigh is near chicago, like... i literally love all these new players but then i realize NONE OF THEM WILL BE ON MY TRIBE SKADSFJH. instead? im stuck with crazy ppl. there's julian who i voted out premerge in the season I won, and Matt who was in my most recent season nnn but NOT the matt I worked with in that game. and of all people CHRIS STONER LMAO. to be fair, chris isn't that bad bc I know he'll work with me hopefully but also I know he's a good player and wouldn't hesitate to cut me out. thank god olivia and jess are here tbh. omg and just when I thought it couldn't get any worse.....a furry shows up. WHAT THE FUCKKKKKK lmao I remember foxx back from the old old days and he seems scary :(((( good news is julian said him and isaac haven't ever gotten along and that isaac has voted him out twice :') so that might be good. and i'm fairly sure stoner and jess would have my back rn i just need to talk more to them. but for real, as soon as there's a swap or something if I survive that long? bye bye returnees :) i dont see myself getting very attached to anyone at the start so ill just do my best to ride out this beginning and maybe have some fun

LEIGH

I'm looking forward to seeing how long our tribe chat is just "Hey *Tribe Member's Name*!"

I think it could go on a while.

OWEN

chris: ditching u for the other stoner tho chris: tumblr needs an all stoner f2... 7:23 PM me: thats ok im ditching u for the gay girl from the first post me: but for now? u and me <3 7:23 PM chris: deal stoner and I rlly did speak this into existence....... it'll happen

LEIGH

So this tribe has literal children on it. 15, 16 years old. I might have to backstab ACTUAL CHILDREN! How do I even fit in with them? Trent suggested we could buy fidget spinners. I said maybe yoga pants and a crop top? There are people here BORN AFTER 9/11!!! What the fuck I didn't even know you could be born after 9/11 and be out of kindergarten. What year is it?

EVAN

Just met some other castaways, they seem pretty chill.

FOXX

What's up. So this fox has returned after an eternity of a hiatus with more grey in his muzzle and hopefully some self-awareness to go with it. I played some pretty solid games in the past but after taking a long time lurking and sort of forgetting Tumblr Survivor Crooks asked if I wanted to play despite not knowing I have played before. That's how old and irrelevant of a has-been I am. Back from the dead. I'm glad my star has faded and I can go in with a blank slate. My biggest concern is that I am not on my anxiety medication so my social interactions, especially on call, will be a lot more stilted and I'm terrified this will impair my judgment but we'll see. Right now I'm not trying to come off as a huge strategist. I made an intentionally crappy intro video, made fun of myself, and just tried to be funny without coming off too weird/desperate etc. Almost like I'm not taking this too seriously. However, already I'm noticing a patterns in how people on my tribe are. I have no fucking clue who these mammals are. People will have extensive conversations about people, twists, running jokes, etc and I'm totally lost. That hiatus really did fuck with my ability to ingratiate myself with this community. That will be a huuuuge advantage coming to dealing with the newbies since I can leverage that to not seem so threatening but right now I think I'm doing a fair job being friendly and making people laugh. I hope. God. So my thoughts on my tribemates thus far: Stoner: Vaguely know who this guy is. Aptly named. He's clearly blazed as hell but I can tell he's bright and likable. Says "oh shit" a lot and he seems like depsite his facade he's probably someone I can work with. Isaac: We talked about Overwatch a bit and he seems nice but he's not coming on my radar too strong. Jess: Definitely made a fairly strong impression on me since we're similar ages, Francophone, and we bonded over our mutual detest and hatred of furries and then I calmly sneak in the fact I am a furry an hour later and holy shit I was trying so hard to not bust into tears. She's funny and likable and seems like she's someone I could work with. Matt: Talked a bit about me coming back. Very little in group call. Michael: Talked a fair amount about D&D and made some fun Upside Down jokes. Seems like we have a lot in common but him being a different time zone could prove hard to keep up with. Being the outlier on Time Zones is playing on Hard Mode. Olivia: Love her! We bonded over animals and she seems like a total sweetheart and I definitely wanna share pics of my cat with her some more! Owen: We talked a bit about literature and it was fun. Definitely seems intelligent and he's someone I know a bit about from Olympics. In an ideal world I'd want to work with Stoner, Jess, Olivia, & Michael but everything in on fire. Also, no luck on the idol so fuck me I guess

JESS

So... first night has been interesting? I was going to do your typical "first impressions" confessional but... FOXXX or whatever the fury's name is.... is playing too hard too fast. Am I being a Paranoid Patty and reading this the WRONG WAY entirely? Possibly. HOWEVER... It's been less than 5 hours since we were thrown into this hell hole of a game (The hosts are lovely individuals but we all know this is about to get insane) and he's telling me if I want to make a move that he's my guy? Ummm.... WE HAVEN'T EVEN GOTTEN OUR FIRST IMMUNITY YET? I'M NOT THINKING MOVES RIGHT NOW? I BARELY CAN REMEMBER YOUR NAME!

MICHAEL

https://youtu.be/Swisjdq1R4s

OLIVIA

Have I befriended a furry???????? Is this real life????? Is he actually a furry or just really in deep on this joke? Why are there so many Dylans in orgs? Also fucking goddamnit I like EVERYONE HERE I just wanna be friends with all y’all damn. All of the newbies are so adorable and seem so excited and unknowing to the pain that’s gonna come :’) Annabelle especially like my wig flew with that intro! I wanna meet them all. Also wtf is with the torches I WANNA KNOW ALREADY! Anyways that’s all I’m excited for this season. Owen and I renewed the o alliance :-) and Jess seems cool as hell I really clicked with her and the furry. Michael seems sweet and I already know Julian from Mykonos, the absolute crackhead. Real sweetie tho hopefully we’re friends. I hope I’m not coming off as too insane I was so nervous on the phone call with the tribe :( it was so fun but I felt like every time I said something it fell flat I felt so awkward abhhhhhahshsjaj. Anyhoo yay! New season!

Should I write the rest of my confessionals in japanese? Neko. Boom

JESS

So coming into this game with a TS under my belt is different... I still have no expectations whatsoever BUT I do know how HARD people go for in these games and I'm planning to go just as hard. The first night was wild. Everyone on my tribe except for Matt and Julian were lively on the tribe call. Everyone seemed pretty cool and super... out there.. I think Isaac might be the one to watch on my tribe. He's been around the block and knows most people on my tribe (new and old). WHICH IS WHY.. I'm going to try my best and get super close to him. I need to make sure I'm not disposable to these "older players" and as asset to these "newer" players. I just know need to cool my jets on the whole socializing bit in the main chat (Yes I know it's literally day 1). I want to be as irrelevant as possible so no one thinks I'm a threat but no one really wants to get rid of me either. Gotta focus on those INDIVIDUAL RELATIONSHIPS. Hopefully these other players with more TS's under their belts become bigger shields than me because if not... yikes on yikes.

ROB

I like everyone so far. Evan is giving me a few red flags because he’s only giving me one word answers, so i might take that into consideration when voting.

FOXX

We had a very fun group call with the tribe last night. Definitely haven’t laughed that much in a while. Love my tribe thus far so I hope we can keep the good vibes going. Jess & Stoner are people I feel like have talked with me the most Nd Olivia, Owen, & Michael are also friendly so I think I have options. One thing I’ve noticed is how casual and sociable this tribe is. Nothing is more frustrating than a tribe full of overserious gamebots (*cough* Selwyn *cough*) but it’s a group of funny and chill people. It’s gonna be a great game!

OLIVIA

I love these hosts 🙂 HATE the idol system but honestly it doesn’t change much I’ve never gotten an idol before and probably never will so it won’t change my gameplay lmao

I like Isaac a lot too! Forgot to say. But I’m also a little wary of him because I know he’s very experienced

JULIAN

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKDvx7VxRC8

ANABEL

well. yesterday i found an idol on my second guess. and made two new friends. so yesterday was great. today was bad. i outed myself. my mom heard me tell my eyebrow lady that i was gay. this is a sad confessional and i wish i wasn’t so loud. im real fucking sad. sorry. but at least i have an idol and some friends.

LEIGH

Time to put on a bra and take some selfies.

I'm glad I shaved today for that tattoo selfie.

OLIVIA

There’s an alliance I’m not in isn’t there

Why am I so FUCKING awkward

ANABEL

im so fucking good at survivor like... good lord. trent and i are like best friends already (see, i knew this would happen, i always meet a nice old usually straight man and we become friends, it's like the hallmark of my survivor experiences) and we came up w a plan where i am gonna try and seduce evan and rob and make them my lil minions so im gonna lie to them and tell them that im a cheerleader bc that's hot right?? so ya my womanly charms will be utilized to their fullest potential. go me.

MICHAEL

https://youtu.be/aAqEUHoyy78

LEIGH

Can we talk about how bullshit it is to have "Lipstick in your tribe's color" when we're yellow and they're RED? Honest to god might as well have "Lemon in your tribe's color" to make it fair.

Alex coming in with bold capslock "MAKE SURE EVERYONE ON YOUR TEAM HAS SUBMITTED AT LEAST ONE THING" ... Just DM Evan directly my dude.

OLIVIA

Feeling much better about this game today than I was last night I think I was just spiraling 🥰 we’re doing really well on the challenge and I hope we win!! Two people messaged me saying I’m doing great on the challenge and idk how to respond. Just tryna make sure we don’t lose I will NOT be the first vote out. Newbies go hard on scavenger hunts but I go even harder 😈

LORELEI

Ok so! I'm super bummed that obor lost the challenge, I really thought we would win! Now we have to get rid of someone and it sucks but I feel like we all know who it has to be. It's not even personal, it's just the fairest thing and the best thing for our tribe. Also, alliances are forming! I like Anabel, Leigh and Trent so I'm with them but I'm gonna try to connect with everyone so I'm not on the outskirts. I hope that the boys haven't formed an all boys alliance bc if they have, then the girls could be in danger. That's it for now!

STONER

guess I’ll follow Alex crook’s rules... https://youtu.be/ndsfCdjtcQI

Not much, about to sleep! https://youtu.be/v12a2AbklVw

MICHAEL

https://youtu.be/4inKBNkg87M

JESS

It's 2:30am so WHY NOT post ANOTHER confessional? Am I right? Honestly, we won which I'm BEYOND THANKFUL for. I hate tribal and I can now at least say I wasn't first boot. THANK GAGA. I'm just really trying to solidify things with Michael right now. I think out of everyone on my current tribe I can honestly see myself making a run at this game with him (at least up until merge). I offered him the prospect of sharing idol clues (it's literally the only collateral I have at the moment) so hopefully this doesn't bite me in the fucking ass. Other than Michael I was kind of hoping to somehow get closer to both Julian and Matt (plot twist I know). Matt has hosted me before and it's no secret he is a founding father of the "I Hate Jess" Club. However, these two seem to be the odd men out right now. They aren't overly socializing with people so there's a high chance they'll be taken out if our current tribe loses. HOWEVER.. I see potential numbers in them. So I can't let that happen. As of right now both Foxx and Stoner seem to be the ones to watch out for. I just can't let them think or know... that I know that about them. Stoner gives me mega "I say the same things to everyone" vibes. He's clearly playing a strong social game so far. I just need to play dumb and ensure that he thinks he can control/trust me. Honestly, as soon as he doesn't see value in me I have no doubt he's gonna cut me. Foxx on the other hand, just seems like he's playing too hard. He's another guy who I strongly believe is going to drop me as soon as I have no value to him. I'm just going to have to have to lay low and be dumb. Owen scares me shitless. He's giving me PTSD from my last season because homeboy is playing a strong contender game. He's definitely a pick to win. He's another person who I'm going to have to try and pretend I'm under their spell. Am I playing too hard too fast? I'm not entirely sure. I'm just going to slow my role a bit and see what happens

MATT

What’s Up? WHAT’S UP?!?!?!? how dare you ask me such a ludicrous question. Alright so first real general confessional of the game here. I wanna eventually try and record some video confessionals, but that’s if i have the time. but for today, we’re good with a text. So starting off the game on the Cahaya Tribe, which consists of entirely returnees. So right off the bat it makes nervous bc i’m really not around much in the community. Yeah i’m in a few VL’s and i played once before, but i really don’t know anyone. So being the odd one out for that reason was a real fear for a little bit. Looking at my tribe, there are a few names that stood out the most to me. Owen stood out bc we both played Kuwait, and even tho we never met each other, we still have that little connection. Chris motherfucking Stoner is here too!! Chris is such a chill dude. we played together once before and i voted him out pre swap. But that game was so long ago, and i really don’t think he cares (i know i dont). So i’m looking forward to reconnecting with him. Jess is also here!! Jess and I had met previously because i hosted her in Celestial Komnata, and we had some rough misunderstandings there. But months have passed and I know that I am well over it bc i frankly don’t care. But i feel like she still probably cares which will not be good for me. Michael was the last person that stood out to me. Not because I know him, or know of him. But because he’s the only Non-North American in the cast, which means if i can stay up late and socialize with him, he might favor me over other When i looked at the other tribe, i think the only person i know is Anabel? We played together once, i hosted her, so we have somewhat of a connection that if we swap together, i hope that works in my favor. So on the first night of the game, i was very busy with Celestial All stars premiere, so i didn’t get to talk as much as i would’ve liked. which resulted in me telling jones on call like 5 times that i’m gonna be first boot. But the first night, i talked with everyone (to some degree) except Issac bc i forgot Issac was here. The torch twist thing i have no idea what it’s going to be and it worries me. My first thought is that it somehow would result in a third tribe bc there were six torches. so someone would light a torch and be placed on that tribe. But it’s too early to figure out what they even mean and i’m sure as the game progresses.

LEIGH

Woooo so what's happened. Well, we lost the challenge and it wasn't even close. I haven't looked at the spreadsheet to see the final scores but I feel like Me, Trent, and Anabell did the most work. I talked to a few people last night and put Evan's name out there cuz I know most people are too scared to say a name first and I feel comfortable enough about my position to be the one to say a name that most people should agree with. A mutual alliance formed between me, Chris, Trent, Anabell, and Lorelei. Within it, an all girls 3 alliance formed which I'm super happy to be part of. I'm sure Trent will be paranoid about that sooner or later so hopefully Chris and I can make him feel confident. Trent is sharing idol guesses with me so I'm hoping that means I'm like the closest person to him right now. I like the number of options I have so far.

I feel like Facebook might be falling out of style so maybe these youngin's don't even have it or aren't familiar with Facebook ORGs. The only other people here who know my history as far as I know are Foxx and Chris, and I hope neither of them bring it up. If I can stay UTR that'd be nice. Also, I think I need to stop capitalizing letters/using punctuation if I wanna fit in with these kids. Did I already confessionalize that? Not sure.

Apparently Lorelei missed the HII thing day one haha oh well. I'm compiling guesses from me, Chris, and Trent. Hopefully I'll get them from the girls too. I'm not showing the girls' guesses to Chris though. I don't think he'll be mad at me for it. We gotta play close to the vest sometimes yo

TRENT

So far I think the game is going alright. My tribe is incredibly quiet for some reason but I guess that isn't too bad. I made a connection with Anabel and Leigh pretty early on. Decided to suggestion and alliance and both we in so I added Chris and Lorelei so we had a majority. This is the alliance I wanted from the beginning. I wanted the older people to stick together and then add in one young one. I think it's a pretty solid idea. Ive been messaging both kenny and dylan as well. I don't want an alliance with them, but I would like for them to like me and want me to stay in. I also think im getting along pretty well with the two infiltrators right now. Julian was spilling all kinds of info about his tribe to me this morning and then me and owen connected really well. Hopefully this will help me in the future if there is a split soon.

OLIVIA

Jess was hinting that her, foxx, stoner, and I should get together and I said we’d make a nifty cool group. A NIFTY COOL GROUP WHAT THE FUCK IS A NIFTY COOL OLIVIA

ISAAC

This twist can become SO detrimental. And I’m so MAD Owen went over there first because that bitch is unbelievably charismatic. Hopefully it paints a bigger target on him but like it’s whatever. I like my tribe. We seem chill and I seem to vibe the most with Olivia and Jessica Messica. Foxx is cool. Julian is....Julian ig. Matt has yet to talk to me so that’s a wig ig. Michael seems nice but ngl I get kinda bored when I try to talk to him? He seems very gamebot-y which could be frightening but idk he’s not my biggest problem atm. I’m terrified of Owen - he’s unbelievably charismatic and has the ability to twist people around his finger so like I’m gonna keep my eye on him and I’m not gonna let him out of my sight. With that being said I do wanna see him live for at least a little while for meat-shield purposes. Anyways I hope I do well this game but 👀 I have a sinking feeling.

KENNY

So yeah.. it seemed like a pretty laxxed day and Evan was the vote. How true is that? Idk but I have to trust strangers. But just heard he through my name out like 20 minutes ago, with less than 3 hours to go. So I just hope everyone’s being honest 😭

OWEN

what’s up? Everything :’) I couldn’t help as much in the scav hunt as I liked because I was living my life. But thankfully we won anyways bc my tribe kicked ass! I still contributed some and I made sure to keep talking to people. I still love olivia, and matt has been fun to talk to. Don’t rlly know why but foxx seems hard to get to know. And not big into michael rn either. I think I will stick with Julian and chris, hopefully can pull in jess and olivia to do something if we lose. Chris mentioned that both him and jess DO like foxx so we will see.... The main thing is that this twist worked out perfectly for me!!!! I couldn’t call when we were decided and I REALLY wanted to go. Thankfully I was able to take advantage of the majority vote thing and pretend like I wasn’t online hehe and by some miracle I got picked to go. MEANT TO BEEE and let me say I was right, I do love this tribe so much more than my own for some reason. Trent is great, Annabel and I are talking like I wanted, the Chicago girl and the Pokémon mystery dungeon girl. It’s so good over here, but the biggest surprise has been chris o. I really like him and could see myself working well with him if we swap. The only thing is that Julian said he was sketchy sometimes..... hehe so down the road I might have to tell chris o that Julian is after him :~) but I don’t need to snake too hard yet, for right now I’m a crocodile lookin like a log. Vote should be easy on Evan from what I’ve heard but if it changes? I’ll be living for the drama!

LORELEI

It looks like Evan is the consensus. I feel really bad though because it's not his fault. He tried to plead his case with me by saying that he wasn't the only one that was inactive, but that doesn't change the fact that he contributed the least. I know it's the fair thing to do but I feel bad about it. Voting out people is so not fun, I really hope we win the next challenge so I won't have to do this again.

EVAN

I’m pretty sure I’m fucked. I’ve been trying to get people to vote Kenny but idk fuck

KENNY

“I know I’M voting Evan = I might be voting Evan but I know others are voting you”. Or am I being paranoid

JULIAN

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GaH8l2R-Xt0

MATT

i feel like i did pretty good on the scavenger hunt. i managed to scoop up a bunch of items that were left over and some that were high points. so i do feel good about my performance and think i pulled my weight. Speaking of pulling weight...Julian is...there. I think he only submitted one item which was the Vine. I mean i get you have work and are busy, but like...most of us were the same? even issac who was celebrating his birthday did more. after challenge results we got on call in the tribe chat (olivia, chris, michael, myself). and we were talking about the infiltrator twist and the challenge results. We agreed to have myself and Olivia go, but we needed 5 for a majority. Julian shows up and says he “might wanna go tbh”. and then disappears. We’re on call laughing bc we wanna submit this and not randomize it, so someone who isn’t here gets forced to go. BUT JULIAN won’t talk in tribechat even tho we’re all like, “hey we’ll take turns and you can go next time.”. but no. Julian is only talking in olivia’s pm’s and she’s telling us whatever he’s saying. eventually the hour is up, and julian got randomized to go. that fucker strong armed us into randomizing and he still went god damnit. I think that call was good for my game because we were just chatting for like 1.5 hours about the game stuff and people. After michael/chris left the call it was just Olivia and myself on call and we stayed on for another hour and a half(????? ish??? probably less i can’t remember). But that was a nice call and i think helped start to solidify a bond. Olivia is someone i can see myself working with in this game. Same goes for Michael and Chris. I feel like that call group was pretty natural and we got along really well. I’m too nervous to initiate any kind of alliance talk, but i know it’s gonna have to happen eventually. i’m sure alliances already exist on the tribe and i’m obviously not in them. I think for starters, i need to work on conversations a bit more, because they are somewhat weak right now. My goal for the future is to work on olivia, michael, chris and owen. Those are the people i feel most good about. Foxx is cool but idk it seems hard to gel with them. Julian is cracked and i hope he’s our first boot. and the four of us on call forgot issac was on the tribe so that’s not good for him. i think i’m in a decent position for now, but i’m not gonna count my chickens before they hatch (i think that’s the saying idfk)

#whenyourfiresout

0 notes