#zizi doesn’t shut up

[zaneswhite]

Not to needlessly throw around buzzwords but the way that white queer people will try to gaslight you into thinking that it’s okay for them to be racist just because they’re queer is wild.

Having experienced homophobia is not an excuse for racism. Being queer is not an excuse for racism. There is no “I’m also a minority” get out of racist jail free card. If you call me a slur because “you’re just joking”, I’m going to be mean to you. If you put a towel on your head and use AAVE as an ironic joke, I’m going to be mean to you.

I know a lot of younger white people are so chronically online that “ironic homophobia” is now super funny but leave my blackness out of it. There is no level of “minority solidarity” that is going to make it okay for you to be racist. Your queerness is not a shield.

#discourse #antiblackness #lgbt #zizi doesn’t shut up

[vicegrips-fr]

Into the Black

Azizi divulges his upbringing and the horrors that came with it.

-------------------- I’ve debated sharing this on here because to be completely honest it’s very personal and not for everyone. I’ve decided to open up and share it anyway with the appropriate warnings. It’s no secret that I vent through my own ocs to explore the intense abuse I survived and this is one of those lore posts that delves into that. Hopefully some of you will take the time to read it and if not I completely understand. It’s a long one and difficult to read in many ways I’m sure.

Gustav belongs to my boyfriend @wyvernrising!

Warnings: language, themes of parental abuse, drug/alcohol abuse mentions, and unpleasantness abound.

Pings: @fusefr @kattafr @stimmy-dragons -------------------

They’re together for the night. Himself, Gogo, and the Sub Rosa sent to protect them which includes his boyfriend Gustav. There’s an injury to his hand which isn’t self-inflicted but the product of his past come back to bite him in the ass today. Since then they’ve been sharing their stories to pass the time and ease the tension, getting to know each other better and well, now it’s his turn.

“You don’t have to share,” Gogo peeps up sympathetically, scooting closer so that their thighs are pressed together.

He already knows the truth, knows how hard this will be for Azizi to talk about.

Azizi waves a dismissive hand in the air, happily allowing Gus to take hold of the injured one and press a kiss to the knuckles. Some small part of him does care what they’ll think but it’s drowned out by the stubborn I don’t give a shit what you think of me attitude he’s spent a lot of time cultivating for himself. “We’ll see about that,” he says, pouring himself a glass of wine.

He pauses, bottle in hand as his eyes land on Gustav’s glass. There’s still wine inside but he fills it back up to the top for him anyway. Whether he chooses to drink it or not is irrelevant. Maybe he doesn’t want him to; more wine for him.

Their previous compliments earlier in the night did not fall on deaf ears and bring a smile to his face when he remembers them. “Ha! I am a pleasure to be around, aren’t I?” he chuckles, licking his teeth, “If I were a bore then I wouldn’t be netting as much dick as I am on the daily.”

It’s crude but true. He’s popular for a reason and part of it is his bombastic, nasty personality. Truth is sunshine and rainbows have no place in a brothel, no matter how hard Gogo tries to change that fact.

“But you’re right about what you all said,” he sighs, “It’s an ugly story, just like the rest of you have.”

For a solid few seconds he lapses into silence, picking through the pieces of his life inside his head like dusting off an old photo album. None of the pictures inside are things he wants to see, they’re kept in a box for a reason, after all.

“Where to begin?” he muses to himself, swirling the wine in his glass around, transfixed by the dark red liquid sloshing around the sides.

“Like Gustav and Gogo I was born in Neo Necropolis. The slummy part, obviously. My mother’s name was Tiwa but she went by Candy. If that doesn’t tip you off she was a stripper. A popular one, I was told.”

He stops to sip his drink, the mere mention of his mother’s name enough to elicit that response. Jesus. How long has it been since he said her name out loud?

“My father’s name was Ayoola but everyone called him Ayo,” Azizi continues, the wine burning all the way down his throat, “And his biggest claim to fame was his appetite for men and women. He frequented just about every brothel and strip club in a fifteen mile radius.” Azizi looks up, eyes passing over everyone’s faces in favor of focusing on anything but.

“You can all put two and two together and figure out how my parents met,” he laughs without joy, “They were never married, of course, but they lived together and it wasn’t long before I was born. Not like they were kind of people to use protection, but I sort of wish they had.”

It’s a terribly dark thing to say and painfully true. Plenty of people in a bad situation have the same thought- I wish I was never born!- and he can’t count how many times he cursed the world for being forced into it. “They fought all the time,” he says, recalling the first time he was old enough to understand the words they were yelling.

------------------  

”Get off of your ass and do something for once!” Tiwa screams at the top of her lungs, “I work my ass off on the pole every night and you can’t even get off the couch to get Zizi his breakfast? Pathetic!” It's early. Early enough that the sun is only just coming up, bright light streaming in through the dingy window in his bedroom despite the tall buildings that surround their home. It’s not the first time he’s been woken up this early from his parents fighting. His mama is gone all night, returning every morning and sleeping most of the day away, but not before their daily fight. Tail between his legs Azizi tiptoes quietly to the end of the short hallway, his little hands gripping the corner of the wall as he peeks out from behind it to see what’s going on. ”Oh, I’m pathetic?” Ayoola shouts back, “That’s rich coming from a pole crawler who calls herself Candy! The pipsqueak isn’t even up yet so fuck off to bed already and quit your yapping.” Azizi can’t see them from where he’s standing so he lets go of the wall and steps into the living room, ducking back into the hallway as quietly as possible when he catches a glimpse of his father laid out on the sofa, beer bottle in hand. ”No Ayo YOU fuck off,” Tiwa says loudly from the kitchen, bone tired and her tail lashing behind her in anger. “I’m not dealing with this mess when I’ve been up all fucking night, do you hear me? I’m not your mother, I’m your girlfriend and I need your help. We’re barely getting by, for fuck sake. Just… try to be responsible for once in your miserable life. Please.” ”Jesus fucking christ Candy, get a grip,” Ayoola snorts nonchalantly, rolling over so that his face is pressed into the cushions of the couch, “I’ll do the dishes and get the brat his breakfast, alright? Will that shut you up?” Tears in his eyes, Azizi shuffles off back to his bedroom and curls up on the small mattress laid on the floor of his tiny bedroom, pulling the blanket over his head. The shouting continues but it’s muffled through his hands over his ears and, after a little while, he falls back asleep.

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

“It was really annoying,” he scoffs, “How they’d fight over just about everything. It was like they couldn’t help themselves. No matter how small the affront they would manage to find a way to turn it into something more.”

He’s getting off track. Blinking away the memory like it’s nothing, Azizi drinks deeply from his glass and marches forward. “Anyway,” he mutters, taking another small sip, “I was, hm, about eight or nine years old when my mother up and left. I can’t blame her, really. My father was a bum and an addict who brought other men and women home when she wasn’t around. More than once she walked in on him cheating on her and I guess that plus his allergy to contributing anything to the ‘family’ was enough to put the final nail in the coffin. We all have our breaking point.”

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

”Where’s mama?” Azizi asks, tugging lightly on his father’s pant leg. It’s midday and she hasn’t come home yet. Ayoola is passed out on the couch, his dirty hair sticking up in different directions, spit and booze drying in a crust at the corners of his mouth. He doesn’t respond right away. It takes Azizi asking the same question a few times before he’s finally roused awake. ”Huh?” he mumbles, cracking an eye open, “Oh. That.” Ayoola doesn’t seem particularly worried about Tiwa’s absence, just slightly annoyed to have been woken up. ”She left,” he sneers, grunting with effort as he pushes himself up and grabs a crumpled piece of paper that had been wadded up underneath him. “Don’t worry, she’ll come crawling back eventually. Until then how about you go play or something. Daddy is trying to sleep off a cold.”

It would only be a couple more years before Azizi would realize that these frequent ‘colds’ were actually hangovers of varying degrees. A week turns into a month, a few months turn into a year and Tiwa still hasn’t come back. Around the six month mark was when Azizi realized he would never see his mother again. In another three months he would grow angry and resentful, pounding his little fists into the floor because she left him behind. She left him alone with HIM. ”That selfish bitch!” Ayo yells, putting another hole in the wall with his fist, blood seeping from between his fingers, “Leaving me to take care of you by my fucking self! How the hell am I supposed to do that, huh?! Tell me how! Where’s the money going to come from?! I’m sinking here! Do you know how many people I owe money to?” Azizi sobs into his hands, tiny body curled up into a ball on the sofa as his father paces back and forth like a caged animal, ranting like a lunatic at the top of his lungs. ”I… I don’t know!” Azizi cries, far too young to understand all of the things his father is saying, “I’m sorry dad! I’m sorry!” -------------------

“After Candy split the house chores fell to me,” Azizi murmurs darkly, setting his drink down to reach for another cigarette instead, “The cooking, cleaning… Him. Ayoola was a full time job. I can’t begin to tell you how many times I had to clean him up after a blackout. Put him on his side and make sure he wouldn’t throw up and drown in his own vomit.”

Azizi pauses, takes a drag from his cigarette and sighs.

“He drank and shot up so much that the floor was littered all over with the aftermath,” Azizi chuckles bitterly, “I’d have to wade through the filth being careful not to stab myself with a used needle, turn him over and check his pulse. Clean the puke off of him with a rag and then pick it all up.”

Gogo sniffles, rubbing his eyes dry on the back of his hand. It’s at this point that he wants to interrupt, to tell Azizi that he doesn’t have to go on if he doesn’t want to. But as if reading his mind, Azizi looks over at him and smiles sadly. 

“It’s okay, Gogo,” he says as soothingly as he can manage, “I’m fine.”

Another pause as he tries to collect his thoughts, memories he wishes didn’t belong to him. “As I got older we started to fight more and more,” Azizi murmurs, “At that point I really had replaced my mother in almost every way.”

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

”Zi! That you?”

”Yeah, it’s me dad,” Azizi replies a little flippantly, “Who the fuck else would it be? One of your booty calls?”

Ayoola snorts with laughter, looking up at him as he walks into the room with bloodshot eyes. ”Have I ever told you that you look like your mother?”

Azizi rolls his eyes, arms crossed over his chest as he leans in the doorway.

”Yeah,” he answers flatly, “Like, fifty times this week.” Ayoola nods sadly, head rolling to the side as he closes his eyes and drifts off to sleep again. Frowning, Azizi goes to his room.

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

I won’t cry, Azizi thinks, he doesn’t deserve my tears. “Eventually I ran away,” he informs them, unable to bring himself to give them the gorier details of his life, “And I went out with a bang.” Chuckling softly at his own wording, Azizi brings the glass to his lips again. “That makes it sound like I shot him dead,” he hums, “Sadly, I didn’t. We got into a fight, another bad one where he didn’t just use his words to berate me but his fists. I shoved him backwards, he shoved me harder, I slapped him, and he told me to get the fuck out of his house- I happily obliged.”

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

”You!” Ayoola screams, following Azizi around the house as he does his best to get away from him, “Where do you think you’re going?! I’m talking to you! Where the fuck were you?! You knew you had a client coming over! You knew and you went out anyway- hey!” His hand lashes out violently, grabbing Azizi by the arm and yanking him back. ”I’m not playing with you Zi!” Ayoola says, spittle flying and his teeth grinding together as he gets up in Azizi’s face, “You’re in big fucking trouble. If you’re going to live under this roof-” ”I don’t want to live under this roof!” Azizi screams back, slapping Ayoola in the face in an attempt to get him to let go, “I want to be as far away from you as humanly possible! You’re a fucking monster!” Ayoola doesn’t hesitate to backhand him, the force of it throwing Azizi to the floor where he sits shocked and rubbing tenderly at his freshly bruised cheek. ”Then get the fuck out!” he shouts, jabbing a finger in Azizi’s face as he looms over him, “Leave! Just like your mother did! I’ve taken care of us for how long and you’re acting out like this because I ask you to do your part?! All you have to do is put out! Easiest fucking job on the planet!” Azizi stares at him, dead behind the eyes as he’s yanked back up onto his feet and shoved hard against the kitchen wall, a hand around his throat. ”You hearin’ me? Answer me-” Azizi screams, shoving his father back so hard that he trips over his own feet and falls backwards. ”Fuck you! Fuck you! Fuck you!” he wails, shoving past Ayoola and out the front door. Ayoola gives chase, pausing in the open doorway to yell after him. ”Then go! Die on the street for all I care!”

He does not follow.

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

“To make an already long story short,” he says, glancing over at Gustav and then quickly averting his eyes, “I spent a long time, years, on the street just like Gogo. I did what I knew how to do best. Eventually I ran into Chaka.”

At the mere mention of his name his blood runs cold, the events of his sad life replaying all over again. He handles it though, shoving it deep deep down inside himself where it belongs. “He took me in off the streets you know. Well, for the most part anyway,” he admits, “There were plenty of times he’d leave me on a corner. To teach me a lesson, he’d say. I mean, I do have a reckless mouth so is that any surprise to you guys?” He laughs humorlessly, eyes finding Gogo’s. “But I met Gogo because of that,” he adds very fondly, “So hey. Silver-linings.” Sighing deeply, Azizi downs the rest of his drink in one go.

“I’ll save the stuff with Chaka for another time,” he murmurs, “If I go into that right now we’ll be here all night. Needless to say I didn’t go down the best path after leaving that hellhole, but if I’m being honest I don’t regret it. Dealing with Chaka’s bullshit was a hell of a lot better than dealing with my old man’s.” Despite his best efforts there’s a wet shine to his eyes now, but the tears don’t fall. Not even when the memories are threatening to choke the air out of his lungs. “So, that’s part one of my story,” he says faux cheerfully, “Now you know I come from trash. Do with it what you will.”

End.

#flight rising lore #fr lore #lore: the velvet fang #azizi #my lore #sorry for any typos #this was a pain to format on here

[kakostt]

Yet Unnamed Story, chapter 1

Ahh, a fanfiction. After 6 months of not writing a thing. Surprise me and actually read it.

Once again, a new day started in the Neverhood -  the ever-lasting neighborhood. Not much time have passed and a bunch of Hoodians already gathered in the Public park. They were chatting, sharing sandwiches, discussing either dumb stuff or even dumber stuff or maybe just listening to the stories told by others.

‘Hey, Lee… have you seen Zizi today?” a guy with a plant in a head asked his small fellow, “he always comes as one of the first.”

‘Swamphead, you really haven‘t noticed?’ Lee laughed. Immediately he was up on his feet and started screaming to somewhere above their heads – to the spiky tree: ‘Oh c’mon, Zizi, lift your lazy ass!’

A few creaking noises came from above. Bažinka lifted his head up and immediately recognized the curly pale-yellow stems hanging from the branch and the annoyed voice yawning: ‘Why can’t you let me sleeeeep…’ He had no way but to also burst in laugh.

“And Zizi seems to not be the only one who had terrible sleep.” Bažinka poked his head to a tall yellow-brown gal who was sitting just next to the entrance to the Hall of Records. ‘Ciar’s mind also seems to be absent today.’

Ciara really didn’t looked very lively. Usually she would be one of the loudest contributors to the conversation, but right now she was just frowning on some non-existent object in front of her.

No one seemed to be bothered with that, the discussion among others happily continued. They were talking about how the last Lee’s prank turned out (Poor Klayzi ended up covered in slime during that), what-the-heck did Lattice put into those sandwiches since they ‘taste like a flamethrower’, or why did Hoborg forbid everyone from going to that bedroom where Klaymen slept last night… at least until someone pretty loudly said: ‘What if you wouldn’t jump? Through the drain?’

Apparently it was the so-silent-today Ciara who said that. All the faces instantly turned to her.

‘Huh, what you’re talkin’ about, yellowbrown?’ Kleea, who was just a few seconds ago completely busy with whispering something to her sister Kloo and didn’t bothered about the discussion at all, immediately replied, ‘None of us jumped and none of us is gonna jump there, what’s the point?’

‘Shut up, white chocolate, especially when you barely know what you’re replying to,’ Ciara fired back on Kleea. ‘Nevermind, what I was thinking about is that when water cycles through the Lake. When it flows through the drain, it doesn’t get out of the Hood! Gravity brings it back up!* So, maybe if you wouldn’t jump but carefully climbed through, that gravity thingy would catch you!’

‘Hmm...why we have never thought about that?’ Bažinka stood up. ‘There could be an entire new world on the opposite side!’

‘The warning on the signs talks only about jumping, after all…’ Lee added.

‘Wait,’ Kloo joined the conversation, ‘you mean you are really going to try out this mad idea?’

But when she saw the wide grin of both Lee and Bažinka, she knew that she had lost already.

To be continued...

*I have to admit, this is not exactly canon, it’s kinda taken from @gweniala

#Neverhood #The Neverhood #fanfiction #kloo #kleea #ciara #kalee #bažinka #zizi #yet unnamed story

[shadowofthelamp]

Everything

WLOD Dib is the villain. He doesn’t think he is, though. He has everything he ever wanted as a kid, so his life is perfect. It has to be. 

Wordcount: 750

Warnings: Mentions of torture and child abuse, and mpreg.

He had everything. The world- no, the universe!- at his fingertips. His greatest enemy- humanity's greatest enemy- brought low at his feet, reduced to a pile of bones and clinging bits of flesh. What he'd intended to do to his human slaves, to be sure. The world had so much more to offer him now- and he had so much to offer the world. He was exactly what they needed- to peel back the horrible dried crust that sealed everyone's eyes shut, to prove that the world was more than anyone could have imagined. He was the captain at the helm for a new era of human development.

He had medals and trophies that took up shelves and shelves. He had one hot girlfriend, and when he got bored with her he had another. He had stalker fans that weren't just laughing at him, they were admiring him. It was the life.

He visited Zim's tube a lot. Mostly just to prod and laugh at him, after a while. There were only so many experiments he could run that didn't require killing him, and he didn't really want to do that. Life in a tube was worse anyway. Nothing to do. Nowhere to go. Just endless eyes and needles on you as you shriveled like a bug.

Angie got pregnant before breaking up with him. He had enough money for child support, it was fine. The kid cried when she saw him, so he mostly left it to the monthly checks. He didn’t have time for kids anyway.

Zim got pregnant. That was considerably weirder, but gave him something new to explore. He liked something new. Once you proved everything, there wasn't a whole lot left, but a hybrid? That was new, that was fascinating. Zim's species had left him to rot, but at least he could wring one last thing out of the irken's poor, mangled husk.

1001... it wasn't as fun. It squirmed and cried as a baby, but by the time it hit five, it barely spoke at all, a trembling thing with bones jutting out of its skin and a raspy cough. He tore it apart and pieced it back together, but scientific curiosity only went so far. It cried a lot. Pathetic little thing.

Trisha. Annie. Lauren. Zizi. One after the other. "You're not as fun as you were on tv." "That was it?" "Get your fucking hands off me, I said I was going!" "Go play with your bug." 

He didn't need them anyway, he was the savior of the planet, he didn't need anyone! Good fucking riddance, he could get another girl in a heartbeat. Besides, he had Zim. He injected and sliced and snipped and watched as green faded day by day. 

And then they were gone. Security said it was somebody short with thick goggles and messy spiked hair with a ponytail, who figured out the passcode and managed to sneak them out the back. He nearly upended the table when the footage showed it was a goddamn kid.

He went when the message came through, of course. A gathering of Dibs from across the multiverse? He had to see this, had to know where he ranked. Maybe they could help him get his pet project back. He snapped his gloves and stepped through the portal.

They all seemed pretty happy, laughing and nudging at each other. He smiled and joined in, and one draped an arm over his shoulder. Then they started talking about their universes, and his eye twitched, leather of his gloves creaking as his fingers curled against his pants. 

Even here. Even here, no one understood. They were all idiots, with their lives surely about to spiral out of control whenever Zim got bored of toying with them.  How could versions of himself be so gullible? He was the vigilant one, the smart one, the correct one. They didn’t get it. They didn’t get it.

Bruises decorated him like medals as he climbed into bed, and he didn't even really remember the name of this one that kissed them away. She was gone within a week anyway.

Everyone believed him when he said Zim had just died. He was definitely never getting him back, and although Zim hadn't really been useful in years, he often found himself navigating to the room where he'd been automatically, staring at his reflection in the polished glass. He didn't need Zim.

He had everything.

Right?

#aip wlod au #shadow writes stuff #I don't really dig into wlod dib much bc he's mostly just an antagonistic force #but I should this was interesting #iz blogging #iz #aip #mpreg cw

[gripefroot]

Bucky’s Girls

Fury wasn’t sure what to expect when he knocked on the bright blue door. 

It takes a minute for footsteps to sound; hands on his hips, Fury eyes the boxwood wreath, the bright blossoms spilling from the window flower boxes, and the porch swing squeaking slightly in the wind. More domestic than he expected. But somehow he's not surprised, either.

The blue door opens, and Fury tries very hard not to look at the pink-jeweled tiara on Bucky Barnes’ head. Doesn’t succeed. Forces his eyes back to Barnes’.  

“Oh, hello,” Bucky says, and a grin stretches across his face. It throws Fury for a loop, almost - he’s not used to Barnes smiling, even after all this time. You’d done quite the number on the man. 

“I have a mission for you,” Fury says without preamble. “Where’s the missus?” 

“At the store,” Bucky says promptly. “She’ll be back in a half-hour. Come on in.” 

Fury bristles, but steps over the threshold and onto a woven rug over the hardwood floor. Bucky locks the door behind him, and after a moment, Fury hangs up his trenchcoat on the coat rack, right next to two pink rain jackets; one patterned with flowers and one with rubber ducks. 

“Daddy!” comes a shriek from further inside the little house. “The cookies are ready!”  

“Be right there!” Bucky calls back, and then shoots Fury another grin. “Hungry?” 

“How many licked fingers have made it into the batter?” Fury asks, not missing a beat. Bucky chortles, and waves him inward.  

“You’ll see.” 

The cookies are imaginary, but the twin girls with bright Bucky-blue eyes and flickering Agent 28-dimples are not. Fury blinks as Bucky sits down on the ground at a small table, laden with empty cups and saucers. It’s all a bit freaky - the Winter Soldier solemnly accepting a pink teacup from his daughter with his metal hand, and pretending to sip from it. And then blowing on it, because “it’s too hot.” But Fury is used to not being frazzled by things that hurt his head. And Bucky Barnes, surrounded by stuffed animals and sequin pillows, is one of those things. 

One of the girls stands up in her purple tutu, and holds up a turquoise teacup to Fury. “Thank you for coming,” she says politely. “I hope you like mint.” 

“I do,” Fury says gravely, and pinches the handle of the cup between his fingers. “I didn’t realize we were having a party, otherwise I would’ve brought my tiara.” 

The girl giggles, and the one still sitting gasps. “We have an extra! I’ll go get it!” 

“No, Winnie - I wanna get it - ” 

“Winnie will get it,” Bucky says firmly. “Beck, I need a refill.” And a narrowed look is shot to the elder daughter at Fury’s side, who scampers back to the table to serve her dad more “tea.”  

Fury crouches down, and Winifred plops a purple tiara with feathers right on his head. She grins impishly, (why does the resemblance to 28’s mischievous smile make him so nervous?), before bounding back to the party.  

“Come sit,” Rebecca says imperiously to Fury. She scoots closer to her dad, freeing up about a foot of space between her and Winnie.  

He has no choice but to obey.  

It’s the sight you come home to a little while later - Fury is thankful he’s not in the habit of blushing, because the sight of your raised eyebrows in the doorway of the girls’ room while they dish out imaginary cake next, just might have set him over edge. A previously-unseen cat winds itself around your legs, yowling in greeting.  

“Hello, Nick,” you say with amusement, as Winnie runs up with a plate of cake for you, which you accept.  

“28,” he says stiffly.  

“He has a mission for me,” Bucky says offhand, as a teddy bear/Becca gives him a massive squeeze around the next. His nose crinkles, and he pats the bear on the back as Becks giggles.  

“Well, it’s getting late,” you say after swallowing the “cake.” The cat sniffs at the empty plate. “Stay for dinner, Nick?” 

Fury pretends to think about it. “As long as it’s something good. I’ve been spoiled with all these rich snacks this afternoon.” Winnie hides a giggle behind a hand, and Fury sends her a deadpan wink. Bucky snorts.   

“It’s always good,” you assure him. “And you know us - we never talk missions on an empty stomach. Makes us reckless.” 

“It’s true,” Bucky agrees.  

“Sounds like a plan, then.”  

Becca hops a bunny into Fury’s lap next, and he pets its soft ears.  

He’s still brushing off purple fuzz from his black shirt after dinner; when he’s full of pasta and it’s time for ice cream to be passed around. The cat is meowing on the ground, but is generally ignored as the girls start slurping up their dessert. Fury eats his with more decorum.  

“No,” Bucky says firmly to the cat. “No ice cream for you.” It yowls again, tail flicking in the air, and saunters off.  

A spoonful of chocolate ice cream drips onto Rebecca’s shirt - you reach for a napkin to pass to her, but she scoops it up with her fingers, practically shoving her entire fist in her mouth to lick clean as Bucky’s eyes twitch.  

"Honey, let's wash that shirt yeah?" he tries, making as if to stand.  

"I'm saving it for later, Daddy." 

“But honey…”

“No. Dad.” 

Your eyes widen, and Bucky shakes his head at you. Fury doesn’t laugh, even though he wants to. The Winter Soldier...at the mercy of his girls.  

Fury is really glad he made the trip upstate, even if the house is a little far from the freeway. 

When the girls are sound asleep in bed a little while later, the cat comes back to wind itself around Bucky’s shoulders in apparent forgiveness. The dining table gets wiped down, and Fury pulls out his phone to set up a projection at last. The sun is gone outside the windows, replaced by a purply dusk as you turn on the light above the table. 

“I know him,” you say, sitting back down beside Bucky with an orange as you nod your head towards the flickering photo in the projection. “He runs a trafficking ring in Shanghai. Almost got him once, but he slipped past us.” You hold out a hand to Bucky; absently he pulls a knife from his jeans and passes it over to you.  

“He looks familiar,” Bucky admits. “Don’t remember hearing about him in Shanghai, though. Thought it was Madame Zizi that did the bulk of trafficking there.”  

“After she was arrested, Mr. Ping picked up the market,” Fury says. “I had six agents trailing him, but last week four of them disappeared. The Avengers are split between that government problem in Lebanon and the UN conference in New York City, otherwise I would be interrupting your little setup here.”  

Your lips twitch, as a curl of orange peel falls onto the table.  

“I can take care of him,” Bucky says, but his eyes are on you. “Got me a team?” 

“As many agents as you need. Any specialties.”  

“Mandarin speakers, a couple men that can pass as creepy buyers,” Bucky sighs. You slice off a sliver of orange, and hold it out to him - he leans over to slurp it right off the knife, and Fury raises a brow.  

“I can take care of that,” he says mildly. “I was hoping to leave tonight, if at all possible…” 

The kitchen is quiet. You’re still smiling, as you glance over at Bucky’s rueful expression. And slurp up your own slice of orange. “You have to be back in two weeks for the girls’ spring concert,” you tell him. “They’d be devastated if you missed it.” 

“I know. Two weeks should be plenty of time to take down a gang leader, right babe?” Bucky says lightly, and Fury blinks - he’s seen enough jabbering to know that some very real feelings were being suppressed here.  

“You could do it in one, if you had me,” you tease back.  

“I don’t doubt it.” Eyes locked with yours, he takes another sliver of orange, and your smile stretches across your face. Fury coughs.  

“I can give you a ride back to the city,” he offers - a split second of silence that stretches through the entire kitchen with a shimmering sense of regret - and then Bucky nods.  

The porch swing creaks, and Fury laces his hands behind his hands as he watches the stars come out above the treetops. In the yard dozens of lightning bugs are like stars on the ground; green and glowing as cicadas buzz distantly. Apart from that, it’s quiet; the nearest neighbors are at least a mile away, and town is five, through foothills and forests. He likes it. Waiting for Bucky to suit up isn’t so hard on his nerves with such a view…  

Finally the blue door opens, and a porch light flickers on. All geared up and armed to the teeth, Bucky’s lips are pressed in a grim line as he tucks some stray hair behind his ears. You follow, not smiling for once, and wait in the doorway as Fury stands.  

“I appreciate you taking this on at the last minute,” he says - to Bucky and you. “We’ll get you back before your concert.”  

“Thank you, Nick,” you tell him. Bucky turns back, and squeezes your hand. Fury looks away, and starts down the porch steps. After a moment, Barnes follows. 

~

Not for the first time, you check your watch as the babbling excitement builds in the auditorium. Two minutes 'till showtime, if it’s punctual. Probably won’t be. A shame, really - tonight’s a night that you’d appreciate some delay. The Agent part of your brain throws out a few options to pause the show: find the electric panel and smash up some circuits; break the accompanist’s ankle; and a classic - pull the fire alarm. Knee jiggling, you glance at the clock on the wall - one minute ‘til.  

The parents in the audience around you are quieting as teachers get up to close the doors. But from behind there’s an “oops!”, followed by a gasp and a polite “excuse me” - the last of which in a familiar voice that makes a smile curl your lips, and a shiver to crawl seductively up your spine. Then the doors clang shut, and a familiar tread comes down the aisle.  

Even though you know he won’t have any issues picking you out of the audience, it’s difficult to resist turning ‘round to watch his approach - so you don’t - and twist in your seat to send a grin back. The lights are already dimmed, and Bucky’s hulking shadow draws near. Mutters break out as he passes, and when he’s about ten feet away, you realize he’s still wearing his combat gear.  

“Sheesh!” you whisper, as he ducks down to slide into the seat you’ve been saving next to you. “Couldn’t have changed first?” A ripe, slightly barnyard-y scent is coming off of him - Bucky’s face breaks into a grin, highlighting a splatter of dried blood across his face and neck. It’s a tough call between admonishing him and laughing - so you cover your mouth with your hand, and giggle. 

The lights on the stage go up, a scattering, nervous sort of applause breaks out, and the burn of stares on the back of your head only deepens your amusement. Bucky’s metal arm goes over your shoulder (probably reflecting everywhere, but you aren’t looking), and he tugs you close to whisper into your ear. 

“Hey, babe. I made it.” 

“You cut it close,” you murmur back, as the choir teacher mounts the stage. “When was the last time you showered? You stink!”  

Bucky blinks. “Um - when did I leave, again?” 

“Two weeks ago!” 

“Yeah. It was then.”  

Wrinkling your nose, you give a soft snort as he tugs you close, and presses a kiss to the top of your head.  

“At least I made it,” he growls into your ear, and as his fingers find yours to wind through them, a few more shivers race across your skin, and a little sigh escapes your lips. 

“Yeah, you’ve shown up to your daughters’ elementary school chorus concert in full combat gear and blood stains,” you tell him out of the corner of your mouth. “I’m going to tell everyone. You’ll never live this down.”  

The first stream of kids - the youngest class, with Becks and Winnie in the very center as the tallest - start filing on the stage. Bucky’s fingers squeeze yours, and his nose nuzzles into your hairline.  

“Missed me?” he murmurs.  

“So much. We all did.”  

The children are all lined up, and you grin as Rebecca nudges Winifred and jerks her head towards Bucky, and both their faces light up.  

“Worth it,” Bucky whispers, and gives them a little wave.  

“Yeah,” you whisper, and snuggle deeper into his one-armed embrace. “It is.”

[useless-slytherclaw]

TW: death, grief

 Zizhen isn’t prepared when he gets the letter from his sister.  

     I don’t know how to tell you this.  Dad is dead.  

 His first thought is that this has to be wrong.

 But the words just sit there.

 “Zizhen?” Jin Ling asks, from his desk, “is something wrong.”

 “I think,” Zizhen says, and his voice sounds far away, “my dad just died.”

 Jin Ling is on his feet in an instant, but Zizhen just stares down at the words on the page.  

     I don’t know how to tell you this.  Dad is dead.  

 His eyes start to burn, and he feels the wetness of tears on his cheeks.  Then Jin Ling is there, gently taking the paper and pulling Zizhen into his arms.  Zizhen cries until the tears run dry, and Jin Ling draws him a hot bath and gives him hot tea.

 Zizhen doesn’t cry the next day or the next.  They have to organize a trip to Baling, and make sure Koi Tower won't fall into chaos when they go.  Zizhen goes through all the motions.  He doesn’t mind; it’s not as if he has better things to do, but everything feels like exactly that, going through the motions.  

 Jin Ling is worried about him.  It’s obvious in his expression, in his words, in his hovering.  

 “I’m okay,” Zizhen tells him again and again.  Because he is.   He thinks he is.  There’s no overwhelming sorrow.  There are no tears.   Maybe there should be; Jin Ling looks at him like there should be., but mostly, Zizhen just feels blank.

 The flight to Baling is familiar, and Zizhen hardly has to think as they fly, which is a good thing, because Zizhen can’t seem to focus.

 When they land in Baling, Jiejie is there waiting for him.   Jiejie has never been much of a hugger, but she opens her arms wide when Zizhen arrives and he falls into them.  They cling to each other for a long moment. Zizhen’s breath is shaky when he pulls back, but there are still no tears.

 Jiejie looks tired.  She looks angry and frustrated like she has taken the weight of the world on her shoulders, but mostly she looks worn.  Suddenly, Zizhen feels guilty for being so far away, for leaving his sister with the burden of not just the funeral but the sect as well.  These duties should have been his, not hers.

 Then Zizhen’s stepmother is there, summoning them to dinner, serving them food, and stacking more food than could possibly be eaten on the plates of her children and step children.

 That night Jin Ling asks again how he is.

 “I’m worried about my sister,” he says.

 The next day is the funeral, and people from all around China arrive to pay their respects, or to appear to, at the very least.   Zizhen doesn’t want to face them.  He doesn’t want to hear ‘I’m so sorry for your loss’ ever again.  However, Jin Ling is a sect leader and Jiejie is a sect leader now, and Zizhen won't make things harder for them, so he goes.  

 Jin Ling doesn’t push him, doesn’t try to force him to talk, just keeps a hand on the small of his back as he talks to this sect leader and that important teacher.  They approach the building where his father’s body has been laid out for them to pay their respect.  Zizhen knows what’s coming, and he’s grateful for the steady warmth of Jin Ling’s hand on his back.  

 He’s okay.  He can see his sister and stepmother standing there, back straight, greeting people, accepting their words.

 A few people step out of the way so Zizhen, and Jin Ling can enter the building first.  They say things, but Zizhen doesn’t catch it.  His eyes go to his father, no, his father’s body.  His father’s dead body.

 Something hits him hard; an emotion he can’t put a name to tears through him, leaving ripples in its wake.  Zizhen’s eyes start to burn.  Suddenly the room is too full of people, people who are looking at him.

 “I need a moment,” the words are out of his mouth before he thinks them.  He turns, heading out of the door so fast that Jin Ling doesn’t have time to respond.

 His eyes burn and something is heavy in his chest, making it hard to breathe.  His feet carry him on the short path to a small courtyard tucked behind the building.  It’s empty here, and he stands alone.

 Dead. Dead. Dead.

 He squeezes his eyes shut against the burning tears and the tide of      things     welling up inside of him.

 There are footsteps on the gravel, and Zizhen tenses for a moment, but then he realizes that it’s Jin Ling.  Zizhen stays where he is, eyes closed, hands clenched into the fabric of his robes.

 “Zizi?” Jin Ling’s voice is unusually soft.

 “You should go back,” Zizhen says, and his voice is surprisingly steady for the chaos that suddenly hit him.  Jin Ling pauses, but he doesn’t leave.  “People expect you to be there.  They will talk.”

 Always political games.  From weddings to funerals to breakfast, the political posturing never stops.

 “Fuck that and fuck them,” Jin Ling says loudly, loud enough that people might be able to hear him.   “You are the one who lost your dad.  This should be about you, and not about their political chess game.”

 “I’m okay,” Zizhen says, though it doesn’t feel quite true.

 “Stop telling me you are okay!” Jin Ling says, angrily.  He sounds angry, but Zizhen can hear the worry and frustration. “You keep saying that, but it’s not true. I know you better than that, Zizhen.”

 Zizhen’s eyes still burn and there are still tears that don’t seem to want to fall, but he opens his eyes and looks at Jin Ling.  Jin Ling’s honey brown eyes are bright with concern.

 “I know I’m not the best at this, but I love you Zizhen, and I care about you, and you are      not    okay.  You don’t have to be.  I’m here.”

 The words wash over Zizhen.  Not okay.  

 Zizhen is not okay.  

 Jin Ling closes the distance between them and wraps his arms around Zizhen, pulling him close.  Jin Ling’s embrace is warm and he smells like comfort and home.

 Zizhen’s body feels tense, and he feels stiff in Jin Ling’s embrace, but he presses his face into the crook of Jin Ling’s neck anyway.

 “I don’t know how I feel,” he whispers.  There should be sorrow shouldn’t there? Or anger?  He doesn’t feel sad or angry.

 “That’s alright,” Jin Ling says.

 “I don’t know,” Zizhen says, and there’s a waiver in his voice.  Shouldn’t there be grief? His father is dead.

 Dead.

 gone.

 He should feel grief, shouldn’t he.

 Zizhen’s eyes burn, and Jin Ling holds him tight, but there are no tears.

 Maybe this is grief.

#zhenling #ouyang zizhen #jin ling #the untamed #mdzs #fic #fanfic #angst #ao3 link

[amino-hc]

amino! at WR DINNER ON A WEDNESDAY NIGHT

mayu- *stutters*

jc- SHUT YO BITCH ASS UP

zizi- *laughing* ya mayu u-

mayu- zizi i know u arent gna say anything...

kags- guys why are we all-

oikawa- SO THE KING SPEAKS??

tsukki- KING?? LMAOO KING MY ASS

bokuto- guys ok relax :(

kuroo- NAH MAN LOOK AT HIM

bokuto- ....LFMOAODOOAO

sophie: HAHAHA kuroo stoppp don’t be mean :(

mayu and jc: NAH STFU UGLYASS LFMAOOAOAO GO CRY

sophie: NAH ISTG-

mayu: SWEAR TO GOD??? NAH IM GOD LMFAOAOAO GO CRY

Jc: NO MF IM GOD STFU

taco: hey guys can we all calm do-

zizi and dee holding hands eyes closed: Bismillah-

ava: yeah guys let’s all calm down...

tanaka: yeah guys don’t be mean

ava:

ava:

ava: ... it’s kinda funny tho...

tanaka: ...

ava: ...

tanaka: ...

tanaka: YEAH U RIGHT LMFAOAOOA

ava: NOOO LMFOAOAOAOAO

luci- 😐🙂 wdf

sophie: U MFS ARE SO FUCKIGN UGLY I WISH I NEVER CAME HERE IN THE FIRST PLACE FUCK U JC

jack- YEAHHHH LFMAOAOAOOAOAAOOOOO (what)

pinkdog - jack shut the FUCK up this is y diane doesn’t like u

bones: NAHHH JOHN U DUMB AS FUCK SUCK ON DEEZ NUTS LMFAOOA (doesn’t speak for the rest of dinner, eyes kenma and dees game*)

*kenma and dee on the edge of the seat huddled together playing on the switch*

[mrneighbourlove]

Burnt Heart: Ch 3. Breach of Trust

Kahli’s head was throbbing. Every muscle of his felt like agonizing hell. His blood was dry on the edges of his mouth. How did he-

“Zizi.” With one name spoken unconsciously aloud, he remembered everything. One of his offspring from the islands arrived. His mind was racing, worries of his family in danger. That thought switched to his relationship to Zizi. By God. The lie he had been forced to keep for so long was finally revealed. And she blasted him. She blasted him! She nearly killed him! He never laid a finger on her with violence all his life as she nearly obliterated him without wanting an explanation. The next thought rested on the life debt. Would his mind shut down from the psychological burden of not being able to follow Zannah’s command? Did it even matter now the truth was out? Maybe not. Finally, his mind rested on his son. It was Manaco’s birthday, and he needed to see his boy.

Getting up from the medical table in a calm state, Kahli silently made his way to begin the journey to his son’s house.

"Will you stop nagging?"

"I'm not nagging, I'm telling you, the picture is crooked!"

"Your head is crooked!"

"Manaco, Ahusaka, stop arguing, everyone will be here in two hours for the party, and your squabbling won't make things go any faster." Urboro told her arguing brothers. "Now, one of you come over here and help me with this banner."

"I'll help you since you got the short genes of the family." Miku teased her sister.

"Like Mom."

"Shuddup and help me with this stupid banner."

Kahli had reached the house long ago. He didn’t try to hide his disheveled look, or the fact his suit was almost reduced to rags. His head rested on the door for ten minutes, the weight of his personal sins blunted into his mind like a dagger. Listening to her happiness, he felt terribly guilty. This was supposed to be his son’s special day, and, in some ways, he’d ruin it today. Finally, with only half a breath to gang courage, he walked through the door.

"What the ever-living fuck?" Urboro had no filter, just like her aunt, Zolori. "Dad! What happened?!"

"Did you pick another fight with Uncle Covarog?" Miku asked dryly, knowing all about their little spat. "I told you that's a bad idea, you'll upset Mom."

"Or did you try to hunt an over-sized boar again and it buck you off?" Ahusaka winced. "I remember that it cut you open with that tusk."

"Dad, seriously? What were you thinking? I'd like for you to be alive on my birthday." Manaco shook his head. "Sit down, I'll get you a drink."

Kahli’s eyes darted between his children. Every time he thought he had something to say, it didn’t form aloud. Sitting down, he waited for his son to get him that drink.

"So, what was it? Fight? Boar? ... gravity increasing upon you?"

"No one likes a smartass, Manaco."

"Tolerate me for a day, okay? It's my Name-Day."

Kahli stared out the window for a moment, taking sips from the beer his son provided.  “Your mother, justifiably so, tried to kill me.”

The siblings exchanged glances and started to snicker.

"Good one, Dad."

"We all know Mom doesn't like to fight."

"If she wanted to kill you, you'd be dead, you know how she is when she's mad."

"Besides, Mom doesn't have a reason to kill you, you probably just got ruffed up in a spar, right?"

Kahli gave them a gaze that looked through them. “I... hell take me. I cannot even reveal the contents of the life debt to you all, even now. No matter how much I wish I could break through the shackles of my biology. Children. I love you. Everything I’ve done has been done to keep you all and your mother safe and happy. But I’ve hurt her. I tried so hard not to, but I did. And she nearly killed me for it. You’re going to hear things about me from her. Information that is true, and truths I cannot share myself.”

Now, all the siblings had their full attention on their sire. Worriedly, the brothers and sisters looked at each other before Manaco stepped forward.

"Dad? What is it?" He felt anxious. "Is... is something wrong with you? With Mom? What's going on? You're scaring us."

"Scaring is an understatement."

"Hush, Urboro."

“I want to tell you, but I...” Kahli grasped the sides of his head, fury building up inside. “Being a Hasai is a curse. Too loyal, too many burdens. That woman. I let her use me because my body wouldn’t let me refuse. I can’t believe your mother tried to kill me. Her anger is just, but to strike me? How could she? I loved her through the burden of my secret. I did everything to guide her safety through life. It tears me up that I can’t just TELL YOU!” Kahli was now clawing his skin, nails digging into flesh.

"Okay, this is more serious than a birthday party." Manaco motioned for his siblings to follow him. "We'll go talk to Mom. You stay here, get some rest, and there's food and water in case you need it. There's no way Mom would hit you without a damn good reason. We'll be back." With that, Manaco and his siblings hurried out the door.

Kahli waited in the house, silence his only companion now. How long did he wait? He had no idea. He scarcely remembered the dinner he devoured, or the drink he consumed. Time just didn’t phase him. He even thought of castrating himself, just as Zizi desired.

It was a long talk with her eldest children. Needless to say, all of them were shocked. The secret was... hurtful. There was no foundation left for trust. Their father had lied not only to their mother, but to all of them. Their mother blasting their father halfway across their home was another issue. While none of them liked violence, all of them agreed they had never seen her so angry or so upset before. She looked... devoid of hope. While Manaco took their mother up to the bedroom to rest, the group of brothers and sisters tried to save face. "I... what are we going to do?" Miku felt awful.

"Mom's... hell, I've never seen Mom like this. Never seen Dad like this." Urboro ran a hand down her face.

"This won't be fixed. Can't be fixed." Ahusaka had his arms crossed and was in deep thought. "Mom will never trust Dad again."

Outside Zizi’s house as the group were talking, Grievous had made herself back from the bench she waited patiently on. Kahli never came by here, so she had no idea where to look for him now. She was set on retrieving Sylvain and flying out to look for him. Spotting more half siblings, she froze.

The rest of Zizi's and Kahli's brood were coming home from school. Keira had finished work for the day and went to fetch them. Every single day, all the Slatki kids traveled from home, to school, and then back home together at the end of the class. All of them were laughing, talking, or teasing one another. They were all happy... and had no knowledge of the strife behind their house's door.

Grievous observed from afar, her Wyvern being small enough to sneak around lightly without detection. Going to the fountain, she spotted her fathers blood was still intact and not cleaned away. Her companion took a sniff of the blood and picked up a scent at her command. Climbing on the saddle, she patted his side. “Fly. Go to him.”

As soon as the rest of his brothers and sisters entered through the door, Manaco felt his stomach sink. How was he going to explain this to them? Zizi had cried herself to sleep and his siblings had no clue. He had to keep their family together... somehow.

~

At Manaco’s house, Kahli still waited. He knew in his heart of hearts that no one would come back, least not so soon. Standing to get another drink, the door was suddenly kicked open. Before him, the same girl appeared. The same girl that helped bring his world done. Only now, she had paint down just half her face. The clearer side of her face was the same pigment of colour as him. He loathed it. “Get out of my sons house.”

“This time, you will not cast me aside so easily.”

Kahli lunged forward with an empty beer bottle. Grievous ducked, kicking high with her left foot. It sent the bottle flying into the air, raining glass down. Immediately, Kahli and her engaged in hand to hand combat. Both were ruthless, using the claws of their nails to cut deep, punching the days fresh wounds on one another. Every hit they inflicted on the other stung heavily. Finally, Grievous had the upper hand, kicking Kahli out the front door and out onto the road. “You should rejoice father. I am a warrior of the Waku. This is what you wanted, no?”

She tried to throw a punch as he was still recovering. The man caught it, and her hand sizzled with his flame generating from his body. To two Waku, however, this merely was a visual indicator the fight would grow more serious instead of being burnt. “You are not my child. I never asked to be your father.”

Pulling her arm forward, Kahli slugged her in the face with his free arm. He kept her in place, punching her twice more.

Growing weary, Grievous kicked Kahli in the chest, and explosion of lightning sending him flying back into the gravel of the road. Fire could be absorbed, but electricity was another matter. “You let the Emperor create an army from your DNA.”

“My life debt gives me no choice. I did everything I could for my family regardless of the predicament I was in. You coming here jeopardizes their lives. Foolish girl.”

Kahli rose, and blasting the ground with fire to rock himself forward, he dived kicked right into Grievous’ chest before she could react.

The girl slammed into a piece of fencing, reopening her head wound once more. To be honest with herself, she was scared. Kahli was using fire to effectively harm her, something unknown to most Waku. She feared she wouldn’t live long to use such brilliant tactics herself. “You didn’t even think of me? You didn’t think of the others?”

“It was forbidden girl. I had my own family to attend to. You think anyone could possibly be father to hundreds? Surrender, go home, and never come back. I’m sure you have your own family who is concerned for you. A mother. Half-siblings who care for you on whatever island you reside.”

As Kahli walked towards her, his hands knuckles cracked. “Or maybe I should turn you into a bomb and be done with it.”

“What?” No Waku she knew had that power, but she believed it from the conviction in his voice. Despite her fears, she took another battle stance. “If it means making an impression on you, then I’ll gladly die.”

“You’ll what?” Kahli paused just advance, taken aback. Grievous used this moment to try and another attack of lightning, but Kahli caught her hand. At first it shot in the air past his face, but at a twist, the energy quickly fizzled out. “To throw your life away so carelessly, where is the point of that?!”

What ended the fight wasn’t another punch, or blast of lightning, but a slap to the face from the man. Grievous’ voice was high from that, and she fell to the ground. Her father looked down at her, crossing his arms and shaking his head. “My life in shambles. No thanks to you... but no thanks to my fault as well. To tell you the truth, I simply don’t have the heart to kill you. Stay. Go. I’m going back inside for another drink. Think about your own mortality.”

While townsfolk shuddered at the battle and the magic being launched about, Grievous picked herself up to follow Kahli like a puppy who didn’t know anything else better.

Kahli sat on a chair, grabbing another bottle of beer. Seeing Grievous join him in silence, he went to pantry to grant her a drink of water. Separate, they had their beverages in silence.

It took a long while to explain what happened to his younger siblings. All of them were notably upset. Some had no words, others had many. Anger, hurt, and sadness... all of it was overwhelming. Ahusaka and Keira volunteered to look after the siblings while Manaco went to talk to their father. The slight amount of destruction was... notable. Something happened. Entering his own house, he saw... a stranger sitting there. The stranger Keira told him about. The one who was responsible for lifting the lid on his father's box of secrets.

"Dad... we need to talk."

“Haha, do we?” Kahli laughed bitterly. “No doubt you have learned the truth that I have been forced to keep inside for so, so long.”

"Yes." Manaco glanced at Keira. "She's my baby sister. I know that much."

“Her? From a certain point of view. Yes.”

"I want to know how all this came to be, and why... no..." Manaco took a breath, trying to reign in his anger. "I want to know how you could do something to my mother like that."

“Manaco. You remember that time you walked in on that flower garden I was going to make for your mother and all the siblings you had at the time? I know how much it excited you, and I knew you wanted to tell the others. But then I made you keep a promise. You later described it to me as a mental tick. You were still terribly excited, but you kept your word to not tell a soul until it was revealed. Tell me son, do you remember?”

"Of course I remember, but this is way different than a flower bed, Dad." Manaco did not look too impressed. "Secret or not, this... spirits, why Dad? Why?!" Manaco punched a hole in the wall to keep from lashing out at his own father. "Why must you always go crawling back to Zannah?! If you're so loyal to her, why did you stay with Mom?!"

Kahli gave his son a look after he punched a hole in the wall. It was the look to calm down, or he’d have something to be mad about. “There is nothing of loyalty about it. A life debt to a Hasai is similar to a promise, only so much more. Can you imagine being a prisoner to your own mind son? To scream out the pain you feel at a secret you keep, but are unable to share? How dare you express a will for violence when you don’t try to even understand the prison I’ve been in against my own mind and spirit. You think I wanted this? For you to break so easily is pitiful. No. It’s insulting. Despite being humiliated all my life, I’ve done nothing but care for and love you all. Especially your mother.”

"Don't you turn this around on me. I have a right to be angry too, and so does she!" Manaco pointed at Grievous. "I don't have to imagine being a prisoner, cause I never would have allowed myself to be one in the first place! Don't you understand?!" He growled. "Mom doesn't trust you anymore. She told me, personally, and I quote 'if he walks through that door, I'll give him another reason to hurt'. That's not how my mother acts! My mom doesn't want to hurt someone. This family is trying to fall apart, but I did my best to explain back there to all my brothers and sisters what happened. They're all furious with you and they're all hurting."

“I fell into The Emperor’s hand a long time ago. How was I to imagine that she’d do THIS to me? To have me be a vessel to raise my tribe from the depths of genocide.” Kahli stood tall, getting eye to eye with his son. “Zannah made it clear she would take you all away if I refused, if by some miracle I broke free from the mental chains of my debt to her. And I believed her. I have done nothing but love, care, and look after you all. Be furious, but know I did everything for you all while under her pressure.”

Grievous was going to add something, when Kahli started to spew more hurt anger. “She can try. But that is my house as well. That is my memories I made with her. I never hurt any of you, least made a move to kill.”

"You think I don't know that?! We know that you love us, took care of us, still look after us!" Manaco shouted. "I'm trying my best to see your point and my mother's point, but I don't want to pick a side! I want this to go back to normal, and I know it's not, and what's killing me, is having my younger sisters who don't fully understand, asking me why Mom is mad at Dad. I explained it the best I could, but all they know, is Mom and Dad are fighting and they don't like it. So you," Manaco opened the closet door and pulled out a pillow and a blanket. "Are going to stay here until Mom calms down, and you," He pointed at Grievous. "Are going to my Mom's house. She doesn't want you staying here, cause you two aren't going to start up a ruckus again, she's not going to deal with it. My house, my rules. Go."

“Manaco... no. If we don’t talk now, she’ll talk to her sisters. Then Zarazu will tell Covarog, who will tell Ralnor and this whole situation will grow so much uglier.”

Grievous shook her head. “Why should I go there?”

"Mom said she doesn't want to talk to you right now and she's got a whole barricade of plants, vines, and thorns around the house." Manaco shoved the pillow and blanket into his father's arms. "And Mom's not so foolish to tell them until she calms down. She knows how 'precious' the alliance is with the Empire, and that my aunties would want to throttle you. So no, she's not telling them." He then pointed to the door. "Mom said with her, you'll respect her wishes, and you'll respect my wishes as your older brother. Now."

“Older brother? You are the eldest child of Kahli?” Grievous looked ten times more rigid and defensive around him then she did with Keira.

"Yes, I am." Manaco told Keira sternly, "I am the eldest of all fifteen of my brothers and sisters. Sixteen now."

“Try 669 others.”

“What?!” Kahli yelled out. Even he was blindsided by the number.

"... eldest of them as well." Manaco took a slow breath.

Kahli had no idea how to process that. With a definite number, he only came to one conclusion as he breathlessly whispered it in defeat to himself. “And yet not even close to finishing the life debt.”

"By the spirits, no wonder Mom lost her shit." Manaco muttered under his breath. "Look, I'm only going to say this one more time. Go to my mother. While you're here, she'll help you. Make sure you take your lurking pet outside as well." Then he said firmly, "And you are staying here with me so my mother will not strangle you."

Both Grievous and Kahli looked to Manaco, contemplating it over. Finally, they both agreed with a ‘fine’, one more begrudgingly, the other with very little care.

The girl jabbed her finger at Manaco’s chest. “I want to challenge you to combat to test your reign of eldest sibling. Tomorrow of course.”

Manaco was already on edge. He had a darkness in his eyes. Backing Grievous up against the wall, he was radiating a foul aura. His mother was heartbroken. His father had kept a horrid secret that could potentially break the family apart. And now, his supposed little sister wanted to fight him.

"You're an idiot if you think you will win against me." Manaco whispered menacingly. "Get. Out."

“I... understood.” Grievous inched her way to the door, doing very well to hide her fear of him. In fact, it was that fear that made her comply with going to Zizi’s.

Kahli rose up to get another bottle of beer. He must have gone through half his son’s supply in the fridge. “I think she gets this fighting spirit from her other half. I don’t know any Hasai that picks so many fights. War is one thing, but brawls? Nonsense.”

"What is nonsense is the whole idea of a life debt to a so-called 'Empress' who sees you as nothing but a pawn. My family as nothing but pieces on her board." Manaco was angry with his father, but he had to try to think of a solution. While he did not want his father dead, Manaco was afraid that if his mother lashed out again at his sire, he would be six feet under the ground. "None of my siblings nor I are ever going to return to the Empire. You, on the other hand, decide what you want more and help me figure out a way to get you out of this mess."

“What I want more? I wanted, still want, to be with your mother. She is who I am loyal to. What I am to Zannah is a biological and spiritual bond of Exodrum and being a Hasai. I physically cannot deny her wish so long as I’m indebted to her.”

"Do you want to stay indebted to her or do you want to figure a way out of this mess?" Manaco asked his father, "Cause from what I understood, your life debt isn't over and may not be over before you're on your death bed. Sit here and think on it." He then said, "Get some sleep. I'll deal with you in the morning."

“Deal with me?” Kahli grabbed his son suddenly by the collar, throwing him onto the couch. Besides combat drills, this was the most physical he’d ever been with him. “You speak of me as some animal? A burden? You will do well to mind your tongue boy. And think on it? How? You want us to beg Zannah? To throw our hands and knees down to her? Or should we perhaps seek the council of a God? You listen to me Manaco. I’m going in to town to fix your fence. I am going to go to sleep. In the morning, I will go to work. What you will do is sit on this couch and think. You think about how my honour has been nothing but abused, and how lucky you are patience is my greatest virtue. Am. I. Clear?”

"Don't. Fucking. Touch. Me." Manaco growled at his father. "You won't win me over with a pity party. Mom told you long ago that Zannah was bad news. You still defended her, and Mom chose to have faith in you and now look where it has gotten her. You may blame it on the life debt, but I'm not a fool. You have more loyalty to the Empire than here." He shoved his father out of the way. "Patience? Your greatest virtue? Ha! Your greatest talent is keeping a secret." He then walked up the stairs. "I got another shift in a few hours, and I'm going to rest. I don't care what you do."

Kahli said nothing to his son. If he didn’t care what he did, then those were his words. With that, Kahli made left his sons house. Up until the moon rose over Hyrule, he went to town and back, fixing all the damage and cleaning up the mess in his house. Finally, he went inside to shower. This day... this day was the beginning of the end for him. And Kahli knew things would never be the same. ________________________________________________________________

Previous Ch. https://mrneighbourlove.tumblr.com/post/611234309094948864/burnt-heart-ch-2-trust-thunderstruck

Next Ch. https://mrneighbourlove.tumblr.com/post/612488276332478464/burnt-heart-ch-4-boiling-point

Crossover with @ridersoftheapocalypse. Shared world with @s-kinnaly

#Crossover #ridersoftheapocalypse #Kahli #Zizi #Hasai #Grievous Dal #Manaco #Lorleidians #Waku #Drama

[crash-bump-bring-the-whump]

@for-the-love-of-angst really needed some Lee comfort, so I’m here to provide! Lee is written with her permission!

TWs: Blood, alcohol mention, beating

Fights weren’t uncommon, not this late and not in this area. William tugged his scarf up a little more to keep the winter chill off his throat and adjusted his posture. Eyes down so people wouldn’t see how unfocused they were, how they didn’t lock onto anything he passed, hands in his pockets with his cane tucked under an arm so it wasn’t obvious what it was. 

He kept his magic close, not wanting to spark anything to make the fight worse. They didn’t need this to turn lethal if it didn’t have to. And then he heard a familiar voice. 

Lee.

Lee, surrounded by ten people and who from the sound of the jeers, was losing.

Well, forget staying out of it. He navigated through the side street nearest to him, expanding his magic and focus out until he was able to pinpoint her soul. Taking a breath, William extended his cane and locked it into place before teleporting. In a flash and a burst of smoke he dropped into the fray, right behind the guy who seemed like he was holding Lee for the others to take free shots at. 

William heard a fist connect with a face, heard Lee spit, wheeze in a breath, and then laugh. “God, you gu-uys are fucking in for it now.” And he jumped, wrapping one arm around the taller man’s neck and letting his weight drag them both to the ground. He pressed a heel to the man’s sternum to spring towards the one who’d punched Lee last. 

The man swung, catching William in the mouth with his fist. He crashed to the ground, the man driving his foot into William’s skull. His head whipped to one side, and the rush of a fight filled him and quieted his thoughts.

It didn’t take long for Lee to get her feet under her again and tackle the guy. A second later, William sprung back up with his cane in hand. As bloody grins mirrored each other and dark hair whipped in the freezing wind, an unfair fight became a game. 

Lee fell against William’s side, breathless and light as ever. “Damn kadani, always gotta butt into my fun.” She ruffled his hair, letting his arm loop around her waist to support her.

“It’s what little brothers are for, plus Zizi and Taron would ground the fuck out of me if I just let you take on ten dudes on your own.” He wiped blood from his chin, wincing as his sleeve caught his split lip. “We should uh, we should wash some of the blood off first though. Atta doesn’t need another heart attack.” 

Lee started walking, arm squeezing William’s shoulders in a side-hug. “C’mon, my place is closer. I know Sophie gets onto you about overusing your magic--and we have that weird berry scented antiseptic Brian told me about.” 

William laughed, feeling how Lee limped and shifting his hold to take her weight off that leg completely. “Okay, okay. You just wanna put off telling Avery so you can think of a cooler excuse for why we’re roughed up.” 

“Shut the fuck up, Will.” The laugh that escaped Lee told William all he needed to know, but that was alright. If Lee could joke like this, and pull him into a headlock, and threaten to steal his last bottle of fae liquor if he kept it up, then she would be okay. 

That was all that mattered. 

#whump #whump request #comfort request #varoom au #lee #a gentle death #I HOPE THIS FULFILLS YOUR NEED FOR LEE COMF #SHE'S SO FUN I LOVE HER VEE #THANK YOU FOR LETTING ME BORROW HER #Good found family sibling bonding #Sometimes you just gotta scrap and then joke about it afterwards #Also will's gonna realize he has a concussion when the adrenaline runs out but shhhh it's cool it's not a bad one

[musicfeedsmysoul12]

Ooh ohh i would also like to request a single parent Mc but for Hilf please.

I love you to Anon. Alright, similar deal with the L&L one- I change the Kiddo each time for fun. 

Long post

Mac

The kid is a little girl who is five and it the result of a relationship in high school. She’s a bio kid who had blonde hair and is super girly. Like think GIL MC.

Mac is very nervous about the kid. It’s not like a ‘Oh, she was with a guy before’ nervous or anything- Mac is way to cool for that- but it’s a ‘I really hope I don’t hurt this kid or her mom and shit a kid’ nervous.

Also, this kid is pink. PINK.

Mac and MC are very good parents though Mac kind of takes the role of the disciplinary parent more than MC given she is a cop.

Mac is a really good mom, she just struggles hard with bonding with the kid because she has never been into that stuff. Until she shows the kid some comics and BAM. Bonding time!!

Beu makes the mistake of trying to mess with the kid. His ass is GRASS.

Mac is the parent who will go to every recital and competition to cheer her kid on. When the girl starts showing an interest in gymnastics, Mac is all over that.

Mac’s parents are grandparents now. As soon as they find out that their daughter’s GF is a mom? Grandparents.

Mac gets called mom like by the third season and it’s one of the most emotional moments of her life.

Annabelle loves the kid and is like a big sister.

The kid plans on being bitten when she’s older because she doesn’t want to lose her moms.

Diego

The kid is a little boy who is eight and has cerebral palsy. MC met him on her year of travel. He was a foster kid cause his parents didn’t want him and he had really bad anxiety due to being abandoned. MC took him in after coming to care for him.

Deigo knows the kid very well as he has been the kid’s doctor for years. The kid really likes Deigo.

Deigo takes a longer time to accept being with MC because of all of his self-doubt about himself. it’s the kid who helps most in getting them together cause he is really hopeful Deigo will be like his new dad.

Deigo is kind of overprotective of the kid because of Eva and stuff. The kid doesn’t mind but it does get a little exhausting.

The kid calls him his dad fairly quick and Deigo just… kind of shuts down for a moment but he’s so, so, so happy.

Deigo and MC are so happy together with their son, it’s a little gross.

The whole shit with Dracula terrifies the hell out of Deigo, he’s so worried about the kid and MC. He actually considers leaving but he can’t. He can’t lose his family.

Deigo doesn’t want to bite the kid cause he’s worried about the kid being a vampire with cerebral palsy and the kid isn’t sure about being bitten either when he’s older.

Razi

This kid is a four-year-old bio kid who is a girl with super curly natural hair. Her dad was an African exchange student MC ran into while on her travels and her dad is kind of in her life but is more of a correspondence kind of dad as he’s to busy with his life and never wanted kids.

Razi and the kid get along great. Razi’s crush on her mom made him get along amazingly with this little girl already and the two are way to cute together. Kind of gross really…

Razi is dad as soon as he and MC get together because she’s already thought of him as such anyway!

Razi is all over anything the kid is into but what she is really into his history and stories. Like already this girl just wants to learn everything.

 AUNT ROSHNI. (and future Zizi Mothman)

Razi being utterly terrified of Baba Yaga ever meeting his kid and when he learns how close she was this entire time… Razi has a full-fledged panic attack.

Razi putting up with the makeovers all little kids give their parents and just being so stupidly charming about it.

Razi being really worried about having to watch this little girl die and just being unable to accept it. Like at all. No, this is his baby girl. He can’t…

JD

The kid here is a snarky ten-year-old who is a trans boy who got kicked out by his parents. MC found him on her travels and took him in. he’s very defensive of MC and has picked fights over her honor before. 

JD and the kid already get along. The kid loves how rebellious JD is. But like… JD is even more like��‘this is casual’ between them and MC because they really do not want to ruin the kid’s life or be a parent.

Kid may or may not punch JD for making his mom cry and there is issue between the two for a good long while. Eventually, the kid stops with the anger but… yeah.

JD is not the greatest parental figure. MC has to be the authoritarian one because JD is very much not. But at the same time JD is fully aware of the lines and won’t cross them.

The kid going under Rip’s spell is terrifying. JD is a force to be reckoned with.

JD doesn’t really become Bibi until they give up their freedom for MC and the kid sees how much JD loves their mom. 

Hikari is the worst aunt. 

Satan is not allowed near the kid. JD is vicious about protecting their kid. That is their son and his fucker of a granddad will not touch him!

Nessie is even more upset about JD having a family. SHE COULD HAVE GIVEN THEM THAT.

JD plans on figuring out immortality for the kid. Satan offers it along with immortality for MC but… the catch is to much. Of course, the kid drinks cider along with his mom later on…

Vanessa

The kid here is a three-year-old bio kid who is the result of a relationship with a soldier who died in Iraq. Said kid is a little girl who likes dolls and soccer.

Vanessa… is not good with kids. Like she’s not bad just… not good. At all. Especially little three-year-olds who just get so confused about what’s going on…

She tries though! She teaches the kid a few self-defense techniques to protect herself. 

The kid and her bond over anime. Kiddo likes the sparkly anime and even has a plushie Altea she loves that her aunty Grace gave her.

Vanessa and MC have a slow burn as MC isn’t sure about a relationship with someone who has a dangerous job like Vanessa and Vanessa isn’t sure about a relationship with a single mom. 

Vanessa kind of embraces being a mom a little. She really likes how happy the kiddo is and likes teaching her stuff. 

Kiddo doesn’t call her mom yet (the third season sometime maybe?) and is upset she ran off.

Vanessa being super protective of the kiddo as she is also a target from Dracula’s brides.

Antonio

The kid is a five-month-old baby boy who is a bio baby from a one night stand.

Antonio had no idea that MC was a mom. He would have never kidnapped her if he knew. MC has the baby in her car when she goes to the diner and Antonio doesn’t realize there’s a baby in the back until like… they’re halfway to his place.

Then it’s shit. Because he can’t go through with this but what does he do now?

Then Igor happens and he can’t let him grab her or the baby and it’s just fucking chaos. MC is not pleased with Antonio or his reasons. Victor honestly finds this entire thing hilarious.

Side note, Victor with a baby is utterly hilarious.

Antonio is actually really good with babies? Like scary good? And the baby loves him? Victor stares in shock.

Baby does not have the right gene or whatever to bring back the dead. Baby is safe.

Antonio spoils the shit out of the baby and MC. Like the nicest stuff and the most expensive baby stuff that has the most approval. He is so focused on making sure the kid is healthy and happy.

His and MC’s relationship goes how it goes in game cause Antonio is a little weary but also kind of happy at being able to hang out with a baby a little.

Antonio just assumes the role of a dad so well. Everyone is surprised.

#writing prompt #headcanon #havenfall is for lovers

[bellatrixobsessed1]

The Mechanical Dragon (Part 14)

She is a fool and she knows it. Brazen and brave, but a fool.

She is not wearing her wings.

The path before her is very empty and disconcertingly silent. She knows that she is truly alone again. She realizes, rather abruptly, that she doesn’t like being alone. Yet, she continuously isolates herself in some way or another through an assortment of means. During her prime she was feared and fearless. Traipsing the jungle Azula is forced to admit that she is afraid. For many reasons. But there is something that stands out much bolder than all else in the noiselessness. She is afraid of being alone. The fearless, lonely princess is afraid of being alone.

 She almost wants to turn back.

But she can’t, lest she lose her nerve. Besides, it has taken her far too much time to pinpoint her destination, she can’t fathom having wasted all of that time. So Azula does what she does best and pushes forward.  

 .oOo.

 Azula has left her again and without saying a word. Zirin is furious, she hadn’t expected any different being as the princess was outright about saying she would sneak away again. But it didn’t alleviate the frustration, not under current circumstances.

 She hovered about Okon’s bed, trying to make him as comfortable as possible. Trips to the water pump were becoming so frequent, she thought that she was spending a good seventy percent of her day running to and from it.

 Okon lets out a wheezing cough and Zirin’s heart seizes. She wraps his hand around the cup and urges him to drink as he fights off another fit. She knows that she can’t worry about the princess right now. No, Azula is on her own for the time being. If she wants to skip out then Zirin will leave her to it. “Can I get you somethin’ to eat, father?”

 “I’m not hungry, Zizi.”

 He is never hungry these days and for it he grows frailer. She grips his hands with what is probably more force than she should. “You gotta eat.” But she knows that he won’t. He is a stubborn man and it is going to catch up to him, she just knows it. She doesn’t know, however, what she will do when it does.

 .oOo.

 A little under a week later, Azula knows now that she truly is a mad woman as she stands before a decaying door. The wood is old and rotting and the stone wall it is fixed within is teeming with mold and moss. The air smells stale and musty. It sends shivers down her spine, it the odor bares too much likeness to her cellar for her to be comfortable. All that is missing is the foul stench of long dead meat. She supposes that it makes sense though, that the place reeks in such a way.

 Azula is well aware that it is in her best interest to turn around, but she is also fairly certain that this is the only way to stop her nightmares. So she knocks and she waits, every second torments her, every second is a chance to bolt. But she remains, she finds it hard to imagine cowering away, it simply isn’t something she does.

 When he steps into the light she can almost pretend that he is a normal guy. A moral, sane man. She supposed that they were similar in that way. Azula knows that she has caught him off guard, he is far less intimidating when she meets him on her own accord, but his shock wears off and he is scowling. It is unsettling all over again and she can’t fathom what possessed her to do this. She can’t exactly go back now. “Where is your mother?”

 He is fast, but she is more so.

At first she thought he was going for a quick strike. Instead he pushes the door shut, but not before she can wedge her foot in the frame. With more strength than he had anticipated, she forced her way in. “Where is your mother?” She repeated. Her voice was lower than she remembered, more dangerous. If he doesn’t cooperate she is going to hurt him, she knows that she will and it frightens her. She is already slipping away from herself in a way she hasn’t in a very long time.

 “She doesn’t want to talk to you.” He mutters, he can’t look her in the eyes.

 “And I didn’t want to stay in that cellar.” Azula slowly edges closer. “Take me to her.”

 He opens his mouth and she can see it on his face that he his going to refuse, so she takes him by the wrist and with her free hand she snaps his index finger back. He cries out in shock and anguish. She feels nothing. Neither delight—as she ought to—nor guilt.

He clutches his broken finger it is already swelling.

 “Kozak?” She hears a familiar rasp. “Kozak what’s going on?”

 It occurs to Azula that she can kill Kozak and cut off the only care that his mother has. It would be a slow agonizing way for her to die. It would fit very well.

 “Are you showing me to her, or am I going myself?”

 He stiffens and glares at her. But he motions her forward, she can see his bad finger still good and popped out of place.

 She realizes, standing before Li, that she doesn’t know exactly what she came to do. She thinks that she wants to murder the old woman, violently tear her apart beyond recognition. She was so aged, it would be so easy to snap a few bones and bash the woman in.

 .oOo.

 Most of the town’s people have heard by now and they don’t like to meet her gaze as she enters the apothecary for herbs she cannot find in her garden. Painkillers with more potency, medicines that are less modest, and teas that are richer.

 It is for nothing, Zirin knows. Nothing other than making her feel like she is doing something to help. But she knows that the numbing agents only take the edge off, that the medicines have no effect, and the teas only leave a desirable taste.

 She wishes that someone would talk to her, she needs solace and reassurance. But she is so isolated. She feels her mind fraying again and she can’t afford to let that happen. So she goes somewhere that will help her forget, at least for a little while. The tavern is loud, it is just what she needs. She promises that she will only have a few.

 And more than a few drinks later she is stumbling home in the dark, just barely making it there. Bugs buzz all too loudly in heat that is too intense, even for a Fire Nation night. The alcohol leaves her thinking that her father is going to be pissed and beat her good for coming in so wasted and disoriented. He doesn’t though, instead he does something infinitely worse.

 .oOo.

 Sitting across from Li, she realizes that she wanted conversation, not blood. The elderly woman drums yellowing nails upon the surface of the table, she is glowering at her uninvited guest rather wickedly. Instinctively, Azula is somewhat nervous. It is irrational, she has the upper hand here, even if Kozak decided to get involved. But he keeps very careful distance, looming in the corner of the room.

 “You’re broken.” Li remarks. Azula doesn’t know if she is referring to the physical scars or the ones in her mind that brought her here. “You should be dead, you were supposed to be. Just like my sister.” Her face only grows more sinister.

 “Yes, you’re right.” Azula agrees. Only part of her means it. She doesn’t pine for someone to put her out of her misery anymore, not since she received her wings. Yet part of her, a very large part still believes that she deserved to.

 “What do you want from me, princess?” The word is unpleasant coming from that mouth and in that tone. “Are you hear to kill me? String me up for slaughter in front of my son like a hippo-cow.”

 Azula gets a faint impression that this is what Li has in mind for her—complete with a brand-new outfit of hippo-cow skin. Again, Azula is hard-pressed to suppress a shudder. “That’s not what I’m here for.” She still doesn’t know what she is here for, where she wants the conversation to go.

 “Then, what?” Li askes in her gravely drawl.

 “I’m not a monster.” Azula declares. “Lo wasn’t supposed to die.” Was that really what she wanted to say? Did she truly spend all that time tracking Li down and making the journey there to try to convince Li that she is actually a remotely decent person? It seems so pathetic to want to please a woman like Li, and yet that is exactly what she came to do.

Somewhere down that miserable path she was walking, Azula decided that she still cared for Li. Li who taught her to firebend, who helped give her what made her who she was. Li who taught her about womanhood instead of mercilessly leaving her to a mess of awful surprises. Li who took care of her when her father was busy and her nannies were out.

Li who left her scarred and damaged beyond genuine repair.

 “You are and you always were. You always will be.” Li is very firm. Her opinion isn’t going to waver, but Azula still seeks to try. “It’s a shame.” She clamps her hand around Azula’s skin. Somewhat soft, and somewhat familiar skin. Azula jerks her hand out of Li’s grasp. “The hog-monkey wings suited you so well.”

 Again, Azula disputes this. “I was…sick.” That’s what Zuko had always said when referring to her psychosis. “I wouldn’t have sent her away if—”

 Li hisses and covers her ears. “You would have, you would have, you would have! Demon! Beast!” She abruptly gets to her feet. “Right from the start, I knew it right from the start. I told Lo, I told her that you were a demon child.”

 “That’s not true.” She was beginning to wonder though, maybe it is true. It crosses her mind briefly to let Li bind her up again and start stitching. She thinks of Okon and of Zirin—she can’t be a monster if she has love for them. Is that what that was? Azula realizes that she doesn’t really know—or maybe, remember—what love is.

  “Do you know what they did to beasts when I was a girl?” Li asks with a snarl. “They took them into the center of down, cut out their tongues, gouged out their eyes, and fed it to them so that they can eat their own meat as they had the meat of the good villagers.”

 Azula thinks that Li might just be more out of touch than she. In all of her years, she had never heard of such practices taking place in the Fire Nation. She doesn’t have much time to dwell on it though because Li lunges at her.  Reflexes take over, Azula can’t recall having done so, but she sees the dying flicker of a lightning bolt.

 Li is on the ground, smelling faintly of smoke. There’s a tang of burning meat in the air with a hint of copper. The woman crumpled on the floor is sorely unarmed. She doesn’t have a knife nor fire. Not even a blunt object. She is just a fragile old woman. What she does have, is a blackened hole in her chest. It blisters and gushes.

 A loud scream rings out. She thinks it could be her own for a moment, but it is much too masculine. Kozak drops to his knees, cradling his mother. He screams again, a dismal hybrid of anguish and rage. His eyes meet the princess’ own.

 It wasn’t supposed to happen like that…

Li wasn’t supposed to die…

 She knows that she is wide-eyed and that it is a show of weakness that she can’t afford in front of such a formidable enemy. Yet she can’t seem to shake her own horror. So she does the only thing she can think of at the time. She makes a break for the door, leaving Kozak to his grief.

 Now Azula knows that Li is right.

She has killed Lo and now she has killed Li.

 .oOo.

 “Father.” She sobs into his chest. “Father.” The word is weaved into her cries. “You gotta come back, you gotta. You can’t just go ‘n leave me all alone.” She shakes him. “You ain’t say goodbye, don’t you know you gotta say goodbye?” She can’t help but hope that he will wake up, maybe if she coaxes him…

“You know how many drinks I had tonight, fa? I went ‘n had more then four.” He is supposed to wake up and scold her, send her to her room without a meal. He was supposed to discipline her.

She realizes at once, that he is punishing her. She’d neglected him for a game of forgetting at the bar and so he went and died. If only she had stuck by his side. If only she was a responsible caregiver.

A responsible daughter.

 For her folly she is alone. Alone and furious.

That princess. That evil, selfish princess. She had a nasty habit of disappearing when Zirin truly needed her and she was sick to death of it. Her focus shifts again, back to her father’s body. She is lost, she doesn’t know what to do. “Father, please.” She whispers again. “I nee’ja to wake up fer me.”

 He remains still.

There is still some warmth lingering on his skin.

#Azula #Zirin #Azula/Zirin #Avatar #Fanfiction

[zaneswhite]

Shoutout to black transmascs/studs/just masc presenting queer individuals who often struggle with or worry about being seen as masc by nb people because of the weird relationship nb people have forcefully placed between masculinity and blackness.

Thoughts of “does this person see me as masculine because I am deliberately presenting that way or do they just have some weird internal biases about blackness” are common and you have every damn right to be suspicious even though you shouldn’t have to worry about that.

Please, let’s talk about it, let’s vent about it, let’s validate each other this pride and if you’re one of those people who think that black masc queers “pass better” because we’re black, please die.

#zizi doesn’t shut up #antiblackness #black queer people #trans #transmasc #lgbtq #happy pride 🌈 #queer #pride

[a-punk-and-her-horror]

((Pathfinder: The Crimson Saber’s journey part 15 - Castle Calamity))

“H...Hey guys?” Kheevee called out from the back of the wagon as the rest of the party turned their attention towards her “Annette just left.  Said she had other business to do.  Maybe she's going to hunt down our attacker?”

“Maybe...” Kiruto sighed as Zizi let go of Riki-teef, who quickly turned back to her normal form before racing towards the troll corpse.

“If you're that desperate for help, I can...”

“No!  Riki needs no help!  See, Riki already got a toe, and some fat and...”

“And you ruined it's hide!”

“A small sacrifice...”

Zizi sighed before moving back to the wagon, investigating it.

“Well, without any live horses, what are we going to do with this...”

“Riki can turn Zizi into a horse for a while...”

“NO!”

“Then what does Zizi have in mind?”

Zizi began to ponder before pulling out his tools “I can modify it to a pull wagon...”

“Isn't that what they all are though?” Kiruto thought out loud, before catching Zizi's gaze.

“I mean as in one I can pull, for gear...”

“Oh, right, my bad...”

Zizi quickly got to work, re-using what he could from the wagon in what short time he had, until the wagon was finished, albeit a bit more rickety than first thought.

“Um...  I have a suggestion, guys.  No-one would feel bad about eating horse, right?” Kheevee pointed to the horse corpses “It would help top up rations...”

“Hm, good idea, some fresh meat could be good for morale” Zizi nodded as he got to work with his blades, cutting hunks of meat off the bodies before stuffing them in a sack “We can cook these when we make camp, but for now, we need to travel...”

“I'm making it out to be roughly three days travel now to the town...” Kiruto pointed out as he handed Zizi his map back.

“Then let us go already!” Riki cried out before starting down the path herself, with the others following close behind.

As they travelled, observing the plains to the left, and the mountains in the far distance to the right, day quickly transitioned into night, and as the group made camp, Zizi took his time to cook the meat for the party, who all joined in on the feast aside from Riki-teef, who didn't need to due to the ring she found all that time ago.

As dawn shined on the next day, Riki-teef was left on last watch, and decided to wake the others in her own way – by kicking over Kheevee's tent and stomping on Kiruto's tail as hard as she could.  Kheevee barely noticed, while Kiruto screamed himself awake, a sharp glare locking onto the ratfolk.

“Why did you do that?!?”

“Go wake Zizi!”

“Why don't you do it?”

“Because Riki isn't stupid, now go dog!”

Kiruto's eye twitched as a voice in the back of his mind echoed slightly, his right hand trembling towards one of the holy pistols.  “Do it....”

Kiruto shook the feeling off, before going to try and wake up Zizi while Kheevee crawled out from her blanket nest and collapsed tent, before meditating atop.  After 5 minutes of unsuccessfully waking Zizi, Kiruto sighed before moving to a nearby small creak.

“Riki thought she told you to wake Zizi!”

“I tried, and he didn't...”

“COWARD!”

“Just...  Shut up, Riki-teef, I have an idea...” Kiruto snapped back as he began to fill his water-skin, before moving back to Zizi's tent, dumping the cold contents atop of the Minotaur, who woke up with a jolt.

“WHAT THE HELL?!?”

Zizi loomed over Kiruto as he looked back to Riki-teef “She told me to wake you up, but you wasn't waking up normally...”

In the near distance, Zizi could her the ratfolk chanting. “SACK, SACK, SACK, SACK!”

Kiruto looked from Riki-teef, back to Zizi, before sighing “Look, fair is fair, I won't fight back...”

Zizi nodded slightly before shrugging, and throwing one sack over Kiruto, only to realize it didn't fully cover him.  Instead of letting it be there, he quickly picked up Kiruto and used a second sack to cover his lower half, before throwing him over his shoulder “Pack up, you two, we need to move on.”

The two smaller members nodded before packing their things, as well as Kiruto's and Zizi's, before setting up the wagon for the four to carry on their journey.

As they travelled, enjoying the peaceful day, a town to the left caught Kheevee's eye, and a shudder ran down her spine.

“We don't have to go left, do we?”

“No, why?”

“I think that's....” Kheevee tilted her head as she tried to remember the name told to her “Night land?  Nightlund?”

“Oh, that town with Lord Soth?” Kiruto raised a brow before nodding “Yeah, we should stay clear of there...”

Kheevee nodded as Zizi looked back to the map “There's something coming up to the right though, might be worth stopping at for the night, like a castle...”

“A castle?” Riki-teef questioned before shuddering “Is this wise?”

“Why do you ask?”

“Riki would rather remain out of danger...”

“I have to agree with Riki-teef...” Kheevee sighed “I'd rather not be stabbed in my sleep again...”

“Oh come on, it's an old castle.  Besides, we can camp in the walls outside the castle itself...”

Kiruto raised a brow as he looked at the newer map procured by Zizi “But, the castle isn't on here...”

“See?  Danger!”

“Doesn't that mean we really should check it out though?  Besides, better than a tomb...”

Resigned, the group agreed, and as the fork in the road came up, the group moved towards the castle, finding it still standing yet clearly abandoned for years.

“So the courtyard's also a graveyard?”

“Seems so...”

“And we're camping here why?”

“Walls.  Safer...”

Kiruto sighed before nodding as Kheevee and Riki-teef quickly began to detect magic, spotting a small ping coming from within the castle.  Lured by the potential treasure, Riki-teef pulled Kheevee to one side.

“You see that too, right?”

“Yes, why?”

“We should go get it!”

“....Do we need to, Riki?”

“Yes!”

“...We should tell the others though...”

“NO!”

“Why not?  Safety in numbers...”

“But then they would take it!”

“...There's only one though, one of us would go without, most likely me...”

“So you would let Riki go by herself?”

“...No, because I don't want you getting hurt...”

“Then let's go!” Riki-teef quickly grabbed hold of Kheevee's arm before pulling her into the castle via the front door.  Moments passed before Kiruto noticed the duo missing.

“Zizi, Riki-teef and Kheevee have gone...”

Zizi sighed deeply before looking to Kiruto “Typical.  I'm getting kind of sick of this...”

“Same, if it was just Riki-teef, fine, but I do worry for Kheevee...”

“You and me both, she needs to realize Riki-teef isn't to be trusted...”

Inside, meanwhile, the two smaller beings of the group began to sneak around, until they found their way to a throne room, noticing the blip's direction changing to below them.

“Oh, great, there's a secret passage...”

“Riki will find it!”

“We should get the others first...”

Riki's eyes darted quickly to a nearby bookcase as it pushed open by itself, a flickering figure catching her gaze for a moment “There, door!”

Kheevee began to object as Riki-teef moved towards the hidden door, pulling Kheevee along with her “See, it's safe!”

“I don't know about that, I think...” Kheevee began before she shuddered, slowly turning her head to the ghostly figure behind them “...we're in trouble...”

Riki-teef slowly turned to face the spectre, as it launched an attack on Kheevee, one she barely dodged as she used a disrupt undead attack on it.  Riki-teef pondered before quickly drinking an elemental aura potion of fire with a grin, not caring that it would also hurt Kheevee as long as she was near.

The spectre raised back up as it brought it's wrath down once more on Kheevee, chilling her body with it's penetrating claws, as she managed to quickly get some safe distance between herself and it before launching a magic missile barrage.  Luckily, while the spectre reeled, Riki-teef saw she had enough time to blow on her pipes, summoning forth a horde of dire rats.  Rather than having them attack however, she had them run to the door to get Zizi and Kiruto.

While the duo continued to fight and try their best not to die, the rats finally found their way to the others, warning them.

“...Aren't those the rats Riki can summon?” Kiruto questioned as he looked to a frustrated Zizi.

“...I fucking knew this would happen.  Let's go save their rears once more...”

Kheevee continued to back up as the spectre turned its attention to Riki-teef, the flames burning away at it's incorporeal body, as the others burst in through the front door to give Kheevee some protection and enough time to heal.

“The hell is that?”

“It's a ghost, WHAT DO YOU THINK IT IS?!?”

Kiruto turned to Zizi as he drew his holy pistols to take aim “Should we even bother, since it's focused on Riki-teef?”  The spectre however turned it's attention to the newcomers, quickly dashing over towards Zizi as Kiruto took his shots at the ghost.

“Well, no option now...” Zizi sighed as he swung at the spectre with everything he had, hoping the crystals inside his blade would provide enough to even damage the ghost.  Between all the previous attacks, and several rage-fuelled swings however, the spectre finally fell.

“Ha!  The stupid spectre gave up the ghost!” Riki-teef shouted, before looking to Kiruto and Zizi “...Well?  Laugh!”

“Riki-teef, what did I say before?” Zizi bellowed, his gaze burning deep into the ratfolk.

“Zizi says a lot of things, do you expect Riki to listen to it all?”

“I said if you stepped even one paw out of line....”

“You'd what?  Kill Riki?!?”

Kiruto looked to Zizi, then back to Riki-teef “You could have gotten yourself killed!”

“Riki does not care if Riki lives or dies!”

“You could have got Kheevee killed?”

At this point, Kheevee was too shaken by the attack, as well as the argument, having already been witness to the previous two to some extent, yet nothing to this level.  She quickly turned, crouching down, and covered her ear-flaps with her hands to try and block out the shouting.

“And?”

“What do you mean, and?  Don't you care?”

“Why should Riki care?”

“I thought we were all allies!  Team-mates!  Friends to some extent!”

“Ha!  Dog fools himself!  Riki never cared!  You were all useful to some extent, that is all.  Lizard was most useful of all, Lizard always did what Riki asked!”

“More like you took advantage of her!”

“As Riki said! Useful!”

“That's it then...” Zizi growled as his hand's gripped at his sword's hilt once more, yet he wasn't fast enough.

*BANG!*

Even muffled by her ear-flaps and hands, the loud sound echoed through the castle, and the flash from behind was enough to get Kheevee to slowly stand up. The smell of blood was all that was needed to send the Kobold fleeing out of the castle, down to where the tents had been set up.  Tear drops stained the ground where she ran, yet Zizi's attention was fixed elsewhere.

“Kiruto, you...”

Kiruto looked forward still, his hand slightly trembling, yet more from the burning by the gun's holy radiance than his actions.  He dropped the gun, before tossing it's mate to the side as well.

“I did what had to be done, Zizi.”

“I know that, I just didn't expect it to be you...”

“What?  That killed the rat?  She pushed me time and again, Zizi.  I feel no remorse over this murder.  She had it coming, and now all I feel is relief!”

The two looked to each other before looking to their fallen comrade, her head having been blown off by the shot.

“Kiruto, I hope you don't think bad of me for this, but I'm going to see what she had on her.  Would seem a waste to leave it all...”

“Fine, I'll have a look at what there is afterwards if you don't mind, but first, I feel like I should go check on the other...”

“...You're not going to shoot her as well, are you?”

“What?  No!  She was as much a pawn, a victim, in all this as we were.  At the very least, I want to know just why she kept going along with her schemes...”

“Good, and not just because we already lost one today.  Kheevee's alright.”

Kiruto nodded as he turned to exit, spotting the tear tracks back to the tents “Oh dear...”

As he approached the tents, he could hear the small being sniffling and crying within her tent, and slowly pushed the flaps to one side.

“Y...you're not going to shoot me too, are you?”

“No.  You're safe...”

“...Why did you do it though?”

“Because she was a danger to us all, Kheevee.  She almost got you killed.”

“But...she was my friend!”

“I don't think she saw you the same way, and to be honest, I think you know that too, Kheevee...”

Kheevee paused as she rubbed her eyes slightly.

“This is why I want to go home...”

“Back to the swamp?”

“Y...yeah.  I shouldn't be having to see this kind of thing.  I shouldn't even be here.  If it wasn't for that bird...”

“The toucan?”

“Y..yeah, him.  If he hadn't lied, and make me lie...”

“Lie?  You mean to make you leave your swamp?”

Kheevee paused before she looked to Kiruto, her expression growing serious “Yes and no. He lied to get me to leave, sure, but he made me lie too, a lie that's resulted in me being here.”

Kiruto knelt down next to Kheevee as he raised a brow “What do you mean?”

Kheevee sniffled slightly before looking away to the side “I... he made me lie on the admission sheet.”

“Admission sheet?”

“The ones we had to sign to be Crimson Sabers in the first place.”

“...What lie did you give?”

“...I'm not 20 in Kobold years...”

“...What?”

“On the slip, you have to be of a certain age to join.  I'm not 20.  I'm....”  She paused slightly before looking to the ground “I'm 14...”

Kiruto took a few moments to process this new information, before shaking his head “You're just a child still then.”

“Well...yeah.”

“...And you've been through so much already.  No wonder you want to go home...”

Kheevee nodded before looking to the tents opening as Zizi poked his head in “Well I'm not hearing crying anymore, so I'm guessing talks are going good...”

“Zizi, Kheevee might have something she needs to share with you.”

Zizi looked to the Kobold as she looked back up, gulping slightly.  “...After what just happened, and given how Riki-teef used to use my trust like that...  I don't want there to be any more secrets among us all, okay?”

Kiruto nodded as he looked to Zizi, who nodded along as well, quickly adding “Well, I've never told a lie a single time to any of you.”

“G...good.  As I said to Kiruto just now though...  I lied about my age...”

“Oh?  Well, you look good for your age, if you're a really old Kobold really, I mean...”

“...She's a child, Zizi.”

“...What?”

“I'm 14...”

“Human or Kobold years?”

“Kobold...”

“Oh...fuck...” Zizi replied as he sat down outside of the tent, being too large to sit within it, yet kept the flaps open to continue the talk “Quite honestly put, I always thought it was only races like my own that could take down big threats at that age...”

“...What do you mean?” Kheevee questioned, as she took a seat as well.

“Well think about it! You've taken down goblins, hobgoblins, ogres, dragonkin, and you're not even an adult yet!”

“I...I guess.  I mean, I didn't want to, but there was no choice, it was...”

“Either us or them. I know...”

Kiruto sighed as he looked back to the castle, before looking back to Kheevee, who nodded slightly “...Just like it was there, I guess...”

Zizi nodded slightly as he looked to Kiruto, who quickly broke the silence that was beginning to grow “She's mentioned that she wants to go home...”

“I...I do, but...I can't.”

“I'm sure we could get you out of the Crimson Saber's contract without a lot of hassle, especially if they know of your...”

“Not because of that...  The old wise man we saw in the square after the riot.  He saw us getting the keys.  He mentioned you, Zizi, but he also mentioned me.  Besides, I'm marked now.  Like it or not, I have to stay, and continue...”

The other two nodded, before Kiruto looked to Kheevee “Look, we're best resting for the night, then moving on.  Is there anything you'd want before we do so?”

Kheevee looked down, and sniffled slightly as a thought entered her mind.

“I know you two didn't like her, but it feels wrong to leave her in there.  Can... can we at least bury Riki-teef?”

“I guess it's only proper...” Kiruto sighed as he went to fetch her body, while Zizi stood to get his axe “This'll do for a shovel.  Besides, best burying her outside of these castle ground, we wouldn't want a Riki spectre...”

“...Too soon.”

“...Sorry.”

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

The bright lights burned at her eyes as she slowly opened them, to find herself in slightly familiar ground.  She had been here once before, yet this time, there was silence, and an odd overwhelming sense she hadn't truly felt in years.

Peace...

Riki-teef looked around in slight confusion, before spotting a cloaked figure nearby.

“Where is Riki?!?”

“Where do you think?”

“...Secret room in the castle?”

The cloaked figure refused to move a single inch, yet Riki-teef could tell it wasn't amused.

“...Riki is...”

“Yes.”

“...Huh....  Riki didn't think Kiruto had it in him.”

As she looked down, she could just about make out the castle grounds.  Below her, distant voices could just be heard with enough focus.

“There, she's in. Anyone got any words to say?”

The medium sized figure looked to the larger one “You first.”

“Oh, I don't have anything nice to say really, so probably best not.”

“...Fine.  I'll admit, she was skilled at what she did, I just wish she used it for the better of people rather than herself.”

“...And that's it?”

The smaller of the three looked to the two, as they both drew silent, before she walked over to the quickly made headstone, kneeling next to it and wrapping her small arms around it.

“I know you made fun of me a lot, and used me a lot too, but still, for the longest time, you were the only one I could talk to aside from the bird, and I honestly thought we were friends, and even though I know a lot of things you did were for your own benefit rather than for friendship, I'm still going to...”  Her words trailed off as she began to cry, causing a couple of tears to form in Riki-teef's eyes.

Slowly, she got to her knees, and tried to talk down to the small figure “...Riki will miss you too, Kheevee...”

The small figure perked up slightly, looking to the sky, and Riki-teef smiled, knowing her words had got through.  Slowly, she got to her feet, and looked to the robed figure.

“Riki is ready to move on now.”

“Very well.  From the looks of things, you'll be spending eternity with Bladestorm?”

Riki-teef looked around before nodding “R...right, yes, he claimed Riki.  But, what about Morigon?”

“...Bladestorm claimed, Morigon just assumed you would go to him.”

As the robed figure gestured behind him, Riki-teef slowly began to walk past, the world around her beginning to blur as she felt herself moving without even needing to take a step.  In the distance, she could see the skull from her previous visit, lurking in the distance, the screams of her family echoing behind it.

Riki-teef would make sure Bladestorm kept his promise to help her family.

But for now, Riki-teef knew peace once more, and moved on into the afterlife.

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

As morning broke, the three began to stir, and gather their belongings.  Kheevee, however, was slightly distracted as she continued to stare at the castle.

“C'mon Kheevee, let's go...”

“...But what if...”

“Kheevee?”

Kheevee turned to the others “Yesterday, the reason me and Riki-teef went in, it's because we detected a magic item deep within the castle.”

“And look how that ended up...  It's not worth...”

Kheevee quickly cut Kiruto off “Think about it though.  A castle that's on an old map but not a new map?  A strong beast guarding it?”

“Kheevee has a point, Kiruto, could be good treasure...” Zizi said with a slight grin.

“I was thinking it would be something else...” Kheevee questioned before walking towards the castle, the other two following close behind “And since it's day, and we killed a spectre, hopefully nothing bad will happen!”

As the group followed Kheevee's steps from yesterday to the secret door, they began to move downwards into a darkened cellar, only for Kheevee to realize the blip was coming from behind a stone wall.

“...Do we have to knock it down?”

“Ugh, fine.  Riki, blow up this...” Zizi started, before quickly looking down to Kheevee “Oh, right, sorry...”

“It's fine, there has to be some...” Kheevee started before her small hand found a switch stone, causing the fake wall to shift and move away to reveal a tunnel.  “...I'm starting to wonder how many doors we've broken that may have had one of those...”

“Well, too late for those ones...” Zizi started, as he almost walked into the room, before Kheevee stopped him.

“There's a tripwire. Let me go disable it...”

As Kheevee quickly moved to disable the trap, a cloud of dust caught her off guard, causing her to sneeze and trigger the trap.  A sharp pain rang through her small body as she felt a metal dart stick into her rear.

“Are you okay?”

“...What is it with sharp metal objects sticking into that area?”

“Well...  One thing came of this...” Zizi quickly brought up as he helped her pull the dart out.

“Ow!  What was that?”

“I learned that Kobolds have rear cheeks.”

“...Huh...” Kiruto noted before continuing on, as the three finally found themselves at a dead end, a small dusty room with no sign of anything.

“Kheevee?  Where is it?” Kiruto started before looking down to see Kheevee staggering around “Oh crap, don't tell me it was poisoned...”

“N...no, just...the magic here, it's very strong, it's...” Kheevee gasped slightly as she tried to keep a steady footing, pointing to the wall in front “It's...what's the word...”

“Behind here?” Zizi questioned before pushing against the loose wall, slowly moving it to one side.

“Y..yeah, what you said.  I'm gonna go and...the thing with the butt on the ground...”

“Sit?”

“Yeah, that...”

“Kiruto, keep an eye on her, I'll have a look in here and....Oh....”

“What is it, Zizi?”

Before the Minotaur was a small statue, similar to one he had previously, yet different.

“Yeah, it was a good idea to come...” Zizi noted as he picked up the statue, the magic reading shrinking as Kheevee snapped back to a full state of alert, her small hand pointing to the statue.

“The readings the same as the others.  It's a key!”

“...This makes three then...” Kiruto noted as Zizi stored it away in his chest plate.

“What?  Don't look at me like that.  Both times it's been in a sack, it's been stolen. Let's see someone steal it now!”

The group made their way out of the castle grounds, before looking back to the map “Fine, let's see, back on the trail once more?”

“We still have some daylight, Zizi, we can carry on and camp out here...”

As the group continued, with Kheevee still slightly distracted by the events prior, the trio decided to converse between themselves to try and ease the tension, until finally night came, and the group camped out and took turns watching.

However, as morning slowly began to dawn, with Kheevee being on watch, her ear flaps began to twitch as she heard a distant sound.  She quickly turned in it's direction and squinted, spotting a large figure laying nearby.

An owlbear.

“...Why is it always me who sees things watching us at night?  First a mountain lion, then Bladestorm, and now...”  She paused as a burning sensation flowed through her forehead, her gaze moving from the owlbear in general to it's head.

A similar sign began to glow.

“...Annette?  Is that you playing a prank?”

The owlbear shuffled forward slightly, before opening it's mouth.

“NOT!  MY!  NAME!” It screamed out loudly.

Kiruto slowly began to stir as Kheevee's eyes widened “So...what is your name?”

“SHE!  WHO!  EATS!”

“....Eats what?”

The owlbear stood on all fours before walking over to Kheevee, looking down at her.

“O...oh...” Kheevee replied before looking to Kiruto as he emerged from his tent “K...Kiruto, we have a friend joining us, called She who eats!”

“She who...oh what now...” Kiruto sighed before looking to Zizi's tent “And of course he's still asleep.  Kheevee, I know you're recovering still, but now isn't the time to be befriending wild animals...”

“I!  AM!  NOT! WILD!” She who eats screamed at Kiruto, turning to face him.

“Did she just...and that mark...”

Zizi slowly began to stir, and poked his head out from the tent “What's with the shouting?”

She who eats rotated her head upside down before turning to look to Zizi “I!  AM!  NOT! SHOUTING!”

Zizi squinted at the owlbear, one hand reaching for a weapon, before he noticed the mark “...Another one?��  He grumbled slightly as he exited the tent, before looking to the skies.

“ZENZHIN!  EXPLAIN!”

A bright light surrounded the area, knocking Kheevee onto her back in surprise as the ground found Bladestorm before them once more.

“...What is it, Zizi?” The demi-god sighed.

Zizi motioned to the owlbear, who had turned her attention back to Kheevee.

“Oh, right, She who eats.  Look, I had your friend arrive yesterday, surprised she died already, even more so by how, but I won't ask questions.  All I know is, you needed the help, so I sent someone else.”

“And Annette?”

“The half-elf?  She's running a mission for me.”

“Oh, okay.  Oh, we also have this...” Zizi pulled the statue out, handing it to the Demi-god.

“Another one?”

“Yeah.  Can you look after it?”

“...Why?  Can't you put it with the...” Bladestorm stopped as he looked to Zizi's expression “....You lost the other one already?!”

“Thief came in the night, stabbed, stole and ran.  When we track him down though...”

“...Doesn't sound like the Infernal's work, but still, see that you do...” Bladestorm sighed as he whisked the statue away to his realm “If there's nothing else you need right now though...”

“I have something!” Kheevee called out as she sat back up “Is your daughter doing fine now?”

“...Yes, she's grounded, but she's better.”

“Tell her I said hi, and that I'm glad she's better!”

“....Okay, whatever...” Bladestorm muttered before vanishing.  Kheevee smiled to herself, before being picked up by She who eats, as she stood on her hind legs while she inspected the Kobold.

“WHAT!  ARE!  YOU?”

“I'm a Kobold.”

“NEVER!  SEEN!  ONE!”

“I get that a lot...”

Zizi looked to She who eats before raising a brow.

“She's taller than you, Zizi...”

“I noticed...  Let's just get to the next town...”

She who eats set Kheevee back on the ground as she looked to Zizi “But if townsfolk freaked out over Annette's tigers, how are they going to handle an owlbear?”

She who eats pondered for a while, before reaching into her belongings, pulling out an owlbear skin cloak and draping it over herself.

“...Genius!”

“...She's wearing something made of her own kind...”

“Also, I doubt that's going to work...” Kiruto added, before She who eats put the cloak away, and used Wild Shift to change her form into that of a dog.

“Oh, another druid. Fun.” Zizi muttered as he packed away his belongings “At least you won't be as bad as our previous member...”

#ooc #Pathfinder #Crimson Sabers #Kobold #Ohh boy this session broke me

[gaelshorne]

Going Down. (Day 24 & 2)

The ramp to the Exodar was in chaos. The Blood Elves were fiercely defending the Exodar, and the draenei forces attacked with all of their combined might. Gaarzagon pressed his group’s attack forward with a furious charge. Hot on his heels was Ireszi and Ditzendort. The big Mage had little trouble keeping up. 

“This doesn’t feel right, Gaar,” Ireszi chimed in between bouts.

“Aye, I agree. This feels off,” Ditz said.

“I know, but we have our orders,” Gaar replied helplessly.

The rest of the battle was quick and furious. The Blood Elves were routed!

“That was too easy,” Zizi Warned.

“Aye, I agree,” Ditz seconded.

A look of resignation and fear passed over Gaar’s face.

“We have little choice this time. Zizi, let’s tend to what wounded we can. Ditz, head in with the others,” Gaar ordered.

“Aye, Sir,” Ireszi said with a salute.

“Aye,” Ditz said as he clapped Gaar on the shoulder.

 The engines were already beginning their start up sequence when Gaar and Zizi had returned from healing and assisting the wounded. The Exodar broke free of its moorings and headed into the Twisting Nether. 

“The engines sound funny,” Ditz commented.

Gaar and Zizi craned their necks to listen. And there it was. A slight tick in the engine.

“I’m sure our engineeers are on it,” Gaar said hopefully.

With a violent explosion the Exodar was ripped from the Twisting Nether! Fires raged through passages and cracks began to appear on the floors and walls. 

“Zizi, Ditz, start getting people to the pods! We’re in for a rough time,” Gaar roared above the chaos.

That jolted his unit out of their shocked reverie. With a quick salute, they both went through and assisted who they could. 

“I knew something was wrong,” Zizi shouted as she closed a pod. 

“I know,” Gaar shouted.

“You should have listened to me!”

“I did listen! We had our orders! Now, get into a pods. I can’t lose you two,” Gaar said as he stuffed five young draenei girls into a pod.

“May the Light protect you,” he said to the girls through the pod door. Their looks of fright stopped him for a moment. He lingered for a bit too long. The section he was in had started to crumble! The screaming metal jolted him out of his reverie. With a roar he charged for the nearest pod. He hit the inside of the pod hard. The door shut behind him just as a gout of flame washed over the area.

On the ground the Exodar made an impressive sight. Flames trailed from the tail of the ship making it look like a shooting star. The impact was jarring. Pieces of the Exodar were scattered all over the land. With a heave Gaar exited his pod and into the Cool Azuremyst air.

“Where are we,” he asked  no one in particular.

“That’s what we must find out, my Friend,” Ditz replied weakly.

“Good fortune!”

“Aye, Zizi is already tending to the wounded,” Ditz reported.

“Good, I’ll aid her. You go look for more survivors.”

“Aye, today’s going to be a LONG day,” Ditz said with a shrug.

#draecember2017 #draecember day 24 #draecember day 2

[tipsycad147]

Ouija Board Dangers and the Zozo Demon Phenomenon

Ouija Board Dangers

The Ouija Board poses real danger to those who play. One of those dangers is contact with the Ouija Board Zozo demon. The Ouija board is a means of divination or talking to the dead. It is made of a flat piece of cardboard or wood on which letters, numbers, and some words are written (yes, no, goodbye, hello, etc.). A planchette is used as the moving piece. The planchette is usually plastic and has a window so that the numbers and letters can be seen.

The ouija board is based on spirit boards from ancient China that were used to tell the future or contact ancestors. In the late 1800s, a man named Elijah Bond began to manufacture them and it was regarded as a mere parlour game to most, that is until American Spiritualists began using it as a means to contact the dead.

They are available at most toy stores, but some folks actually make their own with miscellaneous objects found around the house (i.e. cardboard, marker, shot glass.) It doesn’t take much to create one. The problem is that they is marketed towards children and it usually can be found sitting next to a Monopoly Junior or Scrabble game in the game section of a Toys r’ Us or Walmart. However, it is not a game and should not be played by anyone who doesn’t know how to spiritually protect themselves. There are real ouija board dangers that most people don’t know about before they begin playing with the ouija board.

Let’s talk about the different experiences one can have with the ouija board.

The Original Ouija Board with “yes”, “no”, the alphabet and numbers. Also includes good bye for clearing the board.

Personal Ouija Board Stories

If you were to do a Google search on Ouija experiences, what do you think you’d find? Pages upon pages of search results would turn up blogs and videos about negative experiences with the Ouija Board, everything from tales of angered spirits to stories of full-on demonic possession. But are all experiences negative?

My first experience with the Ouija board was a negative and frightening experience. You can lump my story right into the thousands upon thousands of other terrifying ones out there involving the Ouija Board Zozo demon, or who I would come to know as the Demon Z.

It started when I was about thirteen. Two friends and I decided to play with a Ouija board. We didn’t own one, so we figured we’d just make it. We used a piece of cardboard from a box, a Sharpie to write the letters and numbers, and a small shot glass as the planchette. We sat upstairs in one of the guest bedrooms, just the three of us in the house. Keep in mind this was the middle of the day, and so it was fairly bright outside and in the room.

We sat around the board, excited and nervous at the same time. We each placed one finger very lightly on the top of the shot glass, and we began asking questions. “Is anyone here with us?” “Can you hear us?” We didn’t get any activity for quite some time. Then something happened. The planchette began to move, but the answers it was giving us did not make any sense. It just moved all around the board, as if it was trying to figure out what to say. “Who are you?” “Give us your name.” We asked the spirit to identify itself. The planchette quickly shot over to the letter Z. The three of us looked at each other…that’s strange, we were all thinking. We asked this spirit Z what year it died. It answered, “1908.” After the name and year, none of the other answers made sense again. We began to get a little irritated with this spirit and decided to clear out the board by running the planchette over the “Goodbye” word and saying out loud: “Okay. We’d like to talk to someone else now, so goodbye.”

We stopped playing and went downstairs to watch some TV for awhile. “Surely we’ll get a different spirit the next time we go up and play with it,” we all said. So after a few hours, we ran up the steps again. As soon as we began talking to it, the spirit talking to us kept running over the letter Z. Constantly to the letter Z, the planchette would move. We began getting a little freaked-out at this point and tried clearing the board again, but each time we played, the same spirit would talk to us, spelling out random unidentifiable words and pausing over the Z time and time again.

The air in the room was thick and heavy and the three of us were frightened. Why couldn’t we get rid of this spirit? Why was it hanging around like an unwelcome guest? After tossing the board and planchette into the trash, my friends went home and I was left to experience the frightening things going on in my house. Loud footsteps at night, doors opening and shutting by themselves, and strange voices emanating from the shadows. My brother even swore that he heard someone breathing under his bed one night. When we moved to a different house, the haunting stopped. Did the Ouija Board Zozo demon hang around to mess with us?

My second experience was much less frightening but just as strange. One of my loved one’s long-passed relatives came through to say hello. The problem with this is that I didn’t feel I could believe the spirit was truly my loved ones’ family member. It felt as if something was just screwing with our emotions.

Opening a Portal With the Ouija Board

Many occultists, religious folks, and even witches believe that the ouija board is not a game to play around with and that it can open a portal between this world and the next. The portal is opened for unknown reasons, all that is known is that the spirit board allows almost any entity to come through, and if the user isn’t protecting him/herself or their environment, it is very likely that the door will open. This means that the entity can pass through to our dimension, if they are strong enough.

While some people believe that this portal can also allow ancestors and friendly ghosts to pass through to our world, most say that it is only the darker entities that come through. This is because they push the other lighter beings back; the darker entities are stronger.

What do you do once you have opened a portal through the ouija board and don’t know how to close it? Call an exorcist, someone to cleanse and bless you home. A priest, shaman, or witch may be able to help you close it. It’s not something that most normal people can do.

Contact with demons through a Ouija Board always includes a planchette.

The Ouija Board Zozo Demon

After making a video in which I talk about my experiences with the ouija board and particularly with this darker entity named “Z,” I found out that this darker entity is an Ouija demon and that many people have encountered it. The demon also calls itself Zozo and Zizi. There is a Ouija Board Zozo demon and I witnessed his presence before people even wrote about him on the internet.

This particular entity seems to enjoy frightening people using the ouija board, and some claim it is a particularly large spirit. It can come through to our dimension rather easily and can possess both homes and bodies, if allowed to enter.

More than one person have accounted for this phenomenon and most that have come in contact with the Ouija Board Zozo demon say that it uses few words and usually gets more aggressive the longer you talk to it. It doesn’t want to leave once it’s been invited.

There are discussions online about who this ouija board demon Zozo really is. Some relate it to an ancient Assyrian god of the wind named Pazuzu, while others say it is nothing more than the Devil or Beelzebub. Still others maintain that it is simply an internet urban legend, but I know better. Whoever it really is, I don’t want to talk to it again, and I suggest to anyone who comes in contact with the Ouija Board Zozo demon to close the conversation immediately and cleanse yourself.

Ways to Protect Yourself from the Ouija Board Zozo Demon

There are ways to protect yourself from darker entities that prey on Ouija Board users:

First tip: don’t use an ouija board! (I realise not everyone will follow this advice, so keep reading)

Second tip: if you plan on using the board against advice, draw a circle around yourself and the board (and whoever’s using it) with sea salt, holy water, or dried sage.

Third tip: ask your guardian angels/spirit guides/ancestors to protect you while you use it.

Fourth tip: never leave the circle until you are done with the ouija board and until you have out-loud told the spirits goodbye and also cleared the board by moving the planchette over “goodbye” three times.

Fifth tip: if you feel you have opened a portal and can’t close it, don’t be ashamed to call on professional help to exorcise the spirits and close the portal.

https://otherworldlyoracle.com/ouija-board-dangers-zozo-demon/

[zaneswhite]

Stop trying to make this GENOCIDE sound like it’s a religious war. It is a LAND ISSUE with one group of people being forcibly removed from their homes. “Antizionism is antisemitism” to imply that the ethnic cleansing and violent removal of an entire people is apart of Judaism is a bastardization of the religion for reasons I think I shouldn’t have to explain. How dare you.

#free palestine #palestine #zizi doesn’t shut up