Colombian red tail boa full grown
Adopted By Humans VII C11
2023.06.02 16:55 endersgame69 Adopted By Humans VII C11
It’s the little things of that sort that made life on Earth…life. I swear, if I weren’t keeping my journal of observations, I would completely forget that I was still enrolled in a doctoral program gaining what might potentially be one of the most important degrees in the galaxy.
I’d very much… what the humans say ‘gone native’. Which is the whole point of studying like this, to immerse yourself in a people and learn to appreciate their ways on their terms.
I just never expected when I began that it would be… something more, something so much more, to me or to so many others. But now here I was… and before I go into the days after Michael’s return, I hope you’ll forgive me for a little self indulgence… trust me, it will make the near future far clearer.
By this point, even though I’d only been on Earth for about ten percent of my intended time, by now my degree was going to be a given. I could have returned to University now, with just the work I’d done thus far, presented my findings, and gotten my degree to become ‘Doctor Bailey Walker’ and been done with it… if the rules allowed for that kind of thing.
Because I’d gotten into the various…shenanigans, that I did, because I’d been so heavily involved in so many important events in one way or another from the day of the battle of Waterland Park…as it was so ridiculously and melodramatically called to this day, (much to both my and Fauve’s annoyance), all the way up to the present, I was in a unique position.
I had ties to the highest levels of both governments through two ambassadors, and ties to the leaders of commerce and industry thanks to controlling one of the largest gambling and sporting enterprises on the planet…both of which by dint of my ties to xenomedia expansion in the Barnum Cooperative, meant I was building ties to other planetary governments.
In short… If I didn’t know the right person, I probably lived with one who did. William’s control over my space station project and the display of human engineering was drawing attention from potential allied worlds, while the Methuselah Initiative his wife was a leading researcher for was drawing global attention as the first gentle strides proceeded.
Incidentally… My big sister was on excellent terms with Rebecca Walker and had put her in touch with the D.S.A. the Dlamias Science Academy, where our finest genetic researchers worked… given that Bau was nominally a fugitive, I can only imagine she did this surreptitiously. But once the chain was forged, further cooperation was inevitable.
My people seem to be unable to help ourselves when it comes to humans, if we’re not man’s best friend five years from now, I’ll eat my hat. And if I do not have a hat, first I will buy one, then I will eat it.
All that is to say in long form that, out of all the students on Earth, and out of all the Dlamisa who were now visiting or residing on Earth, out of all the other aliens who were expressing interest in the rising power…I had stumbled my way into being the best known, best positioned, the absolute wealthiest, and the most intimately connected with all the right people.
So… with all that out of the way, let me continue.
Weeks came and weeks went, and I? I enjoyed them. William and Rebecca returned from their work, the Methuselah Initiative continued to progress and the space station continued to expand while the first vessels were built.
Fauve returned from her trip to Japan and we were up late enjoying coffee while the rest of the house slept.
I’d been apart from my human for longer than usual, but we slipped back into our routine without missing a beat.
It was rich, strong stuff that we drank, something she brought with her from her trip. The light was dim and the house was silent save for the little sizzle of coffee dripping down for our inevitable refills. We still had a relatively modest, ‘middle class’ home. Strange for me to say it that way, since I was saying ‘we’. But they were family, now, and it felt right even if legally I owned none of it.
Some have remarked that it was strange that Fauve still hadn’t moved out, when it was not uncommon for humans to leave their homes as they enter adulthood. But the reality is simple, departure is typically undertaken because of stress, a clash between the adult parent and the adult child and the former wanting to continue to rule the latter, while the latter wants to do things their own way.
But that contesting dynamic did not exist between the Walkers. William and Rebecca didn’t press their daughter to let them control anything, they would offer advice, and she did pay a little ‘rent’ to contribute to household expenses. A nominal sum that was more a symbol of independence than anything else. But she otherwise controlled everything about her own life. As they loved and cared for one another and considered their family to be a singular unit, a ‘team’ such as it were, they saw no need to separate themselves.
I like to think she also didn’t want to move since she’d miss me and I was more or less obligated to maintain a single residence for the next fifty years… but that’s just speculation on my part.
Regardless, here she was and so was I, and we could enjoy the comfort of one another’s presence. We simply sipped our first cups, and savored the moment. And for the first half of the cup, we were silent, just enjoying each moment in our amiable existence.
That was our custom, to just enjoy presence for a little while, it was a chance to gather our thoughts and consider what, if anything, there was to say.
Sometimes there wasn’t, we’d just sit in quiet company until our cups were empty, content that nothing need be said and mutual presence was enough.
It’s funny how much humans can say while saying nothing at all. In a very real way, they may be the most competent communicators in the galaxy.
But… tonight would not be a silent night.
When the coffee maker clicked off on the dim light of the kitchen, Fauve chose to speak. “So I got an offer for a diplomatic job.” She said it as if she were mentioning it might rain… this human of mine is the most unflappable person I’ve ever met…I swear.
My tail started to wag and I took a quick sip before saying, “Tell me about it.” She launched into a full story of touring Japan, first, which was to be expected, and I thoroughly enjoyed the recounting before she got to the part I asked about.
“You know how I’ve been handling all these media deals… and… remember how we spent that year on The Red Spark, during the Silent Civil War?” She asked.
I looked down my snout at her. “Tell me that’s rhetorical.”
She cracked a smile, “Well, one of the guys I used to eat lunch with was appointed to the Department of Interplanetary Relations. He was in New Kyoto for a conference on Interplanetary Tech… forget that, it’s boring,” she waved a dismissive hand and went on, “Anyway we were at the same hotel on the day I closed a deal for distributing your league broadcasts…” she paused and tilted her head, “Did you know that the Leonids have a reputation for stubbornness?” She asked.
I nodded. “Worse than ours.” I agreed, and it was no exaggeration. On Dlamias we said that you could convince a mountain to move before you could convince a Leonid to do so.
“They’re not so bad, I just had to keep reframing things until I found what worked, but we got a deal. So I told Marcus about it, and he said he needed someone like me on his team.” She should have smiled, but she didn’t.
“What?” I asked.
“Bailey, listen…”. Fauve’s voice became grave, “Marcus had a few more than he meant to and he let something slip… the Praeda species are a lot more afraid than anyone thinks. If what he told me is true, media relations will be the least of my concerns… a real war is a very clear possibility.”
“Shouldn’t you have led with that?” It was a stupid thing to ask, but still…
She sat up straight, “It wouldn’t be more or less likely, based on where I put it in conversation, and this way you heard good things first. if I waited, you wouldn’t be able to enjoy those properly.”
It was as absurd as it was practical.
“So then the job is…?” I prompted.
“There’s going to be an attempt at diplomacy first. The Rogue World is a long way off, and everybody is going to start gearing up for war, but in that span of time we have a shot at deescalation.” She looked at me for a very long moment.
“I’ll talk to my world’s ambassador. He won’t be happy that word slipped out, even to a reliable resource. Maybe we can create a joint envoy?” It was a tentative thought. More likely it would set the Rapax class species on edge if it looked like we were negotiating a separate peace…
I could see the wheels spinning in her mind when she said… “Maybe suggest we think bigger… anyone left out might feel like a target.”
She wasn’t wrong. “I’ll reach out to him in the morning. In the meantime… one more cup?” I asked.
She handed me hers as I stood, “Yes, please.”
submitted by endersgame69 to TheWorldMaker [link] [comments]
I’d very much… what the humans say ‘gone native’. Which is the whole point of studying like this, to immerse yourself in a people and learn to appreciate their ways on their terms.
I just never expected when I began that it would be… something more, something so much more, to me or to so many others. But now here I was… and before I go into the days after Michael’s return, I hope you’ll forgive me for a little self indulgence… trust me, it will make the near future far clearer.
By this point, even though I’d only been on Earth for about ten percent of my intended time, by now my degree was going to be a given. I could have returned to University now, with just the work I’d done thus far, presented my findings, and gotten my degree to become ‘Doctor Bailey Walker’ and been done with it… if the rules allowed for that kind of thing.
Because I’d gotten into the various…shenanigans, that I did, because I’d been so heavily involved in so many important events in one way or another from the day of the battle of Waterland Park…as it was so ridiculously and melodramatically called to this day, (much to both my and Fauve’s annoyance), all the way up to the present, I was in a unique position.
I had ties to the highest levels of both governments through two ambassadors, and ties to the leaders of commerce and industry thanks to controlling one of the largest gambling and sporting enterprises on the planet…both of which by dint of my ties to xenomedia expansion in the Barnum Cooperative, meant I was building ties to other planetary governments.
In short… If I didn’t know the right person, I probably lived with one who did. William’s control over my space station project and the display of human engineering was drawing attention from potential allied worlds, while the Methuselah Initiative his wife was a leading researcher for was drawing global attention as the first gentle strides proceeded.
Incidentally… My big sister was on excellent terms with Rebecca Walker and had put her in touch with the D.S.A. the Dlamias Science Academy, where our finest genetic researchers worked… given that Bau was nominally a fugitive, I can only imagine she did this surreptitiously. But once the chain was forged, further cooperation was inevitable.
My people seem to be unable to help ourselves when it comes to humans, if we’re not man’s best friend five years from now, I’ll eat my hat. And if I do not have a hat, first I will buy one, then I will eat it.
All that is to say in long form that, out of all the students on Earth, and out of all the Dlamisa who were now visiting or residing on Earth, out of all the other aliens who were expressing interest in the rising power…I had stumbled my way into being the best known, best positioned, the absolute wealthiest, and the most intimately connected with all the right people.
So… with all that out of the way, let me continue.
Weeks came and weeks went, and I? I enjoyed them. William and Rebecca returned from their work, the Methuselah Initiative continued to progress and the space station continued to expand while the first vessels were built.
Fauve returned from her trip to Japan and we were up late enjoying coffee while the rest of the house slept.
I’d been apart from my human for longer than usual, but we slipped back into our routine without missing a beat.
It was rich, strong stuff that we drank, something she brought with her from her trip. The light was dim and the house was silent save for the little sizzle of coffee dripping down for our inevitable refills. We still had a relatively modest, ‘middle class’ home. Strange for me to say it that way, since I was saying ‘we’. But they were family, now, and it felt right even if legally I owned none of it.
Some have remarked that it was strange that Fauve still hadn’t moved out, when it was not uncommon for humans to leave their homes as they enter adulthood. But the reality is simple, departure is typically undertaken because of stress, a clash between the adult parent and the adult child and the former wanting to continue to rule the latter, while the latter wants to do things their own way.
But that contesting dynamic did not exist between the Walkers. William and Rebecca didn’t press their daughter to let them control anything, they would offer advice, and she did pay a little ‘rent’ to contribute to household expenses. A nominal sum that was more a symbol of independence than anything else. But she otherwise controlled everything about her own life. As they loved and cared for one another and considered their family to be a singular unit, a ‘team’ such as it were, they saw no need to separate themselves.
I like to think she also didn’t want to move since she’d miss me and I was more or less obligated to maintain a single residence for the next fifty years… but that’s just speculation on my part.
Regardless, here she was and so was I, and we could enjoy the comfort of one another’s presence. We simply sipped our first cups, and savored the moment. And for the first half of the cup, we were silent, just enjoying each moment in our amiable existence.
That was our custom, to just enjoy presence for a little while, it was a chance to gather our thoughts and consider what, if anything, there was to say.
Sometimes there wasn’t, we’d just sit in quiet company until our cups were empty, content that nothing need be said and mutual presence was enough.
It’s funny how much humans can say while saying nothing at all. In a very real way, they may be the most competent communicators in the galaxy.
But… tonight would not be a silent night.
When the coffee maker clicked off on the dim light of the kitchen, Fauve chose to speak. “So I got an offer for a diplomatic job.” She said it as if she were mentioning it might rain… this human of mine is the most unflappable person I’ve ever met…I swear.
My tail started to wag and I took a quick sip before saying, “Tell me about it.” She launched into a full story of touring Japan, first, which was to be expected, and I thoroughly enjoyed the recounting before she got to the part I asked about.
“You know how I’ve been handling all these media deals… and… remember how we spent that year on The Red Spark, during the Silent Civil War?” She asked.
I looked down my snout at her. “Tell me that’s rhetorical.”
She cracked a smile, “Well, one of the guys I used to eat lunch with was appointed to the Department of Interplanetary Relations. He was in New Kyoto for a conference on Interplanetary Tech… forget that, it’s boring,” she waved a dismissive hand and went on, “Anyway we were at the same hotel on the day I closed a deal for distributing your league broadcasts…” she paused and tilted her head, “Did you know that the Leonids have a reputation for stubbornness?” She asked.
I nodded. “Worse than ours.” I agreed, and it was no exaggeration. On Dlamias we said that you could convince a mountain to move before you could convince a Leonid to do so.
“They’re not so bad, I just had to keep reframing things until I found what worked, but we got a deal. So I told Marcus about it, and he said he needed someone like me on his team.” She should have smiled, but she didn’t.
“What?” I asked.
“Bailey, listen…”. Fauve’s voice became grave, “Marcus had a few more than he meant to and he let something slip… the Praeda species are a lot more afraid than anyone thinks. If what he told me is true, media relations will be the least of my concerns… a real war is a very clear possibility.”
“Shouldn’t you have led with that?” It was a stupid thing to ask, but still…
She sat up straight, “It wouldn’t be more or less likely, based on where I put it in conversation, and this way you heard good things first. if I waited, you wouldn’t be able to enjoy those properly.”
It was as absurd as it was practical.
“So then the job is…?” I prompted.
“There’s going to be an attempt at diplomacy first. The Rogue World is a long way off, and everybody is going to start gearing up for war, but in that span of time we have a shot at deescalation.” She looked at me for a very long moment.
“I’ll talk to my world’s ambassador. He won’t be happy that word slipped out, even to a reliable resource. Maybe we can create a joint envoy?” It was a tentative thought. More likely it would set the Rapax class species on edge if it looked like we were negotiating a separate peace…
I could see the wheels spinning in her mind when she said… “Maybe suggest we think bigger… anyone left out might feel like a target.”
She wasn’t wrong. “I’ll reach out to him in the morning. In the meantime… one more cup?” I asked.
She handed me hers as I stood, “Yes, please.”
2023.06.02 15:58 lbabinz [PSN] Days of Play Digital PlayStation Game Sale
Landing Page
submitted by lbabinz to VideoGameDealsCanada [link] [comments]
2023.06.02 15:48 flippenphil (Offer) Dr. Seuss 5 film collection (Request) The Menu, Amsterdam, Babylon
MA = Movies Anywhere
GP = Googleplay
[?] = unknown definition
title = pending trade
If a title is no longer listed = It has been traded
COMBO Films
Vudu Only
Titles I am looking for
submitted by flippenphil to uvtrade [link] [comments]
GP = Googleplay
[?] = unknown definition
If a title is no longer listed = It has been traded
COMBO Films
- 2film: My Girl 1 & 2 SD =MA
- 3film: Mall Cop / Zookeeper / Boom SD =MA
- 3film: Night at the Museum: Trilogy SD =MA
- 3film: The Other Guys, Step Brothers, Talladega Nights SD =MA
- 4film: The Magnificent Seven Collection HD Vudu
- 5film: Hats Off to Dr. Seuss collection: the cat in the hat MA, the Lorax MA, Horton hears a Who! MA, Green Eggs and Ham MA, how the Grinch Stole Christmas Vudu (original versions) Vudu SD
- 6film: Joe Dirt, Benchwarmers, House Bunny, The Animal, Deuce Bigalow, Master Of Disguise SD =MA
- SONY BUFF PASSES (Current) - 2
- Universal Rewards (Current) - 3
- 10 Clover Field Lane HD Vudu only
- 12 Rounds 2 Reload HD =MA
- 101 Dalmations HD =MA
- 101 Dalmations (Googleplay) HD =MA
- 127 Hours (iTunes Redeem) SD =MA
- 1917 HD =MA
- 2 Guns (iTunes Redeem) HD =MA
- 2 Guns HD =MA
- 21st Jump Street HD =MA
- 21st Jump Street SD =MA
- 22nd Jump Street SD =MA
- 3 From Hell 4K (Vudu Or iTunes)
- 40 Year Old Virgin HD =MA
- 47 Ronin HD =MA (MA Redeem, Vudu Kills Code)
- 47 Ronin =MA 4K (iTunes Portion)
- the 5th Wave SD =MA
- A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood HD =MA
- A Dogs Way Home HD =MA
- A Good Day To Die Hard HD = MA
- A Good Day To Die Hard (iTunes redeem) SD = MA
- A Haunted House (iTunes Redeem) HD =MA
- A Madea Christmas HD Vudu
- A Madea Family Funeral HD (Vudu / iTunes OR GP)
- A Million Ways To Die In The West [unrated] (iTunes Redeem) HD =MA
- A Monster's Call HD =MA
- A Monster's Call (iTunes Redeem) HD =MA
- the A-Team (iTunes Redeem) SD =MA
- A Thousand Words SD Vudu
- A Quiet Place HD Vudu Or iTunes 4K
- A Walk Among Tombstones (iTunes Redeem) HD =MA
- About Last Night HD =MA
- Admission (redeems In iTunes) HD =MA
- the Adventures Of Tintin SD (Vudu Or iTunes)
- After Earth SD =MA
- the Age Of Adaline HD Vudu
- Alex Cross HD Vudu
- Alpha and Omega 3: Great Wolf Games HD Vudu
- Alice Through The Looking Glass HD =MA
- Alien Covenant HD (4K If iTunes Redeem) =MA
- All the Devil's Men HD Vudu or iTunes
- Alpha SD =MA
- Alvin And The Chipmunks: Chip Wrecked (iTunes Redeem) SD =MA
- Alvin And The Chipmunks: The Road Chip HD (4K If iTunes Redeem) =MA
- the Amazing Spiderman HD =MA
- the Amazing Spiderman SD =MA
- the Amazing Spiderman 2 HD =MA
- the Amazing Spiderman 2 SD =MA
- Amelia (iTunes Redeem) SD =MA
- American Assassin HD Vudu/GP/iTunes
- American Made HD =MA
- American Girl: Mckenna Shoots For The Stars HD =MA
- American Hustle HD =MA
- American Hustle SD =MA
- American Reunion UR HD =MA
- Anchorman 2 HD (Vudu Or iTunes)
- And So It Goes HD =MA
- the Angry Birds Movie HD =MA
- Annie (2014) HD =MA
- Annie (2014) SD =MA
- Annihilation HD (Vudu Or iTunes) Split
- the Art of Self Defense HD =MA
- Arrival HD Vudu or iTunes 4K
- Arthur (iTunes redeem) SD =MA
- Arthur Christmas SD =MA
- Assassin's Creed HD (4K If iTunes Redeem)=MA
- Atomic Blonde HD =MA
- Atomic Blonde (iTunes Portion) 4K =MA
- August Osage County HD Vudu
- Avengers: End Game HD (googleplay) =MA
- Avengers: Infinity War (googleplay) HD =MA
- Babylon A.D. (iTunes Redeem) SD =MA
- Bad Boys For Life HD =MA
- Bad Boys For Life SD =MA
- Bad Grandpa HD Vudu Or iTunes (split)
- Bad Moms (iTunes) HD =MA
- Bad Moms HD =MA
- Bad Words (iTunes Redeem) HD =MA
- the Bank Job HD Vudu
- Barbie & Her Sisters In A Puppy Chase HD =MA
- Battle Of The Year HD =MA
- Battleship 4K =MA (iTunes Portion)
- Battleship HD =MA
- Baywatch (Vudu-HD Or iTunes-4K)
- Beethoven Treasure Tail (iTunes Portion) HD =MA
- Beethoven Treasure Tail HD =MA
- Begin Again HD Vudu
- Beirut HD =MA
- the Best Man Holiday HD =MA
- the Best Man Holiday (iTunes Redeem) HD =MA
- Big Miracle (iTunes Redeem) HD =MA
- the Big Short HD Vudu Or iTunes (split)
- the Big Wedding HD Vudu Or iTunes
- the Big Wedding SD Vudu
- the Big Year (iTunes Redeem) SD =MA
- Black Nativity [Extended] HD =MA
- Black Swan (iTunes Redeem) SD =MA
- Blackhat HD =MA (iTunes Portion)
- Blockers HD =MA
- Bloodshot SD =MA
- Blue Jasmine HD =MA
- Boo! A Madea Halloween HD V/I/GP
- the Book Of Life HD =MA
- Boss Baby HD =MA
- the Bourne: Identity HD =MA
- the Bourne: Identity (iTunes Redeem) 4K =MA
- the Bourne: Legacy HD =MA
- the Bourne: Legacy (iTunes Redeem) 4K =MA
- the Bourne: Supremacy HD =MA
- the Bourne: Supremacy (iTunes Redeem) 4K =MA
- the Boy [unrated] HD =MA
- the Boy [unrated] HD =MA (iTunes portion)
- the Boy Next Door HD Vudu Or iTunes (split)
- Boyhood HD Vudu Or iTunes (split)
- Braven HD Vudu or GP
- Brian Banks HD =MA
- Bride Wars (iTunes Redeem) SD =MA
- Brides Maids (iTunes Redeem) HD =MA
- Bridge Of Spies HD =MA
- Bring It On: Cheersmack HD =MA
- Bring It On: Cheersmack (iTunes Redeem) HD =MA
- Broken City HD Vudu
- the Butler HD Vudu
- the Bye Bye Man HD =MA (iTunes Portion)
- the Cabin In The Woods SD Vudu Or iTunes (split)
- the Cabin In The Woods HD Vudu Or GP
- the Call SD =MA
- the Call HD =MA
- the Call Of The Wild (googleplay) HD =MA
- the Call Of The Wild HD =MA
- Captain Phillips HD =MA
- Captain Phillips SD =MA
- Captain Under Pants: The First Epic Movie HD =MA
- Carrie [2013] (Vudu or GP) HD
- the Case For Christ (iTunes Redeem) HD =MA
- the Case For Christ HD =MA
- Casino Royale HD V/GP
- Cedar Rapids (iTunes Redeem) SD =MA
- the Change Up (iTunes Redeem) HD =MA
- the Change Up Unrated (iTunes Redeem) HD =MA
- Chappie SD =MA
- Chasing Mavericks [2012] HD =MA
- the Choice HD (iTunes, Vudu Or GP)
- the Choice HD (Vudu Only)
- Chronicle HD =MA
- Chronicle (iTunes Redeem) SD =MA
- the Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage Of The Dawn Treader (iTunes Redeem) SD =MA
- Chronicles Of Riddick [unrated] (iTunes Redeem) HD =MA
- Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs 2 SD =MA
- Coal Miner's Daughter HD = MA
- Coal Miner's Daughter HD = MA (iTunes portion)
- the Commuter HD V/i/GP
- Concussion (will Smitch) HD =MA
- Concussion (will Smitch) SD =MA
- the Condemned 2 HD Vudu
- Contraband (iTunes Redeem) HD =MA
- the Counselor HD =MA
- Countdown [wwe films] HD Vudu
- Cowboys And Aliens (iTunes Redeem) HD =MA
- the Croods (iTunes Redeem) SD =MA
- Cruella HD =MA
- Cruella (Googleplay) HD =MA
- Cult Of Chucky [unrated] HD =MA
- Cult Of Chucky [unrated] HD =MA (iTunes Redeem)
- Curse Chucky (iTunes Redeem) HD =MA
- Curse Of Chucky HD =MA
- Daddy's Home HD Vudu / 4K iTunes (split)
- Dallas Buyers Club HD (iTunes Redeem) =MA
- Danny Collins HD (iTunes Redeem) =MA
- Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes HD (4K If iTunes Redeemed) =MA
- the Day The Earth Stood Still (iTunes Redeem) SD =MA
- Dead In Tombstone [unrated] HD =MA
- Dead Man Down SD =MA
- Deadpool HD (4K If iTunes Redeemed) =MA
- Deadpool 2 [super dooper cut] HD =MA
- the Descendants (iTunes Redeem) SD =MA
- Deliver Us From Evil SD =MA
- Despicable Me (iTunes Redeem) SD =MA
- Despicable Me 2 (4K iTunes) =MA
- Despicable Me 2 HD =MA
- the Devil Inside SD Vudu
- Devils Due HD =MA
- Diary Of A Wimpy Kid (iTunes Redeem) SD =MA
- the Dictator SD Vudu
- Die Hard: A Good Day To Die (iTunes Redeem) SD =MA
- the Dilemma HD =MA
- Dirty Dancing SD Vudu
- Dirty Grandpa SD Vudu
- Disney Nature: Monkey Kingdom HD =MA
- Disney Shorts Collection (googleplay) HD =MA
- Disney Shorts Collection HD =MA
- Divergent HD Vudu
- Divergent [4k Itunes] or [GP-HD]
- Divergent Series: Allegiant HD Vudu
- Divergent Series: Allegiant SD Vudu
- Divergent Series: Insurgent HD Vudu/GP (iTunes Split)
- Divergent Series: Insurgent SD Vudu
- Django Unchained HD Vudu
- Dom Hemingway HD =MA
- Downsizing HD Vudu & iTunes 4K
- Downton Abbey The Movie HD =MA
- Dracula Untold (iTunes Redeem) 4K =MA
- Dracula Untold HD =MA
- Draft Day HD Vudu/iTunes Split
- Draft Day SD Vudu
- Dragon Heart 3 (iTunes Redeem) HD =MA
- Dragon Heart 3 HD =MA
- Dredd HD Vudu Or iTunes (split)
- Dredd 4K (Vudu Or iTunes) Or GP-HD
- Drive (2011) HD MA
- the Duel SD Vudu
- the Duff HD Vudu
- Dumb And Dumber To (iTunes Redeem) HD =MA
- Dying Of The Light HD Vudu
- E.T. (iTunes Redeem) SD =MA (from bluray)
- E.T. HD =MA
- E.T. SD =MA
- Escape Plan HD Vudu
- Edward Scissorhands HD =MA
- Elysium SD =MA
- the Emoji Movie HD =MA
- Empire State HD Vudu
- End Of Watch (iTunes Redeem) HD =MA
- Ender's Game 4K Vudu/iTunes Split
- Ender's Game HD Vudu/iTunes/GP
- Enough Said HD =MA
- Epic (iTunes Redeem) SD =MA
- Epic HD =MA
- Escape Plan HD Vudu
- the Equalizer HD =MA
- the Equalizer SD =MA
- Ex Machina HD Vudu
- Exodus: Gods And Kings HD (4K If iTunes Redeemed) =MA
- the Expendables 2 HD Vudu/iTunes/GP
- the Expendables 3 4K Vudu
- the Expendables 3 [unrated] HD
- the Expendables 3 HD Vudu Or iTunes (split)
- Extraction HD Vudu
- Fast & Furious 1 (iTunes Redeem) HD =MA
- Fast & Furious 1 HD =MA
- Fast & Furious 2 (4K iTunes) =MA
- Fast & Furious 3 HD =MA
- Fast & Furious 4 HD =MA
- Fast & Furious 4 (iTunes Redeem) SD =MA
- Fast & Furious 5 Extended (iTunes Redeem) HD =MA
- Fast & Furious 5 Extended HD =MA
- Fast & Furious 6 Extended (4K iTunes) =MA
- Fast & Furious 6 Extended HD =MA
- Fast & Furious 7 Extended HD =MA
- Fast & Furious 7 Extended (4K iTunes) =MA
- Fast Furious 8 Extended 4K =MA
- Fast Furious 8 Extended HD =MA
- Fast Furious 8 Theatrical 4K =MA
- Fast Furious 8 Theatrical HD =MA
- the Fault In Our Stars HD (4K If iTunes Redeem) =MA
- the Fault In Our Stars HD =MA (no Upgrade)
- the Favourite HD =MA
- Fences HD VUDU or iTunes 4K (split)
- Fifty Shades Darker [unrated] (iTunes) HD =MA
- Fifty Shades Darker [unrated] HD =MA
- Fifty Shades Of Grey [unrated] HD =MA
- Fifty Shades Of Grey [standard] 4K (iTunes Redeem) =MA
- the Fighter HD =MA
- Finding Dory (googleplay) HD =MA
- Finding Dory HD (4K If iTunes Redeem) =MA
- Finding Nemo (googleplay) HD =MA
- the Finest Hour HD =MA
- the Finest Hour (googleplay) HD =MA
- the Five Year Engagement (iTunes Redeem) HD =MA
- Flight HD (Vudu / iTunes Split)
- Footloose (2011) SD (Vudu Or iTunes)
- Frank & Lola HD =MA
- Fright Night 2 UR HD =MA
- the Front Runner SD = MA
- Frozen HD (4K If iTunes Redeem) =MA
- Frozen (googleplay) HD =MA
- Frozen (sing Along Edition) HD =MA
- Frozen (sing-along Edition) (googleplay) HD =MA
- Frozen Ground HD Vudu
- Fury HD =MA
- Fury SD =MA
- G.I.Joe Retaliation HD Vudu Or iTunes (split)
- the Gambler HD (Vudu / iTunes Split)
- Gemini Man HD Vudu Or iTunes (split)
- Get On Up (iTunes Redeem) HD =MA
- Get The Gringo (iTunes Redeem) SD =MA
- Ghost In The Shell [2017] HD Vudu Only
- Ghost Rider Spirit Of Vengeance SD =MA
- Ghostbusters HD =MA
- Ghostbusters: Answer The Call & Extended HD =MA
- Gifted HD =MA
- the Girl In The Spidersweb SD =MA
- the Girl On The Train =MA 4K (iTunes Redeem)
- the Girl On The Train =MA HD
- the Giver HD Vudu
- Gladiator Vudu or iTunes 4K
- Glee The Concert (iTunes Redeem) SD =MA
- God's Not Dead 3: A Light In Darkness HD =MA
- Gods Of Egypt HD Vudu (and iTunes 4K split)
- Gods Of Egypt SD Vudu
- Grace Unplugged HD Vudu
- the Grand Budapest Hotel HD =MA
- the Great Wall (iTunes Portion) 4K =MA
- the Great Wall HD =MA
- the Greatest Showman HD =MA
- the Grey (iTunes Redeem) HD =MA
- Grown Ups 2 HD =MA
- Grown Ups 2 SD =MA
- Guardians Of The Galaxy Volume 1 HD =MA (no 4K Upgrade)
- Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2.0 (googleplay) HD =MA
- Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2.0 4K =MA
- the Gunman HD =MA
- the Gunman (iTunes Redeem) HD =MA
- Hacksaw Ridge HD Vudu iTunes Or GP
- Hail, Caesar! HD =MA
- Hail, Caesar! (iTunes Redeem) HD =MA
- Halloween Kills Extended HD =MA
- Hammer Of The Gods SD Vudu
- Hansel & Gretel [unrated] HD Vudu / HD iTunes (split)
- Hands of Stones HD Vudu
- the Hangover (iTunes Redeem) SD =MA
- Hardcore Henry HD =MA (iTunes redeem)
- Harvey (1950) (iTunes Redeem) HD =MA
- the Hateful Eight HD Vudu Or GP
- the Haunting In Connecticut 2 Ghosts Of Georgia HD Vudu
- the Heat HD =MA
- the Heat (iTunes Redeem) SD =MA (will Send First)
- Heaven Is For Real HD =MA
- Heaven Is For Real SD =MA
- Hell Or High Water SD Vudu
- Hellboy (2019) 4K Vudu/iTunes/(GP HD)
- Here Comes The Boom SD =MA
- Hidden Figures HD (4K If iTunes Redeem) =MA
- Hillsong: Let Hope Rise HD =MA
- Hocus Pocus (googleplay) HD =MA
- Holiday Inn (iTunes Redeem) HD =MA
- Home Again HD =MA
- Home Alone 4K =MA
- Home Alone HD (4K If iTunes Redeem) =MA
- Home Alone 2: Lost In New York HD =MA
- Homefront (iTunes Redeem) HD =MA
- Homefront HD =MA
- Honey 2 (redeems In iTunes) HD =MA
- Honey 2 HD =MA
- Hop (redeems In iTunes) HD =MA
- Hop HD =MA
- Hope Springs HD =MA
- Horton Hears A Who (iTunes Redeem) SD =MA
- the Host (iTunes Redeem) HD =MA
- Hostiles 4K Vudu/iTunes/(GP HD)
- Hotel Transylvania SD =MA
- Hotel Transylvania 3 SD =MA
- Hours SD Vudu
- House With A Clock In Its Walls HD =MA
- How To Train A Dragon 2 HD =MA
- the Hundred Foot Journey (googleplay) HD =MA
- Hugo SD (Vudu Or iTunes)
- the Hunger Games HD Vudu
- the Hunger Games: Catching Fire HD Vudu
- the Hunger Games: Mocking Jay Part 1 HD Vudu
- the Hunger Games: Mocking Jay Part 2 HD Vudu
- I See You HD Vudu (no itunes)
- I, Frankenstein HD Vudu/iTunes/GP
- Ice Age: A Mammoth Christmas (iTunes Redeem) SD =MA
- Ice Age: Dawn Of Dinosaurs (iTunes Redeem) SD =MA
- Ice Age: the Great Egg-Scapade HD =MA
- Identity Thief (iTunes Redeem) HD =MA
- the Ides Of March HD =MA
- In Time (iTunes Redeem) SD =MA
- Incarnate (redeems In iTunes) HD =MA
- Independence Day Resurgence HD =MA (no Upgrade)
- Independence Day Resurgence HD (4K if iTunes Redeemed) =MA
- Inferno HD =MA
- Inglorious Bastards (iTunes Redeem) SD =MA
- Inside Out HD (4K If iTunes Redeemed) =MA
- Inside Out (google Redeem) HD =MA
- Insidious Chapter 2 SD =MA
- Insidious: the last key SD =MA
- Internship (iTunes Redeem) SD =MA
- the Interview HD =MA
- the Interview SD =MA
- Into The Spider-verse SD =MA
- Iron Man 3 (googleplay) HD =MA
- Iron Man 3 HD (4K If iTunes Redeemed) =MA
- Jack Reacher SD Vudu
- Jack Reacher HD Vudu (4K itunes split)
- Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit HD Vudu Or iTunes
- Jarhead 2 [unrated] HD =MA
- Jarhead 2 [unrated] HD =MA (iTunes portion)
- Jarhead Law Of Return HD =MA
- Jason Bourne HD =MA
- Jason Bourne 4K =MA (iTunes portion)
- Jaws HD =MA
- Joe SD Vudu
- John Wick 4K (Vudu,iTunes Or HD-GP)
- John Wick SD? Dvd (Vudu/iTunes/GP)
- John Wick : Chapter 2 HD (Vudu,iTunes Or HD-GP)
- John Wick 3 4K (Vudu,iTunes Or HD-GP)
- Joy HD (4K If iTunes Redeemed) =MA
- Joy HD =MA
- Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle SD =MA
- Jumper (iTunes Redeem) SD =MA
- the Jungle Book [2016] (preorder) HD =MA
- Jungle Cruise (googleplay) HD =MA
- Juno (iTunes Redeem) SD =MA
- Jurassic Park (4K iTunes) =MA
- Jurassic Park HD =MA
- Jurassic World (4K iTunes) =MA
- Jurassic World HD =MA
- Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom HD =MA
- Just Wright (iTunes Redeem) SD =MA
- Justin Bieber: Never Say Never HD VUDU / iTunes (split)
- Keeping Up with the Jones (4K if iTunes Redeem) = MA
- Kevin Heart: Let Me Explain HD
- Kickass 2 (iTunes Redeem) HD =MA
- Kickass 2 HD =MA
- Kidnap HD =MA
- Kidnap (iTunes Redeem) HD =MA
- Killer Elite (iTunes Redeem) HD =MA
- Killing Them Softly HD Vudu
- Kin HD Vudu/iTunes/GP
- the Kingsman: The Golden Circle HD (4K If iTunes Redeem) =MA
- the Kingsman: The Secret Service HD (4K If iTunes Redeem) =MA
- the Kingsman: The Secret Service SD (Vudu) =MA
- Knight And Day (iTunes Redeem) SD =MA
- Knocked Up HD =MA
- Knocked Up (iTunes redeem) HD =MA
- Kung Fu Panda 3 HD =MA
- the Last Exorcism Past2 SD =MA
- Last Knights HD Vudu
- the Last Stand HD
- Last Vegas SD =MA
- the Last Witch Hunter SD Vudu
- the Legend Of Hercules HD Vudu
- Les Miserables [1998] HD =MA
- Les Miserables [2012] (redeems In iTunes) HD =MA
- Les Miserables [2012] HD =MA
- Let's Be Cops HD (4K If iTunes Redeem) =MA
- Life HD =MA
- Life As We Know It (iTunes Redeem) SD =MA
- Life As We Know It SD =MA
- Knight And Day (iTunes Redeem) SD =MA
- Life Of Pi HD (4K iTunes Through Foxredeem) =MA
- Lightyear (googleplay) HD =MA
- the Little Mermaid HD =MA
- the Little Mermaid (googleplay) HD =MA
- Little Women (2019) HD =MA
- Lockout (unrated) SD =MA
- the LOFT (iTunes Redeem) HD =MA
- Logan HD (4K If iTunes Redeem) =MA
- Logan Lucky HD =MA
- Logan Lucky 4K (iTunes) =MA
- the Lone Ranger (googleplay) HD =MA
- the Lone Ranger HD =MA
- Lone Survivor HD =MA
- Lone Survivor 4K (iTunes Redeem) =MA
- the Longest Ride HD ( 4K If iTunes Redeemed) =MA
- the Longest Week HD Vudu
- Looper SD =MA
- the Lorax (iTunes Redeem) HD =MA
- the Lorax HD =MA
- the Lord of The Rings: Return Of The King HD =MA
- the Lords Of Salem HD Vudu
- Love Actually (iTunes Redeem) SD =MA
- Love Actually SD =MA
- Love & Mercy HD VUDU
- Love & Other Drugs (iTunes Redeem) SD =MA
- Machete (iTunes Redeem) SD =MA
- Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted HD =MA
- Madea's Neighbors From Hell The Play SD Vudu
- Madea's Witness Protection HD Vudu Or iTunes
- Madea's Witness Protection SD Vudu
- Maggie HD Vudu Only
- Maleficent (googleplay) HD =MA
- Maleficent HD (4K If iTunes Redeem) =MA
- Maleficent: mistress of evil (googleplay) HD =MA
- Mall Cop 2 SD =MA
- Mamma Mia! (iTunes Redeem) SD =MA
- Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again HD =MA
- the Man With The Iron Fists (iTunes Redeem) HD =MA
- Marauders HD Vudu
- the Marine 4 HD Vudu
- the Marine 6: close quarters SD =MA
- Marley & Me (iTunes Redeem) SD =MA
- the Martian HD (4K If iTunes Redeem)=MA
- Mary Poppins HD =MA
- Mary Poppins (googleplay) HD =MA
- Mary Poppins: Returns (googleplay) HD =MA
- the Maze Runner HD (no Upgrade)
- the Mechanic: Resurrection HD Vudu, GP HD Or iTunes 4K
- the Mechanic: Resurrection SD Vudu
- Megan Leavey (iTunes Redeem) HD =MA
- Megan Leavey HD =MA
- Men In Black 2 HD =MA
- Men In Black 3 HD =MA
- Men In Black 3 SD =MA
- Middle School: The Worse Years Of My Life HD Vudu/GP or iTunes split
- Midway 4K Vudu/iTunes or GP
- Mike & Dave Need A Wedding Date HD (4K If iTunes Redeem) =MA
- Minions (4K iTunes) =MA
- Minions HD =MA
- Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children HD (4K iTunes redeem) =MA
- Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children HD =MA (Vudu Redeem)
- Mission Impossible: Fallout HD (Vudu or iTunes)
- Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocal HD (Vudu Or iTunes)
- Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocal Dvd (Vudu)
- Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation (HD Vudu Or iTunes 4K)
- Mom's Night Out SD =MA
- Moneyball HD =MA
- Monte Carlo (iTunes Redeem) SD =MA
- the Monuments Men HD =MA
- the Monuments Men SD =MA
- Moonlight HD Vudu
- Monster's University (googleplay) HD =MA
- Mortal Instruments SD =MA
- Mostly Ghostly: Have You Met My Ghoulfriend? (iTunes Portion) HD =MA
- Mostly Ghostly: Have You Met My Ghoulfriend? HD =MA
- the Mountain Between Us HD ( 4K If iTunes Redeem) =MA
- Mr. Holmes HD Vudu
- Mr. Peabody & Sherman HD =MA
- Mr. Popper's Penguins (iTunes Redeem) SD =MA
- Mud HD Vudu
- Mulan Original Cartoon (googleplay) HD =MA
- the Mummy: Tomb Of The Dragon Emperor (iTunes Redeem) SD =MA
- Muppets Most Wanted (googleplay) HD =MA
- Muppets Most Wanted HD =MA
- My All American HD =MA
- My All American (iTunes redeem) HD =MA
- My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 (redeems In iTunes) HD =MA
- My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 HD =MA
- My Life As A Zucchini (redeems In iTunes) HD =MA
- Nebraska HD Vudu
- Nerve SD Vudu
- Night At The Museum Or Night At The Museum: 2 [pick One] HD =MA
- Night At The Museum 2: Battle Of The Smithsonian (iTunes Redeem) SD =MA
- Night At The Museum 3: Secret Of The Tomb HD ( 4K If iTunes Redeem) =MA
- Night School [extended] HD =MA
- No Country For Old Men HD Vudu Or GP
- No Escape HD Vudu
- Noah HD Vudu Or iTunes (split)
- Non-stop (iTunes Redeem) HD =MA
- Non-stop HD =MA
- Norm Of The North HD (iTunes Or GP)
- Norm Of The North HD Vudu Only
- Now You See Me 4K Vudu/iTunes/GP
- Now You See Me HD Vudu
- Now You See Me HD Vudu/iTunes/GP
- Now You See Me 2 SD Vudu
- Oblivion HD =MA
- Office Party HD VUDU or iTunes (split)
- Olympus Has Fallen SD =MA
- the Oranges (itunes redeem) SD =MA
- the Other Woman HD =MA
- Ouija: Origin Of Evil (iTunes Redeem) HD =MA
- Overcomer SD =MA
- Oz The Great And Powerful (googleplay) HD =MA
- Oz The Great And Powerful HD =MA
- Pacific Rim: Uprising HD =MA
- Paddington HD Vudu
- Pain & Gain HD Vudu Only
- Paranormal Activity 2 HD (Vudu Or iTunes)
- Paranormal Activity 3 SD Vudu (try iTunes at your own risk)
- Paranormal Activity 4 HD (Vudu Or iTunes)
- Paranormal Activity Ghost Dimension HD (Vudu or iTunes)
- Parental Guidance HD =MA
- Parental Guidance (iTunes Redeem) SD =MA
- Parker HD =MA
- Parker SD =MA
- Passengers HD =MA
- Patriots Day HD Vudu (or 4K iTunes)
- Paul [unrated] HD =MA (iTunes Redeem)
- Peanuts Movies HD ( 4K If iTunes Redeem) =MA
- Penguins Of Madagascar HD =MA
- Percy Jackson: Sea Of Monsters HD =MA
- Perks Of Being A Wallflower HD Vudu Or iTunes SD (split)
- Peter Pan 2: Return To Never Land (googleplay) HD =MA
- Peter Pan 2: Return To Never Land HD =MA
- Philomena HD Vudu
- Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (googleplay) HD =MA
- Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales HD =MA (iTunes kills code)
- Pirates! Band Of Misfits SD =MA
- Pitch Black [unrated] (redeems In iTunes) HD =MA
- Pitch Perfect HD =MA
- Pitch Perfect [iTunes redeem 4K] =MA
- Pitch Perfect 2 HD =MA
- Pitch Perfect 2 HD (4K If iTunes Redeem) =MA
- Pitch Perfect 3 HD =MA
- Pixels SD =MA
- Planes (googleplay) HD =MA
- Planes HD =MA
- Planes Fire And Rescue (googleplay) HD =MA
- Planes Fire And Rescue HD =MA
- Planes, Trains & Automobiles HD (Vudu or iTunes)
- Playing For Keeps SD =MA
- Pompeii HD =MA
- Pompeii SD =MA
- Possession HD Vudu (SD iTunes)
- Predators (iTunes Redeem) SD =MA
- Premium Rush SD =MA
- the Prince HD Vudu
- Prometheus HD =MA
- Prometheus (iTunes Redeem) [?] =MA
- Promised Land (iTunes Redeem) HD =MA
- the Protector 2 SD Vudu
- Public Enemies (iTunes Redeem) SD =MA
- Public Enemies (iTunes Redeem) HD =MA
- the Purge (4K iTunes) =MA
- the Purge HD =MA
- the Purge: Anarchy HD =MA
- the Purge: Election Year HD =MA
- Queen Of Katwe (googleplay) HD =MA
- Queen Of Katwe HD =MA
- R.I.P.D. (redeems In iTunes) 4K =MA
- R.I.P.D. HD =MA
- Ralph Breaks The Internet (googleplay) HD =MA
- Rambo HD (Vudu,iTunes4K Or GP)
- Rambo: Last Blood 4K (Vudu,iTunes Or HD-GP)
- Ramona And Beezus (iTunes Redeem) SD =MA
- Rango HD Vudu Or 4K iTunes (split)
- Real Steel (iTunes Redeem) SD =MA
- Reasonable Doubt HD =MA
- Red 2 HD Vudu
- Red Sparrow HD =MA
- Redemption HD Vudu
- Reprisal HD Vudu
- Resident Evil: Retribution HD =MA
- Resident Evil: Retribution SD =MA
- Resident Evil: Welcome To Raccoon City HD =MA
- the Revenant HD =MA
- Ricki And The Flash SD =MA
- Riddick [unrated] HD =MA
- Riddick [unrated] (redeems In iTunes) HD =MA
- Ride Along (iTunes Redeem) HD =MA
- Ride Along HD =MA
- Ride Along 2 (iTunes Redeem) HD =MA
- Rio HD =MA
- Rio (iTunes Redeem) SD =MA
- Rio 2 HD =MA
- Rise Of The Guardians HD =MA
- Rise Of The Planet Of Apes (iTunes Redeem) SD =MA
- Risen SD =MA
- Robin Hood (1973) [Disney-animation] (googleplay) HD =MA
- Robin Hood (2018) Vudu/GP HD or iTunes 4K
- Robocop 2014 HD Vudu Or GP
- the Rocker (iTunes Redeem) SD =MA
- the Rocky Horror Picture Show HD =MA
- Runner Runner HD =MA
- Rush HD =MA
- Safe HD Vudu Only
- Safe House (iTunes Redeem) HD =MA
- Safe House HD =MA
- Same Kind Of Different As Me HD Vudu Or iTunes (split)
- Samson HD =MA
- Santa's Little Helper HD =MA
- Sausage Party HD =MA
- Savages 4K (iTunes Redeem) =MA (unsure Which Version)
- Saving Mr. Banks HD =MA
- Saving Mr. Banks (googleplay) HD =MA
- Scarface 4K (iTunes Redeem) =MA
- Scarface HD =MA
- Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark 4K Vudu/iTunes or (GP HD)
- Schindler's List =MA HD
- the Scorpion King 3: Battle For Redemption (iTunes Redeem) HD =MA
- the Scorpion King 3: Battle For Redemption HD =MA
- the Scorpion King 4: Quest For Power (iTunes Redeem) HD =MA
- the Scorpion King 4: Quest For Power HD =MA
- Seal Team 8: Behind Enemy Lines HD (Vudu Or Googleplay)
- Search Party HD =MA
- Search Party (iTunes Redeem) HD =MA
- the Secret Life Of Pets HD =MA
- the Secret Life Of Pets (4K iTunes) =MA
- the Secret Life Of Pets 2 HD =MA
- the Secret Life Of Walter Mitty HD =MA
- See No Evil 2 HD Vudu
- Seeking A Friend For The End Of The Earth (iTunes Redeem) HD =MA
- Selma HD (redeems In iTunes) HD =MA
- Seventh Son (iTunes Redeem) HD =MA
- Seventh Son HD =MA (iTunes Portion)
- Sex Tape SD =MA
- the Shack HD Vudu Or iTunes (split)
- Shrek: Forever After (the final chapter) HD =MA
- Showdogs HD =MA
- Sicario HD Vudu
- Sicario 4K Vudu (or HD GP Or iTunes)
- Silver Linings Playbook HD (Vudu Or Googleplay)
- Single Mom's Club HD
- Sisters [unrated] (iTunes Redeem) HD =MA
- Sisters [unrated] HD =MA
- Skin Trade HD Vudu Redeem
- Skyfall HD (Vudu Or Googleplay)
- Skyfall SD (iTunes)
- Skyscraper HD =MA
- Sleepless (iTunes Redeem) HD =MA
- Slumdog Millionaire (iTunes Redeem) SD =MA
- the Smurfs 2 HD =MA
- the Smurfs 2 SD =MA
- Snitch HD Vudu
- Snow White & The Huntsman (4K iTunes) =MA
- Snow White & The Huntsman HD =MA
- Snowden HD =MA
- Snowden (iTunes Redeem) HD =MA
- Son Of God HD =MA
- Sonic The Hedge hog 2 4K (Vudu or iTunes)
- the Spectacular Now SD Vudu
- Spectre 007 HD Vudu/GP/iTunes
- Spider-man: Far From Home HD =MA
- Spider-man: Far From Home SD =MA
- Spider-man: Homecoming HD =MA
- Spider-man: No-way Home SD =MA
- Split HD =MA
- the Sponge Bob Movie: Sponge Out Of Water HD Vudu / iTunes (split)
- Spy [unrated] HD =MA
- St. Vincent HD Vudu
- Stand Up Guys HD Vudu
- the Star SD =MA
- Star Trek [1] HD (Vudu Or iTunes)
- Star Trek [2] Into Darkness HD (Vudu Or iTunes)
- Star Trek [3] Beyond HD (Vudu Or iTunes)
- Star Wars: Force Awakens HD =MA (Vudu - No Upgrade)
- Star Wars: Rise Of The Skywalker 4K =MA
- Star Wars: Rise Of Skywalker (googleplay) HD =MA
- Step Up Revolution HD Vudu Or (iTunes Quality Unknown)
- Straight Out Of Compton (iTunes Redeem) 4K =MA
- Straight Out Of Compton [unrated] HD =MA
- Strange World (googleplay) HD =MA
- Street Kings (iTunes Redeem) SD =MA
- Super 8 HD Vudu Portion
- Super Buddies (googleplay) HD =MA
- Super Troopers 2 HD =MA
- the Sword In The Stone (googleplay) HD =MA
- Taken (theatrical slip) SD =MA
- Taken (Extended slip) SD =MA
- Taken 2 HD =MA
- Taken 3 (extended) HD =MA
- Ted (iTunes Redeem) HD =MA
- Ted [unrated] HD =MA
- Ted 2 (iTunes Redeem) HD =MA
- Teen Spirit HD =MA
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles HD Vudu/iTunes split
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out Of The Shadows HD Vudu/iTunes split
- Temptation HD Vudu
- Temptation HD Vudu or Google Play (ask for this one for GP)
- Terminator Dark Fate HD (Vudu Or iTunes)
- That Awkward Moment SD =MA
- That's My Boy SD =MA
- the Theory Of Everything (iTunes Redeem) HD =MA
- Think Like A Man SD =MA
- Think Like A Man Too SD =MA
- This Is 40 (iTunes Portion) HD =MA
- This Is The End HD =MA
- This Is The End SD =MA
- Thor Love And Thunder 4K =MA
- Thor Love And Thunder HD =MA
- Thor Love And Thunder (googleplay) HD =MA
- Thor Ragnarok (googleplay) HD =MA
- Thor Ragnarok HD (4K If iTunes Redeem) =MA
- the Three Stooges [the movie] (iTunes redeem) SD =MA
- Tinker Tailor Solder (iTunes Redeem) HD =MA
- Tinkerbell And The Legend Of The NeverBeast HD =MA
- Top Gun HD Vudu & Unknown iTunes (split)
- Total Recall (1990) HD Vudu
- Total Recall (2012) [theater & Extended] HD =MA
- Total Recall (2012) SD =MA
- Tower Heist (iTunes Redeem) HD =MA
- Toy Story 4 (googleplay) HD =MA
- Tracers SD Vudu
- Trainwreck (iTunes Redeem) HD =MA
- Transformers: Age Of Extinction HD (Vudu Only)
- Transformers: Age Of Extinction SD Vudu
- Transformers: Dark Of The Moon HD Vudu
- Transformers: Dark Of The Moon SD Vudu
- Transformers: The Last Knight (digital Cut) HD Vudu Or iTunes 4K Split
- the Transporter (iTunes) SD =MA
- Trauma Center 4K Vudu/iTunes/GP
- Tremors 5: Bloodlines HD =MA
- Tremors 5: Bloodlines (iTunes Redeem) HD =MA
- Tremors 6: A Cold Day In Hell HD =MA
- Trolls HD =MA
- True Grit HD Vudu (iTunes Split)
- Trumbo (iTunes redeem) HD =MA
- the Trust SD Vudu
- Turbo (iTunes Redeem) SD =MA
- Turbo HD =MA
- Twilight: Breaking Dawn Pt 2 HD
- Unbroken (iTunes) HD =MA
- Unbroken HD =MA
- Underworld: Awakening SD =MA
- Underworld: Bloodwars HD =MA
- Unfriended HD (iTunes Portion) =MA
- Unfriended HD =MA
- Unknown (iTunes Redeem) SD =MA
- Unstoppable (iTunes Redeem) SD =MA
- Vampires Suck (iTunes Redeem) SD =MA
- Valerian And The City Of A Thousand Planets HD Vudu
- Venom HD =MA
- Venom SD =MA
- the Vow SD =MA
- Walking With Dinosaurs HD =MA
- Wallstreet 2: Never Sleeps (iTunes Redeem) SD =MA
- Wanderlust (iTunes Redeem) HD =MA
- War Of The Planet Of The Apes HD (4K If iTunes Redeem) =MA
- War Room HD =MA
- War Room SD =MA
- Warcraft (4K iTunes) =MA
- Warcraft HD =MA
- Warm Bodies HD Vudu
- Warm Bodies HD Vudu/GP/ iTunes (4K iTunes Split)
- the Watch HD =MA
- Water For Elephants (iTunes Redeem) SD =MA
- We Bought A Zoo (iTunes Redeem) SD =MA
- the Wedding Ringer SD =MA
- Werewolf: the Beast Among Us UR HD =MA
- Wanderlust (iTunes Redeem) HD =MA
- Wanted (iTunes Redeem) SD =MA
- What Happens In Vegas (iTunes Redeem) SD =MA
- What To Expect When You're Expecting HD
- Whats Your Number (iTunes Redeem) SD =MA
- When The Game Stands Tall HD =MA
- When The Game Stands Tall SD =MA
- White House Down SD =MA
- Why Him? HD (4K If iTunes Redeem) =MA
- Widows HD =MA
- Wild Card HD Vudu
- Winchester HD Vudu/GP/iTunes
- the Witch SD Vudu
- the Wolf Of Wall Street HD Vudu (and 4K iTunes Split)
- the Wolfman (iTunes Redeem) SD =MA
- the Wolverine (iTunes Redeem) [SD?] =MA
- the Wolverine (unrated) HD =MA (must redeem on MA)
- the Woman In Black SD =MA
- Won't Back Down HD =MA
- Wonder HD (iTunes, Vudu Or GP)
- Woodlawn HD =MA
- Woodlawn (iTunes Redeem) HD =MA
- World War Z HD (Vudu Or iTunes)
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Vudu Only
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- True Detective Season 3 HD iTunes Only
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- Black Water (GP) Can. (NOT MA)
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- Kingsman: the Golden Circle (GP/iTunes) Can.
- the Wolverine (GP/iTunes) Can.
Titles I am looking for
2023.06.02 15:07 lafulusblafulus Indy!Harry, but with a twist...
I think this would be interesting to explore. This community has seen many Indy!Harry crackfics, but it would be interesting to explore it from a serious side. It would be especially horrifying if other characters saw that Harry had essentially become a less genocidal version of Tom Riddle, and every bit as dangerous (foreshadowing, hint hint).
It was a fairly normal day in the Wizarding World. Nothing especially interesting was going on - that is, if you ignore the fact that the current Minister for Magic of the UK was pulling quite the ostrich maneuver in ignoring the fact that Lord Voldemort, the most powerful Dark Lord in the past century, had returned from the not-quite-dead.
In Hogwarts, the main school of the Wizarding UK, a more sinister plot was occurring.
Ron Weasley, a Gryffindor fifth year, was having a Perfectly Normal Day. Which is why he never suspected anything when his best friend Harry Potter approached him that afternoon at lunch in the Great Hall.
"Hey Harry."
"Hello Ronald."
Odd. Harry never spoke like that, did he?
"Why are you talking weird?"
"Oh, don't say that, Ron!" interjected Hermione, "Harry is getting in touch with Wizarding culture! It is quite different from Muggle culture, you know."
"I know that, Hermione, it's just... only the old, stuffy families follow them anymore. Nobody else really pays attention to that sort of thing nowadays."
Hermione scoffed. "Of course, you would say that, Ronald. I think it's quite commendable of Harry to show proper respect for the traditions that his father grew up on."
And Ron couldn't really argue with that, could he? He knew that the Potters were an old family. Even if all those stories he had heard about James Potter and his disregard for tradition were true, he must have grown up learning it, and there was nothing wrong with Harry wanting to know more about his Wizarding heritage. Ron figured his best mate would stop being so proper after learning about those traditions, and thought nothing of it.
They talked about all sorts of things, like new lesson plans that Harry was planning to teach the DA and Fudge's incompetence, among other things. Although Ron was was a bit baffled when Harry seemed to shy away from the topic of Quidditch.
No matter, Ron thought. It was simply whatever weird cultural and traditional values Harry seemed to be learning. Who was he to judge if Harry wasn't as interested in Quidditch for the time being?
The conversation eventually came to a close, and Harry beckoned Ron close to him.
"Ronald, meet me at the entrance to the Room of Requirement tonight. I have something I want to show you."
"Sure, mate, what time?"
"Around 10 pm."
And Ron continued with the rest of his day unconcerned and ignorant of what was to come. 10 pm rolled around, and Ron snuck out of the Gryffindor dorms to go meet Harry. He said that he had some preparations to make, and as such, had to go there early.
When Ron reached the entrance, he found Harry there, waiting for him.
"Harry, mate, whatever you're gonna show me better bloody welll be worth it. I damn near stepped on Mrs. Norris's tail when I wasn't looking."
Harry smiled like a Cheshire cat, "Oh, I'm sure that won't be a problem. I will require your wand for this."
"What for? Is this some practical demonstration or something?"
"I guess you could say that," came the reply, and Ron gave up his wand. Harry then paced back and forth three times in front of the entrance, and it opened to a strange room. It was darkly lit, with candles lining the edges, and there was a large, cushy armchair on a rug in the center.
The door to the Room close behind them, making a strangely chilling, ominous sound, in Ron's opinion.
Suddenly, Harry flicked Ron's wand to swirl the armchair around so that it was facing him. Ron was about to comment on Harry's use of nonverbal magic, but he saw what - or rather who - was sitting in it.
"Hermione? Hermione!? Harry, what's going on!?"
Hermione was firmly planted to the seat with a sticking charm, and although her mouth was moving, no sound came out.
"Harry, what's going on!? Why is she here!?"
But Harry said nothing, looked Hermione straight in the eye, and pointed Ron's wand at her.
"Avada Kedavra."
And Hermione slumped lifelessly on the chair.
"HERMIONE! NO! HARRY, WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER!?"
Ron rushed forward to inspect Hermione's body, looking for any signs of life. Meanwhile, Harry was looking at him from afar with an expression of amusement on his face.
Ron couldn't believe it. Hermione was dead. Hermione was dead. And Harry had killed her.
Ron didn't know what to do in that moment, and he ran at Harry with a roar of grief, rage, hurt, betrayal, and a myriad of other emotions that mere words could not even hope to capture. He was bound with thick ropes in an instant.
Ron couldn't comprehend it. This wasn't Harry. This could NOT be Harry.
"I was waiting for your reaction, and I daresay I wasn't disappointed. Quite a loud reaction. It's always so, so, amusing to see people's reaction when someone dies."
Ron simply looked at him with a quiet rage.
"Of course, it was a simple matter to convince the Mudblood girl to follow me. A simple promise of research opportunities and she was following me like a lost puppy."
Harry's eyes flashed red and his pupils narrowed into slits with his amusement at this statement.
"You're not Harry."
"Of course not. The foolish brat would never raise a hand - or wand - against his so called friends."
The last word was said with a sense of disgust.
At last, Ron put the pieces together.
"Harry's visions, the constant pain. Y-You're -"
"Yes, who would you say I am?"
"You're You-Know-Who!"
And 'Harry' laughed.
"It was quite trivial to impersonate him. His so called friends didn't even notice when I possessed him for an entire week. It won't matter now, not that one of them is dead. Do you want to know what I plan to do?"
Ron opened his mouth to protest, but was quickly silenced with a flick of his own wand.
"You will testify in court that you planned the murder of Hermione Granger months in advance."
Voldemort produced a series of notes in a journal that contained handwriting eerily similar to Ron's own.
"It's quite a simple matter to modify your memories to fool any method of detection. The evidence will be even more damning when there's a record of a Killing Curse on your wand. You planned this act out, step-by-step on a journal that you conveniently left out for any Gryffindor student to find. Oh how it will break Potter to find out that his first ever friend murdered his other friend. How he was bigoted enough to kill her because she was a Mudblood. In fact, he felt so strongly that he even wrote about it!"
Voldemort smirked.
"Of course, that's not all. He will also find that money from his family vault is being funneled to one Molly Weasley, who will, of course, testify that she was doing it all on Dumbledore's orders. It was trivial to Imperius a goblin to forge documents and modify the hag's memories. She would never suspect poor orphan Harry Potter, struggling against both the Ministry and Lord Voldemort, so it was easy to lure her into a quiet corner of Grimmauld Place, which I now know is the Headquarters to the Order of the Phoenix. Imagine his horror at knowing, each and every single one of his friends since the time of his introduction to the Wizarding World, betrayed him, and in fact were never his friends at all!"
Voldemort sighed. He walked over to where Ron was bound, and Ron looked at him with a mixture of fear and disgust.
"Obliviate!"
There was silence.
And the monster that wore Harry Potter's skin laughed.
I did say that the Tom Riddle bit was foreshadowing, didn't I? Obviously, the Indy!Harry in this prompt was just Tom Riddle possessing Harry, all other elements in canon kept the same.
submitted by lafulusblafulus to HPfanfiction [link] [comments]
It was a fairly normal day in the Wizarding World. Nothing especially interesting was going on - that is, if you ignore the fact that the current Minister for Magic of the UK was pulling quite the ostrich maneuver in ignoring the fact that Lord Voldemort, the most powerful Dark Lord in the past century, had returned from the not-quite-dead.
In Hogwarts, the main school of the Wizarding UK, a more sinister plot was occurring.
Ron Weasley, a Gryffindor fifth year, was having a Perfectly Normal Day. Which is why he never suspected anything when his best friend Harry Potter approached him that afternoon at lunch in the Great Hall.
"Hey Harry."
"Hello Ronald."
Odd. Harry never spoke like that, did he?
"Why are you talking weird?"
"Oh, don't say that, Ron!" interjected Hermione, "Harry is getting in touch with Wizarding culture! It is quite different from Muggle culture, you know."
"I know that, Hermione, it's just... only the old, stuffy families follow them anymore. Nobody else really pays attention to that sort of thing nowadays."
Hermione scoffed. "Of course, you would say that, Ronald. I think it's quite commendable of Harry to show proper respect for the traditions that his father grew up on."
And Ron couldn't really argue with that, could he? He knew that the Potters were an old family. Even if all those stories he had heard about James Potter and his disregard for tradition were true, he must have grown up learning it, and there was nothing wrong with Harry wanting to know more about his Wizarding heritage. Ron figured his best mate would stop being so proper after learning about those traditions, and thought nothing of it.
They talked about all sorts of things, like new lesson plans that Harry was planning to teach the DA and Fudge's incompetence, among other things. Although Ron was was a bit baffled when Harry seemed to shy away from the topic of Quidditch.
No matter, Ron thought. It was simply whatever weird cultural and traditional values Harry seemed to be learning. Who was he to judge if Harry wasn't as interested in Quidditch for the time being?
The conversation eventually came to a close, and Harry beckoned Ron close to him.
"Ronald, meet me at the entrance to the Room of Requirement tonight. I have something I want to show you."
"Sure, mate, what time?"
"Around 10 pm."
And Ron continued with the rest of his day unconcerned and ignorant of what was to come. 10 pm rolled around, and Ron snuck out of the Gryffindor dorms to go meet Harry. He said that he had some preparations to make, and as such, had to go there early.
When Ron reached the entrance, he found Harry there, waiting for him.
"Harry, mate, whatever you're gonna show me better bloody welll be worth it. I damn near stepped on Mrs. Norris's tail when I wasn't looking."
Harry smiled like a Cheshire cat, "Oh, I'm sure that won't be a problem. I will require your wand for this."
"What for? Is this some practical demonstration or something?"
"I guess you could say that," came the reply, and Ron gave up his wand. Harry then paced back and forth three times in front of the entrance, and it opened to a strange room. It was darkly lit, with candles lining the edges, and there was a large, cushy armchair on a rug in the center.
The door to the Room close behind them, making a strangely chilling, ominous sound, in Ron's opinion.
Suddenly, Harry flicked Ron's wand to swirl the armchair around so that it was facing him. Ron was about to comment on Harry's use of nonverbal magic, but he saw what - or rather who - was sitting in it.
"Hermione? Hermione!? Harry, what's going on!?"
Hermione was firmly planted to the seat with a sticking charm, and although her mouth was moving, no sound came out.
"Harry, what's going on!? Why is she here!?"
But Harry said nothing, looked Hermione straight in the eye, and pointed Ron's wand at her.
"Avada Kedavra."
And Hermione slumped lifelessly on the chair.
"HERMIONE! NO! HARRY, WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER!?"
Ron rushed forward to inspect Hermione's body, looking for any signs of life. Meanwhile, Harry was looking at him from afar with an expression of amusement on his face.
Ron couldn't believe it. Hermione was dead. Hermione was dead. And Harry had killed her.
Ron didn't know what to do in that moment, and he ran at Harry with a roar of grief, rage, hurt, betrayal, and a myriad of other emotions that mere words could not even hope to capture. He was bound with thick ropes in an instant.
Ron couldn't comprehend it. This wasn't Harry. This could NOT be Harry.
"I was waiting for your reaction, and I daresay I wasn't disappointed. Quite a loud reaction. It's always so, so, amusing to see people's reaction when someone dies."
Ron simply looked at him with a quiet rage.
"Of course, it was a simple matter to convince the Mudblood girl to follow me. A simple promise of research opportunities and she was following me like a lost puppy."
Harry's eyes flashed red and his pupils narrowed into slits with his amusement at this statement.
"You're not Harry."
"Of course not. The foolish brat would never raise a hand - or wand - against his so called friends."
The last word was said with a sense of disgust.
At last, Ron put the pieces together.
"Harry's visions, the constant pain. Y-You're -"
"Yes, who would you say I am?"
"You're You-Know-Who!"
And 'Harry' laughed.
"It was quite trivial to impersonate him. His so called friends didn't even notice when I possessed him for an entire week. It won't matter now, not that one of them is dead. Do you want to know what I plan to do?"
Ron opened his mouth to protest, but was quickly silenced with a flick of his own wand.
"You will testify in court that you planned the murder of Hermione Granger months in advance."
Voldemort produced a series of notes in a journal that contained handwriting eerily similar to Ron's own.
"It's quite a simple matter to modify your memories to fool any method of detection. The evidence will be even more damning when there's a record of a Killing Curse on your wand. You planned this act out, step-by-step on a journal that you conveniently left out for any Gryffindor student to find. Oh how it will break Potter to find out that his first ever friend murdered his other friend. How he was bigoted enough to kill her because she was a Mudblood. In fact, he felt so strongly that he even wrote about it!"
Voldemort smirked.
"Of course, that's not all. He will also find that money from his family vault is being funneled to one Molly Weasley, who will, of course, testify that she was doing it all on Dumbledore's orders. It was trivial to Imperius a goblin to forge documents and modify the hag's memories. She would never suspect poor orphan Harry Potter, struggling against both the Ministry and Lord Voldemort, so it was easy to lure her into a quiet corner of Grimmauld Place, which I now know is the Headquarters to the Order of the Phoenix. Imagine his horror at knowing, each and every single one of his friends since the time of his introduction to the Wizarding World, betrayed him, and in fact were never his friends at all!"
Voldemort sighed. He walked over to where Ron was bound, and Ron looked at him with a mixture of fear and disgust.
"Obliviate!"
There was silence.
And the monster that wore Harry Potter's skin laughed.
I did say that the Tom Riddle bit was foreshadowing, didn't I? Obviously, the Indy!Harry in this prompt was just Tom Riddle possessing Harry, all other elements in canon kept the same.
2023.06.02 13:01 House_of_Suns /r/QOTSA Official Band of the Week 22: ZZ TOP
Sometimes a band gets so big that they somehow outshine themselves. They reach a point in their career where it does not matter if they release a new album or not; fans just want to see them tour. No one gave a damn that Led Zeppelin had not released a new album since the 1970’s; everyone just wanted to see them play again at the O2 Arena in 2007. When The Who played the Super Bowl halftime show in 2010 they had only released one new album in 28 years, and no one cared. And no one cares that Guns & Roses aren’t making new music. They still packed arenas to see how much cake Axl had packed into himself.
We’re going to take a dive into a blues power trio from down south who have zero need to release any new music, since their recording career stretches back over five decades. They had amazing and groundbreaking success in the ‘70s, the ‘80s, and the ‘90s before hitting the max level. Instead of playing to win, they now play for fun. Their sexually charged lyrics and videos inspired generations of teens to both dress better and worry about their fly. And you can bet that their fuzzy, bluesy tight sound had a huge impact on our very own desert dwellers.
It’s time for us to take a walk with That Little Ol’ Band from Texas. This week’s featured artist is the legendary ZZ TOP
About Them
The Power Trio is a tested and true format for a rock band. Lots of examples come to mind: Cream. Rush. The Police. Biffy Clyro. King Buffalo. Them Crooked Vultures. (Wait a sec. Just three members? Clearly, not everything is bigger in Texas.)
There is a member joke there somewhere, but I just can’t get it to come. Hmm. Perhaps it will come if you play with it a bit.
Hey! Stop that. Get your mind out of the gutter.
ZZ Top’s original and founding member was William Frederick Gibbons. Born in Houston in 1949, the front man was originally a drummer but, after studying with Tito Puente in New York City, picked up the guitar at age 13. His dad was a musician in show business, which allowed Billy to get an insider’s view of the industry. By the late ‘60s, he had been in and founded a number of bands and had even befriended the late great James Marshall Hendrix. One of his first bands, a psychedelic/art house band called The Moving Sidewalks, toured with the Jimi Hendrix Experience. This meant that Gibbons was actually mentored by Snagglepuss himself. They also toured with The Doors, where Gibbons saw the legendary self-destructive band somehow manage to rise above conflict and make music every night. The Moving Sidewalks generated a following all of its own with a couple of hit songs, and things seemed to be headed in the right direction.
Things were going absolutely great until bassist Don Summers and keyboard player Tom Moore were drafted into the army to fight in Vietnam. Don't you just love the ‘60s?
Gibbons and drummer Dan Mitchell added a new keyboard player, Lanier Greg, and tried to make another run at it. But the chemistry was all wrong. Gibbons rechristened the band as ZZ Top (an homage to BB King), and declared that he wanted more of a straight up rock approach than the art-house kaleidoscopic sound.
Gibbons, Mitchell, and Greg (isn’t it weird when last names are also first names too?) recorded the single Salt Lick in 1969. This generated a bunch of interest and a recording contract. Decisions over the direction of the band ensued and it quickly became clear that Mitchell and Greg did not agree with Gibbons’ hard rock approach. That ended up being a poor life decision for them, but a great one for a couple of other guys.
Clearly, Gibbons needed a new rhythm section.
Fortunately, he found a package deal.
Dusty Hill and Frank Beard - also both born in 1949 - had been playing together on the Dallas-Houston-Fort Worth circuit in a number of bands, including The Warlocks, The Cellar Dwellers, and a fake cover band called The Zombies. Both the Duster and the (then ironically) beardless Beard also heard the siren call of rock and roll. Hill was classically trained and was an accomplished cello player before moving to his signature bass. Frank ‘Rube’ Beard appears to have been born with drumsticks in his hands (which I imagine might have been uncomfortable for his mom).
Beard joined the band first, along with bassist Billy Ethridge, who had played with Stevie Ray Vaughn. Ethridge balked at signing a contract and so joined Mitchell and Greg on the list of ZZ Top’s former members. Their lineup was set. Hill and Beard anchored the band in a rock-solid, tight, bluesy fashion. Gibbons meshed perfectly with this duo, and his Hendrix-inspired guitar work was on another level. Hill provided backing vocals, and Gibbons’ low throaty growl was an impressive counterpoint to his soaring fretwork. The talent was all there; now they just needed to record some music.
But success was not instantaneous, not by a long shot.
Their first album - appropriately called ZZ Top’s First Album - gives insight into who the band were to become. In this 1971 release, you can hear their raw sound. The record peaked at 201 on the charts, and had only one single - (Somebody Else Been) Shaking Your Tree. It did give them material to go out and tour. The boys gelled on that tour and went back into the studio with renewed energy, and emerged with 1972’s Rio Grande Mud. The disc was a step forward in refining their sound. The album almost cracked the top 100, and the only single - Francine - went all the way to number 69.
Nice.
But the band knew that their third album, Tres Hombres, was something special. It is the epitome of Southern Rock: bluesy, fast paced, sexy, and irreverent, it is just over half an hour of pure magic. And while the album went gold and peaked at number 8 on the charts and is worth your time, it was one particular single that rocketed them to stardom. You know it and you love it, and a-how-how-how-how: La Grange. It is still in heavy rotation on classic rock stations today. And why not? The song is an absolute banger of boogie woogie blues, written about a visit to a whorehouse. What’s not to love?
La Grange propelled them to popularity. Tours sold out. Venues got bigger and bigger. 1975’s follow up album, Fandango!, was half live album (with some covers) and half new material - like an EP with bonus tracks. They covered the Elvis Presley classic Jailhouse Rock, Willie Dixon’s Mellow Down Easy, and John Lee Hooker’s Long Distance Boogie. The boys had rock and blues chops, and had 5 years of touring experience. These were bold statements that cemented their musicality as well as honoring their roots. But side two of the disc had another track that you’ve come to love. You ain’t asking for much: You’re just lookin’ for some Tush. Tush was the perfect sexually charged follow up to ensure that they were not one-hit wonders. It was written in a ten-minute spasm of creativity at a sound check, and has gone on to be one of their most popular songs.
While Tush topped the charts, ZZ Top went back into the studio to record their full length follow up, 1976’s Tejas. The name of the album means ‘friends’ in the Indigenous Caddo language, and was the basis for the name of the state. You know what that means? It means that the name of the state is ‘Friends’. Just like the ‘90s sitcom. Don’t mess with Friends. Anyways, this was an album of experimentation for the band, and unlike its predecessor it came out half baked at best. Billy Gibbons has called it a transition album. What actually happened is the band transitioned into a hiatus from touring and recording, taking some significant time off. They had recorded five albums in six years and spent virtually all their time on the road. The latest effort was just not up to their standards and was a step back. It also completed their recording contract.
What was the solution to this burn out?
Facial hair of course.
The boys took a few years off before landing another recording contract, this time with Warner. Over those months, both Gibbons and Hill grew what would become their signature long ‘Texas Goatee’ beards. Frank Beard did not grow a beard (though he did finally succumb to peer pressure from his bandmates in 2013, and his is much more neatly trimmed). So while they were resting/relaxing/getting their groove back/aligning their chakras or whatever, they also started to reinvent their signature sound as the world moved towards a decade of legendary excess.
The first step on this reinvention journey was 1979’s Degüello. The title literally means ‘decapitation’ but idiomatically refers to a fight to the death. Clearly, the band decided to tackle their transition head on. The album was not as successful as Tres Hombres or Fandango!, but it was not the flop that Tejas was. It did spawn a couple of singles - I Thank You (which was a cover) and the signature hit Cheap Sunglasses. Both are staples at ZZ Top concerts to this day. Degüello was quickly followed up in 1981 by the album El Loco. This was really the first time ZZ Top incorporated a synthesizer into their sound. As you know, the synth was THE new wave sound of the 1980s. Gods help us, keytars were once popular. But Gibbons, Hill, and Beard did not abandon their edge. The single Pearl Necklace was an immensely popular innuendo laced tune from this album. And no, I will not explain what a pearl necklace is to you.
Ask your mom.
Over the course of their first seven albums, ZZ Top had steadily grown in popularity and become a truly extraordinary live band. More than a decade of touring together meant that they had not just cut their teeth. They had found the Tooth Fairy, beaten her senseless, and added fangs to their jaws. They were ready to tackle whatever came their way.
Their huge breakthrough coincided with the birth of music videos and MTV. 1983’s Eliminator was an absolute monster of an album. ZZ Top were everywhere. They completely embraced the Music Video as a medium and became pioneers in this new genre. They branded their band with a 1933 fire-engine red Ford Coupe, which was on the cover of the album. They even had a signature hand gesture that they used as the car went by. The car belonged to Billy Gibbons and embodied his hot rod obsessions. It was featured in the videos for Gimme All Your Lovin’, Sharp Dressed Man, and Legs. Other singles from the album included Got me Under Pressure and TV Dinners. Eliminator is still the band’s most successful album. They were at the absolute height of their popularity with a massive audience. No doubt the 10-year-old Joshua Michael Homme watched those videos on a small screen in the California desert, little knowing that he would one day collaborate with Gibbons.
Seeking to capitalize on the popularity, the band went back into the studio and released Afterburner in 1985. It featured the signature hot rod on the cover and spawned two more singles - Sleeping Bag and Velcro Fly. Afterburner was not an innovative album by any stretch of the imagination. It simply built on the success of Eliminator and replicated the sound. If you blended the two albums together it would be very difficult for a novice fan to guess which song came from which disc. But hell, when you release the most popular album of your career and are earning millions of dollars for that sound, it is not time to mess with success. Or with Texas. Or with Friends (though Ross was a pain in the ass, IMHO).
That desire to not screw up a good thing was also evident in their next release, the retrospective re-release Six Pack. This was a great way to earn some bucks with a simple repackaging of existing tracks - I’m looking at you, K-Tel… - and introducing them to another generation of fans. This was not a bad thing at all - you gotta get that green whenever you can, because fame can be fleeting.
ZZ Top closed out the decade by going Back to the Future. Literally. They appeared in the third installment of the Michael J. Fox trilogy as the olde-timey house band (complete with rotating guitars) in the saloon scene. The single and signature song from the movie, Doubleback, appeared on their 1990 release Recycler. The album spawned two more singles: My Head’s in Mississippi and Concrete and Steel. Recycler was not as successful as its predecessors, but it did effectively max level the band. In the 1970’s they were a scuffling bar band that hit it big. In the 1980’s they were one of the most popular bands of the MTV generation. And in the 1990’s they achieved superstardom. They had hit the level where it truly no longer mattered if they ever released new material again. They could simply tour on their back catalogue alone and sell out stadiums.
It is clear that the band realized this as well. In the thirty years since Recycler came out, they have released five albums of new material: Antenna in 1994, Rhythmeen in 1996, XXX in 1999, Mescalero in 2003 and the critically acclaimed and Rick Rubin produced La Futura in 2012. This was equivalent to their output in their first six years.
In contrast, they have released no less than eight greatest hits albums, cover albums and live albums in the same time span. Greatest Hits came out in 1992. One Foot in the Blues was released in 1994. The massive compilation Chrome, Smoke & BBQ came out in 2003, and is a fantastic place to start if you are a new fan. Rancho Texicano was released in 2004, Live from Texas came out in 2008, and Double Down Live hit shelves in 2009. Live at Montreaux came out in 2013 and Tonite at Midnight: Live Greatest Hits from Around the World was released in 2016.
As recently as 2019, there were rumors that a new album was in the works for our Septuagenarian heroes. Lord knows the boys from Texas have nothing left to prove to anyone.
It was then that tragedy struck. Dusty Hill had to leave the band during a tour in 2021. The reason given was a hip injury. His guitar tech, Elwood Francis, filled in. Shockingly, Hill died at home at the age of 72 just five days after leaving the tour.
Fans were shocked and mourned the stalwart bassist. Per his wishes - and it seems he knew something wasn’t quite right - ZZ Top did not break up. Francis replaced Hill on bass, and the band soldiered on. In 2022, they released Raw, a soundtrack for a 2019 documentary about them. This was Hill’s final release.
You can still catch them on tour. They are going to be out there this summer, touring with Lynyrd Skynyrd, for something they are calling ‘The Sharp Dressed Simple Man’ Tour.
Go buy some tickets. Don’t miss your chance to see a truly iconic band before they are gone.
Links to QOTSA
The Reverend Billy F. Gibbons was a big part of the Lullabies to Paralyze album by our Desert Dwellers. He played guitar and provided backing vocals on Burn the Witch. He was co-lead vocalist and lead guitar on the QotSA cover of Precious and Grace, which he originally released as a ZZ Top tune on the Tres Hombres album. He also provided the guitar stylings for Like a Drug.
But the connections don't stop there. Billy sang the lead vocal track on the recent Desert Sessions tune Move Together, and he played guitar on Noses in Roses, Forever.
What may be most important to QotSA fans is that Gibbons was the first person, almost two years ago, who hinted that Queens were working on a new album.
And now we know he was right. Never doubt a Reverend.
Their Music
Salt Lick
(Somebody Else Been) Shaking your Tree
Francine
La Grange -- Live on Howard Stern
Jailhouse Rock
Tush -- a fan made video. It is not subtle.
Cheap Sunglasses
Pearl Necklace -- Live
Gimme All Your Lovin’
Sharp Dressed Man
Legs -- the ultimate makeover video
Got Me Under Pressure -- Live at Montreaux
Sleeping Bag -- Let’s go out to Egypt and check out some heads...
Velcro Fly -- also somehow in Egypt
My Head’s In Mississippi
Concrete and Steel -- vintage video
Doubleback
I Gotsta Get Paid -- from La Futura
Show Them Some Love
/zztop
Previous Posts
Tool
Alice in Chains
King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard
Rage Against The Machine
Soundgarden
Run the Jewels
Royal Blood
Arctic Monkeys
Ty Segall
Eagles of Death Metal
Them Crooked Vultures
Led Zeppelin
Greta Van Fleet
Ten Commandos
Screaming Trees
Sound City Players
Iggy Pop
Mastodon
The Strokes
Radiohead
All Them Witches
submitted by House_of_Suns to qotsa [link] [comments]
We’re going to take a dive into a blues power trio from down south who have zero need to release any new music, since their recording career stretches back over five decades. They had amazing and groundbreaking success in the ‘70s, the ‘80s, and the ‘90s before hitting the max level. Instead of playing to win, they now play for fun. Their sexually charged lyrics and videos inspired generations of teens to both dress better and worry about their fly. And you can bet that their fuzzy, bluesy tight sound had a huge impact on our very own desert dwellers.
It’s time for us to take a walk with That Little Ol’ Band from Texas. This week’s featured artist is the legendary ZZ TOP
About Them
The Power Trio is a tested and true format for a rock band. Lots of examples come to mind: Cream. Rush. The Police. Biffy Clyro. King Buffalo. Them Crooked Vultures. (Wait a sec. Just three members? Clearly, not everything is bigger in Texas.)
There is a member joke there somewhere, but I just can’t get it to come. Hmm. Perhaps it will come if you play with it a bit.
Hey! Stop that. Get your mind out of the gutter.
ZZ Top’s original and founding member was William Frederick Gibbons. Born in Houston in 1949, the front man was originally a drummer but, after studying with Tito Puente in New York City, picked up the guitar at age 13. His dad was a musician in show business, which allowed Billy to get an insider’s view of the industry. By the late ‘60s, he had been in and founded a number of bands and had even befriended the late great James Marshall Hendrix. One of his first bands, a psychedelic/art house band called The Moving Sidewalks, toured with the Jimi Hendrix Experience. This meant that Gibbons was actually mentored by Snagglepuss himself. They also toured with The Doors, where Gibbons saw the legendary self-destructive band somehow manage to rise above conflict and make music every night. The Moving Sidewalks generated a following all of its own with a couple of hit songs, and things seemed to be headed in the right direction.
Things were going absolutely great until bassist Don Summers and keyboard player Tom Moore were drafted into the army to fight in Vietnam. Don't you just love the ‘60s?
Gibbons and drummer Dan Mitchell added a new keyboard player, Lanier Greg, and tried to make another run at it. But the chemistry was all wrong. Gibbons rechristened the band as ZZ Top (an homage to BB King), and declared that he wanted more of a straight up rock approach than the art-house kaleidoscopic sound.
Gibbons, Mitchell, and Greg (isn’t it weird when last names are also first names too?) recorded the single Salt Lick in 1969. This generated a bunch of interest and a recording contract. Decisions over the direction of the band ensued and it quickly became clear that Mitchell and Greg did not agree with Gibbons’ hard rock approach. That ended up being a poor life decision for them, but a great one for a couple of other guys.
Clearly, Gibbons needed a new rhythm section.
Fortunately, he found a package deal.
Dusty Hill and Frank Beard - also both born in 1949 - had been playing together on the Dallas-Houston-Fort Worth circuit in a number of bands, including The Warlocks, The Cellar Dwellers, and a fake cover band called The Zombies. Both the Duster and the (then ironically) beardless Beard also heard the siren call of rock and roll. Hill was classically trained and was an accomplished cello player before moving to his signature bass. Frank ‘Rube’ Beard appears to have been born with drumsticks in his hands (which I imagine might have been uncomfortable for his mom).
Beard joined the band first, along with bassist Billy Ethridge, who had played with Stevie Ray Vaughn. Ethridge balked at signing a contract and so joined Mitchell and Greg on the list of ZZ Top’s former members. Their lineup was set. Hill and Beard anchored the band in a rock-solid, tight, bluesy fashion. Gibbons meshed perfectly with this duo, and his Hendrix-inspired guitar work was on another level. Hill provided backing vocals, and Gibbons’ low throaty growl was an impressive counterpoint to his soaring fretwork. The talent was all there; now they just needed to record some music.
But success was not instantaneous, not by a long shot.
Their first album - appropriately called ZZ Top’s First Album - gives insight into who the band were to become. In this 1971 release, you can hear their raw sound. The record peaked at 201 on the charts, and had only one single - (Somebody Else Been) Shaking Your Tree. It did give them material to go out and tour. The boys gelled on that tour and went back into the studio with renewed energy, and emerged with 1972’s Rio Grande Mud. The disc was a step forward in refining their sound. The album almost cracked the top 100, and the only single - Francine - went all the way to number 69.
Nice.
But the band knew that their third album, Tres Hombres, was something special. It is the epitome of Southern Rock: bluesy, fast paced, sexy, and irreverent, it is just over half an hour of pure magic. And while the album went gold and peaked at number 8 on the charts and is worth your time, it was one particular single that rocketed them to stardom. You know it and you love it, and a-how-how-how-how: La Grange. It is still in heavy rotation on classic rock stations today. And why not? The song is an absolute banger of boogie woogie blues, written about a visit to a whorehouse. What’s not to love?
La Grange propelled them to popularity. Tours sold out. Venues got bigger and bigger. 1975’s follow up album, Fandango!, was half live album (with some covers) and half new material - like an EP with bonus tracks. They covered the Elvis Presley classic Jailhouse Rock, Willie Dixon’s Mellow Down Easy, and John Lee Hooker’s Long Distance Boogie. The boys had rock and blues chops, and had 5 years of touring experience. These were bold statements that cemented their musicality as well as honoring their roots. But side two of the disc had another track that you’ve come to love. You ain’t asking for much: You’re just lookin’ for some Tush. Tush was the perfect sexually charged follow up to ensure that they were not one-hit wonders. It was written in a ten-minute spasm of creativity at a sound check, and has gone on to be one of their most popular songs.
While Tush topped the charts, ZZ Top went back into the studio to record their full length follow up, 1976’s Tejas. The name of the album means ‘friends’ in the Indigenous Caddo language, and was the basis for the name of the state. You know what that means? It means that the name of the state is ‘Friends’. Just like the ‘90s sitcom. Don’t mess with Friends. Anyways, this was an album of experimentation for the band, and unlike its predecessor it came out half baked at best. Billy Gibbons has called it a transition album. What actually happened is the band transitioned into a hiatus from touring and recording, taking some significant time off. They had recorded five albums in six years and spent virtually all their time on the road. The latest effort was just not up to their standards and was a step back. It also completed their recording contract.
What was the solution to this burn out?
Facial hair of course.
The boys took a few years off before landing another recording contract, this time with Warner. Over those months, both Gibbons and Hill grew what would become their signature long ‘Texas Goatee’ beards. Frank Beard did not grow a beard (though he did finally succumb to peer pressure from his bandmates in 2013, and his is much more neatly trimmed). So while they were resting/relaxing/getting their groove back/aligning their chakras or whatever, they also started to reinvent their signature sound as the world moved towards a decade of legendary excess.
The first step on this reinvention journey was 1979’s Degüello. The title literally means ‘decapitation’ but idiomatically refers to a fight to the death. Clearly, the band decided to tackle their transition head on. The album was not as successful as Tres Hombres or Fandango!, but it was not the flop that Tejas was. It did spawn a couple of singles - I Thank You (which was a cover) and the signature hit Cheap Sunglasses. Both are staples at ZZ Top concerts to this day. Degüello was quickly followed up in 1981 by the album El Loco. This was really the first time ZZ Top incorporated a synthesizer into their sound. As you know, the synth was THE new wave sound of the 1980s. Gods help us, keytars were once popular. But Gibbons, Hill, and Beard did not abandon their edge. The single Pearl Necklace was an immensely popular innuendo laced tune from this album. And no, I will not explain what a pearl necklace is to you.
Ask your mom.
Over the course of their first seven albums, ZZ Top had steadily grown in popularity and become a truly extraordinary live band. More than a decade of touring together meant that they had not just cut their teeth. They had found the Tooth Fairy, beaten her senseless, and added fangs to their jaws. They were ready to tackle whatever came their way.
Their huge breakthrough coincided with the birth of music videos and MTV. 1983’s Eliminator was an absolute monster of an album. ZZ Top were everywhere. They completely embraced the Music Video as a medium and became pioneers in this new genre. They branded their band with a 1933 fire-engine red Ford Coupe, which was on the cover of the album. They even had a signature hand gesture that they used as the car went by. The car belonged to Billy Gibbons and embodied his hot rod obsessions. It was featured in the videos for Gimme All Your Lovin’, Sharp Dressed Man, and Legs. Other singles from the album included Got me Under Pressure and TV Dinners. Eliminator is still the band’s most successful album. They were at the absolute height of their popularity with a massive audience. No doubt the 10-year-old Joshua Michael Homme watched those videos on a small screen in the California desert, little knowing that he would one day collaborate with Gibbons.
Seeking to capitalize on the popularity, the band went back into the studio and released Afterburner in 1985. It featured the signature hot rod on the cover and spawned two more singles - Sleeping Bag and Velcro Fly. Afterburner was not an innovative album by any stretch of the imagination. It simply built on the success of Eliminator and replicated the sound. If you blended the two albums together it would be very difficult for a novice fan to guess which song came from which disc. But hell, when you release the most popular album of your career and are earning millions of dollars for that sound, it is not time to mess with success. Or with Texas. Or with Friends (though Ross was a pain in the ass, IMHO).
That desire to not screw up a good thing was also evident in their next release, the retrospective re-release Six Pack. This was a great way to earn some bucks with a simple repackaging of existing tracks - I’m looking at you, K-Tel… - and introducing them to another generation of fans. This was not a bad thing at all - you gotta get that green whenever you can, because fame can be fleeting.
ZZ Top closed out the decade by going Back to the Future. Literally. They appeared in the third installment of the Michael J. Fox trilogy as the olde-timey house band (complete with rotating guitars) in the saloon scene. The single and signature song from the movie, Doubleback, appeared on their 1990 release Recycler. The album spawned two more singles: My Head’s in Mississippi and Concrete and Steel. Recycler was not as successful as its predecessors, but it did effectively max level the band. In the 1970’s they were a scuffling bar band that hit it big. In the 1980’s they were one of the most popular bands of the MTV generation. And in the 1990’s they achieved superstardom. They had hit the level where it truly no longer mattered if they ever released new material again. They could simply tour on their back catalogue alone and sell out stadiums.
It is clear that the band realized this as well. In the thirty years since Recycler came out, they have released five albums of new material: Antenna in 1994, Rhythmeen in 1996, XXX in 1999, Mescalero in 2003 and the critically acclaimed and Rick Rubin produced La Futura in 2012. This was equivalent to their output in their first six years.
In contrast, they have released no less than eight greatest hits albums, cover albums and live albums in the same time span. Greatest Hits came out in 1992. One Foot in the Blues was released in 1994. The massive compilation Chrome, Smoke & BBQ came out in 2003, and is a fantastic place to start if you are a new fan. Rancho Texicano was released in 2004, Live from Texas came out in 2008, and Double Down Live hit shelves in 2009. Live at Montreaux came out in 2013 and Tonite at Midnight: Live Greatest Hits from Around the World was released in 2016.
As recently as 2019, there were rumors that a new album was in the works for our Septuagenarian heroes. Lord knows the boys from Texas have nothing left to prove to anyone.
It was then that tragedy struck. Dusty Hill had to leave the band during a tour in 2021. The reason given was a hip injury. His guitar tech, Elwood Francis, filled in. Shockingly, Hill died at home at the age of 72 just five days after leaving the tour.
Fans were shocked and mourned the stalwart bassist. Per his wishes - and it seems he knew something wasn’t quite right - ZZ Top did not break up. Francis replaced Hill on bass, and the band soldiered on. In 2022, they released Raw, a soundtrack for a 2019 documentary about them. This was Hill’s final release.
You can still catch them on tour. They are going to be out there this summer, touring with Lynyrd Skynyrd, for something they are calling ‘The Sharp Dressed Simple Man’ Tour.
Go buy some tickets. Don’t miss your chance to see a truly iconic band before they are gone.
Links to QOTSA
The Reverend Billy F. Gibbons was a big part of the Lullabies to Paralyze album by our Desert Dwellers. He played guitar and provided backing vocals on Burn the Witch. He was co-lead vocalist and lead guitar on the QotSA cover of Precious and Grace, which he originally released as a ZZ Top tune on the Tres Hombres album. He also provided the guitar stylings for Like a Drug.
But the connections don't stop there. Billy sang the lead vocal track on the recent Desert Sessions tune Move Together, and he played guitar on Noses in Roses, Forever.
What may be most important to QotSA fans is that Gibbons was the first person, almost two years ago, who hinted that Queens were working on a new album.
And now we know he was right. Never doubt a Reverend.
Their Music
Salt Lick
(Somebody Else Been) Shaking your Tree
Francine
La Grange -- Live on Howard Stern
Jailhouse Rock
Tush -- a fan made video. It is not subtle.
Cheap Sunglasses
Pearl Necklace -- Live
Gimme All Your Lovin’
Sharp Dressed Man
Legs -- the ultimate makeover video
Got Me Under Pressure -- Live at Montreaux
Sleeping Bag -- Let’s go out to Egypt and check out some heads...
Velcro Fly -- also somehow in Egypt
My Head’s In Mississippi
Concrete and Steel -- vintage video
Doubleback
I Gotsta Get Paid -- from La Futura
Show Them Some Love
/zztop
Previous Posts
Tool
Alice in Chains
King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard
Rage Against The Machine
Soundgarden
Run the Jewels
Royal Blood
Arctic Monkeys
Ty Segall
Eagles of Death Metal
Them Crooked Vultures
Led Zeppelin
Greta Van Fleet
Ten Commandos
Screaming Trees
Sound City Players
Iggy Pop
Mastodon
The Strokes
Radiohead
All Them Witches
2023.06.02 10:36 Unlikely_Snail24 check my work on ImgCreator.AI--muscular girl, silver hair, red eyes, pig-tails, shorts, belt, big belt buckle, visible abs, full-body view, gloves, sleeveless, sword, muscular legs, muscular arms
 | submitted by Unlikely_Snail24 to u/Unlikely_Snail24 [link] [comments] |
2023.06.02 10:36 Unlikely_Snail24 check my work on ImgCreator.AI--muscular girl, silver hair, red eyes, pig-tails, shorts, belt, big belt buckle, visible abs, full-body view, gloves, sleeveless, sword, muscular legs, muscular arms
 | submitted by Unlikely_Snail24 to u/Unlikely_Snail24 [link] [comments] |
2023.06.02 10:35 Unlikely_Snail24 check my work on ImgCreator.AI--muscular girl, silver hair, red eyes, pig-tails, jeans, belt, big belt buckle, visible abs, full-body view, gloves, sleeveless, sword, muscular legs, muscular arms
 | submitted by Unlikely_Snail24 to u/Unlikely_Snail24 [link] [comments] |
2023.06.02 10:29 reddithenry 2022 Canon La Gaffeliere
£391/6
"Blackberries and blueberries with chalkboard and dark earth aromas. Flowers, too. Lead pencil. Full-bodied and very deep in the palate, which is reserved and texturally sophisticated. Chalky, too. Silky and very polished. 80% merlot and 20% cabernet franc. From organically grown grapes."
97-98 points, James Suckling
“The 2022 Canon La Gaffelière is bright, punchy and full of character. Blood orange, rose petal and spice overtones brighten a core of red/purplish fruit in Saint-Émilion that impresses with its saline intensity, energy and focus. If tasting this blind, I would never say it is a wine from a warm, drought year. It will be interesting to see if the 2022 retains its youthful vibrancy through élevage. This is super promising.”
94-96 points, Antonio Galloni, Vinous
“A blend of 50% Merlot, 35% Cabernet Franc and 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2022 Canon la Gaffelière exhibits aromas of raspberries and plums, complemented by notions of iris, rose petals, incense and burning embers. Medium to full-bodied, ample and fleshy, it's supple, suave and sophisticated, with a lively core of fruit, powdery tannins and a long, saline finish.”
94-96 points, William Kelley, Wine Advocate
Seems a decent increase on back vintages, I was looking forward to this wine as the scores arent bad. I'm not decided yet.
submitted by reddithenry to WineEP [link] [comments]
"Blackberries and blueberries with chalkboard and dark earth aromas. Flowers, too. Lead pencil. Full-bodied and very deep in the palate, which is reserved and texturally sophisticated. Chalky, too. Silky and very polished. 80% merlot and 20% cabernet franc. From organically grown grapes."
97-98 points, James Suckling
“The 2022 Canon La Gaffelière is bright, punchy and full of character. Blood orange, rose petal and spice overtones brighten a core of red/purplish fruit in Saint-Émilion that impresses with its saline intensity, energy and focus. If tasting this blind, I would never say it is a wine from a warm, drought year. It will be interesting to see if the 2022 retains its youthful vibrancy through élevage. This is super promising.”
94-96 points, Antonio Galloni, Vinous
“A blend of 50% Merlot, 35% Cabernet Franc and 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2022 Canon la Gaffelière exhibits aromas of raspberries and plums, complemented by notions of iris, rose petals, incense and burning embers. Medium to full-bodied, ample and fleshy, it's supple, suave and sophisticated, with a lively core of fruit, powdery tannins and a long, saline finish.”
94-96 points, William Kelley, Wine Advocate
Seems a decent increase on back vintages, I was looking forward to this wine as the scores arent bad. I'm not decided yet.
2023.06.02 10:14 Drakolf The Cupboard:
I blinked, not entirely certain if I was just hallucinating or if I was tired.
I closed the cabinet, taking a moment to take a deep breath, pinch myself and verify that my fingers were indeed proportional to my hands.
My reality checks thus done, I returned my attention to the pile of change in the middle of the cabinet.
Now, I'd had my fair share of weirdness in the past. Socks going missing. Not just in the laundry, but from my dresser drawer.
The sink that occasionally dripped some sort of red liquid that most certainly wasn't blood- I checked, using my amateur microscope and comparing to a sample of my own.
I didn't even bother trying to explain why an old servant's uniform from upstairs would be laid out on my bed every morning- I just put it back, though I was beginning to wonder why it seemed the closet had been getting full.
My spare change going missing randomly had been so bizarrely benign, it had to have been something I just wasn't seeing.
Until today.
It was a dragon. Not a bearded dragon, not a dragonfly, and most certainly not a miniature set on top of my missing change. An actual, tiny, living dragon.
"Why do you disturb the slumber of the great Varristrax?" I had expected a surprisingly booming voice coming from the tiny frame. its voice was... squeaky. It's how I imagined those two mice that nested in that old shoe would sound like.
I still couldn't figure out how they got back inside, or how they got the boot back into the attic from the trash.
"You're a dragon." I said.
"The human is observant." They replied.
"You're a tiny dragon in a hidden cupboard I only noticed because it was left ajar." I stated. "Why are you in my cupboard?"
"This is where I prefer to nest and maintain my hoard. For a human, you are a very poor servant."
"Pardon?" I asked.
"Yes. You refuse to put on your uniform even though I conjure one up for you every morning, you persistently eat the food you lay out on my offering table, and you leave your offerings of coins in the most random of places. If you hadn't signed the contract, I would have incinerated you by now."
I nodded slowly, then shook my head. "I'm sorry, when I bought this house, the contract I signed said nothing about playing servant to a tiny dragon."
The dragon hopped up on its four legs. "What!? You absolutely must have known what you were signing up for!"
Ignoring the absolute absurdity of the situation, I headed for my room and pulled out my safe, where I stored my important documentation, such as the copy of the contract I signed when I bought the place.
Which, in hindsight, was actually kind of weird. I thumbed through it, looking for any clauses on dragon upkeep, but saw nothing. I was about to bring it back to the dragon, when I noticed it sat on my pillow, its tail pointed directly at another uniform.
I plopped the contract on the bed. "Read this. This is the contract I signed."
The pages slowly turned by themselves, and after around an hour, the dragon sighed. "It would seem you were swindled." The dragon stated. "Or perhaps, we both were played for fools. I am the master of this household, and ownership of this building can only be transferred to the one who signs it. As you are trespassing, I will have to remove you."
"Wait a moment! You can't just kick me out because you didn't do your due diligence in keeping things going!"
"Understand, human. The contract you should have signed is magically binding, by staying here, you have implicitly signed, and that serves as legal and magical precedent. Thus your choice is to either remain as my servant- which you have made clear you do not wish to be- or I will have to remove you."
I stared at the dragon for a few moments, then sighed. "Look, this place was really cheap when I bought it, but it was still my life savings up to that point..." I sighed. "Where do I sign?"
The Dragon sighed. "Again, you have already implicitly signed, you don't have to actually do anything. Now, it is morning, I am hungry, and you are not in uniform."
I sighed and picked up the uniform. Before I could even start trying to put it on, it automatically put itself on me. For what it was worth, it was comfortable.
"Now, breakfast awaits, and I am not getting any less hungry."
"Yes, Master Varristrax." I sighed. Well, I didn't intend on saying that, but maybe it was the magical contract. I kind of liked it.
submitted by Drakolf to DrakolfsWritings [link] [comments]
I closed the cabinet, taking a moment to take a deep breath, pinch myself and verify that my fingers were indeed proportional to my hands.
My reality checks thus done, I returned my attention to the pile of change in the middle of the cabinet.
Now, I'd had my fair share of weirdness in the past. Socks going missing. Not just in the laundry, but from my dresser drawer.
The sink that occasionally dripped some sort of red liquid that most certainly wasn't blood- I checked, using my amateur microscope and comparing to a sample of my own.
I didn't even bother trying to explain why an old servant's uniform from upstairs would be laid out on my bed every morning- I just put it back, though I was beginning to wonder why it seemed the closet had been getting full.
My spare change going missing randomly had been so bizarrely benign, it had to have been something I just wasn't seeing.
Until today.
It was a dragon. Not a bearded dragon, not a dragonfly, and most certainly not a miniature set on top of my missing change. An actual, tiny, living dragon.
"Why do you disturb the slumber of the great Varristrax?" I had expected a surprisingly booming voice coming from the tiny frame. its voice was... squeaky. It's how I imagined those two mice that nested in that old shoe would sound like.
I still couldn't figure out how they got back inside, or how they got the boot back into the attic from the trash.
"You're a dragon." I said.
"The human is observant." They replied.
"You're a tiny dragon in a hidden cupboard I only noticed because it was left ajar." I stated. "Why are you in my cupboard?"
"This is where I prefer to nest and maintain my hoard. For a human, you are a very poor servant."
"Pardon?" I asked.
"Yes. You refuse to put on your uniform even though I conjure one up for you every morning, you persistently eat the food you lay out on my offering table, and you leave your offerings of coins in the most random of places. If you hadn't signed the contract, I would have incinerated you by now."
I nodded slowly, then shook my head. "I'm sorry, when I bought this house, the contract I signed said nothing about playing servant to a tiny dragon."
The dragon hopped up on its four legs. "What!? You absolutely must have known what you were signing up for!"
Ignoring the absolute absurdity of the situation, I headed for my room and pulled out my safe, where I stored my important documentation, such as the copy of the contract I signed when I bought the place.
Which, in hindsight, was actually kind of weird. I thumbed through it, looking for any clauses on dragon upkeep, but saw nothing. I was about to bring it back to the dragon, when I noticed it sat on my pillow, its tail pointed directly at another uniform.
I plopped the contract on the bed. "Read this. This is the contract I signed."
The pages slowly turned by themselves, and after around an hour, the dragon sighed. "It would seem you were swindled." The dragon stated. "Or perhaps, we both were played for fools. I am the master of this household, and ownership of this building can only be transferred to the one who signs it. As you are trespassing, I will have to remove you."
"Wait a moment! You can't just kick me out because you didn't do your due diligence in keeping things going!"
"Understand, human. The contract you should have signed is magically binding, by staying here, you have implicitly signed, and that serves as legal and magical precedent. Thus your choice is to either remain as my servant- which you have made clear you do not wish to be- or I will have to remove you."
I stared at the dragon for a few moments, then sighed. "Look, this place was really cheap when I bought it, but it was still my life savings up to that point..." I sighed. "Where do I sign?"
The Dragon sighed. "Again, you have already implicitly signed, you don't have to actually do anything. Now, it is morning, I am hungry, and you are not in uniform."
I sighed and picked up the uniform. Before I could even start trying to put it on, it automatically put itself on me. For what it was worth, it was comfortable.
"Now, breakfast awaits, and I am not getting any less hungry."
"Yes, Master Varristrax." I sighed. Well, I didn't intend on saying that, but maybe it was the magical contract. I kind of liked it.
2023.06.02 07:20 Liath-Luachra [Discussion] Ducks – ONE MONTH LATER through end
Hello lovely readers,
Welcome to the second and final discussion of Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands by Kate Beaton. This autobiographical comic was Canada Reads (an annual "battle of the books") winner for 2023. You can read the first discussion here.
Summary
The story picks up one month after that horrible party. Kate sleeps with Mike. She continues to get weird sexual comments from the men she works with, but she has started to laugh the comments off. Many of the men seem to have problems with her giving them orders, and her superiors get pissy with her for minor things or for wanting ‘special treatment’. Joe, a fellow Nova Scotian, overhears her swearing in frustration and tells her that everyone at the mine is just yelling at the guy next to them for work they’re not doing themselves, but that people tend to be friendlier to people from their own region of Canada. Kate wonders aloud to Doug whether the oil sands make people better or worse.
The men at the mine have heard that Kate’s ‘little friends’ (her sister Becky and friend Lindsay) are going to be joining them, and she warns them to leave them alone. When Becky and Lindsay arrive, they are wearing skirts and they quickly notice the staring and weird behaviour from the men on site. Kate apologises for it, and they wonder why she is saying sorry.
Kate tells Becky and Lindsay that the other men have been leaving her alone since most people know about her and Mike, and they tell her it’s because in their eyes she’s ‘claimed’.
They take a trip to Gregoire Beach, but Kate doesn’t wear a swimsuit or go swimming. Becky asks her what’s up with her, as she’s noticed something is wrong. Kate talks about how everything at the beach seems so normal, but that she isn’t. However, she doesn’t explain further.
Kate looks for other jobs online, and sees a post for a job at the Maritime Museum of British Columbia in Victoria, the capital of British Columbia.
Not long afterwards, she sees the man who forced himself on her at that party. He and the group of men he’s with see her and they start laughing.
Kate hears a man playing Peter’s Dream on his guitar, and joins in singing the song.
She goes to Becky’s room and tells her that she needs to leave the oil sands for a while, even though she and Lindsay have just arrived. She asks her to promise that she and Lindsay will look out for each other, and finally tells her about the assaults. Becky tells her that it wasn’t her fault, and wishes she had been there sooner to protect her as that’s her job as the big sister. She tells Kate that it happened to her too, at her university dorm. She tells Kate she should go.
We leave the oil sands, for a year in Victoria. Kate gets the museum job but it’s no more than 21 hours per week, so she gets a second job. In a coffee shop, she hears the song An Innis Aigh playing, and tells a woman who was wondering aloud about the language that it’s Gaelic.
Victoria seems like a nicer place than the oil sands, but it isn’t perfect – the city big problems with homelessness and mental health, but none of the old, rich people living there care [read runner note – according to Victoria’s Wikipedia page, the city is known for its disproportionately large retiree population. Some 23.4% of the population of Victoria and its surrounding area are over 65 years of age, which is higher than the overall Canadian distribution of over 65 year-olds in the population (19%). A historically popular cliché refers to Victoria as the home of "the newly wed and nearly dead"]. Kate is fired from her job for not taking American money and not wanting to sell the merchandise badly enough. One of her colleagues (I think?) sees her drawing a comic, and suggests that she should make a website.
Kate tells her parents that on her days off she works at a grocery store, and her father wonders what her degree was for. Shortly afterwards, she is fired from the grocery store for yawning and ‘being surly’. She goes on a date, but panics when the guy tries to kiss her at the end.
Kate can’t get a reprieve from her student loan payments, even though she paid half of it off the previous year with her oil sands earnings. She decides to go back to the oil sands to pay the rest off, and says goodbye to the museum.
After that brief reprieve, we’re back in the oil sands, this time at Shell Albian Sands. Kate has taken a job in the warehouse office, and her living quarters are a bit fancier than at the previous sites. The site also has a Tim Hortons, Wi-Fi and a gym, even yoga classes. Lindsay tells her that a lot of the warehouse crew from Long Lake have moved up there too. One of her new colleagues is Hatim, who is creepy in a new way, plaguing her with messages despite having a wife and children.
The team get a congratulations message with a gif for achieving three million man hours without a lost time incident (LTI). Kate’s boss, Ryan, tells her that they don’t have LTIs at the site because they look bad for the company, I guess implying that they cover them up.
She sees Doug again, who seems to feel that she’s all high and mighty now with her office job, and struggles with her ‘bossing him’ since she’s younger than him (and presumably because she’s female). When she has to cover a warehouse shift, Doug laughs about how she’s down from on high and has gone soft. He tells her that he sang with The Men of the Deeps and even sang for the queen, which she doubts because he has a terrible voice. She sings a bit of Coal Town Road (which I’m kind of disappointed doesn’t sound like Old Town Road) and asks if she could be in the choir too, but he seems annoyed about her singing a mining song when she’s not a miner.
Kate’s sister Becky is still working at Long Lake, but lives in Fort McMurray, and Kate goes to meet her there; she says it’s much better than living in the camp. She tells Kate, that one time a guy jumped out of the closet in her room, but she was able to kick him out. She always locked her door, but often heard the handle jiggling at night. She even had a stalker, who managed to get into her room with a bottle of alcohol and suggested doing body shots – she didn’t report it, but when he got fired everyone thought she had.
Kate struggles to read some of the order sheets because many of the workers are bad spellers or have unclear handwriting; many of the older men at the mine left school in grade six. Lindsay tells her about one of the lead hands from Newfoundland, who can’t read, and was humiliated by the other workers when they tried to make him read the safety memo aloud so they could laugh at him. Lindsay says she’s never seen a grown man ashamed like that, and they discuss how he’s one of the nicest guys there.
A group from the Calgary office visits the mine site, and Kate has to find the nice hard hats and safety vests for the visitors, the ones the actual workers can’t have because they’re too fancy. Basically, they have to put on a show for the head office people – everyone has to look sharp, make things tidier than normal etc. One of the visitors takes a photo of Kate. After they leave, Damian asks if he can have one of the fancy new vests, but they were taken back to Calgary even though they don’t need them at head office.
Kate continues doing her comics, and her colleagues occasionally read them. Ryan finds some of them in the scanner, which she had used to upload them to her website, and tells her not to leave her stuff lying around at work.
Becky and Kate discuss what it would have been like if their father had gone out to the oil sands to work when they were children, as many people did. They wonder if he would have been like the other men they work with, and how they must all be normal at home. Kate says she tries to remember that there are a lot of men who don’t bother her, but she doesn’t remember them because they’re not the ones in her face.
Their safety lectures tell them basic information about how ice is slippery and is all over the ground, which presumably every Canadian already knows. One of the men remarks that it’s not about safety, but an arse-covering exercise so that a worker can’t sue them if they fall. Kate doodles a pony in her notebook (thank you u/Amanda39 for linking to this comic in last week’s discussion!).
Many of the staff have families that they don’t see very often. One of the men gets a phonecall from his wife’s phone, which he answers thinking it’s an emergency as she never calls during the day; it turns out to be his young son, who is calling to see when he’s coming home next.
Brian asks Kate if she heard about the ducks (TITLE DROP!!); three hundred of them got stuck in a tailings pond at another oil sands site [read runner note – two years later, Syncrude was actually found guilty of the death of 1,600 ducks]. The site begins installing anti-waterfowl devices, and the staff are reminded that they have to wear PPE at all times. They’re also told about the death Gerald Snopes, another worker; some of the men talking amongst themselves, and Ryan tells them to have some respect. He had a heart attack while operating a crane, and threw himself out of the cab so that he wouldn’t land on the controls and cause an accident.
Kate hears about a road accident involving some men from Cape Breton. She asks Davy about it to see if she knows them, but neither of them do. Kate finds the news articles and feels annoyed that they were misidentified as Calgary men.
Kate notices some welts on her back; Lindsay has them too but doesn’t know what it is. Kate mentions all the dust they have to wipe off everything, and how there’s so much crap in the air. Lindsay wonders what kind of cancer they’ll have in 20 years.
Kate finds Doug building a scarecrow for the tailings pond, which is meant to scare off the ducks. Probably another arse-covering exercise.
Activists from Greenpeace try to block an oil sands pipeline, and 11 people are arrested. One of the workers gets angry about it, asking who will put their life on the line to unclog the pipe Greenpeace has blocked, and that it sure as hell won’t be the president of Shell. Kate hears about another death – a contractor was in his trucks, and one of the heavy haulers drove over it, crushing him.
Lindsay writes an article for a grassroots paper, giving the inside perspective on working at the oil sands. Kate considers doing a comic about it for them. Lindsay later wonders if she made a mistake writing her article, as many of the comments are critical, including many from women which Lindsay did not expect.
Kate sees a video on YouTube of Celina Harpe, an elder in the Cree community of Fort McKay, talking about the effect of the oil sands on the First Nation. Kate had not realised when she arrived there that Fort McKay was a First Nation, nor that it was so close to Syncrude. She thinks about how she’s not the president of Shell, but she’s still working there, and she can’t extract herself from having come.
At another safety meeting, the staff are down the safety pyramid, which has different levels: at the base it has at-risk behaviours, then near misses, then minor incidents, and it all leads to a major incident or a fatality.
Kate receives a phone call from a reporter at the Globe and Mail who had seen her comics about the oil sands. She asks several leading questions about her experience as a woman at the remote sites and the harassment, but Kate feels uncomfortable giving her examples. She later tells Lindsay that she couldn’t talk to the reporter as she felt like she just wanted gossip, and that the story was already written before she called.
The leering of one of the other workers bothers Kate in the lunchroom, and she tells Lindsay about her assaults. Lindsay is horrified that Mike and Brian laughed at her when she told them about it. Lindsay tells her that it happened to her in university as well.
Kate calls her parents to tell them that she’s finally paid off her student loan, but she needs to keep working at the site because now she has no money. She’s going to try making it as a cartoonist, and her parents are unimpressed.
Kate notices that Ryan is acting strangely, being absent a lot and not doing his work, and it can’t fully be explained by his recent divorce. She hears about other workers who are taking cocaine and behaving strangely too. She asks Ryan if he’s ok and he brushes it off. Kate contemplates the safety pyramid again. She finds a piece of paper on Ryan’s desk with an appointment for the employee assistance program. Emily later tells her that Ryan has left suddenly, and that they need to figure things out until a replacement is found.
Kate wonders why there are so many safety meetings but none have ever talked about drugs or alcohol. Her coworkers say that everyone knows why there is so much of both, and that the company can’t have safety meetings about illegal activities anyway.
Kate finally gets to leave the oil sands and go home. Her colleague Norman gives her prints of some of his photos of the northern lights as a leaving present, including one of a rainbow. Before she leaves, the company organises a staff photograph with all the workers on the site. Kate sees the man who assaulted her the second time, and he recognises her but can’t remember her name or who she is, and asks her how it’s going.
Kate trains her replacement, and finds out that she’s earning more than her despite not having any experience in tools. She complains to John about it, and finally rants about all her shitty treatment in the oil sands. She goes to see Gary in the head office, and demands her full bonus, which was going to be docked because she was leaving. Gary tells her it’s company policy. She tells him about the harassment, and he claims she could have come to them about it, but she fires back that he knows she couldn’t have. Gary agrees to give her the bonus. Her colleagues organise a going-away barbecue, and even Mike attends.
Back in Nova Scotia, Kate is reunited with her family. While out enjoying the seaside air, she chats to a farmer who tells her he’s keeping a field for his son who is working out west in case he ever comes back and wants to build a house. A man called Lauchie visits the house before moving west himself, and tells them there’s something for everyone out there and that the young people have everything they want. Out in Halifax with friends, she and Becky see a man from one of the camps, who tells Becky that they had a bet on who would sleep with her first. Their friends who haven’t worked in the oil sands can’t believe they’d let a man talk to them like that.
In the book’s afterword, Kate talks about how the book chronicles her specific experience at a specific time. She is wary of sensationalism of her story, especially because sexual assault is so common that it’s not actually sensational. She notes that neither of the men who raped her probably consider it to have been rape. She is also critical of the treatment of Indigenous people, and says the YouTube video of Celina Harpe was a “sword that cut through my ignorance”. We also find out that Becky died of cancer, and that her former coworkers pooled money together to send to her.
Bookclub Bingo 2023 categories: Non-Fiction, Graphic Novel (grey), Mod Pick (grey)
Other links:
submitted by Liath-Luachra to bookclub [link] [comments]
Welcome to the second and final discussion of Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands by Kate Beaton. This autobiographical comic was Canada Reads (an annual "battle of the books") winner for 2023. You can read the first discussion here.
Summary
The story picks up one month after that horrible party. Kate sleeps with Mike. She continues to get weird sexual comments from the men she works with, but she has started to laugh the comments off. Many of the men seem to have problems with her giving them orders, and her superiors get pissy with her for minor things or for wanting ‘special treatment’. Joe, a fellow Nova Scotian, overhears her swearing in frustration and tells her that everyone at the mine is just yelling at the guy next to them for work they’re not doing themselves, but that people tend to be friendlier to people from their own region of Canada. Kate wonders aloud to Doug whether the oil sands make people better or worse.
The men at the mine have heard that Kate’s ‘little friends’ (her sister Becky and friend Lindsay) are going to be joining them, and she warns them to leave them alone. When Becky and Lindsay arrive, they are wearing skirts and they quickly notice the staring and weird behaviour from the men on site. Kate apologises for it, and they wonder why she is saying sorry.
Kate tells Becky and Lindsay that the other men have been leaving her alone since most people know about her and Mike, and they tell her it’s because in their eyes she’s ‘claimed’.
They take a trip to Gregoire Beach, but Kate doesn’t wear a swimsuit or go swimming. Becky asks her what’s up with her, as she’s noticed something is wrong. Kate talks about how everything at the beach seems so normal, but that she isn’t. However, she doesn’t explain further.
Kate looks for other jobs online, and sees a post for a job at the Maritime Museum of British Columbia in Victoria, the capital of British Columbia.
Not long afterwards, she sees the man who forced himself on her at that party. He and the group of men he’s with see her and they start laughing.
Kate hears a man playing Peter’s Dream on his guitar, and joins in singing the song.
She goes to Becky’s room and tells her that she needs to leave the oil sands for a while, even though she and Lindsay have just arrived. She asks her to promise that she and Lindsay will look out for each other, and finally tells her about the assaults. Becky tells her that it wasn’t her fault, and wishes she had been there sooner to protect her as that’s her job as the big sister. She tells Kate that it happened to her too, at her university dorm. She tells Kate she should go.
We leave the oil sands, for a year in Victoria. Kate gets the museum job but it’s no more than 21 hours per week, so she gets a second job. In a coffee shop, she hears the song An Innis Aigh playing, and tells a woman who was wondering aloud about the language that it’s Gaelic.
Victoria seems like a nicer place than the oil sands, but it isn’t perfect – the city big problems with homelessness and mental health, but none of the old, rich people living there care [read runner note – according to Victoria’s Wikipedia page, the city is known for its disproportionately large retiree population. Some 23.4% of the population of Victoria and its surrounding area are over 65 years of age, which is higher than the overall Canadian distribution of over 65 year-olds in the population (19%). A historically popular cliché refers to Victoria as the home of "the newly wed and nearly dead"]. Kate is fired from her job for not taking American money and not wanting to sell the merchandise badly enough. One of her colleagues (I think?) sees her drawing a comic, and suggests that she should make a website.
Kate tells her parents that on her days off she works at a grocery store, and her father wonders what her degree was for. Shortly afterwards, she is fired from the grocery store for yawning and ‘being surly’. She goes on a date, but panics when the guy tries to kiss her at the end.
Kate can’t get a reprieve from her student loan payments, even though she paid half of it off the previous year with her oil sands earnings. She decides to go back to the oil sands to pay the rest off, and says goodbye to the museum.
After that brief reprieve, we’re back in the oil sands, this time at Shell Albian Sands. Kate has taken a job in the warehouse office, and her living quarters are a bit fancier than at the previous sites. The site also has a Tim Hortons, Wi-Fi and a gym, even yoga classes. Lindsay tells her that a lot of the warehouse crew from Long Lake have moved up there too. One of her new colleagues is Hatim, who is creepy in a new way, plaguing her with messages despite having a wife and children.
The team get a congratulations message with a gif for achieving three million man hours without a lost time incident (LTI). Kate’s boss, Ryan, tells her that they don’t have LTIs at the site because they look bad for the company, I guess implying that they cover them up.
She sees Doug again, who seems to feel that she’s all high and mighty now with her office job, and struggles with her ‘bossing him’ since she’s younger than him (and presumably because she’s female). When she has to cover a warehouse shift, Doug laughs about how she’s down from on high and has gone soft. He tells her that he sang with The Men of the Deeps and even sang for the queen, which she doubts because he has a terrible voice. She sings a bit of Coal Town Road (which I’m kind of disappointed doesn’t sound like Old Town Road) and asks if she could be in the choir too, but he seems annoyed about her singing a mining song when she’s not a miner.
Kate’s sister Becky is still working at Long Lake, but lives in Fort McMurray, and Kate goes to meet her there; she says it’s much better than living in the camp. She tells Kate, that one time a guy jumped out of the closet in her room, but she was able to kick him out. She always locked her door, but often heard the handle jiggling at night. She even had a stalker, who managed to get into her room with a bottle of alcohol and suggested doing body shots – she didn’t report it, but when he got fired everyone thought she had.
Kate struggles to read some of the order sheets because many of the workers are bad spellers or have unclear handwriting; many of the older men at the mine left school in grade six. Lindsay tells her about one of the lead hands from Newfoundland, who can’t read, and was humiliated by the other workers when they tried to make him read the safety memo aloud so they could laugh at him. Lindsay says she’s never seen a grown man ashamed like that, and they discuss how he’s one of the nicest guys there.
A group from the Calgary office visits the mine site, and Kate has to find the nice hard hats and safety vests for the visitors, the ones the actual workers can’t have because they’re too fancy. Basically, they have to put on a show for the head office people – everyone has to look sharp, make things tidier than normal etc. One of the visitors takes a photo of Kate. After they leave, Damian asks if he can have one of the fancy new vests, but they were taken back to Calgary even though they don’t need them at head office.
Kate continues doing her comics, and her colleagues occasionally read them. Ryan finds some of them in the scanner, which she had used to upload them to her website, and tells her not to leave her stuff lying around at work.
Becky and Kate discuss what it would have been like if their father had gone out to the oil sands to work when they were children, as many people did. They wonder if he would have been like the other men they work with, and how they must all be normal at home. Kate says she tries to remember that there are a lot of men who don’t bother her, but she doesn’t remember them because they’re not the ones in her face.
Their safety lectures tell them basic information about how ice is slippery and is all over the ground, which presumably every Canadian already knows. One of the men remarks that it’s not about safety, but an arse-covering exercise so that a worker can’t sue them if they fall. Kate doodles a pony in her notebook (thank you u/Amanda39 for linking to this comic in last week’s discussion!).
Many of the staff have families that they don’t see very often. One of the men gets a phonecall from his wife’s phone, which he answers thinking it’s an emergency as she never calls during the day; it turns out to be his young son, who is calling to see when he’s coming home next.
Brian asks Kate if she heard about the ducks (TITLE DROP!!); three hundred of them got stuck in a tailings pond at another oil sands site [read runner note – two years later, Syncrude was actually found guilty of the death of 1,600 ducks]. The site begins installing anti-waterfowl devices, and the staff are reminded that they have to wear PPE at all times. They’re also told about the death Gerald Snopes, another worker; some of the men talking amongst themselves, and Ryan tells them to have some respect. He had a heart attack while operating a crane, and threw himself out of the cab so that he wouldn’t land on the controls and cause an accident.
Kate hears about a road accident involving some men from Cape Breton. She asks Davy about it to see if she knows them, but neither of them do. Kate finds the news articles and feels annoyed that they were misidentified as Calgary men.
Kate notices some welts on her back; Lindsay has them too but doesn’t know what it is. Kate mentions all the dust they have to wipe off everything, and how there’s so much crap in the air. Lindsay wonders what kind of cancer they’ll have in 20 years.
Kate finds Doug building a scarecrow for the tailings pond, which is meant to scare off the ducks. Probably another arse-covering exercise.
Activists from Greenpeace try to block an oil sands pipeline, and 11 people are arrested. One of the workers gets angry about it, asking who will put their life on the line to unclog the pipe Greenpeace has blocked, and that it sure as hell won’t be the president of Shell. Kate hears about another death – a contractor was in his trucks, and one of the heavy haulers drove over it, crushing him.
Lindsay writes an article for a grassroots paper, giving the inside perspective on working at the oil sands. Kate considers doing a comic about it for them. Lindsay later wonders if she made a mistake writing her article, as many of the comments are critical, including many from women which Lindsay did not expect.
Kate sees a video on YouTube of Celina Harpe, an elder in the Cree community of Fort McKay, talking about the effect of the oil sands on the First Nation. Kate had not realised when she arrived there that Fort McKay was a First Nation, nor that it was so close to Syncrude. She thinks about how she’s not the president of Shell, but she’s still working there, and she can’t extract herself from having come.
At another safety meeting, the staff are down the safety pyramid, which has different levels: at the base it has at-risk behaviours, then near misses, then minor incidents, and it all leads to a major incident or a fatality.
Kate receives a phone call from a reporter at the Globe and Mail who had seen her comics about the oil sands. She asks several leading questions about her experience as a woman at the remote sites and the harassment, but Kate feels uncomfortable giving her examples. She later tells Lindsay that she couldn’t talk to the reporter as she felt like she just wanted gossip, and that the story was already written before she called.
The leering of one of the other workers bothers Kate in the lunchroom, and she tells Lindsay about her assaults. Lindsay is horrified that Mike and Brian laughed at her when she told them about it. Lindsay tells her that it happened to her in university as well.
Kate calls her parents to tell them that she’s finally paid off her student loan, but she needs to keep working at the site because now she has no money. She’s going to try making it as a cartoonist, and her parents are unimpressed.
Kate notices that Ryan is acting strangely, being absent a lot and not doing his work, and it can’t fully be explained by his recent divorce. She hears about other workers who are taking cocaine and behaving strangely too. She asks Ryan if he’s ok and he brushes it off. Kate contemplates the safety pyramid again. She finds a piece of paper on Ryan’s desk with an appointment for the employee assistance program. Emily later tells her that Ryan has left suddenly, and that they need to figure things out until a replacement is found.
Kate wonders why there are so many safety meetings but none have ever talked about drugs or alcohol. Her coworkers say that everyone knows why there is so much of both, and that the company can’t have safety meetings about illegal activities anyway.
Kate finally gets to leave the oil sands and go home. Her colleague Norman gives her prints of some of his photos of the northern lights as a leaving present, including one of a rainbow. Before she leaves, the company organises a staff photograph with all the workers on the site. Kate sees the man who assaulted her the second time, and he recognises her but can’t remember her name or who she is, and asks her how it’s going.
Kate trains her replacement, and finds out that she’s earning more than her despite not having any experience in tools. She complains to John about it, and finally rants about all her shitty treatment in the oil sands. She goes to see Gary in the head office, and demands her full bonus, which was going to be docked because she was leaving. Gary tells her it’s company policy. She tells him about the harassment, and he claims she could have come to them about it, but she fires back that he knows she couldn’t have. Gary agrees to give her the bonus. Her colleagues organise a going-away barbecue, and even Mike attends.
Back in Nova Scotia, Kate is reunited with her family. While out enjoying the seaside air, she chats to a farmer who tells her he’s keeping a field for his son who is working out west in case he ever comes back and wants to build a house. A man called Lauchie visits the house before moving west himself, and tells them there’s something for everyone out there and that the young people have everything they want. Out in Halifax with friends, she and Becky see a man from one of the camps, who tells Becky that they had a bet on who would sleep with her first. Their friends who haven’t worked in the oil sands can’t believe they’d let a man talk to them like that.
In the book’s afterword, Kate talks about how the book chronicles her specific experience at a specific time. She is wary of sensationalism of her story, especially because sexual assault is so common that it’s not actually sensational. She notes that neither of the men who raped her probably consider it to have been rape. She is also critical of the treatment of Indigenous people, and says the YouTube video of Celina Harpe was a “sword that cut through my ignorance”. We also find out that Becky died of cancer, and that her former coworkers pooled money together to send to her.
Bookclub Bingo 2023 categories: Non-Fiction, Graphic Novel (grey), Mod Pick (grey)
Other links:
- The first discussion
- Canada Reads page about Ducks [I hadn’t realised that Station Eleven, another recent bookclub read, was the runner up]
- Kate Beaton on Wikipedia
- Hark! A Vagrant, the archive of Kate Beaton’s comics website
- The original Hark! A Vagrant sketch comic about the oil sands (links to all five parts; I’ve posted the parts individually below this in case that’s easier)
- Original Ducks Part 1
- Original Ducks Part 2
- Original Ducks Part 3
- Original Ducks Part 4
- Original Ducks Part 5
- Lindsay Bird was one of the people in the book whose name wasn’t changed, and in 2019 she published a poetry collection about working in the oil sands called Boom Time. There’s a CBC article about the book here.
2023.06.02 05:51 SilvoKanuni Dawn on the Luzum - Barnam Pt. V
Ibandr, during the morning and afternoon so full of life and sound and laughter, slowed as the sky darkened above. The sun had set for some time and the shadows of the city were erratic and scattered in the evening torchlight. There were many lit throughout the city at sundown, many in the city center, some south by the riverbank to ward off animals, and some in the west by those who grew cotton and made goods. Shadr held one of these torches now. He was a young man, having grown up in Ibandr and never knowing the starving times, although his father always spoke of them. He had also talked to him about the day the city spilled its own blood. How he had been part of the fight to retake Ibandr from the Zivold and how he barely survived, losing an arm for his efforts. When the eastern man had come - Barnam had been his name - his father jumped at the chance to sabotage the man who stole their lives, even if it had been so long. Shadr’s father was too old but Shadr himself was not, the young man eager to serve his family however he may. So now he stood as the sun set, stick alight with flame, looking at the large pile of dried grass and hemp and cotton. Waiting.
Over a hundred men on horses galloped toward Ibandr. Barnam rode at the head, taking one last glance over his shoulder at the men riding behind him, Shahadr’s Point falling further in the distance. It was getting darker by the gallop, the sun having set to their right. Up, down. Up, down. Up, down. The rhythm of horseback calmed Barnam. He felt at home, at peace on horseback now. His life with the Albayet had been good to him, prepared him for his duty. He looked at the sky as he rode, the first twinkling stars shining in the dusk. He blinked. What was that? Another! A streak of light shot through the blackening blue of the heavens. Some time passed then, another!
“Vastatn blesses us on this night!” Barnam called to the riders behind him, pointing to the sky at the shooting stars making their way across the world. He gripped the spear in his hand tighter. Good fortune was to come.
Ibandr was more difficult to see as they rode on the flat plains between Shahadr’s Point and the city, but in the darkness he could just make it out. Flames. The old boys have done it then, he thought. When last in the city, he found an old friend of his father and that man’s son, Shadr. There were a handful of others but all too old or afraid to move against the Zivold. Shadr, though, was eager. Setting fire to the cotton in Ibandr’s west had worked well enough, if he could see the flames from here. The sky darkened as they neared the city. It was almost time.
He was close enough to hear shouting over the sound of the horses around him. Then, a great bellow louder than he’d ever heard. A bellow sounding across the city, the plain, again and again in long, slow bursts. An alarm? A call for help? Someone must have seen them. A hundred men on horseback would be hard to miss, but Barnam did not care. “It’s time, Albayet! Ride to our glory! Ride for Kalliza!”
Shouts of Kalliza, victory, to war called out behind him as the hundred split into three groups, one stayed straight behind Barnam while the others spread out in two directions, one to the west to the fire and the other to the east.
“Victory!” Barnam heard himself shouting as he burst into the city, the vastness of the plain suddenly replaced by houses and canals and patchwork fields of sorghum. Men, women, children had come out of their peripheral homes to answer the commotion, and Barnam looked at their terrified faces as they saw him and his horsemen ride toward them.
A scarred, weathered, bearded man, in billowing clothes carrying a spear in his right hand and a scythe tied to his hip, screaming as he charged on a horse. A sight to see. A last sight to see. He did not want to kill innocents, he did not mean to kill them, but you have to be realistic about these things. In the heat of war, Barnam would not stop to question each and every life he took. Today was a day of new beginnings, of a cleansing of the city and washing it in a new path. The stars streaking above were the ushering of a new dawn on the Luzum and Barnam would be damned if he would get in the way of that. He thought all these and more as his horse ran down the man who stood defiantly in front of him. As they made their way to the city, the screams confirmed that the first man was only one of many. You have to be realistic about these things.
The city had no way to prepare for what was coming. Through his whole life Barnam scarcely had heard of any meaningful raids on the city, or great battles between one city and another. Ibandr and its people had not been tried and tested as Barnam and the Albayet had.
With that Barnam could not have expected the first fighters they saw. Ten men burst forward down a street between two larger houses, two had spears and the rest holding hoes or scythes. They came so suddenly Barnam and the horseman next to him, Gudenle, had no time to move. Bunched up as they were they had no time to fight. One with a spear burst it through Gudenle’s horse, throwing him to the side. Another ran to finish Gudenle off but was stopped by a second spear bursting through him, Barnam having flung his own to defend his man. The defenders stood shocked for an extra breath, and Gudenle, with Kalliza watching over him, landed well and was on his feet. He swung a scythe from his hips into his arms and Barnam did the same. Barnam, Gudenle, and the other horsemen fought through the men then, losing two more horses but no tribesmen.
Having bested their first challenge, they trudged on. Barnam and the Albayet fought for quite some time as they made their way to the city center. Those who came to defend the city were few and far between, but they fought fiercely and bravely. By the time they reached the great storehouse of Ibandr and the Temple of Kutenr, only Barnam, Gudenle, and eleven others remained. Barnam dismounted from his horse to confront the sight before him. He and his Albayet stood opposite a tall, lean man dressed in cotton and some foreign leather clothing, with others around him. All stood fierce and tall, with either spears or blades of copper or stone. The tall, lean man held a copper blade in his right hand. Beyond, dozens of citizens were running either into their homes or making a dash to leave the city. Flames blazed in the west and a cacophony of screaming, neighing, and yelling filled the air.
“Where is the Zivold?” Barnam bellowed above the clamor. “I am Barnam, son of Huttl, a righteous man who walked in the light of the Paroxl. He was murdered by Attarnap, a coward and a thief, and I demand his presence in front of me today!”
The tall man raised his eyebrows and gasped. Behind him, the storehouse glowed in the light of the flames, encroaching closer and closer. “Barnam? Is that really you?” He started to laugh. “The little boy who lived on the edge of the furthest part of the city. Amazing, even the dung can come back to haunt you. And here I thought I was being punished for killing my father.”
“Your…” Barnam couldn’t believe what he had heard. “You killed… Attarnap? You killed the Zivold?”
The man who Barnam knew as Belis only nodded. “My father was complicated, Barnam. He was complicated and he was a fool. He thought he could take more and more, demand more and more of the people, and everything would be fine. This temple, those canals, that lake to hold the flood waters for a drought? Do you know how many died for those Barnam? Too many. Too many times there were riots like the one your father tried to start and I fear that if he stayed alive that would be the end of our,” he gestured to the men around him, “position in the city.”
Barnam could not believe what he was hearing. The men around Belis moved forward, and Barnam’s men did the same. “No!” Both men shouted at once. “He’s mine,” Belis said, and Barnam grunted in agreement. How dare he?
Barnam let out a roar. “How dare you take what was mine by right?” Barnam took a step forward, Belis almost stumbling to step back, keeping his distance. “Your father took the life of my own. Theft in its many forms is the only sin worthy of punishment by Marryagai the thief, is it not?” He held out his right arm, scythe in hand, rounding it on those who stood by to watch. Then, pointing at Belis, “and your father Attarnap stole the life of Huttl, stole a husband from a wife, a father from a son. and now you steal my revenge from me? You, Belis, lowlife of lowlives, believe you can take your father’s place. You, Belis, murderer of your own kin, your own father believe you can steal vengeance from me?” Bantam raised his arms, “Look at what you stand against! I am Barnam, son of the union between Mauair and Huttl, chosen by the Albayet to lay waste to what you claim, summoned by Samvastatn to bring glory to this earth. You call yourself Kutenr, as your father did?” He stepped closer. “Do you remember who Kutenrs nemesis is? Do you know the story of Kalliza, Paroxl of horses and creator of the plains, champion of the world when the greed of Kutenr and his grains grew too great. Look around you, Belis. I am Kalliza manifest in flesh and bone.”
Barnam cackled as he looked around him once more, taking yet another step toward Belis, and pointed with his scythe. “The gods have forsaken you, murderer! Dezmedetem rages behind you laying waste to all that you were. Samvastatn courses the sky with light, laying waste to all that you will be. And here I stand, I, Barnam of the Albayet, Barnam of Mauair and Huttl, Barnam the bane of Belis, Kalliza reborn, true lord of Ibandr, to lay waste to all that you are!”
With a guttural cry, the would-be conqueror flew at Belis. It was all Belis could do to raise his copper blade in time, a loud clang misshaping both scythe and sword as the two men connected. Barnam came at him with the fury of gods, whirling his scythe on Belis faster than he ever had. Belis stumbled back with each strike. Barnam was practiced, experienced, weathered from his life in the east, while Belis had only ever killed those around him with treachery, not skill. Belis was slower, weaker and more fatigued with each strike he had to block. But there was a chance. Barnam was the more skilled fighter, yes, but the fury of the gods which coursed through his veins made him move faster, think less. The maddening smile on Barnam’s face blinded him to any outcome but his victory. The Zivold’s eyes darted around with every chance, desperate to unearth some victory.
As the two men moved in their melee, Belis saw his chance. Barnam arced high and Belis, in one move, turned to yank a torch jutting from the ground, grabbing it with his left hand. The blade in his right flew at Barnam’s scythe while his left burst forward, torch in front, at Barnam’s face.
A howl of pain burst through the chants around them. Shocked by his own success, Belis stood there, mouth agape, torch and blade in hand. Barnam reeled from the strike, face almost smoking, and when he looked at Belis the right side of his head was a scarred and seared mass of red and pink flesh. Barnam stared at Belis, right eye almost blocked by the puffing of his face, and muttered something to him.
“What did you say, brute?” spat Belis at the hulking man in front of him.
“Burn me,” Barnam repeated, “and you burn the world.” The words of the Paroxl Kalliza, when he struck down Kutenr in their battle for the heavens. Barnam leapt at Belis once more. They fought again but this time there would be no mistake on Barnam’s part, and Belis felt it. Barnam pushed him further and further back toward the great storehouse. As they stood at the entry way, Belis’s arm outstretched with his balde in hand, Barnam brought his scythe down hard on the man’s wrist. A second howl of pain and a clang as Belis’ blade fell to the ground and his wrist was carved through. His hand was still attached but he’d be getting no use from it any longer.
“Stay back!” Belis screamed, waving the torch in front of him. On the floor in front, his shadow danced in the light of the growing fires in the western district. The flames were nearing them now, the heat coursing through the air. “Stay back you demon! You’ll get no more from me, you and your horseback brutes will not take this city while I live!”
Just as Barnam was to respond, “Then die,” Belis turned and ran into the storehouse. Barnam raced after him. “Take this monster!” Belis yelled as he shoved the torch onto an open pile of grain. The dry sorghum burst into flame, sparks flying and fires licking the roof. “Take this as your payment for your father’s death,” Belis was screaming now as he ran further in the storehouse, laying fire to piles of cotton, throwing off jar lids and burning the seeds and fibers within. Barnam could do nothing, impotent with his scythe, as a wall of fire separated him from Belis. Enraged, he bellowed and ran outside and around the storehouse to the Temple of Kutenr. Belis stood there now at the base. Behind him the storehouse was just beginning to burn as a whole. In front of him the temple, and behind the temple the fires of the western districts were finally upon them.
“So Barnam,” Belis stood at the base, torch flames licking the air and wrist dripping with blood, “is this was you wanted? Is this what you wanted to claim as your own?”
Barnam ran at him, raising his scythe and in one motion bringing it down on Belis’ neck. His face froze in horrified surprise and the scythe dug into his shoulders and neck, blood spurting from the wound. “Let it burn Belis. Let it all come to the ground from which we sprouted.” He brought his scythe out of Belis, who fell to the ground, gurglilng, and brought it back down to hack again and again. “Let it burn!” He was shouting, hacking, laughing, “Let it all burn! You stole my vengeance so now I shall have it back twelve-fold! Let it burn! We shall rebuild! We shall rebuild! We… shall… rebuild!” And with the final cut Belis came apart, head, neck, shoulder, and arm separated from the rest of him, face still looking on in horror at Barnam.
He was panting now, the man turned conqueror, his old and rutted copper scythe dented and broken from the fighting and the effort. He tossed it aside with a clang. His face burned from the torch, his lungs burned from the flames beside him, his muscles ached from the battle.
But above? Above the sky was a light with the streaks of a thousand stars, coursing through the sky as though it was Samvastatn and Niovollin creating the earth once more, sending stars from the heavens to course their energy through the world as rivers. Thousands and thousands of stars streaked across the sky, heralding the rise of a new man. A new Zivold. A new God.
“Barnam!” He looked behind him. Gudenle was coming from one of the round homes next to the storehouse, dragging a small, frail man behind with him. “Is this him?”
The man fell in front of Barnam, wrapped in bundles of cotton and hemp, thick matted hair gray and white with age. “Hadr,” Barnam breathed and knelt at him, putting his hands on the man’s shoulders.
Hadr brought his face up to look at Barnam. One thin, shaking hand came to rest on Barnam’s cheek, and he breathed a staggered breath. “Is that you Barnam? Is that you my boy?” A tear welled in his eye and he started to shake his head. “No, no, no,” Hadr muttered, “no, no no. Do not give me your empathy, my dear boy. I have wronged you.”
Barnam could not understand. Gudenle was saying something about needing to leave as the fire was only growing, but Barnam waved his hand and stared at Hadr. “It was me, Barnam,” the old man said through tears, “I betrayed your father, your uncle, everyone that day. I told Attarnap when i got you and your mother out of the city. It was me Barnam! I’m the reason your father is dead,” and he shook in his sobs, muttering, “let me die, boy, let me die.”
Hadr fumbled with his hands in his rags, but Barnam could barely see for the red that covered his vision. Hadr had betrayed his father, his family. Hadr had betrayed him. He grabbed Hadr by his hair and yanked his head up, putting the two men face to face. “You don’t die yet old man,” and he spat in his face. “You come with me. When the fires abate, you will proclaim me Zivold of Ibandr. You will proclaim that I am the vessel from Kalliza on this world. You will put me higher than any Zivold has ever been, and only then will you be allowed to die. I will do it myself.” He spat in his face again and pulled him to his feet by his hair.
“Let me DIE!” Hadr screamed as he was yanked up. His hands fumbled through his rags and they emerged gripping a small blackshine [obsidian] blade from his rags. He pulled his arms out and thrusted into his belly, but Barnam grabbed his arm like a vice, inches from death.
As he twisted the blade from Hadr’s hands, Barnam only repeated, “You do NOT die yet old man,” and threw him forward. He nodded to Gudenle, and the company walked away from the flames of the city center.
Flames swallowed Ibandr. For two days and two nights, Barnam, the Albayet, and the prisoner Hadr waited at Shahadr’s Point as they watched the city burn on the riverbank. Refugees fleeing from the burning and seeing where the conquerors had gone had come to be with them, either to curry favor or through sheer terror of seeing their home burning. Others stayed by the farms in the homes that survived or camped by the great reservoir.
When the fires abated, the survivors, the conquerors, and Hadr the prisoner walked into the city, faces of terror and horror and grief staring back at them. Some houses stood, others charred, and still others broken and brittle. Barnam had tried to stop the pillaging of the city but you have to be realistic about these things. He was Kalliza on earth. The city needed to be burned before it could be rebuilt.
When he arrived at the city center, the storehouse was a charred ruin and the temple behind it stood charred and blackened. The fires had raged and the once great city of Ibandr now stood charred but still proud. The Albayet went and corralled those who remained in the city center, and still others had come to the core now, refugees in their own lands, fleeing the fires that burned without remorse. Many had come to Barnam and the Albayet but others had stayed in the city, finding refuge in this or that district that survived the fires.
Barnam announced who he was, why he had come, and what the future held for Ibandr. “Belis was a fraud! Attarnap was a fraud!” He brought up Hadr. “A fraud held up by this man against the Paroxl, against our gods!” He walked to the ruins of the storehouse. “I am no fraud. I am Barnam, Kalliza reborn. Kutenr is nothing to the light of Kalliza and it is in his name which this city will be rebuilt.” In one year Barnam promised they would be returned to their former glory and poised to reach greater, grander heights than ever before.
The conqueror’s bloodthirst had been quenched. Knowing Attarnap was dead, killing his son, and laying waste to Ibandr had been revenge enough against those who wronged his father and those who stood by and done nothing.
Barnam the conqueror became Barnam the rebuilder. Over the year he convinced the Albayet to move west, abandoning the Duf river in a great migration to Ibandr, calling the union between the Hortens of Ibandr and the Hortens of the Albayet the Hemoph Hortens, or Union of the Hortens. He replaced the storehouse with one of similar grandeur, but on the side walls and pillars were carved intricate images and forms of Barnam as Kalliza, striking down Belis of Kutenr. The Temple to Kutenr was stripped bare and its walls adorned with images of Ibandr, or stories of the Paroxl, and above all of Barnam the Magnanimous, images carved to tell his story and his journey from refugee to god.
At the year’s end, Barnam held the Festival of Kalliza. It was here that he brought out the imprisoned Hadr, old and shriveled and frail. He had not been kept in a prison or in solitude or tortured. Barnam let the man walk free under supervision. “Let those who died by his hand torment him,” Barnam once said. They had forbidden him from holding weapons of any kind lest he take his own life, but the sight of the free Sinnamit, free by the mercy of Barnam the conqueror alone, did much to grow the new Zivold’s legend.
Hadr announced Barnam as a god reborn, lord of the new world and Zivold of Ibandr, son of a man and woman wronged and champion to all those that had been wronged. Never mind that Barnam had created so many wrongs when he burned the city. No, never mind all who died for one man’s vengeance. You have to be realistic about these things.
At the height of the ceremony came Barnam’s final act for the new city. As Hadr finished proclaiming him god of a new dawn on the Luzum, Barnam repeated all of Hadr’s transgressions. His slights against his father, against his city, against the gods. His cowardice and failures as Sinnamit. Barnam called Hadr a necessary sacrifice to give for the life of Ibandr, and slit the old man’s throat on the steps of the new temple, bringing all of the Sinnamit’s powers into his own.
Ibandr rose back to its prominence prior to the Albayet Sacking, and rose further still. Barnam learned of the projects built by Attarnap, of how Ibandr had risen from its people and its lands and by harnessing the power of the river Luzum to control the fate of their crops. To defend against the dry seasons and the wet. Ibandr was rebuilt and Barnam ensured that it was he who was credited. He played his factions of the loyal Albayet families and those who felt were allies within the city, against those who wished him to be gone. Barnam kept ownership of the grain but for other goods he allowed families to hold their own. His reign was tenuous in reality but the image of Barnam as greater than he was, as a god among mortals, a step in a new direction, the rosy fingers of the coming dawn, cemented any fears against his hold and guaranteed he would not often be tested.
Barnam had three daughters and two sons with his wife, married from the time he was with the Albayet, and when he died his son, Askalladr, was appointed the Zivold by the strong families, the Illir as they were coming to be known. The Zivold was now the strongman of the city, emblematic of the gods on earth, priest-king, god-king, father-king, all were encompassed by the great and powerful Zivold.
Attarnap and Belis were nothing. They were glorified tribesmen who hoarded wealth. Barnam was something else, a ray of heaven on the ground. Askalladr’s ascension was only further proof that now, indeed, there was a new Dawn on the Luzum.
Context: Was a lot of fun writing all this. This last piece may not be as strong for evidence of statehood but in connection with the other r rp posts I hope this is enough to establish season 5’s first true city state! There’s a lot more to develop in the next week but hopefully this is solid enough ground for Ibandr to gain prominence on a larger stage. I will definitely be sticking to shorter pieces in the future lol
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Over a hundred men on horses galloped toward Ibandr. Barnam rode at the head, taking one last glance over his shoulder at the men riding behind him, Shahadr’s Point falling further in the distance. It was getting darker by the gallop, the sun having set to their right. Up, down. Up, down. Up, down. The rhythm of horseback calmed Barnam. He felt at home, at peace on horseback now. His life with the Albayet had been good to him, prepared him for his duty. He looked at the sky as he rode, the first twinkling stars shining in the dusk. He blinked. What was that? Another! A streak of light shot through the blackening blue of the heavens. Some time passed then, another!
“Vastatn blesses us on this night!” Barnam called to the riders behind him, pointing to the sky at the shooting stars making their way across the world. He gripped the spear in his hand tighter. Good fortune was to come.
Ibandr was more difficult to see as they rode on the flat plains between Shahadr’s Point and the city, but in the darkness he could just make it out. Flames. The old boys have done it then, he thought. When last in the city, he found an old friend of his father and that man’s son, Shadr. There were a handful of others but all too old or afraid to move against the Zivold. Shadr, though, was eager. Setting fire to the cotton in Ibandr’s west had worked well enough, if he could see the flames from here. The sky darkened as they neared the city. It was almost time.
He was close enough to hear shouting over the sound of the horses around him. Then, a great bellow louder than he’d ever heard. A bellow sounding across the city, the plain, again and again in long, slow bursts. An alarm? A call for help? Someone must have seen them. A hundred men on horseback would be hard to miss, but Barnam did not care. “It’s time, Albayet! Ride to our glory! Ride for Kalliza!”
Shouts of Kalliza, victory, to war called out behind him as the hundred split into three groups, one stayed straight behind Barnam while the others spread out in two directions, one to the west to the fire and the other to the east.
“Victory!” Barnam heard himself shouting as he burst into the city, the vastness of the plain suddenly replaced by houses and canals and patchwork fields of sorghum. Men, women, children had come out of their peripheral homes to answer the commotion, and Barnam looked at their terrified faces as they saw him and his horsemen ride toward them.
A scarred, weathered, bearded man, in billowing clothes carrying a spear in his right hand and a scythe tied to his hip, screaming as he charged on a horse. A sight to see. A last sight to see. He did not want to kill innocents, he did not mean to kill them, but you have to be realistic about these things. In the heat of war, Barnam would not stop to question each and every life he took. Today was a day of new beginnings, of a cleansing of the city and washing it in a new path. The stars streaking above were the ushering of a new dawn on the Luzum and Barnam would be damned if he would get in the way of that. He thought all these and more as his horse ran down the man who stood defiantly in front of him. As they made their way to the city, the screams confirmed that the first man was only one of many. You have to be realistic about these things.
The city had no way to prepare for what was coming. Through his whole life Barnam scarcely had heard of any meaningful raids on the city, or great battles between one city and another. Ibandr and its people had not been tried and tested as Barnam and the Albayet had.
With that Barnam could not have expected the first fighters they saw. Ten men burst forward down a street between two larger houses, two had spears and the rest holding hoes or scythes. They came so suddenly Barnam and the horseman next to him, Gudenle, had no time to move. Bunched up as they were they had no time to fight. One with a spear burst it through Gudenle’s horse, throwing him to the side. Another ran to finish Gudenle off but was stopped by a second spear bursting through him, Barnam having flung his own to defend his man. The defenders stood shocked for an extra breath, and Gudenle, with Kalliza watching over him, landed well and was on his feet. He swung a scythe from his hips into his arms and Barnam did the same. Barnam, Gudenle, and the other horsemen fought through the men then, losing two more horses but no tribesmen.
Having bested their first challenge, they trudged on. Barnam and the Albayet fought for quite some time as they made their way to the city center. Those who came to defend the city were few and far between, but they fought fiercely and bravely. By the time they reached the great storehouse of Ibandr and the Temple of Kutenr, only Barnam, Gudenle, and eleven others remained. Barnam dismounted from his horse to confront the sight before him. He and his Albayet stood opposite a tall, lean man dressed in cotton and some foreign leather clothing, with others around him. All stood fierce and tall, with either spears or blades of copper or stone. The tall, lean man held a copper blade in his right hand. Beyond, dozens of citizens were running either into their homes or making a dash to leave the city. Flames blazed in the west and a cacophony of screaming, neighing, and yelling filled the air.
“Where is the Zivold?” Barnam bellowed above the clamor. “I am Barnam, son of Huttl, a righteous man who walked in the light of the Paroxl. He was murdered by Attarnap, a coward and a thief, and I demand his presence in front of me today!”
The tall man raised his eyebrows and gasped. Behind him, the storehouse glowed in the light of the flames, encroaching closer and closer. “Barnam? Is that really you?” He started to laugh. “The little boy who lived on the edge of the furthest part of the city. Amazing, even the dung can come back to haunt you. And here I thought I was being punished for killing my father.”
“Your…” Barnam couldn’t believe what he had heard. “You killed… Attarnap? You killed the Zivold?”
The man who Barnam knew as Belis only nodded. “My father was complicated, Barnam. He was complicated and he was a fool. He thought he could take more and more, demand more and more of the people, and everything would be fine. This temple, those canals, that lake to hold the flood waters for a drought? Do you know how many died for those Barnam? Too many. Too many times there were riots like the one your father tried to start and I fear that if he stayed alive that would be the end of our,” he gestured to the men around him, “position in the city.”
Barnam could not believe what he was hearing. The men around Belis moved forward, and Barnam’s men did the same. “No!” Both men shouted at once. “He’s mine,” Belis said, and Barnam grunted in agreement. How dare he?
Barnam let out a roar. “How dare you take what was mine by right?” Barnam took a step forward, Belis almost stumbling to step back, keeping his distance. “Your father took the life of my own. Theft in its many forms is the only sin worthy of punishment by Marryagai the thief, is it not?” He held out his right arm, scythe in hand, rounding it on those who stood by to watch. Then, pointing at Belis, “and your father Attarnap stole the life of Huttl, stole a husband from a wife, a father from a son. and now you steal my revenge from me? You, Belis, lowlife of lowlives, believe you can take your father’s place. You, Belis, murderer of your own kin, your own father believe you can steal vengeance from me?” Bantam raised his arms, “Look at what you stand against! I am Barnam, son of the union between Mauair and Huttl, chosen by the Albayet to lay waste to what you claim, summoned by Samvastatn to bring glory to this earth. You call yourself Kutenr, as your father did?” He stepped closer. “Do you remember who Kutenrs nemesis is? Do you know the story of Kalliza, Paroxl of horses and creator of the plains, champion of the world when the greed of Kutenr and his grains grew too great. Look around you, Belis. I am Kalliza manifest in flesh and bone.”
Barnam cackled as he looked around him once more, taking yet another step toward Belis, and pointed with his scythe. “The gods have forsaken you, murderer! Dezmedetem rages behind you laying waste to all that you were. Samvastatn courses the sky with light, laying waste to all that you will be. And here I stand, I, Barnam of the Albayet, Barnam of Mauair and Huttl, Barnam the bane of Belis, Kalliza reborn, true lord of Ibandr, to lay waste to all that you are!”
With a guttural cry, the would-be conqueror flew at Belis. It was all Belis could do to raise his copper blade in time, a loud clang misshaping both scythe and sword as the two men connected. Barnam came at him with the fury of gods, whirling his scythe on Belis faster than he ever had. Belis stumbled back with each strike. Barnam was practiced, experienced, weathered from his life in the east, while Belis had only ever killed those around him with treachery, not skill. Belis was slower, weaker and more fatigued with each strike he had to block. But there was a chance. Barnam was the more skilled fighter, yes, but the fury of the gods which coursed through his veins made him move faster, think less. The maddening smile on Barnam’s face blinded him to any outcome but his victory. The Zivold’s eyes darted around with every chance, desperate to unearth some victory.
As the two men moved in their melee, Belis saw his chance. Barnam arced high and Belis, in one move, turned to yank a torch jutting from the ground, grabbing it with his left hand. The blade in his right flew at Barnam’s scythe while his left burst forward, torch in front, at Barnam’s face.
A howl of pain burst through the chants around them. Shocked by his own success, Belis stood there, mouth agape, torch and blade in hand. Barnam reeled from the strike, face almost smoking, and when he looked at Belis the right side of his head was a scarred and seared mass of red and pink flesh. Barnam stared at Belis, right eye almost blocked by the puffing of his face, and muttered something to him.
“What did you say, brute?” spat Belis at the hulking man in front of him.
“Burn me,” Barnam repeated, “and you burn the world.” The words of the Paroxl Kalliza, when he struck down Kutenr in their battle for the heavens. Barnam leapt at Belis once more. They fought again but this time there would be no mistake on Barnam’s part, and Belis felt it. Barnam pushed him further and further back toward the great storehouse. As they stood at the entry way, Belis’s arm outstretched with his balde in hand, Barnam brought his scythe down hard on the man’s wrist. A second howl of pain and a clang as Belis’ blade fell to the ground and his wrist was carved through. His hand was still attached but he’d be getting no use from it any longer.
“Stay back!” Belis screamed, waving the torch in front of him. On the floor in front, his shadow danced in the light of the growing fires in the western district. The flames were nearing them now, the heat coursing through the air. “Stay back you demon! You’ll get no more from me, you and your horseback brutes will not take this city while I live!”
Just as Barnam was to respond, “Then die,” Belis turned and ran into the storehouse. Barnam raced after him. “Take this monster!” Belis yelled as he shoved the torch onto an open pile of grain. The dry sorghum burst into flame, sparks flying and fires licking the roof. “Take this as your payment for your father’s death,” Belis was screaming now as he ran further in the storehouse, laying fire to piles of cotton, throwing off jar lids and burning the seeds and fibers within. Barnam could do nothing, impotent with his scythe, as a wall of fire separated him from Belis. Enraged, he bellowed and ran outside and around the storehouse to the Temple of Kutenr. Belis stood there now at the base. Behind him the storehouse was just beginning to burn as a whole. In front of him the temple, and behind the temple the fires of the western districts were finally upon them.
“So Barnam,” Belis stood at the base, torch flames licking the air and wrist dripping with blood, “is this was you wanted? Is this what you wanted to claim as your own?”
Barnam ran at him, raising his scythe and in one motion bringing it down on Belis’ neck. His face froze in horrified surprise and the scythe dug into his shoulders and neck, blood spurting from the wound. “Let it burn Belis. Let it all come to the ground from which we sprouted.” He brought his scythe out of Belis, who fell to the ground, gurglilng, and brought it back down to hack again and again. “Let it burn!” He was shouting, hacking, laughing, “Let it all burn! You stole my vengeance so now I shall have it back twelve-fold! Let it burn! We shall rebuild! We shall rebuild! We… shall… rebuild!” And with the final cut Belis came apart, head, neck, shoulder, and arm separated from the rest of him, face still looking on in horror at Barnam.
He was panting now, the man turned conqueror, his old and rutted copper scythe dented and broken from the fighting and the effort. He tossed it aside with a clang. His face burned from the torch, his lungs burned from the flames beside him, his muscles ached from the battle.
But above? Above the sky was a light with the streaks of a thousand stars, coursing through the sky as though it was Samvastatn and Niovollin creating the earth once more, sending stars from the heavens to course their energy through the world as rivers. Thousands and thousands of stars streaked across the sky, heralding the rise of a new man. A new Zivold. A new God.
“Barnam!” He looked behind him. Gudenle was coming from one of the round homes next to the storehouse, dragging a small, frail man behind with him. “Is this him?”
The man fell in front of Barnam, wrapped in bundles of cotton and hemp, thick matted hair gray and white with age. “Hadr,” Barnam breathed and knelt at him, putting his hands on the man’s shoulders.
Hadr brought his face up to look at Barnam. One thin, shaking hand came to rest on Barnam’s cheek, and he breathed a staggered breath. “Is that you Barnam? Is that you my boy?” A tear welled in his eye and he started to shake his head. “No, no, no,” Hadr muttered, “no, no no. Do not give me your empathy, my dear boy. I have wronged you.”
Barnam could not understand. Gudenle was saying something about needing to leave as the fire was only growing, but Barnam waved his hand and stared at Hadr. “It was me, Barnam,” the old man said through tears, “I betrayed your father, your uncle, everyone that day. I told Attarnap when i got you and your mother out of the city. It was me Barnam! I’m the reason your father is dead,” and he shook in his sobs, muttering, “let me die, boy, let me die.”
Hadr fumbled with his hands in his rags, but Barnam could barely see for the red that covered his vision. Hadr had betrayed his father, his family. Hadr had betrayed him. He grabbed Hadr by his hair and yanked his head up, putting the two men face to face. “You don’t die yet old man,” and he spat in his face. “You come with me. When the fires abate, you will proclaim me Zivold of Ibandr. You will proclaim that I am the vessel from Kalliza on this world. You will put me higher than any Zivold has ever been, and only then will you be allowed to die. I will do it myself.” He spat in his face again and pulled him to his feet by his hair.
“Let me DIE!” Hadr screamed as he was yanked up. His hands fumbled through his rags and they emerged gripping a small blackshine [obsidian] blade from his rags. He pulled his arms out and thrusted into his belly, but Barnam grabbed his arm like a vice, inches from death.
As he twisted the blade from Hadr’s hands, Barnam only repeated, “You do NOT die yet old man,” and threw him forward. He nodded to Gudenle, and the company walked away from the flames of the city center.
When the fires abated, the survivors, the conquerors, and Hadr the prisoner walked into the city, faces of terror and horror and grief staring back at them. Some houses stood, others charred, and still others broken and brittle. Barnam had tried to stop the pillaging of the city but you have to be realistic about these things. He was Kalliza on earth. The city needed to be burned before it could be rebuilt.
When he arrived at the city center, the storehouse was a charred ruin and the temple behind it stood charred and blackened. The fires had raged and the once great city of Ibandr now stood charred but still proud. The Albayet went and corralled those who remained in the city center, and still others had come to the core now, refugees in their own lands, fleeing the fires that burned without remorse. Many had come to Barnam and the Albayet but others had stayed in the city, finding refuge in this or that district that survived the fires.
Barnam announced who he was, why he had come, and what the future held for Ibandr. “Belis was a fraud! Attarnap was a fraud!” He brought up Hadr. “A fraud held up by this man against the Paroxl, against our gods!” He walked to the ruins of the storehouse. “I am no fraud. I am Barnam, Kalliza reborn. Kutenr is nothing to the light of Kalliza and it is in his name which this city will be rebuilt.” In one year Barnam promised they would be returned to their former glory and poised to reach greater, grander heights than ever before.
The conqueror’s bloodthirst had been quenched. Knowing Attarnap was dead, killing his son, and laying waste to Ibandr had been revenge enough against those who wronged his father and those who stood by and done nothing.
Barnam the conqueror became Barnam the rebuilder. Over the year he convinced the Albayet to move west, abandoning the Duf river in a great migration to Ibandr, calling the union between the Hortens of Ibandr and the Hortens of the Albayet the Hemoph Hortens, or Union of the Hortens. He replaced the storehouse with one of similar grandeur, but on the side walls and pillars were carved intricate images and forms of Barnam as Kalliza, striking down Belis of Kutenr. The Temple to Kutenr was stripped bare and its walls adorned with images of Ibandr, or stories of the Paroxl, and above all of Barnam the Magnanimous, images carved to tell his story and his journey from refugee to god.
At the year’s end, Barnam held the Festival of Kalliza. It was here that he brought out the imprisoned Hadr, old and shriveled and frail. He had not been kept in a prison or in solitude or tortured. Barnam let the man walk free under supervision. “Let those who died by his hand torment him,” Barnam once said. They had forbidden him from holding weapons of any kind lest he take his own life, but the sight of the free Sinnamit, free by the mercy of Barnam the conqueror alone, did much to grow the new Zivold’s legend.
Hadr announced Barnam as a god reborn, lord of the new world and Zivold of Ibandr, son of a man and woman wronged and champion to all those that had been wronged. Never mind that Barnam had created so many wrongs when he burned the city. No, never mind all who died for one man’s vengeance. You have to be realistic about these things.
At the height of the ceremony came Barnam’s final act for the new city. As Hadr finished proclaiming him god of a new dawn on the Luzum, Barnam repeated all of Hadr’s transgressions. His slights against his father, against his city, against the gods. His cowardice and failures as Sinnamit. Barnam called Hadr a necessary sacrifice to give for the life of Ibandr, and slit the old man’s throat on the steps of the new temple, bringing all of the Sinnamit’s powers into his own.
Ibandr rose back to its prominence prior to the Albayet Sacking, and rose further still. Barnam learned of the projects built by Attarnap, of how Ibandr had risen from its people and its lands and by harnessing the power of the river Luzum to control the fate of their crops. To defend against the dry seasons and the wet. Ibandr was rebuilt and Barnam ensured that it was he who was credited. He played his factions of the loyal Albayet families and those who felt were allies within the city, against those who wished him to be gone. Barnam kept ownership of the grain but for other goods he allowed families to hold their own. His reign was tenuous in reality but the image of Barnam as greater than he was, as a god among mortals, a step in a new direction, the rosy fingers of the coming dawn, cemented any fears against his hold and guaranteed he would not often be tested.
Barnam had three daughters and two sons with his wife, married from the time he was with the Albayet, and when he died his son, Askalladr, was appointed the Zivold by the strong families, the Illir as they were coming to be known. The Zivold was now the strongman of the city, emblematic of the gods on earth, priest-king, god-king, father-king, all were encompassed by the great and powerful Zivold.
Attarnap and Belis were nothing. They were glorified tribesmen who hoarded wealth. Barnam was something else, a ray of heaven on the ground. Askalladr’s ascension was only further proof that now, indeed, there was a new Dawn on the Luzum.
2023.06.02 05:40 Other_Use_1 I cut off contact with my alcoholic mother
okay this will be a lot, I apologize in advance. throw away account.
My(22F) mother was an addict for most of my life. My father died when I was young and the only way she knew how to cope was in the bottom of the bottle. She married my (now ex) step dad very quickly and he lead her to the path of harder drugs. By the time I was 14 I was in foster care, and it should have been earlier honestly. I have a lot of trauma and abandonment issues because of everything that happened. When I turned 18, I received a lot of money due to the circumstances of my father’s death. I bought my own house and let my mom move in with me so she wasn’t homeless. At this point, she wasn’t really on hard drugs as much, but still drinking to survive. She wasn’t with my ex step dad anymore, but she did have a boyfriend, and he moved in too. He was not only a drunk and an addict, but a MEAN drunk. He didn’t abuse her or anything, just the asshole type you know? constantly starting arguments and doing dumb shit. I still had more money than I knew what to do with, and sadly, that went into enabling her. I didn’t know what I do now, so I really thought I was just helping her out, because that’s what family does right? I bought her two different cars, both of which she or her boyfriend crashed. Bailed them both out of jail multiple times. I completely supported them financially because they couldn’t keep jobs and they trashed my, once beautiful, little house. I was so depressed and had so many other things on my plate I didn’t know what to do. I told my mom when she moved in that NO hard drugs were allowed or they would be kicked out. Well about a year later, it happened(or at least I found out about it for the first time). So I kicked them out. This next part is very summarized but basically, She and her boyfriend moved out of state, he ended up getting arrested, and facing serious time, so he’s was put on probation and stuck there. My mom came back to my state and finally got arrested for the last time, and the judge made her sit in jail for a month, and ordered her to go to treatment. I paid lawyer fees and treatment fees, and after a year she completed her program. She actually did it and stayed sober. It was so great, it felt like I really had my mom back. Like the woman who raised me finally showed up again and I didn’t have to take care of her. She was in church, had a steady job, got a car! I was, and still am, SO proud of her. This all happened mid 2020. so she’s been sober about 3 years now.. or was.
I moved to new york. I was really struggling with the constant pressure of feeling like I was the one who had to take care of my immediate family. Not that they needed me to, but I was really feeling the guilt and the “what’s gonna happen if you aren’t there to save the day?” I could go into a lot more depth as to what I was and am feeling, but we’d be here all night.
I just went to visit family two weeks ago. I had been noticing some red flags from our group video chats here and there, but I was not prepared for what was happening. My mom just recently bought her first house. I’m very proud of her, but when I got there I knew something was off. She didn’t seem like herself. Throughout my weekend stay, my suspicions were confirmed. I found little shooter bottles in the trash, stuffed in between the couch cushions, in her car, purse, etc. I even found fifths of cheap vodka in her cabinet and other places, some full, some empty. This brought up so many sad childhood memories. My brother was graduating so I didn’t really get a chance to talk to her. I've always been known as her "accountability partner", even my siblings call me that. So she knew it was coming. She's been avoiding my calls, only talking here and there, saying "now isn't the time" etc. Well the call finally happened 3 nights ago.
I told her that I was concerned and that I am so proud of how far she's come. She told me it isn't anywhere near as bad as it used to be, and that she's a grown adult and can enjoy a little drink after a long day of work. I remind her that she isn't able to drink casually, she's an alcoholic, it's too dangerous. She was immediately getting extremely defensive saying how dare I call her an alcoholic... c'mon. She starts saying that she has god on her side and that she isn't scared because god is watching over her. I tried to explain to her how scary and traumatic this is for me, I feel like I have my mom back and now I'm gonna start losing her again. She said that I need to stop being scared, that it's not my job and that she never needed me to take care of her. After awhile, voices are raising, emotions are high, and she yells at me saying she was never an alcoholic, she diagnosed herself incorrectly and how dare I call her one. I simply say "mom, I can't watch you drink yourself to death again. I'm sorry but I can't be in contact with you if you aren't sober. I love you goodbye." I immediately blocked her number and left all our group chats. I messaged my siblings letting them know and asking them not to contact her for me or about me and vise versa. It's been extremely hard. I love my mom and this hurts SO much, but I had to do it for me. My siblings don't agree 100% but they are respecting my decision. I don't know if this will be a permeant thing or not, I still don't think I've fully processed it. She tried to message me today on facebook. She just said I love you. I just blocked her. I do love her, but I need her to understand. To make matters worse, her boyfriend out of state gets released from probation in a week, and I know that he isn't sober either. It's gonna make matters 100 times worse. I really am scared I'm gonna lose my mom again. I don't even really know what the purpose of this post is. Advice? Guidance? Maybe just to get it out lol. Thanks for reading.
submitted by Other_Use_1 to TrueOffMyChest [link] [comments]
My(22F) mother was an addict for most of my life. My father died when I was young and the only way she knew how to cope was in the bottom of the bottle. She married my (now ex) step dad very quickly and he lead her to the path of harder drugs. By the time I was 14 I was in foster care, and it should have been earlier honestly. I have a lot of trauma and abandonment issues because of everything that happened. When I turned 18, I received a lot of money due to the circumstances of my father’s death. I bought my own house and let my mom move in with me so she wasn’t homeless. At this point, she wasn’t really on hard drugs as much, but still drinking to survive. She wasn’t with my ex step dad anymore, but she did have a boyfriend, and he moved in too. He was not only a drunk and an addict, but a MEAN drunk. He didn’t abuse her or anything, just the asshole type you know? constantly starting arguments and doing dumb shit. I still had more money than I knew what to do with, and sadly, that went into enabling her. I didn’t know what I do now, so I really thought I was just helping her out, because that’s what family does right? I bought her two different cars, both of which she or her boyfriend crashed. Bailed them both out of jail multiple times. I completely supported them financially because they couldn’t keep jobs and they trashed my, once beautiful, little house. I was so depressed and had so many other things on my plate I didn’t know what to do. I told my mom when she moved in that NO hard drugs were allowed or they would be kicked out. Well about a year later, it happened(or at least I found out about it for the first time). So I kicked them out. This next part is very summarized but basically, She and her boyfriend moved out of state, he ended up getting arrested, and facing serious time, so he’s was put on probation and stuck there. My mom came back to my state and finally got arrested for the last time, and the judge made her sit in jail for a month, and ordered her to go to treatment. I paid lawyer fees and treatment fees, and after a year she completed her program. She actually did it and stayed sober. It was so great, it felt like I really had my mom back. Like the woman who raised me finally showed up again and I didn’t have to take care of her. She was in church, had a steady job, got a car! I was, and still am, SO proud of her. This all happened mid 2020. so she’s been sober about 3 years now.. or was.
I moved to new york. I was really struggling with the constant pressure of feeling like I was the one who had to take care of my immediate family. Not that they needed me to, but I was really feeling the guilt and the “what’s gonna happen if you aren’t there to save the day?” I could go into a lot more depth as to what I was and am feeling, but we’d be here all night.
I just went to visit family two weeks ago. I had been noticing some red flags from our group video chats here and there, but I was not prepared for what was happening. My mom just recently bought her first house. I’m very proud of her, but when I got there I knew something was off. She didn’t seem like herself. Throughout my weekend stay, my suspicions were confirmed. I found little shooter bottles in the trash, stuffed in between the couch cushions, in her car, purse, etc. I even found fifths of cheap vodka in her cabinet and other places, some full, some empty. This brought up so many sad childhood memories. My brother was graduating so I didn’t really get a chance to talk to her. I've always been known as her "accountability partner", even my siblings call me that. So she knew it was coming. She's been avoiding my calls, only talking here and there, saying "now isn't the time" etc. Well the call finally happened 3 nights ago.
I told her that I was concerned and that I am so proud of how far she's come. She told me it isn't anywhere near as bad as it used to be, and that she's a grown adult and can enjoy a little drink after a long day of work. I remind her that she isn't able to drink casually, she's an alcoholic, it's too dangerous. She was immediately getting extremely defensive saying how dare I call her an alcoholic... c'mon. She starts saying that she has god on her side and that she isn't scared because god is watching over her. I tried to explain to her how scary and traumatic this is for me, I feel like I have my mom back and now I'm gonna start losing her again. She said that I need to stop being scared, that it's not my job and that she never needed me to take care of her. After awhile, voices are raising, emotions are high, and she yells at me saying she was never an alcoholic, she diagnosed herself incorrectly and how dare I call her one. I simply say "mom, I can't watch you drink yourself to death again. I'm sorry but I can't be in contact with you if you aren't sober. I love you goodbye." I immediately blocked her number and left all our group chats. I messaged my siblings letting them know and asking them not to contact her for me or about me and vise versa. It's been extremely hard. I love my mom and this hurts SO much, but I had to do it for me. My siblings don't agree 100% but they are respecting my decision. I don't know if this will be a permeant thing or not, I still don't think I've fully processed it. She tried to message me today on facebook. She just said I love you. I just blocked her. I do love her, but I need her to understand. To make matters worse, her boyfriend out of state gets released from probation in a week, and I know that he isn't sober either. It's gonna make matters 100 times worse. I really am scared I'm gonna lose my mom again. I don't even really know what the purpose of this post is. Advice? Guidance? Maybe just to get it out lol. Thanks for reading.
2023.06.02 03:46 The_Alloquist [A Lord of Death] - Chapter 52 (Sorore)
[←Chapter 51] [Cover Art] [My Links] [Index] [Discord] [Subreddit] [Chapter 53→]
Sorore’s current state could best be described as ‘alarmed’ with considerable regret for good measure. She had entrusted the mage with the knife that she had made, and found it had gone to disaster in short order.
Of course, no such rational analysis came through her mind as she lay on the floor of the church. The shaking and rattling had been so bad her mind had mostly been preoccupied by the grim vision of crushing stones. When the heat and quake had finally abated, she found herself among frightened children and shattered glass. Surprisingly, most of the injuries were fairly minor, given the immensity of what had just happened but still, people glanced up at the warped ceiling with fear.
People slowly staggered to their feet, Niche, having been thrown some ways away, joining them. Outside, there were still screams and the clash of battle, but it seemed smaller than before. Frare took her by the arm, looking around and trying to blink away the dizziness that had taken him to the ground. He began to tug her in the direction of the front door, much to her confusion.
“Not there!” she gasped, “why would we go out there?”
“That’s where…” he said, coughing violently, “that’s where she- where she is.”
“Who? What do you mean?”
“Aya went out, during the chaos,” he said, “Lillian too.”
“We can’t help them now,” she insisted, “did you hit your head? Think about what’s out there Frare! Who knows what the mage conjured up?”
“Only one way to find out,” he said, before peeling away from her and taking off down the centre aisle.
Sorore took one step forward to follow him, yet fear and disorientation held her back from taking another. It wasn’t long however before Frare returned, shaking his head.
“I don’t know what happened out there, it’s like…” he said, eyes crossed in confusion, “I dunno how to describe it. But she’s not out there, at least I don’t think she is.”
“Where else could she have gone?” cried Sorore.
“I don’t know,” said Frare, a little indignant, “I was knocked down. I could barely see.”
“Well, we need to find her,” said Sorore, gesturing at the church to drive the point home.
She looked around the church, trying to figure out where the girl might’ve gone.
“She couldn’t have gone out the window, they’re far too narrow, even for her,” she said, “and you just said she wasn’t anywhere near the front, so she must either be in the hospice or the roof.”
Frare was already moving behind her to examine what remained of the overturned beds and curtains. Many of the patients had been returned with much groans and protest to a prone position, but none of them had a young, dark haired girl attending. In under two minutes, it was clear that Aya was not in the alcove that housed the wounded.
Before the twins could make it to the side door, Niche managed to find them. He was covered with dust, and a significant cut on his head lent a stream of blood to coat his brow.
“What happened?” he said, words coming rather slowly.
“Aya’s gone,” said Sorore, moving towards the door without stopping to greet him.
“What?!” the formerly fuzzy quality of his eyes exploding with anxiety, “where?!”
“Not outside. I checked. Not in the hospice either,” said Frare.
His muddled eyes suddenly flashed bright.
“You did what?!” Niche spat, “you went outside?! How long have I been- don’t ever do that again. You could’ve been attacked! You could’ve been killed! How many close calls do you need before you realise that this is not some childish game?!”
Sorore drew back - Niche could get emotional at times, especially when he talked about duty, especially in the context of his faith. Genuine anger was rare, and a full-on fury like the one he was currently displaying was new. Before he could see much more however, Lillian drew near, having returned from the outside with a stony expression.
“Where is she?” she said, with a grim calm that spoke of devastating consequences should the information be withheld.
“She’s not outside,” repeated Frare, with a slight tremor to his voice, “not with the patients, so she must’ve gone to the catacombs.”
“Or the roof,” added Sorore quickly.
Lillian took off without a word, striding quickly towards the side door and throwing it open. Niche, stumbling a little, followed behind, gesturing for the two of them to follow. They did as much as they could with their shorter length, barely managing to keep their guardians in sight up the stairs.
The church roof was now plain in view, with the fog blowing away to reveal its ruined slates. The cloud banks were now breaking up over the distant trees and village outskirts. They could see the moon light illuminating the fighting below. To her surprise, it looked as if there were far, far less creatures than before.
Perhaps taking that as some token of good fortune, Lillian started forwards. At the far end of the roof, knelt Aya by a crumpled mass of black cloth. Sorore started as she recognized the uniform of the mage and the sleeping cat spirit curled in his lap. The sound of the wind whistling through the trees and over the roof was the only thing to break the silence.
Either the mage was in an exhausted stupor after doing… whatever it is he had done, or perhaps the process had killed him, for he lay motionless and without voice.
Aya at this point had noticed Lillian walking towards her, and perhaps unconsciously took a few steps back. The older woman grabbed at the girl’s wrist, eliciting a gasp from Aya.
“Do I need to put chains on you?” Lillian said without humour, “you were supposed to stay in the church, where it was safe.”
“It’s safe now,” Aya protested,” look, look out there!”
She swept her arm across the rest of the valley and the fighting below. Lillian’s brows were nit, her face crushed in anger, but she did gaze out toward the scene. Still, whatever she found there did little to quell her fury, and she did not release Aya.
The twins took the opportunity to make their way to the far wall and peer over the crenelations. The view yielded much the same as before, and indeed, it seemed like the soldiers were winning handedly. Sorore and Frare watched as the remaining flailing horrors were pinned to the ground with spear and stick, and hacked to death by cold steel. In addition, Sorore realised that the cold fear that had struck her to the core was now abated almost entirely.
“He did that,” she said, “I saw it, I know it. You did too, didn’t you? You were outside Lillian, you saw the fire. It killed the monsters, you saw it. He saved us.”
“It did not save us,” Lillian hissed, “look again, young lady. Do you think all the corpses down there are of the monsters?”
She pointed with her gauntlet down below, where great black marks had been gouged in the hillside. Sorore could make out the twisted remains of bodies, some horribly deformed, some still adorned in armour and clutching weapons. Her stomach turned, and Aya’s expression faltered as she stuttered a half-hearted response.
“We were lucky it didn’t burn down the church instead. Maybe it couldn’t control it, maybe it ran out of power before it could do so. All that I know is that we cannot trust it.”
“He has a name, Lillian,” Aya said, starring the paladin in the eyes.
With a sound of disgust, Lillian handed her over to Niche’s grip, and raised her sword.
“Stop!” Aya gasped, her face blanching as she realised what the paladin was about to do.
“This thing is dangerous, and so is this creature that wears the skin of an animal,” she said, “I will not tolerate his presence, for your safety and ours. Not only that, he’s infected you with corrupt ideas. Unacceptable.”
Sorore felt her breath still as she looked at the glinting edge of the blade. As much as she had her doubts about Efrain, as much as the words of Lillian comported with church teaching, she still had misgivings. The man had attempted to help them, perhaps out of self interest maybe, but so did merchants. Her father was a merchant, and so were many of her family and friends back in Erratz. And it didn’t seem right, to strike this man down when he was so obviously incapacitated.
She began to try and articulate these thoughts, to provide some defence, perhaps to seek some kind of alternative to execution. Lillian was in no mood to hear, however, and prepared a thrust to the heart of the black cloth. Then Frare was there, oh, so brave brother, stepping in between the mage and the paladin.
“No,” he said, planting his feet on the ground and squaring his shoulders, “you’re going to kill someone who isn’t even an enemy, and is unconscious besides?”
Lillian did bring the sword down in response, but only to grab his shoulder, and send him stumbling down the slope of the roof.
“He’s right,” said Sorore, seizing upon the moment, “what about your honour?”
“My task is to keep you safe,” said Lillian, “honour means nothing if it compromises my mission.”
The sword had reached the height of its arc, Sorore trying to think of any excuse to stay the blade. Aya pulled in breath and screamed at the paladin to stop. Frare peeled himself off from the slates and sprinted to catch the blade.
The thing that ultimately ended up stopping it, however, was no action from the children. Through the hills and village, came the sound of a long horn blast. Lillian, temporarily distracted from her grim task, looked out to the west. In the distance was a line of burning torches and glinting steel spears. Her frown deepened, the sword edge touching the roof as she craned her neck. With a final dawn of realisation in her eyes, her jaw tightened as she spoke words through clenched teeth.
“Two days,” she grunted in disgust, “the liar.”
All eyes on the roof of the church turned towards the new column of troops. Frare managed to put himself squarely before the paladin before her attention turned back to the mage at her feet.
“It needs to be done,” said Lillian, frustration audible in her voice, “you can either get out of the way, or I can move you. You do not have a say in this.”
Frare didn’t reply, only raised his fist and bent his knees, ready to spring or defend, whatever came first. Lillian reached out with her gauntlet, fully prepared to repeat the previous engagement. As another horn blast echoed off the mountains, Sorore finally found her answer in the minutiae of church hierarchy.
“Neither do you, Lillian,” she said, stumbling over her words in her haste, “nor Niche. You’re beneath the rank of commander, you’re not a full light-lord. Therefore, if you execute the mage, who is his charge, then you will have committed insubordination. He could use that as a pretext to… do all sorts of things.”
In truth, Sorore had very little idea of what kinds of punishments there were for insubordination, but they were probably quite nasty.
It seemed that assumption was correct, or at least enough to stay her blade for a moment longer. Lillian’s expression was one of confusion bordering on disbelief that Sorore had pulled rank on her. When pain and realisation came into her eyes, Sorore knew that she’d hit the mark.
The riders from the western mountains began to ride up the hill, gaining speed and lowering spears. The creatures outside the blackstone wall, no longer as numerous as they once were, twisted and screamed at the new opponents. The resulting clash was muffled by distance, but it was enough to tell Lillian that her time was up.
“Lillian, please,” said Sorore, “mage or no, I don’t think he’s evil. You don’t have to do anything, you don’t have to trust him. Let the commander choose what to do with him. Besides, he’s not of any harm right now, right?”
All three children nodded emphatically in agreement.
Lillian’s face was stricken, looking back and forth between the fresh host, and the party of five on the rooftop. Finally, her sword point lowered all the way to the roof, as she let out a heavy sigh.
“Are you serious?” said Niche, “we’ll never get a better chance.”
“We need…” she said, begrudging every word, “what do you want me to say, Niche? The man’s a threat, yes. He’s also unconscious. He might well be the commander’s charge, and he… he hasn’t harmed the children yet. Not directly. What am I supposed to- I don’t know what to do.”
The admission stunned Niche, enough to let Aya wriggle out of his grasp and run forward. She crouched by the body of the fallen mage, turning back to look with unbridled defiance at the paladins. Lillian’s shoulders sank and she passed a hand over her eyes, covering them in shadow.
“Niche…” she said, exhausted, “just… just take the children down.”
Niche’s face blurred between anger, disbelief, stolid determination, before finally relenting to his sister-in-arm’s request.
“Here’s what’s going to happen,” she said, drawing herself up, “I will not strike the mage, you have my word. But you are all going down into the church, and you are going to stay there, until we give you leave to go. Do you understand?”
Even Frare nodded, recognizing the concession made, but still backed by a steely undercurrent.
All three of them were led away by Niche, whose face had settled into an inscrutable mask. The last thing Sorore saw of Lillian before passing the doorway was her sheathing her blade. A couple of steps down, Sorore flinched at a distant yell of frustration. When Lillian joined them in the main hall of the church, none elected to comment on the bloody knuckles she held in her other hand.
The rest was almost routine, in an odd kind of way. The defenders, invigorated by the sudden reinforcement, began to hoot and holler as the last creatures were butchered. Ladders were thrown over the wall, make-shift, but well made enough to support the weight of armoured knights clambering up.
At the head of the company, fully dressed in gleaming armour, with the brass shoulder plate of command, Naia removed his helm. His dark hair shone with sweat, which he wiped from his forehead using a bare hand. The contingent came into the church, where Damafelce and several of the captains rushed forward to greet him. As the bodies of the slain were collected and laid out in the church grounds, villagers and soldiers alike began to crowd around the commander.
“You all did well,” he said, raising his voice, “and I must apologise for arriving late.”
His soldiers gave wry smiles in response, knowing that he’d ridden his troops as hard as he could. The smile Naia offered in response was stretched if knowing, Sorore noticing the bags under his eyes.
“Well then, ladies and gentlemen of Albion. You have carried yourselves with great dignity with bravery to match. Your homes still stand today because of it, and now you have the chance to return. I must confer with my captains.”
With that, the vast majority of villagers began to filter out toward the town, speaking words of praise and thanks as they did so. The paladins stood with characteristic dark expressions, perhaps anticipating another conflict in the near future. Damafelce gave a clipped report, mostly losses and a broad overview of how the battle had been resolved. Three dozen villagers, half that many knights, a significant blow to their force.
“I expected worse when I saw the fog,” he said, “your performance was exemplary.”
The captains nodded, a handful offering claps on the back to the Hebeenian knight. For a moment, Sorore thought that the great calamity brought by the mage might go impossibly unmentioned.
“Well, there is one person here that deserves more credit, I think,” she said, grown sheepish.
“Oh really?” Naia said, one eyebrow raised, “and where might he be, then?”
“Commander,” said Lillian, stepping into the circle, “we need to have a word with you. Now.”
At her glare, the rest of the villagers made excuses and scampered away, while the captains traded unfavourable looks at the pair.
“Ah,” said Naia, “I see we have quite the story to tell. Damafelce, you stay, the rest of you are dismissed to see to clean up and recover, as best you can. The knights of the Alonshaze will work with you to see this done. There will be a morning brief later.”
“Now,” he continued, after seeing them off, “you obviously have something that needs to be said. Out with it.”
Damafelce issued another report, of the mage’s project over the last few days. With the additions of Sorore’s lessons, and their experience down in the crypt, the picture became clearer. When Damafelce described how the battle came to a surprising and fiery end, Naia held up his hand.
“Well,” he said, eyes glittering with what looked like amusement, “he was certainly not lying about his power being dampened.”
“That’s all you have to take from this?” said an aghast Lillian.
“Oh, I perfectly understand your complaints,” he said, “you believe he’s a threat to the children. I would argue that his actions prove otherwise, at least so long as we hold his self-interest. Besides, any of us could harm the children if we were so inclined, that’s not unique.”
“Commander, you sound as if you’re suggesting we overlook this,” said Lillian, her eyes narrowing.
“Yes. Not forgetting, mind you. But ignoring it for the time being, anyhow,” he said.
“Absolutely not,” she said, “I will not let you-”
“You are not in the position to be making demands, paladin,” said Naia, with a surprising force.
He went on to explain how he had ridden west and up, past the foothills and into the mountain passes. It didn’t take him long to find the road leading to the mountain fortress of the Alonshaze. What he’d found when he’d finally reached it was dire.
Sorore had remembered the walls and towers of the outer wall, the monastery-style church and its library, and the keep, half-carved into the face of a sheer escarpment. She could not believe the commander’s account of its ruin, how the gate had been sundered, how the outerwall largely lay in rubble overflowing into the pass it guarded.
“What’s more,” he continued, “Ryzea is missing, whether dead, or gone on some hunt, none are sure, not even the other commanders.”
Lillian’s face fell at the news, and Sorore felt her heart ache in her chest. She’d only known the massive man with snow white locks for a short time. He’d been blunt, some would say almost crude, but his refreshing honesty and wisdom of ages had charmed her. What’s more, he’d seemed immovable, unshakable, due to his harsh experience and his physical bulk. And now he was dead? That was difficult to conceptualise, let alone believe.
“Half the knights rode to our aid, the others stayed behind to salvage and secure what they could,” Naia continued, “some will continue on to reinforce us on our way to Angorrah, a way of which I will choose.”
He sighed, and shook his head as he looked the two paladins dead in their faces.
“I have been lax over enforcing my rank, because, firstly, I respect the light lords a great deal, and secondly, I believed it was best for order. But there comes a point where I must remind you it was I who was chosen to supervise this mission. Lady Aya’s coming has been a surprise to us all, and complicated things, but that does not change who gives the orders. The next time I have to bring this up, it will be a formal reprimand. Do you understand?
Lillian’s face had gone from white to shame-filled red, though she said nothing. The air was thick with barely repressed outrage, held back by the presence of technical correctness, and two dozen knights standing behind their commander.
“Then,” Lillian said, forcing her voice to be calm, “what of the mage?”
“You will leave him to me,” said Naia, smiling a thin, humourless smile.
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Sorore’s current state could best be described as ‘alarmed’ with considerable regret for good measure. She had entrusted the mage with the knife that she had made, and found it had gone to disaster in short order.
Of course, no such rational analysis came through her mind as she lay on the floor of the church. The shaking and rattling had been so bad her mind had mostly been preoccupied by the grim vision of crushing stones. When the heat and quake had finally abated, she found herself among frightened children and shattered glass. Surprisingly, most of the injuries were fairly minor, given the immensity of what had just happened but still, people glanced up at the warped ceiling with fear.
People slowly staggered to their feet, Niche, having been thrown some ways away, joining them. Outside, there were still screams and the clash of battle, but it seemed smaller than before. Frare took her by the arm, looking around and trying to blink away the dizziness that had taken him to the ground. He began to tug her in the direction of the front door, much to her confusion.
“Not there!” she gasped, “why would we go out there?”
“That’s where…” he said, coughing violently, “that’s where she- where she is.”
“Who? What do you mean?”
“Aya went out, during the chaos,” he said, “Lillian too.”
“We can’t help them now,” she insisted, “did you hit your head? Think about what’s out there Frare! Who knows what the mage conjured up?”
“Only one way to find out,” he said, before peeling away from her and taking off down the centre aisle.
Sorore took one step forward to follow him, yet fear and disorientation held her back from taking another. It wasn’t long however before Frare returned, shaking his head.
“I don’t know what happened out there, it’s like…” he said, eyes crossed in confusion, “I dunno how to describe it. But she’s not out there, at least I don’t think she is.”
“Where else could she have gone?” cried Sorore.
“I don’t know,” said Frare, a little indignant, “I was knocked down. I could barely see.”
“Well, we need to find her,” said Sorore, gesturing at the church to drive the point home.
She looked around the church, trying to figure out where the girl might’ve gone.
“She couldn’t have gone out the window, they’re far too narrow, even for her,” she said, “and you just said she wasn’t anywhere near the front, so she must either be in the hospice or the roof.”
Frare was already moving behind her to examine what remained of the overturned beds and curtains. Many of the patients had been returned with much groans and protest to a prone position, but none of them had a young, dark haired girl attending. In under two minutes, it was clear that Aya was not in the alcove that housed the wounded.
Before the twins could make it to the side door, Niche managed to find them. He was covered with dust, and a significant cut on his head lent a stream of blood to coat his brow.
“What happened?” he said, words coming rather slowly.
“Aya’s gone,” said Sorore, moving towards the door without stopping to greet him.
“What?!” the formerly fuzzy quality of his eyes exploding with anxiety, “where?!”
“Not outside. I checked. Not in the hospice either,” said Frare.
His muddled eyes suddenly flashed bright.
“You did what?!” Niche spat, “you went outside?! How long have I been- don’t ever do that again. You could’ve been attacked! You could’ve been killed! How many close calls do you need before you realise that this is not some childish game?!”
Sorore drew back - Niche could get emotional at times, especially when he talked about duty, especially in the context of his faith. Genuine anger was rare, and a full-on fury like the one he was currently displaying was new. Before he could see much more however, Lillian drew near, having returned from the outside with a stony expression.
“Where is she?” she said, with a grim calm that spoke of devastating consequences should the information be withheld.
“She’s not outside,” repeated Frare, with a slight tremor to his voice, “not with the patients, so she must’ve gone to the catacombs.”
“Or the roof,” added Sorore quickly.
Lillian took off without a word, striding quickly towards the side door and throwing it open. Niche, stumbling a little, followed behind, gesturing for the two of them to follow. They did as much as they could with their shorter length, barely managing to keep their guardians in sight up the stairs.
The church roof was now plain in view, with the fog blowing away to reveal its ruined slates. The cloud banks were now breaking up over the distant trees and village outskirts. They could see the moon light illuminating the fighting below. To her surprise, it looked as if there were far, far less creatures than before.
Perhaps taking that as some token of good fortune, Lillian started forwards. At the far end of the roof, knelt Aya by a crumpled mass of black cloth. Sorore started as she recognized the uniform of the mage and the sleeping cat spirit curled in his lap. The sound of the wind whistling through the trees and over the roof was the only thing to break the silence.
Either the mage was in an exhausted stupor after doing… whatever it is he had done, or perhaps the process had killed him, for he lay motionless and without voice.
Aya at this point had noticed Lillian walking towards her, and perhaps unconsciously took a few steps back. The older woman grabbed at the girl’s wrist, eliciting a gasp from Aya.
“Do I need to put chains on you?” Lillian said without humour, “you were supposed to stay in the church, where it was safe.”
“It’s safe now,” Aya protested,” look, look out there!”
She swept her arm across the rest of the valley and the fighting below. Lillian’s brows were nit, her face crushed in anger, but she did gaze out toward the scene. Still, whatever she found there did little to quell her fury, and she did not release Aya.
The twins took the opportunity to make their way to the far wall and peer over the crenelations. The view yielded much the same as before, and indeed, it seemed like the soldiers were winning handedly. Sorore and Frare watched as the remaining flailing horrors were pinned to the ground with spear and stick, and hacked to death by cold steel. In addition, Sorore realised that the cold fear that had struck her to the core was now abated almost entirely.
“He did that,” she said, “I saw it, I know it. You did too, didn’t you? You were outside Lillian, you saw the fire. It killed the monsters, you saw it. He saved us.”
“It did not save us,” Lillian hissed, “look again, young lady. Do you think all the corpses down there are of the monsters?”
She pointed with her gauntlet down below, where great black marks had been gouged in the hillside. Sorore could make out the twisted remains of bodies, some horribly deformed, some still adorned in armour and clutching weapons. Her stomach turned, and Aya’s expression faltered as she stuttered a half-hearted response.
“We were lucky it didn’t burn down the church instead. Maybe it couldn’t control it, maybe it ran out of power before it could do so. All that I know is that we cannot trust it.”
“He has a name, Lillian,” Aya said, starring the paladin in the eyes.
With a sound of disgust, Lillian handed her over to Niche’s grip, and raised her sword.
“Stop!” Aya gasped, her face blanching as she realised what the paladin was about to do.
“This thing is dangerous, and so is this creature that wears the skin of an animal,” she said, “I will not tolerate his presence, for your safety and ours. Not only that, he’s infected you with corrupt ideas. Unacceptable.”
Sorore felt her breath still as she looked at the glinting edge of the blade. As much as she had her doubts about Efrain, as much as the words of Lillian comported with church teaching, she still had misgivings. The man had attempted to help them, perhaps out of self interest maybe, but so did merchants. Her father was a merchant, and so were many of her family and friends back in Erratz. And it didn’t seem right, to strike this man down when he was so obviously incapacitated.
She began to try and articulate these thoughts, to provide some defence, perhaps to seek some kind of alternative to execution. Lillian was in no mood to hear, however, and prepared a thrust to the heart of the black cloth. Then Frare was there, oh, so brave brother, stepping in between the mage and the paladin.
“No,” he said, planting his feet on the ground and squaring his shoulders, “you’re going to kill someone who isn’t even an enemy, and is unconscious besides?”
Lillian did bring the sword down in response, but only to grab his shoulder, and send him stumbling down the slope of the roof.
“He’s right,” said Sorore, seizing upon the moment, “what about your honour?”
“My task is to keep you safe,” said Lillian, “honour means nothing if it compromises my mission.”
The sword had reached the height of its arc, Sorore trying to think of any excuse to stay the blade. Aya pulled in breath and screamed at the paladin to stop. Frare peeled himself off from the slates and sprinted to catch the blade.
The thing that ultimately ended up stopping it, however, was no action from the children. Through the hills and village, came the sound of a long horn blast. Lillian, temporarily distracted from her grim task, looked out to the west. In the distance was a line of burning torches and glinting steel spears. Her frown deepened, the sword edge touching the roof as she craned her neck. With a final dawn of realisation in her eyes, her jaw tightened as she spoke words through clenched teeth.
“Two days,” she grunted in disgust, “the liar.”
All eyes on the roof of the church turned towards the new column of troops. Frare managed to put himself squarely before the paladin before her attention turned back to the mage at her feet.
“It needs to be done,” said Lillian, frustration audible in her voice, “you can either get out of the way, or I can move you. You do not have a say in this.”
Frare didn’t reply, only raised his fist and bent his knees, ready to spring or defend, whatever came first. Lillian reached out with her gauntlet, fully prepared to repeat the previous engagement. As another horn blast echoed off the mountains, Sorore finally found her answer in the minutiae of church hierarchy.
“Neither do you, Lillian,” she said, stumbling over her words in her haste, “nor Niche. You’re beneath the rank of commander, you’re not a full light-lord. Therefore, if you execute the mage, who is his charge, then you will have committed insubordination. He could use that as a pretext to… do all sorts of things.”
In truth, Sorore had very little idea of what kinds of punishments there were for insubordination, but they were probably quite nasty.
It seemed that assumption was correct, or at least enough to stay her blade for a moment longer. Lillian’s expression was one of confusion bordering on disbelief that Sorore had pulled rank on her. When pain and realisation came into her eyes, Sorore knew that she’d hit the mark.
The riders from the western mountains began to ride up the hill, gaining speed and lowering spears. The creatures outside the blackstone wall, no longer as numerous as they once were, twisted and screamed at the new opponents. The resulting clash was muffled by distance, but it was enough to tell Lillian that her time was up.
“Lillian, please,” said Sorore, “mage or no, I don’t think he’s evil. You don’t have to do anything, you don’t have to trust him. Let the commander choose what to do with him. Besides, he’s not of any harm right now, right?”
All three children nodded emphatically in agreement.
Lillian’s face was stricken, looking back and forth between the fresh host, and the party of five on the rooftop. Finally, her sword point lowered all the way to the roof, as she let out a heavy sigh.
“Are you serious?” said Niche, “we’ll never get a better chance.”
“We need…” she said, begrudging every word, “what do you want me to say, Niche? The man’s a threat, yes. He’s also unconscious. He might well be the commander’s charge, and he… he hasn’t harmed the children yet. Not directly. What am I supposed to- I don’t know what to do.”
The admission stunned Niche, enough to let Aya wriggle out of his grasp and run forward. She crouched by the body of the fallen mage, turning back to look with unbridled defiance at the paladins. Lillian’s shoulders sank and she passed a hand over her eyes, covering them in shadow.
“Niche…” she said, exhausted, “just… just take the children down.”
Niche’s face blurred between anger, disbelief, stolid determination, before finally relenting to his sister-in-arm’s request.
“Here’s what’s going to happen,” she said, drawing herself up, “I will not strike the mage, you have my word. But you are all going down into the church, and you are going to stay there, until we give you leave to go. Do you understand?”
Even Frare nodded, recognizing the concession made, but still backed by a steely undercurrent.
All three of them were led away by Niche, whose face had settled into an inscrutable mask. The last thing Sorore saw of Lillian before passing the doorway was her sheathing her blade. A couple of steps down, Sorore flinched at a distant yell of frustration. When Lillian joined them in the main hall of the church, none elected to comment on the bloody knuckles she held in her other hand.
The rest was almost routine, in an odd kind of way. The defenders, invigorated by the sudden reinforcement, began to hoot and holler as the last creatures were butchered. Ladders were thrown over the wall, make-shift, but well made enough to support the weight of armoured knights clambering up.
At the head of the company, fully dressed in gleaming armour, with the brass shoulder plate of command, Naia removed his helm. His dark hair shone with sweat, which he wiped from his forehead using a bare hand. The contingent came into the church, where Damafelce and several of the captains rushed forward to greet him. As the bodies of the slain were collected and laid out in the church grounds, villagers and soldiers alike began to crowd around the commander.
“You all did well,” he said, raising his voice, “and I must apologise for arriving late.”
His soldiers gave wry smiles in response, knowing that he’d ridden his troops as hard as he could. The smile Naia offered in response was stretched if knowing, Sorore noticing the bags under his eyes.
“Well then, ladies and gentlemen of Albion. You have carried yourselves with great dignity with bravery to match. Your homes still stand today because of it, and now you have the chance to return. I must confer with my captains.”
With that, the vast majority of villagers began to filter out toward the town, speaking words of praise and thanks as they did so. The paladins stood with characteristic dark expressions, perhaps anticipating another conflict in the near future. Damafelce gave a clipped report, mostly losses and a broad overview of how the battle had been resolved. Three dozen villagers, half that many knights, a significant blow to their force.
“I expected worse when I saw the fog,” he said, “your performance was exemplary.”
The captains nodded, a handful offering claps on the back to the Hebeenian knight. For a moment, Sorore thought that the great calamity brought by the mage might go impossibly unmentioned.
“Well, there is one person here that deserves more credit, I think,” she said, grown sheepish.
“Oh really?” Naia said, one eyebrow raised, “and where might he be, then?”
“Commander,” said Lillian, stepping into the circle, “we need to have a word with you. Now.”
At her glare, the rest of the villagers made excuses and scampered away, while the captains traded unfavourable looks at the pair.
“Ah,” said Naia, “I see we have quite the story to tell. Damafelce, you stay, the rest of you are dismissed to see to clean up and recover, as best you can. The knights of the Alonshaze will work with you to see this done. There will be a morning brief later.”
“Now,” he continued, after seeing them off, “you obviously have something that needs to be said. Out with it.”
Damafelce issued another report, of the mage’s project over the last few days. With the additions of Sorore’s lessons, and their experience down in the crypt, the picture became clearer. When Damafelce described how the battle came to a surprising and fiery end, Naia held up his hand.
“Well,” he said, eyes glittering with what looked like amusement, “he was certainly not lying about his power being dampened.”
“That’s all you have to take from this?” said an aghast Lillian.
“Oh, I perfectly understand your complaints,” he said, “you believe he’s a threat to the children. I would argue that his actions prove otherwise, at least so long as we hold his self-interest. Besides, any of us could harm the children if we were so inclined, that’s not unique.”
“Commander, you sound as if you’re suggesting we overlook this,” said Lillian, her eyes narrowing.
“Yes. Not forgetting, mind you. But ignoring it for the time being, anyhow,” he said.
“Absolutely not,” she said, “I will not let you-”
“You are not in the position to be making demands, paladin,” said Naia, with a surprising force.
He went on to explain how he had ridden west and up, past the foothills and into the mountain passes. It didn’t take him long to find the road leading to the mountain fortress of the Alonshaze. What he’d found when he’d finally reached it was dire.
Sorore had remembered the walls and towers of the outer wall, the monastery-style church and its library, and the keep, half-carved into the face of a sheer escarpment. She could not believe the commander’s account of its ruin, how the gate had been sundered, how the outerwall largely lay in rubble overflowing into the pass it guarded.
“What’s more,” he continued, “Ryzea is missing, whether dead, or gone on some hunt, none are sure, not even the other commanders.”
Lillian’s face fell at the news, and Sorore felt her heart ache in her chest. She’d only known the massive man with snow white locks for a short time. He’d been blunt, some would say almost crude, but his refreshing honesty and wisdom of ages had charmed her. What’s more, he’d seemed immovable, unshakable, due to his harsh experience and his physical bulk. And now he was dead? That was difficult to conceptualise, let alone believe.
“Half the knights rode to our aid, the others stayed behind to salvage and secure what they could,” Naia continued, “some will continue on to reinforce us on our way to Angorrah, a way of which I will choose.”
He sighed, and shook his head as he looked the two paladins dead in their faces.
“I have been lax over enforcing my rank, because, firstly, I respect the light lords a great deal, and secondly, I believed it was best for order. But there comes a point where I must remind you it was I who was chosen to supervise this mission. Lady Aya’s coming has been a surprise to us all, and complicated things, but that does not change who gives the orders. The next time I have to bring this up, it will be a formal reprimand. Do you understand?
Lillian’s face had gone from white to shame-filled red, though she said nothing. The air was thick with barely repressed outrage, held back by the presence of technical correctness, and two dozen knights standing behind their commander.
“Then,” Lillian said, forcing her voice to be calm, “what of the mage?”
“You will leave him to me,” said Naia, smiling a thin, humourless smile.
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2023.06.02 02:09 Enali (Spoilers Extended) The King of Khals
In the land of the horselords, under the wide blue sky on the windswept rippling tall grasses of the Dothraki Sea, Dany has been taken prisoner by the infamous Khal Jhaqo and his khalasar.... And while its never confirmed that Jhaqo's intent is to drag her back to Vaes Dothrak it seems highly likely that this is the case:
• Being the Dothraki cultural duty of Khal Jhaqo, after the death of Khal Drogo's bloodriders, to bring the widowed khaleesi to join the dosh khaleen... or kill her on the spot.
• Quaithe's remarks about having to travel back to go forwards and east to go west and this being a starting point in Dany's journey.
• Dany's House of the Undying vision of the naked crones (almost certainly the dosh khaleen) kneeling to her at the lake before the Mother of Mountains which did not happen during her ceremony where she muched down the horse heart and then bathed in the Womb of the World after hearing the prophecy of the Stallion Who Mounts the World.
• Tyrion also happens to see a valyrian sphinx in the Velvet Hills and notices that its mate had been dragged back to Vaes Dothrak. A less hopeful omen... likely foreshadowing Dany's own capture and return there (maybe she'll even see the other sphinx along the godsway).
There are elements similar to the HBO show where she is similarly taken captive to Vaes Dothrak, meets the dosh khaleen, decides 'thanks but no thanks', then burns the khals in their tents. The whole thing takes about ten minutes I think? Oh, and Jorah and Daario are somehow there too. Surprisingly most don't really expand on this story too much (if the fandom even discusses it at all), except to say that she will speedrun back to the Battle of Fire to save the day. But there's good reason to think there's a lot of additional depth and symbolism in this scene than was covered by the showrunners, and perhaps some changes too, and I really want to dive in and discuss those ideas here...
But has that prophecy been averted by the death of Rhaego? The proclaimed stallion who would mount the world.... killed by the blood magic of Mirri Maz Duur. When it happened Dany could 'feel Rhageo receding from her, as if he had never been' as if time itself had been altered. In the House of the Undying again Dany sees his face in the 'daughter of death' group alongside Viserys and Rhaegar, confirming what could have been... a tall lord with copper skin and silver-gold hair beneath the banner of a fiery stallion.
Or has the prophecy simply been forestalled? Now, perhaps more than ever, the great khals may be heading on a trajectory to meet at Vaes Dothrak, where the king of khals shall arise...
Khal Moro - Khal Moro was an ally to Khal Drogo and attended Dany's wedding feast with his son Rhogoro, but there's no indication of his location or his view of Dany except that in the AFFC appendix he is listed as an uncertain ally to her alongside Khal Jommo.
Khal Jommo - Similar to Khal Moro not much is know save that he is an uncertain ally to Dany. He attended the child bearing ceremony alongside his wives, and took the seat beside Drogo, a place of high honor.
Khal Zekko - who is only recently mentioned in ADWD, was last seen riding near the Forest of Qohor, and mainly subsists on asking tribute of gold from Qohor itself every three or four years, was last heard fleeing from Khal Pono's khalasar.
Khal Motho - similar to Zekko is only mentioned in ADWD, his outriders are spotted near Dagger Lake. He is an elderly khal, with a similarly aging khalasar which dwindles in size each year. He has also been fleeing the threat of Khal Pono.
Which brings us to the two main Dothraki villians... Khals Pono and Jhaqo. Both are known or suspected enemies of Dany (confirmed plainly in the AFFC appendix) and these two were also the first to leave Khal Drogo's khalasar after his death, taking the vast majority of his followers with them.
Khal Pono - Pono was the first to leave Drogo naming himself Khal, and ten thousand warriors followed him. Alongside these warriors he has taken some of the best horses and many slaves. While Dany thinks that Ko Pono spoke to her gently during her time in the khalasar Jorah warns her that he would not hesitate to kill her if he saw her again. Khal Pono is an unrelenting slaver, intimately connected to that trade, and often asks tribute from places near Volantis (like Volon Therys and Selhorys). As Qavo explains during his game of cyvasse with Tyrion "The horselords come, we give them gifts, the horselords go."
Perhaps we can already narrow down the list of Khals that need to meet at Vaes Dothrak by two as well... both Zekko and Motho were last heard fleeing Khal Pono and there is reason to suspect they have already been absorbed into Pono's khalasar. Were Zekko's men really fighters or were they too used to cushy gifts from the Qohori? And Motho was clearly past his prime. The Dothraki do not tolerate weakness, they only follow strength, and their flight from Pono seems to suggest he was the mightier horselord. In fact the last report Haldon receives of Pono near the headwaters of the Selhoru, (only a couple chapters after the note on Zekko and Motho), his khalasar was mentioned to have grown to 30 thousand riders (from the original 10k when he left Drogo). So there is a strong implication, imo, that they have already been dealt with.
I also believe that it is hinted that Khal Pono's men are heading into the Battle of Fire to join with the Yunkish Alliance, given his support of the slave trade - Meereen, Yunkai, and Astapor are specifically noted as linchpins of the slave trade for Dothraki to sell their captives. It is actually let slip by Qavo that some Dothraki have joined with the Slaver Alliance to attack Meereen, but we haven't actually seen any Dothraki appear yet in the main story or Winds excerpts as of yet. Benerro, the high priest of Volantis, also preaches that the 'minions of night' are conspiring at betrayal with 'godless outlanders' (outlanders being a term that is sometimes used for the Dothraki), and Brown Ben Plumm also hears that the Yunkai sent riders across the Dothraki Sea to bring some big khalasar into the fold.
And most importantly Tyrion and Haldon witness Khal Pono's khalasar near the shores of Selhorys being escorted by Volantene galleys cram packed with slave soldiers and assume they are there out of fear of the khalasar. But Qavo himself does not seem concerned at all with them, and it seems more likely in fact that they misread the situation... Khal Pono was not there as a threat but present alongside the Volantene forces to join with them in the Battle of Fire. In cyvasse the light horse is generally used as a counter to the spearmen, and in the Battle of Fire it makes sense that the Yunkish commanders would use a simple almost academic strategy like that - holding Pono in reserve to counter the Unsullied as they form ranks. Barristan even thinks to himself that if the Yunkish commanders had any sense they would send their horse thundering down on the eunuchs. So as much as some readers had been holding out hope that Pono would fly to Dany's side and help her save the day, I don't know if there's reason to suspect him doing that... his entire livelihood relies on bringing her down. And slaying the Unsullied would be sweet revenge for the Dothraki as well given their past disgrace and cultural shame of the Three Thousand of Qohor. This of course also means that if Khal Pono is to fit into the prophecy of Vaes Dothrak it would have to be after the Battle of Fire clears up, or, if he is removed from the board in defeat. Dany's forces will have a really tough time though fighting both Pono's khalasar and the Yunkish Alliance on their own, and may be forced to evacuate - Barristan is greatly outnumbered out there, even with the Second Sons, Windblown, and Ironborn... and this is even still before the primary Volantene force has shown up to the fight.
Khal Jhaqo - Jhaqo left Drogo's khalasar shortly after Pono did, twenty thousand riders at his back at last count, alongside some of the best horses in the khalasar and even more slaves than Pono. Jhaqo's bloodrider Mago captured a Lhazareen girl named Eroeh during a raid as a 'spoil of war'. But Dany claimed the girl to protect her from rape, and while Drogo was alive he helped her defend that claim. But when Drogo passed away Mago seized Eroeh again out of spite, and after he was done, gifted her to Khal Jhaqo who then gave her to his six other bloodriders after he was finished.... Then they cut her throat. This is the kind of scumbag that Jhaqo is. And Daenerys swears she will have her revenge for this act:
Aggo and Rakharo - Are some of Dany's strongest bloodriders, often by her side - they helped stop the assassin wineseller and Aggo rushed to protect her when the Sorrowful Man appears while Rakharo accompanies her to the House of the Undying. I get the feeling that Aggo is a bit more traditional in his Dothraki views, showing ambivalence to Eroeh's fate and looking down on the diseased Astapori. But all of her bloodriders share a kind of friendly rivalry, fighting over who gets the honor of challenging certain opponents, or trying to show each other how not afraid of the sea they are (which for Dothraki is kind of a big deal I suppose).
Aggo was gifted a dragonbone bow by joining her new khalasar after witnessing the birth of dragons, while Rakharo was gifted a great curving arakh. Aggo and Rakharo are both tasked to take ten riders each with them to search beyond the river Skahazadhan for Daenerys after her disappearance.
Rakharo has grown taller and more muscular throughout his service with Dany which has caused Irri and Jhiqui to quarrel over who would be a better match for him. Fortunately, both Irri and Jhiqui were sent to accompany these search parties, which means they will probably get to fight over this hunky Dothraki heartthrob all the way to Vaes Dothrak! I have no doubt that they will be able to track Dany down and we will get to see these familiar faces again there for the culmination of the Dothraki plotline.
Jhogo - Jhogo, as the other two, is a fierce protector of Dany and was given her silver-handled whip for his allegiance after Drogo's death (as well as a tall grey stallion as a reward from Drogo for ensnaring the wineseller). Though Jhogo is in the most complicated situation of Dany's bloodriders right now because we was given as a hostage to the Yunkish camp. This could end in tragedy a few ways - the Yunkish might kill him in retaliation like they did Groleo. And you've got to keep in mind there have been some malicious rumors swirling around of Dany dying in Draznak's pit (including some saying they 'witnessed' it themselves). So as Dany's bloodrider, this means if he believes those words he would be honor-bound to live only long enough to avenge her and then to join her in death. Though one bright spot to his story is that Barristan has tasked Archibald and Gerris with trying to sway the Windblown to free the Yunkish captives....
In Dothraki tradition warriors are meant to tie small bells into their hair for each victory they earn, and their hair is only cut once they are defeated in battle. While Daenerys is still somewhat of an outsider to the Dothraki way of life, I think there is an interesting, symbolism happening in Dany's hair during the story, intentional or not.
During the pyre that birthed her dragons Daenerys hair is singed off, and as a sign of her failure with Drogo and Rhaego, it is a starting point for her conquest.
But as her hair grows, Irri and Jhiqui reward her victory over the Undying of Qarth after the Palace of Dust is burnt to the ground by braiding a tiny silver bell into her hair.
Likewise she receives a second bell after her victory over the Good Masters of Astapor. The third after the Wise Masters of Yunkai. And the fourth after her defeat of the Great Masters of Meereen.
But in Meereen she loses her way as a conqueror... she tries to plant seeds to grow, she capitulates to the demands of Hizdahr to open the fighting pits and compromises on her ideals, wearing 'the floppy ears', and chains up her children, her dragons. And in the final events of Draznak's Pit her hair is singed off again before taking flight. It is a symbolic loss for Dany, and potential foreshadowing for Meereen as well. In the Dothraki Sea she must start over anew and remember who she is... (as Quaithe reminds her)
After she secures the khalasar her enemies would do well to tremble (even if she is a late entry to the battle of fire or just there for the aftermath - she actually isn't even aware yet that the battle is happening in full force I believe), though it seems clear she will have to intersect with Victarion, Moqorro, and Tyrion in the aftermath per Quaithe's riddle of 'kraken and dark flame', perhaps Drogon will be drawn in by Dragonbinder at some point? In any case it has been foretold by the red priests in Volantis that her wrath will fall upon the slavers.
So maybe the dosh khaleen were only wrong in assuming that it would be a prince. Perhaps Dany is destined to cross the world to the ends of the earth (Westeros) and help unite the people into one herd to fight the real threat, as the grass dies and is replaced by ghost grass (as its already been seen in Qarth), heralding the end times.
~Thank you for Reading!~
TLDR: Dany will be dragged to Vaes Dothrak intending her to join the dosh khaleen, and as per the Dothraki prophecy the khals are set to gather one last time to fill the city as its never been before. Among them are fierce and cruel enemies like Khal Jhaqo and Khal Pono (pending his outcome in the Battle of Fire) who she will have sworn vengeance. Both have grown to wield formidable khalasars. Her bloodriders Aggo and Rakharo along with Irri and Jhiqui are also searching for her and will offer support once they find her. Beneath the Mother of Mountains she will burn the khals as in the show, and the dothraki and the dosh khaleen (as seen in the HotU) will be forced to bow to her strength. Dany will go on to unite the khalasars and eventually to sack Volantis, the heart of the slave trade, before eventually moving onto Westeros fulfilling the role of the Stallion Who Mounts the World by uniting the dothraki people. Her hair will grow again after it was lost in the events of Draznak's Pit (a symbolic loss), and be weaved with new bells as she conquers a path... a sign of her great victories.
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• Being the Dothraki cultural duty of Khal Jhaqo, after the death of Khal Drogo's bloodriders, to bring the widowed khaleesi to join the dosh khaleen... or kill her on the spot.
• Quaithe's remarks about having to travel back to go forwards and east to go west and this being a starting point in Dany's journey.
• Dany's House of the Undying vision of the naked crones (almost certainly the dosh khaleen) kneeling to her at the lake before the Mother of Mountains which did not happen during her ceremony where she muched down the horse heart and then bathed in the Womb of the World after hearing the prophecy of the Stallion Who Mounts the World.
• Tyrion also happens to see a valyrian sphinx in the Velvet Hills and notices that its mate had been dragged back to Vaes Dothrak. A less hopeful omen... likely foreshadowing Dany's own capture and return there (maybe she'll even see the other sphinx along the godsway).
There are elements similar to the HBO show where she is similarly taken captive to Vaes Dothrak, meets the dosh khaleen, decides 'thanks but no thanks', then burns the khals in their tents. The whole thing takes about ten minutes I think? Oh, and Jorah and Daario are somehow there too. Surprisingly most don't really expand on this story too much (if the fandom even discusses it at all), except to say that she will speedrun back to the Battle of Fire to save the day. But there's good reason to think there's a lot of additional depth and symbolism in this scene than was covered by the showrunners, and perhaps some changes too, and I really want to dive in and discuss those ideas here...
Vaes Dothrak - the Empty City
Vaes Dothrak is a city both monstrously vast and empty... ten times the size of Pentos, without walls or limits, 'broad windswept streets paved in grass and mud and carpeted with wildflowers.' There are palaces with hundreds of rooms and doors of solid silver, manses of woven grass as large as castles, rickety wooden towers, stepped pyramids, and log halls open to the sky... none of them alike. But aside from the Western and Eastern Markets where merchants from across the world are allowed to meet in the middle and trade their wares with the blessing of the Dothraki (if they give tribute), and the dosh khaleen and their eunuch servants... the city is a desolate place. Awaiting...... awaiting the prophesized day that all the khals shall return their ancestral homeland at once, under the Mother of Mountains, that Vaes Dothrak must be ready to embrace all its children. On that day the khal of khals can unite the hordes into a single khalasar and ride to the ends of the earth, so that all people of the world will be one herd.But has that prophecy been averted by the death of Rhaego? The proclaimed stallion who would mount the world.... killed by the blood magic of Mirri Maz Duur. When it happened Dany could 'feel Rhageo receding from her, as if he had never been' as if time itself had been altered. In the House of the Undying again Dany sees his face in the 'daughter of death' group alongside Viserys and Rhaegar, confirming what could have been... a tall lord with copper skin and silver-gold hair beneath the banner of a fiery stallion.
Or has the prophecy simply been forestalled? Now, perhaps more than ever, the great khals may be heading on a trajectory to meet at Vaes Dothrak, where the king of khals shall arise...
A Khal to Arms
There are six known khals left by the end of ADWD that must return to Vaes Dothrak to complete the prophecy of the dosh khaleen:Khal Moro - Khal Moro was an ally to Khal Drogo and attended Dany's wedding feast with his son Rhogoro, but there's no indication of his location or his view of Dany except that in the AFFC appendix he is listed as an uncertain ally to her alongside Khal Jommo.
Khal Jommo - Similar to Khal Moro not much is know save that he is an uncertain ally to Dany. He attended the child bearing ceremony alongside his wives, and took the seat beside Drogo, a place of high honor.
Khal Zekko - who is only recently mentioned in ADWD, was last seen riding near the Forest of Qohor, and mainly subsists on asking tribute of gold from Qohor itself every three or four years, was last heard fleeing from Khal Pono's khalasar.
Khal Motho - similar to Zekko is only mentioned in ADWD, his outriders are spotted near Dagger Lake. He is an elderly khal, with a similarly aging khalasar which dwindles in size each year. He has also been fleeing the threat of Khal Pono.
Which brings us to the two main Dothraki villians... Khals Pono and Jhaqo. Both are known or suspected enemies of Dany (confirmed plainly in the AFFC appendix) and these two were also the first to leave Khal Drogo's khalasar after his death, taking the vast majority of his followers with them.
Khal Pono - Pono was the first to leave Drogo naming himself Khal, and ten thousand warriors followed him. Alongside these warriors he has taken some of the best horses and many slaves. While Dany thinks that Ko Pono spoke to her gently during her time in the khalasar Jorah warns her that he would not hesitate to kill her if he saw her again. Khal Pono is an unrelenting slaver, intimately connected to that trade, and often asks tribute from places near Volantis (like Volon Therys and Selhorys). As Qavo explains during his game of cyvasse with Tyrion "The horselords come, we give them gifts, the horselords go."
Perhaps we can already narrow down the list of Khals that need to meet at Vaes Dothrak by two as well... both Zekko and Motho were last heard fleeing Khal Pono and there is reason to suspect they have already been absorbed into Pono's khalasar. Were Zekko's men really fighters or were they too used to cushy gifts from the Qohori? And Motho was clearly past his prime. The Dothraki do not tolerate weakness, they only follow strength, and their flight from Pono seems to suggest he was the mightier horselord. In fact the last report Haldon receives of Pono near the headwaters of the Selhoru, (only a couple chapters after the note on Zekko and Motho), his khalasar was mentioned to have grown to 30 thousand riders (from the original 10k when he left Drogo). So there is a strong implication, imo, that they have already been dealt with.
I also believe that it is hinted that Khal Pono's men are heading into the Battle of Fire to join with the Yunkish Alliance, given his support of the slave trade - Meereen, Yunkai, and Astapor are specifically noted as linchpins of the slave trade for Dothraki to sell their captives. It is actually let slip by Qavo that some Dothraki have joined with the Slaver Alliance to attack Meereen, but we haven't actually seen any Dothraki appear yet in the main story or Winds excerpts as of yet. Benerro, the high priest of Volantis, also preaches that the 'minions of night' are conspiring at betrayal with 'godless outlanders' (outlanders being a term that is sometimes used for the Dothraki), and Brown Ben Plumm also hears that the Yunkai sent riders across the Dothraki Sea to bring some big khalasar into the fold.
And most importantly Tyrion and Haldon witness Khal Pono's khalasar near the shores of Selhorys being escorted by Volantene galleys cram packed with slave soldiers and assume they are there out of fear of the khalasar. But Qavo himself does not seem concerned at all with them, and it seems more likely in fact that they misread the situation... Khal Pono was not there as a threat but present alongside the Volantene forces to join with them in the Battle of Fire. In cyvasse the light horse is generally used as a counter to the spearmen, and in the Battle of Fire it makes sense that the Yunkish commanders would use a simple almost academic strategy like that - holding Pono in reserve to counter the Unsullied as they form ranks. Barristan even thinks to himself that if the Yunkish commanders had any sense they would send their horse thundering down on the eunuchs. So as much as some readers had been holding out hope that Pono would fly to Dany's side and help her save the day, I don't know if there's reason to suspect him doing that... his entire livelihood relies on bringing her down. And slaying the Unsullied would be sweet revenge for the Dothraki as well given their past disgrace and cultural shame of the Three Thousand of Qohor. This of course also means that if Khal Pono is to fit into the prophecy of Vaes Dothrak it would have to be after the Battle of Fire clears up, or, if he is removed from the board in defeat. Dany's forces will have a really tough time though fighting both Pono's khalasar and the Yunkish Alliance on their own, and may be forced to evacuate - Barristan is greatly outnumbered out there, even with the Second Sons, Windblown, and Ironborn... and this is even still before the primary Volantene force has shown up to the fight.
Khal Jhaqo - Jhaqo left Drogo's khalasar shortly after Pono did, twenty thousand riders at his back at last count, alongside some of the best horses in the khalasar and even more slaves than Pono. Jhaqo's bloodrider Mago captured a Lhazareen girl named Eroeh during a raid as a 'spoil of war'. But Dany claimed the girl to protect her from rape, and while Drogo was alive he helped her defend that claim. But when Drogo passed away Mago seized Eroeh again out of spite, and after he was done, gifted her to Khal Jhaqo who then gave her to his six other bloodriders after he was finished.... Then they cut her throat. This is the kind of scumbag that Jhaqo is. And Daenerys swears she will have her revenge for this act:
"It was a cruel fate," Dany said, "yet not so cruel as Mago's will be. I promise you that, by the old gods and the new, by the lamb god and the horse god and every god that lives. I swear it by the Mother of Mountains and the Womb of the World. Before I am done with them, Mago and Ko Jhaqo will plead for the mercy they showed Eroeh."A promise that she reminds herself from time to time. One that may soon be repaid in fire and blood....
The Bells of the Conqueror
But there's really one more khal isn't there? Daenerys herself may be a khaleesi, but she also serves the role of khal as well with her own three sworn bloodriders ("Blood of my Blood") :Aggo and Rakharo - Are some of Dany's strongest bloodriders, often by her side - they helped stop the assassin wineseller and Aggo rushed to protect her when the Sorrowful Man appears while Rakharo accompanies her to the House of the Undying. I get the feeling that Aggo is a bit more traditional in his Dothraki views, showing ambivalence to Eroeh's fate and looking down on the diseased Astapori. But all of her bloodriders share a kind of friendly rivalry, fighting over who gets the honor of challenging certain opponents, or trying to show each other how not afraid of the sea they are (which for Dothraki is kind of a big deal I suppose).
Aggo was gifted a dragonbone bow by joining her new khalasar after witnessing the birth of dragons, while Rakharo was gifted a great curving arakh. Aggo and Rakharo are both tasked to take ten riders each with them to search beyond the river Skahazadhan for Daenerys after her disappearance.
Rakharo has grown taller and more muscular throughout his service with Dany which has caused Irri and Jhiqui to quarrel over who would be a better match for him. Fortunately, both Irri and Jhiqui were sent to accompany these search parties, which means they will probably get to fight over this hunky Dothraki heartthrob all the way to Vaes Dothrak! I have no doubt that they will be able to track Dany down and we will get to see these familiar faces again there for the culmination of the Dothraki plotline.
Jhogo - Jhogo, as the other two, is a fierce protector of Dany and was given her silver-handled whip for his allegiance after Drogo's death (as well as a tall grey stallion as a reward from Drogo for ensnaring the wineseller). Though Jhogo is in the most complicated situation of Dany's bloodriders right now because we was given as a hostage to the Yunkish camp. This could end in tragedy a few ways - the Yunkish might kill him in retaliation like they did Groleo. And you've got to keep in mind there have been some malicious rumors swirling around of Dany dying in Draznak's pit (including some saying they 'witnessed' it themselves). So as Dany's bloodrider, this means if he believes those words he would be honor-bound to live only long enough to avenge her and then to join her in death. Though one bright spot to his story is that Barristan has tasked Archibald and Gerris with trying to sway the Windblown to free the Yunkish captives....
In Dothraki tradition warriors are meant to tie small bells into their hair for each victory they earn, and their hair is only cut once they are defeated in battle. While Daenerys is still somewhat of an outsider to the Dothraki way of life, I think there is an interesting, symbolism happening in Dany's hair during the story, intentional or not.
During the pyre that birthed her dragons Daenerys hair is singed off, and as a sign of her failure with Drogo and Rhaego, it is a starting point for her conquest.
But as her hair grows, Irri and Jhiqui reward her victory over the Undying of Qarth after the Palace of Dust is burnt to the ground by braiding a tiny silver bell into her hair.
Likewise she receives a second bell after her victory over the Good Masters of Astapor. The third after the Wise Masters of Yunkai. And the fourth after her defeat of the Great Masters of Meereen.
But in Meereen she loses her way as a conqueror... she tries to plant seeds to grow, she capitulates to the demands of Hizdahr to open the fighting pits and compromises on her ideals, wearing 'the floppy ears', and chains up her children, her dragons. And in the final events of Draznak's Pit her hair is singed off again before taking flight. It is a symbolic loss for Dany, and potential foreshadowing for Meereen as well. In the Dothraki Sea she must start over anew and remember who she is... (as Quaithe reminds her)
The Stallion Who Mounts the World
So who will be the King of Khals to unite the khalasars? Though there are some fun theories that the stallion who mounts the world was actually Jinglebell during the Red Wedding, especially the parallels between Catelyn and the rending flesh and tears of blood, I believe the most fitting answer to the riddle will actually be Dany taking on the role after Rhaego's death. Let's look at the original prophecy:"As swift as the wind he rides, and behind him his khalasar covers the earth, men without number, with arakhs shining in their hands like blades of razor grass. Fierce as a storm this prince will be. His enemies will tremble before him, and their wives will weep tears of blood and rend their flesh in grief. The bells in his hair will sing his coming, and the milk men in the stone tents will fear his name." The old woman trembled and looked at Dany almost as if she were afraid. "The prince is riding, and he shall be the stallion who mounts the world." "The stallion who mounts the world!" the onlookers cried in echo, until the night rang to the sound of their voices.As swift as the wind he rides? Dany does literally ride the wind via Drogon. A khalasar that covers the earth? I think the combined might of the khalasar hordes would earn that title - and unlike other options only Dany can actually unite the khalasars. And the show was maybe onto something by her starting the fire. Her vision in the HotU suggests she is meant to light three fires - once for life (which was done with Mirri) once for death and once for love (possibly related to Jon). It seems like the burning of the khals could be that fire for death. Fierce as a storm? - Dany is nicknamed the Stormborn too.
After she secures the khalasar her enemies would do well to tremble (even if she is a late entry to the battle of fire or just there for the aftermath - she actually isn't even aware yet that the battle is happening in full force I believe), though it seems clear she will have to intersect with Victarion, Moqorro, and Tyrion in the aftermath per Quaithe's riddle of 'kraken and dark flame', perhaps Drogon will be drawn in by Dragonbinder at some point? In any case it has been foretold by the red priests in Volantis that her wrath will fall upon the slavers.
So maybe the dosh khaleen were only wrong in assuming that it would be a prince. Perhaps Dany is destined to cross the world to the ends of the earth (Westeros) and help unite the people into one herd to fight the real threat, as the grass dies and is replaced by ghost grass (as its already been seen in Qarth), heralding the end times.
~Thank you for Reading!~
TLDR: Dany will be dragged to Vaes Dothrak intending her to join the dosh khaleen, and as per the Dothraki prophecy the khals are set to gather one last time to fill the city as its never been before. Among them are fierce and cruel enemies like Khal Jhaqo and Khal Pono (pending his outcome in the Battle of Fire) who she will have sworn vengeance. Both have grown to wield formidable khalasars. Her bloodriders Aggo and Rakharo along with Irri and Jhiqui are also searching for her and will offer support once they find her. Beneath the Mother of Mountains she will burn the khals as in the show, and the dothraki and the dosh khaleen (as seen in the HotU) will be forced to bow to her strength. Dany will go on to unite the khalasars and eventually to sack Volantis, the heart of the slave trade, before eventually moving onto Westeros fulfilling the role of the Stallion Who Mounts the World by uniting the dothraki people. Her hair will grow again after it was lost in the events of Draznak's Pit (a symbolic loss), and be weaved with new bells as she conquers a path... a sign of her great victories.
2023.06.02 02:09 WeirdBryceGuy The Deathgrounds of Love
Time had barely passed, the memory of her presence was still so fresh as to be palpable, when I entered the Deathgrounds of Love. For many, unrequited love diminishes before it can mount further and poison the heart. It fades as life goes on, and infatuations are forgotten; paramours become little more than half-remembered follies. But my love for her grew even as we drifted apart, even as her disdain for me blossomed into a multi-thorned and blackly petaled flower. Almost ironically it grew, until it finally manifested as a material, tangible thing: a heart, which came to beat with malignant autonomy upon a veiny stalk, in the midst of that graven place where unchecked love evilly flourishes.
Unguarded—at its gates, at least—were the grounds when I arrived, doubly delirious with grief and wonderment. I had not known of the place beforehand. It was only with the impossible manifestation of that heart, born of my anguish, that I became suddenly and providentially aware of the the graveyard and its unwholesome, reality-defying contents.
Despite what had occurred—and what apparently always occurs among the worm-riddled, blood-sodden soil—the place was not a garden; life found itself thriving there, yes, but not any life born of God's design. And death was chief above all, no matter how many vital organs beat ceaselessly from stalk to arterial stalk.
I entered ignorant of what I may find, beyond that which I had been drawn to upon waking suddenly earlier that morning. The outer grounds were rank with an earthy and coppery smell, like the dank, pulpy earth of a fresh battlefield. I got the impression that lives had been spent upon the grey soil, hundreds if not thousands of them; and yet there was only the dismal land, overhanged by a subtle atmosphere of mist, and environed by old trees. Beyond this mist I could just barely discern the inner plots; and I knew that therein I'd find my second heart.
Further in I progressed, until I entered that sepulchral garden, with its rows upon rows of vegetative hearts, sprouted with unsettling plumpness from the soil like overly ripe fruits. The audibility of their beating was maddening; it was as if thousands of people had been stripped of their flesh, leaving only their still-animate hearts. Even worse, they beat not in unison, but in horrible discordance - no two hearts held the same rhythm.
And yet somehow through the tachycardiac chaos I sensed my own - that is to say the heart to which I'd been tirelessly drawn.
Like an automaton I trudged on, my shoes sinking into the blood-laden soil; my sight blurred by the newly emergent haze of crimson. My mind befogged by the increasingly humid air.
With an automatic gentleness I pushed through the rows of unfamiliar hearts until I came upon my own. There it was, visually indistinct among the others, and yet I knew without a shred of doubt that it was mine. It pulsed with a steady rhythm, bleeding from its valves as if there were arteries to carry away the blood; a vascular system through which it could circulate. Despite the morbidity of it, I found it beautiful, as if it was something I'd searched for my entire life; some long-sought treasure of my nightly dreams.
So marveled was I, that I didn't notice the approach of the stranger. It wasn't until he had placed a hand on my shoulder that I became aware of him. I recoiled, but was kept from jumping back by the firmness of his gloved grip. He was a tall old man, dressed in a long grey overcoat, at the waist of which sat some kind of multi-pocketed workman's belt. There were several pouches affixed to the belt, and all bore black splotches of some unidentifiable substance. He wore what I assumed had once been black boots, but were now stained a deep crimson - undoubtedly from having spent innumerable hours trudging through the blood-rich soil.
His face was old and severe, with a blackly stained beard that trailed thinly down to his chest. His coal-black eyes met my own, and for a brief moment I felt as if was being pulled from my own body and examined in some outré, incorporeal pocket of space. A moment later, the phantasmal feeling passed, and the man released his iron grip on me.
"You've come for the heart, that it?"
I nodded, not yet able to form words; the shock of his appearance still fresh.
He grunted, and his voice reminded me of a dying animal I'd once seen on the road: harsh and guttural, defiant against pity and death. In his other hand he held a pair of garden shears, and with these he gestured towards the heart.
"Ye can have it, it's yers. But I'll have to take the one ye got in ye. An exchange. Don't fret about the pain. Ye won't feel it."
This proposition reigned in my mind from the state of fantastical acceptance it had gone to. Suddenly I became acutely, frighteningly aware that I was standing in a cemetery full of human hearts, all of which had somehow grown from the ground; and that this caretaker had actually offered to cut out mine in exchange for the one beating before me. It was ludicrous, macabre beyond measure.... and yet it was real.
"Ye should know: that in taking this here heart, you'll be happy, happier than you've ever been. But you'll forget the person you're longing for. They'll be wiped from yer memory. That's the price. Or the relief, depending."
The thought of a future without the nightly anguish of having lost her—made doubly terrible by the fact that it had been my fault—seemed almost too good to be true. But the idea of losing her completely, of having her smile erased from my memory, her voice lost to the mental void....it was inconceivable. To have loved and lost, and all that.
As much as it pained me to, I denied the man's bizarre offer.
His eyes narrowed, focusing on my chest - my heart. He pointed his empty hand at me and said, "Are ye sure? If left unchecked, it could kill ye. The grief. The sorrow. I've seen it, time and time again."
Had I not come to my senses about the utter weirdness of the situation, I probably wouldn't have noticed the almost imperceptible changes in his demeanor and posture. There was a yearning in his stance, a predatory hunger. Given the circumstances, it felt vampiric.
I backed away from him, again reiterating that I'd like to keep my heart, no matter what trouble it could cause me down the line. The stranger sighed, exhaling a visible cloud of what appeared to be black smoke or vapor.
"Too bad. I'm damn hungry."
That was the final kick my brain needed to fully recognize and piece together all the little clues laid around me. The soil, whilst predominantly a deep red, also held clumps of black matter in places - almost always near the beating hearts. This was plainly not mulch or any kind of gardening substance; the clumps were fleshy, some slick with what was obviously blackened blood. And that led me to two other points of observation: the man's belt, with its stained pouches, and his darkly stained beard - as if he'd been eating something that leaked black juices.
"Ah. You've put it together, have ye? No matter."
His eyes must've followed mine as I surveyed the scene before me. Still, the truth, the horrid reality, hadn't yet come to me.
"I eat the hearts given to me. Turned black they've been, in their grief. Fat, poisoned things. Only the most terminal are drawn to this place. Ye have a sick heart, and are better off without it. Serves ye no purpose to keep it. Why not let me eat it? Keeps me full, and keeps me own inklings towards love at bay. Stamps em down, so I never feel a thing. Never have to love, and lose. Never again..."
He seemed to mentally close upon himself for a moment, so I took the opportunity to begin my retreat. With much less care than before I pushed through the rows of hearts, heedless of how much damage I dealt to the organs and their repulsive stalks. Quickly I returned to that barren terrain before the plots, where the soil was a much more tolerable grey, and where the atmosphere was free of that delirious scarlet haze and its stifling humidity.
I stopped for a moment to catch my breath. Just as I did so, a shriek echoed into the night, and a voice full of mad demonic fury tore through the trees, sending the nesting birds skyward.
"Give me your fucking heart!"
I should've continued onward, the gate was only a few yards away; but the Satanic magnitude of the voice was irresistibly attention-grabbing. I felt compelled to see what kind of odious creature could've projected such anger, even though I'd seen the man just moments before.
The ground began to shake, and the withered trees trembled, loosing half-dead leaves onto the ground. And that awful scarlet haze came rolling over the boughs, deeply tinting the atmosphere as if it were a living thing. A sentient cloud of evil.
And from amidst the malignant haze came a thing that might have once been a man, but had undergone a transformation so repugnantly profound that any remaining elements of humanity appeared as mockeries of the form. It towered above the feeble trees, even using their tops as points of stability as it lurched toward me. It's body was vaguely anthropomorphic, distantly human, but outwardly fish-like; the flesh of some selachian nightmare draped over the skeleton of a man.
A face, contorted abhorrently to fit an angular, newly mutated skull, bared a broad maw at me. The teeth shone like an assassin's daggers in the night, sending chills throughout my body. Even as it cleared the tree line and revealed itself fully to me, I could not move: I was so completely transfixed by the depravity of its body, by the unreality of its existence.
"Ye could've given me your heart, and all would've been well. But now...now you've gone and made me take off me coat. I don't like to take off me coat. I don't like having to work for me food. I'm all out of it, and I won't let the thoughts of love come back to me. I won't allow it. Now, c'mere and let me pull you apart."
Despite his hideous transformation, his voice was largely unchanged. Just deeper, more guttural, his ire made plain. The lack of any overt monstrous intonation only made the only whole ordeal more terrifying.
Wrenching control away from the panicked part of my mind, I forced my body to turn and move towards the gate. The thing bounded after me like some frenzied animal, shaking the ground with its every step. I pumped my legs to their absolute limits, reaching the gate just as the humidity of the haze tickled the back of my neck.
I threw it open, leapt through, and slammed it just as that colossal nightmare reached it. I wouldn't have thought the old gate any real match for its massive frame, but the rusted iron held against the horror's assault. The haze was also somehow kept at bay, not a single particle of the mysterious vapor breaching the bars despite how thickly it pressed upon it.
Before it could pull some trick or transform into something capable by bypassing the providentially sturdy gate, I turned away and ran back to my car. And while the creature didn't follow me, its hateful voice did.
"The heart! Bring back your heart!"
I drove away without looking back.
submitted by WeirdBryceGuy to libraryofshadows [link] [comments]
Unguarded—at its gates, at least—were the grounds when I arrived, doubly delirious with grief and wonderment. I had not known of the place beforehand. It was only with the impossible manifestation of that heart, born of my anguish, that I became suddenly and providentially aware of the the graveyard and its unwholesome, reality-defying contents.
Despite what had occurred—and what apparently always occurs among the worm-riddled, blood-sodden soil—the place was not a garden; life found itself thriving there, yes, but not any life born of God's design. And death was chief above all, no matter how many vital organs beat ceaselessly from stalk to arterial stalk.
I entered ignorant of what I may find, beyond that which I had been drawn to upon waking suddenly earlier that morning. The outer grounds were rank with an earthy and coppery smell, like the dank, pulpy earth of a fresh battlefield. I got the impression that lives had been spent upon the grey soil, hundreds if not thousands of them; and yet there was only the dismal land, overhanged by a subtle atmosphere of mist, and environed by old trees. Beyond this mist I could just barely discern the inner plots; and I knew that therein I'd find my second heart.
Further in I progressed, until I entered that sepulchral garden, with its rows upon rows of vegetative hearts, sprouted with unsettling plumpness from the soil like overly ripe fruits. The audibility of their beating was maddening; it was as if thousands of people had been stripped of their flesh, leaving only their still-animate hearts. Even worse, they beat not in unison, but in horrible discordance - no two hearts held the same rhythm.
And yet somehow through the tachycardiac chaos I sensed my own - that is to say the heart to which I'd been tirelessly drawn.
Like an automaton I trudged on, my shoes sinking into the blood-laden soil; my sight blurred by the newly emergent haze of crimson. My mind befogged by the increasingly humid air.
With an automatic gentleness I pushed through the rows of unfamiliar hearts until I came upon my own. There it was, visually indistinct among the others, and yet I knew without a shred of doubt that it was mine. It pulsed with a steady rhythm, bleeding from its valves as if there were arteries to carry away the blood; a vascular system through which it could circulate. Despite the morbidity of it, I found it beautiful, as if it was something I'd searched for my entire life; some long-sought treasure of my nightly dreams.
So marveled was I, that I didn't notice the approach of the stranger. It wasn't until he had placed a hand on my shoulder that I became aware of him. I recoiled, but was kept from jumping back by the firmness of his gloved grip. He was a tall old man, dressed in a long grey overcoat, at the waist of which sat some kind of multi-pocketed workman's belt. There were several pouches affixed to the belt, and all bore black splotches of some unidentifiable substance. He wore what I assumed had once been black boots, but were now stained a deep crimson - undoubtedly from having spent innumerable hours trudging through the blood-rich soil.
His face was old and severe, with a blackly stained beard that trailed thinly down to his chest. His coal-black eyes met my own, and for a brief moment I felt as if was being pulled from my own body and examined in some outré, incorporeal pocket of space. A moment later, the phantasmal feeling passed, and the man released his iron grip on me.
"You've come for the heart, that it?"
I nodded, not yet able to form words; the shock of his appearance still fresh.
He grunted, and his voice reminded me of a dying animal I'd once seen on the road: harsh and guttural, defiant against pity and death. In his other hand he held a pair of garden shears, and with these he gestured towards the heart.
"Ye can have it, it's yers. But I'll have to take the one ye got in ye. An exchange. Don't fret about the pain. Ye won't feel it."
This proposition reigned in my mind from the state of fantastical acceptance it had gone to. Suddenly I became acutely, frighteningly aware that I was standing in a cemetery full of human hearts, all of which had somehow grown from the ground; and that this caretaker had actually offered to cut out mine in exchange for the one beating before me. It was ludicrous, macabre beyond measure.... and yet it was real.
"Ye should know: that in taking this here heart, you'll be happy, happier than you've ever been. But you'll forget the person you're longing for. They'll be wiped from yer memory. That's the price. Or the relief, depending."
The thought of a future without the nightly anguish of having lost her—made doubly terrible by the fact that it had been my fault—seemed almost too good to be true. But the idea of losing her completely, of having her smile erased from my memory, her voice lost to the mental void....it was inconceivable. To have loved and lost, and all that.
As much as it pained me to, I denied the man's bizarre offer.
His eyes narrowed, focusing on my chest - my heart. He pointed his empty hand at me and said, "Are ye sure? If left unchecked, it could kill ye. The grief. The sorrow. I've seen it, time and time again."
Had I not come to my senses about the utter weirdness of the situation, I probably wouldn't have noticed the almost imperceptible changes in his demeanor and posture. There was a yearning in his stance, a predatory hunger. Given the circumstances, it felt vampiric.
I backed away from him, again reiterating that I'd like to keep my heart, no matter what trouble it could cause me down the line. The stranger sighed, exhaling a visible cloud of what appeared to be black smoke or vapor.
"Too bad. I'm damn hungry."
That was the final kick my brain needed to fully recognize and piece together all the little clues laid around me. The soil, whilst predominantly a deep red, also held clumps of black matter in places - almost always near the beating hearts. This was plainly not mulch or any kind of gardening substance; the clumps were fleshy, some slick with what was obviously blackened blood. And that led me to two other points of observation: the man's belt, with its stained pouches, and his darkly stained beard - as if he'd been eating something that leaked black juices.
"Ah. You've put it together, have ye? No matter."
His eyes must've followed mine as I surveyed the scene before me. Still, the truth, the horrid reality, hadn't yet come to me.
"I eat the hearts given to me. Turned black they've been, in their grief. Fat, poisoned things. Only the most terminal are drawn to this place. Ye have a sick heart, and are better off without it. Serves ye no purpose to keep it. Why not let me eat it? Keeps me full, and keeps me own inklings towards love at bay. Stamps em down, so I never feel a thing. Never have to love, and lose. Never again..."
He seemed to mentally close upon himself for a moment, so I took the opportunity to begin my retreat. With much less care than before I pushed through the rows of hearts, heedless of how much damage I dealt to the organs and their repulsive stalks. Quickly I returned to that barren terrain before the plots, where the soil was a much more tolerable grey, and where the atmosphere was free of that delirious scarlet haze and its stifling humidity.
I stopped for a moment to catch my breath. Just as I did so, a shriek echoed into the night, and a voice full of mad demonic fury tore through the trees, sending the nesting birds skyward.
"Give me your fucking heart!"
I should've continued onward, the gate was only a few yards away; but the Satanic magnitude of the voice was irresistibly attention-grabbing. I felt compelled to see what kind of odious creature could've projected such anger, even though I'd seen the man just moments before.
The ground began to shake, and the withered trees trembled, loosing half-dead leaves onto the ground. And that awful scarlet haze came rolling over the boughs, deeply tinting the atmosphere as if it were a living thing. A sentient cloud of evil.
And from amidst the malignant haze came a thing that might have once been a man, but had undergone a transformation so repugnantly profound that any remaining elements of humanity appeared as mockeries of the form. It towered above the feeble trees, even using their tops as points of stability as it lurched toward me. It's body was vaguely anthropomorphic, distantly human, but outwardly fish-like; the flesh of some selachian nightmare draped over the skeleton of a man.
A face, contorted abhorrently to fit an angular, newly mutated skull, bared a broad maw at me. The teeth shone like an assassin's daggers in the night, sending chills throughout my body. Even as it cleared the tree line and revealed itself fully to me, I could not move: I was so completely transfixed by the depravity of its body, by the unreality of its existence.
"Ye could've given me your heart, and all would've been well. But now...now you've gone and made me take off me coat. I don't like to take off me coat. I don't like having to work for me food. I'm all out of it, and I won't let the thoughts of love come back to me. I won't allow it. Now, c'mere and let me pull you apart."
Despite his hideous transformation, his voice was largely unchanged. Just deeper, more guttural, his ire made plain. The lack of any overt monstrous intonation only made the only whole ordeal more terrifying.
Wrenching control away from the panicked part of my mind, I forced my body to turn and move towards the gate. The thing bounded after me like some frenzied animal, shaking the ground with its every step. I pumped my legs to their absolute limits, reaching the gate just as the humidity of the haze tickled the back of my neck.
I threw it open, leapt through, and slammed it just as that colossal nightmare reached it. I wouldn't have thought the old gate any real match for its massive frame, but the rusted iron held against the horror's assault. The haze was also somehow kept at bay, not a single particle of the mysterious vapor breaching the bars despite how thickly it pressed upon it.
Before it could pull some trick or transform into something capable by bypassing the providentially sturdy gate, I turned away and ran back to my car. And while the creature didn't follow me, its hateful voice did.
"The heart! Bring back your heart!"
I drove away without looking back.
2023.06.02 02:08 WeirdBryceGuy The Deathgrounds of Love
Time had barely passed, the memory of her presence was still so fresh as to be palpable, when I entered the Deathgrounds of Love. For many, unrequited love diminishes before it can mount further and poison the heart. It fades as life goes on, and infatuations are forgotten; paramours become little more than half-remembered follies. But my love for her grew even as we drifted apart, even as her disdain for me blossomed into a multi-thorned and blackly petaled flower. Almost ironically it grew, until it finally manifested as a material, tangible thing: a heart, which came to beat with malignant autonomy upon a veiny stalk, in the midst of that graven place where unchecked love evilly flourishes.
Unguarded—at its gates, at least—were the grounds when I arrived, doubly delirious with grief and wonderment. I had not known of the place beforehand. It was only with the impossible manifestation of that heart, born of my anguish, that I became suddenly and providentially aware of the the graveyard and its unwholesome, reality-defying contents.
Despite what had occurred—and what apparently always occurs among the worm-riddled, blood-sodden soil—the place was not a garden; life found itself thriving there, yes, but not any life born of God's design. And death was chief above all, no matter how many vital organs beat ceaselessly from stalk to arterial stalk.
I entered ignorant of what I may find, beyond that which I had been drawn to upon waking suddenly earlier that morning. The outer grounds were rank with an earthy and coppery smell, like the dank, pulpy earth of a fresh battlefield. I got the impression that lives had been spent upon the grey soil, hundreds if not thousands of them; and yet there was only the dismal land, overhanged by a subtle atmosphere of mist, and environed by old trees. Beyond this mist I could just barely discern the inner plots; and I knew that therein I'd find my second heart.
Further in I progressed, until I entered that sepulchral garden, with its rows upon rows of vegetative hearts, sprouted with unsettling plumpness from the soil like overly ripe fruits. The audibility of their beating was maddening; it was as if thousands of people had been stripped of their flesh, leaving only their still-animate hearts. Even worse, they beat not in unison, but in horrible discordance - no two hearts held the same rhythm.
And yet somehow through the tachycardiac chaos I sensed my own - that is to say the heart to which I'd been tirelessly drawn.
Like an automaton I trudged on, my shoes sinking into the blood-laden soil; my sight blurred by the newly emergent haze of crimson. My mind befogged by the increasingly humid air.
With an automatic gentleness I pushed through the rows of unfamiliar hearts until I came upon my own. There it was, visually indistinct among the others, and yet I knew without a shred of doubt that it was mine. It pulsed with a steady rhythm, bleeding from its valves as if there were arteries to carry away the blood; a vascular system through which it could circulate. Despite the morbidity of it, I found it beautiful, as if it was something I'd searched for my entire life; some long-sought treasure of my nightly dreams.
So marveled was I, that I didn't notice the approach of the stranger. It wasn't until he had placed a hand on my shoulder that I became aware of him. I recoiled, but was kept from jumping back by the firmness of his gloved grip. He was a tall old man, dressed in a long grey overcoat, at the waist of which sat some kind of multi-pocketed workman's belt. There were several pouches affixed to the belt, and all bore black splotches of some unidentifiable substance. He wore what I assumed had once been black boots, but were now stained a deep crimson - undoubtedly from having spent innumerable hours trudging through the blood-rich soil.
His face was old and severe, with a blackly stained beard that trailed thinly down to his chest. His coal-black eyes met my own, and for a brief moment I felt as if was being pulled from my own body and examined in some outré, incorporeal pocket of space. A moment later, the phantasmal feeling passed, and the man released his iron grip on me.
"You've come for the heart, that it?"
I nodded, not yet able to form words; the shock of his appearance still fresh.
He grunted, and his voice reminded me of a dying animal I'd once seen on the road: harsh and guttural, defiant against pity and death. In his other hand he held a pair of garden shears, and with these he gestured towards the heart.
"Ye can have it, it's yers. But I'll have to take the one ye got in ye. An exchange. Don't fret about the pain. Ye won't feel it."
This proposition reigned in my mind from the state of fantastical acceptance it had gone to. Suddenly I became acutely, frighteningly aware that I was standing in a cemetery full of human hearts, all of which had somehow grown from the ground; and that this caretaker had actually offered to cut out mine in exchange for the one beating before me. It was ludicrous, macabre beyond measure.... and yet it was real.
"Ye should know: that in taking this here heart, you'll be happy, happier than you've ever been. But you'll forget the person you're longing for. They'll be wiped from yer memory. That's the price. Or the relief, depending."
The thought of a future without the nightly anguish of having lost her—made doubly terrible by the fact that it had been my fault—seemed almost too good to be true. But the idea of losing her completely, of having her smile erased from my memory, her voice lost to the mental void....it was inconceivable. To have loved and lost, and all that.
As much as it pained me to, I denied the man's bizarre offer.
His eyes narrowed, focusing on my chest - my heart. He pointed his empty hand at me and said, "Are ye sure? If left unchecked, it could kill ye. The grief. The sorrow. I've seen it, time and time again."
Had I not come to my senses about the utter weirdness of the situation, I probably wouldn't have noticed the almost imperceptible changes in his demeanor and posture. There was a yearning in his stance, a predatory hunger. Given the circumstances, it felt vampiric.
I backed away from him, again reiterating that I'd like to keep my heart, no matter what trouble it could cause me down the line. The stranger sighed, exhaling a visible cloud of what appeared to be black smoke or vapor.
"Too bad. I'm damn hungry."
That was the final kick my brain needed to fully recognize and piece together all the little clues laid around me. The soil, whilst predominantly a deep red, also held clumps of black matter in places - almost always near the beating hearts. This was plainly not mulch or any kind of gardening substance; the clumps were fleshy, some slick with what was obviously blackened blood. And that led me to two other points of observation: the man's belt, with its stained pouches, and his darkly stained beard - as if he'd been eating something that leaked black juices.
"Ah. You've put it together, have ye? No matter."
His eyes must've followed mine as I surveyed the scene before me. Still, the truth, the horrid reality, hadn't yet come to me.
"I eat the hearts given to me. Turned black they've been, in their grief. Fat, poisoned things. Only the most terminal are drawn to this place. Ye have a sick heart, and are better off without it. Serves ye no purpose to keep it. Why not let me eat it? Keeps me full, and keeps me own inklings towards love at bay. Stamps em down, so I never feel a thing. Never have to love, and lose. Never again..."
He seemed to mentally close upon himself for a moment, so I took the opportunity to begin my retreat. With much less care than before I pushed through the rows of hearts, heedless of how much damage I dealt to the organs and their repulsive stalks. Quickly I returned to that barren terrain before the plots, where the soil was a much more tolerable grey, and where the atmosphere was free of that delirious scarlet haze and its stifling humidity.
I stopped for a moment to catch my breath. Just as I did so, a shriek echoed into the night, and a voice full of mad demonic fury tore through the trees, sending the nesting birds skyward.
"Give me your goddamn heart!"
I should've continued onward, the gate was only a few yards away; but the Satanic magnitude of the voice was irresistibly attention-grabbing. I felt compelled to see what kind of odious creature could've projected such anger, even though I'd seen the man just moments before.
The ground began to shake, and the withered trees trembled, loosing half-dead leaves onto the ground. And that awful scarlet haze came rolling over the boughs, deeply tinting the atmosphere as if it were a living thing. A sentient cloud of evil.
And from amidst the malignant haze came a thing that might have once been a man, but had undergone a transformation so repugnantly profound that any remaining elements of humanity appeared as mockeries of the form. It towered above the feeble trees, even using their tops as points of stability as it lurched toward me. It's body was vaguely anthropomorphic, distantly human, but outwardly fish-like; the flesh of some selachian nightmare draped over the skeleton of a man.
A face, contorted abhorrently to fit an angular, newly mutated skull, bared a broad maw at me. The teeth shone like an assassin's daggers in the night, sending chills throughout my body. Even as it cleared the tree line and revealed itself fully to me, I could not move: I was so completely transfixed by the depravity of its body, by the unreality of its existence.
"Ye could've given me your heart, and all would've been well. But now...now you've gone and made me take off me coat. I don't like to take off me coat. I don't like having to work for me food. I'm all out of it, and I won't let the thoughts of love come back to me. I won't allow it. Now, c'mere and let me pull you apart."
Despite his hideous transformation, his voice was largely unchanged. Just deeper, more guttural, his ire made plain. The lack of any overt monstrous intonation only made the only whole ordeal more terrifying.
Wrenching control away from the panicked part of my mind, I forced my body to turn and move towards the gate. The thing bounded after me like some frenzied animal, shaking the ground with its every step. I pumped my legs to their absolute limits, reaching the gate just as the humidity of the haze tickled the back of my neck.
I threw it open, leapt through, and slammed it just as that colossal nightmare reached it. I wouldn't have thought the old gate any real match for its massive frame, but the rusted iron held against the horror's assault. The haze was also somehow kept at bay, not a single particle of the mysterious vapor breaching the bars despite how thickly it pressed upon it.
Before it could pull some trick or transform into something capable by bypassing the providentially sturdy gate, I turned away and ran back to my car. And while the creature didn't follow me, its hateful voice did.
"The heart! Bring back your heart!"
I drove away without looking back.
submitted by WeirdBryceGuy to ChillingApp [link] [comments]
Unguarded—at its gates, at least—were the grounds when I arrived, doubly delirious with grief and wonderment. I had not known of the place beforehand. It was only with the impossible manifestation of that heart, born of my anguish, that I became suddenly and providentially aware of the the graveyard and its unwholesome, reality-defying contents.
Despite what had occurred—and what apparently always occurs among the worm-riddled, blood-sodden soil—the place was not a garden; life found itself thriving there, yes, but not any life born of God's design. And death was chief above all, no matter how many vital organs beat ceaselessly from stalk to arterial stalk.
I entered ignorant of what I may find, beyond that which I had been drawn to upon waking suddenly earlier that morning. The outer grounds were rank with an earthy and coppery smell, like the dank, pulpy earth of a fresh battlefield. I got the impression that lives had been spent upon the grey soil, hundreds if not thousands of them; and yet there was only the dismal land, overhanged by a subtle atmosphere of mist, and environed by old trees. Beyond this mist I could just barely discern the inner plots; and I knew that therein I'd find my second heart.
Further in I progressed, until I entered that sepulchral garden, with its rows upon rows of vegetative hearts, sprouted with unsettling plumpness from the soil like overly ripe fruits. The audibility of their beating was maddening; it was as if thousands of people had been stripped of their flesh, leaving only their still-animate hearts. Even worse, they beat not in unison, but in horrible discordance - no two hearts held the same rhythm.
And yet somehow through the tachycardiac chaos I sensed my own - that is to say the heart to which I'd been tirelessly drawn.
Like an automaton I trudged on, my shoes sinking into the blood-laden soil; my sight blurred by the newly emergent haze of crimson. My mind befogged by the increasingly humid air.
With an automatic gentleness I pushed through the rows of unfamiliar hearts until I came upon my own. There it was, visually indistinct among the others, and yet I knew without a shred of doubt that it was mine. It pulsed with a steady rhythm, bleeding from its valves as if there were arteries to carry away the blood; a vascular system through which it could circulate. Despite the morbidity of it, I found it beautiful, as if it was something I'd searched for my entire life; some long-sought treasure of my nightly dreams.
So marveled was I, that I didn't notice the approach of the stranger. It wasn't until he had placed a hand on my shoulder that I became aware of him. I recoiled, but was kept from jumping back by the firmness of his gloved grip. He was a tall old man, dressed in a long grey overcoat, at the waist of which sat some kind of multi-pocketed workman's belt. There were several pouches affixed to the belt, and all bore black splotches of some unidentifiable substance. He wore what I assumed had once been black boots, but were now stained a deep crimson - undoubtedly from having spent innumerable hours trudging through the blood-rich soil.
His face was old and severe, with a blackly stained beard that trailed thinly down to his chest. His coal-black eyes met my own, and for a brief moment I felt as if was being pulled from my own body and examined in some outré, incorporeal pocket of space. A moment later, the phantasmal feeling passed, and the man released his iron grip on me.
"You've come for the heart, that it?"
I nodded, not yet able to form words; the shock of his appearance still fresh.
He grunted, and his voice reminded me of a dying animal I'd once seen on the road: harsh and guttural, defiant against pity and death. In his other hand he held a pair of garden shears, and with these he gestured towards the heart.
"Ye can have it, it's yers. But I'll have to take the one ye got in ye. An exchange. Don't fret about the pain. Ye won't feel it."
This proposition reigned in my mind from the state of fantastical acceptance it had gone to. Suddenly I became acutely, frighteningly aware that I was standing in a cemetery full of human hearts, all of which had somehow grown from the ground; and that this caretaker had actually offered to cut out mine in exchange for the one beating before me. It was ludicrous, macabre beyond measure.... and yet it was real.
"Ye should know: that in taking this here heart, you'll be happy, happier than you've ever been. But you'll forget the person you're longing for. They'll be wiped from yer memory. That's the price. Or the relief, depending."
The thought of a future without the nightly anguish of having lost her—made doubly terrible by the fact that it had been my fault—seemed almost too good to be true. But the idea of losing her completely, of having her smile erased from my memory, her voice lost to the mental void....it was inconceivable. To have loved and lost, and all that.
As much as it pained me to, I denied the man's bizarre offer.
His eyes narrowed, focusing on my chest - my heart. He pointed his empty hand at me and said, "Are ye sure? If left unchecked, it could kill ye. The grief. The sorrow. I've seen it, time and time again."
Had I not come to my senses about the utter weirdness of the situation, I probably wouldn't have noticed the almost imperceptible changes in his demeanor and posture. There was a yearning in his stance, a predatory hunger. Given the circumstances, it felt vampiric.
I backed away from him, again reiterating that I'd like to keep my heart, no matter what trouble it could cause me down the line. The stranger sighed, exhaling a visible cloud of what appeared to be black smoke or vapor.
"Too bad. I'm damn hungry."
That was the final kick my brain needed to fully recognize and piece together all the little clues laid around me. The soil, whilst predominantly a deep red, also held clumps of black matter in places - almost always near the beating hearts. This was plainly not mulch or any kind of gardening substance; the clumps were fleshy, some slick with what was obviously blackened blood. And that led me to two other points of observation: the man's belt, with its stained pouches, and his darkly stained beard - as if he'd been eating something that leaked black juices.
"Ah. You've put it together, have ye? No matter."
His eyes must've followed mine as I surveyed the scene before me. Still, the truth, the horrid reality, hadn't yet come to me.
"I eat the hearts given to me. Turned black they've been, in their grief. Fat, poisoned things. Only the most terminal are drawn to this place. Ye have a sick heart, and are better off without it. Serves ye no purpose to keep it. Why not let me eat it? Keeps me full, and keeps me own inklings towards love at bay. Stamps em down, so I never feel a thing. Never have to love, and lose. Never again..."
He seemed to mentally close upon himself for a moment, so I took the opportunity to begin my retreat. With much less care than before I pushed through the rows of hearts, heedless of how much damage I dealt to the organs and their repulsive stalks. Quickly I returned to that barren terrain before the plots, where the soil was a much more tolerable grey, and where the atmosphere was free of that delirious scarlet haze and its stifling humidity.
I stopped for a moment to catch my breath. Just as I did so, a shriek echoed into the night, and a voice full of mad demonic fury tore through the trees, sending the nesting birds skyward.
"Give me your goddamn heart!"
I should've continued onward, the gate was only a few yards away; but the Satanic magnitude of the voice was irresistibly attention-grabbing. I felt compelled to see what kind of odious creature could've projected such anger, even though I'd seen the man just moments before.
The ground began to shake, and the withered trees trembled, loosing half-dead leaves onto the ground. And that awful scarlet haze came rolling over the boughs, deeply tinting the atmosphere as if it were a living thing. A sentient cloud of evil.
And from amidst the malignant haze came a thing that might have once been a man, but had undergone a transformation so repugnantly profound that any remaining elements of humanity appeared as mockeries of the form. It towered above the feeble trees, even using their tops as points of stability as it lurched toward me. It's body was vaguely anthropomorphic, distantly human, but outwardly fish-like; the flesh of some selachian nightmare draped over the skeleton of a man.
A face, contorted abhorrently to fit an angular, newly mutated skull, bared a broad maw at me. The teeth shone like an assassin's daggers in the night, sending chills throughout my body. Even as it cleared the tree line and revealed itself fully to me, I could not move: I was so completely transfixed by the depravity of its body, by the unreality of its existence.
"Ye could've given me your heart, and all would've been well. But now...now you've gone and made me take off me coat. I don't like to take off me coat. I don't like having to work for me food. I'm all out of it, and I won't let the thoughts of love come back to me. I won't allow it. Now, c'mere and let me pull you apart."
Despite his hideous transformation, his voice was largely unchanged. Just deeper, more guttural, his ire made plain. The lack of any overt monstrous intonation only made the only whole ordeal more terrifying.
Wrenching control away from the panicked part of my mind, I forced my body to turn and move towards the gate. The thing bounded after me like some frenzied animal, shaking the ground with its every step. I pumped my legs to their absolute limits, reaching the gate just as the humidity of the haze tickled the back of my neck.
I threw it open, leapt through, and slammed it just as that colossal nightmare reached it. I wouldn't have thought the old gate any real match for its massive frame, but the rusted iron held against the horror's assault. The haze was also somehow kept at bay, not a single particle of the mysterious vapor breaching the bars despite how thickly it pressed upon it.
Before it could pull some trick or transform into something capable by bypassing the providentially sturdy gate, I turned away and ran back to my car. And while the creature didn't follow me, its hateful voice did.
"The heart! Bring back your heart!"
I drove away without looking back.
2023.06.02 02:03 WeirdBryceGuy The Deathgrounds of Love
Time had barely passed, the memory of her presence was still so fresh as to be palpable, when I entered the Deathgrounds of Love. For many, unrequited love diminishes before it can mount further and poison the heart. It fades as life goes on, and infatuations are forgotten; paramours become little more than half-remembered follies. But my love for her grew even as we drifted apart, even as her disdain for me blossomed into a multi-thorned and blackly petaled flower. Almost ironically it grew, until it finally manifested as a material, tangible thing: a heart, which came to beat with malignant autonomy upon a veiny stalk, in the midst of that graven place where unchecked love evilly flourishes.
Unguarded—at its gates, at least—were the grounds when I arrived, doubly delirious with grief and wonderment. I had not known of the place beforehand. It was only with the impossible manifestation of that heart, born of my anguish, that I became suddenly and providentially aware of the the graveyard and its unwholesome, reality-defying contents.
Despite what had occurred—and what apparently always occurs among the worm-riddled, blood-sodden soil—the place was not a garden; life found itself thriving there, yes, but not any life born of God's design. And death was chief above all, no matter how many vital organs beat ceaselessly from stalk to arterial stalk.
I entered ignorant of what I may find, beyond that which I had been drawn to upon waking suddenly earlier that morning. The outer grounds were rank with an earthy and coppery smell, like the dank, pulpy earth of a fresh battlefield. I got the impression that lives had been spent upon the grey soil, hundreds if not thousands of them; and yet there was only the dismal land, overhanged by a subtle atmosphere of mist, and environed by old trees. Beyond this mist I could just barely discern the inner plots; and I knew that therein I'd find my second heart.
Further in I progressed, until I entered that sepulchral garden, with its rows upon rows of vegetative hearts, sprouted with unsettling plumpness from the soil like overly ripe fruits. The audibility of their beating was maddening; it was as if thousands of people had been stripped of their flesh, leaving only their still-animate hearts. Even worse, they beat not in unison, but in horrible discordance - no two hearts held the same rhythm.
And yet somehow through the tachycardiac chaos I sensed my own - that is to say the heart to which I'd been tirelessly drawn.
Like an automaton I trudged on, my shoes sinking into the blood-laden soil; my sight blurred by the newly emergent haze of crimson. My mind befogged by the increasingly humid air.
With an automatic gentleness I pushed through the rows of unfamiliar hearts until I came upon my own. There it was, visually indistinct among the others, and yet I knew without a shred of doubt that it was mine. It pulsed with a steady rhythm, bleeding from its valves as if there were arteries to carry away the blood; a vascular system through which it could circulate. Despite the morbidity of it, I found it beautiful, as if it was something I'd searched for my entire life; some long-sought treasure of my nightly dreams.
So marveled was I, that I didn't notice the approach of the stranger. It wasn't until he had placed a hand on my shoulder that I became aware of him. I recoiled, but was kept from jumping back by the firmness of his gloved grip. He was a tall old man, dressed in a long grey overcoat, at the waist of which sat some kind of multi-pocketed workman's belt. There were several pouches affixed to the belt, and all bore black splotches of some unidentifiable substance. He wore what I assumed had once been black boots, but were now stained a deep crimson - undoubtedly from having spent innumerable hours trudging through the blood-rich soil.
His face was old and severe, with a blackly stained beard that trailed thinly down to his chest. His coal-black eyes met my own, and for a brief moment I felt as if was being pulled from my own body and examined in some outré, incorporeal pocket of space. A moment later, the phantasmal feeling passed, and the man released his iron grip on me.
"You've come for the heart, that it?"
I nodded, not yet able to form words; the shock of his appearance still fresh.
He grunted, and his voice reminded me of a dying animal I'd once seen on the road: harsh and guttural, defiant against pity and death. In his other hand he held a pair of garden shears, and with these he gestured towards the heart.
"Ye can have it, it's yers. But I'll have to take the one ye got in ye. An exchange. Don't fret about the pain. Ye won't feel it."
This proposition reigned in my mind from the state of fantastical acceptance it had gone to. Suddenly I became acutely, frighteningly aware that I was standing in a cemetery full of human hearts, all of which had somehow grown from the ground; and that this caretaker had actually offered to cut out mine in exchange for the one beating before me. It was ludicrous, macabre beyond measure.... and yet it was real.
"Ye should know: that in taking this here heart, you'll be happy, happier than you've ever been. But you'll forget the person you're longing for. They'll be wiped from yer memory. That's the price. Or the relief, depending."
The thought of a future without the nightly anguish of having lost her—made doubly terrible by the fact that it had been my fault—seemed almost too good to be true. But the idea of losing her completely, of having her smile erased from my memory, her voice lost to the mental void....it was inconceivable. To have loved and lost, and all that.
As much as it pained me to, I denied the man's bizarre offer.
His eyes narrowed, focusing on my chest - my heart. He pointed his empty hand at me and said, "Are ye sure? If left unchecked, it could kill ye. The grief. The sorrow. I've seen it, time and time again."
Had I not come to my senses about the utter weirdness of the situation, I probably wouldn't have noticed the almost imperceptible changes in his demeanor and posture. There was a yearning in his stance, a predatory hunger. Given the circumstances, it felt vampiric.
I backed away from him, again reiterating that I'd like to keep my heart, no matter what trouble it could cause me down the line. The stranger sighed, exhaling a visible cloud of what appeared to be black smoke or vapor.
"Too bad. I'm damn hungry."
That was the final kick my brain needed to fully recognize and piece together all the little clues laid around me. The soil, whilst predominantly a deep red, also held clumps of black matter in places - almost always near the beating hearts. This was plainly not mulch or any kind of gardening substance; the clumps were fleshy, some slick with what was obviously blackened blood. And that led me to two other points of observation: the man's belt, with its stained pouches, and his darkly stained beard - as if he'd been eating something that leaked black juices.
"Ah. You've put it together, have ye? No matter."
His eyes must've followed mine as I surveyed the scene before me. Still, the truth, the horrid reality, hadn't yet come to me.
"I eat the hearts given to me. Turned black they've been, in their grief. Fat, poisoned things. Only the most terminal are drawn to this place. Ye have a sick heart, and are better off without it. Serves ye no purpose to keep it. Why not let me eat it? Keeps me full, and keeps me own inklings towards love at bay. Stamps em down, so I never feel a thing. Never have to love, and lose. Never again..."
He seemed to mentally close upon himself for a moment, so I took the opportunity to begin my retreat. With much less care than before I pushed through the rows of hearts, heedless of how much damage I dealt to the organs and their repulsive stalks. Quickly I returned to that barren terrain before the plots, where the soil was a much more tolerable grey, and where the atmosphere was free of that delirious scarlet haze and its stifling humidity.
I stopped for a moment to catch my breath. Just as I did so, a shriek echoed into the night, and a voice full of mad demonic fury tore through the trees, sending the nesting birds skyward.
"Give me your fucking heart!"
I should've continued onward, the gate was only a few yards away; but the Satanic magnitude of the voice was irresistibly attention-grabbing. I felt compelled to see what kind of odious creature could've projected such anger, even though I'd seen the man just moments before.
The ground began to shake, and the withered trees trembled, loosing half-dead leaves onto the ground. And that awful scarlet haze came rolling over the boughs, deeply tinting the atmosphere as if it were a living thing. A sentient cloud of evil.
And from amidst the malignant haze came a thing that might have once been a man, but had undergone a transformation so repugnantly profound that any remaining elements of humanity appeared as mockeries of the form. It towered above the feeble trees, even using their tops as points of stability as it lurched toward me. It's body was vaguely anthropomorphic, distantly human, but outwardly fish-like; the flesh of some selachian nightmare draped over the skeleton of a man.
A face, contorted abhorrently to fit an angular, newly mutated skull, bared a broad maw at me. The teeth shone like an assassin's daggers in the night, sending chills throughout my body. Even as it cleared the tree line and revealed itself fully to me, I could not move: I was so completely transfixed by the depravity of its body, by the unreality of its existence.
"Ye could've given me your heart, and all would've been well. But now...now you've gone and made me take off me coat. I don't like to take off me coat. I don't like having to work for me food. I'm all out of it, and I won't let the thoughts of love come back to me. I won't allow it. Now, c'mere and let me pull you apart."
Despite his hideous transformation, his voice was largely unchanged. Just deeper, more guttural, his ire made plain. The lack of any overt monstrous intonation only made the only whole ordeal more terrifying.
Wrenching control away from the panicked part of my mind, I forced my body to turn and move towards the gate. The thing bounded after me like some frenzied animal, shaking the ground with its every step. I pumped my legs to their absolute limits, reaching the gate just as the humidity of the haze tickled the back of my neck.
I threw it open, leapt through, and slammed it just as that colossal nightmare reached it. I wouldn't have thought the old gate any real match for its massive frame, but the rusted iron held against the horror's assault. The haze was also somehow kept at bay, not a single particle of the mysterious vapor breaching the bars despite how thickly it pressed upon it.
Before it could pull some trick or transform into something capable by bypassing the providentially sturdy gate, I turned away and ran back to my car. And while the creature didn't follow me, its hateful voice did.
"The heart! Bring back your heart!"
I drove away without looking back.
submitted by WeirdBryceGuy to TheCrypticCompendium [link] [comments]
Unguarded—at its gates, at least—were the grounds when I arrived, doubly delirious with grief and wonderment. I had not known of the place beforehand. It was only with the impossible manifestation of that heart, born of my anguish, that I became suddenly and providentially aware of the the graveyard and its unwholesome, reality-defying contents.
Despite what had occurred—and what apparently always occurs among the worm-riddled, blood-sodden soil—the place was not a garden; life found itself thriving there, yes, but not any life born of God's design. And death was chief above all, no matter how many vital organs beat ceaselessly from stalk to arterial stalk.
I entered ignorant of what I may find, beyond that which I had been drawn to upon waking suddenly earlier that morning. The outer grounds were rank with an earthy and coppery smell, like the dank, pulpy earth of a fresh battlefield. I got the impression that lives had been spent upon the grey soil, hundreds if not thousands of them; and yet there was only the dismal land, overhanged by a subtle atmosphere of mist, and environed by old trees. Beyond this mist I could just barely discern the inner plots; and I knew that therein I'd find my second heart.
Further in I progressed, until I entered that sepulchral garden, with its rows upon rows of vegetative hearts, sprouted with unsettling plumpness from the soil like overly ripe fruits. The audibility of their beating was maddening; it was as if thousands of people had been stripped of their flesh, leaving only their still-animate hearts. Even worse, they beat not in unison, but in horrible discordance - no two hearts held the same rhythm.
And yet somehow through the tachycardiac chaos I sensed my own - that is to say the heart to which I'd been tirelessly drawn.
Like an automaton I trudged on, my shoes sinking into the blood-laden soil; my sight blurred by the newly emergent haze of crimson. My mind befogged by the increasingly humid air.
With an automatic gentleness I pushed through the rows of unfamiliar hearts until I came upon my own. There it was, visually indistinct among the others, and yet I knew without a shred of doubt that it was mine. It pulsed with a steady rhythm, bleeding from its valves as if there were arteries to carry away the blood; a vascular system through which it could circulate. Despite the morbidity of it, I found it beautiful, as if it was something I'd searched for my entire life; some long-sought treasure of my nightly dreams.
So marveled was I, that I didn't notice the approach of the stranger. It wasn't until he had placed a hand on my shoulder that I became aware of him. I recoiled, but was kept from jumping back by the firmness of his gloved grip. He was a tall old man, dressed in a long grey overcoat, at the waist of which sat some kind of multi-pocketed workman's belt. There were several pouches affixed to the belt, and all bore black splotches of some unidentifiable substance. He wore what I assumed had once been black boots, but were now stained a deep crimson - undoubtedly from having spent innumerable hours trudging through the blood-rich soil.
His face was old and severe, with a blackly stained beard that trailed thinly down to his chest. His coal-black eyes met my own, and for a brief moment I felt as if was being pulled from my own body and examined in some outré, incorporeal pocket of space. A moment later, the phantasmal feeling passed, and the man released his iron grip on me.
"You've come for the heart, that it?"
I nodded, not yet able to form words; the shock of his appearance still fresh.
He grunted, and his voice reminded me of a dying animal I'd once seen on the road: harsh and guttural, defiant against pity and death. In his other hand he held a pair of garden shears, and with these he gestured towards the heart.
"Ye can have it, it's yers. But I'll have to take the one ye got in ye. An exchange. Don't fret about the pain. Ye won't feel it."
This proposition reigned in my mind from the state of fantastical acceptance it had gone to. Suddenly I became acutely, frighteningly aware that I was standing in a cemetery full of human hearts, all of which had somehow grown from the ground; and that this caretaker had actually offered to cut out mine in exchange for the one beating before me. It was ludicrous, macabre beyond measure.... and yet it was real.
"Ye should know: that in taking this here heart, you'll be happy, happier than you've ever been. But you'll forget the person you're longing for. They'll be wiped from yer memory. That's the price. Or the relief, depending."
The thought of a future without the nightly anguish of having lost her—made doubly terrible by the fact that it had been my fault—seemed almost too good to be true. But the idea of losing her completely, of having her smile erased from my memory, her voice lost to the mental void....it was inconceivable. To have loved and lost, and all that.
As much as it pained me to, I denied the man's bizarre offer.
His eyes narrowed, focusing on my chest - my heart. He pointed his empty hand at me and said, "Are ye sure? If left unchecked, it could kill ye. The grief. The sorrow. I've seen it, time and time again."
Had I not come to my senses about the utter weirdness of the situation, I probably wouldn't have noticed the almost imperceptible changes in his demeanor and posture. There was a yearning in his stance, a predatory hunger. Given the circumstances, it felt vampiric.
I backed away from him, again reiterating that I'd like to keep my heart, no matter what trouble it could cause me down the line. The stranger sighed, exhaling a visible cloud of what appeared to be black smoke or vapor.
"Too bad. I'm damn hungry."
That was the final kick my brain needed to fully recognize and piece together all the little clues laid around me. The soil, whilst predominantly a deep red, also held clumps of black matter in places - almost always near the beating hearts. This was plainly not mulch or any kind of gardening substance; the clumps were fleshy, some slick with what was obviously blackened blood. And that led me to two other points of observation: the man's belt, with its stained pouches, and his darkly stained beard - as if he'd been eating something that leaked black juices.
"Ah. You've put it together, have ye? No matter."
His eyes must've followed mine as I surveyed the scene before me. Still, the truth, the horrid reality, hadn't yet come to me.
"I eat the hearts given to me. Turned black they've been, in their grief. Fat, poisoned things. Only the most terminal are drawn to this place. Ye have a sick heart, and are better off without it. Serves ye no purpose to keep it. Why not let me eat it? Keeps me full, and keeps me own inklings towards love at bay. Stamps em down, so I never feel a thing. Never have to love, and lose. Never again..."
He seemed to mentally close upon himself for a moment, so I took the opportunity to begin my retreat. With much less care than before I pushed through the rows of hearts, heedless of how much damage I dealt to the organs and their repulsive stalks. Quickly I returned to that barren terrain before the plots, where the soil was a much more tolerable grey, and where the atmosphere was free of that delirious scarlet haze and its stifling humidity.
I stopped for a moment to catch my breath. Just as I did so, a shriek echoed into the night, and a voice full of mad demonic fury tore through the trees, sending the nesting birds skyward.
"Give me your fucking heart!"
I should've continued onward, the gate was only a few yards away; but the Satanic magnitude of the voice was irresistibly attention-grabbing. I felt compelled to see what kind of odious creature could've projected such anger, even though I'd seen the man just moments before.
The ground began to shake, and the withered trees trembled, loosing half-dead leaves onto the ground. And that awful scarlet haze came rolling over the boughs, deeply tinting the atmosphere as if it were a living thing. A sentient cloud of evil.
And from amidst the malignant haze came a thing that might have once been a man, but had undergone a transformation so repugnantly profound that any remaining elements of humanity appeared as mockeries of the form. It towered above the feeble trees, even using their tops as points of stability as it lurched toward me. It's body was vaguely anthropomorphic, distantly human, but outwardly fish-like; the flesh of some selachian nightmare draped over the skeleton of a man.
A face, contorted abhorrently to fit an angular, newly mutated skull, bared a broad maw at me. The teeth shone like an assassin's daggers in the night, sending chills throughout my body. Even as it cleared the tree line and revealed itself fully to me, I could not move: I was so completely transfixed by the depravity of its body, by the unreality of its existence.
"Ye could've given me your heart, and all would've been well. But now...now you've gone and made me take off me coat. I don't like to take off me coat. I don't like having to work for me food. I'm all out of it, and I won't let the thoughts of love come back to me. I won't allow it. Now, c'mere and let me pull you apart."
Despite his hideous transformation, his voice was largely unchanged. Just deeper, more guttural, his ire made plain. The lack of any overt monstrous intonation only made the only whole ordeal more terrifying.
Wrenching control away from the panicked part of my mind, I forced my body to turn and move towards the gate. The thing bounded after me like some frenzied animal, shaking the ground with its every step. I pumped my legs to their absolute limits, reaching the gate just as the humidity of the haze tickled the back of my neck.
I threw it open, leapt through, and slammed it just as that colossal nightmare reached it. I wouldn't have thought the old gate any real match for its massive frame, but the rusted iron held against the horror's assault. The haze was also somehow kept at bay, not a single particle of the mysterious vapor breaching the bars despite how thickly it pressed upon it.
Before it could pull some trick or transform into something capable by bypassing the providentially sturdy gate, I turned away and ran back to my car. And while the creature didn't follow me, its hateful voice did.
"The heart! Bring back your heart!"
I drove away without looking back.
2023.06.02 01:12 JoshAsdvgi The Fox and the Fry Bread
 | submitted by JoshAsdvgi to Native_Stories [link] [comments] The Fox and the Fry Bread Apalachicola Creek Animal Stories from Pine Arbor Tribal Town Trickster Tales Like ol' Rabbit and the wily Coyote, Mr. Fox was bad about tricking other animals whenever an opportunity slid into his lap. Now and then, one of those other animals occasionally tricked that Fox. This usually happened when hunger had a good hold on Mr. Fox. Then, it was his stomach that ruled, not his brain. In fact, we heard it like this . . . long before Indians had corn. One time ol' Mr. Fox happened upon Rabbit sitting on a little hill gazing quietly at a pool of water. Being somewhat hungry and thinking his friend Rabbit (did I say friend?) would make a pleasant little snack, Fox thought he should mosey over and check out the "vittles" situation. "Whatcha doin' Rabbit?" asked Fox, all famished. Of course, Fox thought to himself what a fool that Rabbit was . . . just sitting there in the open like that. "I'm looking at that pool. Isn't it beautiful?" Rabbit said to ol' bushy tail. "Well, I don't see anything special about it," retorted Fox. This Rabbit really is a flake, thought the Fox. He deserves to be eaten and right now, too! "Naturally, you can't see it yet but soon, tonight, there will be something very special about this pool," Rabbit replied. "How can that be?" asked a curious Fox--curiosity does cloud one's thinking. "Well now," Rabbit said, "just tuck up your tail and have a 'sit down' right here; I'll tell you all about it. You know how those Creek women gather acorns each year and make some really good sweet acorn flour--now don't you?" "Yeah, I've spied upon'em many a time when they go agathering," Fox added. "Then surely you know those Indian women make the world's best golden yellow acorn bread. They get that acorn flour all ready, sweeten it with wild honey, flatten it out and cook it in succulent bear fat," said Rabbit. "Hush, furry, you're making me mighty hungry," spoke the red haired Fox. Rabbit continued-- "That bread is the reason tonight is special. You see, all the women got together today and made a very special piece of golden yellow acorn bread--oh, it's so-o-o bi-i-i-i-g! It's an offering, a gift for One Above, the Creator. They're thanking Creator for all the good things Creator has provided everyone--and, they're going to put it in One Above's favorite pool tonight. I heard them talking about it when I was hiding in the garden eating their beans." "Rabbit, you're not only furry but downright stupid, too, if you expect me to believe that," ol' Mr. Fox answered. "No, wait, you'll see," Rabbit replied. Just then, the sun went down and night fell quickly. The two sat quietly for a while. Rabbit was contemplating the genius of his own story while that starving Fox was deciding how best to eat his friend, Rabbit. (Did I say friend, again?) Suddenly, Fox was astonished to see something that looked just like a huge piece of golden yellow acorn bread slide into the pool of water. He was amazed! "Well I'll be--why I never--" The sight of that delicious looking bread--the mere sight of it, nearly caused Fox to faint from hunger. It was the biggest piece of bread in the whole world! "How can we get it?" yelped the ol' Fox. "Ah, that is a sacred gift--you don't want to eat that," answered Rabbit. "Why, I'm so hungry I could eat a whole bear--fur and all." volunteered a famished Fox. "Don't be greedy, silly Fox," spoke Rabbit. "Creator might send you trouble instead of bread if you bother that." However, Fox insisted he must have that bread, no matter what. Rabbit got up and took Fox to the pool's edge. My, that was one large piece of bread! Fox could see it clearly on the other side. "If you insist," Rabbit continued, "I'll tell you how to get it. Just start drinking--it's a small pool, and you'll draw it over to you--just like that!" Then, Rabbit just sat back watching as Fox began lapping the water furiously. It was all Rabbit could do not to burst out laughing. Fox drank and drank and drank . . . and then drank some more. Finally, the pool shrunk to a very small puddle--Fox's belly grew to an enormous size. Mr. Fox raised his head, bared his teeth to bite the bread and-- Just then, Rabbit tossed a stone into the remaining puddle; the golden yellow acorn bread turned into ripples and rings of light! Suddenly, Fox realized that he had been tricked by Rabbit and his own hunger into thinking the reflection of the moon was fried golden yellow acorn bread. Old Mr. Fox tried to chase Rabbit but his full belly of water kept him firmly anchored in place. Rabbit merely skipped off a short distance away, sat down and commenced to laugh and laugh . . . then laughed some more. "If you were not so greedy," said Rabbit, "you would not be in such a predicament now! And, as you were warned, you must suffer for trying to steal One Above's fry bread." Rabbit laughed and laughed the night away while a bloated and miserable Fox whimpered and moaned 'til dawn. Ever since then (and out of sympathy for their cousin, the Fox), the whole Canine Nation, all dogs, coyotes and wolves howl at each full moon. I wonder why? |
2023.06.02 01:00 Tyranitron [Fanfic[ A Beast's Heart Ch.40
Hey everyone! I managed to finally do what I planned and alternate fics with each chapter xD. I don't know what it is, but I get hyper focused here and there and then I can get such writer's block with certain things while writing but then get in a zone after managing to get past certain sections. Anyway, this is the second of three planned Linked Souls Day chapters, the next one being the last and from there just hopefully one more chapter that serves as a prelude and transition into the canon events. But don't quote me fully on this as it MIGHT turn into two chapters depending on if I can fit everything in it. But I'm excited to get into the canon material as I've had plans for it since 2020 xD. Anyway, I'm going to likely swap back to my Helluva Boss fic to do a chapter than swap back to this as I want to try to prevent any burn out. Fair warning, I might get a lil hyper focused on the HB fic, but I will do my best to keep a good balance and get back to this as soon as possible.
As I've said before both of these fics are passion projects that I intend to finish no matter how long it takes as I love writing in both worlds. Also, I'm still sticking to this being set pretty much in Japan given everything in canon and sticking to those sensibilities and laws while not neglecting my own western ones and other westerners. I know I've put the disclaimer bout the Nazomi and Sebastian relationship on every prior chapter focusing on then, I just want to make it clear each time this is being handled with care and the maturity it demands. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy and I might get the next chapter out maybe early next month or near the end of this one depending on how things go, but I WILL get it out.
Also, curious what everyone thinks about my introduction of a Valentines equivalent.
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After Shinoku and Vega left to meet up with Anya and Sheila, Sebastian took the time to finish getting ready for when he’d meet up with Nazomi. Just like his friends, Sebastian took his time to make sure that he looked good enough for their rendezvous, putting on some clothes he had that looked very similar to the Cherryton uniform aside from differing colors and other minor things. Also like Shinoku and Vega, he had gotten Nazomi a gift as well. After making sure he was good and ready for his meet up with Nazomi, Sebastian went back to reading to pass the time till he needed to head down the hill to meet up with her. As he waited, Sebastian heard his phone ring, quickly going to see who it was and answering it when he saw it was his mother.
“Hello Sebastian.” His mother said as he answered the phone. “I hope you’re well.”
“Hi mom.” he replied. “Yeah, I’m doing well.”
“That’s good to hear. How are your grades, I trust you’re keeping them high like you always do.” His mother inquired.
“I am.”
“That’s good to hear, you always do your best. Though, I’m not sure why you don’t do cram school like your brother did and your sister is doing. It’s nice that you work hard, don’t get me wrong, but I just want to make sure you’re living up to your full potential.” She said, her tone carrying that always subtle pressure of a proud lioness with high expectations.
While she did care for him like any lion mother, she always wanted him to live up to the standards and the image of what a lion should be. Not that she was any different from any other lioness towards her kids, they all knew they had to make sure that the reputation of the king of beasts was maintained. It was an ever present driving force for lions; to stand apart, set the example, excel and push yourself to ever higher points and positions. It was both the greatest driving factor, and the most dangerous threat to a lion. While most would manage to get by and repress the toll it took or even thrive; for others, it would be far too much pressure. It was what lead to so many lions to go to the back alley, to form the likes of the shishigumi or join it.
Sebastian took a moment, the pressure of his mother’s expectations briefly showing before he quickly composed himself. “I understand mom, don’t worry, I have everything planned out.” he assured her. “I’m just tackling things in a way that allows me to give my full attention to my grades here. It’s not that I’m not interested in cram school, I just think it’s more logical to not have my focus split too much.”
“Always the analytical one my little Seby.” his mother commented. “But you only focus on your schoolwork and your reading, even your brother managed to handle doing cram school AND being on his school’s baseball team. He always did so well, even as a cub. Your sister’s also excelling in her gymnastics.” She added. His mother never overtly sounded disappointed, but the subtle nudges and constant reminding of his siblings’ achievements spoke volumes of her wanting him to be like them and every other lion. Why couldn’t she just understand that while he had the potential like every other lion, he just didn’t have the interest? Wasn’t it enough that they were bringing home trophies to show off?
Sebastian let the pressure he felt slip slightly once more before regaining his composure again. “It’s good to hear they’re doing so well…” he said in a cheerful voice. “You don’t need to worry though mom, I’ll make sure I get into a good college, plus all my teachers like me. Getting a recommendation good enough to be accepted won’t be hard to get.”
“True, your teachers always liked you.” His mother said. “But it’s just so rare for a lion not to do cram school. At least, in terms of the ones wanting to make a good life for themselves.” she commented in a veiled implication that a lot of the lions who chose not to were always trouble makers and bad seeds.
“I know mom.” Sebastian replied. “But I do have a career path set and I’m not going to stray from it.”
“And given the way you study and your grades I have no doubt. I can’t wait to hear what prestigious college you become the head over. But you might decide to be something equally important to society.” his mother commented. He never dared once to say he wanted to just teach, he didn’t even care where. All he ever said when what he wanted to be came up was something potentially in education and just smile and nod when his mother would suggest stuff. “By the way, have you found a nice lioness yet?”
“No, not yet mom.” Sebastian replied. He didn’t even dare to think about giving her a hint that he had found someone, knowing full well the questions that ensue about her and wanting to see a picture of or talk to her.
“That’s a shame, I hate to hear that you’re alone on Linked Souls Day. Are you looking?” his mother asked.
“Yes mom, I am.” Sebastian lied. “I’ll find someone, it just takes time for some.”
“But you’re so handsome, are you sure you’re looking or giving good impressions?”
“I am…” Sebastian replied as he held back a sigh.
“Alright. But just know that I have a few friends with very nice daughters I could always introduce you to.”
Sebastian pinched his brow. “Thanks...but I’m sure I’ll find someone soon.”
“OK, just don’t get so caught up in your studies that you forget.” his mother commented. “Anyway, I need to get going, your father’s going to be taking me out for a romantic date. He says hi by the way.”
“I won’t.” Sebastian said as he composed himself once more. “And that sounds nice, tell him I say hello.”
“Sure. And Sebastian, keep working hard and making us proud.” his mother said before hanging up.
Sebastian let out a sigh as he hung up his phone, putting it back in his pocket. As he did so, Hassan looked at him. “I get the whole familial pressure, it’s not fun. I can only imagine what it’s like with being a lion.”
“She means well…” Sebastian replied.
“Clearly given the expressions you let slip.” Hassan pointed out. “I’m not trying to say your mother’s horrible, but her intentions aren’t exactly selfless.”
“It’s just how it is for us lions.”
“Well if you ask me it’s a bunch of bullshit.” Jax commented.
Hassan just shrugged. “Like Sebastian said, it’s just what it is. All we can do is just not let it get to us and forge our own paths the best we can when it comes to expectations.”
“Anyway, I better start heading out, it’s getting close to time for me to meet up with miss Nazomi.” Sebastian said as he stood up, walking over to get the flowers and gift for Nazomi.
“Sure you don’t need any help?” Hassan asked.
“I’ll be fine.”
Hassan nodded. “Alright.”
“Keep living the dream dude, maybe you’ll get to spend the night with her.” Jax said with a wide grin.
Sebastian just rolled his eyes at Jax before walking out to meet up with Nazomi, not even wanting to respond to the comment. As he headed down to the main floor of the dorm, Sebastian felt a combination of excitement and nervousness. It was his first time celebrating Linked Souls Day with anyone, not that he was ever really bothered about not being able to do so in the past. Sebastian also felt a bit guilty due to the fact that because he was a student and Nazomi a teacher, he couldn’t really do anything publicly with her let alone the fact that she was preparing the meal for them to eat.
Deep down he was a romantic at heart, much maligning the fact that he couldn’t be the one to treat her to a cooked meal. It didn’t really feel right that on Linked Souls Day she was doing most the work. It was just something that he would make sure to do in the future if things got that far with them. Although he still worried about being the potential cause of her losing her job. That, and exactly when and how he was going to introduce her to his parents when he was no longer a student. Hopefully he’d have it figured out when the time came.
Sebastian let out a sigh as he exited the boy’s dorm. Despite all the worries, he still deep down found himself hoping that this would work out. Even with the returning thought of this being just a potential rebellion against his parents and their expectations, he could not deny how he felt about the older feline. Especially with their first date still ever present in his mind. No matter what challenges or obstacles they might face, he was willing to face them, his resolve hardening all the more. Even if it ended up with them having to end things before something bad happened, he’d rather live knowing he tried his best than giving into the fear and not trying to fight for his own happiness.
It didn’t take long for Sebastian to leave the school and get down the hill to where Nazomi said she would be waiting for him, and as he got to their rendezvous spot he stopped. His eyes widened as he felt his heart about to beat out of his chest. Before him stood Nazomi next to her car, dressed in a rather nice satin button down green blouse and black business skirt with a slit on the left side that fit her perfectly. She looked beautiful, so much so that Sebastian felt his cheeks were on fire aas he blushed, unable to really say anything for a few moments.
“W-wow…” he managed to say as he managed to walk over to Nazomi. “You look...amazing.”
Nazomi smiled a bit. “Thank you, I did try.” she said as she blushed ever so slightly. “I would have worn a dress, but I didn’t want to arouse any real suspicion…”
“It’s fine, there’s not a time I’ve seen you where you didn’t look beautiful.” Sebastian said as he continued to blush, rubbing the back of his head as he did so.
Nazomi blushed more. “You look quite handsome yourself, and just as professional as I do.” she commented. “At least it won’t look too suspicious...I hope.”
“I’m sure it won’t.” Sebastian commented before blinking. “Oh, right, I got you these.” Sebastian added as he handed her the bouquet.
“Awe, thank you love.” Nazomi almost cooed as she took the flowers. “They’re beautiful, I can’t remember the last time I got flowers...Thank you.”
Sebastian smiled as he then handed her a smallish wrapped box. “I also got you this.”
Nazomi blinked as she took the gift, opening it to see it was a bottle of perfume. Taking it out of the box she gave it a sniff. “It smells wonderful, I can’t imagine how much this was…”
“It’s nothing, I saw it one day and thought it’d suit you. So I saved up to make sure I could get you it for today.”
Nazomi smiled, tail flicking as a purr emitted from her throat. “You really are too sweet.” she said as she moved to put the gifts up and then hugged Sebastian. “Again, thanks.” she added as she gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Shall we?”
“Yes.” Sebastian replied, giving Nazomi a nuzzle.
The two got in Nazomi’s car, Sebastian first asking if he should maybe hide out of site like in the trunk only for Nazomi to insist that he sit in the passenger seat. Despite his concerns she said if anyone asked, she was just helping him get to Linked Souls Day meet up. Which, in the most technical sense was not a lie. Sebastian nodded, getting in the passenger seat before Nazomi started her car up and drove.
As They drove through the city to Nazomi’s house something hit Sebastian that he could not believe he didn’t think about even when he had first seen the female cat. “Hey, Mrs. Nazomi?” he asked as he looked at her.
“Yes love?” she asked.
“I just realized...you’re a bit tall for an oriental shorthair. It’s something I should have realized sooner, are you…”
“A mixed species?” Nazomi finished asking for him with a slight smile. “Most don’t really take note until they hit their growth spurts and outgrow me by whatever their heights usually are depending on species. But yes, I am.” she answered. “I’m one third panther on my mother’s side.”
Sebastian blinked, that would explain why she was a bit more ebony in her fur color and why she was taller than the typical shorthair. In fact, her coming up to just under the mid point of his chest hadn’t come off as odd until he thought about it. With some growth still to come, odds are she’d likely be at his gut or just over his waist by the time he finished growing. Not that it was really a problem or he minded, it was just an observation he made.
His eyes glanced over at the scenery as they drove, taking in the buildings and noting that they were sticking to a fairly nice part of town. He then glanced over at Nazomi, taking in how beautiful she looked with a blush, she really was quite something. Sebastian found himself moving his hand closer to hers when they stopped at a red light. Nazomi smiled as she noticed, her hand moving towards his as they held hands for a moment before the light turned green. It did become a thing though with each stop they had to make, both of them enjoying the sign of affection.
It didn’t take too long until they had entered in a rather nice looking neighborhood, about the kind Sebastian assumed Nazomi might live in. It was nice and modest and the house that Nazomi pulled in to was just as nice looking. Thankfully, most of her neighbors were either out celebrating the holiday or doing so in their homes.“Here we are.” Nazomi said warmly.
“It’s a nice looking home.” Sebastian said as the two got out.
“Thanks. It’s really nothing all that special, but it’s nice and cozy and it’s really all I need.” Nazomi replied as she got the gifts Sebastian had gotten before heading to the door with the lion, both their tails flicking and even entwining a bit as they approached it. When they got to the door Nazomi fumbled a bit as she got her keys to unlock it.
“Allow me.” Sebastian offered as he helped her unlock the door, opening it for her.
“Thank you.” Nazomi smiled as she took a quick look around before pecking his cheek. “I’ll put these up while you make yourself at home. I haven’t quite started what I was going to fix, so it will be a bit longer before we eat.”
“You haven’t?” Sebastian inquired. “Then mind if I help? I feel bad that you’re doing a lot of the work and it’s only right that I do everything I can for you today.”
Nazomi smiled as she looked at him. “You’re such a kind, sweet, animal Sebastian. I don’t mind, really.”
“I insist.”
Nazomi chuckled slightly. “You really are a gentleman aren’t you?” she mused.
Sebastian blushed a bit as he rubbed the back of his head. “I just...I want to do whatever I can. You’re a wonderful woman and a great teacher. And, well, I want to take any and every opportunity I can get to treat you right because you deserve it.” the lion said as he blushed some more, conviction clear to see in his eyes.
Nazomi couldn’t help but blush, his words having touched her more than anything in her past relationships. “Alright, how about this? If you want to help me then let’s make it a thing and finish cooking it together?” she offered with a smile.
“I’d like that.” Sebastian agreed with his own smile.
“Alright, just give me a moment.”
Sebastian nodded as Nazomi went to go put up the gifts that Sebastian had gotten her. As she headed off, Sebastian found his eyes wandering over her form, taking in her figure that was shown off by her attire as well as lower, noting her slightly swaying hips and…tail. Sebastian cursed himself as he moved his eyes to something else. Sure he was still a teenager, a boy, but he prided himself in being better than most. Sure he had his...moments, as Jax so brazenly pointed out. But the last thing he wanted was to be that inappropriate towards Nazomi, even if he did, at times, allow some indulgences here and there.
When Nazomi got back she smiled. “Alright, ready?”
Sebastian nodded. “Yes.”
“OK, should be done in half the time with both of us working on it.”
Nazomi lead Sebastian to the kitchen to show him that she was preparing, a fruit lasagna with the usual accompaniments. After Sebastian looked over the recipe she was using, one from the cooking show Happy Happy Cooking that was toted to be one of their more popular ones among carnivores. he set to work helping her, working side by side as they prepared the fruit, making sure that everything was layered properly. Like in the car, every now and then Nazomi and Sebastian would briefly hold hands as they prepared the meal, satisfying their feline proclivity for touch contact. It wasn’t too long before they had the lasagna in the oven and the accompanying bread.
“Alright, shouldn’t be too long for it to fully cook, thanks for the help.” Nazomi said as she nuzzled Sebastian, giving him an affectionate hug as well. “In the meantime, we can go over some of my old notes and other things while we wait to help you out with your career path if you like.”
“Sure.” Sebastian smiled as he nuzzled and hugged her back, the two staying like that for a good minute.
“I’ll go get them then.” Nazomi said as she finally and somewhat hesitantly separated to go get her old college notes and study material, returning shortly after with them.
While the food cooked Nazomi went over various things she had to study and learn with Sebastian, covering things they hadn’t gone over from prior times and quizzing him on material they had. To Sebastian, this was like cram school in a sense, getting ready for what he’d need to know to excel in college, only with a more...personal and romantic one on one touch. While he never had issue with paying attention to any of his teachers, Sebastian always hung on every word Nazomi said. To him, her voice was just as beautiful as everything else about her. And just like all the times before, they shared affections with each other.
It seemed like no time at all when the food was done, the two of them chalking it up to them just enjoying each other’s company so much. As Nazomi got the lasagna and bread Sebastian set the table before helping her prepare their plates. As he finished helping her he noticed her take out some wine glasses and a bottle of wine and pouring some of the red liquid in each, although one was more of a sample serving compared to the other, before putting it up and placing them on the table.
“Wine?” Sebastian inquired.
“Just to help things feel a bit more normal.” Nazomi explained. “You don’t have to even drink it. But I was your age once, Rex it only feels like yesterday, and even back then sampling wine wasn’t wrong. That first date we had when you encouraged me to not deny myself any wine, where we acted like a teacher and student just having a meet up to discuss things, stayed on my mind for a while. It wasn’t right that there was some inequality, no full romantic atmosphere. So, I figured sense we’re in private I’d have us on an even level or give the feeling of it. But as I said, you don’t have to drink it.” she said before sitting down.
Sebastian blushed, smiling as he sat down. “Thank you, love.” he said with a fair bit of warmth in hid voice.
It never ceased to surprise the other that both worried about the other’s feelings and the challenges they had to face with their secretive relationship. Something that made each grow more attached to the other was when a few days after their first date Nazomi had confessed to Sebastian that she was far more hesitant and worried than she let on. Revealing she had been hiding the anxiety of them being a thing and was actually on the verge of suggesting they just call the attempt off out of fear as well as the revelation of his uncle. But she had decided to go through with it because of how truly genuine and good a man he was among other things that made her want to try. Sebastian himself had also confided in her his own concerns and worries about it and her, which made her just feel all the stronger for him over time.
“By the way, how has your day been so far?” Sebastian asked as he began to eat, taking a bite of the lasagna. “Oh, this is delicious.”
“It is.” Nazomi agreed as she took a bite of it. “It’s all thanks to you though, doubt it would have been as good without a little help.” she said with a smile. “As for my day, it’s gone well so far, just the usual grading of papers and preparing for the coming weeks’ lessons. Same old, same old, really. So far the rest of the students I have are nice and do there best. Despite what issues some might cause outside of the classroom I don’t really have to deal with any troublemakers, Maybe a few slackers or an unmotivated student, but that’s about it.”
“Well you’re a great teacher, I find it hard to believe that any of my peers would want to cause any trouble in your class. Not only that, but you’re very nice and helpful too.” Sebastian commented.
A smile formed on Nazomi’s mouth as her ebony fur darkened. “Thank you, you’re always so sweet Sebastian.” she said as she purred a bit. “Honestly, I think you’re one of the best students at the school, you work hard and are always so polite. I know you’ll go far with being a teacher.”
Sebastian blushed heavily. “Thank you…” he said with a half smile. “Though I will admit, keeping it up can be a bit—stressful. Comes with being a lion, expectations and familial pressure.” he admitted
Nazomi blinked as she looked at him. “Is it that hard?”
“It’s, well…”
Nazomi moved her hand to rest on top of his. “You can tell me if this is something negatively effecting you Sebastian.”
The lion sighed a bit. “It is hard. Being a lion you’re seen as the king of beasts, someone who’ll go far and have high positioned jobs or in some form of leadership. That image both helps and hurts us, becoming a driving factor for pushing ourselves as much as possible to keep to a standard. It’s something that permeates every lion family, the mothers and fathers pushing their kids to do something worthy of being a lion. Cram school is seen as an expected and normal thing to do and those who don’t do it are mostly looked down on as they are often those that end up in gangs or didn’t try hard enough.”
Nazomi’s hand gripped his, squeezing gently. “Is your family pressuring you?”
“Not...entirely. My mother often brings up what my older brother and my sister are doing and keeps suggesting I try to do the same. She doesn’t seem disappointed, but there’s just something about her voice…” Sebastian admitted. “She is happy that I’m doing well, but I know she expects more. She thinks I’m planning to go into an education position that’s high up, or at a prestigious university when I don’t care where I teach so long as I do some good.”
Nazomi squeezed his hand again, feeling bad for the lion. “That’s not really all that good Sebastian, have you thought about bringing it up to a councilor?”
Sebastian shrugged. “Somewhat. But as I said, this permeates lions as a whole, it’s far too ingrained to really be dealt with. Thankfully my situation isn’t too bad, it can be far worse. Plus, I like learning so it’s not that big of a deal. I also have my friends and, well, you.” he smiled.
Nazomi blushed heavily. “I see…”
“I hope I didn’t make things awkward or anything…”
“No, no! You’re fine Sebastian.” Nazomi assured. “It’s good you have a support system and you don’t really let it get to you, you’re very strong for that. Will you tell your mother you’ll try to teach anywhere?”
“Eventually, yes, when I’m nearing the end of my higher education and about to apply to various places.” Sebastian answered. “Just like how I’ll tell her about us when I’m a bit into my freshman year at college or before I get into college if we get that far, which I hope we do and keep doing. You are an amazing woman and to be honest, to me you are far more exceptional than any other.”
Nazomi blinked, her fur becoming more dark red than ebony black as her heart melted. He was the kindest, most genuine soul she had ever met and continued to prove he was mature beyond his years. “I— thank you Sebastian.” she said with a soft purr, falling a fair bit more for the lion.
From there the two continued to talk as they ate, taking their time and enjoying each other’s company as they swapped stories about their childhood. Nazomi found herself surprised as she learned that even as a young kid Sebastian was well mannered and somewhat bookish. She felt comfortable around him, able to share with him more embarrassing things like the time she was so nervous to do a presentation in high school that she messed up a word or two or when she practically face planted when she was looking at a crush. It just felt right and natural to be so open with him.
When they had finished eating, Sebastian even having drank the small bit of wine, he and Nazomi cleared the table. Sebastian even helped her with the dishes before they went back to going over some more of Nazomi’s old papers and work to help prepare him. It seemed like no time once more as they noticed the sun was start to set.
“Is it really that late already?” Nazomi asked as she looked at her clock, taking note of the time.
“Looks like it.” Sebastian commented.
“My how time flies, it seems to go so slow until well…” she blushed. “I’m around you.”
Sebastian blushed heavily. “Yeah…”
“Thank you for the lovely time, as well as the gifts and helping out, not many guys are as considerate as you.” Nazomi commented.
“Well, you’re worth any effort…” the lion blushed.
Nazomi smiled, blushing as well. How could this lion keep finding ways to make her heart feel like it was a puddle? She hadn’t really met many guys with the ability to do that over the years, more so not than did in recent ones. It had gotten to the point where she just really stopped looking. But then Sebastian came around and made her feel things she hadn’t felt in a long time. His gentlemanly studious nature and willingness to be so considerate, among other things, just had her more enamored with each time they were together. The fact that he was willing to take things so slow, deny himself the most basic of typical teenage experiences that most his age were having just made him seem too good to be true. And yet, there he was proving to be just that good.
Then there was the fact that while she did do a fare share for the holiday he had not only helped out, but went out of his way to get her flowers and a rather nice gift, not expecting anything special in return and just wanting to treat her right. As the lion got up from where they had been sitting she stood. “Sebastian, before I take you back to Cherryton...I think you deserve another kiss.”
Sebastian blinked as he blushed. “I don’t want you to feel obligated to…”
“No, I want to.” Nazomi admitted with a smile. “The only true thing that’s tricky with our relationship is that you’re a student and I’m a teacher. You’ve proven time and again just how good a man you are and that you are someone I...have looked for.” she blushed. “So I don’t see us kissing, at least in private and while off school grounds as being an issue. I know you’d never take advantage of me and I want to reward you for such, and for treating me to one of the best times I’ve had in a while.”
Sebastian’s tail started to flick happily as he smiled. “Alright.”
The two approached each other, embracing as they leaned in to share a kiss. Just like with their first, it was utterly electrifying for Sebastian. The feel of Nazomi’s lips unlike anything he felt before as his heart beat out of his chest as he started to purr. Sebastian enjoyed every second that the kiss lasted, his hands starting to subconsciously roam along her back a bit, though he would catch and restrain himself before they went too low.
Nazomi for her part pressed a bit firmer than last time, what with it being a holiday for love. As they kissed she noticed that Sebastian’s hands roaming along her back, taking in her form and the feel of her body and causing her to purr a fair bit. She smiled as she noticed he restrained himself from doing anything inappropriate, knowing her trust in him would never be misplaced. Although she promised to herself one day when he was no longer a student, she’d allow him to no longer restrain himself.
As the finally broke the kiss Nazomi smiled. “That was a wonderful kiss, possibly better than the first.” she giggled.
“Y-yeah…” Sebastian agreed, his cheeks a dark red.
“Thank you for being such a gentleman and not taking advantage.” Nazomi commented as they stayed embraced.
“I’d never.”
“I know love.” she smiled. “And that is why I will make you this promise. If we manage to make it to when you are out of school, then you have permission to not restrain yourself anymore as we’ll be in the clear. Not that you’d need my permission at that point” Nazomi giggled. “Anyway, we best get going before it gets too dark.”
Sebastian’s blush deepened all the more. “Yeah…”
The two headed back out to Nazomi’s car, first checking for anyone that might notice before getting in and driving off. The ride back went much like the first, the two briefly holding hands here and there as they made their way through the city. It was something that both Sebastian and Nazomi seemed almost unable to resist doing. Hell, when they had walked back to Nazomi’s car their tails entwined again.
When they got back to the bottom of the hill that Cherryton rested on the moon had not been fully risen for too long. “Thanks again for the lovely Linked Souls Day, I haven’t really celebrated it in so long.” Nazomi said as she parked the car.
“No problem, hopefully our next date can be somewhat soon.” Sebastian replied with a smile. “I hope the rest of your weekend goes well.”
“Thank you Sebastian, you too, I’ll see you Monday.” Nazomi smiled.
Sebastian was about to get out when he stopped. “Nazomi?”
“Yes?”
“Mind if we...have one more kiss?” Sebastian asked as he blushed.
Nazomi smiled as a giggle escaped her lips. “I suppose not, it’s only right to have a goodnight kiss after a date.”
The two leaned in close, sharing in one more kiss as they rested a paw on the back of each other’s head, purring loudly as they did so. When the kiss broke a few moments later Sebastian smiled. “Good night.”
“Good night love.”
Sebastian got out of the car, walking back up the hill as Nazomi turned her car around and left. The lion smiled as his heart continued to race, he was as happy as he had ever felt and was all the happier that Nazomi felt the same way as he did. While it was true their relationship had a strong possibility of stopping if they were ever in great enough danger of being found out, it seemed that she was daring for it to work as much as he was. Whether it did or not, only the future knew.
submitted by Tyranitron to BeastarsWriters [link] [comments]
As I've said before both of these fics are passion projects that I intend to finish no matter how long it takes as I love writing in both worlds. Also, I'm still sticking to this being set pretty much in Japan given everything in canon and sticking to those sensibilities and laws while not neglecting my own western ones and other westerners. I know I've put the disclaimer bout the Nazomi and Sebastian relationship on every prior chapter focusing on then, I just want to make it clear each time this is being handled with care and the maturity it demands. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy and I might get the next chapter out maybe early next month or near the end of this one depending on how things go, but I WILL get it out.
Also, curious what everyone thinks about my introduction of a Valentines equivalent.
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After Shinoku and Vega left to meet up with Anya and Sheila, Sebastian took the time to finish getting ready for when he’d meet up with Nazomi. Just like his friends, Sebastian took his time to make sure that he looked good enough for their rendezvous, putting on some clothes he had that looked very similar to the Cherryton uniform aside from differing colors and other minor things. Also like Shinoku and Vega, he had gotten Nazomi a gift as well. After making sure he was good and ready for his meet up with Nazomi, Sebastian went back to reading to pass the time till he needed to head down the hill to meet up with her. As he waited, Sebastian heard his phone ring, quickly going to see who it was and answering it when he saw it was his mother.
“Hello Sebastian.” His mother said as he answered the phone. “I hope you’re well.”
“Hi mom.” he replied. “Yeah, I’m doing well.”
“That’s good to hear. How are your grades, I trust you’re keeping them high like you always do.” His mother inquired.
“I am.”
“That’s good to hear, you always do your best. Though, I’m not sure why you don’t do cram school like your brother did and your sister is doing. It’s nice that you work hard, don’t get me wrong, but I just want to make sure you’re living up to your full potential.” She said, her tone carrying that always subtle pressure of a proud lioness with high expectations.
While she did care for him like any lion mother, she always wanted him to live up to the standards and the image of what a lion should be. Not that she was any different from any other lioness towards her kids, they all knew they had to make sure that the reputation of the king of beasts was maintained. It was an ever present driving force for lions; to stand apart, set the example, excel and push yourself to ever higher points and positions. It was both the greatest driving factor, and the most dangerous threat to a lion. While most would manage to get by and repress the toll it took or even thrive; for others, it would be far too much pressure. It was what lead to so many lions to go to the back alley, to form the likes of the shishigumi or join it.
Sebastian took a moment, the pressure of his mother’s expectations briefly showing before he quickly composed himself. “I understand mom, don’t worry, I have everything planned out.” he assured her. “I’m just tackling things in a way that allows me to give my full attention to my grades here. It’s not that I’m not interested in cram school, I just think it’s more logical to not have my focus split too much.”
“Always the analytical one my little Seby.” his mother commented. “But you only focus on your schoolwork and your reading, even your brother managed to handle doing cram school AND being on his school’s baseball team. He always did so well, even as a cub. Your sister’s also excelling in her gymnastics.” She added. His mother never overtly sounded disappointed, but the subtle nudges and constant reminding of his siblings’ achievements spoke volumes of her wanting him to be like them and every other lion. Why couldn’t she just understand that while he had the potential like every other lion, he just didn’t have the interest? Wasn’t it enough that they were bringing home trophies to show off?
Sebastian let the pressure he felt slip slightly once more before regaining his composure again. “It’s good to hear they’re doing so well…” he said in a cheerful voice. “You don’t need to worry though mom, I’ll make sure I get into a good college, plus all my teachers like me. Getting a recommendation good enough to be accepted won’t be hard to get.”
“True, your teachers always liked you.” His mother said. “But it’s just so rare for a lion not to do cram school. At least, in terms of the ones wanting to make a good life for themselves.” she commented in a veiled implication that a lot of the lions who chose not to were always trouble makers and bad seeds.
“I know mom.” Sebastian replied. “But I do have a career path set and I’m not going to stray from it.”
“And given the way you study and your grades I have no doubt. I can’t wait to hear what prestigious college you become the head over. But you might decide to be something equally important to society.” his mother commented. He never dared once to say he wanted to just teach, he didn’t even care where. All he ever said when what he wanted to be came up was something potentially in education and just smile and nod when his mother would suggest stuff. “By the way, have you found a nice lioness yet?”
“No, not yet mom.” Sebastian replied. He didn’t even dare to think about giving her a hint that he had found someone, knowing full well the questions that ensue about her and wanting to see a picture of or talk to her.
“That’s a shame, I hate to hear that you’re alone on Linked Souls Day. Are you looking?” his mother asked.
“Yes mom, I am.” Sebastian lied. “I’ll find someone, it just takes time for some.”
“But you’re so handsome, are you sure you’re looking or giving good impressions?”
“I am…” Sebastian replied as he held back a sigh.
“Alright. But just know that I have a few friends with very nice daughters I could always introduce you to.”
Sebastian pinched his brow. “Thanks...but I’m sure I’ll find someone soon.”
“OK, just don’t get so caught up in your studies that you forget.” his mother commented. “Anyway, I need to get going, your father’s going to be taking me out for a romantic date. He says hi by the way.”
“I won’t.” Sebastian said as he composed himself once more. “And that sounds nice, tell him I say hello.”
“Sure. And Sebastian, keep working hard and making us proud.” his mother said before hanging up.
Sebastian let out a sigh as he hung up his phone, putting it back in his pocket. As he did so, Hassan looked at him. “I get the whole familial pressure, it’s not fun. I can only imagine what it’s like with being a lion.”
“She means well…” Sebastian replied.
“Clearly given the expressions you let slip.” Hassan pointed out. “I’m not trying to say your mother’s horrible, but her intentions aren’t exactly selfless.”
“It’s just how it is for us lions.”
“Well if you ask me it’s a bunch of bullshit.” Jax commented.
Hassan just shrugged. “Like Sebastian said, it’s just what it is. All we can do is just not let it get to us and forge our own paths the best we can when it comes to expectations.”
“Anyway, I better start heading out, it’s getting close to time for me to meet up with miss Nazomi.” Sebastian said as he stood up, walking over to get the flowers and gift for Nazomi.
“Sure you don’t need any help?” Hassan asked.
“I’ll be fine.”
Hassan nodded. “Alright.”
“Keep living the dream dude, maybe you’ll get to spend the night with her.” Jax said with a wide grin.
Sebastian just rolled his eyes at Jax before walking out to meet up with Nazomi, not even wanting to respond to the comment. As he headed down to the main floor of the dorm, Sebastian felt a combination of excitement and nervousness. It was his first time celebrating Linked Souls Day with anyone, not that he was ever really bothered about not being able to do so in the past. Sebastian also felt a bit guilty due to the fact that because he was a student and Nazomi a teacher, he couldn’t really do anything publicly with her let alone the fact that she was preparing the meal for them to eat.
Deep down he was a romantic at heart, much maligning the fact that he couldn’t be the one to treat her to a cooked meal. It didn’t really feel right that on Linked Souls Day she was doing most the work. It was just something that he would make sure to do in the future if things got that far with them. Although he still worried about being the potential cause of her losing her job. That, and exactly when and how he was going to introduce her to his parents when he was no longer a student. Hopefully he’d have it figured out when the time came.
Sebastian let out a sigh as he exited the boy’s dorm. Despite all the worries, he still deep down found himself hoping that this would work out. Even with the returning thought of this being just a potential rebellion against his parents and their expectations, he could not deny how he felt about the older feline. Especially with their first date still ever present in his mind. No matter what challenges or obstacles they might face, he was willing to face them, his resolve hardening all the more. Even if it ended up with them having to end things before something bad happened, he’d rather live knowing he tried his best than giving into the fear and not trying to fight for his own happiness.
It didn’t take long for Sebastian to leave the school and get down the hill to where Nazomi said she would be waiting for him, and as he got to their rendezvous spot he stopped. His eyes widened as he felt his heart about to beat out of his chest. Before him stood Nazomi next to her car, dressed in a rather nice satin button down green blouse and black business skirt with a slit on the left side that fit her perfectly. She looked beautiful, so much so that Sebastian felt his cheeks were on fire aas he blushed, unable to really say anything for a few moments.
“W-wow…” he managed to say as he managed to walk over to Nazomi. “You look...amazing.”
Nazomi smiled a bit. “Thank you, I did try.” she said as she blushed ever so slightly. “I would have worn a dress, but I didn’t want to arouse any real suspicion…”
“It’s fine, there’s not a time I’ve seen you where you didn’t look beautiful.” Sebastian said as he continued to blush, rubbing the back of his head as he did so.
Nazomi blushed more. “You look quite handsome yourself, and just as professional as I do.” she commented. “At least it won’t look too suspicious...I hope.”
“I’m sure it won’t.” Sebastian commented before blinking. “Oh, right, I got you these.” Sebastian added as he handed her the bouquet.
“Awe, thank you love.” Nazomi almost cooed as she took the flowers. “They’re beautiful, I can’t remember the last time I got flowers...Thank you.”
Sebastian smiled as he then handed her a smallish wrapped box. “I also got you this.”
Nazomi blinked as she took the gift, opening it to see it was a bottle of perfume. Taking it out of the box she gave it a sniff. “It smells wonderful, I can’t imagine how much this was…”
“It’s nothing, I saw it one day and thought it’d suit you. So I saved up to make sure I could get you it for today.”
Nazomi smiled, tail flicking as a purr emitted from her throat. “You really are too sweet.” she said as she moved to put the gifts up and then hugged Sebastian. “Again, thanks.” she added as she gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Shall we?”
“Yes.” Sebastian replied, giving Nazomi a nuzzle.
The two got in Nazomi’s car, Sebastian first asking if he should maybe hide out of site like in the trunk only for Nazomi to insist that he sit in the passenger seat. Despite his concerns she said if anyone asked, she was just helping him get to Linked Souls Day meet up. Which, in the most technical sense was not a lie. Sebastian nodded, getting in the passenger seat before Nazomi started her car up and drove.
As They drove through the city to Nazomi’s house something hit Sebastian that he could not believe he didn’t think about even when he had first seen the female cat. “Hey, Mrs. Nazomi?” he asked as he looked at her.
“Yes love?” she asked.
“I just realized...you’re a bit tall for an oriental shorthair. It’s something I should have realized sooner, are you…”
“A mixed species?” Nazomi finished asking for him with a slight smile. “Most don’t really take note until they hit their growth spurts and outgrow me by whatever their heights usually are depending on species. But yes, I am.” she answered. “I’m one third panther on my mother’s side.”
Sebastian blinked, that would explain why she was a bit more ebony in her fur color and why she was taller than the typical shorthair. In fact, her coming up to just under the mid point of his chest hadn’t come off as odd until he thought about it. With some growth still to come, odds are she’d likely be at his gut or just over his waist by the time he finished growing. Not that it was really a problem or he minded, it was just an observation he made.
His eyes glanced over at the scenery as they drove, taking in the buildings and noting that they were sticking to a fairly nice part of town. He then glanced over at Nazomi, taking in how beautiful she looked with a blush, she really was quite something. Sebastian found himself moving his hand closer to hers when they stopped at a red light. Nazomi smiled as she noticed, her hand moving towards his as they held hands for a moment before the light turned green. It did become a thing though with each stop they had to make, both of them enjoying the sign of affection.
It didn’t take too long until they had entered in a rather nice looking neighborhood, about the kind Sebastian assumed Nazomi might live in. It was nice and modest and the house that Nazomi pulled in to was just as nice looking. Thankfully, most of her neighbors were either out celebrating the holiday or doing so in their homes.“Here we are.” Nazomi said warmly.
“It’s a nice looking home.” Sebastian said as the two got out.
“Thanks. It’s really nothing all that special, but it’s nice and cozy and it’s really all I need.” Nazomi replied as she got the gifts Sebastian had gotten before heading to the door with the lion, both their tails flicking and even entwining a bit as they approached it. When they got to the door Nazomi fumbled a bit as she got her keys to unlock it.
“Allow me.” Sebastian offered as he helped her unlock the door, opening it for her.
“Thank you.” Nazomi smiled as she took a quick look around before pecking his cheek. “I’ll put these up while you make yourself at home. I haven’t quite started what I was going to fix, so it will be a bit longer before we eat.”
“You haven’t?” Sebastian inquired. “Then mind if I help? I feel bad that you’re doing a lot of the work and it’s only right that I do everything I can for you today.”
Nazomi smiled as she looked at him. “You’re such a kind, sweet, animal Sebastian. I don’t mind, really.”
“I insist.”
Nazomi chuckled slightly. “You really are a gentleman aren’t you?” she mused.
Sebastian blushed a bit as he rubbed the back of his head. “I just...I want to do whatever I can. You’re a wonderful woman and a great teacher. And, well, I want to take any and every opportunity I can get to treat you right because you deserve it.” the lion said as he blushed some more, conviction clear to see in his eyes.
Nazomi couldn’t help but blush, his words having touched her more than anything in her past relationships. “Alright, how about this? If you want to help me then let’s make it a thing and finish cooking it together?” she offered with a smile.
“I’d like that.” Sebastian agreed with his own smile.
“Alright, just give me a moment.”
Sebastian nodded as Nazomi went to go put up the gifts that Sebastian had gotten her. As she headed off, Sebastian found his eyes wandering over her form, taking in her figure that was shown off by her attire as well as lower, noting her slightly swaying hips and…tail. Sebastian cursed himself as he moved his eyes to something else. Sure he was still a teenager, a boy, but he prided himself in being better than most. Sure he had his...moments, as Jax so brazenly pointed out. But the last thing he wanted was to be that inappropriate towards Nazomi, even if he did, at times, allow some indulgences here and there.
When Nazomi got back she smiled. “Alright, ready?”
Sebastian nodded. “Yes.”
“OK, should be done in half the time with both of us working on it.”
Nazomi lead Sebastian to the kitchen to show him that she was preparing, a fruit lasagna with the usual accompaniments. After Sebastian looked over the recipe she was using, one from the cooking show Happy Happy Cooking that was toted to be one of their more popular ones among carnivores. he set to work helping her, working side by side as they prepared the fruit, making sure that everything was layered properly. Like in the car, every now and then Nazomi and Sebastian would briefly hold hands as they prepared the meal, satisfying their feline proclivity for touch contact. It wasn’t too long before they had the lasagna in the oven and the accompanying bread.
“Alright, shouldn’t be too long for it to fully cook, thanks for the help.” Nazomi said as she nuzzled Sebastian, giving him an affectionate hug as well. “In the meantime, we can go over some of my old notes and other things while we wait to help you out with your career path if you like.”
“Sure.” Sebastian smiled as he nuzzled and hugged her back, the two staying like that for a good minute.
“I’ll go get them then.” Nazomi said as she finally and somewhat hesitantly separated to go get her old college notes and study material, returning shortly after with them.
While the food cooked Nazomi went over various things she had to study and learn with Sebastian, covering things they hadn’t gone over from prior times and quizzing him on material they had. To Sebastian, this was like cram school in a sense, getting ready for what he’d need to know to excel in college, only with a more...personal and romantic one on one touch. While he never had issue with paying attention to any of his teachers, Sebastian always hung on every word Nazomi said. To him, her voice was just as beautiful as everything else about her. And just like all the times before, they shared affections with each other.
It seemed like no time at all when the food was done, the two of them chalking it up to them just enjoying each other’s company so much. As Nazomi got the lasagna and bread Sebastian set the table before helping her prepare their plates. As he finished helping her he noticed her take out some wine glasses and a bottle of wine and pouring some of the red liquid in each, although one was more of a sample serving compared to the other, before putting it up and placing them on the table.
“Wine?” Sebastian inquired.
“Just to help things feel a bit more normal.” Nazomi explained. “You don’t have to even drink it. But I was your age once, Rex it only feels like yesterday, and even back then sampling wine wasn’t wrong. That first date we had when you encouraged me to not deny myself any wine, where we acted like a teacher and student just having a meet up to discuss things, stayed on my mind for a while. It wasn’t right that there was some inequality, no full romantic atmosphere. So, I figured sense we’re in private I’d have us on an even level or give the feeling of it. But as I said, you don’t have to drink it.” she said before sitting down.
Sebastian blushed, smiling as he sat down. “Thank you, love.” he said with a fair bit of warmth in hid voice.
It never ceased to surprise the other that both worried about the other’s feelings and the challenges they had to face with their secretive relationship. Something that made each grow more attached to the other was when a few days after their first date Nazomi had confessed to Sebastian that she was far more hesitant and worried than she let on. Revealing she had been hiding the anxiety of them being a thing and was actually on the verge of suggesting they just call the attempt off out of fear as well as the revelation of his uncle. But she had decided to go through with it because of how truly genuine and good a man he was among other things that made her want to try. Sebastian himself had also confided in her his own concerns and worries about it and her, which made her just feel all the stronger for him over time.
“By the way, how has your day been so far?” Sebastian asked as he began to eat, taking a bite of the lasagna. “Oh, this is delicious.”
“It is.” Nazomi agreed as she took a bite of it. “It’s all thanks to you though, doubt it would have been as good without a little help.” she said with a smile. “As for my day, it’s gone well so far, just the usual grading of papers and preparing for the coming weeks’ lessons. Same old, same old, really. So far the rest of the students I have are nice and do there best. Despite what issues some might cause outside of the classroom I don’t really have to deal with any troublemakers, Maybe a few slackers or an unmotivated student, but that’s about it.”
“Well you’re a great teacher, I find it hard to believe that any of my peers would want to cause any trouble in your class. Not only that, but you’re very nice and helpful too.” Sebastian commented.
A smile formed on Nazomi’s mouth as her ebony fur darkened. “Thank you, you’re always so sweet Sebastian.” she said as she purred a bit. “Honestly, I think you’re one of the best students at the school, you work hard and are always so polite. I know you’ll go far with being a teacher.”
Sebastian blushed heavily. “Thank you…” he said with a half smile. “Though I will admit, keeping it up can be a bit—stressful. Comes with being a lion, expectations and familial pressure.” he admitted
Nazomi blinked as she looked at him. “Is it that hard?”
“It’s, well…”
Nazomi moved her hand to rest on top of his. “You can tell me if this is something negatively effecting you Sebastian.”
The lion sighed a bit. “It is hard. Being a lion you’re seen as the king of beasts, someone who’ll go far and have high positioned jobs or in some form of leadership. That image both helps and hurts us, becoming a driving factor for pushing ourselves as much as possible to keep to a standard. It’s something that permeates every lion family, the mothers and fathers pushing their kids to do something worthy of being a lion. Cram school is seen as an expected and normal thing to do and those who don’t do it are mostly looked down on as they are often those that end up in gangs or didn’t try hard enough.”
Nazomi’s hand gripped his, squeezing gently. “Is your family pressuring you?”
“Not...entirely. My mother often brings up what my older brother and my sister are doing and keeps suggesting I try to do the same. She doesn’t seem disappointed, but there’s just something about her voice…” Sebastian admitted. “She is happy that I’m doing well, but I know she expects more. She thinks I’m planning to go into an education position that’s high up, or at a prestigious university when I don’t care where I teach so long as I do some good.”
Nazomi squeezed his hand again, feeling bad for the lion. “That’s not really all that good Sebastian, have you thought about bringing it up to a councilor?”
Sebastian shrugged. “Somewhat. But as I said, this permeates lions as a whole, it’s far too ingrained to really be dealt with. Thankfully my situation isn’t too bad, it can be far worse. Plus, I like learning so it’s not that big of a deal. I also have my friends and, well, you.” he smiled.
Nazomi blushed heavily. “I see…”
“I hope I didn’t make things awkward or anything…”
“No, no! You’re fine Sebastian.” Nazomi assured. “It’s good you have a support system and you don’t really let it get to you, you’re very strong for that. Will you tell your mother you’ll try to teach anywhere?”
“Eventually, yes, when I’m nearing the end of my higher education and about to apply to various places.” Sebastian answered. “Just like how I’ll tell her about us when I’m a bit into my freshman year at college or before I get into college if we get that far, which I hope we do and keep doing. You are an amazing woman and to be honest, to me you are far more exceptional than any other.”
Nazomi blinked, her fur becoming more dark red than ebony black as her heart melted. He was the kindest, most genuine soul she had ever met and continued to prove he was mature beyond his years. “I— thank you Sebastian.” she said with a soft purr, falling a fair bit more for the lion.
From there the two continued to talk as they ate, taking their time and enjoying each other’s company as they swapped stories about their childhood. Nazomi found herself surprised as she learned that even as a young kid Sebastian was well mannered and somewhat bookish. She felt comfortable around him, able to share with him more embarrassing things like the time she was so nervous to do a presentation in high school that she messed up a word or two or when she practically face planted when she was looking at a crush. It just felt right and natural to be so open with him.
When they had finished eating, Sebastian even having drank the small bit of wine, he and Nazomi cleared the table. Sebastian even helped her with the dishes before they went back to going over some more of Nazomi’s old papers and work to help prepare him. It seemed like no time once more as they noticed the sun was start to set.
“Is it really that late already?” Nazomi asked as she looked at her clock, taking note of the time.
“Looks like it.” Sebastian commented.
“My how time flies, it seems to go so slow until well…” she blushed. “I’m around you.”
Sebastian blushed heavily. “Yeah…”
“Thank you for the lovely time, as well as the gifts and helping out, not many guys are as considerate as you.” Nazomi commented.
“Well, you’re worth any effort…” the lion blushed.
Nazomi smiled, blushing as well. How could this lion keep finding ways to make her heart feel like it was a puddle? She hadn’t really met many guys with the ability to do that over the years, more so not than did in recent ones. It had gotten to the point where she just really stopped looking. But then Sebastian came around and made her feel things she hadn’t felt in a long time. His gentlemanly studious nature and willingness to be so considerate, among other things, just had her more enamored with each time they were together. The fact that he was willing to take things so slow, deny himself the most basic of typical teenage experiences that most his age were having just made him seem too good to be true. And yet, there he was proving to be just that good.
Then there was the fact that while she did do a fare share for the holiday he had not only helped out, but went out of his way to get her flowers and a rather nice gift, not expecting anything special in return and just wanting to treat her right. As the lion got up from where they had been sitting she stood. “Sebastian, before I take you back to Cherryton...I think you deserve another kiss.”
Sebastian blinked as he blushed. “I don’t want you to feel obligated to…”
“No, I want to.” Nazomi admitted with a smile. “The only true thing that’s tricky with our relationship is that you’re a student and I’m a teacher. You’ve proven time and again just how good a man you are and that you are someone I...have looked for.” she blushed. “So I don’t see us kissing, at least in private and while off school grounds as being an issue. I know you’d never take advantage of me and I want to reward you for such, and for treating me to one of the best times I’ve had in a while.”
Sebastian’s tail started to flick happily as he smiled. “Alright.”
The two approached each other, embracing as they leaned in to share a kiss. Just like with their first, it was utterly electrifying for Sebastian. The feel of Nazomi’s lips unlike anything he felt before as his heart beat out of his chest as he started to purr. Sebastian enjoyed every second that the kiss lasted, his hands starting to subconsciously roam along her back a bit, though he would catch and restrain himself before they went too low.
Nazomi for her part pressed a bit firmer than last time, what with it being a holiday for love. As they kissed she noticed that Sebastian’s hands roaming along her back, taking in her form and the feel of her body and causing her to purr a fair bit. She smiled as she noticed he restrained himself from doing anything inappropriate, knowing her trust in him would never be misplaced. Although she promised to herself one day when he was no longer a student, she’d allow him to no longer restrain himself.
As the finally broke the kiss Nazomi smiled. “That was a wonderful kiss, possibly better than the first.” she giggled.
“Y-yeah…” Sebastian agreed, his cheeks a dark red.
“Thank you for being such a gentleman and not taking advantage.” Nazomi commented as they stayed embraced.
“I’d never.”
“I know love.” she smiled. “And that is why I will make you this promise. If we manage to make it to when you are out of school, then you have permission to not restrain yourself anymore as we’ll be in the clear. Not that you’d need my permission at that point” Nazomi giggled. “Anyway, we best get going before it gets too dark.”
Sebastian’s blush deepened all the more. “Yeah…”
The two headed back out to Nazomi’s car, first checking for anyone that might notice before getting in and driving off. The ride back went much like the first, the two briefly holding hands here and there as they made their way through the city. It was something that both Sebastian and Nazomi seemed almost unable to resist doing. Hell, when they had walked back to Nazomi’s car their tails entwined again.
When they got back to the bottom of the hill that Cherryton rested on the moon had not been fully risen for too long. “Thanks again for the lovely Linked Souls Day, I haven’t really celebrated it in so long.” Nazomi said as she parked the car.
“No problem, hopefully our next date can be somewhat soon.” Sebastian replied with a smile. “I hope the rest of your weekend goes well.”
“Thank you Sebastian, you too, I’ll see you Monday.” Nazomi smiled.
Sebastian was about to get out when he stopped. “Nazomi?”
“Yes?”
“Mind if we...have one more kiss?” Sebastian asked as he blushed.
Nazomi smiled as a giggle escaped her lips. “I suppose not, it’s only right to have a goodnight kiss after a date.”
The two leaned in close, sharing in one more kiss as they rested a paw on the back of each other’s head, purring loudly as they did so. When the kiss broke a few moments later Sebastian smiled. “Good night.”
“Good night love.”
Sebastian got out of the car, walking back up the hill as Nazomi turned her car around and left. The lion smiled as his heart continued to race, he was as happy as he had ever felt and was all the happier that Nazomi felt the same way as he did. While it was true their relationship had a strong possibility of stopping if they were ever in great enough danger of being found out, it seemed that she was daring for it to work as much as he was. Whether it did or not, only the future knew.
2023.06.01 22:44 LiseEclaire [Leveling up the World] - Academy Arc - Chapter 758
Out there - Patreon (for all those curious or wanting to support :))
At the Beginning
Adventure Arc - Arc 2
Wilderness Arc - Arc 3
Academy Arc - Arc 4
Previously on Leveling up the World…
The vortex guardian slowly descended from the sky. A lot closer than Dallion imagined it to be, the being was still several dozen miles in the darkness, only visible as a partial orb of light; partial because some of it had been severed off. The voidlings he had faced had probably been much stronger than the chainling blobs, capable of breaking off chunks of light from an otherwise perfect sphere.
Thank the Moons, Dallion thought. Harp had been right that a one-to-one fight was a bit beyond him. The battle damage, though, changed everything. There had been a time when Dallion had faced the minion of the Purple Moon and the Star at full strength. Like now, the two peaks of power had focused on each other, gradually tearing themselves down to the point that he could effectively face them and even win. At the time Dallion had seen his actions as clever, now that he had gained a bit of force, he saw them as cowardly and also as a warning not to underestimate lesser opponents.
“Have you ever fought one of those?” Dallion summoned his armadil shield.
The dryad guardian gave a reply, but Dallion found himself incapable of hearing it. With the vortex guardian no more than five hundred feet away, his actual form had become visible within the glow, and it was nothing like he had expected.
VORTEX GUARDIAN – ACACIA NILATON
Species: HUMAN
Class: MAGIC
Health: 17%
Traits:
- BODY 40
- MIND 40
- PERCEPTION 40
- REACTION 40
- MAGIC 40
Skills:
- ATTACK
- GUARD
- ATHLETICS
- ACROBATICS
- FORGING
- SCHOLAR
- SPELLCRAFT
Weakness: HEAD
Human? It took some effort for Dallion not to take a step back.
During his many travels through the realms, he had seen all sorts of guardians: insects, creatures, artificial constructs, members of the three banished races—feral or not. Not once had he heard of humans being banished. The worst that could happen to the free races was to get placed in a prison item for a number of decades, get delevelled, or have their awakening powers sealed. Banishment was used to describe someone chased out of a province of the empire itself. And yet, there was no denying the proof in front of him.
The vortex guardian was of a woman in her twenties. Made entirely of purple light, she was wearing what had been light armor of the same material. Her left shoulder was missing, along with the entire arm. Even so, there was no indication that she was in pain. For that matter, there was no indication she felt anything whatsoever. Just as Dallion wasn’t able to sense normal emotions from void creatures, the only thing he was getting from her was a constant sound of static.
In preparation for the fight, Dallion split into sixty instances. He was half expecting the guardian to do the same. She didn’t.
Glowing eyes with barely a hint of humanity glanced at Dallion, after which the guardian darted towards him, sword in hand.
Dallion parried while the rest of his instances spread out, each casting a different spell. When it came to magic damage to one instance could well deal damage to all the rest. The blade of magic slammed into his harpsisword and stopped. For a fraction of a second, surprise became visible on the guardian’s face, as if she expected for the attack to pass through.
Spells rained at her from all sides, passing through as if she weren’t there.
Instances can’t harm her, Harp said. You must stick to reality only.
Similar to what Nil had done, Dallion thought. Actually, the similarities between the last awakening trial and the current vortex were too many to be mere coincidence. Vortex towers, void presence, even the echo’s ability to avoid attacks seemed more like a warning of things to come. The only problem was that like most warnings sent by the Moons, they were only visible in hindsight.
Magic symbols appeared all over the guardian’s body, like glowing tattoos. There were too many for Dallion to make out the possible spells they would create, which was why he went on the offensive with a spark line attack.
A third of the symbols faded out as the rest cast a series of aether barriers in front of the guardian. Ever multiplying, they shattered as quickly as they were created, though in the process managed to delay the strike for just long enough for the guardian to block it.
The mage principle held true—even with the impressive trait values, the guardian remained a spellcaster, not a fighter. Her initial attack was supposed to be a certain hit—magic wasn’t restrained by the physical. The guardian probably expected her blade to go through the harpsisword.
“Ruby,” Dallion said as he rushed forward with another line attack.
Wind slashes combined with the thread of destruction.
MINOR STRIKE
Damage dealt is increased by 10%
A hit. It wasn’t much, but it confirmed Dallion’s suspicions. Lacking one arm, and a lot of health, the guardian could only rely on secondary methods for casting spells, making her vulnerable to fast-paced disruptive attacks.
“There’s no need to fight,” Dallion said, adding slowness into his words. He knew that a guardian of her caliber would never fall for a music attack, but as things stood, every little bit was to his advantage. “We’re both human, after all.”
The music strands snapped long before they reached their intended target. However, his physical attacks kept her on the defensive. No longer seen as invulnerable, the guardian didn’t appear as threatening as before. Now she was closer to a low-level noble: powerful, yet with just enough weaknesses for one to take advantage.
MINOR STRIKE
Damage dealt is increased by 10%
Another of Ruby’s wing attacks managed to sneak through, reducing the guardian’s health to fifteen percent.
“The voidlings must have done a number on you.” Dallion unsummoned his armadil shield. He no longer needed that arm to defend himself; a lot more could be done by casting spells.
The harpsisword slashed half an inch from the woman’s torso. If he got a bit better, the fight could end right away.
“Acacia is a nice name,” Dallion pressed on. Aether projectiles shot out from his left hand, following an elliptical path to their target. Similar to Ruby’s attacks, most were negated by the guardian’s defenses, but a few managed to pass through, stacking up three red rectangles. “I didn’t know humans could be banished.”
You must have done something pretty terrible to deserve such punishment, he thought. Was it related to the Moons? Is it a curse?
“My task is an honor,” the guardian said, her voice high and echoy very much like the combination of sounds that Harp used when talking to Dallion. “And I’ll keep doing it after this fight is over.”
With seven percent health left, that sounded a bit optimistic. There was no way she could win at this point, no way for her even to manage a draw. Dallion’s greatest fear was that she’d perform an explosive spell in an attempt to take him with her. Yet, the guardian persistently continued casting protective barriers and on occasion try to counterattack in the moments between Dallion’s line attacks.
One could tell that she was trying to analyze his combat pattern. Her own, though, was somewhat off. The style was generally outdated, although it was difficult to tell for certain since she had only one arm to work with.
Why aren’t you fighting closer to the floor? Dallion wondered.
The deadly spikes emerging from it would have provided her with a definite advantage. The magic of the vortex wasn’t capable of harming her. For that matter, why had she fought the voidlings in the air?
MINOR STRIKE
Damage dealt is increased by 10%
One percent life. A single strike was all that kept Dallion from achieving victory. It was tempting to let up a bit and give himself some slack. In the past, Dallion would have probably done so, allowing himself a brief conversation with the guardian. Now he knew better. The all-out attack was the only reason he hadn’t received any damage in the last fight. If he gave his opponent a chance, he might end up on the other foot, granting her the means to eject him from the vortex, or even worse.
“Sorry,” Dallion said, following up with a multi point attack.
Aether barriers shattered in the hundreds. No longer to keep up with the attacks, the stacks thinned, then disappeared altogether.
CRITICAL STRIKE
Damage dealt is increased by 200%
VORTEX GUARDIAN has been defeated.
The purple rectangle emerged, marking the end of the fight. All magic spells cast by the guardian abruptly vanished. She, on the other hand, remained there.
Without hesitation, Dallion quickly places his left hand on her forehead. This was it, the moment every mage waited for. Dallion had found the hard way that, as difficult as dispersing a vortex was, it never came with a guarantee of absorption. Unlike awakening, mages were owed nothing—they had to take it.
Magic threads came out of Dallion’s fingers, then pulled hers in. A surge of power went through his body, filling him up with energy.
You have assimilated the GUARDIAN’s magic, increasing your magic trait to twenty-seven.
As Dallion’s magic increased, that of the vortex dwindled. The threads composing the floor melted away, transforming it into a wireframe construct, then even they were gone, leaving Dallion in the Nerosal ruins corridor, a foot above the ground. All the gear he had started with was on him once more, as was Ruby. However, there was something different about the shardfly. There was a faint glow coming from its red wings. Also, it had slightly grown in size.
“You leveled up,” Dallion said in surprise. “Good job.”
From within his realm, Nox meowed, annoyed. Having to constantly deal with magic had prevented the crackling from leveling up. The only consolation was that Dallion had used his newfound abilities to grant it and the other inhabitants of his realm with new skills.
Joy, pride, and a sense of achieavement emanated from Ruby. The creature flew a circle round Dallion, then went back to its spot on his shoulder. A few moments later, its wings reduced in size.
“Illusion?” Dallion asked.
Partial, Ruby replied.
The shardfly was definitely following in Gleam’s footsteps.
With the vortex gone—and once Dallion had cast a new light spell—the inside of the room was visible. Similar to everything else in the ruins, it was mostly empty. The difference was that the few things that remained were items of a lot more modern nature and definitely something that most people wouldn’t normally use.
Parchment, quills, small shadowtech devices… Dallion had no idea what they were supposed to do. Despite a vaguely familiar Earth design, they remained alien, as if someone was copying foreign technology and guessing how it functioned.
“Clever. You made these during the festivals,” Dallion said. All those times that Adzorg pretended to hide away from the festivals, he was actually here, working on his grand device. As a former mage, he might even have had an agreement with the lord mayor to “explore” the ruins in search of dangerous devices, vortexes, or Moons know what else. Even so, he was a bit careless leaving this behind. Someone with a bit of knowledge would have easily seen the magic symbols on the paper.
Anyone here? Dallion asked.
The items seemed to have been placed there before he’d arrived in the city. There was no way that Adzorg would fear them talking to anyone. Unfortunately, there were no responses. The old mage had covered his tracks yet again. The only clue that he left was his work.
One by one, Dallion gathered all pieces of paper, writing materials, and strange devices. There weren’t many of them. With no engineers in the world, it was going to be difficult to make anything out, especially since they were considered failures to be left behind.
What are you thinking? The armadil shield asked.
“A few things.” Dallion examined one of the devices closer. No larger than a lighter, it was made of multiple pieces of metal—alloys containing sun gold—though no gears or obvious power source. And, while the world was unfamiliar with concepts regarding electronics or advanced engineering, someone in the Shimmering Circle might.
Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this story, consider joining my patreon or check out my other stories on redditserials:
The Scuu Paradox (a Space Opera Sci Fi)
The Cassandrian Theory (a Space Opera Sci Fi)
The Impeccable Adventure of the Reluctant Dungeon (Dungeon Core Adventure Comedy)
Uncharted Waters (An Urban Fantasy Detective Noir)
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Adventure Arc - Arc 2
Wilderness Arc - Arc 3
Academy Arc - Arc 4
Previously on Leveling up the World…
The vortex guardian slowly descended from the sky. A lot closer than Dallion imagined it to be, the being was still several dozen miles in the darkness, only visible as a partial orb of light; partial because some of it had been severed off. The voidlings he had faced had probably been much stronger than the chainling blobs, capable of breaking off chunks of light from an otherwise perfect sphere.
Thank the Moons, Dallion thought. Harp had been right that a one-to-one fight was a bit beyond him. The battle damage, though, changed everything. There had been a time when Dallion had faced the minion of the Purple Moon and the Star at full strength. Like now, the two peaks of power had focused on each other, gradually tearing themselves down to the point that he could effectively face them and even win. At the time Dallion had seen his actions as clever, now that he had gained a bit of force, he saw them as cowardly and also as a warning not to underestimate lesser opponents.
“Have you ever fought one of those?” Dallion summoned his armadil shield.
The dryad guardian gave a reply, but Dallion found himself incapable of hearing it. With the vortex guardian no more than five hundred feet away, his actual form had become visible within the glow, and it was nothing like he had expected.
VORTEX GUARDIAN – ACACIA NILATON
Species: HUMAN
Class: MAGIC
Health: 17%
Traits:
- BODY 40
- MIND 40
- PERCEPTION 40
- REACTION 40
- MAGIC 40
Skills:
- ATTACK
- GUARD
- ATHLETICS
- ACROBATICS
- FORGING
- SCHOLAR
- SPELLCRAFT
Weakness: HEAD
Human? It took some effort for Dallion not to take a step back.
During his many travels through the realms, he had seen all sorts of guardians: insects, creatures, artificial constructs, members of the three banished races—feral or not. Not once had he heard of humans being banished. The worst that could happen to the free races was to get placed in a prison item for a number of decades, get delevelled, or have their awakening powers sealed. Banishment was used to describe someone chased out of a province of the empire itself. And yet, there was no denying the proof in front of him.
The vortex guardian was of a woman in her twenties. Made entirely of purple light, she was wearing what had been light armor of the same material. Her left shoulder was missing, along with the entire arm. Even so, there was no indication that she was in pain. For that matter, there was no indication she felt anything whatsoever. Just as Dallion wasn’t able to sense normal emotions from void creatures, the only thing he was getting from her was a constant sound of static.
In preparation for the fight, Dallion split into sixty instances. He was half expecting the guardian to do the same. She didn’t.
Glowing eyes with barely a hint of humanity glanced at Dallion, after which the guardian darted towards him, sword in hand.
Dallion parried while the rest of his instances spread out, each casting a different spell. When it came to magic damage to one instance could well deal damage to all the rest. The blade of magic slammed into his harpsisword and stopped. For a fraction of a second, surprise became visible on the guardian’s face, as if she expected for the attack to pass through.
Spells rained at her from all sides, passing through as if she weren’t there.
Instances can’t harm her, Harp said. You must stick to reality only.
Similar to what Nil had done, Dallion thought. Actually, the similarities between the last awakening trial and the current vortex were too many to be mere coincidence. Vortex towers, void presence, even the echo’s ability to avoid attacks seemed more like a warning of things to come. The only problem was that like most warnings sent by the Moons, they were only visible in hindsight.
Magic symbols appeared all over the guardian’s body, like glowing tattoos. There were too many for Dallion to make out the possible spells they would create, which was why he went on the offensive with a spark line attack.
A third of the symbols faded out as the rest cast a series of aether barriers in front of the guardian. Ever multiplying, they shattered as quickly as they were created, though in the process managed to delay the strike for just long enough for the guardian to block it.
The mage principle held true—even with the impressive trait values, the guardian remained a spellcaster, not a fighter. Her initial attack was supposed to be a certain hit—magic wasn’t restrained by the physical. The guardian probably expected her blade to go through the harpsisword.
“Ruby,” Dallion said as he rushed forward with another line attack.
Wind slashes combined with the thread of destruction.
MINOR STRIKE
Damage dealt is increased by 10%
A hit. It wasn’t much, but it confirmed Dallion’s suspicions. Lacking one arm, and a lot of health, the guardian could only rely on secondary methods for casting spells, making her vulnerable to fast-paced disruptive attacks.
“There’s no need to fight,” Dallion said, adding slowness into his words. He knew that a guardian of her caliber would never fall for a music attack, but as things stood, every little bit was to his advantage. “We’re both human, after all.”
The music strands snapped long before they reached their intended target. However, his physical attacks kept her on the defensive. No longer seen as invulnerable, the guardian didn’t appear as threatening as before. Now she was closer to a low-level noble: powerful, yet with just enough weaknesses for one to take advantage.
MINOR STRIKE
Damage dealt is increased by 10%
Another of Ruby’s wing attacks managed to sneak through, reducing the guardian’s health to fifteen percent.
“The voidlings must have done a number on you.” Dallion unsummoned his armadil shield. He no longer needed that arm to defend himself; a lot more could be done by casting spells.
The harpsisword slashed half an inch from the woman’s torso. If he got a bit better, the fight could end right away.
“Acacia is a nice name,” Dallion pressed on. Aether projectiles shot out from his left hand, following an elliptical path to their target. Similar to Ruby’s attacks, most were negated by the guardian’s defenses, but a few managed to pass through, stacking up three red rectangles. “I didn’t know humans could be banished.”
You must have done something pretty terrible to deserve such punishment, he thought. Was it related to the Moons? Is it a curse?
“My task is an honor,” the guardian said, her voice high and echoy very much like the combination of sounds that Harp used when talking to Dallion. “And I’ll keep doing it after this fight is over.”
With seven percent health left, that sounded a bit optimistic. There was no way she could win at this point, no way for her even to manage a draw. Dallion’s greatest fear was that she’d perform an explosive spell in an attempt to take him with her. Yet, the guardian persistently continued casting protective barriers and on occasion try to counterattack in the moments between Dallion’s line attacks.
One could tell that she was trying to analyze his combat pattern. Her own, though, was somewhat off. The style was generally outdated, although it was difficult to tell for certain since she had only one arm to work with.
Why aren’t you fighting closer to the floor? Dallion wondered.
The deadly spikes emerging from it would have provided her with a definite advantage. The magic of the vortex wasn’t capable of harming her. For that matter, why had she fought the voidlings in the air?
MINOR STRIKE
Damage dealt is increased by 10%
One percent life. A single strike was all that kept Dallion from achieving victory. It was tempting to let up a bit and give himself some slack. In the past, Dallion would have probably done so, allowing himself a brief conversation with the guardian. Now he knew better. The all-out attack was the only reason he hadn’t received any damage in the last fight. If he gave his opponent a chance, he might end up on the other foot, granting her the means to eject him from the vortex, or even worse.
“Sorry,” Dallion said, following up with a multi point attack.
Aether barriers shattered in the hundreds. No longer to keep up with the attacks, the stacks thinned, then disappeared altogether.
CRITICAL STRIKE
Damage dealt is increased by 200%
VORTEX GUARDIAN has been defeated.
The purple rectangle emerged, marking the end of the fight. All magic spells cast by the guardian abruptly vanished. She, on the other hand, remained there.
Without hesitation, Dallion quickly places his left hand on her forehead. This was it, the moment every mage waited for. Dallion had found the hard way that, as difficult as dispersing a vortex was, it never came with a guarantee of absorption. Unlike awakening, mages were owed nothing—they had to take it.
Magic threads came out of Dallion’s fingers, then pulled hers in. A surge of power went through his body, filling him up with energy.
You have assimilated the GUARDIAN’s magic, increasing your magic trait to twenty-seven.
As Dallion’s magic increased, that of the vortex dwindled. The threads composing the floor melted away, transforming it into a wireframe construct, then even they were gone, leaving Dallion in the Nerosal ruins corridor, a foot above the ground. All the gear he had started with was on him once more, as was Ruby. However, there was something different about the shardfly. There was a faint glow coming from its red wings. Also, it had slightly grown in size.
“You leveled up,” Dallion said in surprise. “Good job.”
From within his realm, Nox meowed, annoyed. Having to constantly deal with magic had prevented the crackling from leveling up. The only consolation was that Dallion had used his newfound abilities to grant it and the other inhabitants of his realm with new skills.
Joy, pride, and a sense of achieavement emanated from Ruby. The creature flew a circle round Dallion, then went back to its spot on his shoulder. A few moments later, its wings reduced in size.
“Illusion?” Dallion asked.
Partial, Ruby replied.
The shardfly was definitely following in Gleam’s footsteps.
With the vortex gone—and once Dallion had cast a new light spell—the inside of the room was visible. Similar to everything else in the ruins, it was mostly empty. The difference was that the few things that remained were items of a lot more modern nature and definitely something that most people wouldn’t normally use.
Parchment, quills, small shadowtech devices… Dallion had no idea what they were supposed to do. Despite a vaguely familiar Earth design, they remained alien, as if someone was copying foreign technology and guessing how it functioned.
“Clever. You made these during the festivals,” Dallion said. All those times that Adzorg pretended to hide away from the festivals, he was actually here, working on his grand device. As a former mage, he might even have had an agreement with the lord mayor to “explore” the ruins in search of dangerous devices, vortexes, or Moons know what else. Even so, he was a bit careless leaving this behind. Someone with a bit of knowledge would have easily seen the magic symbols on the paper.
Anyone here? Dallion asked.
The items seemed to have been placed there before he’d arrived in the city. There was no way that Adzorg would fear them talking to anyone. Unfortunately, there were no responses. The old mage had covered his tracks yet again. The only clue that he left was his work.
One by one, Dallion gathered all pieces of paper, writing materials, and strange devices. There weren’t many of them. With no engineers in the world, it was going to be difficult to make anything out, especially since they were considered failures to be left behind.
What are you thinking? The armadil shield asked.
“A few things.” Dallion examined one of the devices closer. No larger than a lighter, it was made of multiple pieces of metal—alloys containing sun gold—though no gears or obvious power source. And, while the world was unfamiliar with concepts regarding electronics or advanced engineering, someone in the Shimmering Circle might.
The Scuu Paradox (a Space Opera Sci Fi)
The Cassandrian Theory (a Space Opera Sci Fi)
The Impeccable Adventure of the Reluctant Dungeon (Dungeon Core Adventure Comedy)
Uncharted Waters (An Urban Fantasy Detective Noir)
2023.06.01 22:39 Tyranitron [Fanfic] A Beast's Heart Ch.40
Hey everyone! I managed to finally do what I planned and alternate fics with each chapter xD. I don't know what it is, but I get hyper focused here and there and then I can get such writer's block with certain things while writing but then get in a zone after managing to get past certain sections. Anyway, this is the second of three planned Linked Souls Day chapters, the next one being the last and from there just hopefully one more chapter that serves as a prelude and transition into the canon events. But don't quote me fully on this as it MIGHT turn into two chapters depending on if I can fit everything in it. But I'm excited to get into the canon material as I've had plans for it since 2020 xD. Anyway, I'm going to likely swap back to my Helluva Boss fic to do a chapter than swap back to this as I want to try to prevent any burn out. Fair warning, I might get a lil hyper focused on the HB fic, but I will do my best to keep a good balance and get back to this as soon as possible.
As I've said before both of these fics are passion projects that I intend to finish no matter how long it takes as I love writing in both worlds. Also, I'm still sticking to this being set pretty much in Japan given everything in canon and sticking to those sensibilities and laws while not neglecting my own western ones and other westerners. I know I've put the disclaimer bout the Nazomi and Sebastian relationship on every prior chapter focusing on then, I just want to make it clear each time this is being handled with care and the maturity it demands. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy and I might get the next chapter out maybe early next month or near the end of this one depending on how things go, but I WILL get it out.
Also, curious what everyone thinks about my introduction of a Valentines equivalent.
-------------------------------
After Shinoku and Vega left to meet up with Anya and Sheila, Sebastian took the time to finish getting ready for when he’d meet up with Nazomi. Just like his friends, Sebastian took his time to make sure that he looked good enough for their rendezvous, putting on some clothes he had that looked very similar to the Cherryton uniform aside from differing colors and other minor things. Also like Shinoku and Vega, he had gotten Nazomi a gift as well. After making sure he was good and ready for his meet up with Nazomi, Sebastian went back to reading to pass the time till he needed to head down the hill to meet up with her. As he waited, Sebastian heard his phone ring, quickly going to see who it was and answering it when he saw it was his mother.
“Hello Sebastian.” His mother said as he answered the phone. “I hope you’re well.”
“Hi mom.” he replied. “Yeah, I’m doing well.”
“That’s good to hear. How are your grades, I trust you’re keeping them high like you always do.” His mother inquired.
“I am.”
“That’s good to hear, you always do your best. Though, I’m not sure why you don’t do cram school like your brother did and your sister is doing. It’s nice that you work hard, don’t get me wrong, but I just want to make sure you’re living up to your full potential.” She said, her tone carrying that always subtle pressure of a proud lioness with high expectations.
While she did care for him like any lion mother, she always wanted him to live up to the standards and the image of what a lion should be. Not that she was any different from any other lioness towards her kids, they all knew they had to make sure that the reputation of the king of beasts was maintained. It was an ever present driving force for lions; to stand apart, set the example, excel and push yourself to ever higher points and positions. It was both the greatest driving factor, and the most dangerous threat to a lion. While most would manage to get by and repress the toll it took or even thrive; for others, it would be far too much pressure. It was what lead to so many lions to go to the back alley, to form the likes of the shishigumi or join it.
Sebastian took a moment, the pressure of his mother’s expectations briefly showing before he quickly composed himself. “I understand mom, don’t worry, I have everything planned out.” he assured her. “I’m just tackling things in a way that allows me to give my full attention to my grades here. It’s not that I’m not interested in cram school, I just think it’s more logical to not have my focus split too much.”
“Always the analytical one my little Seby.” his mother commented. “But you only focus on your schoolwork and your reading, even your brother managed to handle doing cram school AND being on his school’s baseball team. He always did so well, even as a cub. Your sister’s also excelling in her gymnastics.” She added. His mother never overtly sounded disappointed, but the subtle nudges and constant reminding of his siblings’ achievements spoke volumes of her wanting him to be like them and every other lion. Why couldn’t she just understand that while he had the potential like every other lion, he just didn’t have the interest? Wasn’t it enough that they were bringing home trophies to show off?
Sebastian let the pressure he felt slip slightly once more before regaining his composure again. “It’s good to hear they’re doing so well…” he said in a cheerful voice. “You don’t need to worry though mom, I’ll make sure I get into a good college, plus all my teachers like me. Getting a recommendation good enough to be accepted won’t be hard to get.”
“True, your teachers always liked you.” His mother said. “But it’s just so rare for a lion not to do cram school. At least, in terms of the ones wanting to make a good life for themselves.” she commented in a veiled implication that a lot of the lions who chose not to were always trouble makers and bad seeds.
“I know mom.” Sebastian replied. “But I do have a career path set and I’m not going to stray from it.”
“And given the way you study and your grades I have no doubt. I can’t wait to hear what prestigious college you become the head over. But you might decide to be something equally important to society.” his mother commented. He never dared once to say he wanted to just teach, he didn’t even care where. All he ever said when what he wanted to be came up was something potentially in education and just smile and nod when his mother would suggest stuff. “By the way, have you found a nice lioness yet?”
“No, not yet mom.” Sebastian replied. He didn’t even dare to think about giving her a hint that he had found someone, knowing full well the questions that ensue about her and wanting to see a picture of or talk to her.
“That’s a shame, I hate to hear that you’re alone on Linked Souls Day. Are you looking?” his mother asked.
“Yes mom, I am.” Sebastian lied. “I’ll find someone, it just takes time for some.”
“But you’re so handsome, are you sure you’re looking or giving good impressions?”
“I am…” Sebastian replied as he held back a sigh.
“Alright. But just know that I have a few friends with very nice daughters I could always introduce you to.”
Sebastian pinched his brow. “Thanks...but I’m sure I’ll find someone soon.”
“OK, just don’t get so caught up in your studies that you forget.” his mother commented. “Anyway, I need to get going, your father’s going to be taking me out for a romantic date. He says hi by the way.”
“I won’t.” Sebastian said as he composed himself once more. “And that sounds nice, tell him I say hello.”
“Sure. And Sebastian, keep working hard and making us proud.” his mother said before hanging up.
Sebastian let out a sigh as he hung up his phone, putting it back in his pocket. As he did so, Hassan looked at him. “I get the whole familial pressure, it’s not fun. I can only imagine what it’s like with being a lion.”
“She means well…” Sebastian replied.
“Clearly given the expressions you let slip.” Hassan pointed out. “I’m not trying to say your mother’s horrible, but her intentions aren’t exactly selfless.”
“It’s just how it is for us lions.”
“Well if you ask me it’s a bunch of bullshit.” Jax commented.
Hassan just shrugged. “Like Sebastian said, it’s just what it is. All we can do is just not let it get to us and forge our own paths the best we can when it comes to expectations.”
“Anyway, I better start heading out, it’s getting close to time for me to meet up with miss Nazomi.” Sebastian said as he stood up, walking over to get the flowers and gift for Nazomi.
“Sure you don’t need any help?” Hassan asked.
“I’ll be fine.”
Hassan nodded. “Alright.”
“Keep living the dream dude, maybe you’ll get to spend the night with her.” Jax said with a wide grin.
Sebastian just rolled his eyes at Jax before walking out to meet up with Nazomi, not even wanting to respond to the comment. As he headed down to the main floor of the dorm, Sebastian felt a combination of excitement and nervousness. It was his first time celebrating Linked Souls Day with anyone, not that he was ever really bothered about not being able to do so in the past. Sebastian also felt a bit guilty due to the fact that because he was a student and Nazomi a teacher, he couldn’t really do anything publicly with her let alone the fact that she was preparing the meal for them to eat.
Deep down he was a romantic at heart, much maligning the fact that he couldn’t be the one to treat her to a cooked meal. It didn’t really feel right that on Linked Souls Day she was doing most the work. It was just something that he would make sure to do in the future if things got that far with them. Although he still worried about being the potential cause of her losing her job. That, and exactly when and how he was going to introduce her to his parents when he was no longer a student. Hopefully he’d have it figured out when the time came.
Sebastian let out a sigh as he exited the boy’s dorm. Despite all the worries, he still deep down found himself hoping that this would work out. Even with the returning thought of this being just a potential rebellion against his parents and their expectations, he could not deny how he felt about the older feline. Especially with their first date still ever present in his mind. No matter what challenges or obstacles they might face, he was willing to face them, his resolve hardening all the more. Even if it ended up with them having to end things before something bad happened, he’d rather live knowing he tried his best than giving into the fear and not trying to fight for his own happiness.
It didn’t take long for Sebastian to leave the school and get down the hill to where Nazomi said she would be waiting for him, and as he got to their rendezvous spot he stopped. His eyes widened as he felt his heart about to beat out of his chest. Before him stood Nazomi next to her car, dressed in a rather nice satin button down green blouse and black business skirt with a slit on the left side that fit her perfectly. She looked beautiful, so much so that Sebastian felt his cheeks were on fire aas he blushed, unable to really say anything for a few moments.
“W-wow…” he managed to say as he managed to walk over to Nazomi. “You look...amazing.”
Nazomi smiled a bit. “Thank you, I did try.” she said as she blushed ever so slightly. “I would have worn a dress, but I didn’t want to arouse any real suspicion…”
“It’s fine, there’s not a time I’ve seen you where you didn’t look beautiful.” Sebastian said as he continued to blush, rubbing the back of his head as he did so.
Nazomi blushed more. “You look quite handsome yourself, and just as professional as I do.” she commented. “At least it won’t look too suspicious...I hope.”
“I’m sure it won’t.” Sebastian commented before blinking. “Oh, right, I got you these.” Sebastian added as he handed her the bouquet.
“Awe, thank you love.” Nazomi almost cooed as she took the flowers. “They’re beautiful, I can’t remember the last time I got flowers...Thank you.”
Sebastian smiled as he then handed her a smallish wrapped box. “I also got you this.”
Nazomi blinked as she took the gift, opening it to see it was a bottle of perfume. Taking it out of the box she gave it a sniff. “It smells wonderful, I can’t imagine how much this was…”
“It’s nothing, I saw it one day and thought it’d suit you. So I saved up to make sure I could get you it for today.”
Nazomi smiled, tail flicking as a purr emitted from her throat. “You really are too sweet.” she said as she moved to put the gifts up and then hugged Sebastian. “Again, thanks.” she added as she gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Shall we?”
“Yes.” Sebastian replied, giving Nazomi a nuzzle.
The two got in Nazomi’s car, Sebastian first asking if he should maybe hide out of site like in the trunk only for Nazomi to insist that he sit in the passenger seat. Despite his concerns she said if anyone asked, she was just helping him get to Linked Souls Day meet up. Which, in the most technical sense was not a lie. Sebastian nodded, getting in the passenger seat before Nazomi started her car up and drove.
As They drove through the city to Nazomi’s house something hit Sebastian that he could not believe he didn’t think about even when he had first seen the female cat. “Hey, Mrs. Nazomi?” he asked as he looked at her.
“Yes love?” she asked.
“I just realized...you’re a bit tall for an oriental shorthair. It’s something I should have realized sooner, are you…”
“A mixed species?” Nazomi finished asking for him with a slight smile. “Most don’t really take note until they hit their growth spurts and outgrow me by whatever their heights usually are depending on species. But yes, I am.” she answered. “I’m one third panther on my mother’s side.”
Sebastian blinked, that would explain why she was a bit more ebony in her fur color and why she was taller than the typical shorthair. In fact, her coming up to just under the mid point of his chest hadn’t come off as odd until he thought about it. With some growth still to come, odds are she’d likely be at his gut or just over his waist by the time he finished growing. Not that it was really a problem or he minded, it was just an observation he made.
His eyes glanced over at the scenery as they drove, taking in the buildings and noting that they were sticking to a fairly nice part of town. He then glanced over at Nazomi, taking in how beautiful she looked with a blush, she really was quite something. Sebastian found himself moving his hand closer to hers when they stopped at a red light. Nazomi smiled as she noticed, her hand moving towards his as they held hands for a moment before the light turned green. It did become a thing though with each stop they had to make, both of them enjoying the sign of affection.
It didn’t take too long until they had entered in a rather nice looking neighborhood, about the kind Sebastian assumed Nazomi might live in. It was nice and modest and the house that Nazomi pulled in to was just as nice looking. Thankfully, most of her neighbors were either out celebrating the holiday or doing so in their homes.“Here we are.” Nazomi said warmly.
“It’s a nice looking home.” Sebastian said as the two got out.
“Thanks. It’s really nothing all that special, but it’s nice and cozy and it’s really all I need.” Nazomi replied as she got the gifts Sebastian had gotten before heading to the door with the lion, both their tails flicking and even entwining a bit as they approached it. When they got to the door Nazomi fumbled a bit as she got her keys to unlock it.
“Allow me.” Sebastian offered as he helped her unlock the door, opening it for her.
“Thank you.” Nazomi smiled as she took a quick look around before pecking his cheek. “I’ll put these up while you make yourself at home. I haven’t quite started what I was going to fix, so it will be a bit longer before we eat.”
“You haven’t?” Sebastian inquired. “Then mind if I help? I feel bad that you’re doing a lot of the work and it’s only right that I do everything I can for you today.”
Nazomi smiled as she looked at him. “You’re such a kind, sweet, animal Sebastian. I don’t mind, really.”
“I insist.”
Nazomi chuckled slightly. “You really are a gentleman aren’t you?” she mused.
Sebastian blushed a bit as he rubbed the back of his head. “I just...I want to do whatever I can. You’re a wonderful woman and a great teacher. And, well, I want to take any and every opportunity I can get to treat you right because you deserve it.” the lion said as he blushed some more, conviction clear to see in his eyes.
Nazomi couldn’t help but blush, his words having touched her more than anything in her past relationships. “Alright, how about this? If you want to help me then let’s make it a thing and finish cooking it together?” she offered with a smile.
“I’d like that.” Sebastian agreed with his own smile.
“Alright, just give me a moment.”
Sebastian nodded as Nazomi went to go put up the gifts that Sebastian had gotten her. As she headed off, Sebastian found his eyes wandering over her form, taking in her figure that was shown off by her attire as well as lower, noting her slightly swaying hips and…tail. Sebastian cursed himself as he moved his eyes to something else. Sure he was still a teenager, a boy, but he prided himself in being better than most. Sure he had his...moments, as Jax so brazenly pointed out. But the last thing he wanted was to be that inappropriate towards Nazomi, even if he did, at times, allow some indulgences here and there.
When Nazomi got back she smiled. “Alright, ready?”
Sebastian nodded. “Yes.”
“OK, should be done in half the time with both of us working on it.”
Nazomi lead Sebastian to the kitchen to show him that she was preparing, a fruit lasagna with the usual accompaniments. After Sebastian looked over the recipe she was using, one from the cooking show Happy Happy Cooking that was toted to be one of their more popular ones among carnivores. he set to work helping her, working side by side as they prepared the fruit, making sure that everything was layered properly. Like in the car, every now and then Nazomi and Sebastian would briefly hold hands as they prepared the meal, satisfying their feline proclivity for touch contact. It wasn’t too long before they had the lasagna in the oven and the accompanying bread.
“Alright, shouldn’t be too long for it to fully cook, thanks for the help.” Nazomi said as she nuzzled Sebastian, giving him an affectionate hug as well. “In the meantime, we can go over some of my old notes and other things while we wait to help you out with your career path if you like.”
“Sure.” Sebastian smiled as he nuzzled and hugged her back, the two staying like that for a good minute.
“I’ll go get them then.” Nazomi said as she finally and somewhat hesitantly separated to go get her old college notes and study material, returning shortly after with them.
While the food cooked Nazomi went over various things she had to study and learn with Sebastian, covering things they hadn’t gone over from prior times and quizzing him on material they had. To Sebastian, this was like cram school in a sense, getting ready for what he’d need to know to excel in college, only with a more...personal and romantic one on one touch. While he never had issue with paying attention to any of his teachers, Sebastian always hung on every word Nazomi said. To him, her voice was just as beautiful as everything else about her. And just like all the times before, they shared affections with each other.
It seemed like no time at all when the food was done, the two of them chalking it up to them just enjoying each other’s company so much. As Nazomi got the lasagna and bread Sebastian set the table before helping her prepare their plates. As he finished helping her he noticed her take out some wine glasses and a bottle of wine and pouring some of the red liquid in each, although one was more of a sample serving compared to the other, before putting it up and placing them on the table.
“Wine?” Sebastian inquired.
“Just to help things feel a bit more normal.” Nazomi explained. “You don’t have to even drink it. But I was your age once, Rex it only feels like yesterday, and even back then sampling wine wasn’t wrong. That first date we had when you encouraged me to not deny myself any wine, where we acted like a teacher and student just having a meet up to discuss things, stayed on my mind for a while. It wasn’t right that there was some inequality, no full romantic atmosphere. So, I figured sense we’re in private I’d have us on an even level or give the feeling of it. But as I said, you don’t have to drink it.” she said before sitting down.
Sebastian blushed, smiling as he sat down. “Thank you, love.” he said with a fair bit of warmth in hid voice.
It never ceased to surprise the other that both worried about the other’s feelings and the challenges they had to face with their secretive relationship. Something that made each grow more attached to the other was when a few days after their first date Nazomi had confessed to Sebastian that she was far more hesitant and worried than she let on. Revealing she had been hiding the anxiety of them being a thing and was actually on the verge of suggesting they just call the attempt off out of fear as well as the revelation of his uncle. But she had decided to go through with it because of how truly genuine and good a man he was among other things that made her want to try. Sebastian himself had also confided in her his own concerns and worries about it and her, which made her just feel all the stronger for him over time.
“By the way, how has your day been so far?” Sebastian asked as he began to eat, taking a bite of the lasagna. “Oh, this is delicious.”
“It is.” Nazomi agreed as she took a bite of it. “It’s all thanks to you though, doubt it would have been as good without a little help.” she said with a smile. “As for my day, it’s gone well so far, just the usual grading of papers and preparing for the coming weeks’ lessons. Same old, same old, really. So far the rest of the students I have are nice and do there best. Despite what issues some might cause outside of the classroom I don’t really have to deal with any troublemakers, Maybe a few slackers or an unmotivated student, but that’s about it.”
“Well you’re a great teacher, I find it hard to believe that any of my peers would want to cause any trouble in your class. Not only that, but you’re very nice and helpful too.” Sebastian commented.
A smile formed on Nazomi’s mouth as her ebony fur darkened. “Thank you, you’re always so sweet Sebastian.” she said as she purred a bit. “Honestly, I think you’re one of the best students at the school, you work hard and are always so polite. I know you’ll go far with being a teacher.”
Sebastian blushed heavily. “Thank you…” he said with a half smile. “Though I will admit, keeping it up can be a bit—stressful. Comes with being a lion, expectations and familial pressure.” he admitted
Nazomi blinked as she looked at him. “Is it that hard?”
“It’s, well…”
Nazomi moved her hand to rest on top of his. “You can tell me if this is something negatively effecting you Sebastian.”
The lion sighed a bit. “It is hard. Being a lion you’re seen as the king of beasts, someone who’ll go far and have high positioned jobs or in some form of leadership. That image both helps and hurts us, becoming a driving factor for pushing ourselves as much as possible to keep to a standard. It’s something that permeates every lion family, the mothers and fathers pushing their kids to do something worthy of being a lion. Cram school is seen as an expected and normal thing to do and those who don’t do it are mostly looked down on as they are often those that end up in gangs or didn’t try hard enough.”
Nazomi’s hand gripped his, squeezing gently. “Is your family pressuring you?”
“Not...entirely. My mother often brings up what my older brother and my sister are doing and keeps suggesting I try to do the same. She doesn’t seem disappointed, but there’s just something about her voice…” Sebastian admitted. “She is happy that I’m doing well, but I know she expects more. She thinks I’m planning to go into an education position that’s high up, or at a prestigious university when I don’t care where I teach so long as I do some good.”
Nazomi squeezed his hand again, feeling bad for the lion. “That’s not really all that good Sebastian, have you thought about bringing it up to a councilor?”
Sebastian shrugged. “Somewhat. But as I said, this permeates lions as a whole, it’s far too ingrained to really be dealt with. Thankfully my situation isn’t too bad, it can be far worse. Plus, I like learning so it’s not that big of a deal. I also have my friends and, well, you.” he smiled.
Nazomi blushed heavily. “I see…”
“I hope I didn’t make things awkward or anything…”
“No, no! You’re fine Sebastian.” Nazomi assured. “It’s good you have a support system and you don’t really let it get to you, you’re very strong for that. Will you tell your mother you’ll try to teach anywhere?”
“Eventually, yes, when I’m nearing the end of my higher education and about to apply to various places.” Sebastian answered. “Just like how I’ll tell her about us when I’m a bit into my freshman year at college or before I get into college if we get that far, which I hope we do and keep doing. You are an amazing woman and to be honest, to me you are far more exceptional than any other.”
Nazomi blinked, her fur becoming more dark red than ebony black as her heart melted. He was the kindest, most genuine soul she had ever met and continued to prove he was mature beyond his years. “I— thank you Sebastian.” she said with a soft purr, falling a fair bit more for the lion.
From there the two continued to talk as they ate, taking their time and enjoying each other’s company as they swapped stories about their childhood. Nazomi found herself surprised as she learned that even as a young kid Sebastian was well mannered and somewhat bookish. She felt comfortable around him, able to share with him more embarrassing things like the time she was so nervous to do a presentation in high school that she messed up a word or two or when she practically face planted when she was looking at a crush. It just felt right and natural to be so open with him.
When they had finished eating, Sebastian even having drank the small bit of wine, he and Nazomi cleared the table. Sebastian even helped her with the dishes before they went back to going over some more of Nazomi’s old papers and work to help prepare him. It seemed like no time once more as they noticed the sun was start to set.
“Is it really that late already?” Nazomi asked as she looked at her clock, taking note of the time.
“Looks like it.” Sebastian commented.
“My how time flies, it seems to go so slow until well…” she blushed. “I’m around you.”
Sebastian blushed heavily. “Yeah…”
“Thank you for the lovely time, as well as the gifts and helping out, not many guys are as considerate as you.” Nazomi commented.
“Well, you’re worth any effort…” the lion blushed.
Nazomi smiled, blushing as well. How could this lion keep finding ways to make her heart feel like it was a puddle? She hadn’t really met many guys with the ability to do that over the years, more so not than did in recent ones. It had gotten to the point where she just really stopped looking. But then Sebastian came around and made her feel things she hadn’t felt in a long time. His gentlemanly studious nature and willingness to be so considerate, among other things, just had her more enamored with each time they were together. The fact that he was willing to take things so slow, deny himself the most basic of typical teenage experiences that most his age were having just made him seem too good to be true. And yet, there he was proving to be just that good.
Then there was the fact that while she did do a fare share for the holiday he had not only helped out, but went out of his way to get her flowers and a rather nice gift, not expecting anything special in return and just wanting to treat her right. As the lion got up from where they had been sitting she stood. “Sebastian, before I take you back to Cherryton...I think you deserve another kiss.”
Sebastian blinked as he blushed. “I don’t want you to feel obligated to…”
“No, I want to.” Nazomi admitted with a smile. “The only true thing that’s tricky with our relationship is that you’re a student and I’m a teacher. You’ve proven time and again just how good a man you are and that you are someone I...have looked for.” she blushed. “So I don’t see us kissing, at least in private and while off school grounds as being an issue. I know you’d never take advantage of me and I want to reward you for such, and for treating me to one of the best times I’ve had in a while.”
Sebastian’s tail started to flick happily as he smiled. “Alright.”
The two approached each other, embracing as they leaned in to share a kiss. Just like with their first, it was utterly electrifying for Sebastian. The feel of Nazomi’s lips unlike anything he felt before as his heart beat out of his chest as he started to purr. Sebastian enjoyed every second that the kiss lasted, his hands starting to subconsciously roam along her back a bit, though he would catch and restrain himself before they went too low.
Nazomi for her part pressed a bit firmer than last time, what with it being a holiday for love. As they kissed she noticed that Sebastian’s hands roaming along her back, taking in her form and the feel of her body and causing her to purr a fair bit. She smiled as she noticed he restrained himself from doing anything inappropriate, knowing her trust in him would never be misplaced. Although she promised to herself one day when he was no longer a student, she’d allow him to no longer restrain himself.
As the finally broke the kiss Nazomi smiled. “That was a wonderful kiss, possibly better than the first.” she giggled.
“Y-yeah…” Sebastian agreed, his cheeks a dark red.
“Thank you for being such a gentleman and not taking advantage.” Nazomi commented as they stayed embraced.
“I’d never.”
“I know love.” she smiled. “And that is why I will make you this promise. If we manage to make it to when you are out of school, then you have permission to not restrain yourself anymore as we’ll be in the clear. Not that you’d need my permission at that point” Nazomi giggled. “Anyway, we best get going before it gets too dark.”
Sebastian’s blush deepened all the more. “Yeah…”
The two headed back out to Nazomi’s car, first checking for anyone that might notice before getting in and driving off. The ride back went much like the first, the two briefly holding hands here and there as they made their way through the city. It was something that both Sebastian and Nazomi seemed almost unable to resist doing. Hell, when they had walked back to Nazomi’s car their tails entwined again.
When they got back to the bottom of the hill that Cherryton rested on the moon had not been fully risen for too long. “Thanks again for the lovely Linked Souls Day, I haven’t really celebrated it in so long.” Nazomi said as she parked the car.
“No problem, hopefully our next date can be somewhat soon.” Sebastian replied with a smile. “I hope the rest of your weekend goes well.”
“Thank you Sebastian, you too, I’ll see you Monday.” Nazomi smiled.
Sebastian was about to get out when he stopped. “Nazomi?”
“Yes?”
“Mind if we...have one more kiss?” Sebastian asked as he blushed.
Nazomi smiled as a giggle escaped her lips. “I suppose not, it’s only right to have a goodnight kiss after a date.”
The two leaned in close, sharing in one more kiss as they rested a paw on the back of each other’s head, purring loudly as they did so. When the kiss broke a few moments later Sebastian smiled. “Good night.”
“Good night love.”
Sebastian got out of the car, walking back up the hill as Nazomi turned her car around and left. The lion smiled as his heart continued to race, he was as happy as he had ever felt and was all the happier that Nazomi felt the same way as he did. While it was true their relationship had a strong possibility of stopping if they were ever in great enough danger of being found out, it seemed that she was daring for it to work as much as he was. Whether it did or not, only the future knew.
submitted by Tyranitron to Beastars [link] [comments]
As I've said before both of these fics are passion projects that I intend to finish no matter how long it takes as I love writing in both worlds. Also, I'm still sticking to this being set pretty much in Japan given everything in canon and sticking to those sensibilities and laws while not neglecting my own western ones and other westerners. I know I've put the disclaimer bout the Nazomi and Sebastian relationship on every prior chapter focusing on then, I just want to make it clear each time this is being handled with care and the maturity it demands. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy and I might get the next chapter out maybe early next month or near the end of this one depending on how things go, but I WILL get it out.
Also, curious what everyone thinks about my introduction of a Valentines equivalent.
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After Shinoku and Vega left to meet up with Anya and Sheila, Sebastian took the time to finish getting ready for when he’d meet up with Nazomi. Just like his friends, Sebastian took his time to make sure that he looked good enough for their rendezvous, putting on some clothes he had that looked very similar to the Cherryton uniform aside from differing colors and other minor things. Also like Shinoku and Vega, he had gotten Nazomi a gift as well. After making sure he was good and ready for his meet up with Nazomi, Sebastian went back to reading to pass the time till he needed to head down the hill to meet up with her. As he waited, Sebastian heard his phone ring, quickly going to see who it was and answering it when he saw it was his mother.
“Hello Sebastian.” His mother said as he answered the phone. “I hope you’re well.”
“Hi mom.” he replied. “Yeah, I’m doing well.”
“That’s good to hear. How are your grades, I trust you’re keeping them high like you always do.” His mother inquired.
“I am.”
“That’s good to hear, you always do your best. Though, I’m not sure why you don’t do cram school like your brother did and your sister is doing. It’s nice that you work hard, don’t get me wrong, but I just want to make sure you’re living up to your full potential.” She said, her tone carrying that always subtle pressure of a proud lioness with high expectations.
While she did care for him like any lion mother, she always wanted him to live up to the standards and the image of what a lion should be. Not that she was any different from any other lioness towards her kids, they all knew they had to make sure that the reputation of the king of beasts was maintained. It was an ever present driving force for lions; to stand apart, set the example, excel and push yourself to ever higher points and positions. It was both the greatest driving factor, and the most dangerous threat to a lion. While most would manage to get by and repress the toll it took or even thrive; for others, it would be far too much pressure. It was what lead to so many lions to go to the back alley, to form the likes of the shishigumi or join it.
Sebastian took a moment, the pressure of his mother’s expectations briefly showing before he quickly composed himself. “I understand mom, don’t worry, I have everything planned out.” he assured her. “I’m just tackling things in a way that allows me to give my full attention to my grades here. It’s not that I’m not interested in cram school, I just think it’s more logical to not have my focus split too much.”
“Always the analytical one my little Seby.” his mother commented. “But you only focus on your schoolwork and your reading, even your brother managed to handle doing cram school AND being on his school’s baseball team. He always did so well, even as a cub. Your sister’s also excelling in her gymnastics.” She added. His mother never overtly sounded disappointed, but the subtle nudges and constant reminding of his siblings’ achievements spoke volumes of her wanting him to be like them and every other lion. Why couldn’t she just understand that while he had the potential like every other lion, he just didn’t have the interest? Wasn’t it enough that they were bringing home trophies to show off?
Sebastian let the pressure he felt slip slightly once more before regaining his composure again. “It’s good to hear they’re doing so well…” he said in a cheerful voice. “You don’t need to worry though mom, I’ll make sure I get into a good college, plus all my teachers like me. Getting a recommendation good enough to be accepted won’t be hard to get.”
“True, your teachers always liked you.” His mother said. “But it’s just so rare for a lion not to do cram school. At least, in terms of the ones wanting to make a good life for themselves.” she commented in a veiled implication that a lot of the lions who chose not to were always trouble makers and bad seeds.
“I know mom.” Sebastian replied. “But I do have a career path set and I’m not going to stray from it.”
“And given the way you study and your grades I have no doubt. I can’t wait to hear what prestigious college you become the head over. But you might decide to be something equally important to society.” his mother commented. He never dared once to say he wanted to just teach, he didn’t even care where. All he ever said when what he wanted to be came up was something potentially in education and just smile and nod when his mother would suggest stuff. “By the way, have you found a nice lioness yet?”
“No, not yet mom.” Sebastian replied. He didn’t even dare to think about giving her a hint that he had found someone, knowing full well the questions that ensue about her and wanting to see a picture of or talk to her.
“That’s a shame, I hate to hear that you’re alone on Linked Souls Day. Are you looking?” his mother asked.
“Yes mom, I am.” Sebastian lied. “I’ll find someone, it just takes time for some.”
“But you’re so handsome, are you sure you’re looking or giving good impressions?”
“I am…” Sebastian replied as he held back a sigh.
“Alright. But just know that I have a few friends with very nice daughters I could always introduce you to.”
Sebastian pinched his brow. “Thanks...but I’m sure I’ll find someone soon.”
“OK, just don’t get so caught up in your studies that you forget.” his mother commented. “Anyway, I need to get going, your father’s going to be taking me out for a romantic date. He says hi by the way.”
“I won’t.” Sebastian said as he composed himself once more. “And that sounds nice, tell him I say hello.”
“Sure. And Sebastian, keep working hard and making us proud.” his mother said before hanging up.
Sebastian let out a sigh as he hung up his phone, putting it back in his pocket. As he did so, Hassan looked at him. “I get the whole familial pressure, it’s not fun. I can only imagine what it’s like with being a lion.”
“She means well…” Sebastian replied.
“Clearly given the expressions you let slip.” Hassan pointed out. “I’m not trying to say your mother’s horrible, but her intentions aren’t exactly selfless.”
“It’s just how it is for us lions.”
“Well if you ask me it’s a bunch of bullshit.” Jax commented.
Hassan just shrugged. “Like Sebastian said, it’s just what it is. All we can do is just not let it get to us and forge our own paths the best we can when it comes to expectations.”
“Anyway, I better start heading out, it’s getting close to time for me to meet up with miss Nazomi.” Sebastian said as he stood up, walking over to get the flowers and gift for Nazomi.
“Sure you don’t need any help?” Hassan asked.
“I’ll be fine.”
Hassan nodded. “Alright.”
“Keep living the dream dude, maybe you’ll get to spend the night with her.” Jax said with a wide grin.
Sebastian just rolled his eyes at Jax before walking out to meet up with Nazomi, not even wanting to respond to the comment. As he headed down to the main floor of the dorm, Sebastian felt a combination of excitement and nervousness. It was his first time celebrating Linked Souls Day with anyone, not that he was ever really bothered about not being able to do so in the past. Sebastian also felt a bit guilty due to the fact that because he was a student and Nazomi a teacher, he couldn’t really do anything publicly with her let alone the fact that she was preparing the meal for them to eat.
Deep down he was a romantic at heart, much maligning the fact that he couldn’t be the one to treat her to a cooked meal. It didn’t really feel right that on Linked Souls Day she was doing most the work. It was just something that he would make sure to do in the future if things got that far with them. Although he still worried about being the potential cause of her losing her job. That, and exactly when and how he was going to introduce her to his parents when he was no longer a student. Hopefully he’d have it figured out when the time came.
Sebastian let out a sigh as he exited the boy’s dorm. Despite all the worries, he still deep down found himself hoping that this would work out. Even with the returning thought of this being just a potential rebellion against his parents and their expectations, he could not deny how he felt about the older feline. Especially with their first date still ever present in his mind. No matter what challenges or obstacles they might face, he was willing to face them, his resolve hardening all the more. Even if it ended up with them having to end things before something bad happened, he’d rather live knowing he tried his best than giving into the fear and not trying to fight for his own happiness.
It didn’t take long for Sebastian to leave the school and get down the hill to where Nazomi said she would be waiting for him, and as he got to their rendezvous spot he stopped. His eyes widened as he felt his heart about to beat out of his chest. Before him stood Nazomi next to her car, dressed in a rather nice satin button down green blouse and black business skirt with a slit on the left side that fit her perfectly. She looked beautiful, so much so that Sebastian felt his cheeks were on fire aas he blushed, unable to really say anything for a few moments.
“W-wow…” he managed to say as he managed to walk over to Nazomi. “You look...amazing.”
Nazomi smiled a bit. “Thank you, I did try.” she said as she blushed ever so slightly. “I would have worn a dress, but I didn’t want to arouse any real suspicion…”
“It’s fine, there’s not a time I’ve seen you where you didn’t look beautiful.” Sebastian said as he continued to blush, rubbing the back of his head as he did so.
Nazomi blushed more. “You look quite handsome yourself, and just as professional as I do.” she commented. “At least it won’t look too suspicious...I hope.”
“I’m sure it won’t.” Sebastian commented before blinking. “Oh, right, I got you these.” Sebastian added as he handed her the bouquet.
“Awe, thank you love.” Nazomi almost cooed as she took the flowers. “They’re beautiful, I can’t remember the last time I got flowers...Thank you.”
Sebastian smiled as he then handed her a smallish wrapped box. “I also got you this.”
Nazomi blinked as she took the gift, opening it to see it was a bottle of perfume. Taking it out of the box she gave it a sniff. “It smells wonderful, I can’t imagine how much this was…”
“It’s nothing, I saw it one day and thought it’d suit you. So I saved up to make sure I could get you it for today.”
Nazomi smiled, tail flicking as a purr emitted from her throat. “You really are too sweet.” she said as she moved to put the gifts up and then hugged Sebastian. “Again, thanks.” she added as she gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Shall we?”
“Yes.” Sebastian replied, giving Nazomi a nuzzle.
The two got in Nazomi’s car, Sebastian first asking if he should maybe hide out of site like in the trunk only for Nazomi to insist that he sit in the passenger seat. Despite his concerns she said if anyone asked, she was just helping him get to Linked Souls Day meet up. Which, in the most technical sense was not a lie. Sebastian nodded, getting in the passenger seat before Nazomi started her car up and drove.
As They drove through the city to Nazomi’s house something hit Sebastian that he could not believe he didn’t think about even when he had first seen the female cat. “Hey, Mrs. Nazomi?” he asked as he looked at her.
“Yes love?” she asked.
“I just realized...you’re a bit tall for an oriental shorthair. It’s something I should have realized sooner, are you…”
“A mixed species?” Nazomi finished asking for him with a slight smile. “Most don’t really take note until they hit their growth spurts and outgrow me by whatever their heights usually are depending on species. But yes, I am.” she answered. “I’m one third panther on my mother’s side.”
Sebastian blinked, that would explain why she was a bit more ebony in her fur color and why she was taller than the typical shorthair. In fact, her coming up to just under the mid point of his chest hadn’t come off as odd until he thought about it. With some growth still to come, odds are she’d likely be at his gut or just over his waist by the time he finished growing. Not that it was really a problem or he minded, it was just an observation he made.
His eyes glanced over at the scenery as they drove, taking in the buildings and noting that they were sticking to a fairly nice part of town. He then glanced over at Nazomi, taking in how beautiful she looked with a blush, she really was quite something. Sebastian found himself moving his hand closer to hers when they stopped at a red light. Nazomi smiled as she noticed, her hand moving towards his as they held hands for a moment before the light turned green. It did become a thing though with each stop they had to make, both of them enjoying the sign of affection.
It didn’t take too long until they had entered in a rather nice looking neighborhood, about the kind Sebastian assumed Nazomi might live in. It was nice and modest and the house that Nazomi pulled in to was just as nice looking. Thankfully, most of her neighbors were either out celebrating the holiday or doing so in their homes.“Here we are.” Nazomi said warmly.
“It’s a nice looking home.” Sebastian said as the two got out.
“Thanks. It’s really nothing all that special, but it’s nice and cozy and it’s really all I need.” Nazomi replied as she got the gifts Sebastian had gotten before heading to the door with the lion, both their tails flicking and even entwining a bit as they approached it. When they got to the door Nazomi fumbled a bit as she got her keys to unlock it.
“Allow me.” Sebastian offered as he helped her unlock the door, opening it for her.
“Thank you.” Nazomi smiled as she took a quick look around before pecking his cheek. “I’ll put these up while you make yourself at home. I haven’t quite started what I was going to fix, so it will be a bit longer before we eat.”
“You haven’t?” Sebastian inquired. “Then mind if I help? I feel bad that you’re doing a lot of the work and it’s only right that I do everything I can for you today.”
Nazomi smiled as she looked at him. “You’re such a kind, sweet, animal Sebastian. I don’t mind, really.”
“I insist.”
Nazomi chuckled slightly. “You really are a gentleman aren’t you?” she mused.
Sebastian blushed a bit as he rubbed the back of his head. “I just...I want to do whatever I can. You’re a wonderful woman and a great teacher. And, well, I want to take any and every opportunity I can get to treat you right because you deserve it.” the lion said as he blushed some more, conviction clear to see in his eyes.
Nazomi couldn’t help but blush, his words having touched her more than anything in her past relationships. “Alright, how about this? If you want to help me then let’s make it a thing and finish cooking it together?” she offered with a smile.
“I’d like that.” Sebastian agreed with his own smile.
“Alright, just give me a moment.”
Sebastian nodded as Nazomi went to go put up the gifts that Sebastian had gotten her. As she headed off, Sebastian found his eyes wandering over her form, taking in her figure that was shown off by her attire as well as lower, noting her slightly swaying hips and…tail. Sebastian cursed himself as he moved his eyes to something else. Sure he was still a teenager, a boy, but he prided himself in being better than most. Sure he had his...moments, as Jax so brazenly pointed out. But the last thing he wanted was to be that inappropriate towards Nazomi, even if he did, at times, allow some indulgences here and there.
When Nazomi got back she smiled. “Alright, ready?”
Sebastian nodded. “Yes.”
“OK, should be done in half the time with both of us working on it.”
Nazomi lead Sebastian to the kitchen to show him that she was preparing, a fruit lasagna with the usual accompaniments. After Sebastian looked over the recipe she was using, one from the cooking show Happy Happy Cooking that was toted to be one of their more popular ones among carnivores. he set to work helping her, working side by side as they prepared the fruit, making sure that everything was layered properly. Like in the car, every now and then Nazomi and Sebastian would briefly hold hands as they prepared the meal, satisfying their feline proclivity for touch contact. It wasn’t too long before they had the lasagna in the oven and the accompanying bread.
“Alright, shouldn’t be too long for it to fully cook, thanks for the help.” Nazomi said as she nuzzled Sebastian, giving him an affectionate hug as well. “In the meantime, we can go over some of my old notes and other things while we wait to help you out with your career path if you like.”
“Sure.” Sebastian smiled as he nuzzled and hugged her back, the two staying like that for a good minute.
“I’ll go get them then.” Nazomi said as she finally and somewhat hesitantly separated to go get her old college notes and study material, returning shortly after with them.
While the food cooked Nazomi went over various things she had to study and learn with Sebastian, covering things they hadn’t gone over from prior times and quizzing him on material they had. To Sebastian, this was like cram school in a sense, getting ready for what he’d need to know to excel in college, only with a more...personal and romantic one on one touch. While he never had issue with paying attention to any of his teachers, Sebastian always hung on every word Nazomi said. To him, her voice was just as beautiful as everything else about her. And just like all the times before, they shared affections with each other.
It seemed like no time at all when the food was done, the two of them chalking it up to them just enjoying each other’s company so much. As Nazomi got the lasagna and bread Sebastian set the table before helping her prepare their plates. As he finished helping her he noticed her take out some wine glasses and a bottle of wine and pouring some of the red liquid in each, although one was more of a sample serving compared to the other, before putting it up and placing them on the table.
“Wine?” Sebastian inquired.
“Just to help things feel a bit more normal.” Nazomi explained. “You don’t have to even drink it. But I was your age once, Rex it only feels like yesterday, and even back then sampling wine wasn’t wrong. That first date we had when you encouraged me to not deny myself any wine, where we acted like a teacher and student just having a meet up to discuss things, stayed on my mind for a while. It wasn’t right that there was some inequality, no full romantic atmosphere. So, I figured sense we’re in private I’d have us on an even level or give the feeling of it. But as I said, you don’t have to drink it.” she said before sitting down.
Sebastian blushed, smiling as he sat down. “Thank you, love.” he said with a fair bit of warmth in hid voice.
It never ceased to surprise the other that both worried about the other’s feelings and the challenges they had to face with their secretive relationship. Something that made each grow more attached to the other was when a few days after their first date Nazomi had confessed to Sebastian that she was far more hesitant and worried than she let on. Revealing she had been hiding the anxiety of them being a thing and was actually on the verge of suggesting they just call the attempt off out of fear as well as the revelation of his uncle. But she had decided to go through with it because of how truly genuine and good a man he was among other things that made her want to try. Sebastian himself had also confided in her his own concerns and worries about it and her, which made her just feel all the stronger for him over time.
“By the way, how has your day been so far?” Sebastian asked as he began to eat, taking a bite of the lasagna. “Oh, this is delicious.”
“It is.” Nazomi agreed as she took a bite of it. “It’s all thanks to you though, doubt it would have been as good without a little help.” she said with a smile. “As for my day, it’s gone well so far, just the usual grading of papers and preparing for the coming weeks’ lessons. Same old, same old, really. So far the rest of the students I have are nice and do there best. Despite what issues some might cause outside of the classroom I don’t really have to deal with any troublemakers, Maybe a few slackers or an unmotivated student, but that’s about it.”
“Well you’re a great teacher, I find it hard to believe that any of my peers would want to cause any trouble in your class. Not only that, but you’re very nice and helpful too.” Sebastian commented.
A smile formed on Nazomi’s mouth as her ebony fur darkened. “Thank you, you’re always so sweet Sebastian.” she said as she purred a bit. “Honestly, I think you’re one of the best students at the school, you work hard and are always so polite. I know you’ll go far with being a teacher.”
Sebastian blushed heavily. “Thank you…” he said with a half smile. “Though I will admit, keeping it up can be a bit—stressful. Comes with being a lion, expectations and familial pressure.” he admitted
Nazomi blinked as she looked at him. “Is it that hard?”
“It’s, well…”
Nazomi moved her hand to rest on top of his. “You can tell me if this is something negatively effecting you Sebastian.”
The lion sighed a bit. “It is hard. Being a lion you’re seen as the king of beasts, someone who’ll go far and have high positioned jobs or in some form of leadership. That image both helps and hurts us, becoming a driving factor for pushing ourselves as much as possible to keep to a standard. It’s something that permeates every lion family, the mothers and fathers pushing their kids to do something worthy of being a lion. Cram school is seen as an expected and normal thing to do and those who don’t do it are mostly looked down on as they are often those that end up in gangs or didn’t try hard enough.”
Nazomi’s hand gripped his, squeezing gently. “Is your family pressuring you?”
“Not...entirely. My mother often brings up what my older brother and my sister are doing and keeps suggesting I try to do the same. She doesn’t seem disappointed, but there’s just something about her voice…” Sebastian admitted. “She is happy that I’m doing well, but I know she expects more. She thinks I’m planning to go into an education position that’s high up, or at a prestigious university when I don’t care where I teach so long as I do some good.”
Nazomi squeezed his hand again, feeling bad for the lion. “That’s not really all that good Sebastian, have you thought about bringing it up to a councilor?”
Sebastian shrugged. “Somewhat. But as I said, this permeates lions as a whole, it’s far too ingrained to really be dealt with. Thankfully my situation isn’t too bad, it can be far worse. Plus, I like learning so it’s not that big of a deal. I also have my friends and, well, you.” he smiled.
Nazomi blushed heavily. “I see…”
“I hope I didn’t make things awkward or anything…”
“No, no! You’re fine Sebastian.” Nazomi assured. “It’s good you have a support system and you don’t really let it get to you, you’re very strong for that. Will you tell your mother you’ll try to teach anywhere?”
“Eventually, yes, when I’m nearing the end of my higher education and about to apply to various places.” Sebastian answered. “Just like how I’ll tell her about us when I’m a bit into my freshman year at college or before I get into college if we get that far, which I hope we do and keep doing. You are an amazing woman and to be honest, to me you are far more exceptional than any other.”
Nazomi blinked, her fur becoming more dark red than ebony black as her heart melted. He was the kindest, most genuine soul she had ever met and continued to prove he was mature beyond his years. “I— thank you Sebastian.” she said with a soft purr, falling a fair bit more for the lion.
From there the two continued to talk as they ate, taking their time and enjoying each other’s company as they swapped stories about their childhood. Nazomi found herself surprised as she learned that even as a young kid Sebastian was well mannered and somewhat bookish. She felt comfortable around him, able to share with him more embarrassing things like the time she was so nervous to do a presentation in high school that she messed up a word or two or when she practically face planted when she was looking at a crush. It just felt right and natural to be so open with him.
When they had finished eating, Sebastian even having drank the small bit of wine, he and Nazomi cleared the table. Sebastian even helped her with the dishes before they went back to going over some more of Nazomi’s old papers and work to help prepare him. It seemed like no time once more as they noticed the sun was start to set.
“Is it really that late already?” Nazomi asked as she looked at her clock, taking note of the time.
“Looks like it.” Sebastian commented.
“My how time flies, it seems to go so slow until well…” she blushed. “I’m around you.”
Sebastian blushed heavily. “Yeah…”
“Thank you for the lovely time, as well as the gifts and helping out, not many guys are as considerate as you.” Nazomi commented.
“Well, you’re worth any effort…” the lion blushed.
Nazomi smiled, blushing as well. How could this lion keep finding ways to make her heart feel like it was a puddle? She hadn’t really met many guys with the ability to do that over the years, more so not than did in recent ones. It had gotten to the point where she just really stopped looking. But then Sebastian came around and made her feel things she hadn’t felt in a long time. His gentlemanly studious nature and willingness to be so considerate, among other things, just had her more enamored with each time they were together. The fact that he was willing to take things so slow, deny himself the most basic of typical teenage experiences that most his age were having just made him seem too good to be true. And yet, there he was proving to be just that good.
Then there was the fact that while she did do a fare share for the holiday he had not only helped out, but went out of his way to get her flowers and a rather nice gift, not expecting anything special in return and just wanting to treat her right. As the lion got up from where they had been sitting she stood. “Sebastian, before I take you back to Cherryton...I think you deserve another kiss.”
Sebastian blinked as he blushed. “I don’t want you to feel obligated to…”
“No, I want to.” Nazomi admitted with a smile. “The only true thing that’s tricky with our relationship is that you’re a student and I’m a teacher. You’ve proven time and again just how good a man you are and that you are someone I...have looked for.” she blushed. “So I don’t see us kissing, at least in private and while off school grounds as being an issue. I know you’d never take advantage of me and I want to reward you for such, and for treating me to one of the best times I’ve had in a while.”
Sebastian’s tail started to flick happily as he smiled. “Alright.”
The two approached each other, embracing as they leaned in to share a kiss. Just like with their first, it was utterly electrifying for Sebastian. The feel of Nazomi’s lips unlike anything he felt before as his heart beat out of his chest as he started to purr. Sebastian enjoyed every second that the kiss lasted, his hands starting to subconsciously roam along her back a bit, though he would catch and restrain himself before they went too low.
Nazomi for her part pressed a bit firmer than last time, what with it being a holiday for love. As they kissed she noticed that Sebastian’s hands roaming along her back, taking in her form and the feel of her body and causing her to purr a fair bit. She smiled as she noticed he restrained himself from doing anything inappropriate, knowing her trust in him would never be misplaced. Although she promised to herself one day when he was no longer a student, she’d allow him to no longer restrain himself.
As the finally broke the kiss Nazomi smiled. “That was a wonderful kiss, possibly better than the first.” she giggled.
“Y-yeah…” Sebastian agreed, his cheeks a dark red.
“Thank you for being such a gentleman and not taking advantage.” Nazomi commented as they stayed embraced.
“I’d never.”
“I know love.” she smiled. “And that is why I will make you this promise. If we manage to make it to when you are out of school, then you have permission to not restrain yourself anymore as we’ll be in the clear. Not that you’d need my permission at that point” Nazomi giggled. “Anyway, we best get going before it gets too dark.”
Sebastian’s blush deepened all the more. “Yeah…”
The two headed back out to Nazomi’s car, first checking for anyone that might notice before getting in and driving off. The ride back went much like the first, the two briefly holding hands here and there as they made their way through the city. It was something that both Sebastian and Nazomi seemed almost unable to resist doing. Hell, when they had walked back to Nazomi’s car their tails entwined again.
When they got back to the bottom of the hill that Cherryton rested on the moon had not been fully risen for too long. “Thanks again for the lovely Linked Souls Day, I haven’t really celebrated it in so long.” Nazomi said as she parked the car.
“No problem, hopefully our next date can be somewhat soon.” Sebastian replied with a smile. “I hope the rest of your weekend goes well.”
“Thank you Sebastian, you too, I’ll see you Monday.” Nazomi smiled.
Sebastian was about to get out when he stopped. “Nazomi?”
“Yes?”
“Mind if we...have one more kiss?” Sebastian asked as he blushed.
Nazomi smiled as a giggle escaped her lips. “I suppose not, it’s only right to have a goodnight kiss after a date.”
The two leaned in close, sharing in one more kiss as they rested a paw on the back of each other’s head, purring loudly as they did so. When the kiss broke a few moments later Sebastian smiled. “Good night.”
“Good night love.”
Sebastian got out of the car, walking back up the hill as Nazomi turned her car around and left. The lion smiled as his heart continued to race, he was as happy as he had ever felt and was all the happier that Nazomi felt the same way as he did. While it was true their relationship had a strong possibility of stopping if they were ever in great enough danger of being found out, it seemed that she was daring for it to work as much as he was. Whether it did or not, only the future knew.