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.
And there it was; 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. “That’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 and his heart was about toleap out of his chest as 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 jad 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, ever 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 where 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, a 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 mad 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 really. 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 pf 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 of 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 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 cab 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 am 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 in recent years. 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 she 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.

In June, the Pride Parade is the most important public event for many people who want to live in a society without exclusion and oppression. It has its origins in the Stonewall Riots of 1969 in New York, where LGBT+ people no longer put up with police repression and fought back against them in street battles that lasted for days.
Today, however, Pride has nothing in common with its militant origins. It is dominated by large corporations that want to give themselves an image of tolerance and progressiveness. But in reality, these corporations stand for exploitation and oppression. Almost all of them are internationally known to act against trade unions and labor rights.
The multiple crises of capitalism are attacking the living conditions of the entire working class. At the same time, right-wing and conservative groups around the world are increasingly attacking trans people, abortion rights and sex education. These attacks are not isolated from each other, but are closely related: they are an expression of the crisis of capitalism!
The attacks on transpeople in recent months show how the ruling class is fueling the lines of division in society to distract from the crisis of its system. It tries to prevent our unity as a working class in the struggle against exploitation and oppression. However, more and more people are seeing that the crises of our time are linked to the capitalist system and are drawing radical conclusions from this.
Fact is: There is enough wealth worldwide to enable us all to live a good life. But only by expropriating the capitalists we can access it. This will lay the foundation for a society in which we can all live the way we want, regardless of origin, gender or our sexuality.

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Disney 4K

Title	Price
Avengers: End Game - MA	$4
Avengers: Infinity War - MA	$4
Black Panther - Vu	$5
Call of the Wild - MA	$5
Cars 3 - iT	$5
Cruella - MA	$5
Doctor Strange - MA	$5.50
Frozen 2 -MA	$4
Good Dinosaur - MA	$5
Guardians of the Galaxy - iT	$5
Guardians of the Galaxy v2 - iT	$5
Inside Out -iT	$4
Iron Man 3 - iT	$4
Jungle Book (Live) (2016) - iT	$4.50
Lion King (Live) - MA	$4
Maleficient 2: Mistress of Evil - MA	$5
Moana - MA	$5.50
Mulan (Live) - MA	$4
Ralph Breaks the Internet - MA	$5
Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker - MA	$4
Thor: Love & Thunder - MA	$5
Toy Story 4 - MA	$5
Turning Red - MA	$5

4K

Title	Price
10 Cloverfield Lane - Vu	$7
3 From Hell - Vu or iT	$4
48 Hours - Vu or iT	$6
Ambulance- MA	$6.50
American Gangster- MA	$5
American Made- MA	$6
American Psycho - Vu , iT or GP	$5
Another 48 Hours - Vu or iT	$6
Batman - MA	$5
Bram Stoker's Dracula- MA	$5
Bullet Train - MA	$5.50
Bumblebee - Vu or iT	$5
Cabin in the Woods - Vu	$4
Clerks III - iT	$5
Cloverfield - Vu or iT	$6
Collateral - Vu or iT	$5
Coming to America - Vu or iT	$5
Cool Hand Luke (1967) - MA	$7
Crawl - iT or Vu	$5
Criminal - Vu	$5
Daniel Craig 5 Film

Casino Royale Quantum of Solace Skyfall Spectre No Time to Die - Vu $20 Deadpool - iT$3 Dragonslayer - Vu $5 Dune (2021) - MA$5 Elvis (2022) - MA$5.50 Escape from LA - Vu or iT$6.75 Fright Night - MA$5 Godfather - Vu or iT$5 Godfather Part 2 - Vu or iT$5 Godfather Part 3 Coda - Vu or iT$5 Grease - iT$5 Green Mile - MA$6 Hacksaw Ridge - Vu $4 Heat - MA$5 Heavy Metal - MA$5.50 Highlander - Vu $5.50 Hunt for Red October- Vu or iT$5.50 In the Line of Fire - MA$5.50 Indiana Jones & the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull - Vu or iT$5 Indiana Jones & the Last Crusade - Vu or iT$5 Indiana Jones & the Temple of Doom - Vu or iT$5 Jurassic Park - MA$5 Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom - MA$5 King's Man - MA$7 Last Night in Soho - MA$5.75 Matrix Resurrections - MA$6 Northman - MA$6 Plane - Vu or iT$7 Poltergeist - MA$5.50 Pulp Fiction - iT or Vu$5 Raiders of the Lost Ark - Vu or iT$5 Red - Vu $4.50 Red 2 - Vu $4.50 Reservoir Dogs - iT or Vu$6 Resident Evil: Welcome to Racoon City - MA$6.50 Rocky - Vu $5 Scream - Vu or iT$5 Scream 2 - Vu or iT$5 Shutter Island - Vu $6 Sicario - Vu or iT$5 Sicario: Day of the Soldado - MA$5 Smokin' Aces - MA$6 Speed - MA$5 Spiderman: No Way Home - MA$3.50 Stuber - MA$5.50 The Hitman's Bodyguard & Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard - Vu $10 The Lost Boys - MA$6 The Mummy - iT$5 The Mummy (Tom Cruise) (2017) - MA$5 The Protégé - Vu or iT$5.75 Top Gun: Maverick - Vu or iT$5.50 Untouchables - iT or Vu$6 Wolf of Wall Street - Vu or iT$5

Disney HD

Title	Price
101 Dalmatians - MA	$4
Age of Ultron - MA	$3
Age of Ultron - GP	$2
Aladdin (2019) - MA	$3
Aladdin (2019) - GP	$2
Aladdin (Robin Williams) - Vu	$4
Avengers: Age of Ulton - Vu	$3
Avengers: Age of Ulton - GP	$2
Avengers: End Game - Vu	$3
Avengers: End Game - GP	$2
Avengers: Infinity War - Vu	$2.50
Avengers: Infinity War - GP	$2
Beauty & the Beast (1991) - Vu	$2
Beauty & the Beast (1991) - GP	$2
Beauty & the Beast:
Enchanted Christmas - Vu	$6
Beauty & the Beast:
Enchanted Christmas - GP	$4.50
Beauty & the Beast (2017) - MA	$3
Beauty & the Beast (2017) - GP	$2
BFG - Vu	$3
Big Hero 6 - MA	$3
Big Hero 6 - GP	$2
Black Panther - MA	$3.50
Black Panther - GP	$2.50
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever - GP	$2.50
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever - MA	$4
Black Widow - MA	$4.50
Black Widow - GP	$3
Call of the Wild - Vu	$3
Call of the Wild - MA	$3
Call of the Wild - GP	$2
Captain America: Civil War - MA	$3
Captain America: Civil War - GP	$2
Captain Marvel - Vu	$3
Captain Marvel - GP	$2
Cars 2 - GP	$3
Cars 3 - MA	$3
Cars 3 - GP	$2
Celebrating Mickey - GP	$3
Cinderella (Live) - MA	$4
Cinderella (Live) - GP	$3
Coco - GP	$2
Cruella - MA	$3
Cruella - GP	$2
Doctor Strange - Vu	$3
Doctor Strange - GP	$2
Doctor Strange 2 - Vu	$4
Doctor Strange 2 - GP	$3
Dumbo (2019) - MA	$4
Dumbo (2019) - GP	$3
Emperor's New Groove - MA	$7
Emperor's New Groove - GP	$6.75
Eternals - Vu	$3.50
Eternals - GP	$2.50
Finding Dory - MA	$3.50
Finding Dory - GP	$2
Fox and the Hound 2 - GP	$5
Free Guy - Vu	$3
Free Guy - GP	$2
Frozen - MA	$3
Frozen - GP	$2
Frozen 2 - GP	$2
Frozen Sing Along - MA	$3
Frozen Sing Along - GP	$2
Good Dinosaur - MA	$4
Good Dinosaur - GP	$3
Guardians of the Galaxy - GP	$3
Guardians of the Galaxy v2 - GP	$3
Hercules - Vu	$6.50
Hercules - GP	$5.50
Hocus Pocus - MA	$3
Hocus Pocus - GP	$2
Incredibles 2 - MA	$3
Incredibles 2 - GP	$2
Inside Out - GP	$2
Into the Woods - GP	$2
Iron Man 3 - GP	$2
Jungle Book (Live) (2016) - GP	$3
Jungle Cruise - MA	$3
Jungle Cruise - GP	$2
Kronk's New Groove - MA	$6.75
Kronk's New Groove - GP	$6.50
Lady & the Tramp - MA	$5
Lady & the Tramp - GP	$4
Lightyear - Vu	$3.50
Lilo & Stitch - MA	$4
Lilo & Stitch - GP	$3.50
Lilo & Stitch 2 - MA	$4
Lion King (Animated) - MA	$4.50
Lion King (Animated) - GP	$3.50
Lion King (Live) - GP	$2
Little Mermaid - MA	$4.50
Little Mermaid - GP	$3.50
Little Mermaid 2 - MA	$7
Little Mermaid 2 - GP	$6.75
Little Mermaid 3 - MA	$7
Lone Ranger - Vu	$4
Lone Ranger - GP	$2
Luca - MA	$3
Luca - GP	$2
Maleficent - MA	$3
Maleficent - GP	$2
Maleficent 2 - GP	$3
Many Adventures of
Winnie the Pooh - MA	$4
Mary Poppins - MA	$3
Mary Poppins - GP	$2.50
Mary Poppins Returns - MA	$4
Mary Poppins Returns - GP	$2.50
Moana - GP	$2
Monsters University - GP	$4.25
Mulan (Live Action) - GP	$2
Mulan II - MA	$5
Mulan II - GP	$4
Nightmare Before Christmas - GP	$3.50
Onward - MA	$3
Onward - GP	$2
Oz the Great and Powerful - MA	$3
Oz the Great and Powerful - GP	$2
Peter Pan - MA	$5
Peter Pan - GP	$4
Pinocchio - GP	$4
Pirate Fairy - MA	$3
Pirate Fairy - GP	$2
POTC: Dead Men Tell No Tales - MA	$3
Planes - MA	$4
Planes - GP	$2
Planes: Fire & Rescue - MA	$4
Planes: Fire & Rescue - GP	$2
Pocahontas - MA	$5
Pocahontas - GP	$4
Pocahontas 2 - MA	$5
Pocahontas 2 - GP	$4
Ralph Breaks the Internet - Vu	$3
Ralph Breaks the Internet - GP	$2
Raya and the Last Dragon - MA	$4
Raya and the Last Dragon - GP	$3
Rescuers - Vu	$6
Rescuers - GP	$4
Rescuers Down Under - Vu	$6
Robin Hood - MA	$5
Robin Hood - GP	$3
Rogue One - Vu	$3
Rogue Wars: Star Wars Story - MA	$3
Rogue Wars: Star Wars Story - GP	$2
Ron's Gone Wrong - MA	$3.00
Santa Clause - MA	$4.50
Santa Clause - GP	$3
Santa Clause 2 - MA	$4.50
Santa Clause 2 - GP	$3
Santa Clause 3 - MA	$4.50
Santa Clause 3 - GP	$3
Saving Mr. Banks - MA	$4
Saving Mr. Banks - GP	$3
Sleeping Beauty - MA	$4
Sleeping Beauty - GP	$3
Snow White - GP	$4
Soul - MA	$3
Soul - GP	$2
Spies in Disguise - GP	$2
Star Wars Last Jedi - GP	$2
Star Wars: Force Awakens - MA	$3
Star Wars: Force Awakens - GP	$2
Star Wars: Last Jedi - MA	$3
Star Wars: Last Jedi - GP	$2
Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker - MA	$4
Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker - GP	$3
Star Wars: Rogue One - MA	$3
Star Wars: Rogue One - GP	$2
Strange World - GP	$3
Super Buddies - MA	$3
Super Buddies - GP	$2
Sword in the Stone - MA	$5
Tangled - MA	$5
Tangled - GP	$4.50
Thor: Dark World, The - MA	$3
Thor: Dark World, The - GP	$2
Thor: Love & Thunder - MA	$4
Thor: Love & Thunder - GP	$3
Thor: Ragnarok - MA	$3
Thor: Ragnarok - GP	$2
Tomorrowland - MA	$3
Tomorrowland - GP	$2
Toy Story 3 - GP	$3
Toy Story 4 - GP	$3
Toy Story: That Time Forgot - MA	$5
Toy Story: That Time Forgot - GP	$4.50
Turning Red - GP	$3
West Side Story - Vu	$2
West Side Story - GP	$1.50
Winnie the Pooh:
Springtime with Roo - MA	$4.50
Zootopia - MA	$4
Zootopia - GP	$3

HD

Title	Price
13 Hours Secret Soldiers - Vu	$2
A Madea Christmas - Vu	$1.50
A Quiet Place - Vu or iT	$3
A Very Brady Sequel - Vu or iT	$5
Boss Baby - Vu	$2
Bourne Legacy - MA or iT	$0.75
Brady Bunch Movie - Vu	$5
Bring it on World CheerSmack - MA or iT	$0.50
Copshop - MA	$5
Croods - MA or iT	$3
Deadpool - MA	$1.50
Despicable Me 2 - MA	$2
How The Grinch Stole Christmas - MA	$3
E.T. - Vu or iT	$4
Edward Scissorhands - MA	$3
Emoji Movie - Vu	$2
Extreme Prejudice - Vu or iT	$4.50
Fast & Furious 6 - MA	$2
Fast & the Furious - Vu	$2
Frozen Ground - Vu	$2
Furious 7 - Vu or iT	$3
Fury - MA	$2.50
Heavy Metal 2000 - MA	$6.50
Hell or High Water - Vu	$5
Hitchcock - Vu	$2
House with a Clock
in its Walls (2018) - MA	$4
How to Train Your Dragon 2 - MA	$3
Hugo - Vu	$2
Hugo - iT	$2
Independence Day: Resurgence - MA	$2
Jack Reacher: Never Go Back - Vu or iT	$2
Jarhead 3: The Siege - MA	$2
Jason Bourne	iT
Jigsaw - Vu	$3
Jurassic World - Vu	$3
King of Staten Island - MA	$4
Kingsman: Golden Circle - MA	$2
La La Land - Vu	$2
Let's Be Cops- MA	$1
Miss Peregrine's
Home for Peculiar Children - Vu	$2
Mission Impossible Fallout - iT	$2
Mummy Tomb of the Dragon - MA	$3
Neighbors - iT	$2
Norm of the North - Vu	$2
Now You See Me - Vu	$2
Power Rangers - Vu or iT	$2
Pride & Prejudice (2005) - iT	$2
Resident Evil: Retribution - MA	$5.50
Rogue - Vu	$2
Schindler's List - Vu	$4
Secret Life of Pets - MA or iT	$2
Selma - Vu or iT	$3
Show Dogs (2018) - MA	$3
Sing - MA or iT	$2
Sinister - iT	$2
Snow White & the Huntsman - MA	$1
Split - MA	$3
Star Trek Beyond - Vu or iT	$3
Star Trek: Into Darkness - Vu or iT	$1
Step Up: All In - Vu or GP	$2
Super Troopers 2 - MA	$4
Superfly - MA	$3
Taken 2 - MA	$3
Terminator Dark Fate - Vu or iT	$2
The Bad News Bears (1976) - Vu	$4
The Captivev- Vu	$2
The Purge - MA	$3
The Women in Black - MA	$2
TMNT - Vu	$1.50
TMNT Out of the Shadows - iT	$2
Transformers: Age of Extinction - Vu	$1.50
Trolls - MA	$2
Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 2 - Vu	$1
Tyler Perry's Temptation - Vu	$2
Tyler Perry's Witness Protection - Vu	$1.50
Venom - MA	$3
War for the Planet of the Apes - Vu	$2
Wind River - Vu or iT	$5

SD

Title	Price
21 Jump Street - MA	$1
Adventures of TinTin - Vu or iT	$1
Amazing Spider-Man - MA	$0.50
Annie - MA	$0.75
Brothers - Vu	$1
Concussion - MA	$0.50
Divergent - Vu	$0.50
Equalizer - MA	$1
G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra - iT	$1.50
Here Comes The Boom - MA	$1
Hugo - Vu or iT	$0.75
Justin Bieber Never Say Never - iT	$1.50
Miss Bala - MA	$3
Safe - iT	$0.50
Star Trek: Into Darkness - iT	$0.50
Star Trek: Into Darkness - Vu	$0.50
The Last Stand - iT	$0.50
The Last Witch Hunter - Vu	$1
The Smurfs 2 - MA	$1
The Spectacular Now - Vu	$1
Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 2 - Vu	$0.50
Warm Bodies - Vu, iT or GP	$0.50
X-Men: Wolverine - iT	$1

A Rust community brought to you by a group of friends and their enjoyment of Rust. Dysfunctionally Rusty is a new start-up community focused on providing the best Rust experience. With our new server we have a fully vanilla experience with no blueprint wipes so you can return whenever you like. We do include RNGCopter spawns to provide more forgiveness to new pilots.
Be part of a new community and help us bring a more friendly experience to our guests. We have an active discord: https://discord.gg/ekER7UGnfa
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To celebrate Pride Month, Dialogue Out Loud presents this special panel discussion with authors who have written about trans Mormon issues in Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought. Journal Editor Taylor Petrey sits down with Emily English, Ray Nielson, and Keith Burns to explore their experiences and research into this important topic at a time when trans voices are facing prejudice and discrimination across the country. #pride2023 #dialoguejournal #mormonthought #transgender #transvoices #transmormon Watch the entire episode on Youtube or listen on the #dialoguejournalpodcast: https://youtu.be/hKuSqNm5TeI Also check out our new topics page with links to all the articles on this important topic: https://www.dialoguejournal.com/curated-topics/transgende

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.
And there it was; 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. “That’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 and his heart was about toleap out of his chest as 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 jad 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, ever 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 where 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, a 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 mad 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 really. 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 pf 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 of 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 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 cab 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 am 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 in recent years. 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 she 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.

I read a JAFF book (pride and prejudice variation) where Elizabeth Bennett is a folk / hedge witch… loved it!! Please share if you have come across any magical JAFF variations

For the Seeker of the Unseen. I'm here to finally show you the truth. Open wide, baby. 😏
Just your mind, this time. Pervert.
So many ways to say so many things. Different ways to frame them... So many ways to try and reach you, yet I never really do anymore it seems. That will be different this time, I can sense it.
I could simplify it all and just say, "you manipulate and treat me like shit," which is objectively at least partially true. I could say, "you endlessly lie and pervert the truth on purpose to take advantage of others, including me," and you'd not really be able to refute that very easily. I could also say, "you give until you literally can't anymore," or I could probably also say, "you love me, which is also why you hate me."
I could say all of that, and infinitely more, and I'd be right. Except, I also wouldn't be.... 🤷🏻‍♂️
Because you're also just a scared small girl, holding on to your inner child for comfort, just riding out the waves of life on your emotional instinct alone and desperately hoping to make it through to the other side. Hoping to wash up on some distant foreign shores, where you're met with a smile and a long hug, rather than the tip of a spear you constantly feel. Somewhere you can sink your roots into the sand, a place to call "home" once more.
This one is going to reach you, though, because I have all the pieces finally. Well, no I don't. Not at all. But, I have enough of them.
I'm sorry we failed, you know. I tried everything I could, though, despite what your mind tells you. I'm going to explain why we failed, and why I don't blame either of us.
Hmm where to start...
You feel everything so incredibly intensely to the point you eventually have to separate the feelings from yourself. Things hurt you far more than they should, and your attachment is incredible. I never saw this before btw.
However, despite that attachment, you basically lack entirely all drive to "resolve" problems, (which I'll explain why that is a little later, that's the climax). But it's something that makes you feel very broken internally. This is just the surface, but all this culminates to make you feel deeply bitter and resentful, and you project it both inwards and outwards, which actually makes it worse.
This is why I was special to you, though. I know you forgot, but this is what I gave you for a long while. I gave you the ability to resolve things. For a while, at least. You felt a lot of pride when something got better. Like an incredible amount, no matter if it was tiny. I never understood this before, but now I see that for you it was huge.
I led you through it, sure, but the change is always ultimately with you. I resolved things for you as much as I could, but... You had unresolved issues that actually weren't related to me, but which you placed onto me instinctually.
Unfortunately, this is what made it so you weren't ready to learn what you needed to learn. And I didn't realize this in time to be able to stop it, so I wasn't ready to teach you I guess. But hey, I'm going to help you with that here. This letter is going to heal you, okay? I'm being serious. You'll see.
The instincts you're riding the waves of right now are why you're so volatile with me, and your own mental image of me. You're deeply conflicted, and you're confused because sometimes it strikes back out at you in your confusion and hurt yourself. The reason is because you subconsciously are aware of the truth, though you obscure it heavily.
This will ease some of that fog for you, though you may feel a little guilty. Maybe not. Either way, even if we don't end up together, which seems more and more likely since you continue to devalue me, I still want you to be happy. Hopefully you can stop doing this, at least. Anyways...
You can tolerate all these emotions jumbled up in your brain for a while, and I've even actually seen you fully control it in rare moments. I've seen you dominate your mind with an incredible will and quash your emotions that you desperately WANT to feel, if only for brief periods. But, of course you feel that this comes at great cost to you, since that's what instincts are and do. It's only natural you feel this way, don't beat yourself up over it. It's no fault of yours. It will take lots of practice and time.
But, you didn't know any of this in the past. You truly could not control anything when you were younger and it was hell. So, you began to disassociate from the pain. You split into your "system". Kind of. Your creativity, along with your need to find the explanations, which I'll get into soon here, has done a lot in that regard. Plus you're very intelligent in your own unique ways. You're the most talented girl I've ever known in your chosen paths, and probably even more obsessive than me. It's admirable, but good God is that ever a necessary compensation. 😉
You've fucked your own mind and self perception up wonderfully. I hope you know this, or can admit that about yourself. You need a guide... You're lost in there right now. Lately. This is probably both the best and the worst time in your life for your mental health. I'm worried about you a lot. You're on a path I can't watch you go down, because it kills me to have failed... So, I'm stopping it.
I did realize recently that you truly do lie to yourself. It's not faked as I'd thought. Well, it isn't always.
You can't handle these emotions anymore it doesn't seem. You hate yourself for them, for the control they steal from you, and all the opportunities that you've lost, the love, the life you should have had, you hate them so much... So the solution, in your mind, which you've HEAVILY fixated on... Is to fucking kill them. I see now that you're trying to smother your empathetic side, and to embrace all the darkness you can. I wonder if this is even possible? But then I look at the progress you've made and I think I'd rather not find out.
Stop.
You do have, and always have had, the capacity and even the compulsion sometimes to just shut your empathy off. This is a common defense mechanism. One that is to a great degree already engrained in you. However, this can come at a cost after the fact. Particularly in what you lose... Who you lose. Eventually it catches up to you, and you do NOT like when you have to feel that. You despise paying that price.
That's what makes you hate me in large part as well, I think. I've become a great burden upon your mind in this way. Your empathy towards me.
Your hate is actually genuine and not forced as I thought. So is your love, in turn. I personally don't have the capacity to be so volatile, so I never really understood it until very recently.
I simply love you (and I don't hate you), but you already knew that. But, now the important bit. Please open your mind when you read this, do not get stuck on bias.
I'm sorry you have to feel all these things on your own.
I'm sorry the world has not been fair to you.
I'm sorry you had the childhood you did especially, where you still feel so deeply ashamed for feeling how you did. How you still do. No matter what anybody says, you have nothing to be ashamed of. I promise. I have wanted to talk to you about this for a while, but you're so evasive and cruel lately. 🥹
This is the important bit: The abuse you suffered was very subtle and unclear, as is the nature of neglect. You were subtly gaslit by your parents and even your sisters, and actually you even still are, which only further exacerbates the trauma... You have no clue what it actually was that you could point to, and you're deeply ashamed of yourself for being so weak in light of that. So affected. After this, no more shame.
Just saying "neglect" doesn't adequately describe how it feels at all. It doesn't have the power behind it that saying something like, "I got punched in the fucking face," has. It feels empty because it is, and so it gets ignored. It gets brushed aside. People don't help or care. This is where most of the trauma truly comes from. It's this feeling of doubt and insecurity it creates in you. It's a very insidious evil.
You never had anything definitive to point to, though, and this is in incredibly important point that's why I'm repeating it. You did what any child does in that situation. You looked for reasons to explain why you felt the way you did. 🤷🏻‍♂️ This most likely started with you and your sisters, with your intended target being your parents, but it obviously shifts over time to a lot of different things.
You probably succeeded just as you failed, you obviously learned a great deal. It's also obvious that you were shut down and shut out, time and time again. This is where you started lying, though. It became such an improperly addressed force in your life and it still is just that. That's the root of why you still lie so compulsively.
You couldn't "find" anything, because it isn't clear, and there's truly nothing to find. So, you made the reasons up. You did this everywhere that you could. Online. School. Friends. You would make stuff up to try and fill up that gap. I won't get into all the ways that you do this, but it has taken over your life.
You began doing this obviously very early on, not knowing what this would eventually make you... And the saddest part? It didn't even work. Nobody had the love you wanted, nor the validation or sympathy/pity. You can't replace that from your parents, not easily. And the reason that you feel like you don't have empathy now? It's because you subconsciously think everybody else lies. Your obsession with victimhood has made you numb to it with others.
The ironic thing is, is that when you truly ARE a victim of something? That's when you shut down and don't want to talk about it at all. There's stuff you still have never told me, either because it makes you look bad or because it's TRUE. 😔
Your parents failed you, though. But in your mind, you failed to show them their role. There's nothing to show though, and that's why it's so hard. It's them entirely, THEY failed to take responsibility time and time again, and that only ever made it worse and worse.
You have always tried to find things to rationalize WHY it is you feel so much pain and sadness. This has exacerated the issue so dramatically over time. You have become "this" now, and I'm here just humbly asking: please stop.
This childhood trauma created a complex in you... 😭 It's why you always tried to find the same things in me as well, from the very beginning. We both knew it from early on, but we never talked about why nearly enough. What a stupid oversight on my part...
You more or less forced this into me, though. And I played my own role, don't get me wrong, but I tried for so long to stop that course and you couldn't help me. You sacrificed everything with ME to get that love from your parents in the end, and it didn't even work. 🥺
I realize this is why you hate me, though. You want me to take responsibility for "it", but... I truly don't know what you want me to take responsibility for, exactly. I have taken responsibility for what I could, when I could, but your indirect communication makes it rather impossible anyways. 😔
This makes you hate me even more, though. I'm sorry but I can't change this. I'm not stupid nor an asshole, I just truly don't know.
In any case....
It's not your fault, either.
I forgive you.
If I could go back in time? I'd destroy everybody who dared wrong you in such a way.
Okay, not really. I'd try to just help you and them first, which I'm sure I could.
But, hypothetically, if I couldn't? I meant it when I said I'd burn the whole fucking world down for you.
You say you're doing well, but I think you're lying usually. If you are, though? Then I'm glad to see that, and I hope this helps you make it more permanent. I'm moving on from here, though, because this is a mental poison I don't particularly need.
Reddit is, I mean.
If you want me to be there for you, I will be. Seems unlikely, at this point. You have nothing to fear from me, and you never did. I'm no longer going to be seeking you out, though, because all you do is hurt me now. 🤷🏻‍♂️
Ugh, so many other things I could and want to say...
I think the last thing I would want to say to you is the importance of realizing the impermanence of our perception, and the imperfections in them.
In your eyes, I've been an incredible variety of things. I once was exalted and seen as the hero god. But, I've also been seen as the abuser and reviled and hated. I've been judged as unworthy in your eyes now, and it seems permanently.
You know it hurts to be here for me, which is why you've put me here in this position. You hurt, and so I must feel it 100x over, and I've simply let you. But, I won't be here forever, and you'll have to contend with that as well.
I do love you, and I'm sure I won't stop. I understand it's unrequited and foolish. I understand it's one sided. I don't see why I'd care.
If I can love in these conditions as I have for months now, then surely at some point you can see yourself out of the hate you've immersed yourself in?
Hope this helps you figure it all out, regardless. I care about you a lot. I want you to be okay, not just fall into the darkest parts of you. I taught you to be stronger than that, didn't I? Hopefully you can remember.
I love you, goober,
B

Something I wrote up!
Happy Pride!! I know some people look at June as just another month and of course Flag day! However for people in the LGBTQIA+ community it’s so much more than a month celebrating love and parades!! We celebrate in June to coincide with the catalyst of the Gay Liberation Movement that was the Stonewall Uprising. In the early morning hours of June 28 1969 police raided a popular gay bar in NYC’s West Village, The Stonewall Inn. This was commonplace for the time, but on this particular evening, the patrons of the bar fought back, starting the Stonewall Riots, which went on for days. The Stonewall Inn was declared a historic landmark by the city of New York in 2015 and later named a national monument by President Barack Obama in 2016. Today marks the 53rd anniversary of the first Pride parade, which happened in 1970, one year after the uprising. Pride month is all about celebration, acknowledgement and fun! It is the perfect opportunity to unapologetically celebrate the LGBTQIA+ community and all that we are, having conversations around our journey to date but also where there is opportunity for further growth, support and progression. It allows us to organize worldwide events that bring unity to the LGBTQIA+ community and offers a platform for those who wish to be allies! Pride month means stepping into your light and taking complete joy in celebrating love! It’s about celebrating LGBTQIA+ history, fighting discrimination and honouring difference. This is a month to show the world how amazing and proud you are! Quite simply, the need for Pride would not exist if queer people were freely accepted without prejudice. In recent times we have seen the rights of LGBTQIA+ people regress in several states and countries and even have places labeled as “LGBTQ free zone”.
LOVE WINS 🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈🖤🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

IP: EdenPrison.com
Image: Here
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Server Details

• IP: ProjectEden.apexmc.co
• Discord: Join us here

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See you inside the prison walls, fellow inmates!

The whirring blades of my MD-902 throbbed against the warm evening air, and I smiled.
From 5,000 feet, the ground flew by in a carpet of dark forests and kelly-green fields. The sun hung low on the horizon in a picturesque array of dazzling orange and gold, and I could make out the narrow strip of the Ohio River to my left, glistening in the fading daylight. This time of year, the trees would be full of the sweet aroma of fresh blossoms, and the frequent rains kept small pockets of fluffy white mist hanging in the treetops. It was a beautiful view, one that reminded me of why being a helicopter pilot trumped flying in a jumbo jet far above the clouds every day of the week.
Fourteen more days, and I’m debt free.
That made me grin even more. I’d been working as a charter pilot ever since I obtained my license at age 19, and after years of keeping my nose to the grindstone, I was closing on the final payment for real-estate in western Pennsylvania. With no debt, a fixer-upper house on 30 rural acres all to myself, and a respectable wage for a 26-year-old pilot, I looked forward to the financial freedom I could now enjoy. Maybe I’d take a vacation, somewhere exotic like Venice Italy, or the Dominican Republic. Or perhaps I’d sock the money back for the day I started a family.
“Remember kleineun, a real man looks after his own.”
My elderly ouma’s voice came back from the depths of my memories, her proud, sun-tanned face rising from the darkness. She and my Rhodesian grandfather had emigrated to the US when they were newlyweds, as the violence against white Boer descendants in South Africa spiraled out of control. My mother and father both died in a car crash when I was six, and it had been my grandparents who raised me. Due to this, I’d grown up with a slight accent that many of my classmates found amusing, and I could speak both English, and Afrikaans, the Boer tongue of our former home.
I shifted in my seat, stretched my back muscles, and glanced at the picture taped to my console. Both my parents flanked a grinning, gap-toothed six-year-old me, at the last Christmas we’d spent together. My mother beamed, her dark hair and Italian features a sharp contrast to my father’s sandy blonde hair and blue eyes. Sometimes, I liked to imagine they were smiling at me with pride at how well I flew the old silver-colored bird my company had assigned to me, and that made the long, lonely flights easier to bear.
A flicker caught my eye, and I broke my gaze away from the photograph.
Perched in its small cradle above the controls, my little black Garmin fuzzed over for a few seconds, its screen shifting from brightly colored maps to a barrage of grey static.
Did the power chord come loose?
I checked, ensuring the power-cable for the unit’s battery was plugged into the port on the control panel. It was a brand-new GPS unit, and I’d used it a few times already, so I knew it wasn’t defective. Granted, I could fly and navigate without it, but the Garmin made my time as a pilot so much easier that the thought of going blind was dreadful.
My fuel gauge danced, clicked to empty, then to full, in a bizarre jolt.
More of the gauges began to stutter, the entire panel seeming to develop terrets all at once, and my pulse began to race. Something was wrong, very wrong, and the sludge inside my bowels churned with sour fear.
“Come on, come on.” I flicked switches, turned dials, punched buttons, but nothing seemed to fix the spasming electronics. Every gauge failed, and without warning, I found myself plunged into inky darkness.
Outside, the sun surrendered to the pull of night, the sky darker than usual. A distant rumble of thunder reverberated above the roar of my helicopter’s engine, and I thought I glimpsed a streak of yellowish lightning on the far horizon to my left.
Calm down Chris. We’re still flying, so it must just be a blown fuse. Stay in control and find a place to set her down.
My sweaty palm slid on the cyclic stick, and both feet weighed heavy on the yaw pedals. The collective stuck to my other hand with a nervous vibration, and I squinted against the abyss outside.
Beep.
I jumped despite myself, as the little Garmin on my panel flared back to life, the static pulling aside to reveal a twitching display. Each time the screen glitched, it showed the colorful map detailing my flight path over the ground below, but I noticed that some of the lines changed, the names shifting, as if the device couldn’t decide between two different versions of the world.
One name jutted out at me, slate gray like most of the major county names, appearing with ghostly flickers from between two neighboring ones.
Barron County.
I stared, confused. I’d flown over this section of southeastern Ohio plenty of times, and I knew the counties by heart. At this point, I should have been over the southern end of Noble County, and maybe dipping lower into Washington. There was no Barron County Ohio. I was sure of it.
And yet it shown back at me from the digital landscape, a strange, almost cigar-shaped chunk of terrain carved from the surrounding counties like a tumor, sometimes there, sometimes not, as my little Garmin struggled to find the correct map. Rain began to patter against my cockpit window, and the entire aircraft rattled from a strong gust of wind. Thick clouds closed over my field of vision like a sea of gray cotton.
The blood in my veins turned to ice, and I sucked in a nervous breath.
Land. I had to land. There was nothing else to do, my flight controls weren’t responding, and only my Garmin had managed to come back to life. Perhaps I’d been hit by lightning, and the electronics had been fried? Either way, it was too dark to tell, but a storm seemed to be brewing, and if I didn’t get my feet on the ground soon, I could be in real trouble.
“Better safe than sorry.” I pushed down on the collective to start my slow descent and clicked the talking button for my headset. “Any station, this is Douglass Three-One-Four-Foxtrot, over.”
Nothing.
“Any station, this is Douglass Three-One-Four-Foxtrot, requesting emergency assistance, over.”
Still nothing.
If the radio’s dead, I’m really up a creek.
With my hand shaking, I clicked on the mic one more time. “Any station, this is—”
Like a curtain pulling back, the fog cleared from around my window, and the words stuck in my throat.
Without my gauges, I couldn’t tell just how far I’d descended, but I was definitely very low. Thick trees poked up from the ground, and the hills rolled into high ridges with flat valley floors, fields and pastures pockmarking them. Rain fell all around in cold, silvery sheets, a normal feature for the mid spring in this part of Ohio.
What wasn’t normal, were the fires.
At first, I thought they were forest fires for the amount of smoke and flames that bellowed from each spot, but as I swooped lower, my eyes widened in horror.
They were houses.
Farms, cottages, little clusters that barely constituted villages, all of them belched orange flames and black pillars of sooty smoke. I couldn’t hear above the helicopter blades, but I could see the flashes on the ground, along the road, in between the trees, and even coming from the burning buildings, little jets of golden light that spat into the darkness with anger.
Gunfire. That’s rifle fire, a whole lot of it.
Tiny black figures darted through the shadows, barely discernable from where I sat, several hundred feet up. I couldn’t see much, but some were definitely running away, the streaks of yellow gunfire chasing them. A few dark gray vehicles rumbled down one of the gravel roads, and sprayed fire into the houses as it went. They were fighting, I realized, the people in the trucks and the locals. It was horrific, like something out of war-torn Afghanistan, but worse.
Then, I caught a glimpse of the others.
They didn’t move like the rest, who either fled from the dark vehicles, or fired back from behind cover. These skinny figures loped along with haphazard gaits, many running on all fours like animals, swarming from the trees by the dozens. They threw themselves into the gales of bullets without flinching, attacking anyone within range, and something about the way they moved, so fluid, so fearless, made my heart skip a beat.
What is that?
“Echo Four Actual to unknown caller, please respond, over.”
Choking back a cry of shock, I fumbled at the control panel with clumsy fingers, the man’s voice sharp and stern. I hadn’t realized that I’d let go of the talking button and clicked it down again. “Hello? Hello, this is Douglass Three-One-Four-Foxtrot out of Pittsburgh, over.”
An excruciating moment passed, and I continued to zoom over the trees, the fires falling away behind me as more silent forest took over.
“Roger that Douglass Three-One-Four-Foxtrot, we read you loud and clear. Please identify yourself and any passengers or cargo you might be carrying, over.”
Swallowing hard, I eyed the treetops, which looked much closer than they should have been. How far had I descended? “Echo Four Actual, my name is Christopher Dekker, and I am alone. I’m a charter flight from PA, carrying medical equipment for OSU in Columbus. My controls have been damaged, and I am unable to safely carry on due to the storm. Requesting permission to land, over.”
I watched the landscape slide by underneath me, once catching sight of what looked like a little white church surrounded by smaller huts, dozens of figures in the yard staring up at me as I flew over a towering ridgeline.
“Solid copy on that Douglass Three-One-Four-Foxtrot. Be advised, your transponder shows you to be inside a restricted zone. Please cease all radio traffic, reduce your speed, climb to 3,000 feet and proceed north. We’ll talk you in from there. How copy, over?”
My heart jumped, and I let out a sigh of relief. “Roger that Echo Four Actual, my altimeter is down, but I’ll do my best to eyeball the altitude, over.”
With that, I pulled the collective upward, and tried my best to gauge how far I was by eyesight in the gathering night, rain still coming down all around me. This had to be some kind of disaster or riot, I decided. After all, the voice over the radio sounded like military, and those vehicles seemed to have heavy weapons. Maybe there was some kind of unrest going on here that I hadn’t heard about yet?
Kind of weird for it to happen in rural areas though. Spoiled college kids I get, but never saw farmers get so worked up before. They usually love the military.
Something moved in the corner of my eye, and I turned out of reflex.
My mouth fell open, and I froze, unable to scream.
In the sky beside me, a huge shadow glided along, and its leathery wings effortlessly carved through the gloom, flapping only on occasion to keep it aloft. It was too dark for me to see what color it was, but from the way it moved, I knew it wasn’t another helicopter. No, this thing was alive, easily the size of a small plane, and more than twice the length of my little McDonald Douglass. A long tail trailed behind it, and bore a distinct arrow-shaped snout, with twig-like spines fanned out around the back of its head. Whatever legs it had were drawn up under it like a bird, yet its skin appeared rough and knobby, almost resembling tree bark. Without pause, the gigantic bat-winged entity flew along beside me, as if my presence was on par with an annoying fly buzzing about its head.
Gripping the microphone switch so tight, I thought I’d crack the plastic, I whispered into my headset, forgetting all radio protocol. “T-There’s something up here.”
Static crackled.
“Douglas Three-One-Four-Foxtrot, say again your last, you’re coming in weak and unreadable, over.”
“There’s something up here.” I snarled into the headset, still glued to the controls of the helicopter, afraid to deviate even an inch from my course in case the monstrosity decided to turn on me. “A freaking huge thing, right beside me. I swear, it looks like a bat or . . . I don’t know.”
“Calm down.” The man on the other end of the radio broke his rigorous discipline as well, his voice deep, but level. “It won’t attack if you don’t move too fast. Slowly ease away from it and follow that course until you’re out of sight.”
I didn’t have time to think about how wrong that sounded, how the man’s strict tone had changed to one of knowledge, how he hadn’t been the least surprised by what I’d said. Instead, I slowly turned the helicopter away from the huge menace and edged the speed higher in tiny increments.
As soon as I was roughly two football fields away, I let myself relax, and clicked the mic switch. “It’s not following.”
“You’re sure?”
Eyeing the huge flapping wings, I nodded, then remembered he couldn’t see me. “Yeah, I’m well clear.”
“Good. Thank you, Mr. Dekker.”
Then, the radio went dead.
Something in my chest dropped, a weight that made my stomach roil. This wasn’t right, none of it. Who was that man? Why did he know about the thing I’d just seen? What was I supposed to—
A flash of light exploded from the trees to my right and shot into the air with a long finger of smoke.
What the . . .
On instinct, I jerked the cyclic stick to one side, and the helicopter swung to avoid the rocket.
Boom.
My world shook, metal screeched, and a dozen alarms began to go off inside the cockpit in a cacophony of beeps and sirens. Orange and red flames lit up the night sky just behind me, and the horizon started to spin wildly outside. Heat gushed from the cockpit door, and I smelled the greasy stench of burning oil. The safety belts dug into my shoulders, and with a final slip, the radio headset ripped free from my scalp.
I’m hit.
Desperate, I yanked on the controls, fought the bird even as she spun toward the ground in a wreath of flames, the inky black trees hurtling up to meet me. The helicopter went into full auto-rotation, the sky blurring past outside, and the alarms blared in a screech of doom. Panic slammed through my temples, I screamed at the top of my lungs, and for one brief second, my eyes locked on the little black Garmin still perched atop my control panel.
Its screen stopped twitching and settled on a map of the mysterious Barron County, with a little red arrow at the center of the screen, a few words popping up underneath it.
You are here.
Trees stabbed up into the sky, the belts crushed at my torso, glass shattered all around me, and the world went dark.
Copper, thick, warm, and tangy.
It filled my mouth, stank metallic in my nose, clogged my throat, choking me. In the murkiness, I fought for a surface, for a way out, blind and numb in the dark.
This way, kleineun.
My ouma’s voice echoed from somewhere in the shadows.
This way.
Both eyes flew open, and I gagged, spitting out a stream of red.
Pain throbbed in my ribs, and a heavy pressure sent a tingling numbness through my shoulders. Blood roared inside my temples, and stars danced before my eyes with a dizzying array. Humid night air kissed my skin, and something sticky coated my face, neck, and arms that hung straight up toward the ceiling.
Wait. Not up. Down.
I blinked at the wrinkled, torn ceiling of the cockpit, the glass all gone, the gray aluminum shredded like tissue paper. Just outside the broken windows, thick Appalachian bluegrass and stemmy underbrush swished in a feeble breeze, backlit by flashes of lightning from the thunderstorm overhead. Green and brown leaves covered everything in a wet carpet of triangles, and somewhere nearby, a cricket chirped.
Turning my head from side to side, I realized that I hung upside down inside the ruined helicopter, the top half burrowed into the mud. I could hear the hissing and crackling of flames, the pattering of rain falling on the hot aluminum, and the smaller brush fires around the downed aircraft sizzling out in the damp long grass. Charred steel and burning oil tainted the air, almost as strong as the metallic, coppery stench in my aching nose.
They shot me down. That military dude shot me out of the sky.
It didn’t make sense. I’d followed their orders, done everything they’d said, and yet the instant I veered safely away from whatever that thing in the sky had been, they’d fired, not at it, but at me.
Looking down (or rather, up) at my chest, I sucked in a gasp, which was harder to do that before.
The navy-blue shirt stuck to my torso with several big splotches of dark, rusty red. Most were clean slashes, but two held bits of glass sticking out of them, one alarmingly bigger than the other. They dripped cherry red blood onto my upturned face, and a wave of nausea hit me.
I gotta get down.
I flexed my arms to try and work some feeling back into them, praying nothing was broken. Half-numb from hanging so long, I palmed along my aching body until I felt the buckled for the seat belts.
“Okay.” I hissed between gritted teeth, in an effort to stave off my panic. “You can do this. Just hold on tight. Nice and tight. Here we go . . .”
Click.
Everything seemed to lurch, and I slid off the seat to plummet towards the muck-filled hole in the cockpit ceiling. My fingers were slick with blood and slipped over the smooth faux-leather pilot’s seat with ease. The shoulder belt snagged on the bits of glass that lay just under the left lowest rib, and a flare of white-hot pain ripped through me.
Wham.
I screamed, my right knee caught the edge of the aluminum ceiling, and both hands dove into a mound of leaf-covered glass shards on the opposite side of the hole. My head swam, being right-side-up again enough to make shadows gnaw at the corner of my eyes.
Forcing myself to breath slowly, I fought the urge to faint and slid back to sit on the smooth ceiling. I turned my hands over to see half a dozen bits of clear glass burrowed into my skin like greedy parasites, red blood weeping around the new cuts.
“Screw you.” I spat at the rubbish with angry tears in my eyes. “Screw you, screw you, screw you.”
The shards came out easy enough, and the cuts weren’t that deep, but that wasn’t what worried me. On my chest, the single piece of cockpit glass that remined was almost as big as my palm, and it really hurt. Just touching it felt like self-inflicted torture, but I knew it had to come out sooner or later.
Please don’t nick a vein.
Wiping my hands dry on my jeans, I gripped the shard with both hands, and jerked.
Fire roared over my ribs, and hot blood tickled my already grimy pale skin. I clapped a hand over the wound, pressing down hard, and grunted out a string of hateful expletives that my ouma would have slapped me for.
Lying on my back, I stared around me at the messy cargo compartment of the MD-902. Most of the medical supplies had been in cardboard boxes strapped down with heavy nylon tow-straps, but several cases had ruptured with the force of the impact, spraying bandages, syringes, and pill bottles all over the cluttered interior. Orange flames chewed at the crate furthest to the rear, the tail section long gone, but the foremost part of the hold was intact. Easily a million-dollar mess, it would have made me faint on any other trip, but today it was a godsend.
Half-blind in the darkness, I crawled along with only the firelight and lightning bolts to guide me, my right knee aching. Like a crippled raccoon, I collected things as I went, conscious of the two pallets of intact supplies weighing right over my head. I’d taken several different first-aid courses with some hunting buddies of mine, and the mental reflexes kicked in to help soothe my frazzled mind.
Check for bleeds, stop the worst, then move on.
Aside from my battered chest and stomach, the rest of me remained mostly unharmed. I had nasty bruises from the seatbelts, my right knee swelled, my nose slightly crooked and crusted in blood, but otherwise I was intact. Dowsing every scratch and cut with a bottle of isopropyl alcohol I found, I used butterfly closures on the smaller lacerations that peppered my skin. I wrapped soft white gauze over my abused palms and probed at the big cut where the last shard had been, only stopping when I was sure there were no pieces of glass wedged inside my flesh.
“Not too bad.” I grunted to myself, trying to sound impassive like a doctor might. “Rib must have stopped it. Gonna need stitches though. That’ll be fun.”
Pawing through the broken cases, I couldn’t find any suture chord, but just as I was about to give up, I noticed a small box that read ‘medical skin stapler’.
Bingo.
I tore the small white plastic stapler free from its packaging and eyeballed the device. I’d never done this before, only seen it in movies, and even though the cut in my skin hurt, I wondered if this wouldn’t be worse.
You’ve gotta do it. That bleeding needs to stop. Besides, no one’s coming to rescue you, not with those rocket-launching psychos out there.
Taking a deep breath, I pinched the skin around the gash together, and pressed the mouth of the stapler to it.
Click.
A sharp sting, like that of a needle bit at the skin, but it didn’t hurt nearly as bad as the cut itself. I worked my way across the two-inch laceration and gave out a sigh of relief when it was done.
“Not going to bleed to death today.” I daubed ointment around the staples before winding more bandages over the wound.
Popping a few low-grade painkillers that tumbled from the cargo, I crawled wriggled through the nearest shattered window into the wet grass.
Raindrops kissed my face, clean and cool on my sweaty skin. Despite the thick cloud cover, there was enough constant lightning strikes within the storm to let me get glimpses of the world around me. My helicopter lay on its back, the blades snapped like pencils, with bits and pieces of it burning in chunks all around the small break in the trees. Chest-high scrub brush grew all around the low-lying ground, with pockets of standing water in places. My ears still rang from the impact of the crash, but I could start to pick up more crickets, frogs, and even some nocturnal birds singing into the darkness, like they didn’t notice the huge the hulk of flaming metal that had fallen from the sky. Overhead, the thunder rumbled onward, the feeble wind whistling, and there were other flashes on the horizon, orange and red ones, with crackles that didn’t sound quite like lightning.
The guns. They’re still fighting.
Instinctively, I pulled out my cellphone, and tapped the screen.
It fluttered to life, but no matter how I tried, I couldn’t get through to anyone, not even with the emergency function designed to work around having no service. The complicated wonder of our modern world was little better than a glorified paperweight.
Stunned, I sat down with my back to the helicopter and rested my head against the aluminum skin of the craft. How I’d gone from a regular medical supply run to being marooned in this hellish parody of rural America, I didn’t know, but one thig was certain; I needed a plan. Whoever fired the missile could have already contacted my charter company and made up some excuse to keep them from coming to look for me. No one else knew I was here, and even though I now had six staples holding the worst of my injuries shut, I knew I needed proper medical attention. If I wanted to live, I’d have to rescue myself.
My bag. I need to get my go-bag, grab some gear and then . . . head somewhere else.
It took me a while to gather my green canvas paratrooper bag from its place behind the pilot’s seat and fill it with whatever supplies I could scrounge. My knee didn’t seem to be broken, but man did it hurt, and I dreaded the thought of walking on it for miles on end. I focused instead on inventorying my gear and trying to come up with a halfway intelligent plan of action.
I had a stainless-steel canteen with one of those detachable cups on the bottom, a little fishing kit, some duct tape, a lighter, a black LED flashlight with three spare batteries, a few tattered road maps with a compass, a spare pair of socks, medical supplies from the cargo, and a simple forest green plastic rain poncho. I also managed to unearth a functioning digital camcorder my ouma had gotten me for Christmas a few years back, though I wasn’t sure I wanted to do any filming in such a miserable state. Lastly, since it was a private supply run from a warehouse area near Pittsburgh to a direct hospital pad in Ohio, I’d been able to bring my K-Bar, a sturdy, and brutally simple knife designed for the Marine Corps that I used every time I went camping. It was pitiful in comparison to the rifle I wished I had with me, but that didn’t matter now. I had what I had, and I doubted my trusty Armalite would have alleviated my sore knee anyway.
Clicking on my flashlight, I huddled with the poncho around my shoulders inside the wreck of the chopper and peered at the dusty roadmaps. A small part of me hoped that a solution would jump out from the faded paper, but none came. These were all maps of western PA and eastern Ohio. None of them had a Barron County on them anywhere.
The man on the radio said to head north, right before they shot me down. That means they must be camped out to the north of here. South had that convoy and those burning houses, so that’s a no-go. Maybe I can backtrack eastward the way I came.
As if on cue, a soft pop echoed from over the eastern horizon, and I craned to look out the helicopter window, spotting more man-made flashes over the tree tops.
“Great.” I hissed between clenched teeth, aware of how the temperature dipped to a chilly 60 degrees, and how despite the conditions, my stomach had begun to growl. “Not going that way, are we? Westward it is.”
Walking away from my poor 902 proved to be harder than I’d anticipated. Despite the glass, the fizzling fires, and the darkness, it still held a familiar, human essence to it. Sitting inside it made me feel secure, safe, even calm about the situation. In any other circumstance, I would have just stayed with the downed aircraft to wait for help, but I knew the men who shot me down would likely find my crash site, and I didn’t want to be around when they did.
Unlike much of central and western Ohio, southeastern Ohio is hilly, brushy, and clogged with thick forests. Thorns snagged at my thin poncho and sliced at my pant legs. My knee throbbed, every step a form of self-inflicted torture. The rain never stopped, a steady drizzle from above just cold enough to be problematic as time went on, making me shiver. Mud slid under my tennis shoes, and every tree looked ten times bigger in the flickering beam of my cheap flashlight. Icy fear prickled at the back of my neck at some of the sounds that greeted me through the gloom. I’d been camping loads of times, both in Pennsylvania and elsewhere, but these noises were something otherworldly to me.
Strange howls, screeches, and calls permeated the rain-soaked sky, some almost roars, while others bordered on human in their intonation. The more I walked, the softer the distant gunfire became, and the more prevalent the odd sounds, until the shadows seemed to fill with them. I didn’t dare turn off my flashlight, or I’d been completely blind in the dark, but a little voice in the back of my head screamed that I was too visible, crunching through the gloomy forest with my long beam of light stabbing into the abyss. It felt as though a million eyes were on me, studying me, hunting me from the surrounding brush, and I bitterly recalled how much I’d loved the old Survivor Man TV series as a kid.
Not so fun being out in the woods at night. Especially alone.
A twig snapped somewhere behind me, and I whirled on the spot, one trembling hand resting on the hilt of my K-Bar.
Nothing. Nothing but trees, bushes, and rain dripping down in the darkness.
“This is stupid.” I whispered to myself to keep my nerves in check as I slowly spun on the spot. “I should have went eastward anyway. God knows how long I’m going to have to—”
Creak.
A groan of metal-on-metal echoed from somewhere to my right, and I spun to face it, yanking the knife on my belt free from its scabbard. It felt so small and useless in my hand, and I choked down a wave of nauseas fear.
Ka-whump. Creak. K-whump. Creak.
Underbrush cracked and crunched, a few smaller saplings thrashed, and from deep within the gloom, two yellow orbs flared to life. They poked through the mist in the trees, forming into slender fingers of golden light that swept back and forth in the dark.
The soldiers . . . they must be looking for me.
I swallowed hard and turned to slink away.
Ice jammed through my blood, and I froze on the spot, biting my tongue to stop the scream.
It stood not yards away, a huge form that towered a good twelve feet tall in the swirling shadows. Unpolished chrome blended with flash-rusted spots in the faded red paint, and grime-smeared glass shone with dull hues in the flashes of lightning. Where the wheels should have been, the rounded steel axels curved like some enormous hand had bent them, and the tires lay face-down on the muddy ground like big round feet, their hubcaps buried in the dirt. Dents, scrapes, and chips covered the battered thing, and its crooked little radio antenna pointed straight up from the old metal fender like a mast. I could barely make out the mud-coated VW on the rounded hood, and my mind reeled in shock.
Is . . . is that a car?
Both yellow headlights bathed me in a circle of bright, blinding light, and neither I nor the strange vehicle moved.
Seconds ticked by, the screech-thumping in the background only growing closer. I realized that I couldn’t hear any engine noises and had yet to see any soldiers or guns pointed my way. This car looked old, really old, like one of those classic Volkswagen Beetles that collectors fought over at auctions. Try as I might, I couldn’t see a driver inside the murky, mold-smeared windows.
Because there wasn’t one.
Lightning arched across the sky overhead, and the car standing in front of me blinked.
Its headlights slid shut, as if little metal shades had crawled over the bulbs for a moment and flicked open again. Something about that movement was so primal, so real, so lifelike, that every ounce of self-control I had melted in an instant.
Cursing under my breath, I lunged into the shrubs, and the world erupted around me.
Under my shoes, the ground shook, and the car surged after me in a cacophony of ka-thumps that made my already racing heart skip several beats. A weather-beaten brown tow truck from the 50’s charged through the thorns to my left, it’s headlights ablaze, and a dilapidated yellow school bus rose from its hiding place in the weeds to stand tall on four down-turned axel-legs. They all flicked their headlights on like giants waking from their slumber, and as I dodged past them, they each blared their horn into the night in alarm.
My breaths came short and tight, my knee burned, and I crashed through thorns and briars without thought to how badly I was getting cut up.
The cheap poncho tore, and I ripped it away as it caught on a tree branch.
A purple 70’s Mustang shook off its blanket of creeping vines and bounded from a stand of trees just ahead, forcing me to swerve to avoid being run over, my adrenaline at all-time highs.
This can’t be happening, this can’t be happening, this can’t be happening.
Slipping and sliding, I pushed through a stand of multiflora rose, and stumbled out into a flat, dark expanse.
I almost skidded to a stop.
What had once been a rather large field stood no taller than my shoestrings, the grass charred, and burnt. The storm above illuminated huge pieces of wreckage that lay scattered over the nearly 40-acre plot, and I could just make out the fire-blackened hulk of a fuselage resting a hundred yards away. The plane had been brought down a while ago it seemed, as there weren’t any flames left burning, and I threw myself toward it in frenzied desperation.
Burned grass and greasy brown topsoil slushed underfoot, and I could hear the squelching of the cars pursing me. Rain soaked me to the bone, and my lungs ached from sucking down the damp night air. A painful stich crept into my side, and I cursed myself for not putting in more time for cardio at the gym.
Something caught my left shoelace, and I hurtled to the ground, tasting mud and blood in between my teeth.
They’ve got me now.
I clawed at the mud, rolled, and watched a tire slam down mere inches from where my head had been. The Mustang loomed over me and jostled for position with the red Volkswagen and brown tow truck, the school bus still a few yards behind them. They couldn’t seem to decide who would get the pleasure of stomping me to death, and like a herd of stampeding wildebeest, they locked bumpers in an epic shoving match.
On all fours, I scampered out from under the sparring brutes, and dashed for the crumpled airplane, a white-painted DC-3 that looked like it had been cut in half by a gargantuan knife blade. I passed a snapped wing section, the oily remains of a turbo-prop engine, and a mutilated wheel from the landing gear. Climbing over a heap of mud, I squeezed into the back of the ruined flight cabin and dropped down into the dark cargo hold.
Wham.
No sooner had my sneakers hit the cold metal floor, and the entire plane rocked from the impact of something heavy ramming it just outside. I tumbled to my knees, screaming in pain as, once again, I managed to bash the sore one off a bracket in the wall.
My hand smeared in something gooey, and I scrabbled for my flashlight.
It clicked on, a wavering ball of white light in the pitch darkness, and I fought the urge to gag. “Oh man . . .”
Three people, or what was left of them, lay strewn over the narrow cargo area. Claret red blood coated the walls, caked on the floor, and clotted under my mud-spattered shoes. Bits of flesh and viscera were stuck to everything, and tatters of cloth hung from exposed sections of broken bone. An eerie set of bloody handprints adorned the walls, and the only reason I could tell it had been three people were the shoes; all of them bore anklebones sticking out above blood-soaked socks. It smelled sickly sweet, a strange, nauseas odor that crept into my nose and settled on the back of my tongue like an alien parasite.
Something glinted in the beam of my flashlight, and my pulse quickened as I pried the object loose from the severed arm that still clung to it.
“Hail Mary full of Grace.” I would have grinned if it weren’t for the fact that the plane continued to buck and roll under the assault from the cars outside.
The pistol looked old, but well-maintained, aside from the light coating of dark blood that stained its round wooden handle. It felt heavy, but good in my hand, and I turned it over to read the words, Waffenfabrik Mauser stenciled into the frame, with a large red 9 carved into the grip. For some reason, it vaguely reminded me of the blasters from Star Wars.
I fumbled with a little switch that looked like a safety on the back of the gun and stumbled toward a gap in the plane’s dented fuselage to aim out at the surrounding headlights.
Bang.
The old gun bucked reliably in my hand, its long barrel spitting a little jet of flame into the night. I had no idea if I hit anything, but the attacking cars recoiled, their horns blaring in confusion.
They turned, and scuttled for the tree line as fast as their mechanical legs could go, the entire ordeal over as fast as it had begun.
Did I do that?
Perplexed, I stared down at the pistol in my hand.
Whoosh.
A large, inky black shadow glided down from the clouds, and the yellow school bus moved too slow to react in time.
With a crash, the kicking nightmarish vehicle was thrown onto its side, spraying glass and chrome trim across the muddy field. Its electro-synth horn blared with wails of mechanical agony, as two huge talon-like feet clamped down on it, and the enormous head of the flying creature lowered to rip open its engine compartment.
The horn cut out, and the enormous flying entity jerked its head back to gulp down a mass of what looked like sticky black vines from the interior of the shattered bus.
At this range, I could see now that the flying creature bore two legs and had its wings half-tucked like a vulture that had descended to feed on roadkill. Its head turned slightly, and in the glow of another lightning bolt, my jaw went slack at the realization of what it was.
A tree trunk. It’s a rotted tree trunk.
I couldn’t tell where the reptilian beast began, and where the organic tree components ended, the upper part of the head shaped like a log, while the lower jaw resembled something out of a dinosaur movie. Its skin looked identical to the outside of a shagbark hickory but flexed with a supple featheriness that denoted something closer to skin. Sharp branch-like spines ranged down its back, and out to the end of its tail, which bore a massive round club shaped like a diseased tree-knot. Crouched on both hind legs, it braced the hooked ends of its folded wings against the ground like a bat, towering higher than a semi-truck. Under the folds of its armored head, a bulging pair of chameleon-like eyes constantly spun in their sockets, probing the dark for threats while it ate.
One black pupil locked onto the window I peered through, and my heart stopped.
The beast regarded me for a moment, with a curious, sideways sniff.
With a proud, contemptful head-toss, the shadow from the sky parted rows of razor-sharp teeth to let out a roar that shook the earth beneath my feet. It was the triumphant war cry of a creature that sat at the very top of the food chain, one that felt no threat from the fragile two-legged beings that walked the earth all around it. It hunted whenever it wanted, ate whatever it wanted, and flew wherever it wanted. It didn’t need to rip the plane apart to devour me.
Like my hunter-gatherer ancestors from thousands of years ago, I wasn’t even worth the energy it would take to pounce.
I’m hiding in the remains of the cockpit now, which is half-buried under the mud of the field, enough to shield the light from my screen so that thing doesn’t see it. My service only now came back, and it’s been over an hour since the winged beast started in on the dead bus. I don’t know when, or how I’m going to get out of here. I don’t know when anyone will even see this post, or if it will upload at all. My phone battery is almost dead, and at this point, I’m probably going to have to sleep among the corpses until daylight comes.
A dead man sleeping amongst friends.
If you live in the Noble County area in southeastern Ohio, be careful where you drive, fly, and boat. I don’t know if it’s possible to stumble into this strange place by ground, but if so, then these things are definitely headed your way.
If that happens . . . pray that they don’t find you.

All I know for certain is that I’m an extrovert and that’s basically it. If we were doing letters lol, I’d say it’s EF something that I’m pretty certain of lol. i hate being alone for too long
I’m 23
im a Christian
These are the fictional characters I’m most like:Moze(Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide)
Peggy Carter(MCU)
Elizabeth Bennett(Pride and Prejudice)
Anne Shirley(Anne of Green Gables)
Lara Jean(To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before, but more so the book version lol)
Lorelai Gilmore(Gilmore Girls)
Amy March(Little Women)
Gwen Stacy(The Amazing Spider-Man)
Laura Ingalls Wilder(tv show)
i love helping people, but i could definitely be better at innately doing it than I am
I think my enneagram would be 1w2, but i don’t really use the enneagram lol
i HATE when people are being treated unjustly and I have to say something/do something about it
ive loveddd fashion, makeup, and hair ever since I was a little girl.
if you need to know anything else LMK and I’ll answer it lol. TIA🩵

Source: https://www.bungie.net/7/en/News/Article/06_01_2023_twab
Happy TWABsday, Guardians! How are you doing!? How many fish have you caught? Have you skedaddled through the dungeon yet? What’s your favorite thing so far about the Season? What about... [deep breaths] Ok, ok, it's time to calm down. It’s just something special to see all your social posts tackling Ghosts of the Deep, working with Sloane, and did I mention fishing already? It gets us pretty hyped.
Anyhoo, let’s get back on topic. Here is what we shared last week and what we are going to read about today.
Last week in TWAB:

• Marathon was announced!
• Our new PlayStation crossover.
• Guardian Games has concluded.
• Save the Dates for Season of the Deep!
• Cutscenes for days.
• Guardian Ranks reminder.
• Aquanaut is now available.

This week we’ve got:

• Ghosts of the Deep recap.
• Dungeon-themed items in the Bungie Store.
• [email protected] announcement.
• M:\START
• Prime Gaming update.
• The weekly update from the Player Support Team.
• Weekly Art of the Week and Movie of the week picks. ##The Dungeon

Image Link^imgur
Were you one of the Guardians who dove deep into a Titan Archology only to arrive face to face with the Lucent Hive? Did the Lightbearer Knights, Ogres, and Wizards show as a blip on your radar only to be taken down by your fireteam in a blaze of (insert your favorite subclass here) energy? And how was your battle with Šimmumah ur-Nokru? Did you rise from the waters in your shiny new armor with your fancy new weapons ready to fight on?
Your will has been tested yet again, and you have triumphed. Congratulations Guardians, you deserve this victory lap.

New Bungie Rewards

Speaking of the dungeon and its sweet, sweet rewards, we now have the Ghosts of the Deep dungeon hoodie, Ghoul title pin, and Ghosts of the Deep dungeon pins available for purchase! These Bungie Rewards will be available only to players who complete the Ghosts of the Deep dungeon by August 22, 2023, at 9:59 AM PDT.
Image Link^imgur
Don’t know what Bungie Rewards are? When you complete Triumphs, collections, and in-game challenges you unlock collectibles for purchase from the Bungie Store that celebrate your hard-earned achievements. Head on over to this page to learn more!

[email protected]

Image Link^imgur
Eyes up, Guardian. It’s June, and June is Pride month here in the States, so just as we have in the past, be sure to keep your eyes on the blog for future Pride updates coming soon.
But, if you’re feeling festive and want to do something rad for a good cause with a cool reward, head on over to [bung.ie/pride](bung.ie/pride) to earn The Infinite Prismatic emblem for a $10 donation. All funds raised during the month of June will do directly to the It Gets Better Project.

M:\START

You all may have seen this on Twitter already, but we wanted to make sure you saw we released a Marathon themed emblem in Destiny 2 for all players today. Go redeem it now!
Image Link^imgur

Prime Gaming Update

Welcome to the latest Prime Gaming update. It’s finally time for me to give up the skedaddle shenanigans and let you in on where that came from. This month we are vanishing into thin air, and then transmatting out with our Ghost and skedaddling on over to the next fishing hole.
Image Link^imgur

• Ninja Vanish emote
• Redline Ghost Shell
• Skedaddle Legendary Sparrow
• The Deep Ghost Projection

If you don’t know what Prime Gaming is, you can check out our article and learn more!

Player Support Report

Aquanauts, assemble!
Image Link^imgur
The Player Support team is back this week and ready to share with you the most recent update of known issues in the Deep and beyond.
Known Issues List Help Forum Bungie Help Twitter

LIGHTFALL DUNGEON KEY

Players experiencing issues accessing the Ghosts of the Deep dungeon should be aware of the following vital information:

• Players must acquire the Rise quest from Hawthorne in the Tower in order to launch into the dungeon for the first time.
• Ownership of the Lightfall Dungeon Key is required. This is included in the Lightfall + Annual Pass edition or can alternatively be purchased on its own through the Eververse store. It is not included with purchase of Season of the Deep.
• Players missing their Dungeon Key from purchase of the Lightfall + Annual Pass edition need to log into Destiny 2 on the platform where that purchase was made to unlock the Dungeon Key on their account. At this point it will be available on all platforms linked through Cross Save.
• Dungeon Keys are applied to individual Bungie accounts and cannot be game shared.

Anyone still experiencing issues that do not fall into one of the above categories can reach out to us via our Missing Eververse or Add-On Item contact form where we can investigate further.

KNOWN ISSUES

While we continue investigating various known issues, here is a list of the latest issues that were reported to us in our #Help Forum.

• Some players are unable to give out Commendations.
• Players can get stuck outside of the final boss arena after self-reviving in the Ghosts of the Deep dungeon.
• The Hive symbols in the side rooms of the Ghosts of the Deep dungeon’s final encounter do not respawn within an encounter cycle if a player dies before depositing their Vestige. They will re-appear as expected once players have completed a damage phase.
• The Sunbracers Exotic Warlock gloves are not extending the duration of Solar grenades.
• The cooldown timer for The Navigator Exotic Trace Rifle's catalyst is missing a description and will display as a blank timer when activated.
• Getting frozen while using the Arbor Warden Exotic Titan chest can sometimes cause players to lose the Barri-nade class ability. Respawning after player death or unequipping and re-equipping the Exotic will restore the intended class ability.
• Getting kills with Skyburner's Oath and Vesper of Radius is causing larger explosions than intended.
• Some Iron Banner weapons are missing their glare in the Crucible.
• The Athrys's Embrace Exotic Hunter arms does not display the "Strengthened Heavy Knife" popup when activated in the Crucible. Players should note the Exotic is still working as intended, it is only the visual indicator that is missing.
• Guarding with the Arc Staff super while using the Blight Ranger Exotic Hunter head is consuming extra Super energy.
• The Stronghold Exotic Titan arms are not always granting the Restoration buff when expected.
• The new Season of the Deep Exotics are not dropping from the Vex Strike Force activity.

For a full list of emergent issues in Destiny 2, players can review our Known Issues article . Players who observe other issues should report them to our #Help Forum.

Instructions Unclear

Bruno: So, you all really liked fishing. Please, just follow the tutorial and do it as we told you. Use baits that are safe. Don't try to push other Guardians in the pond with Swords nor Sparrows. We are not liable for any accident that may occur.
Movie of the Week: Instructions unclear
Video Link

Come on Guardian, Let’s Go Party

Hippy: Who knew that the trailer for the upcoming Barbie movie would be such epic meme fodder for the Destiny 2 community? There were a few incredible (and funny!) spins on this but since we’re deep into Season 21, and our favorite Motes master is back in the spotlight, let’s check in on ‘ol Drifter, shall we?
Art of the Week: Barbie meets Destiny 2

Very excited for The Final Shape #Destiny2Art #barbie pic.twitter.com/qh0s9yX0Zt
— (sana) drxgony COMMISSIONS : OPEN (@drxgony) May 28, 2023

Bonus Art of the Week: A Guardian in the wild

And with that - it's finished #Destiny2Art #Destiny2 pic.twitter.com/xTZoiJpiw0
— [email protected]@h (@LooksLikeVespa) May 28, 2023

And there we have it Guardians, this week’s TWAB. Being just two weeks into the Season, there is plenty to do, even more fashion choices to go through, and so many fish to catch. Also, who can tell me which Pulse Rifle or Scout Rifle is your favorite this Season? I’m an Outbreak player through and through, but this is the Season of “Sam changes it up,” so any and all suggestions are welcome.
Alright, it’s time for us to skedaddle, but we wanted to share one more thing. Before you click, just as a quick note, there are no plans to unleash these giga-Screebs on you in the live game... for now.

Stay Crafty,
Sam

PART III of our Character Study of Gorou Amamiya is an intermezzo chapter. We'll rehash some content from the previous parts and try to understand them on a basic structural level . This is more of an extra edition I allowed myself to write down since this was impossible to fit into the main study without unnecessary distractions . Last but not least some conversations that followed from the previous releases had been ever so fruitful for the creation of either new or advancing preexisted ideas .
This is an Analysis of the Good and the Evil, the Heroe's Journey, the Problem and the Solution.
​
​
SANATORIUM - DISEASES - TREATMENTS
In Part I we discussed Gorou's loner existence in a rural city that would mainly revolve around the mountain hospital he works at. Due to low patients frequency Gorou had lots of free time to hang around mostly in patient rooms. Besides of highlighting a selfish reason for his behaviour, the general assumption was that his arrangement was convenient. Just a doctor hanging around at his workplace, right?
Now I'd like to flesh this picture out for you. This previous one was actually pretty dull, it allows too many variables in a story that is actually very intentional. Since Aka Akasaka - as well known - had figured out the beginning and the ending of the story he wants to tell before the manga even started, it's obvious that the beginning scenery is thrilled with symbols, metaphors and meanings for both the Heroes but also the meta plot itself and is interconnected with the story's ending in which all those pre-established elements will meet a final resolution to its opposite: In principle this is what you all know as the "Hero's journey".
First lets talk about location location location, as real estate agents love to say. And indeed the location is essential to the plot. Our story begins in a rural hospital. Stop. Actually "hospital" is already too arbitrary of a word and misses the significance of the location. A more accurate word for a rural hospital on a mountain is the Sanatorium. A Sanatorium is an antiquated name for specialised hospitals, for the treatment of specific diseases, related ailments and convalescence. Sanatoriums are tradionally located in healthy climate, usually in the countryside. In the 19th and 20th century these were popular centers for tuberculosis suffers. Some of you might be familiar with Thomas Mann's "The Magic Mountain" (german: Der Zauberberg) which is the most prominent novel revolving around such an institution. Magic Mountain, huh? So we have our Sanatorium, we have our countryside Mountain and certainly we have our magic through the sanctuary of Ame-No-Uzume Goddess of Entertainment and the reincarnation on top of that mountain.
Now that we have established the location lets look at our most prominent patients. What's so special about their condition that they would need treatment in a specialised hospital? How are they all connected to each other? Our most prominent patients are Sarina Tendoji, Ai Hoshino and ... well ... Gorou Amamiya.
​

1. Gorou Amamiya

The alert reader immediately knows why I include Gorou Amamiya in that list. I know, including Ai is actually the hot take here. But be patient, we'll get o her later.
Since we established Aqua's trauma to be inherited from Gorou and explored the tragic nature of his birth and the abuse he suffered during his childhood, his inclusion is reasonable. But this - only way later in C75 unvealed background - is already visible right from the beginning with intentional symbols, metaphors and hidden meanings. There are two levels for the representation of his illness.
​

• The general representation of his life in this rural area and his habitual lurking around patient's rooms, like when Sarina was around and so on. Just sitting their while looking out the window at the beautiful landscapes. On the surface this is of course just a Doc with a qurik and a lot of free time. But no, the actual meaning is here that he's seeking a cure too. That he is sick. Patients are naturally bored in hospitals, they have a lot of free time because they are sick. They also enjoy the countryside's view. It's one of the main healing attractionto Sanatoriums and made them so popular in the 19th and 20th century. In this specific case the countryside he observes is sacret and related to entertainment. Keep this in the back of your head for now.

Thus we transformed the surface explanation that his free time as a doctor comes from low frequency to the meaningful symbolic depths that it's actually reflecting his status as a chronically ill patient. Moreso even his decision to move out of Tokyo to the countryside - what I called in part 1 the "self-imposed isolation" - turns out to be a meaningful representation of his trouble. We'll later explore another underlaying structure which is the very reason for his "existencial boredom". It's not directly trauma, but for now lets just say it's so fundamentally burned into him that as a consequence his stay at the Sanatorium is as permanently as befits his disease and eventually only ends with his death and reincarnation, or perhaps only then it actually is challenged. Stay tuned.
​

• The second, now tangible representation of his diseases is what we already established in Part 1: his obsession with Ai, the inner void he tries to cure with his active measures of "medicine" in a patient's room. While technically he could've watched her literally elsewhere, he decided to hide away in a patient's room. This is a symbol. His first scene in the Manga ever starts exactly in such a room. The sister came in to check - metaphorically speaking - on the patient Gorou Amamiya. This illustration is completely intentional and meaningful to flesh out the double-sided irony of his employment at this particular hospital as a doctor and admission to the Sanatorium as a chronically ill patient.

It's the very first scene that exactly establishes that split personality. We witness a hard cut between the body language of the patient and the body language of the competent cross legged Doctor who explains to us the nature and reason he consumes this "medicine". In this scene he switches back to the doctor's role and while it's a funny cope towards the sister it's at the same time sounds like a serious prescription for himself. Absurdity meets underlaying seriousness and a real problem of the highest importance possible. A problem which is the very reason this story exsists, a problem that will embark our heroes on their journey and a problem that will ultimately be solved.
​
https://preview.redd.it/ewasnfmvnd3b1.jpg?width=2571&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3fed46b24063b90c79df20a7a1231eaca9208bc2
What actually shocked me was that EP 1 of the ANIME basically might have proven my Theory especially from PART II. The moment Gorou dies we get to see exactly two flashback frames. The Ai-Keychain Sarina gave him and a picture of his Grandmother and him... With the missing Grandfather. I feel pretty vindicated about the importance of this photo and as you know in my theory actually his Grandfather is on that photo kinda too... That irony!
https://preview.redd.it/fo97javmgg3b1.jpg?width=2575&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2031410c5ab4e10faad18f4cb87ae9d52a48568d
​

1. Sarina Tendoji

In contrast to Gorou's more subtle immaterial deciption of his disease, Sarina's situation is basically the exterior as the utmost visible form of it. She is the embodiment of the classic Sanatorium inhabit with the typicel physical characteristics: chronic disease, handicapped existence, very care-dependent*.* But these 3 characteristics will show themselves also for Sarina as mental barriers after she reincarnated in Ruby. Care-dependets in her seek for Ai's, a mother's and a father's love, the handicapped existence in her troulbe to move and dance how she''d like to and ultimately the expression of a chronic disease in form of the trauma she inherited from Sarina's soul. From the point of view of "plot related meaning" Ruby's inheritance of those 3 characteristics are more important then the physical showcase in Sarina's body, although we will later also unveal another layer of particulary Sarina Tendoji not Ruby Hoshino in this story. You see, I'm really bulding up here.
She has a symbolic double function as both a sick dying child but also as physical representation of Ruby's, Aqua's and Gorou's mental situation. To quote PART II for that matter:

In a sense the image of the handicapped Sarina living in the hospital is the quintessential metaphorical representation of Gorou himself. She shows upfront what was the psychological state of Gorou's soul. When he realized in C119 that Sarina's life must've been like hell he reflected his own experience too.

But in order to apply these 3 characteristics to Gorou we first have to explore another symbolic layer to why all of our proganists revolve around this particular hospital. For this we have to step back and look at the most dominent theme of the story: Entertainment...
​

3. Entertainment

... is our PATIENT ZERO. Entertainment itself in this Story is chronically ill. It's existence - the very nature of art - is handicapped and crippled by cold hearted and ultimately in opposition to the essence of entertainment standing particular business interests. Their practice of entertainment harms both artists and art enjoyers and thus the meaning of entertainment itself. Entertainment as a mass-produced industry is a disease to entertainment as the realm of the truth-seeking, philanthopic and graceful expression of the uttermost passionate creative minds who enjoy the blessing of the goddess and share her blessing with the community.
The true meaning of Entertainment is joyfull fullfillment and the exploration of new uplifting expressions of cultural life. It's a healing power in the most innocent and human-loving way, it's first and foremost an enrichtment of the soul, not of the pocket. The industry however inverted this relation: Now the money dictates the art. As a consequence talent get's blocked, content is cheap and underwhelming, instead of uplifting humanity, the mere consumer gets just as much exploited as the performer. The consumer is conditioned to waste his limited precious lifespawn with the consumption of the most primitive motives of entertainment. This is a form of exploitation through the industry and it has rotten everyone to the bone. The artist gets either drained or he himself corrupts and uses the same sort of schemes, trickes and deceptions to climb to the top. But the higher they climb the further they uproot from the essence of true entertainment ... And those who oppose and try tu succeed with honest and uplifting ideals will literally killed on the way.
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We have diagnozed the problem, the chronical disease. A disease which is the very reason for this story to exsist, a disease that will embark our heroes on their journey and a disease that will ultimately be cured. And indeed the location has proven to be essential to this plot. Our story begins with a Mountain Sanatorium in the heart and on top of the Goddesses of Entertainment's realm. A symbol for The Cure of Entertainment.
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1. Ai Hoshino

To understand why Ai seeks cure exactly at that hospital we have to expose the location she's fleeing from: Tokyo. Tokyo is the center of this plot's Entertainment industry. A metropolis is the absolute opposition to the countryside, this tension between Tokyo as the center of Business and Commerce and Takachiho as the center of the Goddess of Entertainment's true and opposing expressions of Art sets the dialectic. I was purposely holding back the name of Ame-No-Uzume's town until now because it only has a concrete meaning in this tight relation to the plot-stretching antagonist, which culminates in Tokyo. Ame-No-Uzume occupies the domain of Takachiho, but who occupies Tokyo the? It's a mix between the Japanese Mythology of the Seven Lucky Gods who are basically characterized as Gods of Business and Commerce and the Seven Deadly Demons from Christian Demonology ...

1. Lucifer: pride
2. Beelzebub: envy
3. Satan: wrath
4. Abaddon: sloth
5. Mammon: greed
6. Belphegor: gluttony
7. Asmodeus: lust

... which togehter sympolize the basic character of this industrialized world of entertainment: It's both a realm of business and commerce and the motivational force of business and commerce are those seven attribued: pride, envy, wrath, sloth, greed, gluttony and lust which deform the true meaning of Art and Entertainment. These drives occupy Tokyo's hearts and minds in the entertainment industry. So.. this is just a playfull association game. We are still talking about ordinary humam beings and the psychology of business men and women in Tokyo's entertainmnent world.
It all leads to Hikaru Kamiki as our personified antagonist: If you write "Hikaru" in kanji, it will be like 光る or just 光, which literally means "to shine, to glitter, to be bright", which make a lot of sense being the name of man who got starry eyes. But, if we look a bit deeper, such name can be translated as "The Shining One" or "One who brings the Light"... In christian mythology this is - Lucifer the Morning Star himself. Double irony there in the fact that Ai often nicknamed and referenced as VENUS, Evening Star Reborn, as u/Raeliic4 pointed out to me. On top I also found a suitable association with Beelzebub which is another name for the Devil. Beelzebub is also called "The King of Flies" and in the Dictionnaire Infernal (1863) a Book on Demonology he's depicted as a Fly! So maybe he wasn't wearing only crow feathers but actually also Fly-hair?... Beelzebub is known in demonology as one of the seven deadly demons or seven princes of Hell, Beelzebub representing gluttony and envy. Gluttony = He appears as the best drinking buddy of Yura (and maybe Frill). Envy = He's envious towards the white-glooming Star-People.
Thus the antagonist is created: It's a demonic force of industrialized Entertainment that has rotten down Art to the bone and occupies Tokyo as it's center. Kamiki however is for now the most malicious and excessive release of this evilness. While the industry tries to just drain, corrupt and exploit stars, he literally kills stars out of personal envy. In order to cure Entertainment our protagonists have to be embarked on a journey to Tokyo. In this antagonistic relation Aqua and Ruby are ultimately Heroes blessed by the God of Entertainment to cast out the Devil that holds "Entertainment" in his death grip.
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Ai Hoshino's story begins with her escape from the "Devil" literally and metaphorically. She flees Tokyo and tries to find protection and cure in Takachiho in at least 3 meanings.
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1. AS AN IDOL : On the surface level it's because an Idol can't justify promiscurity towards her fans and because the Agency can't justify pregnancy of a Teenager, so she has to flee where nobody knows her. This is besides also a metaphor that indeed the Town of God is where nobody knows the filth of the rotten Tokyo-World. But this is just again the convenient explanation the characters verbalize towards us, as proven many times there is also a hidden symbolic dialectic to it. The IDOL as the Evening Star VENUS is an object of LUST (Asmodeus, one of the seven deadly demons). You might be familiar with the VENUSBERG) from european folklore. "In German folklore of the 16th century, the narrative becomes associated with the minnesinger Tannhäuser who becomes obsessed with worshipping the goddess Venus**.**" But what AI seeks is real love, somethinf that can be loved. And thus she steps down from the Venusberg ("Venus Mountain") in other words steps down as an Idol of Lust to become a Mother, It's a purification - "I am Maria" she sings in the OP song. There is a metaphorically similar transformation which starts Richard Wagner's "Tannhäuser" Opera. Tannhäuser: The world of Venus is dedicated exclusively to LUST. Tannhäuser found his way here as a mortal, but is increasingly weary of the enjoyment (“If a god can always enjoy, I am subject to change”). Trying to persuade her knights to stay, Venus prophesied that the people would never forgive Tannhäuser for dwelling with the pagan goddess of love: he would never find salvation there. However, Tannhäuser sticks to his decision: “My salvation rests in Maria!” When Mary is invoked, the world of Venus disappears and Tannhäuser sees himself transported to a lovely forest valley in Thuringia at the foot of the Wartburg. The Beginning of Wagner's Tannhäuser basically sums up AI'S ESCAPE from her VENUS-TRAMMEL to her MATERNAL HAPPINESS. Even that this purification situates Tannhäuser in a lovely forest valley at the foot of a mountain-castle fits the narrative. Our Sanatorium in the lovely rural japanese backwaters is a powerful castle which gives her ultimate protection to bear her children. Just like that Ai "spawns" into the our plot. A minute before that she was the worshipped VENUS obsessed over by Gorou on his TV, but became the MOTHER when she entered the Castle. Gorou became her KNIGHT. Gorou had a Tannhäuser-Transformation himself, when he realized that the IDOL Ai needs him as the future MOTHER Ai and therefore overcame his lewd interest and served her as the protector of her maternity.
2. AS A BRIDE: Lucifer's wife is also associated with the she-demon LILITH, the child murderer. Ai flees her relationship with Kamiki and therefore flees from the fate of a child murderer. She was pregnant with "soulless Children" which means: Stillbirths. In german we also say "Sternenkind" (Star Child) for stillbirth. So she metaphorically flees the "marriage" between Evening Star and Morning Star and eventually opposes her fate as the child murderer LILITH who carries Sternenkinder with the help of the Knight and Hero Tannhäuser-Gorou. As Takachibo is the realm of our blessing Goddess of Art and the Sanatorium her Castle on the Magic Mountain it's fair to assume that also soul migration is only possible there in the center of her purifying power. The Devil Kamiki maybe can't even enter the Castle himself because it shields itself from Evilness...
3. AS A SAVIOUR: Just as RUBY and AQUA our AI gets send back with a Mission: To Cure Art and Entertainment. There is a lot we can say about her involvement in this but I want to cut it down to one essential plot-line: Her association with Gotanda and the following shoots for a documentary with him. Gotanda for that matter is a very, very important figure. He is the man who only wants to hear the TRUTH, a man who is capable to see through LIES instantaneous, he who CAN'T BE DECEIVED. As long as he doesn't stop the recording it is a proof for the verisimilitude of the content. He is the "NOTARY" who witnessed her TESTIMONY but also her TESTAMENT (in german we also say "LETZTER WILLE" instead of Testament, which means LAST WILL or LAST WISH... Ai's Wish). She was killed but she archived everything she needed to archive: Found true Love and passed down her LEGACY through the recordings with Gotanda. Ruby and Aqua received everything they need to fight the Evil. Ai's KARMA as a result led for her soul to enter NIRVANA and break out of the cycle of rebirth which in Buddism is called "SAMSARA" - Thus "her soul collapsed and returned to the stars and the sea. It will never be reformed again. Death is Death. Ai Hoshino doesn't think of anything anymore, nothing is on her mind" -> NIRVANA. But as far as the content of the movie goes it's obviously a big exposure of the corruption and wrong doing that is happening in the Industry. She, Goatanda but als Aqua want to archive a social phenomenom with the movie. They want CHANGE. Thus she came to Takachiho to heal and left as a HEALER and MOTHER MARIA with her Twins as the SAVIOURS of ART. In PART I and PART II we identified in full extent her role as a saviour for Ruby and Aqua in the form of Ruby's muse and mother-figure and Aqua's unconditonally loving mother that reenacted his innocence in the tragic death of Gorou's mother.

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I promised to talk about another connecting layer, the very reason why it must be exactly SARINA and GOROU who are chosen to wield the sword against the devil. But we will delay this topic for another time. PART IV will get us to the THAT CORE. They are not chosen because they have Trauma, this would be absurdly dull. The Trauma or chronical disease they suffer are the result of a "crime" against the blessings of the Goddess of Arts. That's a small hint from my side.
Thank to the faithful readers and brave souls who dived back again into another of my essays and also thanks to every new face here as well.. Hopefully I'll see you all again for the next Part!
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***

FIRST PREV NEXT
Memory transcription subject: Captain Sovlin, Federation Fleet Command
Date [standardized human time]: July 26, 2136
My morning alarm blared, forcing my groggy eyes open and I slammed my paw onto my holopad to shut it up. Beleaguered, I sat upright, stretched, then tore myself from bed to get ready for the upcoming day.
I had been given a hotel room in the Grand Capital Hotel just outside the governing hall, oftentimes reserved for diplomatic and administrative personnel as well as experts and guests who were invited to activities and votes. Its mixtures of green flora mixed with brown walls and large glass windows with intricate metallic designs perfectly encapsulated the value of art and botany in Aafa. Its interior designs were just as luxurious, with displays of natural free-flowing water dotting most floors. Given the near-monthly nature of large-scale events of Aafa - whether they be simple conventions or summits such as this - the hotel saw continuous use as many governments and private individuals would arrange for their own to stay the duration of the ongoing event. I had personally insisted that I didn’t need such arrangements, but both Piri and Nikonus wanted me to be well rested.
Unfortunately for them, I never had the liking of overly luxurious spaces. With years of naval service under my belt, I had become accustomed to living in utilitarian rooms and barracks; anything more opulent just seemed wrong. While I appreciated the beauty of it, I could hardly bear staying here - I was the leading officer of a fleet and there was a war to fight. These were not times to enjoy hedonistic pleasures. One quick breakfast later, and I tried to make my way towards the summit hall.
Tried to.
Massive crowds surrounded the governing hall, choking off almost every possible access point. In several areas, tents had been pitched on open ground and even a few entrepreneurial stalls had popped up, catering to the entrenched crowds. I had to make a deliberate point out of flattening my quills as I jostled my way through the throngs of people. Most were native Kolshians, but a sizable minority were other Federation species, keen on seeing the summit firsthand; I could only guess to the size of the online audience. I wouldn’t be surprised if the live viewership was in the hundreds of millions. Recordings of the summit would likely get tens of billions of views within hours.
That in of itself was hardly surprising. A supposedly exterminated and long-forgotten predator species suddenly rose from the dead? And then that same predator species destroyed three patrol vessels? News organizations had been quick to seize the sensational story, as they churned out headline after headline. Some suggested that the humans had already amassed a fleet of ten thousand ships ready to launch. Others focused on the gruesome aspects of humanity’s brutality and cruelty. I knew the former was wrong; if they had ten thousand ships ready, then they would have attacked by now. Given the primitive nature of the orbital installations detected by the patrol, it was obvious that they had only recently clawed their way back to a state that we had found them in before our first extermination attempt.
Such common sense, however, didn’t stop the all-consuming media from running obviously false headlines or opinion pieces such as: “Venlil Prime Would Have To Surrender to Humans If Attacked For Chance of Survival: Military Expert Analysis.” What dull idiot gave that opinion, anyway? I’d pluck every quill from him if I could for suggesting that Tarva would willingly surrender to predators.
I know her! She wouldn’t do that.
Not to mention, I’m doubting the credentials of this so-called “military expert.” The article was published by the rag known as Federation Today, a news outlet exposed by the well respected investigative reporter Cilany herself. Unfortunately, that non-credible source had once more found a market in fanning the fears of the populace.
The only people who read that stars-forsaken newspaper are old ladies hundreds of light years away from danger. Not to mention that FT hasn’t been relevant for a whole decade… until now.
I continued pushing my way through the immense crowds of people, even as I was internally lamenting the poor reaction of the media. While many were here simply to watch the summit, a significant portion of them were protesters. Some held signs demanding the new infestation of predators to be summarily exterminated. Others were demanding answers as to why the previous extermination failed. I could deliver answers and solutions once I was inside, though progress was slow as the streets grew ever more packed the closer I got to the hall.
Eventually, I finally managed to reach a private entrance that wasn’t blocked by the crowds. I showed my credentials to the extermination officers stationed outside of the door, who promptly waved me in. The insides of the chambers proved to be nearly as loud and bustling as the outside. While there was a greater degree of order, I could still overhear arguments for caution, declarations of support, and cries for immediate extermination. I knew I would have to appeal to a large and diverse audience with competing interests.
Unlike what the Federation often tries to outwardly portray, the member species are anything but unified. Rivalries abounded within the Federation, whether political, economic, military, or otherwise. For one, there was an ongoing trade war between the Fissan Compact and the Nevok Imperium, as the upcoming Fissans had attempted to undercut the Nevok’s business deals across the galactic scene. The bigger power-brokers, like my own Gojid Union, had routinely been at odds with the other powers like the Krakotl Alliance, especially in military affairs. Lastly, political leadership jostled around frequently, and committee chairs had a notoriously short turnover rate. The rare exception to that was the Kolshians - who typically headed several committees due to their expertise in multiple fields of study - and the Farsul, who tended to always chair the Historical and Cultural committees because of their expertise in those fields of study and education.
The only true unifying factor amongst the Federation was the war against cruel and unpredictable predators, whether it be Arxur or common pests. While I was long disillusioned with many of the higher points of “prey unity” pride, I had long known that this was a fundamental war of survival as we, prey races, had to form one large herd to overcome the existential threat that predators faced. And now, with a new species of spacefairing predators laying at the frontier of the Federation, we as a herd needed to deal with them quickly and competently.
And yet I’m concerned about both of those things. Competence and speed seem to be rare commodities within the Federation.
I sat down at my assigned seat in the massive auditorium next to member species from other parts of the area of space that the Gojids inhabited. The Venlil Republic, represented by Cheln, sat to my right.. On my left was Doctor Zarn, a part of the Gojid delegation in spite of his Takkan heritage, who gave me a tail flick in greeting. Further to my left was the Zurulian representative Chauson, who seemed to be conversing with the Tilfish ambassador. I began reviewing the documents I had taken with me to prepare for the report I was to give to the governing chamber and the hundreds of cameras recording for the billions of citizens watching from either outside or at home.
Nikonus tapped his microphone with one of his purple tentacles to indicate that he wanted to start speaking, and the noise and chatter immediately died down. In an unusual display of foresight, representatives who had been up and walking went back to their seats and sat down without a fuss. We need more miracles like those on the front, with soldiers following orders that need not to be given.
The Kolshian Chief rubbed his tentacles on his chin before beginning. “Esteemed members of the Federation,” he began. “We have called forth this summit to discuss solutions to the extremely concerning developments on the border of the Venlil Republic. There is a new group of intelligent space-faring predators at the Federation’s doorsteps, ready to expand beyond their home system. They are already known to those who delved deep into the history of predators: the Humans.”
Not a peep could be heard from the dignitaties in the room as Nikonus let the hall fester.
The Kolshian leader continued, satisfied with the weight of the situation settling on the audience. “It appears that these predators survived the onslaught of the extermination fleet almost two hundred years prior. A preliminary investigation into the ill-fated extermination attempt has revealed that it was both rushed and unprepared. Thus, the matter to discuss today is a second extermination attempt - one which avoids the shortcomings of the first. As such, the first to speak shall be the Venlil delegation, to testify about the situation within their space. Following them will be expert testimony before a broader discussion through the chamber. Questions are to be kept until after these experts have finished speaking.”
The Venlil diplomatic advisor stood to speak. He seemed rather uneasy, which could have been mistaken for stage fright without the knowledge that he’d been uneasy all week at the mere thought of predators living within Venlil space.
“Thank you, Chief Nikonus.” Cheln started to address the hall with a nervous gait. “Humans have been encountered a-alive within claimed Venlil territory. We sent a scout force of four on a mission to investigate what was thought to be a smuggling base between their system and Venlil Prime, but instead ended up encountering a single Human patrol ship. The Humans attacked first, and without communication. O-only one scoutcraft came back alive. Included within our data package are the testimonies of the t-two survivors.”
The battle was already galaxy-wide news. What wasn’t was the fact that the Humans only had one ship. Much of the chamber was taking glances at each other. The Krakotl ambassador seemed to be puffing out his feathers. The Suleans and Iftalis were whispering to one another. The unease within the auditorium was palpable.
“They are still undoubtedly the monsters they were before the extermination,” Cheln continued. “What civilized species attacks first and talks later? I don’t think you could ever find anything like that in our history books. E-especially not since we’ve been in space! Even if we didn’t know who this species was, we could very well guess that they’re predators. To prove that, I yield my time to Doctor Zarn, of the Gojid delegation.”
Nikonus affirmed the request as Cheln sat back down. Zarn took that as his queue to stand, moving to the front of the auditorium. While the Federation very much knew of the qualities of predators, it was always good to remind them as to why predators were dangerous enough to warrant extermination.
“Thank you, Ambassador Cheln,” my tough-skinned head doctor began. He brought up a slide presentation on the screen. “A doctor’s oath declares the intent to save all life. Animal or sapient. Young or old. Good or bad. However, for those unaware, I wrote my doctoral thesis on humans. I argued that some life is not worth saving, and used humanity as an example of a lesser known predator that is as capable, potentially even worse than the Arxur.“
“The humans were at constant war with each other and only accepted the absolute destruction of their rivals.” He flickered through some images we obtained. One showed nautical vessels being bombed by outdated propeller airplanes. The next was a clip from the point of view of a bomber levelling a large city. They had cities? “Their idea of warfare entailed the mass bombing of their rival’s cities and gathering each enemy offspring in butchering camps to roast them alive.” The next slide was a group of predators lined up next to a ditch filled with bodies with predator soldiers aiming at them, presumably ready to execute them. “They-”
“Enough!” Nikonus gurgled. Everyone looked ill. I noticed some visitors had lost the battle to keep their breakfast inside of their bodies. Even I, who had seen what the Arxur did to innocent civilians in-person could barely hold my stomach. “We don’t need these painfully grotesque images and videos. Please, skip them and move on. I believe you’ve made your point.”
Zarn seemed unamused and closed the presentation. “All of this is documented in detail within the Farsul archives. These humans, even as a doctor sworn to protect life, are not worth saving, even for study. They are a blight on the face of the universe and must be eradicated.”
With the situation established and the evil of humanity exposed, it was now time for me to provide my full testimony as an expert on the military threat that Predators pose. The opportunity to set the agenda was a first to me. Political fights in the Federation, as a military commander, always felt like a gruelling uphill climb; I felt gracious to be in the driver’s seat on any political issue for once.
As Zarn sat down, Nikonus called on me as the military expert. I rose to speak.
“Thank you, speaker. The solution to the human problem can only be found in a thorough extermination of their cradle. In the long run, they may prove to be crueler and more capable than the Arxur, but we still have time to prevent this eventuality. An infant predator is still merely an infant, after all. And I have more than just sayings to back my words.”
“Human capabilities are next to nonexistent. Firstly, they responded to an intrusion into their system incredibly late, engaging only when the scout patrol was nearly in orbital bombardment range. Secondly, they only sent a single vessel. This leads me to the conclusion that they lack a large fleet of ships and that, even if they did have something significant, few would have FTL capabilities. They do have some orbital defenses, however. Ground defenses are unknown, but given the incredibly primitive state of their orbital defenses, I do not think that it can be considered a threat.”
Now to address the Mazic in the room. Bringing out my holopad, I transferred the footage of the human patrol craft simply blinking out of reality. Several audible gasps could be heard from the crowd.
“The most worrying aspect of Human capabilities is their apparent novel FTL drive.” I started hammering into the one true threat that Humanity fielded. “Looking through the logs of the returning scout ship reveals that the ship never detected any subspace disturbances. In addition to this, the visual and extravisual sensors only detected the craft as soon as it materialized in front of their ships. Therefore, the only possible conclusion to draw is that these predators invented a form of FTL travel that is completely undetectable.”
“The largest risk is that these humans, using their undetectable FTL travel, come into contact with the Arxur. I do not believe these two bloodthirsty predators could ever cooperate, but the chance that they might, and that this FTL tech falls into Arxur claws is perhaps the most pressing concern we currently face. The Arxur, if they find out about humanity’s novel FTL, would likely raid Earth and take the tech for themselves. Either that, or humanity, given that they, as predators, are much more sophisticated than the Arxur, might willingly give the FTL over to the Arxur knowing their demise is near.”
“Thus, the need for careful planning and a decisive blow that leaves the humans little time to think while they’re being attacked is utterly necessary. A piecemeal force, either for scouting or extermination, will be obliterated by predatory tactics. And, both to carry the antimatter bombs and in the chance that the Arxur discover the humans too, we need overwhelming force to ensure the success of a complete extermination.”
I sat down in a steady manner. Instead of waiting on the next expert witness, behavioral scientist Chauson, to testify though, Jerulim, the Krakotl ambassador, suddenly lept up, tail feathers puffed up and out. The krakotl nearly bled everyone’s ears out, screeching, “we need an immediate attack! If these predators somehow came up with an FTL drive that we can’t detect, then the only way we can ensure that they die is that we exterminate them now!”
I got back up to retort but Cupo, the Mazic president who had shown up personally for this summit, did that for me. “Did you not listen to a word that Sovlin said or read a single bit about the prior attempt? Rushing this extermination is a ridiculous idea! Not to mention, if what Sovlin says is true, then they could attack us anywhere at anytime without us even knowing! We need to protect each of our worlds with fleets before they abuse that!”
The Krakotl leaped from his seat and began to dive onto the Mazic. “HOW ABOUT THIS ‘SURPRISE ATTACK’ YOU COWARD?!” he screeched as he dove feet-first into the side of Cupo.
It seemed like the situation in the chamber was quickly getting out of hand. As the unstoppable force of the brightly-colored ball of feathers collided with the immovable object that was a Mazic, I noticed that Cheln was on the verge of fainting again whilst Zarn was rushing off to presumably tend to wounded ambassadors. If Zarn was unamused earlier, it was now Chauson’s turn as he was to speak after I finished.
In the midst of the chaos, the lower chamber doors flung open and out came a Kolshian whom I recognized as one of Nikonus’ staff that I had seen yesterday. What in the world is he doing here? The entire chamber turned quiet, including Jerulim and Cupo who seemed to put on a temporary truce to see what was the commotion.
The blue Kolshian was heaving from exhaustion and he stumbled up to the central podium. “T-The- the predators… they’ve…” he heaved out. I noticed I was holding my breath at the news. He took a few more breaths. “They entered the home system of the Venlil Republic… attacked an outlying outpost… and revealed themselves to the acting commander before leaving!”
Everyone was stunned into silence, broken only by the sound of Cheln hitting the floor. Again? The guy has a fainting problem. The auditorium erupted into chaos. Jerulim began shouting that he was right. I heard Cupo trying to shout over him, and succeeding. Several species’ delegations were out of it or cramming themselves out of the exits. Nikonus tried to get everyone to calm down, but that didn’t work. The whole chamber was on the verge of a stampede.
I sat in my chair in shock. This was bad. Very bad news. The humans had the ability to enter and leave any of our systems at will, and they knew that. They were much more clever than I had given them credit for. Much more clever than Jerulim, even, who was now redoubling his demands for an immediate extermination attempt - one that would again end in disaster.
We had no idea what these predators were like, or what they were capable of. Or what they weren’t capable of. We couldn’t rush it. But they needed to be dealt with swiftly. This whole ordeal would test me more than any Arxur fleet ever did.
The benefit of success? Back to the status quo with the rampaging Arxur. The price of failure?
I didn’t want to dwell on that.

With June being Audiobook Month I thought it would be a good time to consider what makes an audiobook truly exceptional and curate a list of the best audiobooks of all time, both fiction and non-fiction. You can check it out here:
https://audiobookaddicts.com/best-audiobooks-of-all-time/
Selections are based on factors that include the audiobook's average rating and number of ratings on Audible and other services, awards received, quality of narration and production, and my own personal favorites as an audiobook bloggers for 10+ years.
I'm sure I've missed many worthy titles so if there's an audiobook you think belongs here please let me know and I'll consider adding it in the future!
For those who don't want to click through here is the list (in no particular order):
Best Fiction Audiobooks of All-Time

1. The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling
   
2. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
   
3. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
   
4. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
   
5. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
   
6. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
   
7. The Road by Cormac McCarthy
   
8. American Gods by Neil Gaiman
   
9. The Chronicles of Narnia Series by C.S. Lewis
   
10. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
    
11. Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
    
12. The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson
    
13. Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
    
14. 11/22/63 by Stephen King
    
15. World War Z by Max Brooks
    
16. The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
    
17. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
    
18. The Lord of the Rings Series by J. R. R. Tolkien
    
19. 1984 by George Orwell
    
20. The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
    
21. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
    
22. Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
    
23. The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles
    
24. The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
    
25. The Dutch House by Ann Patchett
    

Best Non-Fiction Audiobooks of All-Time

1. Born a Crime by Trevor Noah
   
2. Becoming by Michelle Obama
   
3. The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
   
4. Atomic Habits by James Clear
   
5. Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt
   
6. The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown
   
7. When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi
   
8. Finding Me by Viola Davis
   
9. Can't Hurt Me by David Goggins
   
10. Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain
    
11. Talking to Strangers by Malcolm Gladwell
    
12. A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson
    
13. Man's Search for Meaning by Victor Frankl
    
14. Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss
    
15. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
    
16. Just Kids by Patti Smith
    
17. Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner
    
18. Bad Blood by John Carreyrou
    
19. Taste by Stanley Tucci
    
20. Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann
    
21. The Storyteller by Dave Grohl
    
22. Bossypants by Tina Fey
    
23. Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey
    
24. Know My Name by Chanel Miller
    
25. Atlas of the Heart by Brené Brown
    

That time of the month again. You don't need to respond to all three rounds, any interaction is appreciated! To see the older banners, go here.
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Gwenpool	Marvel Comics
Zagreus	Hades
Yamato	One Piece
Bridget	Guilty Gear
Coco Adel	RWBY
Alucard	Castlevania
Yasha Nydoorin	Critical Role

Round 1: Battle Royale
Round 2: The two sides of the banner take each other on
Round 3: A 1v1 of your choice

It is the beginning of Pride Month, and this year we're seeing a lot of organizations which have taken advantage of the post-Obergefell sentiments towards the LGBT community by merely throwing up some rainbow pfps distancing themselves in light of rising anti-LGBT sentiment and terrorist threats. These organizations didn't stand up for the LGBT community when it mattered, and they will reproduce this pattern now. Some may not know this, but the math community has - in the past - taken an active stance to stand up for its queer members and taken political action when it has mattered. That is, the intersection of LGBTQ+ history and Math history is not empty and not even measure zero.
The 80s were, to say the least, a very hard time for the LGBTQ+ community due to the AIDS epidemic and the complete lack of response from those in power about it. The medical community was slow to get research rolling and did not initially communicate with the gay community which made accessing proper medical care and information difficult. The Reagan Administration didn't even acknowledge the existence of AIDS for years, let alone invest resources into the development of treatments. The iconic Silence = Death poster is in response to the lack of action and acknowledgement for AIDS. Gay people were demonized and ostracized and the disease was seen as merely the "natural" consequence of their "delinquent" lifestyle. And arriving immediately after the religiously motivated Save Our Children homophobic activist campaign, AIDS was seen as a correction for moral degeneracy (weird how kids are consistently used to justify hate, almost like we could learn from the past...). By the early 90s, people had begun to take it seriously, but there was still a long way to go before people recognized the gay community as a community in need and struggling with a horrific disease. This is why pictures like that of Princess Diana showing compassion and touching someone struggling with AIDS is so iconic and important.
Point being, in the early 90s the LGBTQ+ community was struggling, not viewed with favor by the public, and finding themselves alone without any meaningful institutional support.
In 1992, Colorado voted on and passed an amendment to the state constitution which said that being queer was not a protected status. This meant that things like discrimination against LGBTQ+ people was totally fine and that violence against them would not be considered a hate crime. This was in response to many cities, such as Boulder and Denver passing laws in the 70s and 80s protecting LGBTQ+ people and functioned to strip away these rights. Coincidentally, the 1995 Joint Math Meetings were planned to take place in Denver. This would mean that mathematicians from around the nation (and world) - many of which are queer - would be congregating in a place that was actively unsafe for them. I think that the tragedy of Alan Turing should resonate strongly within the math community of what happens when we don't support those who are marginalized.
In response, two mathematicians - one gay and one just a real good ally - independently wrote and petitioned the heads of the MAA and AMS to move the JMM to a state which could protect vulnerable members of its community. This would not be an insignificant, easy, or cheap act. There would be backlash by those within the community who were less-than-understanding. Contracts and reservations are done years in advance with hotels and conventions spaces which the JMM would have to pay for breaking. And finding a new space and new bookings on a shorter timeframe would not be easy while all this was going on. That is, it would be not an insignificant cost to the AMS and MAA to move the meetings.
But the heads of both organizations met and agreed to move the 1995 JMM to San Francisco - a pointed decision given the LGBTQ+ haven San Francisco had consistently been and its history with Harvey Milk. This move ended up being a part of a larger dis-investment of organizations from Colorado. The state was branded "The Hate State" - a moniker we could probably bring back these days. Eventually appeals took this amendment to the Supreme Court which overruled it. Moreover the AMS and MAA have both made commitments to protecting vulnerable members of the math community as they now always have a "Change of Civil Rights Legislation Clause" in the contracts that they make for the JMM. As of now, the future JMM meetings appear to all take place in safe states.
When people say that math is not political, that identity doesn't matter, that it's all objective and just about proofs, or that we don't need to do work to resist the systemic injustices that infect all groups of people - including the math community - it's just clear that they are ignorant of their own privilege and ignorant of the history of math. Probably most prominently historically, the math community has struggled with antisemitism and has taken actions to both help and harm Jewish members of the community. The members of the AMS and MAA in the 90s knew the importance of taking risks to protect vulnerable members of its community and opening up mathematical spaces to them, and that mathematics is a political field and sometimes politicized statements are needed. And their action was not without internal backlash, the MAA even published dissenting letters which sound like they could have been written today (just replace "political correctness" with "woke").
The appropriately named mathematical LGBTQ+ organization Spectra came out of this action and provides a place for queer mathematicians to find community. They also do what they can to continue the work begun in the 90s. You can read more about this story and the founding of Spectra in this MAA article. The math community itself still has issues that it needs to work through regarding almost all marginalized groups and closing our eyes so that we blind ourselves to them under the illusion of "pure objectivity" is not the move. In general, mathematicians can take pride during Pride Month that - even if it still has major issues and work to do - that the mathematics community has it within them to take risks and act.