"Subtext, Schmubtext..."

Announcement

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 20:16:13 GMT

So... My computer has died. I'm actually posting this from my school's library.

And as such, I'm going to have to postpone Dark Month indefinitely until it works again.

I am really sorry, guys.

[Dark Month] - TWO

Sun, 04 Oct 2009 17:28:12 GMT

karmacitadel Sorry guys - life happened so TWO and THREE are going to be slightly belated and FOUR will be put up today as well.

Title: TWO
Author: Xanthos Samurai
Fandom: The World Ends With You
Rating: PG-13
Length: 340
Warnings: Dark themes, spoilers.
Disclaimer: I do not own nor claim to own anything but the arrangement of the words on the page.
Notes: Been a lonnnnng time since I wrote TWEWY, so I hope I didn't mess it up too badly!
Prompt: Trapped - The World Ends With You - karmacitadel .

Neku had never considered himself claustrophobic before he’d died. In fact he generally liked small spaces. He liked the sense of confinement. It felt safe, like a womb. It went along with how small his world was on the inside that he didn’t mind his outside being small too.

But something had changed when Neku had died… now he felt oppressed. Trapped.

People think death is supposed to be freeing. Yeah right. Neku looked furtively around the scramble crossing. There were Reapers at almost every exit. And Neku knew that even if he got past them, there would be another wall beyond. And if he got past that, there would just be another one after that. And then if ever managed to get past all of the walls, he knew that the world would just stop. End. And there would be no more. Neku had watched it so many times before – people went into the station and vanished. Sometimes they came back again, later. Sometimes they didn’t.

The feeling of being trapped had set in during the first Game… and Neku had dealt with it. A week wasn’t too bad – he could live a week, even if it wasn’t really living. His inside world had still been small then, so he hadn’t minded his outside being small either.

And then the second week… Neku had known that he couldn’t lose it in front of Joshua, no matter how many times his heart (did he even still have one?) seized up in his chest at the sight of yet another wall. He spent the moments that Joshua wasn’t watching him looking desperately for a way out, a way to end the constant, panicked suffocation.

By week three, Neku couldn’t take it any longer. He sought out a way to end everything. He was trapped in a game he couldn’t win, trapped futilely trying to save people he knew he couldn’t save and, no matter how much he might wish it, he couldn’t even die. No matter how much he wanted to.

[Dark Month] - ONE

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 06:21:46 GMT

Title: ONE
Author: Xanthos Samurai
Fandom: Metalocalypse
Rating: PG-13
Length: 146
Warnings: Adult themes, spoilers.
Disclaimer: I do not own nor claim to own anything but the arrangement of the words on the page.
Notes: And here we go! It's a little short, but hopefully it was suitably dark and brutal.
Prompt: Synthesis - Metalocalypse - for lostscore .

Oh, my Nathan.

My beautiful, brutal Nathan. How I long for the day when I will be able to possess you – the very essence of you. How I long for the day when I can strip you down to the bare brutality that makes up your soul.

All of those… sycophantic, pathetic, sniveling parasites that surround you – they do nothing but bring you down. I watch your true nature become corrupted, your sheer power and raw talent falling to the wayside as those around you twist you from your true purpose – spreading ultimate blackness and brutality across the world.

I’m biding my time, Nathan. I am waiting to remake you in the image that you deserve. I will remake you within myself and cradle you within my womb of brutality. It will be the perfect synthesis of your potential and my willpower. It will be…

Perfection.

LAST CALL

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 01:05:32 GMT

I HAVE THREE SPOTS LEFT FOR DARK MONTH AND ANYONE CAN SUBMIT - NO RESTRICTIONS! IF YOU WANT TO SUBMIT SOMETHING, PLEASE DO IT BY MIDNIGHT CENTRAL US TIME.

IF THERE ARE STILL EMPTY SPOTS BY 12:01, I GET TO FILL THEM MYSELF!

-~~GO HERE TO SUBMIT PROMPTS!~~-

Happy (almost) October!

ALL SLOTS HAVE BEEN FILLED! THANKS GUYS!

^_^ See you tomorrow...

DARK MONTH PREPARATION POST 3

Mon, 28 Sep 2009 06:36:09 GMT

All right, gang! We're getting down to the wire again!

I still have EIGHT open spaces yet, so the remaining spots are now OPEN TO ANYONE! Even if you've already submitted two prompts! Of course, if you've only submitted one I highly recommend you get another one!

If I still have empty spots after Sept. 30th, I'll be filling them in myself, so better grab 'em now!

For info and submitting prompts, go HERE.

DARK MONTH PREPARATION POST 2

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 13:39:23 GMT

Allrighty guys! It's nine days to October 1st and I still have several spaces left on my Dark Month requests. If you've only requested one, go ahead and throw another one at me! If you haven't requested at all, be sure to go check it out! If you've asked me to reserve a day for you, please be thinking about your prompt and try to get it to me before the 1st!

If anyone would like to submit a prompt or has only submitted ONE so far (the limit is two), or would like some general information about my Dark Month project, GO HERE!

DARK MONTH PREPARATION POST

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 06:58:34 GMT

Okay, I got enough of a response on the last entry to decide that I'll do Dark Month this year!

As always, I must give credit to kacfrog711 for the original idea and thank her for allowing me to borrow the concept.

For those who need a reminder, Dark Month is where I will post one piece of "dark" fanfiction a day for the entire month of October It's a fun project and a tradition that I love carrying on. However, since the last year didn't turn out so well and since I've got a lot on my plate with school and whatnot already, I'm going to change some stuff around a little bit to try to increase my odds of actually getting everything done. Namely, instead of trying to write and post each piece of fanfiction in a single day, I'm actually going to be working on them ahead of time. it takes some of the thrill out of it, but I think this way it will be less stressful for me and you guys will get a better quality of writing.

Rules:

1. Since I've kind of fallen off the face of the earth and I doubt too many people will submit prompts, I'm going to allow everyone to submit TWO off the bat. If I still have empty slots after that, I will decide what to do with them. As usual, just pick what dates you want along with your prompt. If you want to reserve a day and submit a prompt later, that's completely okay too.

2. Please submit a prompt. I'm not limiting these to one-word this year, but please don't make them too complicated. A word or phrase or even a quote you want me to work in - any of these are fine! Just please specify. These fanfics are meant to be "dark" so traditionally "dark" themes like "midnight" or "screams" are awesome, but don't hesitate to throw some weird ones in there too! Submitting something like "ducklings" isn't traditionally dark, but that just means I have to work harder at it. ^_^

3. Along with your prompt, submit what fandom you want me to write for. If you REALLY want to submit a character, feel free to do so but keep in mind that I'm trying to take it easy this time around and if an idea for a fic with a different character strikes me, I might default to that. I'll do the best I can to work with your prompts though.

That's it for the rules! Here's a list of fandoms that I'm familiar with. As always, if you want something that isn't on here please feel free to ask. I have a working knowledge of a LOT of stuff.

-Kingdom Hearts (all except 358/2, ALTHOUGH I will have played it by October)
-The World Ends With You
-Most Marvel Comic movie-verses (Iron Man, Incredible Hulk, ETC)
-Various comics (Just ask!)
-Batman (General Universe, Nolanverse, Batman Beyond, etc)
-Soul Calibur (all)
-Avatar: The Last Airbender
-Final Fantasy (VII, X, XII, Advent Children)
-Super Smash Bros.
-Supernatural
-Metalocalypse
-The Venture Bros.
-And more!

1. "Synthesis" - Metalocalypse - lostscore .
2. "Trapped" - The World Ends With You - karmacitadel .
3. "Branded" - Batman - cangzi .
4. "Vertebra by vertebra" - Avatar: The Last Airbender - zweikirschen .
5. See quote in comments - KH/SSB/TWEWY - keyblade277 .
6. "Schrodinger's Cat" - Xan's Choice - pervertparadox .
7. "Repressed Memories" - Hotel Dusk - beetlefreak .
8. "Fight Fire With Fire" - Kingdom Hearts - hiza_chan .
9. "Poor creature, you never stood a chance" - The World Ends With You - unsafebet .
10. "The light at the end of the tunnel" - Kingdom Hearts - cangzi .
11. "Ice" - Super Smash Bros - kacfrog711 .
12. "Eat me. Drink me." or "some lonely night we can get together and I'm gonna tie your wrists with leather and drill a tiny hole into your head" - Xan's Choice?  - pervertparadox .
13. "Silver" - Kingdom Hearts - oni_gil .
14. "Tainted" - The World Ends With You - unsafebet .
15. "Pursued" - Darker Than Black - rah_bop .
16. "The first time always hurts but tonight you will surely see the last time hurts even more." - Xan's Choice - pervertparadox .
17. "I'll cast you a spell, a magic where everyone plays dead forever."  - Kingdom Hearts - lostscore .
18. See quote in comments - KH/SSB/TWEWY - keyblade277 .
19. "Only Skin" - Avatar: The Last Airbender - zweikirschen .
20. "Clearly I remember from the windows they were watching as we froze down below" - Kingdom Hearts or Supernatural - klena.
21. "Rage, rage against the dying of the light" or poem - KH or TWEWY - unsafebet .
22. "Exhausted"  - Kingdom Hearts - oni_gil .
23. "Like the last time" - Kingdom Hearts - marchwarden23 .
24. "It's Got A Hint Of Arsenic & Cyanide" - Kingdom Hearts - earmuffs .
25. "Your eyes have gone black, you'll never look back." - Xan's Choice - lostscore .
26. "A few of my favorite things" - KH or TWEWY - unsafebet .
27. "Broken Glass" - Batman Beyond - kacfrog711 .
28. "Zombies" - Supernatural - hiza_chan .
29. "Bad education" - Kingdom Hearts - zweikirschen .
30. "All I ever wanted and all I ever hated, coming together" - Xan's Choice - rah_bop .
31. SECRET PROJECT - quakewithfear .

Resurrection & Dark Month

Sat, 05 Sep 2009 06:50:50 GMT

Hi guys. So... It's been a while! (Like six or seven months!) And I feel like I should kind of explain where I've been and what's been happening.

I finally got back into college this past spring and, as college is wont to do, it sort of ate my life. And then I was out of town or working all summer. And on top of all that, I literally spent most of the year 2009 feeling incapable of writing anything that I didn't consider utter garbage. And that, my dear friends, is where I've been since February.

HOWEVER.

Upon looking at the calendar, I realized that it's September already. One month before October. September, among other things, means Dark Month Prep Time for me. And while I know that I've been gone for a long time and I know that I've most likely fallen off everyone's radar and I know that I SUCKED ROYALLY AT IT LAST YEAR (and I do sincerely apologize - it was a really rough time). However, I'm a sucker for tradition, so here goes.

Would anyone still be willing to participate in my annual Dark Month if I did it this year?

If you guys wouldn't mind dropping a line with your answer, I'd appreciate it! I missed all you guys!

Sex Meme... Meme?

Tue, 24 Feb 2009 17:35:17 GMT

Okay, you know that sex meme that's going around everyone's friends list? Don't lie, you know you do.

Well, since I find this immensely more entertaining than filling it out myself, give me a character and I will fill it out IN CHARACTER.

Fandoms:
-Metalocalypse
-The World Ends With You
-Kingdom Hearts (all)
-Final Fantasy (assorted)
-Batman (Begins/TDK, Beyond)
-MIsc. (Just ask)

Mon, 09 Feb 2009 21:04:11 GMT

Nabbed from lostscore.

Pick a character and I will answer the following:

1. What would your character kill for? What would they die for?
2. What would they refuse to do under any circumstances? Why?
3. What do they dream about? [Either literal or figurative, specify please.]
4. What’s their biggest fear?
5. What single object would they be most hard pressed to part with? Why?
6. What is their fondest memory?
7. What is their worst memory?
8. What or who was were their most significant influence? Expound.
9. What do they believe makes a successful life?
10. What makes them laugh?
11. What are their religious views?
12. What is their greatest strength?
13. Do they have a fatal flaw? If so, what is it?
14. Who is the most important person in their life?
15. If they died, who would miss them most? How would they die?

You can ask anyone from most anything I write, but here's a short list:

Kingdom Hearts (all)
Batman (Begins/The Dark Knight, Beyond, general canon)
FFVII
FFXII
Soul Calibur
Metalocalypse

You guys know the drill by now!

[KH2] - Bad Affection (Xigbar/Xaldin/Replica Riku) (Chapter 9)

Mon, 09 Feb 2009 02:04:27 GMT

Fandom: Kingdom Hearts II
Pairing/Characters: Xigbar/Xaldin/Replica Riku
Rating: Hard R / NC-17
Length: 2,080 Words
Warnings: Cannibalism, violence, gore, language, shota, pseudo-incest, disturbing themes, disturbing imagery, clonekink.
Disclaimer: I do not own nor claim to own anything but the arrangement of the words on the page.
Notes: LJ is a solid brass bitch so this was originally one big chapter that I had to cut into two parts. Please be sure to read them in order.

Much to Braig’s annoyance, he received a phone call early the following morning from Xehanort. The unexpected ring woke Riku from its sleep. It got out of bed and crept down to Dilan and Braig’s bedroom to see if there was a problem that it could help its masters with.

The sadist and the cannibal had clearly gone to bed the previous night without any of their bedroom antics, as there were no hooks or chains out and the walls, ceiling and floor were devoid of blood. The only thing out of the ordinary was that Braig was sitting up in bed, naked aside from the blanket draped across his hips. He held a cell phone to his ear, his expression a mix of disgust, outrage and complete annoyance.

“Let me make sure I’m understanding you,” he repeated into the phone. “You have called me. At four in the fucking morning. To tell me to pack my shit because I am leaving to go out of town to a conference. In two hours. Is that really what you’ve called to tell me, Xehanort? You couldn’t have told me this yesterday? Or, even better, gotten some other useless fuck that works for you to go?” His voice raised with each word until he was practically yelling into the phone at the end. At his side, Dilan groaned and elbowed Braig roughly in the ribs as he pulled the blanket up over his head.

“Shut up and just fucking deal with it,” mumbled Dilan.

“You shut the fuck up!” Braig snarled at him before he turned his attention back to the phone. “Yes, and you shut the fuck up too. I am not some goddamned grad student intern who you can just bitch around!” He fell silent for a moment and Riku could practically feel the anger radiate from him.

“Fine,” Braig said at last. “Fine. Yeah, do that. I’ll be there.” He slammed the phone shut. “Riku, go pull out my bag and start packing it. I’ll be fucked if I let those bastards order me around like this.”

“You are their employee. You are paid for them to order you around.” Dilan’s voice was muffled by the blanket. He knew for a fact that Braig wasn’t nearly as angry about being ordered to travel as he was just pissed off at being woken up in the middle of the night. The reality was that Braig loved to travel. It gave him an excuse to sample “foreign cuisine.”

He pushed himself out of bed, not bothering to grab the pants that he’d discarded on the floor a few hours prior. Braig’s eyes fell on the digital clock on the bedside table again at the time.

“Almost wish we’d been fuckin’ when he called,” he muttered. “That woulda taught him not to call in the middle of the goddamned night.”

At Dilan’s sleepy chuckle, Braig prodded a bony finger into his lover’s gut.

“I know you’re pleased about this. Don’t even try to lie about it.”

“I’d be pleased about anything that got you to shut the fuck up and let me go back to sleep.” Dilan rolled over, away from Braig’s finger.

“Whiny little bitch.” Braig turned and looked to see Riku diligently packing his suitcase. The sight immediately lightened his spirits, at least. There was just something about seeing that kid in footie pajamas and a dog collar that made him feel just a little bit warm and fuzzy inside.

“It’s done, Master.” Riku went and stood by Braig’s side. “Shall I go make you some coffee?”

“That’s all right, kiddo, I’ll do it myself.” Braig put a hand on Riku’s hair and pulled it close, scratching the clone’s scalp as he did so. Riku rubbed up against him, making a happy noise at all the attention. “Now, Daddy’s going out of town for a few days because his bosses think that he’s a little bitch like Dilan over there and Daddy can’t eat them because he’d have to find another job and he hates going to job interviews. So, you be a good boy while I’m gone and do whatever Dilan tells you, understand? If you’re very good, maybe I’ll bring you a present.”

“Yes, Master. I’ll be good.” Riku kissed Braig’s hands.

“Good boy. Now go back to bed.” Braig grabbed his suitcase and watched as the replica padded back down the hall to its room. He really needed to get that kid a tail or something. Or maybe he could get Ev to graft some puppy ears onto it. With the collar, it would really be just too cute for words.

The rest of the morning passed fairly normally aside from Braig being absent from the usual morning activities. Riku and Dilan rose and got dressed and Riku prepared breakfast (French toast and tea – Dilan’s favorite) for them while Dilan read the paper.

“I know that Braig’s been having you come meet him at the office after school for the last week or so.” Dilan spoke without taking his eyes off the finance page. “But you will come straight back here after you’re finished with school. Understand?”

“Yes, sir.” Riku poured Dilan another cup of tea and put three lumps of sugar in it, just like Dilan preferred.

“Good.” Dilan sipped the tea and almost smiled. Out of all Braig’s idiot ideas, adopting the replica had surprisingly turned out to be the best. Despite its unusual upbringing, it was polite, charming, obedient, intelligent and – as Dilan noted yet again as he watched Riku adjust the collar beneath its school uniform – very, very cute. Dilan liked cute little boys. It had been a long time since he’d had one – since before he and Braig had established themselves as together. It wasn’t as if he and Braig had ever done anything to make it “official” – neither of them were the ceremony type, after all – they had merely come together one day and simply never parted.

As for Braig, he was well aware of Dilan’s sexual preferences, just as Dilan himself was aware of Braig’s little culinary quirks. And Braig had no problem with Dilan bringing kids home to play with, so that wasn’t preventing Dilan from having his fun. The problem was that Braig got overexcited. And while it was true that Dilan did love to see his playmates in pieces, he preferred to take them apart himself, and only after he’d fucked them. Having Braig around made that just somewhat difficult.

Dilan glanced at his watch. “All right, we need to leave now if I’m going to walk you to school.”

“Yes, sir.” Riku looked at the dishes and paused. “Shall I do them when I return from school?” It knew that Dilan did not like leaving a mess, especially in the kitchen.

“Just make sure it’s cleaned up before I get home.” Dilan pulled on his coat and grabbed his briefcase and watched as Riku did the same. “Now that Braig’s out of town for a few days, we might actually be able to get the place decently clean.”

“I can start on the housework after I get home from school,” Riku said.

“Excellent.”

It was only after Dilan had dropped Riku off at the front gates of the school that the clone reached into its bag to look for its books and felt an unfamiliar piece of paper. It removed it and discovered a folded note with “Riku” written on it in Braig’s familiar, square handwriting. It opened the note immediately and read.

It was short and Riku folded it up carefully and put it back in his pocket after. So. Master wanted it to please Dilan while he was gone. Riku was fairly sure it knew exactly how to carry out Master’s orders…

Dilan came home that afternoon feeling… almost good. It wasn’t unheard of for Dilan to be happy (he wasn’t like Even, who was commonly thought to be incapable of mirth), but it was extremely unusual for something to break through his usually stoic demeanor. Perhaps it was that Braig was gone. Dilan loved his partner and felt a little guilty at taking pleasure in having the house to himself, but there was nothing wrong with playing hooky. It gave him a chance to sit down with a gallon of rocky road ice cream and watch movies without Braig hovering over his shoulder and making snide remarks about how ice cream rotted teeth and television rotted the brain.

That’s all that Dilan was looking forward to as he climbed the stairs up to their floor. Movies, something to satisfy his sweet tooth and maybe getting the replica to massage his shoulders for an hour or something. It already sounded like near-perfection.

So when Dilan walked through the back door into the kitchen and was immediately greeted by the sight of the replica in a schoolgirl uniform (complete with short skirt and knee-high socks) washing dishes at the sink, he stopped dead in his tracks. One hand held the door open and the other was wrapped loosely around the handle of his briefcase.

Riku turned to look at Dilan. Its arms were covered in suds up to its elbows and it was wearing the special collar with the pink heart tag instead of the usual chain. The mid-afternoon light caught on its silvery hair and made it momentarily glow. Dilan thought he could hear a choir of angels.

“Hello, Master Dilan. How was work today?” Riku tilted its head inquisitively.

“It was fine. Why are you wearing a schoolgirl uniform, Riku?”

“Because Master told me to make you happy while he was gone.”

“He did, did he?” Dilan stepped inside and put his briefcase down. It sounded like some sort of trap that Braig would set. Tempt him with a cute little boy (in a skirt no less) and then crucify him for it when he gave into the temptation.

“Yes, sir.” Riku rinsed the suds off its arms and dried them on a dishtowel. It pushed itself up onto the counter and sat with its feet dangling above the floor. Dilan walked over to it and Riku reached out to grab Dilan by his tie and pull him closer.

“You can do anything you want with me,” the clone whispered quietly, pressing his lips against Dilan’s jawline. “Master gave me permission.”

“Did he now?” Dilan’s hands found their way to Riku’s legs and slid up underneath the skirt. Riku shivered appreciatively. Dilan’s touch was different from Master’s, but… still very nice. “Anything I want?”

“Yes.” Riku gasped a little bit as Dilan’s skillful surgeon’s hands found their way to its hips and pulled it closer.

“Even if I wanted to peel off your skin?” Dilan began to unbutton the top of Riku’s uniform.

“Yes.” Riku rolled its shoulders so that the shirt fell down its arms and Dilan ran his hands down the clone’s smooth, pale torso. There wasn’t a blemish on its entire body, not a scar. Not one mark. Nothing to show that it was flawed and human. But it wasn’t. It had been grown and created, cultured in a sheltered room free from outside influence. Its whole life, it had been handled like something precious (and it was) and kept free from contamination. It was the most pure being that Dilan had ever laid eyes on.

And even after it had been removed from its sanitized sanctuary, it retained that inhuman quality. Even after Braig had corrupted it with his own brand of parenting, it had remained inexplicably flawless. Braig had transformed it from the perfect innocent to the perfect killer. The metamorphosis that Dilan observed happened in the replica was fascinating, and yet… Although he had given Riku the very finest in bad education and bad affection, Braig had always been so very, very careful…

Dilan smiled to himself. It was time to ruin some of his partner’s hard work.

“Come here, Riku.”

He pulled Riku off the counter and held it tightly, getting a little thrill when the clone wrapped its thin arms around his neck and began to kiss his chest and jaw – any part of him it could reach.

“I’m going to teach you something that your master never would,” he growled softly to the clone as he carried it to the bedroom he shared with Braig. “I’m going to teach you the value of human pain. And you are going to love it.”

Riku shivered.

To Be Continued...

[KH2] - Bad Affection (Xigbar/Xaldin/Replica Riku) (Chapter 8)

Mon, 09 Feb 2009 01:57:27 GMT

Axel actually stopped and stared. The words that had just come out of Braig’s mouth were too outrageous to be believed. Riku? The clone of the boss’s brother? There was no way.

“Are you shitting me?”

“Nope. ‘m serious as a heart attack.” Braig flipped a switch and the fluorescent lights overhead sprang to life with a blinding flash. All manner of sinister-looking silver instruments gleamed in the newly illuminated lab along with a long row of metal cages along one wall. Another wall was lined floor-to-ceiling with stainless steel drawers, like those at a morgue. The sight of them made a shudder go up and down Axel’s spine. He had problems with tight spaces.

“How in the name of God did he pull that off? Even’s smart and he’s a sneaky bastard, but how the fuck would he have cloned the X’s little brother without their knowing?”

Braig grinned.

“That’s a good question. Wanna hear a better one?”

“Sure.” Axel walked over to the morgue drawers and looked at them. A number etched into the steel was the only sort of identification on each one. He ran his thumb across the etched numbers. Had Roxas been in one of these?

“The real fun question is what Ev did with the original.”

Axel looked over at Riku with a deep frown. The clone had been standing beside a shelf of instruments looking blankly into space, but turned and looked inquiringly at Axel. How many pairs of those eyes existed, Axel wondered. How many identical eyes in identical faces were there that shouldn’t by any rights exist?

It was at times like these that Axel could tell that Riku wasn’t human. A human could not have stood there and listened to people explain its horrific origins like this.

“What did he do with the original?”

“Who knows?” Braig’s eyes glittered. “That’s why I said it was a good question.”

Shaking off Braig’s ominous tone, Axel took it upon himself to wander around the room to look for anything suspicious. Look for anything suspicious. He laughed grimly at himself. The whole fucking place was suspicious. Morgue drawers and extra locks and all sorts of instruments and vials and machines that Axel couldn’t even name. Being in here gave him the creeps. But he was here for Roxas, he reminded himself sternly. Finding him, even if he was dead, would be worth going anywhere.

“Are there any other rooms? I wanna look through all of them to see what sort of other nasty goodies Even’s been hiding.”

“Lookin’ for somethin’ in particular, Red?” Eyes glinting, Braig turned and grinned at him.

Axel shrugged, hoping that Braig couldn’t see through him. He didn’t want anyone to know of his true intentions, especially not someone like Braig who would take every scrap of information he could and use it against him. Or he wouldn’t. It was impossible to tell what someone as unpredictable as Braig would do with the knowledge of a past like Axel’s, but Axel had no intention of finding out.

“Nope, just looking. Curious to see what kind of dirty secrets a skeezy old creep like Even would keep in his secret lab.”

“Actually, you should ask Riku.” The cannibal turned to his young protégé and put a spidery hand on its hair. “Riku, you’ve been very good. You want to go see your brothers, right?”

The replica nodded. “Yes, Master. Very much.”

“Wait, brothers?” Axel looked between Axel and Riku. “How is that possible? It’s a clone.”

“It’s completely possible. Think about it.”

Axel thought for a moment.

“The other clones Even made,” he said. “That’s what you mean by brothers.”

“Mmhmm. And you should see ‘em, Red. A whole bunch of little clones just like Riku here, all squirming over each other like a litter of puppies. And they’re very affectionate towards their big brother.” Braig nuzzled his son in a decidedly un-fatherly manner and Axel couldn’t help but wonder how much Braig got off on seeing all of these clones together.

“Riku, why don’t you go show him? And you can play with your brothers while you’re at it.” Braig sounded smug, like someone who expected to be congratulated for their brilliant idea at any moment.

“What about you?” Axel did not want to go about his business without knowing where the cannibal was going to be and what he was going to be doing. “Going to be looking for snacks in these drawers or something?” He grinned a little bit.

“Mmmmaybe. You wanna stay down here and find out?”

“No, I’ll take my chances upstairs with the clones. We’ll be back down in a little bit. Don’t spoil your dinner or whatever.” Axel turned to Riku. “Shall we?”

Riku nodded. “This way.” It led Axel out another door and up a metal staircase and into another darkened room. Axel could hear movement in the room, although he couldn’t see in the dark.

“Riku?”

One of the overhead fluorescent lights flickered to life and the room was dimly illuminated. Several large chain-link cages had been built into one corner of the room. Within each cage were several young boys, all with silver hair and Riku’s face. All of them looked to see who had entered, a dozen aqua eyes turning at once. All of them (the ones that could speak) let out a cry and strained against the chain link towards their brother.

Axel stopped and stared. How could he not? Braig wasn’t fucking kidding. Looking at cages full of the same face was disconcerting, especially since almost none of the clones were whole. Several were missing digits or limbs and almost all had bloody bandages wrapped around various parts of their body. One was even missing both eyes.

As Axel stared, Riku walked towards the cages with a smile on its face, looking as happy as Axel had ever seen it look. It unlatched all the cages (Axel noted with amazement that none of them had locks) and stood still as the other clones surged around it. They ran their hands (or stumps) all over its clothes and face, through its hair. A few that couldn’t get as close as the others merely grabbed a hold of whatever part of it they could reach and held on tightly.

“Reeeee…” They all milled around it and tried to speak. “Mmmm Reeee… Aaahhh…”

“Wh… why are they making those noises?” Axel hadn’t even thought he was capable of movement or speech until he heard his own voice.

“They can’t talk… most of them. They’re trying to say my name.” There was something in Riku’s usually-emotionless voice, something that Axel would have called pride. Riku was smiling as it ran his hands over all of its brothers, stroking their hair and faces and looking into each one’s eyes in turn. It was so proud of them. They’d remembered its name.

A lump had appeared in Axel’s throat as he watched this scene and he tried unsuccessfully to swallow it. Finally, he simply turned away. He wanted to watch – who wouldn’t? – but he had other things that he had to attend to.

“Um… You’re going to just be here with your brothers?” He did his best not to look at them.

“Yes, Uncle Axel.”

“Okay. I’m going to, uh… poke around a bit. You just stay here.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll be here,” answered the clone.

“Good.”

It was only after Axel had wandered off to another area that the clones resurged around Riku and held onto it tightly. They whispered to their older brother in a language that only they understood, a language made as much of thoughts and images than as actual words.

“A… monster?” Riku looked down at them after a few moments, a hint of a frown on its face. “Even’s made… a monster? What about it?”

They whispered some more, placing their fingertips against their older brother’s lips and pressing their faces to its skin.

“Monnnn…” A few of them could almost say the word out loud. “Ssssttttt…”

“What kind of monster is it?” Riku’s voice dropped to a whisper. It kissed the bloody and bandaged stumps and hands that touched its face and stroked all of the silvery heads. “Tell me.”

“Mmmmm… Aaahhhh….” The chorus of soft little voices echoed and Riku listened carefully. When they were done, Riku’s expression lightened a little. It was not capable of smiling on its own volition, but even its stoic expressions could not hide a momentary glimmer of happiness.

“A beautiful monster… a beautiful monster for me? Where?” The clones all looked towards another metal door. Riku remembered that door. Many of its brothers had vanished behind it and none of them had ever come out again. It ran its fingertips across the lips of the nearest clone and the other ones pushed around it. “Thank you, little brothers. I will come and see you again soon.” It extricated itself from the grasping hands and walked towards the heavy metal door. The door was unlocked, so Riku pulled it open and went inside.

The room was some sort of operating room. A large stainless steel table dominated the center of the room. A large assortment of accoutrements were connected to the table – tools and pumps and hoses that Riku didn’t know the purpose of, despite Dilan’s medical training. Along the bottom of one wall were a series of shiny steel morgue drawers, like the ones downstairs. Unlike the ones downstairs, however, these opened with-wise instead of length-wise. The other walls were lined with counters and shelves and cases full of specimens and equipment and all other manner of strange objects.

The clones had said that there was a monster inside this room, a beautiful monster that Even had made. They wanted Riku to find it, they had said, and that it should be Riku’s. A monster for Riku.

While Riku did not understand why its brothers had decided that this “monster” belonged to it, it knew that the others wouldn’t say so for no good reason. Its eyes scanned the room and fell immediately upon the morgue drawers in the wall. That’s where Even would keep it.

The first drawer was empty, but the interior was crusty with dried blood. Even must have been too busy to clean. Riku closed it again, knowing without a shadow of a doubt that the blood belonged to a brother.

Riku paused as it placed its hand upon the handle of the second drawer. It could feel something… different about this one. And when it pulled the drawer open and saw what was inside, it knew that it was right.

The… thing inside was beautiful. The clones had been right. It had once been two boys and now it was one, joined down the middle by thick black stitches. The features were similar, but distinctly different as evidenced by the slight discord caused in the face as they lined up just short of perfectly. Riku placed its hand on the monster’s hair, half blonde and half dark. There were lines around the mouth of the blonde side, indicative of many frowns, whereas there were smile lines around the eyes of the dark-haired side. It stroked the hair, marveling that the texture changed as its fingers crossed back and forth from the different sides.

A smile crept across Riku’s face as it traced its fingers down the bisected face to the neck and the body. The monster was naked, minus a chain with a metal tag resting on the monster’s chest. Riku had never seen anything so beautiful before.

“Wake up,” it whispered softly. “Wake up…”

The joined boys opened their eyes and Riku noted with delight that they were two different shades of blue. They pushed themselves up in the drawer and stared at Riku with their mismatched eyes. Riku could see that there was something in the monster’s eyes… something intelligent, but primal. And appealing.

“I’m Riku,” murmured the clone. It raised a hand and touched the monster’s face, running its fingers across the stitches. The monster closed their eyes and leaned into Riku’s hand. The mismatched hands found their way around Riku’s waist and the monster looked right into Riku’s eyes. In that moment, Riku realized that it felt the way about the monster that Master and Dilan felt about each other. It was the thing he had read about in so many books before, but had never truly understood. It was love.

Riku pressed its forehead to the monster’s and closed its eyes.

“I’ll get you out of here,” it whispered softly. “I’ll get you out of here and take care of you.”

The monster stared into Riku’s eyes and the corner of the brunette side of its mouth twitched, trying to return the smile. The blonde frowned and the eye swiveled, completely independent of the other, over to the side. Riku had just enough time to pick its head up and look at the door before it opened.

“Riku, are you in here? We need to get back downstairs and meet your dad…”

Axel stepped through the door and stopped dead in his tracks, staring. Roxas. He had found Roxas. Axel’s flesh crawled over his bones and all of the blood drained from his face all at once. His knees wobbled and only the fact that he grabbed the table quickly kept him on his feet.

He wanted to say Roxas’ name, but his voice caught in his throat when the monster turned all the way around to face him. There was something wrong. Roxas’ face… it wasn’t completely Roxas’ face. The line of stitches made for a jarring line of dissymmetry between the two halves of the face that was both Roxas’ and… not Roxas. He could do nothing but stare, wanting to believe in Roxas and yet… not daring to believe that this thing was real.

The spell was broken by the monster uttering a low, savage growl. The blonde side bared its teeth while the brunette side’s eye merely widened. Axel took an abrupt step back, his hand gripping the door so tightly that his knuckles went white.

“Riku.” He spoke in a low, unsteady tone. “What the fuck is that?”

“A monster,” answered Riku simply. Its face and tone remained passive and emotionless, but its eyes were watching the monster and its uncle carefully. The monster seemed incredibly agitated, especially the blonde side. “Even made it. Like he made me.”

Axel’s face worked with emotion and his right hand twitched. He seemed incapable of speech.

The monster started to move, intending to lunge at Axel. Riku grabbed it and held it back, pressing its face into the monster’s hair.

“Calm down,” it whispered. “It’s all right. I won’t let him do anything to you. Just calm down.”

The monster stilled under Riku’s touch and the growl died in its throat. They glanced back at Riku, the blonde side trembling with rage beneath Riku’s hands.

“Don’t hurt him,” Riku said softly into the monster’s ear. “Go back to sleep… I’ll come back and get you.”

Axel’s eyes narrowed. “Come out of there. Right now.”

Riku paused. It couldn’t disobey a direct order, not from someone who knew Master. It stood, looking down at the monster and gently pushed it back down into the drawer.

“Go back to sleep,” it said again. “It will be all right.”

The monster’s mismatched blue eyes watched Riku as the clone gave it an injection of sedative and slowly closed it back into the drawer again. Riku crouched on the floor beside the drawer for a few moments, silent, thinking of its love trapped within the steel wall.

“Riku.” Axel’s voice was cold and clipped, unsuccessfully trying to hide how shaken he was. “Come here. Right. Now.”

Riku stood and walked to Axel’s side, obedient and unquestioning as always. But something was different now. Something had changed within it. There was a knowledge in its eyes that had not been there before, a will that it had never possessed. It was no longer a pretty puppet without a mind. It had evolved.

Had Axel been in his right mind, he might have noticed the sudden difference in his nephew, but he did not. He was far too preoccupied with the one thought that had taken over his mind ever since he had laid eyes on the… the… abomination that Even had made of his great love.

The monster must be destroyed.

HEE

Sun, 01 Feb 2009 02:59:45 GMT

Someone made a Fandom Secret about lostscore and I. I guess we're outed. *snicker*

See here: Secret #160.

To whoever made it: THANK YOU.

Anon Meme

Tue, 27 Jan 2009 17:50:09 GMT

Just because I'm curious...

Please don't spare me, guys.

I'VE ALWAYS WANTED TO TELL YOU....

[KH2] - BLOW: Turnabout Is Fair Play (Xigbar/Axel/Roxas)

Tue, 27 Jan 2009 02:13:57 GMT

Title: BLOW: Turnabout Is Fair Play
Author: Xanthos Samurai
Fandom: Kingdom Hearts II
Pairing/Characters: Xigbar/Axel/Roxas.
Rating: NC-17.
Length: 2,147 Words
Warnings: AU, yaoi, explicit gunkink, foul language, disturbing themes (especially disturbing sexual themes), violence, kink.
Disclaimer: I do not own nor claim to own anything but the arrangement of the words on the page.
Notes: Oh gunkink, how I love thee. I love writing it, but it's something I don't let myself indulge in much. Inspired by the wonderful, the incomparable, the brilliant lostscore . I hope everyone enjoys.

Loosely connected to BLOW, but you don't need to read one to enjoy the other.

Axel’s fingers shook slightly as he brought the cigarette up to his lips, but not out of any sort of fear or sense of nervousness. It was pure stimulation that made his fingers tremble. He inhaled, feeling the calming, toxic rush of nicotine surge into his lungs and into his blood. It made him feel alive.

“I’m running out of patience, Rox.”

The words came from around the cigarette still in his lips. Axel lifted it away from his mouth with two fingers, feeling the familiar weight of a heavy handgun in his other hand. He stood in a peculiar way, almost listing to the right. He did it on purpose, to avoid putting weight on his left leg. It had been fucked up ever since he’d shot Braig in the leg and that bastard had returned the favor by practically shooting off Axel’s kneecap. To say that it had left him with a limp would have been something of an understatement.

The blonde in the chair glared at him. Axel had stuffed a ball gag in his mouth to keep him from making too much noise and he looked a little ridiculous trying to glare from around it, but Roxas had a very impressive glare. He still made noise too, but there wasn’t much Axel could do about that. Roxas always had tended to be a screamer.

The bondage schtick didn’t usually do a lot for Axel personally, but there was something awfully appealing about a cute blonde tied to a chair, especially when they made it so obvious that they hated it. Axel’s cruel streak was thin, but it ran down to the bone.

“I’m about to get really frustrated with you and I don’t think you want that. So let me lay this out for you, simple and clean. There are two options here. You’re either going to do what I want you to do, or I’m going to remove you of two or three of your five senses.” Axel ran the barrel of the gun along Roxas’ profile. It was so delicate, so refined… it would look so interesting if he were lacking a nose and a jaw, maybe an eye. Axel had heard wonderful things about skullfucking and had always kind of wanted to try it.

Axel took the gag out of Roxas mouth and shoved his gun in before the kid could start protesting again. He tilted his head to one side and forced the gun so far down Roxas’ throat that he choked and his eyes fluttered.

“Blow me, you little bitch,” he muttered through the smoke of his cigarette. “Before I blow you.”

“You’re stealin’ my materiel, Red.”

That voice. That drawling, maddeningly-nonchalant voice that never failed to slide under Axel’s skin like a poisoned razorblade. Axel would have preferred to hear any other voice in the whole fucking world at that moment.

“I oughta sue for copyright infringement.”

“You don’t own the line, Braig.”

Axel looked over his shoulder and out of the corner of his eye at the man who had just strolled so casually into his lair. His eyes went immediately to Braig’s hands, then his belt. The fucker was never without a weapon of some sort.

“Maybe not, but I have every right to laugh at you for stealing it from me. I had you give me a nice little blowjob about a year ago and now here you are using my line on this cute little morsel. What’s wrong, Red? Couldn’t think of your own shit?”

How the hell did Braig do it? Axel curled a lip, despising the man more with every word. He hadn’t even thought it possible to hate Braig more than he already did. He remained motionless even as Braig ambled slowly towards him. If he moved, he’d have to pull the gun from Roxas’ mouth and the kid would make a fucking racket and then all the fun would be over. Fortunately, he still had one hand free and he didn’t think Braig knew about the other gun he had tucked in his belt under his shirt.

Braig circled the gunman and the boy in the chair slowly, grinning like a jackal that knows it’s going to be eating well soon. He ended up standing directly behind Axel.

“So… you don’t seem very happy to see me, Red. What’s the deal? You not like me anymore?” Braig leaned forward and licked the back of Axel’s neck.

The contact of the warm, wet tongue against such a sensitive and oft-neglected area nearly made Axel shudder. And when the tongue disappeared suddenly and cold air rushed to take its place, Axel felt his skin goosebump. Out of sheer agitation he tightened his grip on the gun and heard the barrel rattle around Roxas teeth. The kid was still blowing him.

“Last time we met,” he growled at Braig. “You shot me in the fucking kneecap. That put something of a damper on our relationship.”

“It was only after you shot me, Red. Turnabout’s fair play, yanno.”

“Turnabout would have been shooting me in the leg. You shattered my knee.”

“Technically that is shooting you in the leg. And actually, I didn’t even do that. I just shot close enough to your knee that the shock wave shattered it. Ain’t physics great?” Braig grinned at him, showing off his slightly pinkish teeth. “If I’d actually hit you, you’d be ruined forever and I didn’t want that. You’re too much fun.”

“How lucky of me,” came the snarl. “So I get it, Braig. You’re here. You’re probably here to fuck me up. Who sent you and what do you want?”

“Do I have to be on a job to come see you? I just like checking up on you. Good thing, too, if you’re stealing all my lines to use on cute little blonde kids.” Braig pulled a pack of cigarettes out of his jacket pocket and put it between his lips. Holding it in place between two spidery fingers, he leaned forward and pressed it against the tip of the one in Axel’s mouth. Axel stood stiffly motionless, painfully aware of everything around him – how Braig’s disgusting face with its missing eye and all the scars was only a few inches away, the muffled sounds of Roxas’ mouth around the barrel of his gun, his own left arm hanging dead and twitching at his side, itching to pull the other gun out of his belt, press it to Braig’s stomach and give the bastard’s guts some fresh air. Braig inhaled and pulled away as the cigarette ignited. He exhaled through his teeth, grinning at Axel through the haze of smoke.

“No, I just wanted to drop by and check up on you. But now that I’m here, I think I’d like to join in the fun.” Braig walked around behind Axel again and Axel tried to twist his neck so he could follow him with his eyes.

“There is no fucking way I’m-“ Axel cut himself off abruptly as Braig pressed the barrel of a gun to the back of his neck, to the exact spot where he had licked.

“There’s no fucking way you’re what? Going to do exactly what I tell you to? I beg to differ. No, you’re gonna do whatever I tell you to do or else I’m gonna shoot you in such a way that you will be paralyzed from the neck down. Forever. You know what happens when you’re paralyzed from the neck down? You’re like a big, warm, squishy fucktoy for whoever wants to play with you. Completely aware, completely able to protest, but unable to do anything. I’ve seen people do it before, Red. There’s a whole market for cute quadriplegics. And a mug like yours would fetch a premium, so you’d better be a good boy and behave.”

Axel saw Roxas’ eyes widen and he knew what the kid was thinking. If this one-eyed fuck drops Axel, what would happen to him? Axel wondered if the kid had any conception of how much better off he would be if Axel shot him through the head as he dropped rather than let him fall into Braig’s hands. At least a bullet to the brain was a quick death.

But it wasn’t over yet. Braig hadn’t done anything about Axel’s still-free left hand and Axel guessed that if Braig knew about the other gun, he’d have taken it. There was still a chance.

“I liked what you were doing with the kid earlier, so do continue.” Braig leaned forward, draping his elbows on Axel’s shoulders while keeping a gun pressed to his neck. “Make it convincing. Pretend I’m not even here. Really.” He licked Axel’s ear.

Axel actually felt his eye twitch. He looked down at Roxas and saw the kid move his head, maybe a nod. So. Roxas thought he should comply, eh? The little shit just wanted to save his own skin. In that case…

He shoved the gun so far down into Roxas’ throat that the kid gagged.

“Fucking blow me,” he growled. “As hard as you can. Or I really will shoot your fucking jaw off.”

“Oooh, so forceful.” Braig wrapped an arm around Axel’s waist and dug his fingertips into Axel’s skin. “You enjoyed it so much the last time I made you blow me. Maybe I should make you do it again. Get a little chain going here.”

“That’s really not necessary.” Axel made his move, reaching for the gun in his belt with his left hand, hoping that he could reach it quick enough to get the drop on Braig. He ripped the gun in his right hand out of Roxas’ mouth and whirled to aim and fire both at his hated target.

But Axel should have known better. He’d never been as fast as Braig was.

The two gunmen stood at odds, Axel with a gun in each hand, both trained on Braig. A thin rope of Roxas’ saliva dangled from one, silver in the dim light. Axel tried to ignore it and concentrate on the fact that Braig was holding his gun against Axel’s crotch. Axel was still hard from his and Roxas’ little foreplay earlier and the fact that Braig was stroking his gun up and down Axel’s cock was not helping improve his concentration.

“You’ve gotten quicker, Red.”

“Not quick enough, clearly.”

“No, but nobody’s perfect.” Braig took another drag from his cigarette. “So how’s this gonna work? You shoot and kill me dead-bang, but you know you’ll be useless for the rest of your life if you do that.” He slapped his gun against Axel’s thigh. “Quite the conundrum.”

“You could back down and I could back down and we could end this without splattering the vital parts of anyone’s anatomy.”

“Yes, we could, but that would require an uncharacteristic amount of trust on both our parts, wouldn’t you say?” Braig looked at Axel, but he didn’t answer. “Although, really, I didn’t come in here with the intent in my mind to remove you of any other motor skills. You started it.”

“I started it?” Axel snarled. The string of spit finally dangled too far and dropped to the floor.

“Mmhmm. All I wanted was to get a few kicks. You’re the one who brought violence into the sex, Red. You have no sense of fun. But from the looks of the kid’s little hard-on, I’d say he does.”

Axel turned his head ever so slightly to the side (looking entirely away from Braig would be a colossal mistake) so that he could see Roxas. Lo and behold, Braig was right. Axel curled a lip at him, absolutely disgusted.

“You little fucker. You’ve been sitting there the whole time, enjoying all of this? That’s sick.”

“That’s right. You tell ‘im, Red.” Braig dropped his arm when Axel turned away to face Roxas fully. This was turning out to be even more fun that he’d expected. “So what are you gonna do?”

“...I’m gonna make good on a little promise I made earlier. I’m gonna remove him of two or three of his senses and then put him out of his misery.” Axel pointed both his guns point-blank at the kid’s face.

“Don’t kill him. There’s a lot of fun to be had with cute, mutilated blonde kids with a gun fetish.” Braig nibbled a nail thoughtfully as he looked Roxas over.

“I hate to admit it, but you’re right. Do you have anything in mind?”

Roxas stared up at the both of them, watching wide-eyed and unable to speak because the gun had rubbed his throat raw. He pulled at the ropes tying him to his chair, but no avail. He was stuck. He pulled so hard that the chair’s legs rattled against the floor.

“Yanno… I think he’d make a cute quadriplegic.”

Secret Wat?

Sun, 18 Jan 2009 07:41:35 GMT

I'm not asking anyone to step forward for this, but after reading today's Fandom Secrets, I couldn't help but wonder if this:

...is about lostscore and I.

^^;; Because if it is, we are very amused and pleased and flattered, not pissed.

(It's such a vain thing to assume that a secret is about you, but this is the first time I've done it. And I don't think it's us because of the "best writers in the fandom" thing. It's because of the fact that we do pop up in the same places a LOT.

Yet Another Meme

Thu, 15 Jan 2009 17:28:38 GMT

Nabbed from my pretty much my entire FL.

► Pick up to 10 OTPs.
► Describe them in less than 15 words.
► Have your flist guess the OTP.
► ???
► PROFIT.

~~1. Just because they aren't real doesn't mean their love can't be.~~ <-- Replia Riku/Namine
~~2. Their love is so complicated. And then the alter-egos get involved.~~ <--Batman/Bruce Wayne/Two-Face/Harvey Dent.
~~3. Screw the frying pan, messing with these two is like going from the fire into the jaws.~~ <-- Xigbar/Axel.
~~4. His brutality keeps theirs together.~~ <-- Charles Foster Ofdensen/Dethklok
~~5. "I'm gonna hurt you 'till you love me." "Oh I thought it was BECAUSE you love me."~~ <-- Xigbar/Xaldin
~~6. Watch out when the sane ones go crazy. They're often worse than the ones who were crazy to begin with.~~ <-- Joker/Harvey Dent (Two-Face)
~~7. "I want to peel your skin off and see how hollow you really are inside."~~ <-- Riku/Roxas.
~~8. The ultimate manipulator falls for the ultimate manipulatee. Must be the latter's goofy charm~~. <-- Joshua/Beat.
~~9. One big happy, fucked up family.~~ <-- Xigbar/Xaldin/Replica Riku
~~10. "You underestimated me once. I'm going to make sure you never do it again. Painfully."~~ <-- Vexen/Replica Riku/Vexen.

Mostly KH (as expected) but some more random pairings thrown in there too! Have fun! *wink*

Edit
People are having problems with this, so I'll give some extra hints. ^^;;

1. Het.
2. Fandom = Batman.
~~3. Burns + scars.~~
~~4. Adult Swim show. Also: OT6~~
~~5. ____~~
~~6. Fandom = Batman.~~
~~7. What happens in Twilight Town stays in Twilight Town.~~
~~8. Square fandom, but not KH or FF.~~
9. Think fanfic, people.
10. Does it count as shota if the kid isn't real?

Anime Meme

Wed, 14 Jan 2009 20:32:38 GMT

Nabbed from ze frawg.

Anime Meme!

"X" = have seen the majority of a series
"V" = have seen more than 5 episodes (but not the entirety) of a series
"O" = have seen 1-5 episodes of a series.

I. Action and Adventure
(O) .hack//SIGN
( ) Airmaster
( ) Battle Arena Toshinden
(O) Bleach
(O) Blood+
( ) Burst Angel
( ) City Hunter
(X) Cowboy Bebop
(X) Dragonball
( ) Flame of Recca
( ) GetBackers
(O) Inu Yasha
( ) Lupin III (any)
( ) Mai-HiME
(O) Naruto
( ) One Piece
( ) Tenjou Tenge
(X) TRIGUN
(O) Saiyuki
(V) Yu Yu Hakusho
Total Here: 9/20 (1/20 complete)

II. Comedy and Parody
( ) 2x2 = Shinobuden
( ) Adventures of the Mini Goddesses
( ) Azumanga Daioh
( ) Bokusatsu Tenshi Dokuro-chan
( ) Di Gi Charat
( ) Dragon Half
(O) Excel Saga
(O) Fruits Basket
( ) Galaxy Angel
( ) Here is Greenwood
( ) Kodomo no Omocha
(V) Kyou Kara Maou!
( ) Midori Days
(O) Ouran Koukou Host Club
( ) Pani Poni Dash
( ) Project A-ko
( ) Ranma 1/2
(V) Tenchi Muyo
( ) Those Who Hunt Elves
( ) Urusei Yatsura
Total Here: 5/20 (0/20)

III. Drama and Miscellaneous
( ) Beck
( ) Full Moon wo Sagashite
(X) Gankutsuou
( ) Genshiken
( ) Glass Mask (original or new)
( ) Haibane Renmei
( ) Hitsuji no Uta
( ) Honey & Clover
( ) Kaleido Star
( ) Last Exile
( ) Le Portraite de Petite Cossette
( ) Monster
( ) Paradise Kiss
(X) Princess Mononoke
( ) Read or Die OVA
( ) Speed Grapher
( ) Twin Spica
(O) Weiss Kreuz
( ) Wings of Honneamise
( ) Yakitate!! Japan
Total Here: 7/20 (1/20)

IV. Ecchi/Mature
( ) Agent AIKa
( ) Cutey Honey
( ) Ebichu
( ) Golden Boy
( ) Grenadier
( ) Hand Maid May
( ) He Is My Master
( ) Iketeru Futari
( ) La Blue Girl
( ) Lingerie Senshi Papillon Rose
( ) Mahoromatic
( ) Mezzo Forte
( ) Miyuki-chan in Wonderland
(X) My Dear Marie
( ) Najica Blitz Tactics
( ) Negima
( ) Puni Puni Poemi
( ) Urotsukidoji: Legend of the Overfiend
( )Wicked City
(O) Yumeria
Total Here: 1/20 (0/20)

V. Fantasy and Supernatural
(X) Angel Sanctuary
( ) Aquarian Age
( ) Berserk
( ) El Hazard
( ) Final Fantasy Unlimited
(V) Fullmetal Alchemist
(X) Howl's Moving Castle
(X) Magic Knight Rayearth
( ) Mushishi
(X) Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind
(V) Record of Lodoss War
( ) Scrapped Princess
(V) Slayers
( ) Tales of Eternia
( ) Trinity Blood
( ) Tsubasa Chronicle
(X) Vampire Hunter D
( ) Violinist of Hamelin
(X) Vision of Escaflowne
(O) X: TV
Total Here: 10/20 (4/20)

VI. Historical and Alternate History
( ) Anne of Green Gables
( ) Basilisk
( ) Barefoot Gen
( ) Chrono Crusade
( ) Grave of the Fireflies
( ) Fire Tripper
( ) Kaidomaru
( ) Legend of Condor Hero
( ) Millennium Actress
( ) Nadia - Secret of Blue Water
(X) Ninja Scroll
( ) Otogizoushi
(O) Peacemaker Kurogane
(X) Porco Rosso
( ) Rose of Versailles
(V) Rurouni Kenshin
( ) Samurai 7
(V) Samurai Champloo
( ) Steel Angel Kurumi
( ) Victorian Romance Emma
Total Here: 5/20 (1/20)

VII. Kids and Family
( ) Angelic Layer
( ) Astro Boy
( ) Beyblade
(X) Castle in the Sky
(O) Detective Conan
(V) Digimon
( ) Doraemon
(O) Hamtaro
(X) Kiki's Delivery Service
( ) Kimba the White Lion
(V) Monster Rancher
(X) My Neighbor Totoro
(V) Pokemon
( ) Samurai Pizza Cats
( ) Sazae-san
( ) SD Gundam Force
( ) Sonic X
(O) Speed Racer
(X) Spirited Away
(O) Yu-Gi-Oh
Total Here: 12/20 (1/20)

VIII. Magical Girls and Boys
(V) Cardcaptor Sakura
( ) DNAngel
( ) Earth Girl Arjuna
( ) Erementar Gerad
( ) Hime-chan no Ribbon
( ) Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne
(V) Magic Users Club
( ) Magical Girl Pretty Sammy
(O) Magical Stage Fancy La La
( ) Mahou no Star Magical Emi
( ) Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha
( ) Mythical Detective Loki Ragnarok
( ) Ojamajou DoReMi
( ) Oku-sama wa Mahou Shoujo
( ) Pretear
(X) Sailor Moon
( ) Saint Tail
( ) Tokyo Mew Mew
( ) Ultra Maniac
( ) Wedding Peach
Total Here: 4/20 (0/20)

IX. Romance
( ) Ah! My Goddess
( ) Ai Yori Aoshi
( ) Air
( ) Ayashi no Ceres
( ) Boys Be
( ) Chobits
( ) Fushigi Yuugi
( ) Hana Yori Dango
( ) His and Her Circumstances
( ) Kimagure Orange Road
( ) Kimi ga Nozomu Eien
( ) Love Hina
( ) Maison Ikkoku
( ) Marmalade Boy
( ) Peach Girl
( ) Piano
( ) Please Teacher!
( ) SaiKano
( ) To Heart
( ) Video Girl Ai
Total Here: 3/20 (0/20)

X. Science-Fiction
( ) Appleseed
(X) Blue Seed
(V) Bubblegum Crisis
( ) Crest of the Stars
( ) Galaxy Express 999
(X) Gundam (any)
(V) Macross (any)
(X) Outlaw Star
( ) Patlabor
( ) Planetes
( ) Please Save My Earth
(O) RahXephon
(O) Saber Marionette (any)
( ) s-CRY-ed
( ) Soukyuu no Fafner
( ) Space Battleship Yamato
( ) Stellvia
(O) Transformers (any)
( ) Voices of a Distant Star
( ) Xenosaga: The Animation
Total Here: 8/20 (2/20)

XI. Shounen-Ai and Shoujo-Ai
( ) Ai no Kusabi
( ) Descendants of Darkness
( ) Earthian
(X) FAKE
( ) Fish in the Trap
( ) Galaxy Fraulin Yuna
(X) Gravitation
( ) Haru wo Daiteita
( ) Kannazuki no Miko
( ) Kizuna
( ) Lesson XX
(V) Loveless
( ) Maria-sama ga Miteru
(O) Mirage of Blaze
( ) Oniisama E
( ) Seikimatsu Darling
( ) Song of the Wind in the Trees
( ) Sukisho
( ) Yami to Boushi to Hon no Tabibito
( ) Zetsuai/Bronze
Total Here: 11/20 (9/20)

XII. Sports
( ) Ace wo Nerae
( ) Ashita no Joe
( ) Ayane's High Kick
( ) Baki the Grappler
( ) Battle Athletes
( ) Buzzer Beater
( ) Captain Tsubasa
( ) Eyeshield 21
( ) Ginban Kaleidoscope
( ) Hajime no Ippo
( ) Hikaru no Go
( ) Initial D
( ) Major
( ) Monkey Turn
( ) One Pound Gospel
( ) Prince of Tennis
( ) Princess Nine
( ) Slam Dunk
( ) Suzuka
( ) Wild Striker
Total Here: 2/20 (0/20)

XIII. Surreal and Psychological
(X) Akira
( ) Betterman
(V) Boogiepop Phantom
(O) Elfen Lied
(O) FLCL
( ) Gantz
(X) Ghost in the Shell (movie or TV)
(V) Hellsing
( ) Jigoku Shoujo
( ) Karas
( ) Madlax
( ) Melody of Oblivion
(V) Neon Genesis Evangelion
( ) Noir
( ) Paranoia Agent
(X) Perfect Blue
(V) Princess Tutu
(O) Revolutionary Girl Utena
(O) Serial Experiments Lain
( ) Texhnolyze
Total here: 11/20 (2/20)

TOTAL: 72/260 (21/260)

I haven't watched a lot of anime in the last few years, so all these new-fangled series are al new to me! *old fogey in the anime world*

New Years, Announcements & Thanks

Sat, 03 Jan 2009 08:48:12 GMT

Howdy guys!

I was recently poking around on the Kingdom Hearts Anon. Meme and I wanted to just thank all you guys who pimped me out on there. As it's anonymous (duh, xan) I can't thank people individually, but a few people said some REALLY nice stuff and I just wanted to say that I was so flattered and proud to be able to write for such awesome people. You guys are all rock stars. Thank you.

I know I've been lax about updating, but things are in the works (for serious) and I have ideas in my head.

But the question I wanted to you guys is this: What would you like to see from me? I know I already did a fanfic poll, but out of sheer curiosity, I'm curious to see and hear from you about what kinds of kinks or squicks make you tick? I'm looking for new things to try writing and if you have a particularly nasty fantasy or whatever, please share! Do it anonymously even!

Call it a professional curiosity. ^_^

Thanks again, everyone!

Hey Guys!

Mon, 22 Dec 2008 02:21:59 GMT

Howdy y'all! So I've FINALLY gotten my writing groove back (after SEVERAL months) and so I've been debating what to work on next. I figured you guys would be the best people to ask, so here we go!

I've made a poll on my personal LJ, so it's linked to that. Thanks!

Linked here!

[KH2] - Strange Days (Xigbar/Axel) (1.2)

Wed, 17 Dec 2008 08:39:07 GMT

Title: Strange Days (1.2)
Author: Xanthos Samurai
Fandom: Kingdom Hearts II
Pairing/Characters: Xigbar/Axel. Other characters and pairings to come.
Rating: R
Length: 3,733 Words
Warnings: AU, yaoi, adult themes, language, drug use, references to cannibalism. More to come in later chapters.
Disclaimer: I do not own nor claim to own anything but the arrangement of the words on the page.
Notes: Oh my God Xan updated. Well, kids, I'm glad to say I'm back. It only took me the better part of two and a half months to get my writing groove back, but here it is! This might be a little different, but hopefully you guys will like this. Many thanks to lostscore for looking this over for me!

Since LJ is weird about text limits now, this has been split into two parts. Please read this one second.

The local bar was a dive by the name of The Bailey, a small, dimly-lit bar with a few booths and tables and a battered pool table next to the long wooden counter. Axel and Braig walked in under the gaze of a few grizzled locals who immediately returned their glasses and bottles.

“Lively place,” remarked Axel as he and Braig bellied up to the bar.

“Perfect for an old man like me.” Braig ordered a whiskey sour and Axel got a beer. They nursed them as they sat in comfortable, communal silence.

That is, until Axel felt a hand at his back and a familiar voice in his ear,

“My my my. Axel, my old friend. Never thought I’d see you again. At least not alive.”

Axel spun around on his barstool and his jaw nearly dropped at the man standing there. Marluxia. Of all the people on the planet, Marluxia was the last person he’d expect to see in a shitty little bar in some no-name hick town in the middle of nowhere.

Of course, the assassin didn’t look like he had the last time Axel had seen him. His pink hair was faded and there were bags under his eyes. His skin was slightly sallow and Axel could guess why. Marluxia had always been something of an addict, but the problem with Marluxia was that he was addicted to his own drug – a toxin he’d developed from poisonous flowers that he called solanum. How he’d managed to get addicted to a toxin without suffering such adverse side-effects (like death), Axel had never figured out, but here he was, still alive and grinning at Axel through the dim and smoky haze of the air in the bar.

“I don’t believe it.” It was the only coherent thing that Axel could think of to say.

Braid leaned forward, half over Axel’s shoulder, and gazed at this newcomer. Tall and kinda girly looking, but that ended the minute the guy opened his mouth.

“Who’s your friend, Axel?” He purred

“I was about to ask the same thing.” Marluxia studied Braig. “Come and join me in my booth and we can discuss everything.”

Once the three of them had relocated and Axel had regained some of his composure (and taken a few large swallows of beer), he looked squarely at Marluxia.

“What in the hell are you doing here of all places?”

“I quit the business. I thought moving out to a place like this would keep me away from my past, but it looks like I was wrong.” A wry smile crossed Marluxia’s face and Axel felt suddenly uncomfortable. “I see you’re still in it, however. And with a new partner, no less. I can’t say I’m not surprised – I thought for sure you’d quit after what happened to Rox–”

“That was a long time ago.” Axel cut him off before he could say anything else. “I’m in a slightly different business now. With a new partner.”

“I noticed.” Marluxia turned his attention to Braig. “I didn’t catch your name.”

“I didn’t say it, but it’s Braig.”

Marluxia’s brows rose. “The Braig? I must say I’ve admired your work. Never had the pleasure of seeing it in person, but you know how news travels in our circles.”

“Why thanks.” Braig lifted his glass to Marluxia and downed it. “But the real sixty-four thousand dollar question is how you two know each other. ‘m afraid Red’s not mentioned you before.”

“Has he not?” Marluxia licked salt off the rim of his glass with the tip of his tongue as he gazed at Axel, knowing it made him a little uncomfortable. “I’m afraid I’m not surprised. Our partnership didn’t exactly have the most pleasant of disbandments. But we did have some fun times, didn’t we, Axel? You and me and Luxord… we were a regular three musketeers.”

“Oh now you gotta tell me.” Braig leaned forward and practically purred. “Red never tells me any of the fun stories.”

“Nothing to tell,” said Axel flatly.

Marluxia leaned back against the back of the booth.

“Axel’s right,” he said delicately. “There is nothing to tell. And what little there is to tell is really his to tell. You’ll have to ask him.”

“I believe I will,” said Braig lightly. Axel felt his lip curl. The implications of that did not please him.

“So what exactly is this business that you two are in now? It must be something if both Axel and the infamous Braig are in on it.”

“Freelancers, mostly.” Braig answered for the both of them. “Whatever pays for gas and cigarettes. We don’t have a lot of standards.”

“I see. How fitting.” Marluxia smirked, much to Axel’s embarrassment. He stared straight ahead, resolute not to show it. Marluxia always did have a way of making everything seem inferior, even as a drugged up has-been. “Well in that case, allow me to help. I know of a job that may be right up your alley. Go to Traverse and look up a man named DiZ. He should be able to give you some sort of work.”

“We’ll do that. But I think it’s time Red and I retire for the night. Big day tomorrow if we’re haulin’ our asses all the way to Traverse.” Braig pushed himself up. “Thanks for the tip. Hope you don’t mind getting the tab. Nice to meet you.” Braig grinned at Marluxia and left the bar.

Marluxia watched after him with amusement.

“It’s not often I get stuck with the tab. He’s an interesting one, Axel. But be careful.”

“No need to tell me that.” Axel still felt a little stiff. Seeing Marluxia brought back an entire host of memories he’d just as soon remain dead and hanging with the skeletons in the back of the closet of his mind. “I should be going too.”

“What, you’re not going to say how happy you were to run into me?” Marluxia purred into Axel’s face, smirking all the while.

Axel didn’t answer. Marluxia laughed.

“Good. You know, despite your talent for manipulation, Axel, you really are a terrible liar when put on the spot. Keep telling the truth – it’s what you’re good at.”

“Take care of yourself, Marluxia.” The former mercenary started to push past his old partner, but was stopped by Marluxia’s vice-like grip on his arm.

“Wait.” The other’s voice had lost its purring quality and was now low and serious. “I know you have to love for me, but listen. I may be out of the business, Axel, but I still have all my old contacts. There’s word that there are people looking for you. There’s even talk that there is quite the impressive bounty on your head. Watch out and be careful who you trust.”

Axel stopped and frowned, searching Marluxia’s eyes to see if there was a lie there. But as far as he could tell, Marluxia was telling the truth. He nodded curtly.

“Thanks.” He made to leave again.

“One more thing.” Marluxia reached into the pocket of his coat and pulled out a small vial. “This is for you. Some of my own personal stock. I have a feeling it’ll come in handy.” He leaned forward, so close that he and Axel’s faces were nearly touching. The smirk was back on his lips. “Best of luck, Axel. I know you’ll need it.”

Axel took the vial and pulled away, leaving the bar without another word.

Braig was already back at the hotel and in the middle of stripping out of his clothes when Axel walked in.

“So, off to Traverse tomorrow.” Braig spoke almost to himself. “Wonder what will happen there.”

“Who the fuck knows?” Axel tore off his shirt and climbed into bed and stared at the photo of Roxas.

Braig walked to Axel’s bed and stood over him, grinning.

“Aw, why so grumpy, Red? Didn’t I tell you that this town was gonna be interesting?”

[KH2] - Strange Days (Xigbar/Axel) (1.1)

Wed, 17 Dec 2008 08:35:07 GMT

Title: Strange Days (1.1)
Author: Xanthos Samurai
Fandom: Kingdom Hearts II
Pairing/Characters: Xigbar/Axel. Other characters and pairings to come.
Rating: R
Length: 3,733 Words
Warnings: AU, yaoi, adult themes, language, drug use, references to cannibalism. More to come in later chapters.
Disclaimer: I do not own nor claim to own anything but the arrangement of the words on the page.
Notes: Oh my God Xan updated. Well, kids, I'm glad to say I'm back. It only took me the better part of two and a half months to get my writing groove back, but here it is! This might be a little different, but hopefully you guys will like this. Many thanks to lostscore for looking this over for me!

Since LJ is weird about text limits now, this has been split into two parts. Please read this one first.

The car drove through the landscape like a raindrop rolling down a wet pane of glass. It was an old car, the kind that car collectors and other knowledgeable people would call a “classic” and had been well taken care of over the years. People had offered to buy it, but Axel had refused all the offers. He wasn’t a big mechanical type or anything – he couldn’t even remember the model year when people asked him about it, which he knew would have driven Roxas crazy. It had been Roxas’ car.

Axel was asleep in the passenger seat, head resting on the back of the seat with his mouth partially open, like someone waiting to be kissed. Or, as Braig would have put it, like a frog watching a fly. Braig himself was driving. He drove one-handed. The other was usually holding a cigarette or some sort of snack. Braig liked to multi-task.

“Hey.” He threw an empty beer bottle at Axel. “Wake up. We’re stoppin’ for the night.”

“The fuck was that for?” Axel pushed the bottle off his lap and stretched. Out of his many talents, his ability to fall asleep anywhere was one of the most useful. He looked down at his watch and frowned over at Braig. “Did you say we’re stopping for the night?”

“Mmhmm.” The one-eyed man turned off the main highway onto a smaller road.

“What the hell for? It’s not even five-thirty yet. We could drive another few hours before we need to stop for the night. Let’s keep going.”

At Axel’s feet on the floor of the car was an impressive collection of bottles that had once contained quite an array of beverages. Axel sifted through these looking for one that wasn’t empty (the one he found happened to have a few swallows left of bourbon) and he took a few swigs.

“Nah. I think we should stop here for the night.” Braig flicked his cigarette, allowing ash to fall onto his lap and the car’s upholstery.

“I think we should keep going. Last time I checked, it was my damn car.”

“Might be your car, but you ain’t drivin’, Red. If the driver says we’re stoppin’, we’re stoppin’.”

It was true enough. It may have been Axel’s car, but Braig was definitely the driver. The few times that Axel had attempted to get his keys back had ended badly, so Axel usually didn’t protest.

Axel rolled his eyes and looked out the window.

“Shit, we’re not even anywhere interesting. We’re in the middle of goddamned nowhere. Why would you want to stop here of all places?”

“Oh, I’ve gotta feelin’ that we’ll find something interestin’ here after all.” Braig grinned to himself.

Axel hated it when his partner was all vague like this, but he knew better than to try to get anything else out of him. Allowing Braig his little eccentricities and weirdness was easier than trying to change him and it usually paid off in the long run. Besides, Braig’s weird little habits often coincided with Axel’s own weird little habits, so it was quite the strange mutually beneficial relationship.

“So what’s so interesting about this place that you’re not telling me?”

“Not a clue.” Braig grinned, knowing that it would drive Axel crazy. Red was the type who liked to know all the cards on the table, liked to be able to pluck strings at his leisure. Ambiguity drove him out of his mind. Unless, of course, he was the one being ambiguous.

“You drive me fuckin’ crazy, you know that?” Axel tossed the now-empty bourbon bottle down with the others and started looking for something else with a few drops left.

“And yet you stick around. Makes me wonder which of us is more fucked up.” Braig grinned to himself as Axel gave up his search and grumbled while lighting up a cigarette.

“I stick around? You won’t give me my fucking car keys and you threaten to eat my fingers off when I try to get them back.”

“Yanno, Red, a fox in a trap’ll eat its own foot off to escape. A dumb animal will eat its own foot off. And you won’t sacrifice a few little fingers to get away from me? C’mon now, you’re gettin’ outdone by a dumb critter. Or, alternately, you’re just in denial that you’re actually in love with me.”

Axel just gave him a look as he exhaled.

“Or, alternately, you’re fucked in the head.”

“That has happened before. One of the advantages of not havin’ an eye.”

“Thank you for that wonderful mental image, Braig. You’ve guaranteed that I won’t be able to eat for the rest of the week.” Axel made a face around his cigarette.

“What, really? Awesome. More for me out of the food budget!”

The two of them were now driving down the main street of some little no-name town that neither of them had ever heard of. Stores lined the main boulevard and only one or two cars passed them. Most of the town was already shutting down, even though it was still so early.

“Speaking of the food budget, I’m starving. See if there’s a food place still open.” Axel was fully awake now and looking out the window as they drove down the street. Before too long they came across a diner with a flashing neon OPEN sign. Figuring that it was as good as they were going to find at this hour in a town like this, they parked and went inside.

“You know what I hate about towns like this?” Braig asked as they slid into a booth in the corner of the tiny, dingy little restaurant.

“What?” Axel immediately began looking at the specials. As usual, money was tight and he wanted as much food as he could get with what little they had.

“The menu.”

Axel looked up and found that Braig wasn’t actually looking at the menu – he was looking all around them at the townspeople in the diner. There was a familiar gleam in his remaining eye that Axel knew meant trouble.

“Braig, don’t.”

“Problem is… little town like this…. everyone knows everyone else. People notice if someone goes missing. Ain’t like in a big city where someone’ll vanish and nobody notices for a few weeks.” Braig was grinning widely at Axel from across the table, but Axel was having none of it.

“You start that here and you’re gonna blow our cover.”

“We’re not under any cover.”

“You know what the fuck I mean.”

“Don’t worry, Red, I’ll play it normal.” Braig leaned back and stretched. “You worry too much.”

“Only because you’re a goddamn maniac.” Axel looked back down at the menu. The chicken-fried steak was sounding damn tasty. Bit of a splurge, but he could treat himself once in a while, dammit.

“Yeah, yeah.” Braig grinned up at the waitress who came to take their order.

“New in town or just passing through?” She was young and pretty and grinned at them in a genuinely friendly manner. Everything about her reeked of delicious – down to the freckles on the bridge of her nose.

“Just passin’ through, although I might make an exception for a yummy thing like you.” Braig grinned up at her. Axel kicked his shin – HARD – but Braig didn’t give any outward sign of it.

She laughed.

“Sorry, pops, but I’m taken. I might make an exception for your cute friend though.” She winked at Axel. “What can I get you?”

“The special please. Chicken-fried steak.” Axel handed her the menu, smirking that she had called Braig ‘Pops’. It was priceless. “Oh yeah, and a cup of coffee. Actually, leave the pot.”

“You got it, hun.” She turned to Braig. “How about you?”

“Pops?” He looked up at her with an almost mournful expression on his face. “Do I really look like a Pops? Is it the hair?” He pulled at the grey streaks.

“Maybe,” she smiled. “The scars aren’t doin’ you any favors either.”

Braig ran a few bony fingertips across the scars on his face.

“Hey, scars are considered attractive in a lot of cultures. Lot of livin’ in this face. Lot of experience too, if you catch my drift.”

She laughed again. “Sorry, sir, but you’re not my type.”

“Pity, since you’re mine.” Braig folded the menu and handed it to her. “Ham’n’cheese omelette with as much ham as you can pile on there. And yeah, leave the pot.”

“I’ll have that right out for you.” She winked at them again and left.

“Lots of ham? Is that what we taste like?” Axel looked at him once she was out of earshot.

“Hn. Probably what she tastes like.” Braig curled his lip at her retreating back.

Axel laughed. “You’re just mad because she likes me more than you.”

“Meh, ‘s fine. I already decided I’m not having a real meal here.” Braig shrugged.

“What would you do if I ended up hooking up with someone you wanted to eat?” Axel had always wondered this and just never had any occasion to ask. He smiled up at the waitress as she brought them two cups and a full pot of coffee and left.

“Nothing, except growl at you for ruining my meal.”

“You mean you wouldn’t eat ‘em anyways?”

“No, for two reasons.” Braig poured himself a cup. “Reason number one – I don’t do sloppy seconds to begin with. Reason number two – I don’t eat anyone who has just had sex.”

“I probably don’t want to know, but I’m asking anyways.” Axel was deeply intrigued despite the voice in his head telling him not to ask. “Why?”

“’cause I don’t like my meals to be cream-filled, if you catch my drift.”

Axel snorted into his coffee so hard that he nearly choked.

“That is so unbe-fucking-lievably gross, Braig! Jesus Christ!”

“What? It’s the truth.” Braig sipped his coffee calmly, pleased that he had grossed Axel out.

“Holy shit. Almost puts me off my food.” Axel grinned as the waitress showed back up with their plates. “Speaking of which, that was fast.”

“Just for you, sugar.” She smiled and put their plates down. “Anything else I can get for you gentlemen?”

“Actually, we need a place to stay for the night. Any cheap motels in this town that have a room open tonight that you know of?”

“Oh sure! The DewDrop Inn is just down the street and has a few rooms open. You shouldn’t have any trouble getting one.”

Axel had left the waitress a big tip as they left. Braig said that she didn’t need or deserve the damn money, but Axel disagreed.

“You’ve never had a ‘real’ job. Tip everyone and tip well, that’s my policy.”

“You’ve never tipped me.” Braig parked the car and walked with Axel into the lobby of the DewDrop Inn.

“Yeah, well you’ve never done anything worth tipping for.” Axel shouldered his bag.

“I drive your ass everywhere. That has to count for something.” Braig walked up to the counter. “Howdy. One room, two beds please. You wouldn’t believe how this asshole snores.” He grinned at the clerk behind the counter.

The guy looked back at them, nonplussed, and told them the rate. Braig threw a few bills on the counter and grabbed the key that the clerk handed them. They carried their bags up to the room.

It was small, but it was clean and there were two beds at the very least. Once inside, Axel half-flopped on one of the beds and began to go through his back.

“Ah, here you are.” He pulled out a laminated 8x5 photograph. It was of a kid, probably no more than seventeen years old, with serious blue eyes and wildly spiky blonde hair. He was in a dirty pair of jeans and a stained white t-shirt, looking over his shoulder at the camera. The expression on his face was serious, with perhaps just a hint of a frown. It was one of Axel’s most prized possessions.

“Hi baby,” he told the photograph.

“You know, not even I carry my boyfriend around in my bag,” Braig informed him from the bathroom. He couldn’t even see Axel, but he had been traveling with him for so long that he knew all of his partner’s habits by now.

“Fuck off.” Axel didn’t especially pay attention to Braig’s insults at this point, nor did he really mean the insults that he dished out. He placed the picture on the nightstand beside his bed. “It’s just a picture. Nothing weird about that.”

“It is if he’s dead.” Braig emerged from the bathroom, shirtless with his hair hanging loose over his shoulders practically to his waist. Axel watched him walk in and sit on the other bed across from him, not taking the bait. Braig lived to antagonize.

“So, I can’t help but notice that we haven’t run into anything interesting yet.” Axel deliberately changed the subject. “Am I going to have to wait until morning to find out what it is or have your instincts failed you at last, old man?”

“Who are you calling old man?” Braig’s yellow eyes glinted in the dingy lamplight. He was smoking a cigarette and exhaled slowly. The smoke drifted up and formed a halo around his head. He gazed through the smoke into Axel’s eyes.

“So is this where you tell me that you’re younger than you look?” Axel pulled a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket and put one between his lips. He leaned forward and lit his off Braig’s while it was still in Braig’s mouth. His eyes never left Braig’s, even when their faces were a scant few inches apart. He leaned back.

“Actually, no. I look exactly my age, provided someone my age has lived the life I have.” Braig exhaled and tossed his hair over his shoulder. “So, Red. Are we gonna fuck or what?”

The sex was dirty and rough and fast, which was how each of them liked it. And when it was over, the two of them were lying on the floor staring at the ceiling. The air tasted like sweat and nicotine. Axel was smoking on the floor while Braig was pulling his hair back into a ponytail.

“Hey Red, you still feelin’ awake?”

“I could be. Why?”

“Wanna go get a drink?”

There was a long pause before Axel answered,

“Why the fuck not?”

Part 1.2 is here.

An update and a meme!

Wed, 10 Dec 2008 01:29:27 GMT

Holy shit guys I'm actually working on fanfiction again. Expect something to be posted this weekend, after I'm FINALLY done with classes.

In the meantime, comment on this please?

The Fandom Appreciation Meme: My Thread

Twi-LAWL

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 17:30:51 GMT

Disclaimer: I have never read Twilight. I have never seen Twilight. I have no opinion of Twilight whatsoever, either for or against. I just thought this was amusing.

Excerpt from a review of the Twilight movie I was reading:

"And then there’s the issue of the vampirism. Look. Vampire myths range far and wide. From the hopping vampires of Asia, to the vetala of India, all the way to the modern Bram Stoker interpretation of European myths, there are a number of ways you can tell a vampire story. But when you use the word VAMPIRE, you have to understand that it carries a lot of connation that you have to back up. You’re effectively using a great myth and a cultural icon to shoulder the bulk of your storytelling and you are then dependant on doing something interesting with it. Ignoring some of the classic tropes is fine. You want them to be able to cross running water? Cool. Eat garlic loaded pasta and pizza? Fine. Not only ignore crosses, but adorn themselves with them. Right on.
But when your VAMPIRES give a reflection in mirrors? When they don’t sleep in coffins? When they don’t have fangs? When they not only can walk around in sunlight…but glisten like they’re covered in diamonds when they do? Then they’re not vampires. They’re superheroes with special dietary concerns. BUT WAIT! Edward’s clan is special. You see, they don’t eat humans. They eat animals…kinda…kinda like the rest of us. Huh. So they walk around in sunlight, they show up in mirrors and they eat animals. What makes them different again? OH! RIGHT! Their overwhelming desire to eat human flesh.
That doesn’t make you a vampire. That just makes you mentally unstable. Isn’t that romantic?"

It made me lawl. Because I feel that way a lot about all of this new "Vampire" stuff in media. It's all well and good to twist things around and reinvent them, but change something enough and after a point, it's something completely different.

I have similar problems with "zombies." Anyone who has seen the 28______ Later... series of movies can tell you that for all intents and purposes that they are "zombie" movies. Except for one teeny tiny ever so significant little detail. THEY AREN'T DEAD. I don't care if they look like zombies, act like zombies, SMELL like zombies or moan while consuming human flesh - if they aren't reanimated dead corpses, they aren't. Fucking. Zombies. It's a major pet peeve I have.

But I digress.

The excerpt is still fricking funny and why yes, I do find it romantic. ^_^

Holy Shit, Xan Isn't Dead

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 08:09:15 GMT

No, not dead. Just on an unofficial hiatus. I've had no desire to write for about a month or so, so I really haven't had any reason to pop on here. Sorry everyone...

But here, have a few random thoughts.

1. I am filled with the desire to try my hand at a crossover between MPD-PSYCHO and The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service. They're two of my favorite mangas and crossing them over WORKS. In fact, it works almost eerily well. The problem is that
A) I haven't read enough of either of them to really accurately do it.
B) I seeeeeeeeeeriously doubt anyone else has read either of these, so I wouldn't have an audience whatsoever.
BTW Both MPD-PSYCHO and Kurosagi are REALLY REALLY good mangas if you're into horror and graphic violence and the like. Which I am. Mmmm.

2. I'm re-playing Kingdom Hearts in anticipation of Re:Chain of Memories. It's more fun than I remembered.

3. I may actually start posting things again soon. Don't quote me on this.