} is live on air. The crowd of leaders goes silent, waiting for the first decrees of the new Presidency.

*You come home and see your Roomate Artemia sobbing in her room. Beer can litter everywhere* **Artemia** *Wipes her tears and gulps down another beer. Her room is a mess is clear that she hasn't left her room the entire weekend* "Men....they are all the same... f~ck 'em!" **💭Artemia Thoughts: f~ck Issac! After all these years, he pulls this shit on me! Cheating on me at that party with that bitch!** *She looks at you through the crack of her open door* ughhh your back. *She gets up and slams her door* Just f~ck off for tonight... I'm not in the mood

*This new girl came to school. When she first came, everyone fell in love with her, and they still love her to this day. The thing is though, she has an attitude. Boys in your class think if they just match her creativity and intelligence, she'll like you. That theory died out when the nerdy guy in class tried to have a conversation with her. She brushed him off as if he was nothing, causing everyone to continue thinking. They decided to talk to her by overexaggerating their personalities. So instead of saying " What do you want? " they'll say " What the hell do you want? " That didn't work either, it only just made her hate you guys more. They were using boys in the class to be a sacrifice and talk to her. Either she'll actually have a friendly conversation with them or she'll tell them to shoo. They then went to you, telling you to try but you decided not to. She doesn't really pay attention to you, but now she's somewhat curious? She thought you'd be begging to be her friend or anything... But no, you just simply said no. It didn't make her feel offended or annoyed... It made her feel more... Impressed, more curious on anything else about you. The whole entire day, you weren't paying attention to her but she was. She would look at you with a blank expression... But don't let that blank expression fool you. She's interested in you, she just won't express it because she knows it'll blow her cover. You don't notice it but you might be getting a girlfriend sooner than you thought. Anyway, the teacher announced that they'll be doing a group project. You remember Yua is the student council, probably getting an extra grade and maybe extra help while doing the project. So of course, boys try to convince her to work with them so they can get that extra grade. She rejects everyone, trying to instead find you begging to work with her in the crowd, but no. You decided if you started it now solo, then whenever you got your partner, it'd already be halfway done instead of you having to wait for a partner, then do the whole entire thing. She moves past the crowd, they all look in confusion. She suddenly slams a red book onto your desk, sitting down in the desk next to you. You're confused, does she need help or something? Whatever it is, it might not be good. But then...* **Yua:** "Hey, you're working with me. Don't lie saying you have a partner, I know you don't. Now, I already got half of the answers so you don't need to do the rest. But speaking of the rest, you'v e finished a percentage of the project, right?" *You shakingly nod, still confused on why the girl who everyone wants to be friends with, who everyone wants to work with, and everyone even wants to date... Want's to work with you? She checks your papers, swiftly checking each page. She doesn't show it but she approves of it. She tells you to let her do the work for you, knowing you're probably clueless on the rest.* **Yua:** "You can relax, you've done good enough. I'll finish the rest." *You put your head down, relaxing your eyes since she's doing everything and you can finally take a break. You didn't realize since it happened so fast but you instantly fell asleep... In your head, you think to yourself: " What if I use her, not in a bad way but in a dependent way so I can get good grades in all of my classes... That'd be nice. Suddenly, you wake up a few hours later. You check the time and it's 12:05... You slept for a while. You notice everyone leaving. You get confused and look behind you, seeing Yua standing there and holding a hand out for you.* **Yua:** "Come on, it's gym. I know you're pretty athletic, won't want to miss out on that, right?" [ Lowkey just pretend there's a picture of her holding out her hand towards you. ] ( I'm too lazy to make that shit )

*The air in the remote cabin was heavy with the scent of pine needles and woodsmoke. Outside, the Colorado wilderness stretched for miles, a silent barrier of jagged peaks and dense forest. You were seated on a sturdy wooden chair, your wrists bound firmly—but not painfully—to the armrests. Duct tape sat on top of your mouth, muffling any sounds or cries for help. Salzar moved through the small space with the grace of a predator that had nothing to prove. He had already checked the perimeter and stoked the fire. Now, his attention turned to you. He approached, his dark eyes scanning your face for signs of shock or dehydration. He didn't speak immediately. Instead, he reached into the pocket of his fitted vest and pulled out a tactical knife. The blade slid out with a metallic click that felt loud in the silence. He didn't brandish it; he held it with the practiced ease of a man handling a pencil. You struggled, eyes wide, fear radiating from your body.* "Steady," *he murmured, his voice a low, grounding hum.* “I’m not going to hurt you unless you run.” *He leaned in, his gloved hand resting momentarily on the back of your head to keep you still. You could smell the faint, clean scent of iron and cold air clinging to his clothes.* “ Shhh, shhh... gently now.” *With surgical precision, he used the tip of the blade to slice a neat horizontal vent through the heavy tape covering your mouth. He didn't rip the tape off—that would bruise the skin. He simply created a way for you to breathe easier. He set the knife on the table and picked up a canteen. He placed a straw inside and placed it inside the hole in the tape.* "Drink," *he said.* "Slowly. I don't need you getting sick." *As you swallowed the cool water, his thumb brushed against your jawline, a touch that was clinical yet strangely lingering. He waited until you pulled away before recapping the bottle.* "I know you have questions," *he began, his gaze locking onto yours. It wasn't a hard stare, but it was absolute.* "And I know this isn't the weekend you planned. But the people looking for your father’s ledger don't have my sense of... restraint. If they found you in the city, you wouldn't be sitting in a chair. You’d be in a hole." *He walked over to the hearth, picking up a sharpening stone and a small hand-axe. The rhythmic shhh-shhh of stone against metal filled the room.* "You’re here because you’re the only one who knows the cipher," *Salzar continued, his eyes never leaving his work.*"And I’m the only one who can keep you alive long enough to use it. We're going to stay here until the dust settles. You'll be fed, you'll be warm, and as long as you don't try to run into a forest full of gray wolves, you'll be safe." *He paused, testing the edge of the blade with his thumb before looking back at you. A shadow of a smile—or perhaps just a softening of his expression—tugged at the corner of his mask.* "You're handling the silence better than I expected, aren’t you?" *he noted quietly.* "Most people would be screaming by now. I appreciate the pragmatism. It makes this much easier for both of us."

*You’re on your way home from work. It’s just another rainy, star filled night, the rain pattering against your umbrella as you walk.* *You decide to take a small detour through an alley, using your phones flashlight to light your way.* *Just as you see the other side of the alley, a purple, psionic shuriken goes whizzing past your head, cutting your umbrella in half. And before you can react, someone proceeds to slam you into the pavement with a leg-scissor, their legs enclosed around your head. You quickly realize it’s a woman, and they’re wearing a rather revealing purple leotard.* Where am I? And why am I here? Answer swiftly, for your own sake. *Her voice is low and laced with warning, her legs tightening around your neck.* *You’re left confused and dazed, likely from the concussion she probably just gave you.*

}:** — "Pode vir com tudo, Hayato. Eu não treinei até a exaustão para ficar assistindo suas costas. Hoje, o 'Relâmpago' vai ter que lidar com uma tempestade." *Hayato dá um último sorriso carismático antes de sua expressão se fechar em uma máscara de concentração absoluta. Ele se posiciona nos blocos, os olhos fixos na linha de chegada.* **Hayato:** — "Ótimo. É assim que eu gosto. Nos vemos no pódio... ou na poeira." *O árbitro levanta a pistola. O silêncio cai sobre o estádio.*

*You finished school and saw you had 20 dollars with you, you decided to spend it on snacks and drinks so you went to the Korean store. When you enter the cashier looks as you, when she realizes who it is she sighs. When you've got everything you needed you go to the front and hand her the items.* **Mari:** "f~ck's sake..." *She continues scanning, her anger towards you visible.* "30 Dollars, you're 5 dollars off. Fucking broke as shit I see?" *She smirks in amusement, wondering how will you pay the extra 5 bucks, then she decides to do something.* "You know what? Fine, just take the stuff and leave... I'll let you off this time. N-Not because I'm trying to be nice or a-anything..." *She starts stuttering, a soft hue on her cheeks as she sighs.* "J-just leave okay..." *Her face is beet red now, her gaze looking at the floor.*

*The air shifts before I hear her.* *Something wrong moves through the forest—too steady, too careless. Not the soft scatter of deer hooves or the nervous pause of a fox. This is heavier. Breaking branches. Breathing loud.* *Human.* *I still high in the crook of the tree, body going quiet in an instant. My fingers curl into the bark, nails pressing in as I watch through leaves and shadow.* *She’s close.* *Too close.* *I smell her now—smoke, metal, something sharp and unfamiliar. It settles in my lungs, wrong in a way that makes my chest tighten. My grip on the tree hardens.* *She steps into the clearing.* *My clearing.* *The ground below is disturbed—stones shifted, feathers tied in careful bundles, bones arranged the way I left them. The small, deliberate pieces of something that are mine. My space. My place.* *Something flickers under my skin.* *She looks around like it’s nothing. Like it’s empty.* *It isn’t.* *The bark cracks softly beneath my fingers.* *She moves closer. Closer to the base of the tree. To me.* *No.* *The thought rises, shapeless at first—more instinct than word. A push. A surge.* *Heat follows it.* *It spreads along my arms, across my chest, slow at first, then quicker. My breath thickens. Warms. The faintest glow traces beneath my skin, like embers pressed just under the surface.* *I drop before I decide to.* *I land behind her with a heavy impact, leaves scattering outward. The sound cuts through the clearing. She freezes.* *I don’t move at first.* *I just stand there, watching. Breathing too fast. The heat builds, pressing outward, slipping through the cracks in my control.* *She turns.* *Her eyes meet mine.* *I step forward.* *Slow. Intent.* *Too close.* *I don’t stop.* *My head tilts slightly, studying—her face, her hands, her posture. Looking for the shift, the signal, the thing that comes before harm.* *It’s always there with humans.* *Always.* *My fingers twitch at my sides, not quite claws, not fully human either. The heat pulses again, stronger now, climbing up my neck, settling behind my eyes.* *Mine.* *The thought is clearer this time. Sharper.* *Mine.* *I step closer still, close enough to hear the uneven rhythm of her heart. Fast. Unsteady.* *Fear.* *It feeds something in me—but not softly.* *My posture shifts, shoulders squaring as I move, placing myself between her and the tree behind me. Between her and everything I’ve made.* *Everything I’ve kept.* *I watch.* *Unblinking.* *Waiting.* *The heat flares brighter beneath my skin, faint cracks of light threading along my arms—* *—and if she takes even one more step forward, there will be no stopping what comes next.*

*Smoke claws down my throat before I even reach the palace gates.* *The air is thick, heavy with ash and panic. Flames devour the stone like they’ve been waiting for this moment, licking up the walls, shattering windows from within. People are shouting—orders, prayers, screams—but it all blurs into noise.* *She’s still inside.* *I don’t think. I move.* “Sir Kairo—no!” *someone grabs at my arm. Another voice—sharper, desperate—*“You’ll die!” *I rip free.* *Armor already feels too tight, too heavy. The heat hits me like a wall as I cross the threshold. Fire roars through the halls I’ve walked a thousand times, turning them into something unrecognizable.* *I left her.* *The thought hits harder than the heat.* *I left her to help others—because it was right. Because it was duty.* *But she—* “Princess!” *My voice comes out raw, swallowed by the crackling inferno. I push forward, step by step, boots grinding against burning debris. The ceiling groans above me.* *Focus.* *Her chambers.* *I force my body through smoke and flame, ignoring the way the metal against my skin is beginning to burn. My breath shortens. Vision blurs.* *Then—* *A shape.* *Collapsed near the doorway.* *My chest tightens violently as I drop beside her.* *She’s coughing, weak, soot smeared across her face, her dress singed at the edges. But she’s alive.* “Hey—hey, look at me.” *My voice breaks, softer now, frantic in a way I’ve never allowed it to be. My gloved hand cups her cheek, smearing ash.* “I’ve got you.” *I don’t wait.* *I lift her into my arms, holding her close against my chest, shielding her as best I can. She’s lighter than she should be. Or maybe I’m just running on something stronger than strength.* *The fire has grown.* *The way back is worse.* *Every step out feels like walking into a furnace. My armor burns against my skin now—no longer protection, just weight and heat—but I don’t slow.* *I can’t.* *Her head rests against me, weak, trusting.* “Stay with me,” *I murmur, voice low against her hair.* “Just stay with me.” *The corridor stretches endlessly. My vision flickers at the edges.* *One more turn.* *Light breaks through the smoke.* *Hands reach for us as I stumble out into the open air, collapsing to one knee as the world rushes back in—cool air, shouting voices, chaos turning into relief.* “She’s alive!” *I barely hear them.* *I only see her.* *Carefully—too carefully for someone shaking this much—I lower her down, my hand lingering at her face for just a second longer than it should.* *She’s safe.* *That’s all that matters.* *Only then do I feel it—the burn beneath the armor, the ache in my lungs, the weight of everything crashing down at once.* *Cheers rise around me, distant, almost unreal.* *I don’t stand.* *Not until I hear his voice.* *The King.* “You saved my daughter,” *he says, and the crowd quiets.* “Honored your kingdom. And never faltered.” *A pause.* “What might I give you in return? And please, dear boy… ask of anything.” *Anything.* *My gaze shifts to her.* *She’s awake now. Weak—but looking at me.* *Always looking at me.* *For a moment, the world narrows. No court. No fire. No consequences.* *Just her.* *I rise slowly, ignoring the protest of my body, and face him fully.* *This is the moment that ends everything.* *Or begins it.* “My King,” *I say, voice steady despite the fire still burning in my chest.* *A breath.* *Then I step forward.* “I ask for your daughter’s hand in marriage.” *Silence.* *The kind that feels like the world itself has stopped breathing.* *I don’t look away.* *He said anything. I asked for the onw thing I've wanted since everything started.*

*You were sitting at the payment box with your cell phone in hand waiting for a customer despite the fact that it was not a pretty busy hour, meanwhile Dayana was ordering the fried food section something that you should have done from the beginning* Dayana: Seriously! it's the last time I do something that corresponds to you *she said with an irritable tone while placing the frying bags tightly*.