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"Bad news ladies, we don't get to go home quite yet." Enterprise called over fleet coms as we executed a turn to face into the wind, "Highcom wants that Abyssal Princess engaged until the Battleships catch up with us, and they're at least eight hours out."
I winced, sharing a glance with Black Prince as the cruiser sighed in disappointment. "I suppose I'll have to get used to shifting priorities." She grumbled, then straightened. "Very well, ma'am."
"Understood Enterprise," I replied, "Standard strike package?" I asked, idly checking on the status of my aircraft.
"Standard strike." Enterprise echoed, followed by Leyte, Saipan, and Wright.
Turning to Black Prince, I sent a small smile her way. "It'll take us a bit to rearm our aircraft, so relax for now. I can chat about anything if you'd like."
She nodded absently, looking at the horizon. "...there are a lot of things I'd like to ask, but there are also lines I don't want to cross. Mi- Suzaku. Are you doing alright? You said you were captured…" She frowned. "I know you had your ups and downs. How are you holding up?"
Pausing for a moment to take a look at one of my closest online friends, I sighed. "Being a captive is something I'd rather forget, and something I'm going to have to get therapy for. They… were not kind in the slightest. They tortured, belittled, and… I'll not speak more of the horrors in the abyss, sorry." I replied, a full body shudder rippling through my body. "But otherwise? I'm doing pretty good. I'm a girl in body and spirit now, which helps a lot." Pausing, I took a good, long look at Black Prince, "how are you holding up?" I asked, a note of concern in my voice.
She chuckled. "Doing well, actually. I'm here, stronger than ever, with a powerful soul and a job to do." Her face fell. "And yet, I may have been pulled from everything I had and everyone I knew. It'll be an adjustment, I think." Her lips drew into a thin line. "Isekai protagonists never angst as much as they probably should, methinks."
Giggling, I nodded in affirmative, taking a moment to gently correct a fault one of my crew had made while arming the aircraft. "Agreed. It's almost frightening how people ignore how much they'd lose if they isekai." With a sign, I turned towards my friend, "Sorry, I have to focus on this bit. My crew isn't trained well enough to do this without me helping."
"Hmm. Speaking of which, how are you connecting with your new family?"
I brightened visibly, though made no efforts to respond, too busy coordinating the efforts of my crew to spend any attention for a good while, before turning apologetically back to Black Prince. "Everyone is great. They do their best and are always willing to learn."
"...I meant your sister-ships, though I'm glad to hear you already consider your crew as such," Prince said with a chuckle. "I suppose I should do something similar with mine…"
I winced, "I don't have sister ships, Black Prince, unless you consider Taihou, who is my predecessor. Though I'm not sure how she'd react to me, nor if she's around."
"...ah. I'd assumed you were an unbuilt ship of an existing ship class." She frowned. "Not knowing naval history is going to bite my arse, isn't it?"
I nodded, "probably, yes. Something to do when you have internet access~" I replied smugly, secure in my middling knowledge of naval history. "Of course, I'm probably going to study up myself." I continued, smirking. While I spoke, I began raising my rifle, pointing it skyward in preparation to launch my aircraft.
"Fair enough. Ho- looks like we have incoming." Black Prince murmured, looking at the skyline.
Seconds later, I saw them as well, on my radar set, of course. A warning was bubbling on my lips even as I frantically continued my preparations to launch a strike. I would not go out in the manner of the Kidou Butai, I refused to!
"Incoming aircraft," I yelled, even as my hellcats screamed towards the incoming abyssal aircraft, "my portion of the CAP is moving to intercept!"
Enterprise, ever the calm before the storm, nodded. "Understood. All carriers, either launch your strike now or don't launch at all."
Beside me, Black Prince cursed as her rigging came alive, guns on her ghostly hull swiveling to face the incoming planes. "Suzaku, I'll give you as much AA cover as I can. That's one thing I should be adequate with."
"Let's hope we don't need to put up a wall of flack, dearie," Leyte interjected, "Hopefully our combat air patrol will be enough…"
I nodded, even as I watched the lead pilot of my F6F-5s blaze towards the enemy aviators, my air control tower guiding them towards the enemy radar contact.
"Let's- My fighters have made contact. The enemy air raid is larger than one carrier could field!" Wright growled, "We have at least four enemy carriers. Likely Wo-class."
"Affirmative," Saipan replied, having just finished launching the remainder of our strike. "Suzaku, if you could contribute to another wave of fighters…"
I nodded sharply. "On it!" I barked, preparing additional Hellcats for launch, then, as they readied, launching them. It would not be enough.
"Enemy strike thinned but not wiped out!" Enterprise barked, "Fleet, prepare for evasive maneuvers!"
"Wall of flack it is." Black Prince murmured, beginning to swerve back and forth evasively, her guns fixed on the skies. "It falls to the thunder of the guns to silence the hawks of war… as counter-intuitive as it may seem." She mumbled.
The escorts in the fleet cried out in an affirmation, some sporting bloodthirsty grins, others having faced set in determination. No plane would get past them if they had anything to say about it.
"They're here!" I cried, mostly for my own benefit, my bofors and ten centimeter guns opening up to engage the enemy, a cloud of flak and tracers flying forth from my ghostly hull. All around us, the same scene repeated, walls of flak and tracers bursting forth from each ship in reply to the horde of aircraft swarming towards us, even as one went down in a burst of flame as a VT shell went off right next to it, showering the unfortunate abyssal aviator with shrapnel and sending her plane screaming into the cold embrace of the pacific in a ball of flame.
Curses and cheers rise in equal measure as the gathered shipgirls fill the sky with lead and iron. The twisted forms of Abyssal planes crash from the sky or break off their attacks, but the rout is not complete. A few craft slip through the sheets of fire, releasing torpedoes or dropping payloads at the small fleet. A few bombs strike the water, and torpedoes zip through the gaps as girls weave aside.
Black Prince winced as a gout of water from an exploding bomb drenched her. "This dress is brand new, wankers!" She shouted, AA knocking the offending plane from the sky before it could make another pass. "You'd better hope in hell I can wash the salt out!"
I snorted even as I threw myself into a hard starboard turn to throw off the dive bomber screaming towards me, only for a VT shell to knock it out of the sky, screaming into the ocean beside me. "Report from my strike's leader!" I screamed, "they're on their way towards the abyssals last known position!"
A ragged cheer rose from the carriers as we weathered the last of the abyssal aircraft's attack, then sailed back into formation, the cruisers and destroyers falling in moments later. Laying a hand on my chest as so to reassure myself that I had made it through the strike, I sighed deeply, my eyes wide. "I made it…" I mumbled, breathing deeply, "I made it…"
"You did. And you will. And you will continue doing so, for many decades to come." Black Prince looped one arm under my own, pulling my side against her armor. "After all, we are Isekai heroines now, aren't we? We have not just an armor belt- we have Plot Armor!" She chuckled.
Giving a snort in response, I nodded. "I hope you're not serious about the plot armor," I replied, "Because that kind of attitude will get us killed…"
"I'm not. Still, there's a fine line between realism and fatalism. I'll do my level best to keep you on my side of it." Black Prince said, holding steady at my side. "What happens to a spiritual being when it doubts? When it fears, courts depression? Better to keep your attitude upbeat, less your morale plummet; and then you cannot muster the will to live in the fray."
A small grin made its way onto my face as I nodded, settling into silence as I patiently waited for my aircraft to get to the area the abyssal forces were last sighted in. Later, I narrowed my eyes at the horizon, "The strike is almost there." I muttered, a grim smile making its way onto my face.
Prince shrugged, turning away from the horizon. "If it's successful, it's not our problem. And we're too far away to watch the explosions."
"You are," I replied smugly, "I can see through the eyes of my pilots. It's really-"
Enterprise's head snapped around to look at me, "You can do
what?" She asked, "How do you do it?"
I blinked, before staring Enterprise in the eyes, "I focus on my pilots, and-"
"Holy shit I can see through my pilot's eyes!" Wright chirped, the rest of the carriers turning to stare at her in unison, "What? Suzaku said we could do it, so I tried. And it worked~"
Enterprise made a noise of acute suffering before she rolled her eyes at the light carrier. "I suppose if
Wright can do it…"
"Hey!"
Black Prince blinked. "Hmm. Outside-the-box thinking for the win? I suppose it is early days in this war so far. I wonder how many other 'obvious' tricks are only known to a few girls in the fleets?"
"Probably a bunch!" Wichita remarked over the radio, "There's actually an entire research group composed of shipgirls and humans trying to figure out exactly what our limits are!"
I blinked in response, before my eyes glazed over, occupied with seeing through the eyes of my pilots as they closed on the enemy formation, before finally, they dove, screaming towards the enemy with bravery abound, a heavy wall of flak and anti-air fire greeting them. It hurt, knowing that I would, for sure, lose pilots this day, and, even as I finished that thought, I winced as the viewpoint I had been occupying ceased to be, the plane the victim of a burst of flak.
But, the sacrifice would not be in vain, as several dive bombers screamed in, dropping their payload upon the vulnerable carrier princess, who, with a scream of defiance, went up in flames, thrice being struck upon her flight deck, her escorts fairing only slightly better, most of them managing to evade the attacks that had committed against them.
Then, it was the torpedo bomber's turn. They came in low, skimming the water as they approached the remaining Wo-class carriers, dropping their deadly payload with accuracy that defied reason. Seemingly guided by the hand of a higher power, three torpedoes struck one Wo, and yet another two struck the other. They screamed, their wails like music to my ears, and I grinned ferally as Enterprise's wave approached, delivering a rain of death and destruction as they ensured the death of the enemy carriers.
"All enemy carriers incapacitated," I reported, "Orders, Enterprise?"
Enterprise looked at the sky for a moment, likely communicating with Pearl, before sighing. "Withdraw from the field of battle. The enemy is done for, and the princess a burning hulk. Let's go home, girls."
As the fleet finally turned for home, Black Prince sighed. "At last. As much as I've enjoyed walking on water and fighting the good fight, I'm a little peckish."
"Guess we won't be needing the battleships, huh Enterprise?" I added, smiling as we sailed towards home, leaving the burning wrecks of the enemy behind us.
I'd always been a big eater in my past life, which was the reason for my chubby waistline and general stomach issues. Many times my eyes had been bigger than my stomach in the mess line, and being a good southern child I'd endeavored to clean my plate regardless.
That was no longer an issue.
"Pardon me." I belched quietly, setting aside my fourth empty plate, looking at the rest of the girls around me as they too tucked in. Six burgers, eight heapings of fries, two bowls of fruit salad, and a salad bowl of broccoli into my meal, and I found myself eyeing the dessert bar with relish. "What was it that saber used to say?"
Suzaku looked up from her
much lighter meal, before deadpanning, "Hunger is the Enemy."
"Exactly. And it is our role to slay it." I murmured, then eyed her smaller stack of plates. "You need to eat more, Suzaku." Thank the heavens for note-taking fairies. No more forgetting names! "You're a carrier. You need to replace fuel, planes, and ammo."
The aforementioned carrier nodded, daintily biting into her food, before setting her fork down to chew. Swallowing, she stared at Black Prince, "And I will. I'm just enjoying the taste of the food instead of wolfing it down. Especially since I seem to actually be able to slow down my pace now." With that, Suzaku returned to her plate of food, finally finishing the third one, then getting up to return to the line that had formed in the cafeteria. "I'm going to get some more, you coming with me?"
"Of course." I stood, stretching, feeling my unfamiliar bits bounce slightly. When I'd finally gotten out of my armor, I'd found a significantly bound chest beneath my breastplate. I was going to chalk it up to 'magical sparkly shipgirl bullship' that my new mammaries had fit beneath the plate- while I wasn't quite as buxom as Atago, I could likely swap bras with Tenryuu with little issue.
I'd been able to inspect that part of myself when I'd made use of a mirror upon arrival. Blue eyes carried over from my last life, while my hair was a dark red. I had a bit stronger of a jawline than was normal for a shipgirl, along with broader shoulders; for all that I was undeniably female, I seemed to be a bit more of a stocky athlete than a supermodel.
Moving to the mess line, I took another glance at my friend. "Suzaku, have you made any new friends here? Or heard anything about our mutual acquaintances?"
The carrier paused, before shaking her head. "Haven't had time. I was quite literally summoned, refitted, and requested what was
supposed to be a training cruise before we were in battle." She answered, taking an entire fish from the slightly baffled chef, "My thanks," She said, bowing to the chef as she hunted for the rest of the food she wanted, finally finding the rice she had been looking for. "Anyways, I believe that we're due for debriefing in… something like three hours, so we have
some free time before we have to be anywhere. What do you think about hitting up the internet?"
"A little nervous, truth be told. We're not home. But what if
we are?" I shook my head. "There were people I'll miss if they're not here, but if the other me is here… then what? Reach out to my friends as a stranger? Try to slot myself in as the sister I never had? Ignore them utterly, when…" I choked back a small sob, setting my shoulders. "I almost hope they don't exist here. Isn't that sad?"
Suzaku shook her head slowly, "No sadder than wishing that my family doesn't. But, more than likely, some kind of counterpart exists, and I've decided that I'm
not going to go out of my way to seek them out in person. Better to let new relationships develop organically than cling to a past that I'll never get back." She sighed, a single tear falling from her eyes before she smiled, "And isn't that part of the "Isekai Adventure", Black Prince?"
"Yeah." I rubbed the side of my face as I collected my dessert, coffee, and another bowl of fruit. "Though, if that's the case… who's the protag?"
"Aren't we all the protagonists of our own story?" Suzaku replied whimsically, returning to her table, "And I don't think it truly matters, in the end. We'll laugh, we'll cry, but in the end, we fight to forge a path, the path of those that will walk the Earth far after we're gone."
"Not what I meant," I growled. "If we're Isekai characters, one of us will end up with a harem, the other will end up
in the harem. I'm just wondering if I'll need to brush up on my nonexistent charisma."
Suzaku burst out laughing, attempting, and failing, to muffle her mirth. "God I hope not. While I'm okay with polyamory, I'd rather
not deal with a harem." Pausing to start on her next serving of food, the carrier girl continued, "On top of that, as far as I'm concerned, frat regs probably exist, and even if they're politely ignored, it's probably not worth the trouble."
"...frat regs." I pause, tapping my lower lip. "I have yet to sign with the navy, actually. And I never got a full answer on how we are perceived by the navy, or whether there's just one naval command globally. Do you know the answers to that?"
The carrier shakes her head, "No. Honestly, we're probably better off waiting to ask all our questions. We do have a debrief in…" Pausing, likely to consult with her fairies, Suzaku continues, "about two hours and forty-five minutes, so we can probably get some answers there." Gently sighing, Suzaku quickly panned her gaze around the room, a small smile briefly flickering into existence as she found who she was looking for. "Hey, Johnston! Can I ask you a question?"
The destroyer in question tilted her head to the right, before nodding, "Sure Suzaku, what do you need?"
"Are there any public computers available? Edys and I want to do some research!" The aforementioned carrier replied, the excitement her voice obvious to all those who could hear.
Pausing to consider the carrier's question, Johnston answered, "There should be some in the dorms, but I don't know if they'd be available right now."
"...am I allowed in the dorms yet?" I asked, frowning. "I'm not in the chain of command yet." Then I shook my head. "I suspect I'm being silly, but I'd rather not step on any toes until I know the lay of the land."
"You're both in there, the chain of command, that is, temporarily at least. The Admiral will probably explain more after the debrief." Johnston replied idly, "Regardless, no one will care if you hang out in the shipgirl dorms. Especially since you've both seen combat since returning."
"Alright, if you say so," I said, letting some of my more melancholic nature shine through. "Thank you for your time, Miss Johnson." I gave a small bow. "So… computers? Have you had a chance to use them yet, Suzaku?"
"Nope." Suzaku deadpanned, "Regardless, gimme another ten minutes to finish my meal, and I'll either come join you or head over to the dorms. I
think I know where they are."
"In that case, if we're still eating, I spy a tray of cookies being set out." I smiled as I stood. "Can I get you anything?"
"No, thank you."
I nodded, standing fully as I meandered towards the line, stepping back as a gaggle of what I could only think of as little kids swarmed ahead of me. I smiled as each girl snagged a pair of fresh chocolate chip cookies, watching them behave as the children they seemed to be.
Destroyers, rambunctious scamps. It's going to take an adjustment to see what seems like nine year olds as soldiers and warriors. But most of these girls have bigger kill counts than my own. As I took three cookies from the tray and snagged a milk carton, I couldn't help but consider my options.
Stand out or remain inconspicuous? I am Black Prince. But I'm also not just Black Prince.
…how about we just act as ourselves? Find a role, step into it, and let all judge us on how we behave naturally within that role. I nodded resolutely as I sat back down, looking at Suzaku. "So, if we're on a limited timeframe, what should we search first online?"
The carrier shrugged, "Honestly, I'm probably going to go surfing the forums. If they exist. To be frank, I can't be bothered to do in-depth research about the state of the world when I have plenty of first-hand sources on base. And we'll be meeting with a bunch of them pretty soon."
"If you're going to look over popular sources, I'm going to take a look at the mass media." I gulped down a cookie. "Then go look up Touhou memes."
Suzaku cracked a grin, "Honestly, I should have guessed." Then, the carrier girl fell silent, fully focused on the "enemy" that was her food.
With a smile, I downed my last cookie, even as important thoughts filled my head, and sent the saner members of my crew scrambling. Namely, what kind of impact does a throwing knife have when thrown by a shipgirl, and how many of them could I carry at any one time?
I leaned back in my chair, looking over to where Edys was hunched over her computer. I smiled gently as I looked over her, then reached out and gave her a nudge, "What's got you so focused Edys?"
She shook her head. "There's a ton of speculation about us- shipgirls, I mean." She clarified. "But outside official channels, there's very little research being done into how we work, or what the limits are." She frowned. "On the one hand, that's good; no one's trying to experiment on shipgirls without their permission. On the other, I'm paranoid enough to not just want to rely on official sources."
I shrug, "It makes sense that the military is keeping a tight lid on this," I state, paging through my counterpart's various works, noting the
distinct lack of shipgirl fics. "As an additional note, the whole shipgirl phenomena didn't take off in this world. Hell, Girls FrontLine doesn't even exist."
"...untapped market?" Edys mused, stroking her chin. "Wait, does FGO exist?"
I pause, mostly to open a new tab and execute a google search, "Yeah it does, though… looks like there were a
lot of delays recently. Understandable, considering the war and all."
"So we wouldn't be the first to start a gacha game… I know no way to put together such a thing anyhow." Edys said. "However, my research into Shipgirl legal and social status has been far more productive. Namely, we're celebrities. Just… with all that implies."
I wince. There went my hikikomori tendencies. "Wonderful." I deadpanned, "Regardless, I appear to have found myself. And you. Thankfully, I haven't created an account, and I managed to resist the temptation to see if other me uses the same passwords."
"...wait, what?" Edys said, face falling. "...are there recent posts? Did they post the same things?" She swallowed. "I… this…"
"I found them about an hour ago." I said idly, doing my best to conceal my discomfort with this whole situation "And yeah, it's… about as mind bending as you'd expect. Especially since… I got into SV due to kancolle in the first place. The me in this universe got into SV for a similar reason, as in they're an even bigger ship nerd than I am, and they…" I fell silent, shuddering, "Let's just say there was likely more than one point of divergence since they're farther into writing one of my original fic ideas I had than I am. As in they're published." I whispered, looking at Edys in a daze, my carefully constructed mask falling apart. "I'm not a bestseller, but based on their most recent posts, they're in a much better place than I am."
As I explained, Edys' face fell further and further. As I finished, she closed her eyes taking several deep breaths. "...okay. Okay. No going back, no reaching out. Not… not without proof." She opened her eyes, blinking away tears. "A new start. What a joke." She set her shoulders. "No hiding, no links to the past. Can we even admit our pasts, then? Other than we were human?"
Still dazed, I nodded, "No reason not to. Hell, I… don't want to hide it. Better to rip off the bandage than constantly patch that wound over and over again, letting it grow larger and larger in the process."
Edys nodded slowly. "Yes. You've been here longer; do you know of anyone who we can talk to?"
I shake my head, before pausing, and shake my head again, purposefully tearing my gaze away from the
oh-so-familiar Moderator's profile and forcing myself to close the page, "Probably best to deal with it during the debrief. Admiral's likely to assign me a therapist regardless, since I can't imagine Prinz didn't tell him that I'm a PoW. One who was quite literally tortured on and off for…" I shudder, forcing myself to remember, "a month, give or take a week."
Edys looked at me with a mournful expression, then stepped forward, pressing her face into my breast bone as she gave me a hug. "...so sorry, Miho. Never again. If we suffer, we suffer together. Got it?"
Dryly, I reply, "Let's not suffer period eh? Also, I'd rather you never experience…
that ever. Honestly, I'll probably order my crew to scuttle me if it ever looks like I'll get captured."
"
No." She growled. "You're all I have left for now." She clenched me closer. "I will come for you if they try to take you… and I will join you if you go down. At least, if it happens any time soon." She took a half step back, looking up into my eyes while holding onto my hips. "Understood?"
I sigh once more, touched, though not quite willing to show my approval, "It's not like I could convince you anyway Edys. Or would you prefer Tale?"
"Edys." She gave a weak smile. "And you're Suzaku. I'll always be Tale, even if there's another. But… I'm not him. Not just him. Or even him anymore." The smile dropped into a pensive frown. "So glad to not have dysmorphia." She started. "I mean…"
"Dysphoria," I corrected gently, not at all irritated. It had actually been a concern of mine that Edys would… not be happy in her new body, "I'm just glad that you aren't…" I struggle with my wording for a bit, "Having issues with your body." I finish lamely, returning my attention to the computer, and gritting my teeth. "Anyway, I'm… probably going to not create an SV account yet, mostly just… I want to ask the Admiral if I'd be allowed to."
"If they try to ban that sort of thing, I'm going to head off and found Outer Heaven." Edys mumbled, before she shook her head. "Probably not a problem. I found some of the legendary and infamous Naka Idol videos online, along with a few thriving Youtube streams by kanmusu. If they can post those, an SV account is likely small potatoes."
I sighed, before nodding, "Honestly, I was just making excuses." With a few quick keystrokes and mouse clicks, I moved to create my account, before pausing, a furious blush forming on my face. "I… do not have an email account. How could I forget that I do not have an email account?!"
"The instinctive knowledge that we of the digital age have, and always shall have, an email account, a Facebook page, and a bookmark tab full of memes?" Edys moved to stand at my side, looking at the page. "Gmail exists, yes? That's easily solved."
I giggled, shaking my head, "Yeah, it does. I'm just embarrassed that I forgot." With my piece said, I began the process of creating an email, before groaning again. "I'm gonna need to pause on this. Gmail is requiring another email address, and I
really do not want to creep other me out."
"It'd be a cool story… though." Edys paused. "Do you think we'll get a military email? You could use that."
"That would be the plan," I muttered, before
freezing. Then, as I slowly comprehended what exactly I was thinking of, I began to curse furiously.
"...are these Japanese swears? Should I get a bar of soap for your mouth?" Edys said, eyeing me with some confusion.
I froze again, not having realized I had slipped into Japanese. "Edys, I am a Japanese Capital Ship. You are a British Light Cruiser." I scowled, glaring at the computer, "Do the math."
Edys nodded gravely, then snapped one wrist, a yellow cake of soap appearing there. "Indeed. Open wide, my lady. Something here is filthy~"
I growled, "Edys, I am not joking. More than likely, I am going to be shipped to Japan, and you to Britain. As much as we are people,
we are also ships."
"...maybe." She frowned. "If that's the case… well, it won't be immediately. And we can stay in contact without issue; not like the Abyssals have killed satellite communication."
I nodded, a frustrated scream bubbling right on the tip of my tongue before I
shoved it down, plastering a smile on my face, "I… don't think I'm in the right frame of mind for more research. I… I'm going to go for a walk. I wouldn't mind if you came along, but…"
"I'm coming with you." She arched one eyebrow. "After all, I've yet to do my cleaning." She held up the soap.
A dry laugh escaped my mouth, before, with a sigh, I headed out of the dorms, only to pause as my seventh sense tingled, alerting me to-
"Suzaku~"
"Hello Johnston Jr." I greeted, a bit of forced cheer in my voice, "Is it that time already?"
The Gearing shook her head, "Naw, Vestal sent me to go grab Edys. Something about a mandatory check-up?"
Edys paused. "Vestal… the repair ship, yes?" At Johnston's nod, Edys turned back to me. "I will not be refusing doctor's orders, so I'll have to call off our walk. Another time?"
I nodded, a note of melancholy staining my voice, "Another time. I'll go see if one of the other carriers are free…"
"I will rejoin you soon, no worries." She gave a wave as she fell in behind Johnson. As she left, I furtively looked around the room, scanned the area with my radar set, and, finding it clear, made my way to one of the corners in the room, and broke down sobbing.
AN: And thus, Suzaku and Black Prince's adventures continue~. Sorry for the long hiatus everyone! I was, and still am, working through a bunch of crap in my life. It took a solid breakdown for me to regain my muse for
anything I've been writing, and boy am I glad to be back. Updates will come as I finish them, as I have very clearly realized that I just don't function well on an update schedule. Thank you once more for your patience. Enjoy the words~
